Researchers identify 31 letters in ancient Sidetic language
Researchers studying the ancient language once spoken in the ancient city of Side in Antalya’s Manavgat district have identified 31 letters in the Sidetic alphabet, advancing efforts to decipher one of Anatolia’s lost languages.
The ancient port city of Side, one of the most important settlements of Pamphylia, continues to attract scholarly attention not only for its archaeological remains but also for its mysterious language, known as Sidetic.
As part of the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Heritage for the Future Project, excavations are uncovering traces of the city’s past while researchers work to better understand the language spoken there more than 2,000 years ago.
The language is being studied through bilingual inscriptions unearthed during excavations. Research led by Feriştah Alanyalı, together with linguists Michaela Zinko and Alfredo Rizza, has expanded the known Sidetic alphabet from 26 to 31 letters.
