# Al-Jallad 2025: The Decipherment of the Dhofari Script: Three halḥam abecedaries and the first glimpses into the corpus > Ahmad Al-Jallad, 2025. 15 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The decipherment claim at the centre of the mystery. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7QB83Y6EZ6/the-decipherment-of-the-dhofari-script-three-halham Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) --- [Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Dhofari script](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script)Al-Jallad 2025 **0** # The Decipherment of the Dhofari Script: Three halḥam abecedaries and the first glimpses into the corpus Ahmad Al-Jallad, 2025. _Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap Ex Oriente Lux (JEOL) 49_. Identifies three painted inscriptions as abecedaries in the South Semitic halḥam letter order and uses them to assign sound values to the glyphs of Script 1 (variant 1a); finds the letter shapes closest to North Arabian scripts, especially Thamudic B; notes mergers of interdentals with sibilants; gives first readings of texts and argues the language is related to, but not ancestral to, the Modern South Arabian languages such as Mehri and Jibbali. Zenodo record published 10 July 2025. **Dhofari script** Articledoi: **[10.5281/zenodo.15853466](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15853466)** Checked against the original0 ## What it's used for here The decipherment claim at the centre of the mystery. ## Cited by on this site 15 records [Al-Jallad's values for Script 1a, derived from three halḥam abecedaries, are correct.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/answers/ANS0D7QBGX64QFZ/al-jallads-values-for-script-1a-derived-from-three-halham) Answer ANS [An extinct Semitic language related to Modern South Arabian but not ancestral to it.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/answers/ANS0D7QBK3G3NXT/an-extinct-semitic-language-related-to-modern-south-arabian) Answer ANS [The letter forms derive from a North Arabian archetype close to Thamudic B.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/answers/ANS0D7QBMJC3QY6/the-letter-forms-derive-from-a-north-arabian-archetype-close) Answer ANS [The letter order and most values are right, but readings of texts are too uncertain to call the corpus read.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/answers/ANS0D7QBJ480PBA/the-letter-order-and-most-values-are-right-but-readings-of) Answer ANS [Al-Jallad 2025 decipherment paper and plates (Zenodo)](https://mysteriesdept.com/datasets/DAT0D7QBPRP7Z9R/al-jallad-2025-decipherment-paper-and-plates-zenodo) Dataset DAT [Interdental loss is not compatible with direct ancestry of the modern languages, which keep them.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/evidence/EVD0D7QBM2R2Y5C/interdental-loss-is-not-compatible-with-direct-ancestry-of) Evidence EVD [Letter shapes align mainly with North Arabian scripts, especially Thamudic B.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/evidence/EVD0D7QBMT64XCF/letter-shapes-align-mainly-with-north-arabian-scripts) Evidence EVD [Preliminary readings find forms paralleled in Mehri and Jibbali.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/evidence/EVD0D7QBKK42RSX/preliminary-readings-find-forms-paralleled-in-mehri-and) Evidence EVD [The order of the three lists matches halḥam closely, which fixes values for letters that shape comparison…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/evidence/EVD0D7QBHCT6H6T/the-order-of-the-three-lists-matches-halham-closely-which) Evidence EVD [Al-Jallad publishes the decipherment of Script 1](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/events/EVT0D7QBFP4749Y/al-jallad-publishes-the-decipherment-of-script-1) EVT [Ahmad Al-Jallad](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/people/FIG0D7QBCRC1CG9/ahmad-al-jallad) FIG [The Dhofari script](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script) The mystery article MYS [Did the Dhofari alphabet derive from North Arabian or South Arabian writing?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/questions/QST0D7QBGDJ5B8N/did-the-dhofari-alphabet-derive-from-north-arabian-or-south) Question QST [Has the Dhofari script been deciphered?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/questions/QST0D7QBFXY6VFH/has-the-dhofari-script-been-deciphered) Question QST [What language do the Dhofari inscriptions record?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script/questions/QST0D7QBG5R5CGG/what-language-do-the-dhofari-inscriptions-record) Question QST ## Cite it ``` Al-Jallad, A. (2025). The Decipherment of the Dhofari Script: Three halḥam abecedaries and the first glimpses into the corpus. Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap Ex Oriente Lux (JEOL) 49. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15853466 ``` [Read it free at doi.org](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15853466) Key **SRC** 0D7QB83Y6EZ6 Kind Journal article Rights CC-BY-4.0 Kept 27 Oct 2026, for editors Checked Against the published article Added by [apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo) The record Bibliographic records are CC0. Take this one as CSL-JSON, BibTeX or RIS. [CSL-JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D7QB83Y6EZ6/the-decipherment-of-the-dhofari-script-three-halham/csl.json)