Near Eastern Archaeology

Review of Bickel et al., eds., Bilder als Quellen/Images as Sources (Keel FS)

by Brian Brown

B. Horejs, M. Mehofer, E. Pernicka, Metallhandwerker im frühen 3. Jt. v. Chr. - Neue Ergebnisse vom Çukuriçi Höyük, Westtürkei, Istanbuler Mitteilungen 60, 2010, 7-37.

by Mathias Mehofer

Neue Ausgrabungen auf dem Çukuriçi Höyük, Westtürkei, erbrachten zahlreiche Hinweise auf Metallwerkstätten, die in die... more Neue Ausgrabungen auf dem Çukuriçi Höyük, Westtürkei, erbrachten zahlreiche Hinweise auf Metallwerkstätten, die in die frühe Bronzezeit datieren. Fest installierte Öfen in großer Zahl erlauben die Lokalisierung dieser Werkstattareale im ursprünglichen Zentrum des Tells. Ein Raumkomplex der jüngsten Besiedlungsphase wird in seiner Datierung und dem dazugehörigen metallurgischen Ensemble vorgestellt und diskutiert. Das vielfältige Spektrum lässt auf unterschiedliche Gusstechniken in der Herstellung schließen. Darüber hinaus belegen Gussformen im Fundmaterial die Herstellung von Metallbarren für den weiteren Austausch. Erste Analyseergebnisse mittels Rasterelektronenmikroskopie und Röntgenfluoreszenzanalyse zeigen, dass die Metallhandwerker des Çukuriçi Höyük offenbar auch über metallurgisches Spezialwissen verfügten, wie am Beispiel eines Objektes aus einer Kupfer-Silberlegierung veranschaulicht wird. Funde mit ähnlicher Zusammensetzung und Zeitstellung finden sich vom Balkan bis Mesopotamien und lassen die Einbindung des Çukuriçi Höyük in ein weiträumiges Kommunikationsnetzwerk vermuten.

Tell Kazel (Syrie). Rapport préliminaire sur les 4e-8e campagnes de fouilles (1988-1992)

by Eric Gubel

Notice préliminaire sur un cylindre du bronze récent provenant du chantier II de Tell Kazel

by Eric Gubel

Secondary burial cemeteries, visibility and land tenure: A view from the southern Levant Chalcolithic period

by Rona Winter

Co-authored with Tal Svoray and Isaac Gilead, 2012, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology

Acem Hoyuk - Ulama - Purushattum ?

by Joost Blasweiler

Comments are welcome !

Digitization of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Archaeometric Archives: Status Update and Availability Announcement

by Matthew Boulanger

Published in 'Society for Archaeological Sciences Bulletin' 35(2): 4-7

The Nuclear Archaeology Program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) was one of the first-generation... more The Nuclear Archaeology Program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) was one of the first-generation archaeometry laboratories in the world, operating between the 1960s and early 1990s. During operation, the Berkeley program generated compositional data for over 12,000 archaeological and geological specimens. Most of these data were generated using neutron activation analysis and X-ray fluorescence. Though primarily known for their studies of pottery from the Near East and Mediterranean, the Berkeley program analyzed over 300 ceramic specimens from the Americas and over 800 specimens from Africa. Irradiation of archaeological specimens ended at LBNL shortly after the decommissioning of the Berkeley reactor in 1989; however, archaeometric research continued at the laboratory through the irradiation of specimens at other facilities, and through expanded and refined use of XRF. Following retirement, Frank Asaro transferred the archives of the LBNL program to the University of Missouri (MURR) Archaeometry Laboratory in 2006. Since receiving the LBNL archives, the MURR laboratory has worked to preserve these compositional, descriptive, and contextual data so as to facilitate their preservation and potential use with new and ongoing archaeometric research. Efforts have focused primarily on stabilizing the archives and generating a digital versions for public distribution. Here, I present a summary of the present status of the LBNL archive project and an announcement concerning the availability of a large portion of the archives.

Animals in the Ancient World

by Benjamin Arbuckle

TELL AL- MASHHAD REPORT ON 2010 SEASON

by francesco benedettucci

Unpublished Report

The Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA): An Open Source GIS-Based Heritage Site Inventor y and Management System

by David Myers

Co-authored with Alison Dalgity. Published in Change Over Time,  Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2012, pp. 32-57

The emergence of new digital technologies and rapidly spreading Internet access together present possibilities for... more The emergence of new digital technologies and rapidly spreading Internet access together present possibilities for widely accessible, Web-based national information systems for the inventory and management of heritage sites. The increasing development of open source software tools further provides that such systems may be purpose-built, adaptable, and extensible to the needs of specific situations, and that once developed they can be available to heritage authorities, which are often poorly funded, without associated licensing or upgrade fees.

Working collaboratively with the Jordanian Department of Antiquities (DoA), the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) and World Monuments Fund (WMF) have developed MEGA-Jordan as a tool to inventory, monitor, and help conserve and manage the thousands of archaeological sites in Jordan. MEGA-Jordan allows DoA officials to address needs such as infrastructure and development control and the development of national and regional research strategies. MEGA-Jordan is Web based, bilingual (Arabic-English), and was developed using state-of-the-art and open source information technologies. It was designed to be modular and easily extensible, allowing it to evolve with the DoA's changing institutional requirements and to be adapted by other countries. The MEGA-Jordan system is available online at www.megajordan.org. Work on an Iraq version of MEGA is slated to begin after the Jordanian system is fully deployed, and will include the system's expansion to contain data for the protection of historic buildings. The GCI and WMF plan to subsequently make the system available for adaptation by other countries.

Large scale smelting of speiss and arsenical copper at Early Bronze Age Arisman, Iran

by Loïc Boscher

Work Notes on Etruscan Mirrors & Murals II

by Mel Copeland

This is a PDF file from our website covering Etruscan Mirrors and Murals, with images compiled from the Etruscan Phrases website http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

In contrast to offerings from the British Museum and University of Bologna, where their analyses, following Pallottino, are generally speculation based on guesswork relating to short funerary inscriptions, the Etruscan Phrases work is supported by a strong grammar and vocabulary based on all texts, small and large. Thus, to clear the mystery of the Etruscan language alleged by such esteemed institutions, it is imperative that the Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.xls be audited. We mention this since the only prospect of clearing up the Etruscan Mystery is through a verifiable audit of the Etruscan Grammar recorded in Etruscan Phrases. The British Museum, University of Bologna and other "Pallottino School" works have not produced a vocabulary or grammar that can be audited, since their theory is that the Etruscan language is unlike any other known to man, not Indo-European. Etruscan Phrases claims that the Etruscan Language is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian, an Indo-European language. It offers a grammar, declension patterns and regular, measurable shifts between Etruscan and these languages; ergo the work can be easily audited.

Most important to the work are the Etruscan mirrors and murals that contain known Classical stories and the names of the principle characters in the stories. The star of the mirrors is Helen of Troy who was the young daughter of King Tyndareüs of Sparta and abducted by the equally beautiful son of King Priam of Troy, thereby causing the Trojan War. While the entire story has captured the hearts and imaginations of generations since that event (Troy was destroyed ~1180 B.C.) we can presume through Etruscan mirrors that the event was part of their history – and they had a somewhat different recollection of it than the Greek version passed down to us.

Because the story is familiar and linking the genesis of Greek heroes and gods, containing their names and actions, we have comparative texts to use in analyzing the Etruscan language, its shifts from Greek and Latin to Etruscan. For instance the heroes of the story follow a regular shift, of dropping vowels and final consonants, etc. Heracles (L. Hercules) is Hercle (almost like the French, Hercule). Helen’s name declines: Helenai and Helenei, leading us to the declension of other nouns. Her father was Zeus who transformed into a swan and raped the goddess Nemesis THALNA (retribution) who had transformed into a goose. She laid an egg or two eggs, one of which was Helen which was found by shepherds near Sparta and taken to Tyndareüs and Leda to bring up. From the egg came Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.

The most beautiful man at the time was Alexander, spelled ELCHSENTRE and he abducted Helen from her husband Menelaus, MENLE, the brother of King Agamemnon: ACHMEMNVN. His wife Clytemnestra is CLVTHVMVSTHA who murdered her husband in the bath upon returning from the Trojan War, and their son, Orestes (VRSTE) killed her and her lover in revenge. Athena (L. Minerva) is MENRFA; Hera (L. Juno) is VNI, her consort is Zeus (L. Jupiter) Etr. TINIA. Thetis is THETIS and THETHIS, she was a dangerous shape-changer and compelled by the gods to wed her husband Peleus, PELE; they produced the Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles who the Etruscans call ACHLE. The mother of Helen, Leda, is LATFA and her brothers, Castor and Polydeukes (Pollux) are CASTVR and PVLTVCEI. Their father Tyndareüs is TVNTLE. Aphrodite (Etr. TVRAN) was a cause of the Trojan War when she was judged by Alexander as “The Fairest” as written on an apple thrown into the wedding of Thetis and Peleus by Eris (Etr. ERIS). Aphrodite’s son was Eros (Etr. ERVS) – appearing in many texts. Another popular figure in Etruscan mirrors is Hermes (L. Mercury) TVRMS.

Apollo (APLV) and Artemis are represented frequently in the texts. Ajax Telemonos EIFAS TELMVNVS committed suicide after Achilles was killed, because he did not deserve Achilles’ armor. Apollo (APLV) and his sister the virgin huntress Artemis (ARTVMES) were highly active in the Trojan War. The Etruscans introduce a new character like Artemis called MEAN who crowns Alexander, awarding him the hand of Helen, though we understand from the Greek version that it was Aphrodite (Etr. TVRAN) that awarded Alexander the hand of Helen in the Judgment of Paris. MEAN appears to be a goddess of the hunt like Artemis from Lydia, recalling the old name of Lydia, Maionia (Μαιονία). This is just a tease, for the mirrors and murals carry amazing details never before known to modern man. The images, names and texts associated with the mirrors and murals set the baseline for understanding Etruscan Grammar and the words recorded in Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.pdf. (The most current version available at http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

We should hope, therefore, that there will be many linguists / scholars who will jump at the chance to clear up the Etruscan Mystery and rewrite the histories so clearly overshadowed by the Pallottino School theories, to help even the museums containing Etruscan artifacts explain a bit more about the items in their displays.

Etruscan GlossaryA.pdf an index to about 2,500 Etruscan words that are similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. Declension patterns follow those in Latin. The 2,500 words equal the repeated words in 6,000 words of the major extant texts. The texts have been frozen in time, covering ~700-400 B.C., representing a lens to understanding the early formation of Indo-European languages, particularly the early Italic-Latin-Celtic languages, such as Italian, French & Romanian / Dacian. (By 45 BC. the language was a dead language - no one understood or could write Etruscan)

This GlossaryA works together with Indo-European Table 1 which refutes theories by the Pallottino school of thought that the Etruscan language is not Indo-European and an isolate, unlike any other language. It is very close to Latin and, curiously, Romanian, Italian and French. The Latin suffix, "us" shifts to "o" as in Italian (Titus vs Tito); first person conjugation patterns are similar to French and Romanian. This GlossaryA provides a quick look at the grammatical structure of the Etruscan language, how closely it coincides with Latin. A more detailed Declension Table can be seen on the Etruscan Phrases website. These PDF documents facilitate independent confirmation of the words in GlossaryA.xls , the Grammar and Declension Table. All words can be examined from actual images of texts on the Etruscan Phrases website. Over 150 texts, with about 6,000 words can be examined at Etruscan Phrases.

The Etruscans surfaced in Italy about 1,000 B.C., reputed to have arrived from Lydia / Phrygia. The Phrygians originated near Macedonia in Thrace, according to Herodotus. One may therefore inquire whether the ancient Thracians (Dacians, Gettae, modern Romanians), spoke a language common to the Phrygians, at the time of the Trojan War and after (~1180 B.C.). The Thracians, Phrygians and Lydians (also dead languages) were allies of the Trojans, according to the Iliad. Etruscan Phrases finds a common vocabulary among Latin, Italian, French, Romanian, Etruscan and Phrygian. While French, Spanish, Italian and Romanian are considered Romance languages, showing a similar Latin heritage, Etruscan is not, of course, a Romance language, as it preceded Latin, at least in the written form (giving Rome its alphabet).

Resolution of the Etruscan Mystery may be likened to Michael Ventris' decipherment of Linear B and Jean-François Champollion's decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone - written in Egyptian hieroglypics, Demotic and Greek. The decipherment of Etruscan is a bit more challenging, since we have no multilingual Rosetta Stone, but we do have enough vocabulary and grammar to establish that Etruscan is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. (Certainly far more vocabulary and a more extensive grammar is provided in Etruscan Phrases than that used by Ventris to claim translation of Linear B as an old form of Greek)

The mirrors with the Devotional Plates may be an easy entry into an audit, for those who are hesitant to examine the larger texts, such as the Zagreb Mummy (Script Z).

Resources Exploitation and Handicraft Activities at Tell Mardikh-Ebla (Syria) during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages

by Luca Peyronel

published in R. Matthews et al. (eds), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, London 12th-16th April 2010, Vol. 1, Wiesbaden, 2012, pp. 475-496

The Intersections of Archaeology and Postcolonial Studies.

by Matthew Liebmann

2008. In Archaeology and the Postcolonial Critique, edited by M. Liebmann and U. Rizvi, pp. 1-20. Altamira Press, Lanham, MD.

Appendix: A comparative study between Taymâ’ and Madâ’in Sâlih

by Francelin Tourtet

Co-authored with Nina-Ann Müller and additions by Caroline Durand, edited by Laila Nehmé et al. in: Report on the Fourth Excavation Season (2011) of the Madâ'in Sâlih Archaeological Project, pp. 355-361.

Yalburt Yaylası (Ilgın, Konya) arkeolojik yüzey araştırması projesi 2010 sezonu sonuçları

by Ömür Harmansah

Harmansah, Omur and Peri Johnson (In press). “Yalburt Yaylası (Ilgın, Konya) arkeolojik yüzey araştırması projesi 2010 sezonu sonuçları.” 29. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı. Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı 2012.

Private, Communal and Royal Economy in the Iron Age II (the Period of the Monarchy), Jerusalem and Eretz-Israel 4-5 (2007): 41-58 (HEBREW)

by Avraham Faust

The economy of ancient Israel had received a number of studies over the years. Initially, those attempted to describe... more The economy of ancient Israel had received a number of studies over the years. Initially, those attempted to describe the major economic specialization and the region’s trade, mainly by using the written sources. Gradually, however, the archaeological finds received the leading role - many archaeological studies have discussed various items, unearthed in excavations, and identified their place of origin, in order to learn on interregional and even international trade. Other studies analyzed the agricultural installations and discussed the period’s technology. The economic systems in which the installations or items were embedded had received much less attention, and the socio-economic system behind them was hardly discussed at all.
Still, the wealth of archaeological finds unearthed in the land of Israel enable, by combining all sources of information, to reconstruct the various socio-economic systems that operated at the time. The finds indicate that during Iron Age II there were private\familial (at the nuclear family level) economic systems, communal (at the lineage level) economic systems, and an urban\royal economic system. Those systems operated contemporaneously, sometimes even at the same settlement.

Bunimovitz, S., and Faust, A., 2001, Chronological Separation, Geographical Segregation or Ethnic Demarcation? Ethnography and the Iron Age Low Chronology, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 322: 1-10.

by Avraham Faust

BASOR articles are available on JSTOR and the JSTOR Current Scholarship Program (JSTOR CSP).

The traditional Iron Age chronology has recently been challenged by I. Finkelstein who proposed a wholesale lowering... more The traditional Iron Age chronology has recently been challenged by I. Finkelstein who proposed a wholesale lowering of its dates. The cornerstone of the new chronology is the seemingly absence of Philistine Monochrome pottery in 20th Dynasty sites in southern Canaan and the absence of Egyptian(ized) pottery in Philistine sites. According to Finkelstein the only viable explanation for this phenomenon is chronological. Adherents of the traditional schema, on the other hand, prefer an interpretation based on cultural segregation and reject the low chronology. Both views, however, are based on the implicit premise that there is a straightforward correlation between the extent of interaction between human groups and the amount of similarity in their material culture. Relying on ethnographic/ethnoarchaeological evidence, we intend to show that this premise is flawed, and that restricted distribution of artifacts does not contradict interaction. This observation on human behavior is enough to cast serious doubts on the foundations and methodology of the low chronology. Furthermore, since symbolic delineation of group identity and boundaries is accentuated at times of competition, items symbolizing cultural identity may be held back in spite of interaction. As competition seems to characterize Iron I Philistia, it is highly tenable that the social meaning of the Philistine Monochrome pottery as well as of its Egyptian counterpart prevented their diffusion and adoption outside the restricted zones in which they communicated group identity and cohesion.

Tell al-Mashhad report on 2011 season

by francesco benedettucci

Unpublished Report

Work Notes on Etruscan Mirrors and Murals, Part I

by Mel Copeland

This is a PDF file from our website covering Etruscan Mirrors and Murals, with images compiled from the Etruscan Phrases website http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

In contrast to offerings from the British Museum and University of Bologna, where their analyses, following Pallottino, are generally speculation based on guesswork relating to short funerary inscriptions, the Etruscan Phrases work is supported by a strong grammar and vocabulary based on all texts, small and large. Thus, to clear the mystery of the Etruscan language alleged by such esteemed institutions, it is imperative that the Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.xls be audited. We mention this since the only prospect of clearing up the Etruscan Mystery is through a verifiable audit of the Etruscan Grammar recorded in Etruscan Phrases. The British Museum, University of Bologna and other "Pallottino School" works have not produced a vocabulary or grammar that can be audited, since their theory is that the Etruscan language is unlike any other known to man, not Indo-European. Etruscan Phrases claims that the Etruscan Language is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian, an Indo-European language. It offers a grammar, declension patterns and regular, measurable shifts between Etruscan and these languages; ergo the work can be easily audited.

Most important to the work are the Etruscan mirrors and murals that contain known Classical stories and the names of the principle characters in the stories. The star of the mirrors is Helen of Troy who was the young daughter of King Tyndareüs of Sparta and abducted by the equally beautiful son of King Priam of Troy, thereby causing the Trojan War. While the entire story has captured the hearts and imaginations of generations since that event (Troy was destroyed ~1180 B.C.) we can presume through Etruscan mirrors that the event was part of their history – and they had a somewhat different recollection of it than the Greek version passed down to us.

Because the story is familiar and linking the genesis of Greek heroes and gods, containing their names and actions, we have comparative texts to use in analyzing the Etruscan language, its shifts from Greek and Latin to Etruscan. For instance the heroes of the story follow a regular shift, of dropping vowels and final consonants, etc. Heracles (L. Hercules) is Hercle (almost like the French, Hercule). Helen’s name declines: Helenai and Helenei, leading us to the declension of other nouns. Her father was Zeus who transformed into a swan and raped the goddess Nemesis THALNA (retribution) who had transformed into a goose. She laid an egg or two eggs, one of which was Helen which was found by shepherds near Sparta and taken to Tyndareüs and Leda to bring up. From the egg came Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.

The most beautiful man at the time was Alexander, spelled ELCHSENTRE and he abducted Helen from her husband Menelaus, MENLE, the brother of King Agamemnon: ACHMEMNVN. His wife Clytemnestra is CLVTHVMVSTHA who murdered her husband in the bath upon returning from the Trojan War, and their son, Orestes (VRSTE) killed her and her lover in revenge. Athena (L. Minerva) is MENRFA; Hera (L. Juno) is VNI, her consort is Zeus (L. Jupiter) Etr. TINIA. Thetis is THETIS and THETHIS, she was a dangerous shape-changer and compelled by the gods to wed her husband Peleus, PELE; they produced the Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles who the Etruscans call ACHLE. The mother of Helen, Leda, is LATFA and her brothers, Castor and Polydeukes (Pollux) are CASTVR and PVLTVCEI. Their father Tyndareüs is TVNTLE. Aphrodite (Etr. TVRAN) was a cause of the Trojan War when she was judged by Alexander as “The Fairest” as written on an apple thrown into the wedding of Thetis and Peleus by Eris (Etr. ERIS). Aphrodite’s son was Eros (Etr. ERVS) – appearing in many texts. Another popular figure in Etruscan mirrors is Hermes (L. Mercury) TVRMS.

Apollo (APLV) and Artemis are represented frequently in the texts. Ajax Telemonos EIFAS TELMVNVS committed suicide after Achilles was killed, because he did not deserve Achilles’ armor. Apollo (APLV) and his sister the virgin huntress Artemis (ARTVMES) were highly active in the Trojan War. The Etruscans introduce a new character like Artemis called MEAN who crowns Alexander, awarding him the hand of Helen, though we understand from the Greek version that it was Aphrodite (Etr. TVRAN) that awarded Alexander the hand of Helen in the Judgment of Paris. MEAN appears to be a goddess of the hunt like Artemis from Lydia, recalling the old name of Lydia, Maionia (Μαιονία). This is just a tease, for the mirrors and murals carry amazing details never before known to modern man. The images, names and texts associated with the mirrors and murals set the baseline for understanding Etruscan Grammar and the words recorded in Etruscan Phrases GlossaryA.pdf. (The most current version available at http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Phrases_a.html.

We should hope, therefore, that there will be many linguists / scholars who will jump at the chance to clear up the Etruscan Mystery and rewrite the histories so clearly overshadowed by the Pallottino School theories, to help even the museums containing Etruscan artifacts explain a bit more about the items in their displays.

Etruscan GlossaryA.pdf an index to about 2,500 Etruscan words that are similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. Declension patterns follow those in Latin. The 2,500 words equal the repeated words in 6,000 words of the major extant texts. The texts have been frozen in time, covering ~700-400 B.C., representing a lens to understanding the early formation of Indo-European languages, particularly the early Italic-Latin-Celtic languages, such as Italian, French & Romanian / Dacian. (By 45 BC. the language was a dead language - no one understood or could write Etruscan)

This GlossaryA works together with Indo-European Table 1 which refutes theories by the Pallottino school of thought that the Etruscan language is not Indo-European and an isolate, unlike any other language. It is very close to Latin and, curiously, Romanian, Italian and French. The Latin suffix, "us" shifts to "o" as in Italian (Titus vs Tito); first person conjugation patterns are similar to French and Romanian. This GlossaryA provides a quick look at the grammatical structure of the Etruscan language, how closely it coincides with Latin. A more detailed Declension Table can be seen on the Etruscan Phrases website. These PDF documents facilitate independent confirmation of the words in GlossaryA.xls , the Grammar and Declension Table. All words can be examined from actual images of texts on the Etruscan Phrases website. Over 150 texts, with about 6,000 words can be examined at Etruscan Phrases.

The Etruscans surfaced in Italy about 1,000 B.C., reputed to have arrived from Lydia / Phrygia. The Phrygians originated near Macedonia in Thrace, according to Herodotus. One may therefore inquire whether the ancient Thracians (Dacians, Gettae, modern Romanians), spoke a language common to the Phrygians, at the time of the Trojan War and after (~1180 B.C.). The Thracians, Phrygians and Lydians (also dead languages) were allies of the Trojans, according to the Iliad. Etruscan Phrases finds a common vocabulary among Latin, Italian, French, Romanian, Etruscan and Phrygian. While French, Spanish, Italian and Romanian are considered Romance languages, showing a similar Latin heritage, Etruscan is not, of course, a Romance language, as it preceded Latin, at least in the written form (giving Rome its alphabet).

Resolution of the Etruscan Mystery may be likened to Michael Ventris' decipherment of Linear B and Jean-François Champollion's decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics using the Rosetta Stone - written in Egyptian hieroglypics, Demotic and Greek. The decipherment of Etruscan is a bit more challenging, since we have no multilingual Rosetta Stone, but we do have enough vocabulary and grammar to establish that Etruscan is similar to Latin, French, Italian and Romanian. (Certainly far more vocabulary and a more extensive grammar is provided in Etruscan Phrases than that used by Ventris to claim translation of Linear B as an old form of Greek)

The mirrors with the Devotional Plates may be an easy entry into an audit, for those who are hesitant to examine the larger texts, such as the Zagreb Mummy (Script Z).