Trace of Ancient Alphabet Found on a Slate Slab Unearthed in Spain; Confirms Literacy Among El Turuñuelo’s Inhabitants

An ancient alphabet was inscribed on a square slate rock that was dug during this year's excavation at El Turuñuelo.

Ancient Alphabet Inscribed on a Rock

Experts suspect that the massive temple at El Turuñuelo, which was initially unearthed in 2015, was intentionally burned down and buried as part of a ceremonial event. Archaeologists claim that the burial clay sealed the site and preserved its contents.

Archaeologists discovered a square slate rock etched with faces, geometric forms, and warriors during this year's digs. According to the Spanish Archaeological Institute of Mérida co-director of excavations Esther Rodríguez González, it appears to have been a sketching tool for an apprentice or artisan.

A June 6 press release and the research team's social media posts emphasized the warriors' silhouettes. However, when reading through updates on X, formerly Twitter, Joan Ferrer i Jané, a software engineer based in Barcelona and a part-time researcher in ancient languages at the University of Barcelona, discovered something.

According to Ferrer, her eyes went straight to one symbol the moment she saw the slate. He immediately noticed the capital "i" in the Paleohispanic version. The archaeologists responded to his letter with high-definition photos. Ferrer found 15 symbols and clues to other letters, the identification of which will need specialized imaging methods.

The tablet's lower portion, which might have contained further characters, is gone. According to Ferrer, up to 32 symbols may have been on the slate.

Rodríguez González commended Ferrer for identifying the symbols that her team had overlooked, particularly since the images of them on the internet had them upside down. Ferrer has received an invitation to work with him on the symbol analysis.

Only two alphabet inscriptions have been discovered in the region that is believed to have formerly been a part of Tartessos: one has 27 symbols but is badly dated, and the other has only a few symbols surviving.

José ángel Zamora López, an expert on the origins of alphabetic writing at the Institute of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures in Madrid, stated that this new, well-dated example offers a clearer picture of the Tartessian writing system and confirms literacy among El Turuñuelo's inhabitants in the 5th century B.C.

Who Are the Tartessians?

The Tartessian culture existed in the southwestern region of Spain between the 9th and 6th century BCE. Originally covered by a massive gulf that bordered the Mediterranean Sea, the region between the present cities of Huelva and Cadiz is today characterized by the lower course of the Guadalquivir. Tartessos encompassed this gulf's shores and the areas that lie to its East and north, which are now included in the province of Andalucía.

The first millennium BCE saw the discovery of Tartessos by the Mediterranean people, who considered it a legendary location, far away and teeming with treasures. The Bible made repeated references to Tartessos' wealth. Still, the land remained legendary, far less well-known "El Dorado" until archaeologists eventually discovered remnants of the Tartessian culture in the latter part of the 20th century CE.

Since the Tartessians left no written records and the ancient writers only mentioned this long-gone land in passing, understanding this distinct culture, which was the first on the Iberian Peninsula to have close contact with the ancient cultures of the East, requires archaeological research.

The ancient people who reportedly burned their culture to the ground had an advanced society that vanished 2,500 years ago. They sacrificed horses, cows, donkeys, pigs, dogs, and possibly humans, and after the sacrifice, they burned the site and buried the courtyard in nearly 14 feet of dirt and clay. There is no known record of the last known members of the Tartesso civilization.

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