A stunningly rare artifact found at an Iron Age site in Spain contains an example of the equally rare ancient Vasconic script. Dating to the first century BC, the artifact in question is a flattened bronze hand inscribed with a written inscription traced to the mostly extinct Vasconic language family, a pre-European fixture on the Iberian Peninsula.
Aerial photograph of the site of Irulegi with the excavation site where the bronze hand inscribed in Vasconic script was unearthed in the background. (Aiestaran, M. et. al / Antiquity Publications Ltd)
Excavation Reveals Bronze Artifact Inscribed with Vasconic Script
The flattened metal hand was found during excavations that took place several years ago near the village of Irulegi in the Aranguren Valley of Navarre, a region of northern Spain that was the home of the medieval Kingdom of Navarre. This kingdom occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, the rugged mountain range that forms the border between Spain and France.
The bronze artifact is approximately 5.5 by six inches in size (14 by 15 centimeters). It is neither a left hand nor a right hand but includes five long fingers, all of which are aligned and pointed downward. There is a small hole drilled in the top of the hand, suggesting it was meant to be hung from a nail.
The Bronze Irulegi hand, showing the ancient script. (Aiestaran, M. et. al / Antiquity Publications Ltd)
This is the first time a hand of this type has ever been recovered from an Iron Age European site….
