| Wadi El-Hol Inscription
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Description:
This inscription was discovered in 1999 by John and Deborah Darnell in Egypt. This inscription is about 4,000 years old and is the oldest example discovered to date of the ancient Semitic script. While an accurate translation of the full inscription is not possible, a possible translation is "many rise and toil from the [unknown word/s] from the city."
Era:
Early Semitic Script
Image Credit:
Bruce Zuckerman and Marilyn Lundberg
Date of Inscription:
c. 2000 BCE
Location of Discovery:
Wadi el-Hol, Egypt
Date of Discovery:
1998
Current Location:
Wadi el-Hol, Egypt
Language:
Unknown Semitic (Many Semitic words are common among many differnt tribes)
Writing Surface:
Stone
Transliteration:
R-B-Q-W-M-W-H-W-G or P-M-H?-A-Ah?-M-Gh/Hh-R? (right to left)
Translation:
Many (R-B/rav) Rise (Q-W-M/qum) and (W) toil (H-W-G/hug) from (M) the (H) ? (A-Ah) from (M) the City (Gh-R/Ahiyr)
(Translation by Jeff A. Benner)
Comments:
This apparently Semitic inscription is the oldest example of an alphabetic inscription
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