A PERSIAN LOVE POEM (the Rubaiyat, by Omar Khayyam) is quoted on a pottery fragment recently excavated in Jerusalem:

Jug Inscribed with a Persian Love Poem Discovered in Excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority

(ArtDaily.org)

JERUSALEM.- A fragment of a pottery vessel of Persian provenance that dates to the Middle Ages (12th-13th centuries CE) was discovered in an archaeological excavation directed by Dr. Rina Avner, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, in the Old City of Jerusalem, prior to construction by a private contractor.

The fragment is treated with a turquoise glaze and is adorned with floral patterns and a black inscription. While studying the artifact prior to publication, Rivka Cohen-Amin of the Israel Antiquities Authority discerned that the inscription on the neck of the vessel is written in Persian. The inscription consists of a line that was taken from a quatrain. The inscription, which was translated by Dr. Julia Rabanovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reads: “Was once the embrace of a lover that entreat”.

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Somewhat outside PaleoJudaica's usual time frame, but too cool not to mention. Already noted by Lauer and Sasson, but I'm struggling this week to find any time for blogging. This article also has a very nice photograph.