Evidence · Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet
An alphabetic ink inscription from Lachish comes from a stratum radiocarbon-dated to about 1460-1430 BC, so alphabetic…
An alphabetic ink inscription from Lachish comes from a stratum radiocarbon-dated to about 1460-1430 BC, so alphabetic writing existed well before 1300 BC.
What it means
Key questionWhen were the Serabit el-Khadim inscriptions written: in the Middle Kingdom, about 1850 BC, or in the New Kingdom?
4 answers, none ahead yet
Openunchanged
Answer this evidence bears onLate New Kingdom, c. 1300 BC (Sass 2005)
Counts againstnone for, 1 against
Still possiblewas No evidence yet
Sources 2
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). An alphabetic ink inscription from Lachish comes from a stratum radiocarbon-dated to about 1460-1430 BC, so alphabetic… [Evidence EVD0DEEAPTZ8456]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEEAPTZ8456
@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0deeaptz8456,
title = {An alphabetic ink inscription from Lachish comes from a stratum radiocarbon-dated to about 1460-1430 BC, so alphabetic…},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DEEAPTZ8456},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEEAPTZ8456}
}