Dear Luisma,
The painted Liria vase, which contains extensive writing in the North Iberian script, continues to puzzle archaeologists, historians and linguists.
What does all this writing say?
Does it tell us about the battle scene depicted?
No. Actually, it lists and commemorates the people who made and painted the vase.
Unfortunately, the vase is damaged, and the writing incomplete. Also, many books reproduce an inaccurate representation of the vase, which cuts the Lolegarkoe "seal" in half and alters some of the signs.
I have transliterated the b/p, d/t and g/k signs as they appear in Basque, though I recognise that in the Iberian of the Levant initial k is much more usual than initial g.
I have placed unexpressed diphthong vowels in brackets and have also bracketed the vowels incorporated into the m-sign.
Let's start with the top line (above the horses):-
Ba(i)ser te : Bonandi te : N/M(a)bar te : Bordebara Garesir te egiar : ban ite : Gar...
Baiser and Bonandi and Nabar and Bordebara Garesir make (they have
them) and this
The verb found in egi-ar is identical to Basque egin "to do, make, create". egi-ar is the stem without the -n marked with the -ar suffix, which is probably equivalent to Basque -ten and converts the stem into a participle for use with an auxiliary. The auxiliary is unexpressed.
te and ite are copulatives. Both are equivalent to Basque eta.
Iberian ban "one" can be used as an indefinite article or as the demonstrative "this". banir means "these", but the plural suffix is unnecessary if the noun is clearly plural or if the verb uses the plural object infix. Why is the same word "bat" in Basque? Well, it is ban- in banaka, banatu, etc, indeed virtually every derivative of bat.
Baiser is a very common element in Iberian personal names. Its meaning is unclear, but is perhaps cognate with Basque (Bizkaian) bezero "customer, client, patient" and bezera "milkwoman". beza-tu "to tame, train" may also be relevant. The meaning could well be "citizen" or "subject", or perhaps even "gentleman". It is also found as the name of a deity, Beisirisse Iupiter Optimus Maximus, recorded on a Roman era inscription at Cadeac, Hautes-Pyrenees; and on the Ascoli bronze plate as the personal name Nespaiser "I am a citizen, subject, etc" (b becomes p after s).
In the present instance, Baiser is probably the second element in a name, the first part of which has been erased.
Bonandi is a typical pair, incorporating two discrete elements. The meaning of andi is obvious ("great") and identical in Basque. bon is more problematic. Perhaps it is equivalent to Basque i-bon "tarn" and means something like "sacred pool or spring or well".
Nabar is identical to Basque nabar "brightly coloured". In the Iberian of the Levant, the initial n often becomes m, hence the form written as MBAR (the m-sign, of course, incorporates a posterior a). The same effect is found occasionally in Basque, where nerabe and mirabe both mean "boy, servant". They are the same word. The n placed before the m may represent confusion as to the correct pronunciation, or it may act as a stop, indicating that the m-sign incorporates no anterior vowel. In its more familiar form, nabar is found on a lead tablet from Ampurias in the personal name pair Nabarsosin "brightly-coloured/straight".
Bordebara or Bortebara is curious. borde is not the same as Basque borda "cottage", because this usually takes the form burd- in Iberian. For instance, Burdigala (Bordeaux), Burdoga (Barja in Andalusia) Burdua (Nuestra Senora de Botoa near Badajoz) (this is the form recorded by Ptolemy) and the personal name Burdo of the Ascoli bronze plate. It more resembles Bandua Vordeaecus and Bandua Vorteaecius, deities recorded on Roman era inscriptions at Seisco de Anciaes and San Martinho, Portugal, respectively. The meaning is opaque. Any suggestions? bara would appear to mean "vegetable", as it does in Basque.
Garesir is less difficult. gares/kares is a common element in personal names and may be equivalent to Basque garesti "expensive" or garaitz "victory". It can be compared with the Karistoi, the tribe who lived in what is now Araba. Given the context in which the word appears when it is not used as a personal name, "victory" would appear more appropriate. -ir is simply the plural suffix.
Beneath the first horse:-
egiar Garespobigir
Garespobigir make (he has it)
bigir or bikir means "eyes" (bigi plus plural -r). This may have originated as a name for a tutelary deity. -bo- is a common link element, joining the two parts of personal names, and is probably the same as the Basque affirmative particle bo. After s the b becomes p.
Does the form bigi exist alongside begi in Basque? Yes. Firstly, there is Ekibigi, a place in Zuberoa. Then there are the words bigira-tu "to visit" and bigita "eye of a knot or chain", and several variants and derivatives thereof.
An example of both forms appearing in parallel is Torolus Gombiciegus, recorded on a Roman era inscription at Pias, Spain. Gombiciegus represents an Iberian *gon-biki-aigi "the exalted one of the supreme eye". This is also found in the place-name, Vinia Campegiensis (in the Caceres region), which reads like a ghastly Roman attempt to render Iberian *Wini Gonbikiaigi "settlement of Gonbikiaigi. Note how biki has become pegi.
Between the first and second horse:-
Ebir te egiar
and the Jew make (he has it)
It is interesting to observe that both Basque and Iberian obtained their words for "Jew" from a Massiliot Greek rather than a Roman source (Basque Eber-tar "Jew").
orodis gara bekor (?)
we are the universe, mare (?)
oro-di-s would appear to mean "universe", "totality" or some all-encompassing entity. I am unsure that bekor "mare" (also found on the Alcoy lead tablet) is intended here, since the script is uncertain. The whole might be expressed in English as "we are the champions".
Above the second horse:-
banir
these
Beneath the tail of the second horse:-
Bela(u)r : banir
Belaur these
Belaur means "baby crow" and is virtually the same as Basque Belazko "little crow".
Beneath the neck of the second horse:-
Elbe(bebebebe)rtibis Elbastibas(?)
Elbertibis Elbastibas(?)
This one is problematic. Firstly, why the fourfold repetition of the be/pe-sign? Secondly, the final sign, which appears to be an a-sign, must be an s.
I think these are both personal names. Elber- is el-berri, having lost its final -i through assimilation. el-berri means "new moon" and can be compared with Elaver, the Roman name for the River Allier, France. tibis is equivalent to Basque txibiz "envious, affected, greedy". It is also found on the Ascoli bronze plate in the personal names Illurtibas "greedy snow" and Bilustibas "naked/greedy"? Elbastibas would appear to be el-basti-bas "moon/other/forest". basti "other" (Basque beste) is found in the tribal names Bastetani and Bastuli "the other, ie foreign, people", ie, their leaders were Phoenicians.
Between the second and third horses:
ban gudur iradier
this (these) battles depict (we have them)
gudur is gudu "battle" plus plural -r. This is sufficient to denote the plurality of ban without the need for the -ir suffix.
iradier is a verb form. -er is the participle suffix, as in egi-ar. -adi- may be compared with Basque adi "attentive" and adi-tu "to pay attention to, hear, listen". iradi- may therefore mean "to draw to the attention" or perhaps "depict".
The whole could mean "we have depicted these battles".
This is another personal name, the literal meaning being "birch forest".
*urke is obviously identical to Basque urki "birch", and is a common element in Iberian personal names. It is also found in a number of ancient place-names: Ilurki/Ilorki/Ilurko (several) "settlement where birch trees grow", Urci (Chuche, near Almeria) "birch tree" and Urkesa (Orgas, south of Madrid) "place of birch trees". And there is also Orcades, the ancient name of the Orkneys, according to Ptolemy. If you strip away the Greek plural, you are left with *orka, which looks like *urke. Indeed, the birch is the only tree that will grow on the islands.
Why is the word for "birch" so common in Iberian personal and place-names? Was the birch once treated with reverence, like the oak?
Note that the Iberian form is usually *urke and the Basque form urki. This sound-shift is replicated in the Iberian word for gold, *balke ("literally piece of gold"). Observe how the final e changes to i in the case of Balciadin Balcibil, one of the mercenaries listed on the Ascoli bronze plate who may have come from Lumbier, in the Basque Country. *-ke/-ki is the same as Basque -ki in zilarki, tupiki, etc.
It is unclear whether this is a personal name or the name of a deity. The whole means "sleeper from the flames". Both lo "sleep", gar "flame" and -ko "of, from" are found in Iberian personal names, but the -le suffix appears to be unique. And the final -e may make -ko plural.
How do I know that the name begins with l? The l-sign before the o-sign is shorter than the other signs.
Now, the text indicates that there were Jews living in Spain before the Roman occupation. This is certainly consistent with the biblical account of Jonah setting sail for Tarshish (Tartessos "the west").
With best wishes,