Archaeologists in Scotland have unearthed over 200 ancient stone carvings that reveal a language that linguists cannot conclusively identify. The information depicted on the discoveries may even predate the earilest written information about Scotland itself.

Linguistic experts analysing the stones believe that the carvings are a form of Pictish – an extinct language spoken by the ancient Pict people.

The Pictish language uses a string of symbols and pictures (by the way, that isn’t a play on words, but is rather a coincidence) to form a system of ‘words’.

Linguistic conclusions from the find have been disputed by French experts, who say that treating the smybols as a string of characters, as you would for a ‘normal’ language, would distort how the characteristics are interpreted – instead saying that the pictures convey a message, rather than a meaningful linguisting ‘text’.

As a people, the Picts were a confederation of Celtic tibes who thrived in what is now Scotland between the second to ninth centruries, before their civilisation disappeared completely.

After merging with the Gaels, knowledge of the Picts also faded, largely into myth and legend, until discoveries from excavations of various sites during the past century revealed more about the people and their culture.

Do you know about ancient heiroglyphics? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts on the stones.