Archaeologists in Italy have discovered what they believe may be a rare sacred text of a lost Etruscan language, which could provide a wealth of information about the Etruscan cult of a god or goddess.
The long text is written on a large sandstone slab that was embedded in the base of the monumental Italian temple, where it has been preserved for over 2,500 years, the researchers say.
“This is most likely a sacred text, and it would be great if it informs us of the early belief system of a lost culture that is fundamental to Western tradition,” said archaeologist Gregory Warden, co-director and principal investigator of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, who made the discovery. …
“The slab weighs about 500 pounds (227 kg), is nearly 4 feet high and is over 2 feet wide, and has at least 70 legible letters and punctuation marks,” Warden, Emeritus Professor Emeritus at Southern Methodist University, said in a statement. in Dallas, Texas.
Scientists in this field predict that the stele, since such plates are called that way, will give a lot of new knowledge about the lost culture of the Etruscans who lived in the first millennium BC. The Etruscans once ruled Rome and were influenced by the Romans in everything, be it religion, art, government or architecture. Considered one of the most religious among the people of the ancient world, the life of the Etruscans was permeated with religion, and the dominant magistrates also exercised religious rule.
“At one time, this could reflect an imposing and monumental symbol of power. We hope to carry out an invasion of the Etruscan language. Long inscriptions are rare, especially such as this one, so there will be new words that we have never seen before since this is not a funerary text,”said Warden.
Over two decades of excavation, under the auspices of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, objects of Etruscan worship, beliefs, offerings to deities and discoveries related to the daily life of nobility and ordinary people have been found, including workshops, kilns, ceramics and homes.
"The opening of the stele will advance knowledge of Etruscan history, literacy and religious practice," said Etruscan history scholar Jean McIntosh Turfa of the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia.
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