Ancient World

Canaanite ivory comb

The Canaanite Ivory Comb is a 3,700-year-old artifact discovered in the ruins of Lachish, an ancient Canaanite city-state located in modern-day Israel. Measuring approximately 3.5 by 2.5 centimetres (1.38 by 0.98 in), the comb is made of elephant ivory and contains the earliest known complete sentence written in a phonetic alphabet. The inscription, carved in an early Canaanite script, reads, "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard". The comb was unearthed in 2016 but the inscription was identified in 2021. The artifact provided insights into daily life, personal hygiene, and early literacy among the Canaanites, making it an important discovery in the study of ancient civilizations and the development of alphabetic writing systems.

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See also

• ▸Chagar Bazar
• ▸Epitrachelion
• ▸Hermes and the Infant Dionysus

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