Paleo-Balkan & Balto-Slavic - Common Proto Language

[Soldier of Macedon]

Good point Slovak, I was actually looking into it a couple of weeks ago but never got around to summarising it. You're right, they do have a number of inscriptions (most, if not all from Anatolia). We should probably re-visit the Thracian ring inscription too. I will work on something in the next few hours and post it up.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Here is something with regard to the Illyrian name Vesclevesis.

http://indoeuro.bizland.com/project/glossary/illy.html

ves- (kind, good) (in Vesclevesis - a personal name) *wesu- (good, kind)

cleves- (famous) (in Vesclevesis - a personal name) *kleu- (to hear, to listen)

The second component of the word is clearly related to the satemised words in our languages like 'slovo' (to speak), 'slava' (fame, glory), 'slusha' (to hear), etc. What I found interesting is that a similar name is still used by some, such as the Czech Vaclav, which is supposed to mean 'wreath of glory' or something to that effect. So when compared:

Vesclev(esis) - Illyrian
Vaclav - Czech

[Soldier of Macedon]

The below was taken from a book called 'Teach Yourself Sanskrit', Introduction, XVI. It was created with the assistance of scholars from both Oxford and Harvard. I cited it because of the previous comparison I made on post #87 with regard to the word for 'gold' in the different IE languages.

Classical Sanskrit is based on a more easterly dialect of Old Indo-Aryan than is the Rigveda, as is shown by the fact that it contributes a number of words which preserve an original Indo-European L, where the Rigvedic dialect (in common with Iranian) changes this sound to R: thus both Vedic raghu 'swift, light' and Classical Sanskrit laghu 'light, nimble' are cognate with Greek elakhus.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Thus far I have not seen any attempt at explaining the Thracian tribal name maduateni which was mentioned by Livy. It must have some sort of meaning that is IE. The following is hypothetical but an interesting comparison nonetheless, and relevant to the topic. I would like to explore the possible connection between the words maduat(eni) and medved, which means 'bear' in most Slavic languages. It stems from the compound of two common Slavic words: medu (partitive singular case of med) meaning 'honey', and ed meaning 'eat'. I haven't come across a recorded Thracian word for 'honey', while a word for 'eat' is cited as esko, which is more akin to jesti in Slovenian. However, some of the characteristics identified in Thracian when comparing it to today's Macedonian and Slavic languages may provide a means for possible reconstruction, such as:

• the use of the vowel u instead of v (taru instead of drvo, so proposed maduat instead of medved), which is akin to the earlier Slavic medued evolving into medved
• the use of the vowel a instead of e (bal instead of bel, so proposed maduat instead of medved, and ad instead of ed)
• the common (but not exclusive) use of devoiced consonant t from d (taru instead of drvo, so proposed maduat instead of medved)
• the use of the eni suffix (maduateni instead of proposed medvedeni, which translates into 'bear-men' or 'bear-people' in today's Macedonian)

The words developed from Proto Indo-European as follows:

PIE médhu - Slavic med
PIE bhel - Slavic bel, byal - Thracian bal
PIE ed - Slavic jed, jad - Sanskrit** átti

**I cited Sanskrit because it also uses the devoiced consonant t, and shares important similarities with Balto-Slavic and Paleo-Balkan languages.

One may argue that we cannot speculate in the absence of a cited Thracian word, particularly given that the construct of this word is exclusive to Balto-Slavic languages (I include Baltic in this case because a word for bear in Lithuanian is meška, strikingly similar to Macedonian mechka, ultimately deriving from medved) but that would only be relevant to those that cannot accept a commonality between the Balto-Slavic and Paleo-Balkan languages. Furthermore, an example has already been show where an assumed Slavic construct of a word (zemlja 'earth' evolving to zmija 'snake' and zmei 'dragon', compare that to semela in Thracian or zemela in Phrygian evolving to zuml 'dragon') may likely have a parallel in Thracian.

Just a follow up to the above suggestion about the tribal name of 'maduat(eni)' and the possible relation to the word 'medved'. If we use both components of the word with Sanskrit equivalents, it looks almost identical:

- ed (PIE) -> atti (SKR), at (THR)
- médhu (PIE) -> madhu (SKR), madu (THR)

Sanskrit: madhuatti
Thracian: maduat

There is one thing that may or may not pose an issue, and that is the case ending for the word 'medu', which developed into 'medv(ed)'. It is said to be a Slavic partitive (sg.) case, and this case ending apparently originated from the ablative case. The same word in the ablative case for Sanskrit is described in the below comparison table; however, this may just mean that the Slavic and Thracian case endings (in this instance) are more similar to each other than they are to the one in Sanskrit.



What are your thoughts on the above Slovak?

[Delodephius]

The below was taken from a book called 'Teach Yourself Sanskrit', Introduction, XVI. It was created with the assistance of scholars from both Oxford and Harvard. I cited it because of the previous comparison I made on post #87 with regard to the word for 'gold' in the different IE languages.

The name of the prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) means "Golden camel", from zarath - gold, and uṣṭra - camel. The consonant R in zarath seems to have previously been L > zalath, cognate to Proto-Slavic zalto - gold.

[Delodephius]

Just a follow up to the above suggestion about the tribal name of 'maduat(eni)' and the possible relation to the word 'medved'. If we use both components of the word with Sanskrit equivalents, it looks almost identical:

- ed (PIE) -> atti (SKR), at (THR)
- médhu (PIE) -> madhu (SKR), madu (THR)

Sanskrit: madhuatti
Thracian: maduat

There is one thing that may or may not pose an issue, and that is the case ending for the word 'medu', which developed into 'medv(ed)'. It is said to be a Slavic partitive (sg.) case, and this case ending apparently originated from the ablative case. The same word in the ablative case for Sanskrit is described in the below comparison table; however, this may just mean that the Slavic and Thracian case endings (in this instance) are more similar to each other than they are to the one in Sanskrit.



What are your thoughts on the above Slovak?

Sound theory SoM. I think we can add maduat to the list of the deciphered Thracian words, as well as its components madu - honey and ati - to eat. Furthermore, I think you are getting a better and better grasp of the declination system and how it works. I congratulate you on your effort.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Thanks mate, good to hear you're in agreement with respect to the 'maduateni', because the similarities were just too much to ignore. Regarding the declination system, I have corrected many of my misconceptions, and although I still have more to learn, I have come a long way in terms of understanding how it works. To be honest, much of it I owe to your (constructive) criticism during previous discussions.

[Delodephius]

This I copied from a book called "Grammar of Modern Indo-European". I would take the reconstructions with a grain of salt, but it is still quite interesting to see how some linguists reconstructed the IE languages. Unfortunately the book does not cite references.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The so-called Schleicher's fable is a poem composed in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language, published by August Schleicher in 1868, originally named - The Sheep and the Horses‖. It is written here to show the evolution of PIE from its first reconstructable stages until the latest IE proto-languages known.

1. English
2. Late PIE, 3.000 BC
3. Proto-Anatolian, 2.500 BC
4. European PIE, 2.500 BC
5. Proto-Indo-Iranian, 2.000 BC
6. Proto-Greek, 2.000 BC
7. Proto-Tocharian, 1.000 BC
8. Proto-Celtic, 1.000 BC
9. Proto-Italic, 1.000 BC
10. Proto-Germanic, 500 BC
11. Proto-Slavic, 1 AD
12. Proto-Baltic, 1 AD
13. Proto-Armenian, 1 AD

1. The Sheep and the Horses
2. Xowis ʔékwōs-qe.
3. Háwis áswes-ki.
4. Owis ekwōs-qe.
5. Ávis áçvās-ka.
6. Ówis íkwoi-qe.
7. Ówi júkweñ-ke.
8. Ówis éqoi-k(h)e.
9. Ówis ékwoi-qe.
10. Áwiz ékhwaz-ukh.
11. Óvĭs ésvŭ-če.
12. Ávis ášvai-ke.
13. Hóvih ēšwuh-kh.

1. A sheep that had no wool
2. Χowis, qesjo wlʔneħ ne ʔest,
3. Háwis, kuis húlana na est,
4. Owis, qesio wḹnā ne est,
5. Ávis, kahja vṛnā na āst,
6. Ówis, qého lānā ne ēst,
7. Ówi, kúse wlānā ne es,
8. Ówis, qésjo wlənā ne est,
9. Ówis, qésjo lāna ne est,
10. Áwiz, khwes wúlnō ne ist,
11. Óvĭs, čéso vlĭna ne jázĭt,
12. Ávis, káso vìlno ne ašt,
13. Hóvih, khéhjo gálana ne ēs(th),

1. saw horses,
2. ʔékwoms spekét,
3. áswus spekét,
4. ekwoms spekét,
5. áçvans spaçát,
6. íkwos spekét,
7. júkwes śpäkät,
8. éqos skhekét,
9. ékwos spekét,
10. ékhwanz spekhét,
11. ésva spesét,
12. ášvus spekít,
13. ēšwoh sphekhe(th),

1. one pulling a heavy wagon,
2. ʔóinom cṛχum wóghom wéghontṃ,
3. ānan wurhún wágan wéganzam,
4. oinom carúm woghom wéghontṃ,
5. áinam garúm vágham vághantam,
6. énon barún wókhon wékhontã,
7. énem karäm wákṃ wäkantäm,
8. óinom barúm wokhom wékhontam,
9. oinom craum wokhom wekhontem,
10. áinan karún wágan wéganthun,
11. ínŭ žarŭõ vózŭ vézõtẽ,
12. áinam ģarũ vážam véžantim,
13. énam erkúm wóĵã wéĵonã,

1. one carrying a big load,
2. ʔóinom-qe mégeħm bhórom,
3. ānan-ki mékan báran,
4. oinom-qe megām bhorom,
5. áinam-ka mágham bháram,
6. énon-qe mégān phóron,
7. énem-ke mäkām parm,
8. óinom-k(h)e məgam bórom,
9. oinom-qe məĵam phórom,
10. áinan-ukh mékon báran,
11. ínŭ-če méža bórŭ,
12. áinam-ke méģam báram,
13. énam-kh mékã bórã,

1. and one carrying a man quickly.
2. ʔóinom-qe dhʔghmónṃ ʔoʔku bhérontṃ.
3. ānan-ki teggánam aku báranzam.
4. oinom-qe dhghmonṃ ōkú bhérontṃ.
5. áinam-ka ghámanam āçu bhárantam.
6. énon-qe khthónon ōku phérontã.
7. énem-ke tkámnam ākä pärantäm.
8. óinom-k(h)e d(okh)oniom ōku bérontam.
9. oinom-qe khómonem ōku pherontem.
10. áinan-ukh gúmanan ākhu béranthun.
11. ínŭ-če žmónŭ asŭ bérõtẽ.
12. áinam-ke zmónam uoku bérantim.
13. énam-kh zmónã ušu béronã.

1. The sheep said to the horses:
2. Xowis nu ʔékwobhjos wewqét:
3. Háwis nu áswaz hwewkét:
4. Owis nu ékwobhos wewqét:
5. Ávis nu áçvabhjas ávaukat:
6. Ówis nu íkwobos éweweqet:
7. Owi nä júkwebos wäwkät:
8. Ówis nu éqobos wewqét:
9. Ówis nu ékwobhos wewqét:
10. Áwiz nu ékhwamaz wewkhéth:
11. Óvĭs nŭ ésvomŭ vjučét:
12. Ávis nu ášvamas vjaukít:
13. Hóvih nu ēšwoboh égojkhe(th):

1. “My heart pains me,
2. “Kṛd ħéghnutoi ʔmoí,
3. “Kart áknuta(ri) mai,
4. “Kṛd ághnutoi moí,
5. “Ghṛd ághnutai mai,
6. “Kard ákhnutoi moi,
7. “Kärt ágnätai me,
8. “Krid ágnutor mai,
9. “Kord ákhnutor mei,
10. “Hurt ágnuthai mai,
11. “Srĭd áznutĕ mĕ,
12. “Šird ágnutai mai,
13. “Sart égnuthe me,

1. seeing a man driving horses”.
2. ʔékwoms ħégontṃ wíʔrom wídṇtei”.
3. áswus ákantun wíran wítanzi”.
4. ekwoms ágontṃ wīrom wídṇtei”.
5. áçvans aĵantam vīram vídanti”.
6. íkwos ágontã wíron wídãtei”.
7. júkwes ākantän wírem wítsante”.
8. éqos ágontom wírom wídanti”.
9. ékwos ágontom wīrom wídentei”.
10. ékhwanz ákanthun weran wítanthī”.
11. ésvŭ ágõtŭ vírŭ vídẽti”.
12. ášvai ágantim víram vídintei”.
13. ēšwuh ákonthã gárã gítanthi”.

1. The horses said: “Listen, sheep,
2. ʔékwōs tu wewqónt: “Kludhí, χówi!
3. Áswes tu wewkúnz: “Klutí, háwi!
4. Ekwōs tu wewqónt: “Kludhí, owi!
5. Áçvās tu ávaukant: “Srudhí ávi!
6. Íkwoi tu éweweqont: “Kluthí, ówi!
7. Júkweñ tä wäwkant: “Klutí, ow!
8. Éqoi tu wewqónt: “Kludí, ówi!
9. Ékwoi tu wewqónt: “Kluthí, ówi!
10. Ékhwaz wéwkhant: “Khludí, áwi!
11. Ésva tu vjúčõt: “Sludĭ, óve!
12. Ášvus tu vjáukant: “Šludí, ávi!
13. Ēšwoh thu égojkhõ: “Ludí, hóvi!

1. our hearts pain us when we see this:
2. kṛd ħéghnutoi ṇsméi wídṇtbhjos:
3. kart áknuta(ri) anzás wítantaz:
4. kṛd ághnutoi ṇsméi wídṇtbhos:
5. ghṛd ághnutai asmái vídantbhjas:
6. kart ágnutoi ahmá wídãtbios:
7. kärt āknete ánsme wítäntbe:
8. krid ágnutor ansméi wídantbjos:
9. kord akhnutor ensméi wídentbhos:
10. khurt áknuthai únsmi wítunthmaz:
11. srĭd áznutĕ ẽsmí vídẽtmŭ:
12. šird ágnutai insméi vídintmas:
13. sart égnuthoi asmí gítan(th)bos:

1. a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep
2. ħner, pótis, χowjom-ṛ wḷʔneħṃ
3. anér, pátis, háwjan-ar húlanan
4. ner, potis, owjom-ṛ wḹnām
5. nar, pátis, ávjam-ṛ vṛnām
6. anér, pótsis, ówjon-ar lānān
7. när, pats, ówjāp-är wlānām
8. ner, phótis, ówjom-ri wlənām
9. ner, pótis, ówjom-or lānam
10. ner, pháthiz, áwjan-aur wúlnōn
11. ner, pódĭs, óvjemĭ-rĭ vlĭnõ
12. ner, pats, ávjam-ir vìlnom
13. a(n)ír, phóthis, ówjã-ar gálanam

1. into a warm garment for himself.
2. swébhi chermóm wéstrom qṛnéuti.
3. sfébi wermán wéstran kurnúti.
4. sebhi chermóm westrom qṛneuti.
5. svábhi gharmám vástram kṛnáuti.
6. sephi thermón wéstron qernéuti.
7. säpi särmam wästram kärnóiti.
8. sébi germóm wéstrom qrunéuti.
9. sébhi ghwermúm wéstrom qornéuti.
10. síbi wárman wést(h)ran khwurnéuthi.
11. sĕbi germŭ véstrŭ črĭnjutĭ.
12. ébi garmám véstram kirnjáuti.
13. (k)íbi ĵermã gésthrã kharnójthi.

1. And the sheep has no wool”.
2. Xowjom-qe wḷhneħ ne ʔésti”.
3. Háwjan-ki húlana ne észi”.
4. Owjom-qe wḹnā ne esti”.
5. Ávjam-ka vṛnā na ásti”.
6. Ówjon-qe lānā ne ésti”.
7. Owjāp-ke wlānā nä ésti”.
8. Ówjom-k(h)e wlanā ne ésti”.
9. Ówjom-qe lāna ne ésti”.
10. Áwjan-ukh wúlnō ne ísti”.
11. Óvjemĭ-če vlĭna ne jázĭtĭ”.
12. Ávjam-ke vìlno ne ášti”.
13. Hóvjã-kh gálana ne ésthi”.

1. Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.
2. Tod kékluwos χowis ħégrom bhugét.
3. Tat kékluwas háwis ágran pugét.
4. Tod kékluwos owis agrom bhugét.
5. Tat sásruvas ávis áĵram ábhugat.
6. Tot kékluwos ówis ágron éphuget.
7. Tä käklewe ówi ākre bekät.
8. Tod kéluwos ówis ágrom bugét.
9. Tud kékluwos ówis ágrom phugít.
10. That khékhluwaz áwiz ákran bukéth.
11. To sésluvŭ óvĭs ágrŭ bugĭt.
12. Ta šéšluvas ávis ágram bugít.
13. Da khékhlugah hóvih ákrã ébuke(th).

[Soldier of Macedon]

The Phrygians were originally called Brygians, and their equivalent for Zeus is recorded as Bagaois, related to 'bog' in Slavic languages and 'bhag' in Indo-Iranian languages. Here is a link to where decipherments have been attempted with regard to the Phrygian language:

http://www.maravot.com/Phrygian.html

BABA: MEM EFAIS: PROITA FOST TIPA NA EPOS: SKENEM AM: EL AES

[Translation: Papa (Attis, also called Papas, husband of Cybele, Mater) of the breast, mammary? (L. mamma-ae; It. mammella; Fr. mamelle); alternatively, to the mother (It. mamma)? or the self, same (Fr. même) he spoke out (L. effor-fari; Etr. EFA, EFAN, EFAS, EFE): therefore, consequently (L. proinde and proin) of the stock, trunk, shaft (L. fossa-ae; It. fusto; Fr. fut; Sanskrit, yasti; stick, club, L. fustis-is, Etr. 8VST) of the model, figure on a wall, type (L. typus-i; It. tipo; Fr. type; Gr. typos, Polish, typ; Etr. TIPE, TIPES) indeed, truly (L. ne [nae]; Etr. NA) of the epic poem (L. epos): Skenem? (re: L. scio, scire, to know, understand; Etr. SCIS) I love, like (L. amo-are; Etr. AM, AMA, AMaPa, AMaPEN, AMAR, AME, AMEM, AMI, AMIE, AMO): the olives? (Gr. elaia) or alternatively, her (L. eius, illius; It. ella; Fr. elle, elles) bronze, metal (L. aes, aeris)] Note: See XE-12, E LAES in the context suggesting, "from Laius."

Phrygian phonology:

[Soldier of Macedon]

This I copied from a book called "Grammar of Modern Indo-European". I would take the reconstructions with a grain of salt, but it is still quite interesting to see how some linguists reconstructed the IE languages.

The reconstruction is definetly way off, but for what they knew back then compared to what is known now, I suppose they can be forgiven. It is interesting to take the below into consideration, which is the previous comparison for the word 'gold':

aurum (Latin)
aur (Romanian)
ar (Albanian)
oro (Italian)
ór (Irish-Celtic)

zar (Old Iranian)

salta (Thracian)
zalto (Proto-Slavic)
zelts (Latvian)
zlato (Macedonian)

gold (German)
guld (Dannish)
gull (Norwegian)

It would seem that the Balto-Slavic-Balkan, Indo-Iranian and Germanic proto languages once formed a common group before Germanic split and became a Centum language. It may also explain why Germanic shares some cognates with Thracian, in addition to the more obvious (and numerous) cognates it shares with Balto-Slavic. It would also support the assertion that Italic and Celtic languages belonged to a common group. Although it is a suggestion based on one example, many more can be found.

[Soldier of Macedon]

The town Edirne (Maced. Odrin) derives its name from the Roman Emperor Hadrian (by way of Hadrianopolis, Engl. Adrianople). It is located at the confluence of three rivers, one of which is the historically significant Marica. The original name of the town was Uskudama and comes from the Thracian words for 'water' (usku) and 'settlement' (dama) - the second word already having been discussed in a previous example on this thread (see 'damastini'). It has been suggested that the first component of the word developed as follows:

http://groznijat.tripod.com/thrac/thrac_4a2.html

PIE wed - Thracian ud -> udsko -> utsko -> usko - ultimately usku, probably with case ending u instead of o.

There appears to be a parallel in the Celtic word usce, which means the same. Also interesting, however, is the sk ending of the word, which resembles that of nouns in Slavic languages. Here are some possible Slavic comparisons:

Udsku-dama (Thracian)
Vodsku-dom (Slavic)
Vodskov-dom (Slavic)
Vodski-dom (Slavic)

The town of Uskudama became popularised by the name of Odrysia, which was a Greek rendition based on the Thracian tribal name that probably sounded more like Udrusi. The latter, in turn, derived from the Thracian word for an 'otter', which is a water animal, see comparison below:

Udro (PIE)
Udra (Thracian)
Ūdra (Baltic)
Vidra (Slavic)

Another Thracian tribal name was Bebrykes, and is also based on a type of animal, a 'beaver', see below comparison:

Bhebhrus (PIE)
Bebrus (Thracian)
Bebrus (Baltic)
Bebr (Slavic)

After palatalisation, the k at the end of the word could develop as Bebryk -> Bebrych -> Bebrytsi. A significant observation that can be made from all of the above is that there appears to be a trend among the Thracians in which they use the name of an animal to designate a tribal name. This lends further weight to the possibility regarding the Maduateni. After Slavic became the dominant linguistic branch in the Balkans and absorbed the related Paleo-Balkan languages, some words were replaced while some were retained in slightly altered forms.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Another Thracian tribal name is the Drugeri, without a doubt related to Slavic Drugari, which can mean friends or companions.

http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum/showthread.php?t=4000

[Soldier of Macedon]

Slovak,

These are the texts we've discussed in the past. Below are the two longest inscriptions that have survived in the Thracian language. The first is the golden ring from around the Plovdiv area, whereas the second is from the Preslav area, so it is probable that there is some dialectal differences.



Here is some further information on them:

http://groznijat.tripod.com/thrac/thrac_6.html

http://193.19.172.24/PUBLIC/IMAGES/File/departments/mediterranean%20and%20eastern%20research/Publikacii/P_Dimitrov_13_01_2009.pdf

I have put them all in capital (Latin) letters in the below for easier comparison:

First:
ROLISTENEASNERENEATILTEANISKOARAZEADOMEANTILEZYPTAMIIERAZILTA

Second:
EBAR. ZESASNINETESAIGEK. A NBLABAIGN NYASNLETEDNYEDNEINDAKATR. S

There are some parts of both that appear common enough to possibly identify as words, such as ASN. For the purpose of clarification, this Thracian word means 'I, me', and developed as follows:

- eǵ’hom - Proto Indo-European
- eź’ham - Proto Balto-Slavic (and Paleo-Balkan)

The 'm' then changed to an 'n' at some point, so following on:

- jāzun - Proto Slavic (development of 'j' at the beginning of the word)
- asn - Thracian (devoiced z -> s, which seems to be common in some Thracian words)

Eventually, the 'n' was also dropped at the end of the word, so the surviving literary examples would thus be:

- jaz - Slovenian
- jas - Macedonian
- ja - Macedonian and other
- az - Macedonian and other
- aš - Lithuanian
- es - Latvian

[Soldier of Macedon]

Here is a short text in Thracian, but I don't have a picture of the inscription so not sure how (if at all) the words have been broken down.

http://indoeuro.bizland.com/tree/balk/thracian.html

likes : braterais patrizi isk.

Undeciphered (Mysian), though the words braterais 'by the brothers' and patrizi 'to the fathers' are present.

[Soldier of Macedon]

Here is some information regarding the Thracian ring inscription:

In the same neighbouhood besides the ring there were found other items belonging to a burial – a golden diadem, a small golden spoon, two triangular golden plates, a broken bronze vessel, a round bronze mirror and a broken bronze bracelet. It was obvious that the golden ring belonged to the burial of a noble Thracian. The reading of the letters poses no difficulties but division of the text into words is uncertain. Up to now there appeared more than 20 translations of this text [See D. Detschew, Die thrakischen Sprachreste, Wien, 1957, pp. 567-582], none of them being commonly accepted. Here we list the interpretations of the Buglarians academicians D. Dechev and Vl. Georgiev.

D. Dechev proposed the following reading:

Text: Rolisteneas Nerenea tiltean esko Arazea domean Tilezupta mie erazilta
Translation: “I am Rolesteneas, a descendant of Nereneas. Tilezipta, an Arazian woman,
delivered me to the ground (i.e. buried me).”

Vl. Georgiev also thought that the ring was specially made for a solemn (three-days long) exposure of the deceased before he was buried. He also utilized the Herodotus’ account that some Thracian tribes had the custom when some noble Thracian dies, to bury with him one of his favourite wives. He proposed the following reading:

Text: Rolistene, as Nerenea Tiltea nesko arazea do mean tilezyptam, ie eraz elta
Translation: “Rolistene (=You, Rolisten), I, Nerenea Tiltea, die peaceful next to [you] my dear deceased,
[I] who nourished (brough up) the children.”

Here is one example of how the words may be broken down:

ROLISTENE ASN, ERENEA TI, LTEA NISKO A RAZ EA DOME ANTI, LEZY, PTAMI IE RAZ I LTA