Drawing of the inscription on a sheet of lead
31.6 x 25.4 cm
Photo Archive
One of the most important archaeological testimonies of the maritime and commercial activity is a well-known Greek inscription found in Emporion, engraved on a sheet of lead at the beginning of the 5th century BC. It is a private letter of a commercial nature, written in the Ionian dialect, in which a Phocaean merchant, probably from Massalia, orders the purchase and transport of goods, including wine. This inscription, incomplete at the margins, contains the oldest mention to the Emporitans and refers also to an enclave on the coast (Saiganthe, perhaps the Greek adaptation of the name of the Iberian nucleus of Arse/Sagunt) and to the intervention of an Iberian merchant (Basped) in this trade operation. Source: E. Sanmartí Grego, R.A. Santiago 1988, fig 8