1700 B.C. inscribed ivory coming to Southern Adventist University

1700 B.C. inscribed Ivory Comb / Southern Adventist University

COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. (WDEF) —  A rare artifact is stopping in Collegedale for a couple months for the public to see.

An ivory comb with the oldest deciphered complete alphabetic sentence in writing will be on display at Southern Adventist University.

This artifact dates back to 1700 B.C., and was excavated in Israel by Southern Adventist archaeologists in 2016.

The comb’s inscription reads, “May this ivory (tusk) root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”

According to Southern Adventist University, The comb was named the number one discovery in biblical archaeology by Christianity Today.

This artifact was also featured in The New York Times, Smithsonian, CNN, and BBC.

“The find cannot be overestimated. The invention of the alphabet was the most important contribution to communication in the last four millennia.  Before this time, complicated systems of writing in Egypt and Mesopotamia limited literacy. Today, most of the world constructs sentences using the alphabet found on this comb.”

-Michael G. Hasel, PhD, professor of archaeology at Southern and co-director of the Lachish excavations

This artifact will be on display beginning January 27, 2025, through May 2.