Gezer calendar

The Gezer Calendar is a captivating artifact: a small limestone tablet discovered in 1908 by Irish archaeologist R. A. Stewart Macalister in the ancient Canaanite city of Gezer, near Jerusalem. Dated to around the 10th century BCE, its exact age remains uncertain due to the excavation's lack of a secure archaeological context. Scholars are still debating whether the language of the calendar is Phoenician or Hebrew, and whether the script used is Phoenician or paleo-Hebrew.

This inscription divides the year into monthly or bi-monthly periods, assigning specific agricultural tasks like harvesting, planting, or tending crops to each period. When transliterated and translated, the text provides a detailed schedule of these seasonal activities. Scholars have proposed various theories about the calendar's purpose. Some suggest it might have been a mnemonic aid, a folk or children's song, or even a tool for tax collection from farmers.

Interestingly, the scribe who wrote the calendar might have been named "Abijah" a name that appears in the Bible and was borne by several individuals, including a king of Judah. Today, the original Gezer Calendar is housed at the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Turkey, alongside other archaeological treasures from the region. If you're in Jerusalem, you can see a replica of the Gezer Calendar at the Israel Museum.