Roman-era clay tablet with verses from Homer's Odyssey unearthed

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Photo taken on July 10, 2018 in Greece shows the clay tablet with an engraved inscription clearly showing 13 verses from Homer's Odyssey. A Roman-era clay tablet with an engraved inscription clearly showing 13 verses from Homer's Odyssey was unearthed in Ancient Olympia by archaeologists, the Greek Culture Ministry announced on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Greek Culture Ministry)

A Roman-era clay tablet with an engraved inscription clearly showing 13 verses from Homer's Odyssey was unearthed in Ancient Olympia by archaeologists, the Greek Culture Ministry announced on Tuesday.

The tablet was found close to a temple inside the archaeological site at the birthplace of the Olympic Games in western Greece, during a three-year scientific program carried out by Greek and German archaeologists, according to an e-mailed ministry announcement.

Initial estimates date the tablet to the Roman era, possibly before the 3rd century AD.

"If this preliminary estimate is confirmed during the thorough study of the finding, which has already started, then the clay tablet would preserve perhaps the oldest extant written excerpt of the Homeric Epic poems that has been found, which besides it uniqueness is also a very important archaeological, literary and historical record," the Greek ministry stressed.

Scholars believe that the Odyssey was composed during the late 8th century BC.

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