And he was a talented fellow!
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 ...
It would be nice to know if large numbers of Etruscan books were recycled as mummy bandages, a practice that led to preservation of some fragments of a some ancient works.
And he was a talented fellow!
I’d forgotten that ancient cultures invented the concept of recycling out necessity-no EPA needed...
I’ve read that a number of Roman Empire power brokers insisted they were descended from ancestors who were buried in Etruscan tombs-it would be interesting to know if that ancestry was really widespread...
Similar story, with a vid, from Reuters (the vid failed to load for me, perhaps you’ll have better luck):
Etruscan stone could help unravel enigma of one of Italy’s first civilizations
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-art-etruscan-idUSKCN0XM0VC
The video was interesting in that it showed some of the techniques and progress they are making in clarifying the lettering. Their written language seems crude when compared with their sculpture. They should have enough to work on though.
Thanks for the link!!!
My pleasure, thanks again for posting the topic!
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