Mesha Stele: One Of The Most Valuable Biblical Artifacts

A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – Mesha Stele, which is also known as the Moabite Stone, is one of the most valuable Biblical artifacts.

It was accidentally discovered among the ruins of Dhiban (Biblical “Dibon,” capital of Moab), 20 miles east of the Dead Sea, by a German missionary F. A. Klein in 1868.

The artifact was a bluish basalt stone, about 4 feet high (about 142cm) and 2 feet wide, and 14 inches thick. It was erected and inscribed by Moabite King Mesha.
When it was found the Berlin Museum quickly negotiated for it while the French Consulate at Jerusalem offered more money.
Considered a valuable and spectacular find, the stele became an object of great interest of the Berlin Museum and the French Consulate at Jerusalem. The local Bedouin tribe was in possession of the artifact, but fearing the loss of it, decided to destroy it. They hang it on a rope and repeatedly dipped it in fire and water until it fell apart.

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