Language Log

From a Medieval Latrine in Germany, Archaeologists Extracted a Pristine Leather Notebook That Preserved Latin Cursive for Centuries
The writing in the booklet suggests it belonged to an upper-class merchant, who may have had a mishap while using the toilet 800 years ago

Michele Debczak, Smithsonian magazine (May 20, 2026)  

Includes exquisite photographs of the wood and wax booklet bound in leather with floral embossing.

Archaeologists working for the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL) had a good feeling when they excavated five medieval latrines in the German city of Paderborn. Even so, what they uncovered from the dank chambers astonished them: an 800-year-old, pocket-size notebook containing ten pages in near-perfect condition.

I was aware of this article nearly a week ago, but was too preoccupied with other matters to post on it till today.

French researcher cracks 4,000-year-old Elamite script from Iran
The 4,000-year-old Linear Elamite script from what is now Iran has long eluded archaeologists hoping to unlock the secrets of a near-forgotten age. French archaeologist François Desset's work on deciphering the writing system now has some comparing him to Jean-François Champollion, the famed philologist who deciphered ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. 

By France 24 (28/04/2026) 

Apparently our haplogroup (family of Joseph Charles Mair [Pfaffenhofen, Austria] and Esther Frieda Louise Boyce Mair [Zweismmen, Switzerland]) is U8a1a.

[N.B.:  The archeologically recovered objects, such as those described in this post, are still referred to as "Roman dodecahedron", but that is partly to distinguish them from the scientific study of such figures in chemistry, crystallography, geometry, mathematics, and so forth.  Considering the most recent archeological discoveries and studies, we will have to stop calling them "Roman dodecahedron" and may well have to begin styling them "Gallo dodecahedron" or at least "Gallo-Roman dodecahedron" (see below for the reasoning).

In geometry, a dodecahedron or duodecahedron is any polyhedron with twelve flat faces. The most familiar dodecahedron is the regular dodecahedron with regular pentagons as faces, which is a Platonic solid.

Archeological data with AI- and physics-based modeling explain typhoon-induced disasters in inland China around 3000 yr B.P.
Science Advances, 12.10 (3/4/25)
Ke Ding, Siyang Li, Aijun Ding, Houyuan Lu, Jianping Zhang, Dazhi Xi, Xin Huang, Sijia Lou, Xiaodong Tang, Xin Qiu, Lejun He, Yue Ma, Haoxian Lin, Shiyan Zhang, Derong Zhou, Xiaolu Zhou, Zhe-Min Tan, Congbin Fu, Quansheng Ge

To fully understand the significance of this paper, one must realize that the Central Plains (Zhōngyuán 中原) and Chengdu Plain in Sichuan are crucial, fertile agricultural and economic hubs with deep historical significance. The Central Plains served as the "cradle of Chinese civilization", and was a vital transport corridor in the East Asian Heartland (EAH). The Chengdu Plain has been a perennial "Land of Plenty", supported by the Dūjiāngyàn 都江堰 irrigation system, a miracle of ancient hydraulic engineering still operating today more than two millennia after it was constructed.

Note to Sinologist colleagues:

For the last few years, I've been noticing that Chinese archeologists
and scientists publishing in English consistently refer to jiǎgǔwén 甲骨文 as
"oracle bone scripts" (note the plural), when I think they mean "oracle
bone inscriptions" or "oracle bone texts".

I'm wondering if I should make an attempt to correct this usage, or
whether it is so well entrenched in Sino-English that nothing can be
done to change it.

[VHM:  N.B.:  I had nothing to do with this.  It's all between Gemini and Gemini, with J. P. Mallory acting as the amanuensis.  He can also evoke the woman from Xiaohe or Cherchen Man (Ur David) via Gemini or one of the other platforms if you'd like to hear "Mair" conversing with them.]

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Among numerous articles and press releases on this sensational discovery, here are the first three that I encountered, all dating to February 11-12, 2026:

Well, now, for all those doubting Thomases who insist that there was no contact between western Eurasia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia in antiquity:

"The Amber Trade along the Southwestern Silk Road from 600 BCE-220 CE." Lü, Jing et al. Palaeoentomology 8, no. 6 (December 29, 2025): 679-682. https://www.mapress.com/pe/article/view/palaeoentomology.8.6.10.

[This is a guest post by Alexander Bazes]

I was delighted to discover this well-researched (and very entertaining) YouTube video about the Baghdad Battery by Penn Museum archaeologist Dr. Brad Hafford (I have reached out to him with my recent article on Sino-Platonic Papers and welcome his criticism).

"The Baghdad Battery? Archaeologist Reacts!" (33:02)

Towards the end of his lecture (~25:00), Dr. Hafford discusses a likely ritualistic role played by the Baghdad Battery and similar objects that have been found at the archaeological sites of Tel Umar and Csestiphon. I find his explanation quite plausible given that the devices from Tel Umar were found in close association with other ritual objects, including three incantation bowls (Waterman, Leroy. "Preliminary report upon the excavations at Tel Umar, Iraq." 1931, 61-62). I find Dr. Hafford’s discussion of Sasanian-period incantations written on papyrus and lead sheets particularly interesting, as I believe it was probably the corrosive capabilities of the Baghdad Battery and similar artifacts that were employed by its users for ritual purposes. For example, I speculate that the artifact discovered at Csestiphon, which contained ten bronze tubes, each filled with rolls of papyrus and sealed, was intended to produce a corrosive effect on the outside of the tubes, thereby releasing the prayers inside.

Sino-Platonic Papers is pleased to announce the publication of its three-hundred-and-seventy-seventh issue:

“The Baghdad Battery: Experimental Verification of a 2,000-Year-Old Device Capable of Driving Visible and Useful Electrochemical Reactions at over 1.4 Volts,” by Alexander Bazes.

Sino-Platonic Papers is pleased to announce the publication of its three-hundred-and-seventy-third issue:

“Correspondences between Old Chinese and Proto-Celtic Words,” by Julie Lee Wei