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A: Athina, Greece

The Acropolis Stone, the Earliest Example of Shorthand Writing

Circa 350 BCE
The Acropolis Stone. Brit. Mus. Add. Ms. 33270
The Acropolis Stone. Brit. Mus. Add. Ms. 33270

The earliest known example of a shorthand writing system is the Acropolis stone (Akropolisstein) discovered in the Athenian Acropolis in 1884, and preserved in the British Museum (Brit. Mus. Add. Ms. 33270).  The marble slab shows a writing system using primarily based on vowels, using certain modifications to indicate consonants.

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