Apr 16, 2021 23:00:00

An ancient inscription unraveling the 'missing link' of the alphabet is discovered

The alphabet is a one-letter system of vowels and consonants, such as Latin and Greek letters. The oldest of these alphabets is believed to have begun to be used in Egypt around 1900 BC, but a new inscription around 1450 BC that provides clues to the evolution of the alphabet is a study of the Australian Academy of Sciences. Discovered by the team.

Early alphabetic writing in the ancient Near East: the'missing link' from Tel Lachish | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/early-alphabetic-writing-in-the-ancient-near-east-the-missing-link-from-tel-lachish/C73F769B7CF3A7E4E2607958A096B7D8

Alphabet's'missing link' possibly discovered | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/alphabet-missing-link-israel.html

According to the research team, it is believed that the early alphabet began to be used in Egypt and then spread to areas called 'Levant ', including present-day Israel, Syria, and Lebanon, and spread to Greece and Rome. thing. However, no evidence of the alphabet's transmission from Egypt to Levant has been found so far.

The research team conducted an archaeological excavation at

the Bronze Age archaeological site 'Lachish ' in Israel to find evidence of the alphabet being transmitted from Egypt to Levant. As a result, a piece of pottery with a size of about 40 mm x 35 mm with letters was excavated. Dating the debris revealed that it was a piece of pottery made around 1450 BC, which is believed to have ruled Egypt by the Levant people.

Since the era of 1450 BC is between the time when the alphabet began to be used in Egypt and the time when the alphabet was transmitted from Levant to Greece and Rome, the research team said, 'The piece of pottery discovered this time is a missing link . You can consider it. '

According to the research team, the letters on the debris are divided into two lines, and the upper line is the Hebrew letters ' ע (Ain) ' ' ב (Bate) ' ' ד (Daletto) ' in order from the right. It is said that the characters corresponding to are lined up. If you read the three letters 'עבד' from the right, it means 'slave', but the research team thinks these three letters are part of some word.

Also, in the lower line, the characters corresponding to 'נ ', ' פ ', and ' ת ' are lined up in order from the right. If you read the three characters 'נפת' from the right, It is a word for 'honey' or 'honey'. Also, if you read 'תפנ' in reverse order from the right, it becomes the verb 'turn', but the research team speculates that these characters are also part of some word like the upper line.