Analysis complete. Based on input from McCallister's funky Etruscan site, a
bit of IndoTyrrhenian extrapolation and taking those suggestions from Miguel
that weren't total nonsense, I arrived at the following... Enjoy!
SIDE B
------
To Hulaie, of that which is of Fuke from Zerunai, the
magistrature will be given.
In Rome, the dear "haral" died, as a dear magistrate
worked good Fuke.
Dead at the age of forty and as an official were his years
served.
SIDE A
------
Of that which is of "Vanal" (?), Zerunai in Murinai.
An incense box, a little offering.
SIDE A-II
----------
Dead.
The magistrature Zerunai.
Forty years.
And as an official was his years [served].
SIDE A-III
----------
To Zia, (<- last line of A-II)
Hulaie's grandson.
So, what I suggest is that Fuke was from some area called "Zeruna"
(pronounced "Sheruna"), located in Murina. Is Murina a city or is it a
general area in Lemnos? What is Murina exactly? At any rate, Zeruna seems to
be located within Murina. If Murina is an area then Zeruna must be a town.
Fuke died at the age of forty and had a son named Zia. Zia's grandfather,
Fuke's father, was named Hulaie.
Now going line by line starting with Side B, it seems likely that something
"will be given" (tuveruna == Etr. /turune/) and I will take Miguel's
suggestion that it is a magistrature (evisthu).
The next line might refer to something in Rome (Rum == Etr. /Ruma/) and the
verb "to die" (zivai "dead" == Etr. /ziva/) is being used in the same
sentence. Then /epteziu/ is used which I take to be a little or dear
"magistrate" (/eptez/ == Etr. /eprth-/ + -z, honorific + -iu, a dimunitive)
followed by "worked" (arai == Etr. /ar-/ "to do"). Then we see "tiz Fuke"
which may mean "good Fuke".
In the third line, we see clearly that he lived forty years based on
extraordinary parallels with Etruscan. I presume that /maraz/ means
"official" (Etr. /maru/ + honorific -z) and I, again, take Miguel's
suggestion that /-m/ is "and" (Etr. /-m/) leaving /aviz/ to mean "years" or
"lifetime"... so he must have been some guy who served (aumai) as an
official in Rome and then he ended up croaking (zivai). A big lah-dee-dah
kinda fellow who could afford a stele in his honour because he was rakin' in
the drachmas.
Side A is uneventful, mentioning a "little offering" (tavarz-iu == Etr.
/turza/ + -iu, a diminutive suffix) which I suspect to be an incense box
(aker == Etr. /acerra/).
Side A-II is a repeat of everything previous.
Side A-III mentions "Hulie's grandson" out of the blue but two questions
exist. Who the hell is Hulie?? Who is the grandson?? So I am forced to take
Miguel's suggestion a third and last time, taking the previous line
containing "ziazi" to mean "to Zia" where Zia must be a name, the name of
Hulie's grandson, which otherwise cannot be connected to the rest of the
text. Thus "to Zia, Hulie's grandson". In other words, to him is given the
magistrature.
All in all, some interesting features can be glossed from this exercise in
translation. One of them is the fact that /-ai/ appears to derive from an
earlier *-a since we have Murinai for "Murina" and we have many verbs
terminating in -ai when they should terminate in -a like in regular Etruscan
(cf. /car-/ -> active /cara/). We see -na being used in a future sense as in
Etruscan, right on the first line. There is a recognizable root like
/tuver-/ or /tavar-/ that can be compared with Etruscan /tur-/ "to give" for
further insights into Tyrrhenian vocalism and grammar. Yummy!
Miguel:
>The sense is not very clear. A man called $ivai ruled(?) $erona(?)
>and Murina (for?) Holaie the Phocaean (?) whose <naphoth> he was ....
>and died at age 65(??).
I may have erred in translation but what you offer is definitely much
sillier in comparison. Now that everything is translated the gLeNny gEe way,
I don't wanna hear any more whining from yo'll that Lemnian isn't deciphered
well enough yet to understand :P I just need to figure out where Vanal is
(The actual Lemnian name of the island of Lemnos perhaps?) and what a
"haral" is supposed to be (Whatever it was, poor ol' Fuke must have been one
and if it paid for his stele, I wanna be one too...).
Anyone have suggestions, ammendments, angry letters of disapproval? I'm all
ears.
- gLeN
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