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söndag 14 februari 2010

Syriac tablet found at Edessa in Turkey

The Turkish press reports that farmers ploughing a field at Urfa in South-East Turkey struck a hard object, which turned out to be a tablet inscribed with Syriac, using the Estrangelo alphabet.
Tablet inscribed with Syriac language in the Estrangelo alphabet from Urfa (Edessa)
Tablet inscribed with Syriac language in the Estrangelo alphabet from Urfa (Edessa)
It was found about eighteen inches below the ground, and weighs about 100 pounds.  It seems to be about 30 x 60 (either inches or centimeters — I couldn’t work out). 
No word on what it says.  Apparently people at Harran university are going to take a look at it, but it will be placed in the museum at Urfa.
Urfa is the site of Edessa, the city whose Aramaic dialect became what we now call Syriac during the period after the conquests of Alexander.  The city was always central to Syriac culture, but was destroyed by the Moslems during the crusader period.

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