WE-2

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Inscription
Transliteration:	]e[???
Original script:	][???
Object:	WE-2 potsherd (pottery)
Position:	outside
Script:	unknown
Direction of writing:	dextroverse
Letter height:	1.8 cm
Number of letters:	2
Number of lines:	1
Craftsmanship:	incised before firing
Current condition:	damaged, fragmentary
Date of inscription:
Date derived from:
Language:	unknown
Meaning:	unknown
Alternative sigla:	none
Sources:	Schumacher 2004: 189, 214

Images

Object WE-2 potsherd with inscription WE-2.

Commentary

First published in Schumacher 1992: 189.

Pictures in Schumacher 2004: Taf. 5,2 (drawing) and 6,1 (photo).

Length of the visible remains, including the upper tips of characters on the right, 2.6 cm. The scratches are well visible. is clear; on the breaking edge to its left, the very tip of a bar may be visible (see drawing), but it might be merely an unintentional dent. It is therefore unclear whether there were characters before . is followed by a tip-up chevron, the lower part og which is broken off ( or ). Then, in the upper area above the breaking edge, the tip of a scratch inclined to the left, a small angle opening to the right, and the very tip of another scratch. Schumacher's tentative reading eais is unlikely, for the very reasons mentioned by himself: The scratch after the chevron is inclined, and would have had to merge with the hypothetical , for which the angle is too small. The visible tips are too crowded to suggest actual letters; despite , we are probably concerned with non-script. (See here for a discussion of possible interpretations of inscriptions with doubtful status.) Note in this context that the inscription was applied before firing.

Bibliography

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)