Found a bronze hand from over 2000 years ago Navarre, in northern Spain, It houses the oldest known text in the Basque language, announced by the regional government of Navarre and a Basque scientific society.
This 1st century BC hand, found at a site in Irulegui, southeast of Pamplona, and which was placed on doors to protect houses from misfortune, contains five words, the first of which has been identified: “sorioneku”, similar to “zorioneko” in current Basque, meaning “of good luck, auspicious”.
Basque is the language spoken by the inhabitants of the area at that time, and is a antecedent of the current Basque.
The translation of that first word already constitutes a “top-notch historical landmark”both archaeological and linguistic, the president of Navarre explained in an act, Maria Chivita.
The importance of the find is that “it is the oldest and also the most extensive document written in the Basque language” and “confirms the use of writing by the ancient inhabitants of this area, who are estimated to be the Basques”. , explained the Aranzadi Company it’s a statement.
Furthermore, they added, “certifies the use of the Basque language in the geographic area where it was discovered in the early 1st century BC”.
The five words in this hand are not written in the Latin alphabet, but in a Basque variant of the Iberian script.
The rest of the transcribed words, whose meaning is still unknown, are “tenekebeekiratere”, “oTirtan”, “eseakari” and “eraukon”.
Source: Clarin
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