The letter series found in Spain belongs to the old alphabet. The writing on the plate is tight Relating to the Phoenician alphabet, which had a great influence on later writing systems.Including Latin, Spanish and English. Researchers hope the find will expand their understanding of the developing pre-Roman civilization’s writing system. So far only incomplete or poorly dated examples have been found.

Details of the find

Joan Ferrer y Janet is a programmer from Barcelona who also does research on ancient languages ​​at the University of Barcelona. She was looking at photos from an archaeological site in Casas del Turunuelo in southern Spain. The place, Dated to the 5th century BCIt is one of several cities associated with Tartessos, an ancient city and province of the same name that existed in southern Spain in the II-I millennium BC. This civilization arose as a result of cultural exchange between the indigenous inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula and the Phoenician settlers who arrived here around the 10th century BC.

Ancient Greek texts mention the existence of a city called Tartess, as recent finds have shown. a complex culture with dizzying material wealth Due to the abundance of iron, silver and gold in the region, this civilization mysteriously disappeared in the late 5th century BC.

Tartess and its dependent territories / Photo Wikimedia

First excavated in 2015, Casas del Turunuelo features a large temple that experts believe was deliberately burned and buried as part of a ceremonial ritual. According to archaeologists, the clay used for the tomb sealed the area, ensuring the contents remained in good condition.

During this year’s excavations, archaeologists found: An almost square stone with warriors, geometric shapes, faces and other signs carved on it. It appears to be a craftsman’s or apprentice’s sketch board, according to excavation co-leader Esther Rodríguez González of the Mérida Institute of Archaeology in Spain.

Plaque with inscription / Photo courtesy of the Spanish National Research Council

The photograph that Joan Ferrer and Janet saw highlighted the silhouettes of the warriors, but he noticed something else, too.

As soon as I saw the board, a symbol immediately caught my eye.
says.

This was the Paleo-Hispanic version of the capital letter “i”, which he said could not be confused with anything else. He wrote to archaeologists who sent him high-resolution images. Ferrer was able to see 15 symbols at once and clues to more letterswould require special visualization methods to identify. The lower part of the board, which could potentially contain additional symbols, is unfortunately missing. Ferrer believes that There can be a maximum of 32 characters on the board.

Ferrer has already been invited to collaborate in studying the symbols.

Warriors selected by archaeologists for final processing / Photo: Esther Rodríguez González/CSIC

Only two alphabetic inscriptions have been found in the area once believed to be part of Tartessus: one with 27 characters but poorly dated, and the other with only a few characters preserved.

José Ángel Zamora López, an expert on the origins of alphabetic writing at the Institute of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Languages ​​and Cultures, explains that this new example is well dated and confirms the literacy of the inhabitants of Casas del Turunuelo in the 5th century BC.

Analysis of the plate revealed additional letters outlined in green / Photo: CSIC

The study of symbols will be particularly useful in tracing the linguistic and cultural evolution of these regions. Researchers are not sure whether the same writing system was used at Tartessus or whether there were regional differences. Like the other two examples, this alphabet is derived from the 22-letter Phoenician alphabet, but has unique variations that may indicate how it evolved from earlier versions.

The missing tablet fragment may be of particular interest, as different sounds and new symbols were often placed at the end of the alphabetic inscription or abecedari.

Archaeologists assisted by Ferrer plan to re-examine all the pieces collected during the excavation in the hope of finding more inscriptions, or perhaps even a missing piece of the tablet.