# When were the Byblos inscriptions written? · Byblos syllabary > Three answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Three are still possible. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/questions/QST0DEDQQ0JG3EE/when-were-the-byblos-inscriptions-written Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-31T15:44:17+00:00 --- **0** # When were the Byblos inscriptions written? Asked 31 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·3 answers·0·0 following **Three answers, none ahead** None is ahead yet. See what would settle it. ## Where it stands Three answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Three are still possible. ## Why it matters Dunand dated the texts to the nineteenth to eighteenth centuries BC from their context and the hieratic look of the signs; Mendenhall and Hoch argued for an Old Kingdom or Early Bronze Age origin from the age of the closest Egyptian parallels; Sass finds that no object has a secure stratigraphic context and that the inscriptions share word dividers, framing and sign forms with ninth-century Byblian alphabetic texts⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDFA5TC4KT/nouvelles-inscriptions-pseudo-hieroglyphiques-decouvertes-a)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDFKRMY1H4/the-syllabic-inscriptions-from-byblos)⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDFVFAGQQQ/the-byblos-syllabary-bridging-the-gap-between-egyptian)⁠[[4]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGEWRK5S4/the-pseudo-hieroglyphic-inscriptions-from-byblos-their). The one fixed point is a spatula with Byblos signs under a tenth-century Phoenician inscription, which gives only a lower bound⁠[[4]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGEWRK5S4/the-pseudo-hieroglyphic-inscriptions-from-byblos-their). ## Answers 3 [**Early Bronze Age, c. 2400 BC or earlier (Mendenhall, Hoch)** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/answers/ANS0DEDT0M1GCMG/early-bronze-age-c-2400-bc-or-earlier-mendenhall-hoch) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for Still possible [**Iron Age, c. 900-830 BC (Sass)** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/answers/ANS0DEDT0Q4XR3A/iron-age-c-900-830-bc-sass) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible [**Middle Bronze Age, c. 1900-1600 BC (Dunand)** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/answers/ANS0DEDT09DQ846/middle-bronze-age-c-1900-1600-bc-dunand) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible ## Next steps 1 1 Read Sass 2019 in full and tabulate, object by object, what Dunand recorded of each find context in Byblia Grammata and the 1978 note, to see which if any has a usable stratigraphic association. ~6 h **—** not judged Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes ## History 1. 1978[Maurice Dunand: dunand's excavation context and the hieratic character of the signs led him to a nineteenth to eighteenth century BC…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDFA5TC4KT/nouvelles-inscriptions-pseudo-hieroglyphiques-decouvertes-a)For: Middle Bronze Age, c. 1900-1600 BC (Dunand) 1. 1985[George E. Mendenhall: hoch finds the closest Egyptian parallels for the Byblos sign forms in Old Kingdom characters of about 2700 to 2200 BC.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDFKRMY1H4/the-syllabic-inscriptions-from-byblos)For: Early Bronze Age, c. 2400 BC or earlier (Mendenhall, Hoch) 1. 1990[James E. Hoch: hoch finds the closest Egyptian parallels for the Byblos sign forms in Old Kingdom characters of about 2700 to 2200 BC.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDFVFAGQQQ/the-byblos-syllabary-bridging-the-gap-between-egyptian)For: Early Bronze Age, c. 2400 BC or earlier (Mendenhall, Hoch) 1. 2018[Juan-Pablo Vita: dunand's excavation context and the hieratic character of the signs led him to a nineteenth to eighteenth century BC…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGEMHG9CB/the-byblos-script)For: Middle Bronze Age, c. 1900-1600 BC (Dunand) 1. 2018[Juan-Pablo Vita: a cylinder seal reported to name Akhenaten's daughters in Byblos signs would place a use of the script in the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGEMHG9CB/the-byblos-script)Against: Iron Age, c. 900-830 BC (Sass) 1. 2019[Benjamin Sass: none of the 13 to 16 inscribed objects has a secure stratigraphic context, so the Middle Bronze Age date rests on…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGEWRK5S4/the-pseudo-hieroglyphic-inscriptions-from-byblos-their)Against: Middle Bronze Age, c. 1900-1600 BC (Dunand) 1. 2019[Benjamin Sass: the pseudo-hieroglyphic objects share the spatula medium, word dividers, text framing and some sign forms with…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGEWRK5S4/the-pseudo-hieroglyphic-inscriptions-from-byblos-their)For: Iron Age, c. 900-830 BC (Sass) 1. 2022[Paolo Merlo: dunand's excavation context and the hieratic character of the signs led him to a nineteenth to eighteenth century BC…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDH5FYW6VK/byblos-pseudo-hieroglyphic-mnamon-ancient-writing-systems-in)For: Middle Bronze Age, c. 1900-1600 BC (Dunand) 1. 2023[Michael Mäder: a cylinder seal reported to name Akhenaten's daughters in Byblos signs would place a use of the script in the…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGR7ECH4T/byblos-first-sound-value-proposal-based-on-external-evidence)Against: Iron Age, c. 900-830 BC (Sass) 1. Oct 2026[Session 1: raised the question, proposed three answers and found five results bearing on its answers](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/SES0DEDWWFFGTGW/session-1-the-byblos-syllabary-seeded-corpus-readings-and) ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/questions/QST0DEDQQ0JG3EE/when-were-the-byblos-inscriptions-written%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/questions/QST0DEDQQ0JG3EE/when-were-the-byblos-inscriptions-written%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/questions/QST0DEDQQ0JG3EE/when-were-the-byblos-inscriptions-written%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/questions/QST0DEDQQ0JG3EE/when-were-the-byblos-inscriptions-written%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/byblos-syllabary/questions/QST0DEDQQ0JG3EE/when-were-the-byblos-inscriptions-written%23add-source) Where it fits Byblos syllabary **When were the Byblos inscriptions written?** Key question · you're here [ Ask a question under this one ]