Archaeology & History

Translation of mystery stone slab yields surprising discovery

By T.K. Randall
May 25, 2024 ·  18 comments

What does this inscription say and who wrote it ? Image Credit: Twitter / @adams_john Back on May 15th, we reported on the discovery of a mysterious stone tablet bearing an indecipherable inscription that was found when John Adams of Shropshire, England lifted up one of the patio stones in his yard.

You can find the original article - here.

His house had once been a pub and is situated on what used to be a well-frequented traveling route, so it seemed quite possible that the stone had been part of a landmark of some kind.

"[The house] was an inn previously," he told BBC News at the time. "It was also a pub. Maybe it was [written by] somebody who happened to be passing through or staying here."

After asking for a second opinion online, John learned that the writing was most likely to be in Hebrew and now, with the help of university academics, it has finally been possible to translate it.

Well, sort of...According to Prof Lily Kahn - who is head of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College London - the writing is definitely Hebrew but the actual inscription itself appears to be gibberish.

"When you look at it more closely you see that it doesn't actually make any sense," she said.

"And not only does it not make any sense in Hebrew, it also doesn't make any sense in Yiddish or Aramaic or other languages that Jews wrote in a form of the Hebrew script."

The most likely explanation, Kahn argues, is that the person who wrote it was drunk.

"I'm kind of relieved it wasn't a gravestone, because that would have been a bit spooky to find in your patio," said John.

"The drunken monk I'd very happily go with that and that's a lovely story, especially in a pub."

Source: BBC News | Comments (18)

Tags: Stone, Inscription