the seminary has been a part. The Seminary is very involved in Biblical archaeology, and sponsors the Zeitah Excavations in Israel at Tel Zayit. The excavation was founded under the direction of Professor Ron E. Tappy, Professor of Bible and Archaeology and director of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology. The excavation began in 1999 with a 55-member international team of experts and volunteers. In July 2005 excavators discovered the Zayit Stone, which contained an inscription dating to the 10th century BCE (King Solomon’s reign). The two-line inscription, on a 33-pound limestone boulder embedded in the stone wall of a building, is the earliest securely-dated example of the complete Hebrew alphabet (an "abecedary"). The letters show a transitional script emerging from Phoenician and leading to the Hebrew national script of the 9th century BCE. The first significant inscription from this period in nearly a century, the discovery was reported in the New York Times. World Mission Initiative World Mission Initiative (WMI) at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is a fellowship of Presbyterians dedicated to developing mission vision, nurturing missionary vocation, and cultivating missional congregations. WMI prepares seminarians to become pastors with a mission, and coordinates cross-cultural trips. It has a church focus and works to train world Christian pastors. WMI hosts missionaries, national church leaders, and scholars on campus throughout the year. Faculty and alumni Prominent faculty from the seminary's history include: Dale Allison M. Craig Barnes Robert A. J. Gagnon John Gerstner Archibald Alexander Hodge William Swan Plumer Andrew Purves Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield Robert Dick Wilson Prominent alumni include: Thomas K. Chadwick Festo Kivengere John A. Dalles Calvin Wilson Mateer, the chairman of the committee for Bible translation of The Chinese Union Version. Charles William Kerr, first permanent Protestant Christian minister of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Isaac C. Ketler, founder of Grove City College Fred Rogers R. C. Sproul Neil M. Stevenson Ralph Watkins References External links Official website Presbyterian Church (USA) seminaries Educational institutions established in 1794 Seminaries and theological colleges in Pennsylvania 1794 establishments in Pennsylvania Universities and colleges in Pittsburgh