Bashplemi Lake tablet. (Shengalia et al., Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology, 2024) A few years ago, late in the fall of 2021, locals fishing Georgia's Bashplemi Lake in the municipality of Dmanisi came across a long-forgotten piece of history – a small stone tablet inscribed with dozens of mysterious symbols. Now a team of archaeologists from across Georgia has confirmed the impressions represent samples of a script that has never been documented, raising questions on the spread and preservation of writing across the transcontinental region. Roughly the size of an iPad, the basalt tablet features just 39 different characters...