Irish
Welsh
Breton
Gaulish
Celtiberian
Lepontic
Welsh
Breton
Gaulish
Celtiberian
Lepontic
what are the Six Genders? wrong answers only
May 18, 2026 at 9:16 PM
Irish
Welsh
Breton
Gaulish
Celtiberian
Lepontic
Welsh
Breton
Gaulish
Celtiberian
Lepontic
Translating the Lepontic 𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌖𐌊𐌀𐌋𐌏𐌔 <Ritukalos> as "Try-Hard" 😁
July 27, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Translating the Lepontic 𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌖𐌊𐌀𐌋𐌏𐌔 <Ritukalos> as "Try-Hard" 😁
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Ancient Celtic languages
The Maynooth Department of Early Irish is not only known for its academic expertise in the cultural heritage of medieval Ireland. My other huge interest for more than 30 years has been the ancient Celtic languages of the Continent (Lepontic, Gaulish, Celtiberian).
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Ancient Celtic languages
The Maynooth Department of Early Irish is not only known for its academic expertise in the cultural heritage of medieval Ireland. My other huge interest for more than 30 years has been the ancient Celtic languages of the Continent (Lepontic, Gaulish, Celtiberian).
📖
December 12, 2025 at 5:50 AM
🌲1️⃣2️⃣🎁
Ancient Celtic languages
The Maynooth Department of Early Irish is not only known for its academic expertise in the cultural heritage of medieval Ireland. My other huge interest for more than 30 years has been the ancient Celtic languages of the Continent (Lepontic, Gaulish, Celtiberian).
📖
Ancient Celtic languages
The Maynooth Department of Early Irish is not only known for its academic expertise in the cultural heritage of medieval Ireland. My other huge interest for more than 30 years has been the ancient Celtic languages of the Continent (Lepontic, Gaulish, Celtiberian).
📖
🏺 The only epichoric attestation of a Celtic place name in northern Italy is written in the Lepontic alphabet on a slab in a preserved bit of Milano's Roman city wall, dated to probably the 1st c. BC: ⟨meśiolano⟩ < *medi̯o-lāno- 'middle of the plain' or 'central place'.
(The photo is of a cast.)
(The photo is of a cast.)
February 25, 2025 at 3:08 PM
🏺 The only epichoric attestation of a Celtic place name in northern Italy is written in the Lepontic alphabet on a slab in a preserved bit of Milano's Roman city wall, dated to probably the 1st c. BC: ⟨meśiolano⟩ < *medi̯o-lāno- 'middle of the plain' or 'central place'.
(The photo is of a cast.)
(The photo is of a cast.)
#Lepontic is an #Etruscan derived #alphabet used in the Southern #Alps, modern day #Switzerland and #Italy, in 6-1 c. BCE.
This was used to write the #extinct Lepontic #language, which is continental #Celtic.
Full page: tinyurl.com/mu3cz7va
#writingscripts
#linguistics
#history
#map
#matuww
This was used to write the #extinct Lepontic #language, which is continental #Celtic.
Full page: tinyurl.com/mu3cz7va
#writingscripts
#linguistics
#history
#map
#matuww
January 4, 2026 at 11:43 AM
#Lepontic is an #Etruscan derived #alphabet used in the Southern #Alps, modern day #Switzerland and #Italy, in 6-1 c. BCE.
This was used to write the #extinct Lepontic #language, which is continental #Celtic.
Full page: tinyurl.com/mu3cz7va
#writingscripts
#linguistics
#history
#map
#matuww
This was used to write the #extinct Lepontic #language, which is continental #Celtic.
Full page: tinyurl.com/mu3cz7va
#writingscripts
#linguistics
#history
#map
#matuww
A special class today in my Ancient Celtic course at the Leiden Summer School. Instead of a lecturing hall, we were welcomed in the sacred halls of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Antiquities Museum @rmoudheden.bsky.social) where the students were allowed to view the Lepontic inscription TI·6.
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July 31, 2025 at 6:12 PM
A special class today in my Ancient Celtic course at the Leiden Summer School. Instead of a lecturing hall, we were welcomed in the sacred halls of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Antiquities Museum @rmoudheden.bsky.social) where the students were allowed to view the Lepontic inscription TI·6.
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🏺 One of twenty known coin legends written in the Lepontic alphabet, the legend ⟨prikou⟩ is attested on only two specimens of a gold stater which was common in the Valais and Aosta regions, and is thought to have been issued by the Celtic Salassi or Uberi in the 2nd or 1st century BC.
April 22, 2025 at 9:16 AM
🏺 One of twenty known coin legends written in the Lepontic alphabet, the legend ⟨prikou⟩ is attested on only two specimens of a gold stater which was common in the Valais and Aosta regions, and is thought to have been issued by the Celtic Salassi or Uberi in the 2nd or 1st century BC.
🏺 The name ⟨rupelos⟩ or ⟨runelos⟩ is inscribed in the Lepontic alphabet on the shoulder of a pot from the Giubiasco necropolis (CH), dated to the late 2nd or 1st c. BC. The third letter features a short vertical scratch which may not be intentional, so that it could be pi or nu. In either case, ...
July 1, 2025 at 12:53 PM
🏺 The name ⟨rupelos⟩ or ⟨runelos⟩ is inscribed in the Lepontic alphabet on the shoulder of a pot from the Giubiasco necropolis (CH), dated to the late 2nd or 1st c. BC. The third letter features a short vertical scratch which may not be intentional, so that it could be pi or nu. In either case, ...
This inscription was crucial for me to formulate the hypothesis, around 20 years ago, that the Lepontic letter ᛞ, called 𝓈𝒶𝓃, could represent Proto-Celtic *d.
More on this in this recent article: www.academia.edu/127370714/Mo...
More on this in this recent article: www.academia.edu/127370714/Mo...
🏺 The only epichoric attestation of a Celtic place name in northern Italy is written in the Lepontic alphabet on a slab in a preserved bit of Milano's Roman city wall, dated to probably the 1st c. BC: ⟨meśiolano⟩ < *medi̯o-lāno- 'middle of the plain' or 'central place'.
(The photo is of a cast.)
(The photo is of a cast.)
February 25, 2025 at 4:58 PM
This inscription was crucial for me to formulate the hypothesis, around 20 years ago, that the Lepontic letter ᛞ, called 𝓈𝒶𝓃, could represent Proto-Celtic *d.
More on this in this recent article: www.academia.edu/127370714/Mo...
More on this in this recent article: www.academia.edu/127370714/Mo...
Less than a week to go: the @scs-dias.bsky.social @dias.ie Celtic Studies Summer School (www.dias.ie/2024/11/12/c...).
In Week 1 (14-20 July) I will be teaching an introductory course about the Ancient Celtic languages: Lepontic, Celtiberian, Gaulish, and Ogam Irish.
In Week 1 (14-20 July) I will be teaching an introductory course about the Ancient Celtic languages: Lepontic, Celtiberian, Gaulish, and Ogam Irish.
July 8, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Less than a week to go: the @scs-dias.bsky.social @dias.ie Celtic Studies Summer School (www.dias.ie/2024/11/12/c...).
In Week 1 (14-20 July) I will be teaching an introductory course about the Ancient Celtic languages: Lepontic, Celtiberian, Gaulish, and Ogam Irish.
In Week 1 (14-20 July) I will be teaching an introductory course about the Ancient Celtic languages: Lepontic, Celtiberian, Gaulish, and Ogam Irish.
An example of #Lepontic writing:
#Stela of #Davesco. 5-4 c. BCE. Davesco, #Ticino, #Switzerland.
For more information: tinyurl.com/bdzcw5ue
#writingscripts
#language
#history
#archaeology
#epigraphy
🏺
#matuww
#Stela of #Davesco. 5-4 c. BCE. Davesco, #Ticino, #Switzerland.
For more information: tinyurl.com/bdzcw5ue
#writingscripts
#language
#history
#archaeology
#epigraphy
🏺
#matuww
January 4, 2026 at 11:46 AM
An example of #Lepontic writing:
#Stela of #Davesco. 5-4 c. BCE. Davesco, #Ticino, #Switzerland.
For more information: tinyurl.com/bdzcw5ue
#writingscripts
#language
#history
#archaeology
#epigraphy
🏺
#matuww
#Stela of #Davesco. 5-4 c. BCE. Davesco, #Ticino, #Switzerland.
For more information: tinyurl.com/bdzcw5ue
#writingscripts
#language
#history
#archaeology
#epigraphy
🏺
#matuww
Deity of the Week - Epona
Celtic goddess of horses, fertility, sovereignty, and the land. So popular she was adopted by the Romans.
For me Epona represents an enduring link to the land; a free goddess who answers to none but herself, and may share her blessings of abundance, and freedom.
#pagansky
Celtic goddess of horses, fertility, sovereignty, and the land. So popular she was adopted by the Romans.
For me Epona represents an enduring link to the land; a free goddess who answers to none but herself, and may share her blessings of abundance, and freedom.
#pagansky
February 11, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Deity of the Week - Epona
Celtic goddess of horses, fertility, sovereignty, and the land. So popular she was adopted by the Romans.
For me Epona represents an enduring link to the land; a free goddess who answers to none but herself, and may share her blessings of abundance, and freedom.
#pagansky
Celtic goddess of horses, fertility, sovereignty, and the land. So popular she was adopted by the Romans.
For me Epona represents an enduring link to the land; a free goddess who answers to none but herself, and may share her blessings of abundance, and freedom.
#pagansky
Together with them, I will conduct the first season of my Ancient Celtic Working Group at DIAS, starting in October and focusing on Cisalpine Celtic (Lepontic & Cisalpine Gaulish). The group will meet weekly in hybrid form. Anybody interested in participating is invited to contact me about it.
September 9, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Together with them, I will conduct the first season of my Ancient Celtic Working Group at DIAS, starting in October and focusing on Cisalpine Celtic (Lepontic & Cisalpine Gaulish). The group will meet weekly in hybrid form. Anybody interested in participating is invited to contact me about it.
Peter Schrijver will give the Zenobia Lecture at the @rmoudheden.bsky.social on May 22! He will discuss cultural fusion among the Lepontic and Celtiberian peoples
www.rmo.nl/uw-bezoek/ac...
www.rmo.nl/uw-bezoek/ac...
Zenobia-lezing | De Kelten - Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
Peter Schrijver, hoogleraar Keltisch aan de Universiteit Utrecht vertelt over Kelten, hun talen en de vroege culturen van het Middellandse Zeegebied.
www.rmo.nl
May 7, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Peter Schrijver will give the Zenobia Lecture at the @rmoudheden.bsky.social on May 22! He will discuss cultural fusion among the Lepontic and Celtiberian peoples
www.rmo.nl/uw-bezoek/ac...
www.rmo.nl/uw-bezoek/ac...
🏺 The name ⟨ilauki⟩ is inscribed on the bottom of a patera, dated to the 1st c. BC, from a necropolis in Arsago Seprio (Lombardia), which has yielded numerous inscriptions in the Lepontic alphabet. ⟨ilauki⟩ is a personal name in the genitive: 'of Il(l)auk(i)os', probably an owner's inscription.
March 25, 2025 at 3:07 PM
🏺 The name ⟨ilauki⟩ is inscribed on the bottom of a patera, dated to the 1st c. BC, from a necropolis in Arsago Seprio (Lombardia), which has yielded numerous inscriptions in the Lepontic alphabet. ⟨ilauki⟩ is a personal name in the genitive: 'of Il(l)auk(i)os', probably an owner's inscription.
I have uploaded my article "More on 𝓈𝒶𝓃 in Cisalpine Celtic", my contribution to the proceedings of the 2022 workshop on Cisalpine Celtic literacy, edited by @lexiconleponticum.bsky.social and myself:
www.academia.edu/127370714/Mo...
The article discusses the question what sound value...
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www.academia.edu/127370714/Mo...
The article discusses the question what sound value...
/1
More on san in Cisalpine Celtic
In this article, I first revisit my arguments from 2010 that the letter san 𐌑 in Cisalpine Celtic inscriptions in the Lepontic script represents not only the sound *tˢ (tau Gallicum), but also occurs ...
www.academia.edu
January 31, 2025 at 4:31 AM
I have uploaded my article "More on 𝓈𝒶𝓃 in Cisalpine Celtic", my contribution to the proceedings of the 2022 workshop on Cisalpine Celtic literacy, edited by @lexiconleponticum.bsky.social and myself:
www.academia.edu/127370714/Mo...
The article discusses the question what sound value...
/1
www.academia.edu/127370714/Mo...
The article discusses the question what sound value...
/1
Lost Languages #1: Lepontic. Spoken in northern Italy and southern Switzerland c.500-100 BC. Known from inscriptions. I thought it might be fun to learn a smattering for a recent holiday. Waste of time. Totally useless in the pizza restaurant. Ended up just eating breadsticks.
February 7, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Lost Languages #1: Lepontic. Spoken in northern Italy and southern Switzerland c.500-100 BC. Known from inscriptions. I thought it might be fun to learn a smattering for a recent holiday. Waste of time. Totally useless in the pizza restaurant. Ended up just eating breadsticks.
The third Botorrita plaque, which is dated to a similar timeframe and records a list of names, has an entry ⟨snaziueṇtos⟩ or -⟨ueịtos⟩. There are uncertainties about the reading in both the Lepontic and the Celtiberian script, but the attestations may represent the same Celtic name *Snā̆d(ii̯)ou̯entos.
March 4, 2025 at 2:32 PM
The third Botorrita plaque, which is dated to a similar timeframe and records a list of names, has an entry ⟨snaziueṇtos⟩ or -⟨ueịtos⟩. There are uncertainties about the reading in both the Lepontic and the Celtiberian script, but the attestations may represent the same Celtic name *Snā̆d(ii̯)ou̯entos.
Both forms would be personal names, but ⟨ziχu⟩ is Etruscan (lit. 'scribe', as in Latin Scribonius), while ⟨viχu⟩ is Celtic (from the root u̯ik- 'fight'). The letter forms also could belong to the Lepontic alphabet as well as to the Etruscan one, from which it is derived.
February 4, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Both forms would be personal names, but ⟨ziχu⟩ is Etruscan (lit. 'scribe', as in Latin Scribonius), while ⟨viχu⟩ is Celtic (from the root u̯ik- 'fight'). The letter forms also could belong to the Lepontic alphabet as well as to the Etruscan one, from which it is derived.
...my own two about Cisalpine Celtic (= Lepontic and Cisalpine Gaulish) and Ogam, plus Francisco Beltrán Lloris' and Carlos Jordán Cólera's Celtiberian (2017) and Alex Mullen's and Coline Ruiz Darasse's Gaulish (2018).
December 12, 2025 at 7:18 AM
...my own two about Cisalpine Celtic (= Lepontic and Cisalpine Gaulish) and Ogam, plus Francisco Beltrán Lloris' and Carlos Jordán Cólera's Celtiberian (2017) and Alex Mullen's and Coline Ruiz Darasse's Gaulish (2018).
...somewhat ambiguous, but it could represent a Primitive Irish name *Dīssos or *Dīssii̯os < PC *dīsto- "holy, festive, divine (or something like this)".
The same name could also be reflected in the spelling TISIUI in the dative case on the Lepontic inscription from Davesco (TI·36).
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The same name could also be reflected in the spelling TISIUI in the dative case on the Lepontic inscription from Davesco (TI·36).
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October 17, 2025 at 4:51 AM
...somewhat ambiguous, but it could represent a Primitive Irish name *Dīssos or *Dīssii̯os < PC *dīsto- "holy, festive, divine (or something like this)".
The same name could also be reflected in the spelling TISIUI in the dative case on the Lepontic inscription from Davesco (TI·36).
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The same name could also be reflected in the spelling TISIUI in the dative case on the Lepontic inscription from Davesco (TI·36).
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It’s also, iirc, the only example we have that shows that Celtic also partook in the metathesis of thorn-clusters. (Gaulish, Lepontic, and Celtiberian experts – please don’t hurt me.)
February 6, 2025 at 5:06 PM
It’s also, iirc, the only example we have that shows that Celtic also partook in the metathesis of thorn-clusters. (Gaulish, Lepontic, and Celtiberian experts – please don’t hurt me.)
PS: There are books about all four Ancient Celtic languages (Lepontic, Gaulish, Celtiberian, Ogam Irish) in the AELAW series. You can get all four of them from universitybooks.ie (even though they don't list them on their website - they have them, just send them an email).
Those four books are...
Those four books are...
December 12, 2025 at 7:18 AM
PS: There are books about all four Ancient Celtic languages (Lepontic, Gaulish, Celtiberian, Ogam Irish) in the AELAW series. You can get all four of them from universitybooks.ie (even though they don't list them on their website - they have them, just send them an email).
Those four books are...
Those four books are...
🏺 The personal name ⟨ṣasamos⟩ is inscribed on the shoulder of a flask found in the late Iron-age necropolis of San Bernardo (Ornavasso). Dated to the first half of the 1st c. BC, the inscription is written in rather scraggly letters in the Lepontic alphabet, but with Latin influence (shape of mu).
January 7, 2025 at 1:25 PM
🏺 The personal name ⟨ṣasamos⟩ is inscribed on the shoulder of a flask found in the late Iron-age necropolis of San Bernardo (Ornavasso). Dated to the first half of the 1st c. BC, the inscription is written in rather scraggly letters in the Lepontic alphabet, but with Latin influence (shape of mu).