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Text in lost language may reveal god or goddess worshipped by Etruscans at ancient temple:
SMU Research Home ^ | 3/28/2016 | SMU

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 ...


TOPICS: History; Religion; Science
KEYWORDS: archaeology; epigraphyandlanguage; etruria; etruscan; etruscans; fiorenza; firenze; florence; godsgravesglyphs; gregorywarden; italy; lemnian; lemnianstele; lemnos; mugellovalley; poggiocolla; romanempire; rome; tuscany
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To: chrisser

I think they will be difficult becuause they do not have the help of having Greek letters to help

Linier B is much more dificult as they have to start from the begging as it appears to not be written in Greek.


21 posted on 03/29/2016 6:29:26 PM PDT by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: yarddog

Remember even with the Rosetta storne it took q long time


22 posted on 03/29/2016 6:31:52 PM PDT by yarddog (Romans 8:38-39, For I am persuaded.)
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To: yarddog
The Etruscan alphabet is derived from the Greek alphabet so they know approximately how to pronounce the text. There are some words in Etruscan whose meaning is known. Most of the known texts are grave markers so they know words like "son" and "lived."

There is a very fine Etruscan museum in the city of Volterra (which has an intact Etruscan-era arch in the city wall). The Villa Giulia Museum in Rome has some very nice Etruscan sculptures. The archaeological museum in Perugia has one of the longest Etruscan texts (on a stele).

The Linear B system is completely different from the later Greek alphabet, but since 1952 the values of most of the symbols are known so the texts can be more or less read...It is an early form of Greek (several hundred years earlier than Homer). Linear A is a similar syllabary used for a non-Greek language which has not been deciphered.

23 posted on 03/29/2016 6:44:56 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: JimSEA

Thought the Etruscans worshipped the Earth Mother goddess?


24 posted on 03/29/2016 6:55:58 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite it's unfashionability)
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To: JimSEA
Etruscan language:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_language

25 posted on 03/29/2016 6:57:38 PM PDT by TChad
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To: JimSEA

Holy Priceless Collection of Etruscan Snoods Batman!


26 posted on 03/29/2016 7:06:34 PM PDT by xp38
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To: dp0622
boy, trying carrying around a bible printed that way :)

It would be pretty easy to drop one third of the fifteen commandments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXeTsWGPT0w

27 posted on 03/29/2016 7:29:38 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (An orange jumpsuit is the new black pantsuit.)
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To: KarlInOhio

lol. I wonder what the other five were?


28 posted on 03/29/2016 7:31:11 PM PDT by dp0622
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To: Chewbarkah

Thanks. These ancient mysteries are fascinating.


29 posted on 03/29/2016 7:58:49 PM PDT by Jack Hammer (uff said.)
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To: JimSEA

It could be the menu for McEtruscans. You know, 5 million served.


30 posted on 03/29/2016 8:21:08 PM PDT by Redcitizen
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To: Adder

Remington Stele could figure it out.


31 posted on 03/29/2016 8:23:11 PM PDT by Redcitizen
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To: JimSEA
Thanks! I hadn't seen this. There are only a literal handful of what might be termed "longer texts" of Etruscan, most known Etruscan inscriptions consist of names (or abbreviations) on gravestones.

32 posted on 03/29/2016 11:48:22 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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http://www.lib.umt.edu/lang/smalfamh.htm#Etrusc

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3241490/posts


33 posted on 03/30/2016 12:01:15 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; decimon; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; ...

Thanks JimSEA.

34 posted on 03/30/2016 2:06:06 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: SunkenCiv

What a find-I hope it is something insightful-not just someone’s recipe for biscuits...


35 posted on 03/30/2016 2:29:55 PM PDT by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: Texan5

;’)


36 posted on 03/30/2016 2:58:11 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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To: SunkenCiv

The number of characters isn’t huge, but if they are still excavating there, maybe there is more stuff with characters to be found?


37 posted on 03/30/2016 3:39:45 PM PDT by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
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To: JimSEA; SunkenCiv

Back in the day when I was studying ancient history at Columbia, one of the professors had a course on the Etruscans. Her father was a famous academician and archaeologist who worked on some of the earliest digs of Etruscan tombs and cities.

I remember that there was no translation of the Etruscan language and the aricle refers to it as a lost language still. Apparently no Rosetta stone has been found?


38 posted on 03/30/2016 3:47:52 PM PDT by wildbill (If you check behind the shower curtain for a slasher, and find one.... what's your plan?)
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To: JimSEA; SunkenCiv

Back in the day when I was studying ancient history at Columbia, one of the professors had a course on the Etruscans. Her father was a famous academician and archaeologist who worked on some of the earliest digs of Etruscan tombs and cities.

I remember that there was no translation of the Etruscan language and the aricle refers to it as a lost language still. Apparently no Rosetta stone has been found?


39 posted on 03/30/2016 3:47:52 PM PDT by wildbill (If you check behind the shower curtain for a slasher, and find one.... what's your plan?)
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To: wildbill

There’s at least one — but the relative lengths differ by a bit:

The Pyrgi Tablets: Bilingual Etruscan and Phoenician Text Inscribed in Gold (Circa 500 BCE)
http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?id=4676


40 posted on 03/30/2016 3:53:20 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Here's to the day the forensics people scrape what's left of Putin off the ceiling of his limo.)
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