Filippo Pedron had the pleasure of being invited to give a talk at the workshop Philology Meets AI: Deciphering Rare Scripts, organized at Stockholm University in early May by the DESCRYPT Project. The workshop gathered experts in decryption and in the Elamite scripts and other rare scripts of the world, creating a great framework for discussion and exchange of ideas.
Filippo drew on the experience gained from reading and translating Elamite texts for the WORK-IT project to give a talk on the adoption and adaptation of cuneiform writing for the Elamite language. He began by analyzing the first attested Elamite text, the treaty with the Mesopotamian king Narām-Sîn (2254–2218 BCE), comparing its script to those used in neighboring countries to determine how and when Elam adopted the cuneiform script from Mesopotamia. He then showed how the Elamites developed and adapted this script over time, up to its latest attestation during the Achaemenid Empire.
The results will be published in an article next year. It was a pleasure to see how the DESCRYPT Project is applying digital tools to the decipherment of rare scripts. Hopefully, this will improve our understanding of the Elamite language and Achaemenid texts.