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The 2,000-year-old iron knife, found near Odense on the island of Funen, Denmark, carries the oldest runic inscription known.  Source: Rogvi N Johansen/© Museum Odense

Denmark’s Oldest Runic Inscription Found on the Blade of a 2,000-Year-Old Knife

The discovery of a runic inscription on an almost 2,000-year-old knife sheds light on Denmark's early written language and cultural history – it’s the oldest runic inscription found so far in the...
Within Chinese medicine, dragon bones or long gy have long been prescribed to treat a variety of ailments. Source: Nu / Adobe Stock

Thanks to the ‘Dragon Bones’ Malaria Cure, China Unearthed its Earliest Writing

Believe it or not, but the intriguing discovery of China's earliest writing was thanks to an unlikely ally— malaria . When the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, Wang Yirong, contracted malaria, he...
A hooded scribe working on an ancient manuscript.  Source: UniverseInside / Adobe Stock

Top 10 Mysterious Ancient Manuscripts and Inscriptions Yet to be Deciphered

While exploring the enigmatic depths of ancient history, scholars often stumble upon cryptic relics, among which lie manuscripts that continue to defy the most skilled scholars and linguists. The...
The Book of Deer contains notes in the margin which are the first written examples of Scottish Gaelic and hinted at the location of the monastery where they were written. Source: The Book of Deer Project

Lost Monastery Tied to Oldest Scottish Text “Book of Deer” Unearthed

A monastery, where the earliest surviving Scots Gaelic text was once noted within the margins of a significant Scottish manuscript called the Book of Deer , disappeared from the pages of history...
Mesopotamian clay balls have been unearthed in Iran. Source: Fair use

Mesopotamian Clay Balls: Ancient Relics or Prehistoric Hard Drives?

Research conducted in late 2013 offered intriguing clues to decoding the secrets of the Mesopotamian clay balls, which date back 5,500 years. The study, which used CT scanning to look inside the clay...
Damaidi rock art at Helan Mountain in Ningxia, China. Source: Rita Willaert/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Is 8,000-year-old Damaidi Rock Art the Origin of Chinese Writing?

The Chinese writing system is by far one of the most complex in the world, and its origins are truly ancient. In fact, ​​Chinese characters are the oldest continuously used system of writing in the...
Representational image of a magical Viking rune or Viking Code. Source: Artur / Adobe Stock

Unlocking the Cryptic Viking Code Using Runic Writing and Ancient DNA

Runic script is an alphabetic system based on a non-alphabetical order row. This means that it has letters, like in many languages, but the letters are not arranged in a standard alphabetical order...
Faded Cyrillic script discovered on lead plate. Source: Ivaylo Kanev/Bulgarian National History Museum

Earliest Known Cyrillic Script With Ancient Plea Found at Medieval Bulgarian Fortress

Researchers performing excavations at a medieval fortress in Bulgaria unearthed a weathered and aged lead plate that contained a hard-to-read inscription. In fact, the inscribed words were so faint...
The Story of Sinuhe, one of ancient Egypt’s treasures. Source: art_of_line/Adobe Stock

The Captivating Story of Sinuhe: A Powerful Glimpse into Ancient Egypt

One of the most captivating tales in Egyptian history is The Story of Sinuhe, one of the most well-preserved works recovered from the Middle Kingdom Period (2055-1650 BC). Set during the reign of...
The world’s oldest runestone, just found in Svingerud, Norway. Source: Alexis Pantos/KHM, UiO

Earliest Runic Inscription Discovered in Norway

‘The dream stone of all runologists’ that can potentially provide clues to the origins of Western writing has been discovered in Norway. A runestone with inscriptions dating back to the earliest...
Auroch bull painting in the Lascaux cave, with the four dots indicated. Source: JoJan /CC BY 4.0

21,500-Year-Old “Writing?” Not Everyone Is Buying It!

A group of 21,500-year-old painted “dots and lines” are at the center of an academic debate as to whether they are a form of proto writing. While multiple researchers claim they represent “an ancient...
Montage of Roman Empire imagery including statue representative of Livy.	Source: Freesurf/Adobe Stock

Has Livy’s History of Rome Skewed Our View of the Early Empire?

Titus Livius, or just Livy for short, was one of the most famous historians in all of history. One of the three great Roman historians, his masterpiece, Ab Urbe Condita, made him a legend in his own...
Viking runes have been an object of fascination for centuries, but we can decode their meaning.         Source: La Cassette Bleue / Adobe Stock

The Mystery, Magic and Meaning of Viking Runes

Norse civilization has provided an enormous amount of culture to the world, from its rich history to its vast mythology. One captivating aspect of Norse culture is often overlooked: runes. Most...
Did an ancient Greek courtesan write the first sex guide? Harem Scene, oil painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1848. Source: Public Domain

Filthy Philaenis? The Ancient Mediterranean Sex Guide that Steamed Up the West

Often referred to as the author of the Mediterranean Kama Sutra , little is known about Philaenis of Samos, who likely wrote this work around the 4th century BC. She is the most mentioned author of...
Hand of Irulegi with engraving of early Basque language.      Source: Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi

Enigmatic Bronze Hand Holds First Basque Script Ever Discovered

A linguistic expert has decoded curious symbols on a 2,100-years-old bronze hand that was discovered last year at an Iron Age castle in Spain. The symbols represent the “earliest” text ever...
First Canaanite writing scratched onto an ivory comb. Source: Dafna Gazit/Israel Antiquities Authority

Oldest Written Sentence Found Inscribed on Ancient Head-Lice Comb

One would expect the oldest written words found during archaeological excavations to be carved into the face of a stone tablet, or perhaps into the surface of an ancient stone monument. But they can...
Model reproduction of the Dispilio tablet at the prehistoric lakeside settlement of Dispilio in northern Greece. Source: Мико / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Dispilio Tablet and the Real Origins of Writing

Conventional archaeology claims that writing was not invented until some time between 3000 and 4000 BC in Sumeria . However, the discovery of a far older artifact in northern Greece appears to...
Archaeologists have deciphered what could be the origins of the Latin alphabet in graffiti found at the Temple of Hathor near the Serâbît el-Khâdim mines. Serâbît el-Khâdim in the background and the evolution of the letter “A” in the foreground. Source: Einsamer Schütze / CC BY-SA 3.0 & Till Nikolaus von Heiseler / CC BY 4.0

From an Ox to an “A”: The Ancient Egyptian Origins of the Latin Alphabet

As crazy as it sounds, it’s now well attested that the letter “A” started out its evolution as the Egyptian hieroglyph for an ox. But its truly mind-blowing transformation came when turquoise miners...
Close up of the Liber Linteus. Source: Curious Expeditions / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Liber Linteus: An Egyptian Mummy Wrapped in a Cryptic Message

In 1798, the French under Napoleon Bonaparte launched a military campaign in Egypt. Along with soldiers and military personnel, Napoleon brought a large number of scholars and scientists known as...
Example of Vai script, which researchers believe can provide insight into the development of writing. Source: British Library

Vai Script Invented in the 1800s Sheds Light On the Development of Writing

An isolated African script is revealing secrets about the unknown evolutionary origins of handwriting and the development of writing. The Vai script was created just two centuries ago to solve the...
Archaeologist Ingeborg Hornkjøl unearthing an ancient stick with runic writing. Source: Tone Bergland / NIKU

Rare Runic Writing Unearthed in Norway

In December 2021, the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) announced that rare runic writing has been discovered in Oslo carved into the faces of a stick and a large animal bone...
Dr. Rafał Wieczorek at the Berlin Museum analyzing the rongorongo tablet. Source: R. Wieczorek.

3D Analysis Uncovers Hidden Details in Easter Island Rongorongo Tablet

Easter Island is best known for its gigantic stone monumental statues . But it has produced a number of other intriguing artifacts, including wooden rongorongo tablets and other items inscribed with...
A cylinder seal impression, ca. 2100 BC, sometimes interpreted as Ur-Nammu (seated) bestowing governorship on Ḫašḫamer, ensi of Iškun-Sin.

The Code of Ur-Nammu: When Ancient Sumerians Laid Down the Law, Everyone Obeyed

The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest surviving law code. This text was written on clay tablets in the Sumerian language and is reckoned to have been produced towards the end of the 3rd millennium BC...
The Triumphs of Tonyukuk the Wise, Supreme Commander and Kingmaker

The Triumphs of Tonyukuk the Wise, Supreme Commander and Kingmaker

Today the steles of Tonyukuk the Wise are situated at an immensely popular and historical 1300-year-old memorial site. It is located northwest of Bayantsogt Mountain in Erdene Soum, Mongolia...

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