Israeli archeologists have unearthed an inscribed piece of Persian pottery during excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem (Al-Qods).

The artifact, which was found by an archeology team directed by Dr. Rina Avner of the Israel Antiquities Authority, is treated with a turquoise glaze and is adorned with floral patterns.

According to Artdaily, the piece dates back to the 12th-13th centuries CE and bears a black Persian inscription on the neck, which makes it the first of its kind to have been found in Jerusalem.

The inscription has been translated by Dr. Julia Rabanovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as, “Was once the embrace of a lover that entreat”.

According to Rivka Cohen-Amin of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the line belongs to The Rubaiyat, a collection of quatrains (four-line poems) by the 11th-century Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer, Omar Khayyam.

The following is the complete translation of the quatrain by the celebrated British translator of The Rubaiyat, Edward FitzGerald:

I think the Vessel, that with fugitive
Articulation answer'd, once did live,
And merry-make; and the cold Lip I kiss'd
How many Kisses might it take--and give.

TE/HGH