A lost civilization’s partial alphabet was discovered in a social media post

A sequence of letters belonging to an ancient alphabet has been discovered in a most unusual way — by someone scrolling through social media.

The inscription, on a slate slab unearthed in Spain, is closely linked to the Phoenician alphabet, which was hugely influential on later writing systems including Latin, Spanish and English. Researchers hope that the finding will expand their understanding of a prosperous pre-Roman civilization’s writing system. Until now, only incomplete or poorly dated samples had been found. The Spanish National Research Council announced the discovery in a June 11 press release.

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