28 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists discover rare Caanite inscription on ancient ivory comb

Israeli archaeologists discovered a rare inscription on an ivory comb that sheds new light on the Canaanite language’s use some 3,700 years ago, marking what is likely the oldest-known full sentence in the Canaanite alphabetical script.

The ivory comb was unearthed at Tel Lachish in Israel back in 2017 by a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) and Southern Adventist University in the United States.

However, it was only late last year when a professor at Israel’s Hebrew University noticed the tiny words inscribed on it. Details of the find were published Wednesday in an article in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology.

The text was deciphered by Semitic epigraphist Dr. Daniel Vainstub at Ben Gurion University (BGU).

The comb measures roughly 3.5 by 2.5 cm and has six thick teeth on the side that was used to untangle knots in the hair, while the other side with 14 fine teeth, was used to remove lice and their eggs, much like the current-day two-sided lice combs.

The inscription encourages people to comb their hair and beards to rid themselves of lice. The sentence contains 17 letters that read: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”

An aerial picture shows the Tel Lachish archeological site, a key Canaanite city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Jerusalem, Israel. Photo: IAA
An aerial picture shows the Tel Lachish archeological site, a key Canaanite city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Jerusalem, Israel. Photo: IAA

The discovery, according to experts, sheds new light on some of humanity’s earliest uses of the Canaanite alphabet, which was invented around 1800 B.C. and served as the foundation for all subsequent alphabetic systems such as Hebrew, Arabic, Greek, Latin, and Cyrillic.

The mundane topic indicates that people had trouble with lice in everyday life during the time – and archaeologists say they have even found microscopic evidence of head lice on the comb.

The comb inscription is direct evidence of the use of the alphabet in daily activities some 3700 years ago. This is a landmark in the history of the human ability to write,” said Professor Yosef Garfinkel.

The find also opens up room for debate about the ancient era, Garfinkel added. The fact that the sentence was found on an ivory comb in the ancient city’s palace and temple district, coupled with the mentioning of the beard, could indicate that only wealthy men were able to read and write.

Besides, Ivory was a very expensive material and likely an imported luxury object. As there were no elephants in Canaan during that time period, the comb likely came from nearby Egypt.

The Canaanites lived in the regions bordering the eastern Mediterranean and spoke a prehistoric Semitic language related to modern Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic. They are believed to have developed the first known alphabetic system of writing.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Cover Photo: IAA

Related Articles

In Lviv, Ukraine, a secret room where Jews were hiding in city sewers during the Nazi Holocaust has been unearthed

7 November 2021

7 November 2021

In the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, diggers have uncovered new hiding spots in underground sewers where some Jews managed...

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 7,500-year-old settlement has been discovered in Turkey’s Domuztepe Mound

11 September 2021

11 September 2021

During the most recent excavations at Domuztepe Mound in the Türkoğlu district of southern Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş province, a settlement and...

2,700-Year-Old Pre-Roman Iron Age necropolis Unearthed in Naples, Italy

8 May 2024

8 May 2024

An approximately 2,700-year-old Pre-Roman necropolis was discovered by archaeologists during excavations conducted in advance of a planned electric power plant...

Spectacular 222-gram Gold Necklace Unearthed in Poland, Possibly of Goth Origin

10 August 2025

10 August 2025

A spectacular archaeological find has emerged from the forests near Kalisz, Poland — a massive bent gold necklace weighing an...

Surprising Genetic Findings from Early Middle Ages Burial Sites in Austria

22 January 2025

22 January 2025

In a groundbreaking archeogenetic study, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in collaboration with an international team,...

Well-Preserved Wooden Houses Over 2,000 Years Old Discovered in Zhejiang, China

15 March 2025

15 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, researchers in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, have uncovered exceptionally well-preserved wooden houses dating back over...

Exceptional Iron Age Artifacts Discovered at Celtic Necropolis in France

18 April 2025

18 April 2025

An archaeological excavation in Creuzier-le-Neuf, a small town located six miles north of Vichy, has unveiled a remarkable Celtic necropolis,...

The 890-million-year-old sponge fossil may be the oldest animal yet discovered

1 August 2021

1 August 2021

890-million-year-old fossil sponges found in the “Little Dal” limestones of northwest Canada may be the oldest animal ever found. According...

7,000-Year-Old Canoes Reveal Early Development of Nautical Technology in Mediterranean

21 March 2024

21 March 2024

The discovery of five “technologically sophisticated” canoes in Italy has revealed that  Neolithic people were navigating the Mediterranean more than...

3,500-year-old perfectly preserved ancient frozen bear found in Siberian

28 February 2023

28 February 2023

As the permafrost on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island in eastern Siberia melted, a mummified brown bear that lived more than three...

An 8,200-year-old temple structure found in Çatalhöyük

6 September 2022

6 September 2022

An 8,200-year-old temple structure was found during the 30th excavation season of the excavations at Çatalhöyük, one of the first...

500-year-old board game discovered carved into a stone slab in a Polish castle

12 September 2023

12 September 2023

A board game carved into stone was discovered by archaeologists investigating the castle at Ćmielów in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship in...

Saudi Archaeologists have discovered a pre-Islamic Musnad inscription and a bronze bullhead

18 February 2023

18 February 2023

Saudi archaeologists have discovered the longest pre-Islamic Musnad inscription -of the ancient south Arabian script- and three gold rings and...

A Circular Building with Six Towers of the Achaemenid Period discovered in Khorasan

3 April 2024

3 April 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered an almost circular adobe building with six towers, built in the 6th century BC, near Birjand in...