17 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A mysterious lead tablet with an unknown 13th-14th-century script: Might be an old Lithuanian script?

In the Museum of the Palace of the Grand Dukes in Vilnius, Lithuania, a mysterious lead tablet dating back to the 13-14 centuries with a script still undeciphered despite its discovery 20 years ago is on display.

The mysterious plaque was found twenty years ago while exploring Vilnius castles. Archaeologists were using a metal detector to scout the location where some of the earliest wooden structures were located. They were expecting to find a treasure or a simple axe and were surprised when the large object turned out to be a rectangular metal strip of metal with strange engravings.

The metal tablet, nineteen centimeters long, four centimeters wide, and almost half a centimeter thick, was found nailed to a wooden base.

The mysterious plate has attracted the interest not only of Lithuanians but also foreign researchers. They tried to find out what could be written on it: could Lithuanians have had their a writing since ancient times and this is the first trace of such a possible writing? No examples of old Lithuanian writing, if any, have been found so far. Researchers searched avidly for analogs or similar symbols – and as the mysteries grew, it became clear that these were not random scribbles.

“We tried to find a logical explanation for the markings: on the sides of the tablet, the beginning and the end were marked with crosses, as if they were marking the beginning and the end of the text,” said Gintautas Striška, head of the Archaeology and Architecture Department at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Museum in Vilnius.

“The text is clearly composed of several lines. The top line seems to be written in two ways – signs and letters, and the bottom line has several more lines with various inscriptions,” he added.

Photo:  Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Museum
Photo: Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Museum

“At the time, we thought that part of the text may have been written in ancient Greek. With the help of linguists, we saw that part of it could be translated as ‘Algirdas Basileus’ – that is, ‘King Algirdas’,” said Striška.

“The letters only resemble Greek letters, and a person who carved them may have missed something or combined several letters into one, making deciphering the record difficult,” he added.

The lead tablet could refer to Grand Duke Algirdas, who ruled Lithuania from 1345 to 1377. According to Striška, the Byzantine emperor is known as Basileus, but Algirdas did not have such this title. In a letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1370, he referred to himself as Basileus. It was an attempt to demonstrate that he was a sovereign ruler comparable to the Byzantine Emperor.

“Therefore, such an inscription on the tablet is entirely plausible,” said Striška.“But the small plaque hides more secrets: when the restoration of the find began, it turned out that the reverse side of the plaque also had a writing.”

The lead plate possibly mentions the Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas. Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, painted in 1578.
The lead plate possibly mentions the Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas. Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania, painted in 1578.

The archaeologist says that many words are similar to names. There is a better preserved two-line inscription, where the incised letters can be read as Marem Byoyb. Several other entries next to it might also refer to names.

The mysterious inscription was most likely written by more than one person. Smaller, somewhat different-looking hand-carved letters made of soft metal are located on the bottom, while meticulously engraved symbols and capital letters are located on the top. It is also possible that the inscriptions on the plate are engraved in several languages, making it difficult to read.

The names inscribed on the tablet could be signatures of the participants in a trade agreement. According to the archaeologist, if such a version were to be confirmed, we would have one of the first names of merchants in Lithuania.

When scientists could not find an answer, they stopped speculating and left this work for the future.

Cover Photo: Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania Museum

Related Articles

9,000-Year-Old Rock Art Suggests Early Humans Interacted with Dinosaur Footprints

22 February 2025

22 February 2025

In Brazil, researchers have made an extraordinary discovery of ancient rock art dating back over 9,000 years, found alongside dinosaur...

The Ancient City of Miletos’s “Sacred Cave” Opened to Visitors

2 October 2021

2 October 2021

In the ancient city of Miletos, which had an important place in the advancement of philosophy, art, and science in...

The Americas’ oldest known bead discovered near Douglas, Wyoming

9 March 2024

9 March 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the oldest known bead in the Americas at the La Prele Mammoth site in Converse County, United...

Archaeologists may have found the Sanctuary of Samian Poseidon described in ancient texts

11 October 2022

11 October 2022

During excavations in the foothills at the ancient acropolis of Samicum in Greece, archaeologists may have found the sanctuary of...

Electoral inscriptions just discovered in Pompeii reveal clientelism in ancient Rome

29 September 2023

29 September 2023

Several electoral inscriptions, the ancient equivalent of today’s electoral posters and pamphlets, have appeared on the walls of the room...

1600-Year-Old Geometric Motifs Mosaic Found in Yavne

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

The Israel Antiquities Authority declared Monday that a 1,600-year-old mosaic discovered in Yavne, which archaeologists believe may have once graced...

A large stone monument depicting the goddess Ishtar has been unearthed in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud

26 June 2023

26 June 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, working with an Iraqi excavation team, have unearthed a...

More evidence shows Vikings came to North America before Columbus

22 May 2023

22 May 2023

Although the discovery of North America is synonymous with Christopher Columbus, new research reveals that Viking sailors landed on the...

A 2000-year-old Rare Artifact was Found Near Poltava

25 May 2021

25 May 2021

Scarab beetle pendant found near the Ukrainian city of Poltava. During the building of the H-31 motorway in the Poltava...

Excavations at the ‘Westminster Abbey of Wales’ Yielded a Few Surprises: a lost Aqueduct and a Buried Celtic Treasure

12 March 2024

12 March 2024

Archaeologists working in Wales revealed recently they may have discovered a Celtic monastery at the site of a 12th-century Cistercian...

Karahantepe will shed light on the mysteries of the Prehistoric period

7 October 2021

7 October 2021

Karahantepe’s ancient site, which is home to Neolithic-era T-shaped obelisks similar to the ones in the world-famous Göbeklitepe, will reveal...

Germany: 700-year-old Causeway Found Under Central Berlin Street

19 February 2022

19 February 2022

Archaeologists from the Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (LDA) made a sensational find during their excavation at Molkenmarkt: about 2.50 m below Stralauer...

Unusual construction material may be linked to the Tower of Babel

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

Archaeologists have recently discovered bitumen and mortar plastered onto a brick dating back to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II. This...

Exploring the life story of a high-status woman from isotope data in Hungary’s largest Bronze Age cemetery

29 July 2021

29 July 2021

Researchers examined 29 tombs from Szigetszentmiklós-Ürgehegy, one of Hungary’s largest Middle Bronze Age cemeteries, and one of them, a high-status...

A 1700-year-old Roman water tunnel dug into the mountain was discovered in Adıyaman province in southeastern Türkiye

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

It was revealed that in the Besni district of Adıyaman province, located in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, the...