The Southwest Script, also called Southwestern Script, Tartessian, South Lusitanian, and Conii script, is an ancient writing system used to record a language that experts believe was called Tartessian. Inscriptions written in this script have been discovered mainly in the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula. These writings are mostly found in southern Portugal, particularly in the Algarve and southern Alentejo regions, as well as in parts of Spain, including southern Extremadura and western Andalusia.

Name of the script

The name of this script is disputed. A more neutral term is "southwestern," as it refers only to the geographic location. Other names for this script, which are connected to specific groups and languages, include:

Deciphering strategies

Unlike the script from the northeastern part of Iberia, the script from the southwestern part has not been fully deciphered (as is also true for the southeastern Iberian script). The two main methods used to determine the sounds of the letters are:

If both methods give the same results, the letter is considered deciphered. If the results differ, the letter is considered uncertain. As of 2014, 20 letters are agreed upon (including all 5 vowels, 10 stop sounds, and 5 non-stop sounds), while more than 10 letters remain uncertain. The three main theories about the script’s decipherment are those proposed by Correa (2009), de Hoz (2010), and Ramos (2002).

Because the process of figuring out the sounds of the script is not complete, it is difficult to determine what language the script represents. Some researchers have suggested the language may be Celtic, but this idea is not widely accepted. If this theory were correct, the language represented by the Southwest script would be the first known written Celtic language. Other main theories suggest the language is Iberian (or possibly not Indo-European) and has Celtic influences but originated from an Iberian language.

Writing system

Paleohispanic scripts, except for the Greco-Iberian alphabet and the southwestern script, had a unique writing system. This system worked as a syllabary for stop consonants and as an alphabet for other consonants and vowels. This type of system is called a semi-syllabary.

Scholars do not agree on how Paleohispanic semi-syllabaries began. Most believe they were influenced by the Phoenician alphabet, though some think the Greek alphabet also played a role. In the southwestern script, the letter for a stop consonant was chosen based on the vowel that followed it, similar to a full semi-syllabary. The vowel that followed was also written, like in an alphabet. A similar rule appears in Etruscan writing, where the letter /k/ was written as "ka," "ce," "ci," or "qu," depending on the vowel that followed. Some experts view Tartessian as a redundant semi-syllabary, while others see it as a redundant alphabet.

The southwestern script is very similar to the southeastern Iberian script in terms of the shapes of its symbols and their meanings. The main difference is that the southeastern Iberian script does not repeat vowels in its syllabic signs. This discovery, made by Ulrich Schmoll, helps classify many southwestern symbols into vowels, consonants, and syllabic signs.

Inscriptions

This script is mostly found on about 100 large stones called steles. As of 2014, 10 of these steles were lost. Most of the remaining steles were discovered in today's Portugal, especially in the region of Baixo Alentejo, though some were found in Spain. Sixteen of these steles are displayed at the Southwest Script Museum (Museu da Escrita do Sudoeste) in Almodôvar, Portugal. One of the steles there has an inscription with 86 characters, which is the longest discovered so far. This stele was found in 2008.

The inscriptions probably had a funerary purpose, but without clear archaeological evidence, it is hard to be certain. This lack of evidence also makes it difficult to determine the exact time when the script was used. However, the script is usually dated to the Iron Age, around the 8th to 6th centuries BCE. It is often considered the oldest of the Paleohispanic scripts. The writing direction is typically from right to left, but it can also be boustrophedon or spiral.