French researcher cracks 4,000-year-old Elamite script from Iran

French archaeologist François Desset cracks Linear Elamite script, unlocking 4,000-year-old secrets of ancient Iran. | Contesto: cronaca

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• French researcher cracks 4,000-year-old Elamite script from Iran

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A French archaeologist has achieved what many considered impossible: deciphering the 4,000-year-old Linear Elamite script from what is now Iran, a breakthrough that some scholars are likening to Jean-François Champollion’s famed decoding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. François Desset, a researcher with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the University of Tehran, announced his findings after years of painstaking analysis, revealing a writing system that had eluded archaeologists for over a century. The script, used by the Elamite civilization in the region of modern-day southwestern Iran, dates back to around 2300 B.C., placing it among the world’s oldest known writing systems. Linear Elamite, distinct from the better-known cuneiform scripts of Mesopotamia, was used primarily for administrative and ceremonial purposes, but its meaning had been lost to history. Desset’s work, which involved cross-referencing a small corpus of inscribed objects—including silver vases, stone tablets, and cylinder seals—with later bilingual texts, allowed him to identify phonetic values and grammatical structures. The breakthrough came when he recognized that the script represented a syllabic system, where each sign corresponds to a syllable, rather than a purely logographic one. This insight enabled him to read names of Elamite kings and deities, as well as economic transactions, offering a window into a near-forgotten age. The implications of the decipherment are profound. The Elamite civilization, which flourished in the Iranian plateau from roughly 2700 to 539 B.C., has long been overshadowed by its Mesopotamian neighbors, such as Sumer and Akkad. Yet Elam was a major political and cultural force, often engaging in conflicts and alliances with these powers. Desset’s work now allows historians to access primary sources from Elamite rulers, shedding light on their governance, religion, and trade networks. For instance, one deciphered text records a king’s dedication of a temple to the god Napirisha, while another details the distribution of silver and grain, indicating a sophisticated economy. Scholars have drawn comparisons to Champollion, who cracked Egyptian...

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Categoria: cronaca