SZ-22.2

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Inscription
Transliteration:	unknown
Original script:	unknown
Variant Reading:	§
Object:	SZ-22 handle ()
Position:	handle, inside
Script:	unknown
Direction of writing:	ambiguous
Letter height:	0.9 cm
Number of lines:	1
Craftsmanship:	incised
Current condition:	unknown
Date of inscription:
Date derived from:
Type:	unknown
Language:	unknown
Meaning:	unknown
Alternative sigla:	PID 203 LIR SA-26
Sources:	Schumacher 2004: 137

Images

Inscription SZ-22.2.

Object SZ-22 antler with inscriptions SZ-22.1 and SZ-22.2.

Commentary

First published in PID.
Further references: NRIE 99, Pisani 1935: 94, Battisti 1944: 230 f., Franz 1957: 107, Anm. 19, Zimmer et al. 1985: 166 (Nr 41).
Picture in LIR (drawing).
Read ahua·huχl by Whatmough and, following him, Schumacher (alternative ahua·huχr) and Mancini (ahua·huφa). However, the fact that many of the strokes are joined to the lower ends of the strokes of SZ-22.1 (line 2 like) suggests that they were were executed by putting the tool into the existing indentations on the edge of the handle and scratching inward. The strokes being very long, unequal in length and becoming very thin towards the middle of handle corroborates this. Therefore, the scratchings should be looked at the other way round. The untidy appearance of the inscription casts doubt on the strokes so far interpreted as the cross-bars of the two signs read as : they being much more slightly scratched than the others, and much longer than they'd need to be. What has been interpreted as some sort of punctuation mark is a vertical row of very short horizontal strokes separating the inscription into two parts which may be argued to be intended as identical, excepting the to the very left. A grouping of the strokes into letters cannot be achieved with any certainty. Probably non-script or pseudo-script.

Bibliography

Battisti 1944	Carlo Battisti, "Osservazioni sulla lingua delle iscrizioni nell'alfabeto etrusco settentrionale di Bolzano", Studi Etruschi 18 (1944), 199–236.
LIR	Alberto Mancini, Le Iscrizioni Retiche [= Quaderni del dipartimento di linguistica, Università degli studi di Firenze Studi 8–9], Padova: Unipress 2009–10. (2 volumes)