French archaeologist François Desset has made a breakthrough in deciphering Linear Elamite, a 4,000-year-old script long considered impossible to read.
Speaking from the University of Liège, Desset said Linear Elamite is the only writing system developed locally within what is now Iran, unlike others such as cuneiform or the Greek and Arabic alphabets, which were introduced from outside.
The script, composed of 77 geometric signs, dates back to the Bronze Age civilization of Elam. It was first rediscovered in 1903 at the archaeological site of Susa but remained undeciphered due to the limited number of available texts.
Desset’s interest began in 2006 during excavations in southern Iran, yet progress proved difficult for years. A turning point came when he gained access to previously unseen inscriptions from a private London collection, allowing him to identify patterns in proper names.
Like Jean-François Champollion’s work on Egyptian hieroglyphs, Desset focused on royal names. The identification of the ruler Shilhaha, who reigned around 1950 BC, proved key to unlocking the script.
The breakthrough has opened new possibilities for understanding administrative, religious and political life in ancient Elam, offering rare insights into a civilization that left limited written records. By expanding the corpus of readable texts, Desset’s work is expected to contribute to broader studies of early writing systems and the development of literacy in the ancient Near East.
Now able to interpret dozens of inscriptions, Desset aims to push further back in time by studying proto-Elamite texts, among the oldest known writing systems. He also hopes his research will highlight Iran’s deep cultural heritage despite ongoing geopolitical tensions.
