Identification of signs
A curious feature of the Qeiyafa inscription (which is inked not incised, it should be noted) is that the scribe does not write his characters consistently.
'A ('alp "ox", 'Aleph, Alpha) shows three variants (all are among the examples on my table of signs): at the end of line 1 and in the middle of line 2 we can see the ox-head with its horns; the first letter in the top line has the head reclining; at the beginning of line 4 (and 5, apparently) the head is completely inverted like the Greek Alpha and Roman A; the total number is 5 or 6.
B (bayt "house", Beth, Beta) is fairly consistent but somewhat unique: its body is triangular (originally square, representing a house with a doorway) with a projection curling round and downwards at the top on the right; there is one under the protruding part of the sherd, in line 1, and I have also joined the dots on the left side of the dotted circle to reconstruct another B; then there is the fifth character in line 2; beneath that one, in line 3, is yet another B; the last case of B is towards the middle of the bottom line; total 5 or 6.
G (gaml, Gimel, Gamma) was a boomerang, or throw-stick; one example, uncharacteristically inverted, appears at the start of line 3; possibly the scribe has done this to save confusion with P (two instances of P in line 2); total 1.
D (dalt "door", Daleth, Delta) was a door with a post, and sometimes with panels; like B it became more triangular; an example in the top line, standing between B and 'Aleph; another one can be reconstructed from dots between B and 'Aleph in line 2 (in the same sequence of five signs as in line 1); two incomplete instances in line 3, but again the dots point the way to their completion; the one in line 4 is just like Roman D; in line 5 there are two cases; notice that every example is different; D is not a frequent letter in Hebrew, and yet it has the highest total here; but three of the instances are in a word that occurs three times (`bd); total 7.
H (He, Epsilon) was first represented by a person jubilating (hll), generally with both arms raised (but also inverted), and this figure was turned on its side leaving only E, and becoming Greek Epsilon; there is an inverted E in the top-right corner, producing the divine name YH; and possibly another as E to the left of this; total 2.
W was a hook or peg (waw) in the proto-alphabet (--o), a circle on a stem, but it opened out into a form resembling Y; one example (with D on either side of it) in line 3; another in line 4; apparently there is one at the very end of line 5; total 3.
Z (Zayin, Zeta), originally two joined triangles (|><|) is a very infrequent letter, and no instances can be detected here; total 0.
H. (Het, Eta) was originally a mansion with two rooms and a courtyard (h.as.ir), often with a rounded wall (this is a discovery of mine, not found on other tables); but it was reduced to a bisected rectangle; the inner line is usually horizontal, but may be vertical, as on the possible example in line 4 (which seems to have the semicircular courtyard, though it might be an inverted B); the proposed Het at the end of line 3 is based on the weak ink marks, which may have a vertical line inside the square; total 2.
T. (Tet) began as the Egyptian nefer sign (t.ab "fine", nfr as in Nefertiti); it was a circle with a cross (o-+), and, apparently, the cross moved into the circle; it became Theta in the Greek alphabet, but it was not taken over by the Romans; line 2 has two cases of it (both in the word for judge); it is very rare, and since it occurs in a repeated word here, we should really only count it once; total 2.
Y (yad "hand", Yod, Iota) is an arm with a hand; in accordance with this scribe's liking for variety, there are four different stances; the clearest is in the middle of line 4, with the arm upright and the hand pointing leftwards; the example below it, in line 5, has the arm bent with the hand at the bottom, again pointing to the left; another instance is visible in the space between the end of lines 1 and 2, similar to the one in line 5, but the hand is on the right of the arm and pointing downwards; another comparable example (small and faint) is near the beginning of line 3, with a short arm, and the hand on the left pointing downwards, situated underneath a cross-sign (T), as in the case of the Y in the space at the end of lines 1 and 2; total 4.
K (kap "palm of hand", Kap, Kappa) is a hand, sometimes with a wrist (as in Greco-Roman K), and here it is just a simple stick-figure, with merely three fingers, at the very end of line 4; in an extended text there would normally be more cases of this letter, and there may be a K in fourth place in line 2; total 1 or 2.
L (Lamed, Lambda) was a shepherd's crook (perhaps also a rope for tethering animals); here, characteristically, every example is different; the coiled type, shaped like 6, is found in line 3 (centre) and its opposite appears above it in line 2; the plain curve (U-shaped) is found as the second sign in line 1, and a smaller version at the other end of the line, its residue being a series of tiny dots, next to the ox-head; one that is C-shaped stands near the end of line 4; in the bottom line there is a gap after Y, with ink marks showing, and this is like the b-shaped L in line, next to G; total 7.
M (maym, mu, running water or falling water, Mem, Mu) has a vertical stance in all cases, not the horizontal set of waves which will become Greco-Roman M; the obvious examples are in line 2 (1x), line 4 (3x), line 5 (1x); possibly another below the M in the middle of line 4 and above the D in line 5, which has taken a depressed position to make room for the M; it is possible that the three dots at the end of the top line of writing are the remains of a Mem, rather than punctuation marks; total 7.
N (nah.ash "snake", Nun, Nu) was clearly a snake, sometimes a cobra, other times a viper, but the erect cobra was the victor; a clear case is lurking in line 4; an unclear example is possibly near the end of line 3; and in line 1, the fifth letter (this might be an instance of Shin/Sin, like the one at the start of line 2, but the top curve is missing here); total 3.
S (samk "fish" or "support", Samek, Xi) is a controversial subject, as the fish is commonly identified as D (since W.F. Albright publicized the idea) because dag is the West Semitic word for "fish" (the table of Kris Udd agrees with mine in rejecting this error); but samk is another Semitic "fish" word (in Arabic but not Hebrew); samk also means "support", and an alternative sign was used for S (Samek), namely the Egyptian djed pillar (spinal column as the "support" for standing upright), and this became the standard letter in West Semitic scripts; the fish and the spine were both used for s-sounds in the cuneiform alphabet, and the fish survived as S in Arabia; here it is tempting to see a fish in the middle of line 3, but it is one of the many forms of D (Dalet, door) on the ostracon; there is no trace of the "telegraph pole" (--|-|-|), either, and this is disappointing, but Samek is a very infrequent letter; total 0.
`O (`ayn "eye". `Ayin, Omikron) was originally an eye (with or without the pupil), and it was reduced to a circle (with or without a dot); here, with unusual consistency, all cases are circles with a central dot; two examples in the top line; a faint one in the next line; a clearer one in line 3; and I find two together in the last line (the second one above the Beth); total 6.
P (pu "mouth", Pe, Pi) is a mouth, as shown by every example on my table (including the Arabian), but allowing that one of the lips has been removed along the way; Kris Udd shows the mouth as the origin, but also sneaks a boomerang (G) into the picture, prolonging the life of the Albrightian mistake that P began as a "corner"; there is an example of Pe at each end of line 2, facing in opposite directions though looking towards each other; total 2.
S. (s.irar "tied bag", Sadey, San) was a bag tied at the top (the same word as for the money-bags of Joseph's brothers in Genesis 42:35); the bag became deflated in some cases, and torn open in others; I detect one in line 5 (like the type found on the Gezer Calendar inscription, as shown on Udd's table); and perhaps another near the end of line 3; total 2.
Q (qaw "line", Qop, Qoppa) was a cord wound on a stick, and in the Iron Age its upper one or two projections were omitted, making it look like Waw, which consequently had to open up its top; a clear example stands near the end of the bottom line; there is a possible instance in the middle of the top line (its stem is obvious enough, and the circle is discernible); the character between 'A and the M at the start of line 4 is extremely obscure, but I propose Q for it; immediately below it in line 5 is a much clearer circle on a stem, likewise between 'A and M, but this may be R, as also the example in the middle of line 4; R is a frequently occurring letter, and Q is not, and if we accept all these as Q there will be no cases of R (note that we have the same difficulty distinguishing Q and R on the earlier Izbet Sartah ostracon, as can be seen on Udd's table); total 3.
R (ra'sh "head", Resh, Rho) is a human head, usually with a neck; see the notes on Q, for the possibility that the two cases of R are in lines 4 and 5; the normal difference is that R has a somewhat triangular head on its stem, while Q has a circle or oval on its stick; total 2, or more (?).
Sh (thad/shad "breast", Shin and Sin, Sigma) was a human breast (thad), standing for Th, while Sh had various representations of the sun (shimsh), a circle as the sun-disc, or a circle with a serpent, or a serpent (or two) with no disc; at the beginning of line 2 is a vertical example (like Sigma), and towards the end of the line a horizontal form, which became the standard Shin ("tooth"!) and Sin; total 2.
T (taw "mark, signature", Taw, Tau) has always been a cross (+ or x); one example stands near the very end of the inscription; another is in the third position at the top; there are two cases of T above Y, in the top right corner, and between L and B in line 3 (a very faint impression remaining); I propose another at the stary of line 2, between; total 5.
Frequency test
To test whether the occurrences of each letter in this text are commensurate with their relative frequency in a typical Classical Hebrew document, I constructed a chart on the basis of Psalm 18 (17 verses out of 51), which is attributed to "the servant of the LORD, David".
The two most frequent letters to emerge from this exercise on Psalm 18 are Yod (in first position) and Waw (in second place), and this is very surprising, because in documents in other ancient West Semitic languages (Ugaritic and Phoenician), W is among the infrequent letters, and Y is in or around tenth place. One portion of the explanation for the anomaly is that Y and W are also used as vowel-letters (matres lectionis) in Biblical Hebrew (and modern Hebrew); another factor is the ubiquity of the Divine Name, which includes Y and W, and also H (twice). H occurs in the Qeiyafa inscription (in the combination YH, and in 'LHM); thus the Sacred Name is not present in its full form (YHWH), nor is the definite article ha (which was not used in early West Semitic languages).
The most infrequent letters in Hebrew are: Zayin (here 0), Sin (0), Samek (0) Tet (2 but in a recurring word ShPT.), Gimel (1); so this is an acceptable result.
Also rare are: Sadey (here u2), Pe (2 but in a recurring word ShPT.), Het (2), Qop (3, an unusual outcome, appearing in three different words).
Less rare (at the halfway mark) is Dalet, and yet it holds first place in this text (7x, but in the same word `BD three times, and in a name which begins and ends with D).
The full results are (with positions from Psalm 18 in brackets, and apparent anomalies marked with an asterisk*):
'A 5 (5) B 5 (9) G 19 (17) *D 1! (11) H 12 (13) *W 9 (2) Z 22 (21) H. 12 (14) T. 16 (22)
*Y 8 (1) K 19 (15) L 1 (3) M 1 (4) N 9 (10) S 21 (20) `O 4 (7) P 12 (16) S. 12 (19) Q 9 (18)
R 12 (6) Sh 12 (12) Sin 23 (23) T 5 (8)
The correspondences are mostly unobjectionable, and the deviant cases (W Y D) have been explained above.
Interpretation of the text
I have played with all kinds of possible meanings already: here, there, and elsewhere
(http://bonzoz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/goliath.html).
This time I will follow another line of interpretation.
We need to remember the problems that confront us in approaching such ancient texts:
(1) the aging and fading of the writing over 3000 years;
(2) the idiosyncratic handwriting style of the scribe (no consistency in this case);
(3) the lack of spaces or points to separate the words;
(4) the absence of signs for vowels (only consonants are shown);
(5) the intended meaning of the text is known only to its author.