Archaeologists in Israel said on Thursday they had unearthed the oldest Hebrew text ever found, while excavating a fortress city overlooking a valley where the Bible says “David slew Goliath”.

Experts have not yet been able to decipher fully the five lines of text written in black ink on a shard of pottery dug up at a five-acre archaeological site called Elah Fortress, or Khirbet Qeiyafa.

The site, 12 miles southwest of Jerusalem, is now home wineries and an Israeli satellite station.

Archaeologists at Hebrew University said carbon dating of the artifacts found at the fortress site, indicate the Hebrew inscription was written some 3,000 years ago, predating the Dead Sea Scrolls by 1,000 years.

They have been able to make out some of its words, including “judge,” “slave” and “king.”

Yosef Garfinkel, the lead archaeologist at the site, said the findings could shed significant light on the period of King David’s rule over the Israelites.

(By: Ari Rabinovitch for Reuters / YW-68)