Spanish archaeologists recently announced the discovery of ancient stones engraved with mysterious symbols.
Experts believe the symbols are in fact an ancient alphabet, and if their interpretation is correct, the tablet would be the third “attested southern ancient Hispanic alphabet,” according to the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
The stone was discovered at the Casas del Tournuelo site of Tartessos in the province of Badajoz in southwestern Spain, CSIC explained in a press release translated from Spanish to English. The slab is about eight inches long and dates to around 600 B.C.
Tartessos is an ancient civilization that dominated the southern Iberian Peninsula over 3,000 years ago. The civilization is considered “lost” as very few remains of it remain, and the discovery of this stone slab is part of a project called “Construction of Tartessos”.
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Spanish archaeologists have discovered an ancient alphabet while excavating the ruins of ancient Tartessos. (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)/Getty Images)
“[The study’s] “The main objective is to characterize the material culture of Tartessos through the architectural analysis of the large adobe buildings excavated in recent decades and to introduce the concept of architecture as an integrated element of the region,” the CSIC website explains.
Experts identified the stone slab as having “21 symbols painted in sequence within its borders, and also contains the image of a warrior.”
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Experts are working to decipher the alphabet of Tartessos, an ancient civilization that occupied the southern Iberian Peninsula more than 3,000 years ago. (Getty Images/Spanish National Research Council (CSIC))
Joan Ferrer i Llanet, a researcher at the University of Barcelona, recognised the artifact as being from Tartessos.
“Besides the diagram, when I looked at the plate, there appeared to be an ancient Hispanic signature on one side that cannot be confused with any other signature,” he explained. “The other strokes match known sequence signatures. [were also seen]”
“This alphabet has 27 letters and is the only complete one we know to date,” he added. “Another one was found in the excavations at Villasviejas del Tamuja (Cáceres), but it is very fragmentary and only contains a few core letters… [this one] It’s the third one and it will give us a lot of information.”
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Experts believe that the Tartessian alphabet may contain some lost characters. (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC))
According to the CSIC, the slab contains 21 symbols, or letters, and is thought to be unfinished, with experts believing it once contained as many as 32 symbols.
“At least six symbols would be missing in the section where the fragment was cut, but if it was perfectly symmetrical and the symbols occupied three of the plate’s four sides completely, we would reach 32 symbols. The missing symbols could therefore be 11, or even more if the symbol ‘Tu’, possibly isolated on one quarter of a side, was part of the alphabet,” Feller explained.
A photo was taken on April 17, 2024 at the ruins of Casas de Turnuelo Tartessos in Guarena, Extremadura, western Spain. (Christina Cuicler/AFP via Getty Images)
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“After studying the images, everything indicates that it is a Southern script alphabet with the initial letters ABeKaTuIKeLBaNS?ŚTaUE,” he added.
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