Rare Etruscan Sacred Text Discovered In Ancient Temple Can Reveal The Name Of The Worshipped God Or Goddess

MessageToEagle.com – Archaeologists have discovered a rare Etruscan sacred text in an ancient temple. The Etruscans were one of the most religious people of the ancient world.

Now, researchers hope this ancient text can cast more light on the Etruscan worship of gods and goddess.

It is a lengthy text is inscribed on a large 6th century BCE sandstone slab. Archaeologists conducting excavations in the Mugello Valley, at the Poggio Colla site, northeast of Florence, Italy found the Etruscan stele embedded in the foundations of a monumental temple where it had been buried for more than 2,500 years.

The slab, weighing about 500 pounds and nearly four feet tall by more than two feet wide, has at least 70 legible letters and punctuation marks.

To discover a new religious artifact is rare. Most Etruscan discoveries typically have been grave and funeral objects.

“We hope to make inroads into the Etruscan language,” said Warden, president and professor of archaeology at Franklin University Switzerland. “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.”

Scientists know how Etruscan grammar works. They can distinguish what is verb and what is a reference.

Now, the slab can hopefully reveal the name of the god or goddess that is worshiped at this site.

“Inscriptions of more than a few words, on permanent materials, are rare for the Etruscans, who tended to use perishable media like linen cloth books or wax tablets. This stone stele is evidence of a permanent religious cult with monumental dedications, at least as early as the Late Archaic Period, from about 525 to 480 BCE. Its re-use in the foundations of a slightly later sanctuary structure points to deep changes in the town and its social structure, “Etruscan scholar Jean MacIntosh Turfa with the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia said.

See also:
Mysterious Etruscans: Skilled Sailors And Master Craftsmen

Mystery Of The Silver Hands Discovered In An Etruscan Tomb Full Of Secrets

Etruscan Underground Pyramidal Structures Unearthed In Orvieto, Italy – Their Function Remains Unknown

Etruscans were a highly cultured people, but very little of their writing has been preserved, mostly just short funerary inscriptions with names and titles. It would therefore be a rare discovery to identify the Etruscan god or goddess to which the sanctuary was dedicated.

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