Never-before-seen alphabet of lost civilisation unearthed in Spain

Harriet Brewis
12h


It’s hard to imagine that an entire civilisation can be swallowed by the sands of time. After all, think of what it would be like if our own disappeared one day practically without a trace. And yet, experts dedicate their careers to uncovering clues about the communities and populations of our distant past.

Now, archaeologists in Spain have unearthed an ancient rock slab inscribed with a complete alphabet which they believe belonged to the “lost” civilisation of Tartessos. The Tartessos were an ancient people that first settled in the Iberian peninsula around the eighth century BC and were known for their elaborate writing system, Live Science notes.

By the fourth century BC, they mysteriously vanished, and are now considered a lost society owing to the scarcity of artefacts they left behind. This is why the discovery of the eight-inch rock is so significant.

The slab dates back as early as 600 BC, making it some 400 years older than Egypt’s iconic Rosetta Stone, and is only the third piece of evidence that the Tartessos people had their own alphabet, Fox News reports.

More:
https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/tartessos-ancient-civilization-stone