Archaeologists in Turkey have made a stunning discovery during earthquake restoration work, offering a ‘new perspective’ on life in the 15th century BC.
The Akkadian cuneiform tablet, found at the ancient archaeological site of Aççana Höyük, is thousands of years old.
According to the British Museum in London, cuneiform is a true form of writing that is different from the alphabet.
According to a press release from the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, the relic is 4.2 to 3.5 cm in size and 1.6 cm in thickness.
It is believed to be an administrative record – or a cash register receipt – listing a large number of furniture purchases.
Archaeologists in Turkey have made a stunning discovery while carrying out earthquake restoration work, which is expected to provide ‘a new perspective’ on life in the 15th century BC.
“A very important plaque was found during the works in Aççana Höyük, also known as “Old Alalah” in Hatay’s Reyhanlı district,” wrote Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey.
‘According to the first readings, BCE. The Akkadian cuneiform tablet, dating from the 15th century, contains records of large-scale purchases of furniture.
‘We believe that this tablet, which weighs 28 grams, offers a new perspective to understand the economic structure and state system of the Late Bronze Age.’
The minister noted that the newly discovered artifact appears to be written in Akkadian, a type of cuneiform script.
According to the British Museum, cuneiform is the oldest form of writing in the world.
The website states that the tablet has no “letters,” but instead uses between 600 and 1,000 characters pressed into clay to spell out words by dividing them into syllables.
In 2018, researchers found a similar clay tablet engraved with a complaint from a dissatisfied customer.
The customer had bought some copper and was apparently unhappy with it. He shared his thoughts with a shopkeeper named Ea-nāṣir in the ancient city-state of Ur, around 1750 BCE.
The minister noted that the newly discovered artifact appears to be written in Akkadian, a type of cuneiform
Earlier this year, archaeologists in Turkey discovered what is believed to be the world’s oldest calendar.
Engraved on a 12,000-year-old stone pillar at the mysterious site of Göbekli Tepe, experts say it could rewrite our timeline of civilization.
The timekeeping system strongly suggests that humans had accurate methods of keeping time as long as 10,000 years before its introduction in ancient Greece in 150 BC.
Last week, archaeologists may have discovered the existence of a long-lost temple where Jesus is said to have performed miracles.
Several passages in the New Testament describe him preaching and healing the sick in a synagogue in the ancient Israelite city of Chorazin.
Jews from around the world travel to a holy site in Korazim National Park in the north, where historical accounts say the Temple stood.
In the early 1900s, a synagogue dating from 380 AD was discovered, but there was no physical evidence that it dated back to the time of Jesus—until now.
During excavations at the synagogue discovered in 1905, a team of archaeologists discovered the ruins of an even older temple buried underneath.