Saudi Arabia: Archaeologists Unearth Inscribed Stone Dates Back to Third rightly-guided Caliph 

The Saudi Heritage Authority announced that archaeologists have unearthed an Islamic inscription associated with the third Caliph, Othman bin Affan, may God be pleased with him, dating back 1419 years, making it the third-oldest Islamic inscription to be found, according to the Emirati newspaper, Al Bayan.

The archaeological inscription was found in the Qasr Alia area near   Mekka, the holiest city in Islam, that situated in the west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

The inscription contains Arabic letting written in primitive form without points or diacritics.

The Saudi  authority said that it had conducted a "documentary examination of the inscription that revealed the ambiguity of its first line, which resulted in the proper name "Zuhair" who wrote and transcribed the text."

The text was read as follows: "I am Zuhair believed - in God and wrote a time – Amr (period)   (Othman) bin Affan in the year twenty-four (H).