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Writing Systems Technical Resources

Byblos

Byblos script sample

Byblos syllabary inscribed on a bronze tablet, displayed in the National Museum of Beirut.

Image copyright © 2019 Onceinawhile with license CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia.

Script details

Section titled “Script details”
See all script details: code, region, status and more
Code x-byblos
Script type syllabary
Region Middle Eastern
Status Historical
Direction RTL
Baseline unspecified
Case unknown
White space discretionary
Complex behaviors contextual forms
OpenType code unspecified
ISO 15924 Number none

Explanation of script details

Script description

Section titled “Script description”

The Byblos script is thought to have been used for writing a Semitic language between the 24th and the 15th centuries BC.

Read the full description…It is known from ten inscriptions discovered in the city of Byblos, in present-day Lebanon. As yet, the script is undeciphered, but is thought to have been a syllabary written from right to left using approximately one hundred distinct signs. Some signs appear to resemble Egyptian hieroglyphs; others resemble Phoenician characters. It is thought that the Byblos inscriptions may represent an important link between the Egyptian hieroglyphic script and the later Semitic abjads.

This script is not currently recognized by the ISO 15924 standard, but is included in Writing Systems Technical Resources for research purposes. If you have any information on this script, please add the information to this site. Your contributions can be a great help in refining and expanding the ISO 15924 standard. The Script Encoding Initiative is working to support the inclusion of this script in the standard, and contributions here will support their efforts.

Languages that use this script

Section titled “Languages that use this script”

There are no known languages that use this script.

Unicode status

Section titled “Unicode status”

The Byblos script is not yet in Unicode. The script has a tentative allocation at U+1EB90..U+1EBFF in the Roadmap to the SMP for the Unicode Standard.

Resources

Section titled “Resources”

External links