Markings carved into a stone slab found last month beneath an Iron Age temple in Grakliani, Georgia may be the oldest example of a native alphabet ever discovered in the region between the European and Asian borders known as the Caucasus, experts are claiming.
These markings, which were discovered by archaeologists at Ivane Javakashvili Tbilisi State University (TSU), did not show animals or people, nor were they random decorative elements, according to National Geographic. Rather, they appeared to be letters, which would make them 1,000 years older than any previously-discovered indigenous writing.
The inscriptions were carved into a stone slab discovered beneath the collapsed alter at an Iron Age temple in Grakliani, and the 31 inch by 3 inch portion that has already been excavated has at least five curved shapes hollowed out deep within the stone. The script itself is unique, but bears some similarities to letters in ancient Greek and Aramaic.
Vakhtang Licheli, head of the TSU archaeology institute and leader of excavations at Grakliani over the past eight years, said that the discovery was “important for the history of Georgia,” and for the “history of the development of writing” as well. Based on the lack of repetition found in the markings, he told National Geographic that there was no doubt they were part of an alphabet.
Markings believed to date back to the 7th century BC
In addition, Licheli pointed out that the inscriptions were very smooth, indicating that the person who carved them was “very comfortable” doing so, and that this individual had probably worked on similar characters before. Since the temple has been dated to the seventh century BC, he said that the writing is likely just as old, which would drastically change the region’s history.
Pottery fragments recovered at the site resemble those from others of a similar age recovered in other parts of Georgia, particularly in terms of color, material, and design, Licheli explained. The discovery would be the first signs of literacy in this part of the world (an area that the Greeks and Romans had called Iberia) during the Iron Age, and he hopes to find even more inscriptions.
Previous work led by the TSU archaeologist discovered a multitude of other artifacts at the site, including children’s toys carved out of stone, imitation Persian pottery, a stone temple from the fifth-century BC which blended ancient Persian Zoroastrian altar architecture with ram sculptures representing Caucasian folk gods, and even an Egyptian scarab beetle.
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Feature Image: Wikimedia Commons
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