Stela inscribed in Etruscan
Posted on 07/09/2016 1:51:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
An inscribed stone slab unearthed at an Etruscan site in Tuscany is proving to contain one of the most difficult texts to decipher. It was believed that the sixth-century B.C. stela would shed light on the still-mysterious Etruscan language, but so far it remains a puzzle. “To be honest, I’m not yet sure what type of text was incised on the stela,” says Rex Wallace, professor of classics at the University of Massachusetts. Inscribed with vertical dots and at least 70 legible letters, the four-foot-tall and two-foot-wide slab had been buried for more than 2,500 years in the foundations of a monumental temple at Poggio Colla, some 22 miles northeast of Florence in the Mugello Valley. Archaeologists speculate that the text, written right to left, may refer to a goddess who was worshiped at the site, but so far no name of any god or goddess has been found. “The inscription is divided into words by means of three vertically aligned dots, so it’s possible to identify some of the word forms in the text,” Wallace says. “Unfortunately, most of the words that have been identified, apart from the numeral ki, ‘three,’ appear to be new additions to the Etruscan lexicon and we can’t yet pinpoint the meanings,” he adds.
One of antiquity’s great enigmas, the Etruscans began to flourish around 900 B.C., and dominated much of Italy for five centuries. By around 300 to 100 B.C., they were absorbed into the Roman Empire. Their non-Indo-European language eventually died out, and much of what we know comes from short funerary inscriptions. “Now we are adding another example to the inventory of texts that aren’t short and formulaic,” Wallace explains. “However, this means it will be very difficult to interpret, for that very reason.”
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Stela inscribed in Etruscan
I bet it says drink your Ovaltine.
Archaelogist: Wow! I didn’t know Google Translate was that good!
It says “Thank you for your purchase, this is your receipt. Have a nice day!”
You're, in fact, fortunate. So many new words! And a new job ahead - finding another language equalents.
Etruscan lives matter.....kill the Roman cops
So, someone previously cracked the code and these guys came along and “uncracked” it.
Holy Etruscan Snoods Batman!
“Dance like no one is watching.”
“By around 300 to 100 B.C., they were absorbed into the Roman Empire.”
Pretty good trick considering the Empire was yet to be established.
;’)
Etruscan
Rhaetian
The U of MT — Mansfield Library LangFing Small Families
http://www.lib.umt.edu/lang/smalfamh.htm#Etrusc
Etruscan alphabet and language
Omniglot — the online encyclopedia of writing systems & languages
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/etruscan.htm
"I did not send or receive any stone slabs marked classified."
Yeah, I thought so...
Text in lost language may reveal god or goddess worshipped by Etruscans at ancient temple:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3415367/posts
related to Etruscan:
The Lemnos Stele
http://www.carolandray.plus.com/Eteocretan/Lemnian.html
http://www.carolandray.plus.com/Eteocretan/Lemnos.gif
New Lemnian Inscription
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3241490/posts
Wiki-wacky: Lemnian language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemnian_language
BBC
Monday, 26 May, 2003
It says “Learn Greek at RosettaStone.com”
The Roman Empire was well-established, so what are you talking about? The first conquest was of nearby Ostia (now a tourist attraction, Ostia Antica). Other neighboring settlements got gobbled up during the second half of the last millennium BC. The so-called Roman Republic was a hereditary oligarchy, where a handful of families owned and/or ran everything, and it had an empire that included most of Italy. The title Imper Iter (emperor) was bestowed many a time before Julius Caesar (including upon his colleague and rival, Pompey), but the count is generally begun with Octavian/Augustus, who was the first permanent chief executive, an evolved necessity; if anything the Roman Empire was far more egalitarian and representative than the so-called republic ever was or was intended to be.
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