An ancient artifact discovered in Italy has the archaeological world talking, as it could shed light on the mysterious Etruscan culture of ancient Italy.
Scientists have uncovered a gigantic stone that is about 500 pounds and stands four feet tall by two feet wide, and appears to have at least 70 legible letters and punctuation marks that could end up being an ancient sacred text of the Etruscan culture from 2,500 years ago, according to a Southern Methodist University statement.
The text could help us understand more about the religious culture of the Etruscans, and what kind of god or goddesses they worshipped. The Etruscans once ruled Rome and were a very religious people, likely having magistrates that ruled over the people and wrote religious laws. This stone slab may be a clue on what kind of religions and worship practices were predominant thousands of years ago before the Romans took over.
The Mugello Valley Archaeological Project has been spearheading the project for the last two decades. They want to better understand the Etruscan culture, as well as the daily lives of both the elites and non-elites.
“This is probably going to be a sacred text, and will be remarkable for telling us about the early belief system of a lost culture that is fundamental to western traditions,” archaeologist Gregory Warden, co-director and principal investigator of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, said in the statement.
“We hope to make inroads into the Etruscan language,” he added. “Long inscriptions are rare, especially one this long, so there will be new words that we have never seen before, since it is not a funerary text.”