The Umm el-Marra inscribed clay cylinders

Four finger-sized, perforated clay cylinders from Tomb 4 of the Early Bronze IVA mortuary complex at Umm el-Marra, excavated in 2004, incised with twelve signs of which eight are distinct. Schwartz reads them as early alphabetic letters, tentatively k'y and wn'ls; others hold that so few signs cannot show what kind of writing they are. Their present whereabouts after the Syrian war are not published.

Copies 0

Sources 4

Early Non-Cuneiform Writing? Third-Millennium BC Clay Cylinders from Umm el-MarraSRC
Non-cuneiform writing at third-millennium Umm el-Marra, Syria: Evidence of an early alphabetic tradition?SRC
Tell Umm el-Marra (Syria) and Early Alphabetic in the Third Millennium: Four Inscribed Clay Cylinders as a Potential Game ChangerSRC
World's Oldest Alphabet Found on an Ancient Clay Gift TagSRC

Cite it

Mysteries Department. (2026). The Umm el-Marra inscribed clay cylinders [Artifact ART0DEDT7N59F26]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ART0DEDT7N59F26

@misc{mysteriesdept_art0dedt7n59f26,
  title     = {The Umm el-Marra inscribed clay cylinders},
  author    = {{Mysteries Department}},
  year      = {2026},
  note      = {Artifact, catalog key ART0DEDT7N59F26},
  url       = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ART0DEDT7N59F26}
}