I guess it's ok to copy this from Jack Sasson's agade list (has anyone seen PSin
so neatly drawn? looks like Egyptian!):


From Josef Otto  <j.otto@...>, <info@...>:
====================================================

Proto-Sinaitic inscription in Timna!

We wish to announce the discovery of a new rock inscription in the Timna
Park, Israel.

For a photograph go to <http://www.stonewatch.de/Daten/Timna-1.jpg>.

The engraving, measuring ca. 12 x 16 cm, was found by "Stonewatch / Arad
Academy e.V.", an institution based in Germany, that has been conducting
surveys of rock art in Timna and worldwide for many years
<www.stonewatch.de>.

Dr. Stefan Jakob Wimmer, an Egyptologist and ANE epigraphist at the
University of Munich - who is not connected with Stonewatch - is studying the
engraving and working on a scholarly publication. He has preliminarily
suggested to identify the writing as Proto-Sinaitic:

"... The right oval shows signs that are identical with characters of the
Proto-Sinaitic script, and can in my view quite easily be read as a West
Semitic personal name. In the left oval several signs will need more
consideration. Some features of the inscription are especially remarkable:
The suggested personal name in the right oval ends with the sign of a seated
man. The adoption of a personal determinative has to my knowledge not been
observed in other PS inscriptions, but is easily conceivable and should by
no means contradict the identification of the inscription as PS. The upper
character in the left oval could in my view be a variant of the image of the
sun with two uraei protruding on either side, reduced to the uraei, and may
shed light on a roughly similar sign in the Wadi el-Hol inscriptions. It
will have to be examined if the oblong frames were inspired by cartouches.
As an alternative one might think of stylised footprints. ...

The constellation of Egyptians and Semites in the context of mining
activities is attested at two places: Serabit el-Khadim/Sinai, where
almost all PS
inscriptions were found (with the only exception until now of Wadi el-Hol
near Luxor), and Timna. ...

The importance of the discovery of this inscription - if indeed
Proto-Sinaitic - is obviously considerable. It is
hoped that its common ground with the inscriptions from Serabit el-Khadim,
and also Wadi el-Hol, and even more its new, variant features, may
substantially contribute to the study of the early alphabet."

We can add that the location of the inscription (which will not be disclosed
until the necessary measures to protect the engraving from vandalism have
been taken) corroborates a connection with the Egyptian copper mining
activities at Timna. It is not, however, in close vicinity to the Hathor
sanctuary.

The possibility of a modern "hoax" can safely be excluded due to clear signs
of erosion and the identical colour (patina) of the grooves with the stone
surface.

For more rock art from Timna including what may be other examples of yet
undeciphered inscriptions, go to our free downloads:
<http://stonewatch.de/free_downloads/special_cds/index.html>
(Catalogue of Rock Art in Southern Israel Timna Valley)

Josef Otto
Stonewatch / Arad Academy e.V.
www.stonewatch.de
 --
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@...


>
>From: eliot braun <eliotbraun@...>
>To: ANE <ANE-2@yahoogroups.com>
>Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 3:39:34 PM
>Subject: [ANE-2] New Inscription at Timna?
>
> 
>Does anyone know anything more of a supposedly proto-Sinaitic inscription in a
rock in the region of Timna, Negev, Israel?
> 
>This is the link to a photo:
> 
>http://www.stonewatch.de/Daten/Timna-1.jpg
>
>Eliot Braun, Ph D
>Sr. Fellow WF Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem
>Associate Researcher Centre de Recherche Français de Jérusalem
>PO Box 21, Har Adar 90836 Israel
>Tel 972-2-5345687, Cell 972-50-2231096