It appears that the archaeologists have corrected an error in deciphering this ancient stele. I love Finkelstein and these honest young archaeologists. Two inscriptions found on an ancient carved altar are revealing new information about a rebellion against the Kingdom of Israel that is described in the Bible. The 2,800 year-old cylindrical stone altar was discovered in a sanctuary within the ancient city of Ataroth in Jordan and it bears two inscriptions referring to a biblical war. Located within a Moabite sanctuary in the ancient city of Ataroth in Jordan during excavations in 2010, the language and script is in ancient Moabite while the numerals are executed in an Egyptian writing system known as Hieratic. Analysis of Stone Altar Inscriptions Both the sanctuary and the carved altar were recently analyzed and described in the journal Levant which says the altar dates to after the time Mesha, king of Moab “rebelled against the Kingdom of Israel conquering Ataroth” dividing the territory into a northern kingdom ( Israel) and a new southern kingdom (Judah). A Live Science report discusses an entry in the Hebrew Bible mentioning the rebellion saying that before Mesha rebelled, Moab gave Israel a yearly tribute of “thousands of lambs and a vast amount of ram wool”. The so-called Mesha stele was discussed in an earlier Live Science article which has details of its 1868 discovery in Dhiban, Jordan, and the inscription claiming Mesha “conquered Ataroth and killed many of the city's inhabitants”. continued https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/altar-inscription-0012490
