Potter's Inscription Detail

View of the inscription that was found in secondary usage (= spolia) near the International Convention Center in west Jerusalem.

The Aramaic inscription reads "Hanania son of Dudolos from Jerusalem."  It is the first epigraphic evidence to the name "Jerusalem" spelled as Yerushalayim (as it is written Hebrew today), as opposed to Yerushalem or Shalem.

The column was originally part of a building that stood in a Jewish potters' village on the outskirts of Jerusalem.  "The site was eventually converted by the Tenth Roman Legion into a workshop for ceramic building products [aka "roof tiles"].  The column drum probably came from a workshop or some other structure belonging to Hanania or a public building that he helped finance.  Hanania's father's name — Dudolos — is based on the name of the mythological Greek artist Daedalos; it may have been a nickname alluding to the father's artistic abilities.  it is interesting to note that although the village was very close to the city, Hanania still found it meaningful to mention his Jerusalem origins."  Source: Israel Museum Label