The Iberian scripts are types of Paleohispanic scripts used to write the Iberian language, which is no longer spoken. These scripts are uncommon because they are semi-syllabic, meaning they use a mix of letters and symbols to represent sounds, rather than only letters. The earliest known Iberian writings date to around the 4th or 5th century BCE, and the most recent examples are from the end of the 1st century BCE or the beginning of the 1st century CE.

Variants

There are two main writing styles and geographic areas within the Iberian script family:

The Iberian scripts were created by the Iberians to write their language. One example is the Greco-Iberian alphabet, which was a special version of the Greek alphabet. It was mostly used in the regions of Alicante and Murcia. However, the southwestern script, which is similar to the southeastern Iberian script but used for the Tartessian language, and the Celtiberian script, which is a direct version of the northeastern Iberian script used for the Celtiberian language, are not considered true Iberian scripts.

The northeastern Iberian script is often called simply the Iberian script because it appears in about 95% of all known Iberian writings. These writings were mostly found in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, especially along the coast from Languedoc-Roussillon to Alicante, with some also found in the Ebro valley.

The southeastern Iberian script is less well-documented, and some symbols are missing, such as those for the sounds /gu/, /do/, and /m/. Unlike the northeastern script, the meaning of many symbols in the southeastern script is still unclear because some signs do not have agreed-upon interpretations. These writings were mainly found in the southeastern part of Iberia, including areas like Eastern Andalusia, Murcia, Albacete, Alicante, and Valencia.

There are many differences in how the Iberian symbols are written. Over the past few decades, scholars have noticed that some of these differences, especially in the northeastern Iberian script and recently in the Celtiberian script, may have specific meanings. It appears that simple letters were originally used for the sounds /b/, /d/, and /g/, while the sounds /t/ and /k/ were created by adding a stroke to letters for /d/ and /g/. This idea is called the dual signary model. If correct, this would be similar to how the Latin letter G was created by adding a stroke to the letter C.

Typology

The Iberian scripts, except for the Greco-Iberian alphabet, are unusual because they combine alphabetic and syllabic writing. Continuants, such as sounds like /s/ and vowels, were written with separate letters, similar to the Phoenician or Greek alphabets. Non-continuants, like the sounds /b/, /d/, /t/, /g/, and /k/, were written using syllabic symbols that combined consonants and vowels, much like the Japanese kana system. For example, the written forms of "ga" and "ge" looked different, and "bi" and "bo" had no similarity. This writing system is called a "semi-syllabary" because it mixes alphabetic and syllabic elements.

The southeastern Iberian script was written from right to left, like the Phoenician alphabet. In contrast, the northeastern script was written from left to right, similar to the Greek alphabet.

Origins

The Iberian scripts are grouped together as Paleohispanic scripts for simplicity and because they share some similar features. However, the exact relationships between these scripts and others from the same time, like the Greco-Iberian script, are not completely understood. Most experts agree that the Iberian scripts were influenced at least partly by the Greek alphabet and/or the Phoenician alphabet, as they have many similar-looking symbols. Some researchers believe the northern and southern Iberian scripts originated only from the Phoenician alphabet, while others think the Greek alphabet also played a role. A few experts suggest that the Old Italic script may have had an influence as well. It seems that either the symbols themselves were changed or they were given new meanings. For example, the southern symbol for the sound /e/ may have come from the Phoenician letter ‘ayin or the Greek letter Ο, while the northern symbol for /e/ resembles the Phoenician letter he or the Greek letter Ε. However, in southern Iberian writing, this same symbol might have represented the sound /be/ instead. Despite these differences, it is clear that the Iberian scripts had a shared origin. Most experts agree that the northeastern Iberian script likely developed from the southeastern Iberian script.