Extracts of Cyrus Cylinder found in ChinaI'm not at all sure what that last sentence means, but that's what it says, and it's repeated later in the article. This is not my area, but if Irving Finkel thinks it's real, it's worth taking note of. For more on the Cyrus Cylinder and on Irving Finkel, go here. And there's still more on Dr. Finkel here. And follow the links in both posts for still more.
British Museum curator has identified cuneiform text inscribed on horse bones
By Martin Bailey | From issue 215, July-August 2010 (The Art Newspaper)
Published online 2 Aug 10 (News)
LONDON. Two fossilised horse bones with cuneiform inscriptions have been found in China, carved with extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder. They were initially dismissed as fakes because of the improbability of ancient Persian texts turning up in Beijing. But following new research, British Museum (BM) specialist Irving Finkel is now convinced of their authenticity.
This discovery looks set to transform our knowledge about what is arguably the most important surviving cuneiform text, written in the world’s earliest script. Dating from 539BC, the Cyrus Cylinder was ceremonially buried in the walls of Babylon. Its text celebrates the achievements of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persian empire. The clay cylinder was excavated by BM archaeologists in 1879 and sent to London, where it is one of the museum’s most important antiquities.
The texts found in China inexplicably have fewer than one in every 20 of the Cyrus text’s cuneiform signs transcribed, although they are in the correct order. ...
(Via Francis Deblauwe on Facebook.)