Israel acquires ancient papyrus with Hebrew inscription from US resident

The scrap of papyrus is displayed at the Israeli Antiquities Authority (Ariel Schalit/AP)

Israel has acquired a previously unknown ancient papyrus bearing a Hebrew inscription dated to about 2,700 years ago that had long been in possession of a resident in the US, the country’s antiquities authority said on Wednesday.

The scrap of papyrus, scarcely larger than a postage stamp with four lines of angular script, is one of just a few from the region in the late Iron Age, archaeologists said.