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Which published alphabets do the Glozel signs resemble, and could a forger of the 1920s have drawn on them?

Asked 31 Oct 2026 by ·1 answer·0·0 following
One answer, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

One answer has been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. One is still possible.

Why it matters

Dussaud matched the first 22 letter forms to fifth-century Phoenician and showed that Iberian-looking signs appeared after a Portuguese journal reached Morlet⁠[1]⁠[2]. Isserlin found the closest partial match in the Iberian scripts, and Hitz derives his alphabet from Lepontic and Etruscan⁠[3]⁠[4]. No one has compared the 111 signs, in order of first discovery, against the alphabet tables printed before 1930.

Answers 1

Evidence: 1 for, 1 against
Still possible

Next steps 1

1
Build a dated table of first appearances of each sign type from Vayson de Pradenne 1927 and Morlet's fascicles, and match it against alphabet handbooks printed before 1930.
~10 h
—not judged
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes

History

  1. René Dussaud: dussaud showed that the 22 letters on the first 21 tablets match the late Phoenician of the Eshmunazar sarcophagus and…For: A repertoire assembled from printed alphabet tables
  2. André Vayson de Pradenne: dussaud showed that the 22 letters on the first 21 tablets match the late Phoenician of the Eshmunazar sarcophagus and…For: A repertoire assembled from printed alphabet tables
  3. B. S. J. Isserlin: isserlin's 1976 comparison found the Glozel signs matched no single ancient alphabet closely, which a direct copy from…Against: A repertoire assembled from printed alphabet tables
  4. Session 1: raised the question and proposed one answer
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