https://www.sciencenews.org/article/lost-civilization-alphabet-social-media
A sequence of letters belonging to an ancient
alphabet has been discovered in a most unusual
way — by someone scrolling through social media.
The inscription, on a slate slab unearthed in
Spain, is closely linked to the Phoenician
alphabet, which was hugely influential on later
writing systems including Latin, Spanish and
English. Researchers hope that the finding will
expand their understanding of a prosperous
pre-Roman civilization’s writing system. Until
now, only incomplete or poorly dated samples
had been found. The Spanish National Research
Council announced the discovery in a June 11
press release.
Earlier this month, Joan Ferrer i Jané, a
software engineer based in Barcelona, was
browsing updates on X, formerly Twitter, from an
archaeological dig at Casas del Turuñuelo in
southern Spain. Dating to the 5th century B.C.,
the site is one of several connected with
Tartessos. This civilization emerged in what is
today southwestern Spain from the cultural
exchange between the Iberian peninsula’s
indigenous dwellers and Phoenician settlers who
arrived around the 10th century B.C. Ancient
Greek texts mention the existence of a city
called Tartessos, which recent findings are
revealing was in fact a complex culture with
stunning material wealth due to abundant iron,
silver and gold in the region. This
civilization mysteriously disappeared towards
the end of the 5th century B.C.
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