Stone slab, older than Rosetta Stone, from lost civilisation discovered with complete alphabets

A stunning discovery was made by archaeologists in Spain when they found an ancient rock slab which was roughly 400 years old, predating the Rosetta Stone and had the alphabet inscribed on it.

It is believed that the discovery made in southwest Spain was related to the ancient Paleo-Hispanic civilisation of Tartessos and this is the third piece of evidence of an alphabet inscription, reported Fox News.

Why is Tartessos considered a 'lost' civilisation?

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Tartessos existed as an ancient civilisation which was spread across the southern Iberian Peninsula more than 3,000 years ago.

The experts consider this civilisation "lost" because its very less remnants still survive. The slate was discovered as part of the project called "Building Tartessus".

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"[The study's] main objective is to characterize the Tartessian material culture through the architectural analysis of the large adobe buildings excavated in recent decades and introduce the concept of architecture as an integrated element in the territory," stated the Spanish National Research Council's (CSIC) website.

According toexperts, on the stone tablet were inscriptions of "what appearsto be a sequence of 21 signs drawn within the framework of the tablet on which figures were also found of warriors."

The stone tablet, which was found at an archaeological site in Casas del Turuñuelo of the Badajoz province, is likely to have been chiselled as early as 600 BC.

Speaking about the stone tablet, University of Barcelona researcher Joan Ferrer iJane said that “other strokes compatible with signs of a known sequence [were also seen].”

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“This alphabet has 27 signs and is the only complete one we know to date,” he said, adding this “would provide a lot of information.”

However, the artefact, which does not have a triangular shard on one of its sides, looks incomplete.

"At least 6 signs would have been lost in the split area of the piece, but if it were completely symmetrical and the signs completely occupied three of the four sides of the plate it could reach 32 signs, so the lost signs could become eleven or perhaps more if a possible sign, ‘Tu’, isolated in the lateral quarter, were part of the alphabet," Ferrer said.

(With inputs from agencies)