Etruscan inscriptions

1. Did the Etruscans have written records?
2. Can we read Etruscan?
3. What did the Etruscans write on?
4. What is the oldest Etruscan writing?

Did the Etruscans have written records?

Etruscan did not appear in written form until the seventh century B.C., after contact with Euboean Greek traders and colonists, and it is the Euboean Greek alphabet that the Etruscans adopted and adapted to fulfill the phonological and grammatical needs of their native tongue.

Can we read Etruscan?

Knowledge of the Etruscan language was once considered "lost." It has not been spoken since the Roman empire, and for long before that it was spoken only by priests. Yet contrary to popular belief, we can—and do—read and understand Etruscan.

What did the Etruscans write on?

More than 10,000 Etruscan inscriptions have been found on tombstones, vases, statues, mirrors and jewellery. Fragments of an Etruscan book made of linen have also been found. Etruscan texts can be read: i.e. the pronunciation of the letters is known, though scholars are not sure what all the words mean.

What is the oldest Etruscan writing?

The Tabula Capuana (the inscribed tile from Capua) has about 300 readable words in 62 lines, dating to the fifth century BC.