Posted on 03/29/2016 5:41:03 PM PDT by JimSEA
Archaeologists in Italy have discovered what may be a rare sacred text in the Etruscan language that is likely to yield rich details about Etruscan worship of a god or goddess.
The lengthy text is inscribed on a large 6th century BCE sandstone slab that was uncovered from an Etruscan temple.
A new religious artifact is rare. Most Etruscan discoveries typically have been grave and funeral objects.
“This is probably going to be a sacred text, and will be remarkable for telling us about the early belief system of a lost culture that is fundamental to western traditions,” said archaeologist Gregory Warden, co-director and principal investigator of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, which made the discovery.
The slab, weighing about 500 pounds and nearly four feet tall by more than two feet wide, has at least 70 legible letters and punctuation marks, said Warden, professor emeritus at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, main sponsor of the project.
Scholars in the field predict the stele (STEE-lee), as such slabs are called, will yield a wealth of new knowledge about the lost culture of the Etruscans.
The slab, weighing about 500 pounds and nearly four feet tall by more than two feet wide, has at least 70 legible letters and punctuation marks, likely with new words never seen before. (Credit: Mugello Valley Project) The stele has at least 70 legible letters and punctuation marks, likely with new words never seen before. The Etruscan civilization once ruled Rome and influenced Romans on everything from religion to government to art to architecture.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.smu.edu ...
For your interest. You’ve likely already got this.
I’m betting the Etruscans loved their Ovaltine.
They were texting? How ‘bout Tweeting?
The slab, weighing about 500 pounds and nearly four feet tall by more than two feet wide...
boy, trying carrying around a bible printed that way :)
They always assume everything they find is religious. It’s either a shopping list or a Honey-do list.
I would think political propaganda would be quite likely.
Senator Crassus and the 7 Whores?
Must have been an interesting week.
Let me guess - Gozer worship.
Maybe it says “Made in China”
Make Etruria Great Again!
Trumpus Maximus?
Seventy legible letters? How much wealth of detail can the experts torture out of that? That’s shorter than this post.
"Rich details" from 70 characters?
Question for someone in the know: How likely is it this will ever be translated?
http://phys.org/news/2016-03-text-lost-language-reveal-god.html
here are some more viewd of it.
“STELE!!”
:Stanley Kowalski
“Eat at Joes”
I’m not in the know, but given that nothing in Etruscan has ever been translated and it is considered a “lost language” (even in the thread title), I’d guess a heck of a long time. If these 70 characters somehow help decode the whole language, I’d be surprised, but this stele does seem to have some context to work with.
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