A groundbreaking archaeological discovery in Syria has left scholars puzzled—an ancient form of alphabetic writing, unearthed by UC Santa Cruz professor Elaine Sullivan, remains undeciphered. The discovery, made during an excavation in the early 2000s, could push back the known origins of alphabetic writing by centuries.
Unearthing an Unexplained Script
While a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, Elaine Sullivan participated in excavations at Umm el-Marra, an ancient site near Aleppo, Syria. Led by archaeologist Glenn Schwartz, the team explored a Bronze Age mortuary complex, where Sullivan made a remarkable find—four small cylindrical clay artifacts, each inscribed with unfamiliar symbols.
The excavation took place in 2002 and 2004, but it was during the latter season that Sullivan, now a professor and Egyptologist at UC Santa Cruz, discovered the inscribed objects in a tomb known as Tomb 4. Despite the presence of rich burial goods, no other known form of writing had been found in the necropolis before, making this find particularly significant.
A Fragile but Revolutionary Discovery
The clay cylinders, roughly the size of a finger, were made from a material that had been lightly baked, making them fragile yet durable enough to survive millennia. Their discovery was almost accidental—Sullivan and her team painstakingly sifted every bit of excavated soil through sieves to ensure that even the smallest artifacts were recovered.
“When I first brushed off the dirt, I immediately knew the symbols were unusual,” Sullivan recalled. Unsure of their meaning, she alerted Dr. Schwartz, who quickly recognized that they could represent a form of writing. However, neither of them could identify the script, leaving its interpretation an open question.
Rewriting the History of the Alphabet?
Subsequent analysis, including Carbon-14 dating, determined that the cylinders date back to approximately 2400 B.C., making them around 500 years older than the earliest known alphabetic inscriptions from Egypt and Israel. This revelation suggests that alphabetic writing may have emerged earlier and in a different region than previously believed.
“The characters resemble early alphabetic symbols found in Egypt and Israel, but their age and Syrian origin make them extraordinary,” Sullivan explained.
Schwartz, who presented the discovery at the American Society of Overseas Research in late 2024, speculates that the symbols may have been used for practical purposes. Given their proximity to ceramic vessels within the tomb, he theorizes that they could have served as labels indicating the contents of burial offerings.
A Mystery Yet to Be Solved
Despite its historical significance, the meaning of the inscriptions remains elusive. Sullivan has since shifted her focus to other research, including her forthcoming book, Selling Saqqara, which explores the modern distribution of ancient Egyptian artifacts. However, she remains eager to see how scholars interpret the script in the coming years.
“I hope this discovery sparks interest among experts in early writing systems,” she said. “The scholarly community needs to examine these inscriptions closely. Over the next two decades, we may finally unravel their meaning.”
One of the four cylinders unearthed at the Bronze Age burial site in Syria. (Credit: Glenn Schwartz)
Schwartz, meanwhile, is calling for linguists specializing in early alphabetic systems to join the effort. “If these inscriptions are indeed alphabetic, we need to reassess how and where the first alphabets developed,” he emphasized.
As researchers continue their efforts to decode the ancient script, this discovery challenges long-held assumptions about the origins of written language, opening new avenues for understanding the development of early literacy.
