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History => Ancient and Medieval History => Topic started by: Imperial Dave on September 05, 2017, 08:11:26 PM

Title: Lost languages 'discovered' in Egyptian manuscripts
Post by: Imperial Dave on September 05, 2017, 08:11:26 PM
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/lost-languages-found-ancient-manuscript-parchment-saint-catherine-monastery-sinai-peninsula-egypt-a7916346.html

all clever stuff
Title: Re: Lost languages 'discovered' in Egyptian manuscripts
Post by: Patrick Waterson on September 05, 2017, 08:19:49 PM
With the right equipment and sufficient scholars, it might be possible to check every palimpsest in every collection.

I wonder what the Vatican Library might reveal.
Title: Re: Lost languages 'discovered' in Egyptian manuscripts
Post by: Imperial Dave on September 05, 2017, 09:04:43 PM
the mind boggles at what is possibly waiting to be 'discovered'
Title: Re: Lost languages 'discovered' in Egyptian manuscripts
Post by: Andreas Johansson on September 05, 2017, 10:33:00 PM
The thing needing scare quotes would seem to be "lost" - Caucasian Albanian, while obscure, is by no means unknown, and may even have a modern descendant in the Udi language (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udi_language).

(The only other language explicitly said to be found in the palimpsets is Arabic, which is about as un-lost as a language can be.)
Title: Re: Lost languages 'discovered' in Egyptian manuscripts
Post by: Dangun on September 06, 2017, 12:35:38 AM
Now we just need them to find a legible version of Claudius' Etruscan History or Ctesis Persica, or similar lying under another copy of some religious text.
Title: Re: Lost languages 'discovered' in Egyptian manuscripts
Post by: Imperial Dave on September 06, 2017, 07:19:24 AM
the list is endless of wished for and now lost manuscripts...!  :)