3D model available here
The Assyrian Bulla from Jerusalem: A 2,700-Year-Old Message from Empire to Kingdom
In October 2025, archaeologists announced a groundbreaking discovery that has captivated the archaeological community: the first Assyrian cuneiform inscription from the First Temple period ever found in Jerusalem. This tiny clay fragment, measuring just 2.5 centimeters (approximately 1 inch), was unearthed during excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) near the Temple Mount in the Davidson Archaeological Park.
The discovery represents far more than a simple pottery shard—it provides tangible evidence of official diplomatic correspondence between the mighty Assyrian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah during one of the most tumultuous periods in biblical history.
“The material is entirely different from the local raw materials typically used to produce pottery, bullae, and clay documents in Jerusalem and the southern Levant,” explained Dr. Cohen-Weinberger. This finding confirms that the bulla was manufactured in Assyria itself and sent directly to Jerusalem—physical proof of administrative correspondence between the imperial capital and the vassal kingdom.
Deciphering the Message
The inscription, written in Akkadian cuneiform script, preserves approximately 20 characters despite its fragmentary state. The text mentions several crucial elements: a reference to “the first day of the month of Av” (the eleventh month in the Hebrew calendar), a notation about a delay in payment, and the title “holder of the reins”—an Assyrian official position connected to the royal court and responsible for carrying official dispatches.
According to Dr. Zilberg, “The artifact is probably a fragment of a bulla, an inscribed royal sealing that served as a short summary of the content it sealed. Many of these inscribed sealings sealed official documents or letters addressed to very important people”. Such bullae were commonly used throughout the Assyrian Empire to authenticate correspondence and provide messengers with a summary of the document’s contents.
The inscription appears to reference a delay in tribute payment—a matter of significant political importance that directly echoes the biblical narrative of Judah’s relationship with Assyria during this period.
The Historical Context: Hezekiah and Sennacherib
The experts dated the bulla to between the late 8th century and mid-7th century BCE based on stylistic and linguistic analysis. This places it squarely within the period of intense Assyrian-Judean interaction, most notably during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah (727-698 BCE) and his confrontation with Assyrian King Sennacherib.
The biblical account in 2 Kings describes how Hezekiah initially rebelled against Assyrian rule: “In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, King Sennacherib of Assyria marched against all the fortified towns of Judah and seized them. King Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: ‘I have done wrong; withdraw from me; and I shall bear whatever you impose on me.’ So the king of Assyria imposed upon King Hezekiah of Judah a payment of 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold” (2 Kings 18:13-14).
This same campaign is corroborated by Assyrian sources, most famously the Sennacherib Prism (Taylor Prism) housed in the British Museum. On this hexagonal clay prism, Sennacherib boasts of his 701 BCE campaign: “As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to his strong cities, walled forts, and countless small villages… Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage”.
The newly discovered bulla provides the first physical evidence from Jerusalem itself documenting this tense diplomatic relationship. Dr. Zilberg noted, “It is a wonderful addition to the history of the relations between Judah and Assyria. We already knew from documents that were found in Assyria that there were Judean emissaries in the court of the Assyrian king and Judean travelers or merchants doing business in Assyria. Now, for the first time, we have evidence from Jerusalem and not from Assyria”.
Connection to Other Hezekiah Artifacts
This discovery complements other remarkable artifacts from Hezekiah’s reign. In 2015, Dr. Eilat Mazar announced the discovery of King Hezekiah’s personal bulla (seal impression) (Available for download here ) during excavations in the Ophel area, also near the Temple Mount. That bulla, measuring approximately 1 centimeter in diameter, bears the Hebrew inscription “Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz, King of Judah” and depicts a two-winged sun disk flanked by ankh symbols.
The Hezekiah bulla marked the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king had been discovered through scientific archaeological excavation. Together with the newly discovered Assyrian bulla, these artifacts provide unprecedented insight into the administrative workings of the Judean kingdom and its interaction with the Assyrian superpower.
The ongoing chemical analysis being conducted in collaboration with Dr. Yehudit Harlavan of the Geological Survey of Israel aims to pinpoint even more precisely where in the Tigris Basin region the bulla was manufactured. Such detailed provenance information could potentially identify which specific Assyrian administrative center produced the document.
Implications for Biblical Archaeology
This small clay fragment serves as a powerful reminder that archaeological discoveries continue to shed light on biblical narratives. The bulla doesn’t merely confirm that ancient texts existed—it provides direct physical evidence of the complex political, economic, and diplomatic relationships described in both biblical and Assyrian historical accounts.
The discovery validates the historical reality of tribute systems, administrative correspondence, and the delicate balance of power between the Assyrian Empire and its Levantine vassals. It transforms abstract historical concepts into tangible reality: an actual letter, sent from an Assyrian official, carried hundreds of miles to Jerusalem, demanding payment from a king whose name we know from both scripture and archaeology.
As one researcher eloquently stated, “This fragment reminds us how a single piece of clay can rewrite entire chapters of history”.
