An ancient bronze hand reveals the secrets of an extinct language

The palm told about the ancestors of the linguistic phenomenon

An ancient bronze hand inscribed with a mysterious language may help shed light on the prehistory of the Basque language, a fascinating “language isolate that has no language group.”

During excavations at the Iron Age site of Iruleghi in northern Spain in 2021, archaeologists unearthed a 2,100-year-old bronze artifact shaped like a flat palm. In 2024, researchers concluded that the inscription was written in Wasconian, a family of languages ​​that includes Basque and several extinct languages.

During the Late Iron Age, a cultural group known as the Vascones occupied the western Pyrenees in what is now Spain. The region has received little archaeological attention, and the region’s ancient societies remain poorly understood. Apart from the classical sources of Roman literature, only a few are known about their language, writing, culture and beliefs.

In 2007, experts began exploring the site of Irulegi in the Aranguren Valley, focusing on excavations of a medieval castle. By 2018, scientists had studied the late historical settlement.

Led by archaeologist Mattin Ayestaran from the University of the Basque Country, the research team linked ancient text engraved on the back of the hand to a rare example of an ancient language spoken in Europe more than 5,000 years ago and traditionally used in northeastern Spain before the arrival of the Romans.

“The Hand of Irulegi is the only long written text found to date, along with several coins minted in Vasconia,” said Mattin Ayestaran.

“The discovery of the hand has opened new horizons for unraveling the history of the most mysterious language that still exists in Europe: the Basque language,” added Miquel Edeso Eguia from the scientific society of Aranzadi. He noted that “the excavation of this exceptional site has led to significant advances in archeology and linguistics. But it also opened up a lot of new questions.”

At least five words written in 18 characters were identified on the “palm” of the hand. Using the Latin alphabet, the first word of the inscription, “sorione,” resembles the modern Basque word for “luck.” The similarities led researchers to speculate that the artifact was displayed outside the building as a good luck charm. As Aistaran noted, the bronze hand was supposed to perform the ritual function of attracting offerings for good luck to the deities.

Let us be clear: Basque is the only surviving language of Vascon society. Although its origins are unclear, it is believed that it may have evolved from the ancient Vascon language, which was formerly spoken in the northeastern region of the Iberian Peninsula.

Linguists consider modern Basque an “isolated” language because it is unlike any other spoken language. At the same time, most modern European languages ​​belong to the Indo-European family of languages.

According to the Vasconian substrate hypothesis, Vasconian languages ​​may have influenced place names throughout Western Europe, and some Vasconian words could even be found in some Western European languages. There is also a theory that these languages ​​were widespread even before the arrival of the Indo-Europeans.