Decoding oldest known sentence written in first alphabet

20 FEBRUARY 2023|ARCHAEOLOGY

In a landmark discovery, a team of Israeli archaeologists have decoded the oldest known sentence in the ancient language of Canaanites. The inscription found on an ivory comb unearthed in Tel Lachish, the second most important city in the Biblical Kingdom of Judah, provides evidence for the use of the alphabet some 3,700 years ago.

The sentence throws light upon the struggle of early humans against lice:

May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.