Archaeologists excavating Movila Aççana, also known as Eski Alalah, discovered a cuneiform tablet detailing a shopping list dating back millennia, almost 3,500 years ago.
Movila Aççana is a Tel (a hill formed by centuries of occupation) located in the ancient city of Alalah in Hatay Province, southern Turkey.
IN A press release issued recently, Mehmet Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism, announced that archaeologists discovered a cuneiform tablet during restoration work in the ancient city of Alalah after an earthquake. Images of the findings can also be seen in the same release.
The tablet dates from the 15th century BC. and contains cuneiform text written in Akkadian, an extinct East Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia.
A millennia-old shopping list shows not only the purchases, but also who the sellers were
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system, characterized by the wedge-shaped traces that form the signs. The Akkadians took a hands-on approach, writing their language phonetically, using corresponding Sumerian phonetic signs. The tablet is an administrative document that records a large amount of furniture purchases, offering new insights into the economic structure and state system of the Late Bronze Age. Weighing 28 grams, the tablet measures 4.2 cm by 3.5 cm and is 1.6 cm thick.
An ongoing study by linguists has deciphered this millennia-old shopping list, which records the purchase of a large number of wooden tables, chairs and stools, as well as details of who purchased them and who the sellers were.
“We believe that this tablet, which weighs 28 grams, will give future generations a new perspective in understanding the rich heritage of Anatolia,” said Minister Mehmet Ersoy, quoted by Heritage Daily.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
