# 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.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/evidence/EVD0DEEAPTZ8456/an-alphabetic-ink-inscription-from-lachish-comes-from-a  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic)Evidence

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.

Established0

## What it means

Key question[When were the Serabit el-Khadim inscriptions written: in the Middle Kingdom, about 1850 BC, or in the New Kingdom?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/questions/QST0DEDW70ERVE3/when-were-the-serabit-el-khadim-inscriptions-written-in-the)

4 answers, none ahead yet

**Open** unchanged

Answer this evidence bears on[Late New Kingdom, c. 1300 BC (Sass 2005)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/answers/ANS0DEDXXT0J9E1/late-new-kingdom-c-1300-bc-sass-2005)

Counts againstnone for, 1 against

**Still possible** was No evidence yet

## Sources 2

[Early alphabetic writing in the ancient Near East: the 'missing link' from Tel Lachish](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJBQ3YBSS/early-alphabetic-writing-in-the-ancient-near-east-the)

Höflmayer et al. 2021

SRC

[Two Early Alphabetic Inscriptions from the Wadi el-Hol: New Evidence for the Origin of the Alphabet from the Western Desert of Egypt](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHW700H66/two-early-alphabetic-inscriptions-from-the-wadi-el-hol-new)

Darnell et al. 2005

SRC

## 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
```

Key

**EVD** 0DEEAPTZ8456

Kind

Evidence

Tier

Established

Version

1

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[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

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