François Desset, a researcher in Ancient Sciences at ULiège, has succeeded in decoding Linear Elamite, a writing system nearly 5,000 years old, used in the south of present-day Iran.
Considered one of the three oldest known scripts—alongside hieroglyphs and cuneiform—it had resisted decipherment for more than a century.
Thanks to meticulous work, begun during fieldwork in Iran and continued through the study of dozens of inscriptions, François Desset managed to identify the keys to this purely phonetic system, the oldest ever attested.
🔍 This exceptional breakthrough goes far beyond a scientific exploit:
> it strengthens the international visibility of the University of Liège;
> it highlights the leading role of the academic institutions of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation in global research;
> and it opens a new window onto the history of ancient civilizations and the origins of writing.
🚀 Congratulations to François Desset and Université de Liège for this major contribution to human knowledge.
A remarkable example of ambitious, rigorous… and inspiring research!
Québec
Maroc
Chile
Brazil
Canada