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Writing: Syria
 Return to Writing
From around 2500 B.C. the use of cuneiform, or wedge-shaped writing, which had developed in southern Mesopotamia, began to be used on clay tablets in the major cities that had emerged across Syria. An important archive was found at Ebla, next to the throne room of a majestic palace. It contained a range of tablets written in at least three languages (Sumerian, Akkadian, and Eblaite), including short- and long-term accounts, letters, treaties, incantations, rituals, as well as literary materials, such as divine hymns and myths, lexical lists, and various school exercises. Almost two thousand complete clay tablets, approximately six thousand large tablet fragments, and thousands of smaller tablet fragments were discovered. Because the Ebla archives were intact, they provide unique information, but scattered accounts have also been recovered from the town of Tell Beydar (ancient Nabada), and from the major cities of Mari, and Tell Brak (ancient Nagar).
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Select an image below to learn more and see the enlarged view.
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