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Fragment of 16th Century Ming Dynasty Bowl Uncovered on Mount Zion

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – In a remarkable find, archaeologists have uncovered an inscribed fragment of a 500-year-old genuine Chinese Ming Dynasty porcelain bowl on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Ha’aretz reports.

Discovery of the fragment of bowl was announced by the Israel Aniquities Authority on Tuesday December 3. The fragment is inscribed with the Chinese words: “We will forever guard the eternal spring,” Ha’aretz reports.

The Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644. Highly influential and overseeing an important period of Chinese history, the Dynasty was also well-known for its advanced production of porcelain objects, including bowls.

In a statement to Ha’aretz, Michael Chernin of the IAA explained that the bowl could have made its way to Jerusalem because trade between China and the Middle East had been ongoing since the 8th century.

Indeed, a significant among number of Chinese artefacts have been found in Jerusalem as well as in Ramle, Safed, Tiberias, and other places from about the ninth and 10th century, pottery specialist Anna de Vincenz told Ha’aretz.

“Also, Jerusalem had been under Ottoman rule from 1516, and the Ottomans and Chinese had intense trading relations in the 16th and 17th centuries,” Ha’artez added in its report. “The Ottomans were obsessed with Chinese porcelain. So, finding a piece of it in Jerusalem from the 16th century is not surprising – even if finding it in a layer from a thousand years earlier may startle.”

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