c. 1900 BCE

Alphabetic inscriptions at Wadi el-Hol

In 1993 John and Deborah Darnell find two rock inscriptions in Egypt's Wadi el-Hol, published in 1999 and dated by them to c. 1900-1800 BCE. They are among the oldest alphabetic writing known and resemble the Proto-Sinaitic signs, though dating and origin are debated.