3 ms·

> Until now, scholars had supposed the Vascones had no proper written language – save for words found on coins That seems to be a pretty ridiculous supposition

• oersted 4y ago
  The writing in this finding uses the iberian alphabet with some minor modifications. The iberian language has different indo-european roots, so it seems that indeed Vascones didn't have their own writing system, as was common for many languages of this era and later in history. It is also what evidence suggested (until now), pretty much no basque writings have been found until well into the middle ages, besides a few words in headstones and coins. Although we know the language was there because the Romans referred to it. Scholars probably assumed that some writing was taking place, but there is very little proof of it, so better to stick to what we know. It is intriguing that it looks like this object was a welcome message hung on a door, kind of like a welcome doormat. The object was found on top of a door, it has clear signs that it was nailed in an upright position with a wooden nail, and the first word is almost exactly the same modern basque word that is used to mean "welcome", "congratulations" or "happy". If this theory is correct, it suggests a significantly higher level of literacy than would be expected in a small town from this era. Why would you put up a welcome sign if guests wouldn't understand it?