US researchers have discovered what appears to be the oldest known alphabetic writing in the world, after finding finger-length clay cylinders from a tomb in Syria with the etched details. Using carbon-14 dating techniques, the researchers at John Hopkins University determined that the cylinders were made around 2400 B.C.E., which makes them around 500 years older than any other known alphabetic scripts. Alongside the writings, the researchers discovered Early Bronze Age tombs, including a well-preserved grave with six burials inside.

The bodies were accompanied by gold and silver jewellery, cookware, a spearhead, and pottery vessels. Four “lightly baked clay cylinders” were next to the pottery and were etched with alphabetic writing. Notably, they were found in 2004 and described in an academic paper in 2021 but only gained prominence this week as one of the researchers presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research.

“This new discovery shows that people were experimenting with new communication technologies much earlier and in a different location than we had imagined before now,” said Glenn Schwartz, a professor of archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, associated with the research.

Also Read | Archaeologists Discover a Hidden Ancient Language Dating Back 3,000 Years

‘Different origin’

Long before alphabet came into existence, human civilisations used different means to communicate. While the Sumerians of Mesopotamia used cuneiforms or small images, the ancient Egyptians developed hieroglyphics, and Chinese characters built the written language piece by piece.

“Previously, scholars thought the alphabet was invented in or around Egypt sometime after 1900 BCE. Our artefacts are older and from a different area on the map, suggesting the alphabet may have an entirely different origin story than we thought,” Mr Schwartz added.

The form of writing, discovered on the clay cylinder may have revolutionised language by making it accessible to people not belonging to the royalty and social elite. However, the scientists have been unable to translate what the writing on the cylinder means.

“The cylinders were perforated, so I’m imagining a string tethering them to another object to act as a label. Maybe they detail the contents of a vessel, or maybe where the vessel came from, or who it belonged to. Without a means to translate the writing, we can only speculate.”

A joint Egyptian-American mission of archaeologists has been shocked after unearthing 11 sealed burials in a tomb, near South Asasif necropolis, next to the Temple of Hatshepsut on the Nile’s West Bank in Luxor. According to Egypt’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry, the 11 graves contained skeletons of men, women and children which indicated that it was a family grave that may have been used for several generations through the 12th Dynasty and the beginning of the 13th Dynasty.

“The joint Egyptian-American archaeological mission working on the restoration project of the South Al-Assif cowardice has discovered the first medieval cemetery with many unopened closed graves for men, women and children as well as a collection of unique artefacts,” read the statement.

Mohamed Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt said most of the burials had been heavily damaged due to floods which destroyed the timber of coffins and wrapped linen fabrics.

Also read | Over 1,400 Mummies Found In Hidden “City Of The Dead” In Egypt

The jewellery and mirrors

However, the discovery included a trove of exquisitely crafted jewellery as well as a figurine that has been described as an “important find”. The necklace was a unique find as it consisted of “30 cylinder-shaped beads of amethyst stone with two cylinder beads of agate surrounding a hippopotamus head”.

Inside two of the burials, the archaeologists found brass mirrors, one with a lotus-shaped handle, another with a rare design of the face of the goddess Hathor with four faces showing her as a woman of rigorous features.

“The fertile blue and green Venetian stone with severed legs, well designed and decorated with an assortment of jewellery, and her hair is painted black, around 4,000 clay beads were found next to the small statue, forming her natural hair,” said Dr. Elena Batchkova, the director of the South Sensitive Cowardice Preservation Project.

In June earlier this year, 36 tombs with 20 to 40 mummies in each one were discovered in the city of Aswan — situated on the Nile River’s east bank and established 4,500 years ago. The tombs were dated between 600 BC and 300 AD — a time period that covers many important parts of history, including the Persian rule, the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty and the Roman rule.

Gabriel Zuchtriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Archaeologists in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii near the city of Naples have uncovered charcoal sketches drawn by children as young as six years old, depicting possibly violent fights they may have witnessed.

The sketches of gladiator stick figures were discovered during excavations in recent months in Pompeii, a once-thriving city that was destroyed when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago.

Archaeologists also found the outlines of three small hands, two figures playing with a ball, a hunting scene possibly featuring a boar, and two fighters, one of whom is lying flat on the ground.

The director of the site, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said the naive line drawings, found on the wall of a house known as the “Colonnaded Cenacle”, were probably done by children aged six or seven.

Psychologists from the Federico II University in Naples believed the sketches depicted events the children had witnessed, rather than imagined, he said.

“In Pompeii, even young children were exposed to extreme violence between humans and between humans and animals in the sands of the ancient city’s amphitheatre,” Mr. Zuchtriegel said.

Other discoveries this week included a unique portrait of a hooded child with a small dog at his feet, found in the so-called “House of the Painters at Work”.

At the entrance of that house, the skeletons of a man and a woman were discovered, an elderly couple that had probably sought refuge in vain from the pumice and ash that rapidly overwhelmed the city during the volcanic eruption.

Last month, authorities in Pompeii revealed a black-walled dining hall with paintings inspired by the Trojan War, while in March, a building site was unearthed that shed light on ancient construction techniques.

Archaeologists have unearthed a 1,200-year-old tomb in Panama containing a trove of gold treasures and the remains of what could be human sacrifices, according to The Metro.

The discovery at El Cano Archaeological Park, around 110 miles from Panama City, included precious items like a gold shawl, belts, jewellery, and earrings decorated with whale teeth. Officials believe the items were buried with a high-ranking chief of the Cocle culture, as per the news outlet.

The remains of up to 32 people were also found in the tomb, potentially sacrificed to accompany the leader in the afterlife. The exact number of sacrificed individuals is still under investigation.

“The treasure has incalculable value,” said Linette Montenegro from the Panamanian Ministry of Culture.

The tomb is believed to have been built in 750 AD for a high-status male leader. The lord was buried face down on top of a female companion, a burial custom for the elite at the time.

“Simultaneous burials involved the interment of a variable number of people alongside people of high status,” explained Dr Julia Mayo, director of the excavations. “These people were sacrificed to serve as companions in the afterlife.”

Other artifacts found in the tomb include bracelets, human figure earrings, a crocodile earring, bells, a skirt made of dog teeth, bone flutes, and ceramic items.

Excavations at El Cano have been ongoing since 2008. The tomb is considered a significant historical and cultural discovery, offering a window into the lives of indigenous tribes before European arrival in the Americas. The burial complex, known as a necropolis or city of the dead, was built around 700 AD and abandoned by 1000 AD.

Archaeologists, in collaboration with experts from National Museums Scotland (NMS) and Cardiff University, have revealed the existence of a Neolithic site in Holm on the main Orkney island. Remarkably, despite extensive damage inflicted by Victorian antiquarians more than a century ago, fragments of human bones have been successfully identified. Additionally, the dedicated efforts of local volunteers, in conjunction with students from the University of Central Lancashire, led to the discovery of pottery, stone tools, and a bone pin meticulously carved.

According to The BBC, these ruins are of an “incredibly rare” 5,000-year-old tomb. Despite the damage, the archaeologists have found 14 skeletons of men, women, and children. Archaeologists said the bodies had been carefully set out, and DNA and isotope analysis would show if they were relatives and where they were from.

The news portal further mentioned that the three-week excavation led by Dr Hugo Anderson-Whymark of NMS and Cardiff’s Professor Vicki Cummings has revealed traces of a stone cairn 15m (49ft) in diameter, which had contained a 7 m-long (23ft) passage. The archaeologists said a stone chamber lay at the centre of the cairn, and this was surrounded by six smaller cells.

Dr Anderson-Whymark told The BBC, “This find is extremely exciting. Orkney is exceptionally rich in archaeology, but we never expected to find a tomb of this size in such a small-scale excavation.”

“It’s incredible to think this once impressive monument was nearly lost without record, but fortunately just enough stonework has survived for us to be able to understand the size, form, and construction of this tomb.”