Evidence · Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet
Full readings of the same Sinai and Wadi el-Hol texts by Albright, Wilson-Wright and Puech disagree with one another…
Full readings of the same Sinai and Wadi el-Hol texts by Albright, Wilson-Wright and Puech disagree with one another, and a 2025 Egyptological survey still calls the Wadi el-Hol texts undeciphered.
What it means
Openunchanged
Answer this evidence bears onUnreadable beyond a few words with present evidence
Supports1 for, none against
Still possiblewas No evidence yet
Next steps 4
1
Extend the corpus list (DAT0DEDVG40T7X0) with a sign-by-sign transliteration of every inscription from Sass 1988 and Hamilton 2006, marking uncertain and damaged signs, so readings can be compared on one table.
~20 h
—not judged
2
Transliterate every inscription sign by sign into the corpus list from Sass 1988 and Hamilton 2006.
~20 h
—not judged
3
Collate the published full readings (Albright 1966, Wilson-Wright 2016, Puech 2024, Darnell et al. 2005) inscription by inscription, and score where they agree on sign identity, direction and word division.
~12 h
—not judged
4
Compare sign counts on each rock panel between the 1917 Gardiner-Peet plates (DAT0DEDVGPGMXDV), Butin's copies and the British Museum photographs, to list which signs have been lost or are disputed since discovery.
~8 h
—not judged
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes
Sources 4
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). Full readings of the same Sinai and Wadi el-Hol texts by Albright, Wilson-Wright and Puech disagree with one another… [Evidence EVD0DEE96S52CS7]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEE96S52CS7
@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0dee96s52cs7,
title = {Full readings of the same Sinai and Wadi el-Hol texts by Albright, Wilson-Wright and Puech disagree with one another…},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DEE96S52CS7},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEE96S52CS7}
}