500-Year-Old Chinese Inscription Found in Jerusalem

A Ming Dynasty porcelain shard with an inscription marks the earliest known Chinese writing discovered in Israel.

Archaeologists uncovered a 16th-century porcelain fragment with a Chinese inscription during excavations on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
The inscription, translated as 'Forever we will guard the eternal spring,' is the first known example of Chinese writing found in Israel.
The artifact dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1520–1570) and highlights historical trade ties between the Chinese and Ottoman Empires.
Chinese porcelain has been found in the region before, but this discovery offers new insight into cultural and economic exchanges in the 16th century.
The excavation, led by the Israel Antiquities Authority and German Protestant Institute of Archaeology, primarily focuses on Byzantine and Second Temple period sites.