Meroitic Cursive

Meroitic Cursive is a script that was used to write the Meroitic language. The Meroitic language was spoken in what is now Sudan. The Meroitic script is thought to be derived from the Egyptian hieroglyphs. The script was used from about the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD. Meroitic Cursive was written using a stylus on papyrus or leather. The script was written from right to left. The letters were often joined together. There are about 1000 known Meroitic inscriptions. Many of these are very short. The longest known inscription is about 40 lines long. The Meroitic script has not been deciphered. However, some progress has been made in understanding the script. In 2010, a team of French and Sudanese archaeologists announced that they had deciphered about 70% of the script. The Meroitic script is an important key to understanding the history and culture of Sudan.