naujovs

Naujovs are an archaic class of inscriptions found at archaeological sites in the northern highlands of Nordhaven. The term naujovs is used by scholars to designate this specific script and its associated stone tablets, panels, and mnemonic markers. The inscriptions are dated to the early Iron Age, roughly 1000 to 600 BCE, with a concentration along river valleys and hillfort perimeters.

Etymology and designation: The label naujovs derives from the local Nordhaven word for “new,” combined with a plural suffix used by researchers to group similar inscriptions. The name reflects both the novelty of their script at the time of discovery and their distinctive regional character.

Discovery and distribution: The first major finds emerged in salvage excavations during the late 1960s at Kavir Pass. Subsequent surveys uncovered dozens more tablets in associated settlements and quarries. The corpus shows regional clustering but also evidence of broader exchange, suggesting the inscriptions migrated with goods and people.

Script and contents: The signs are partly logographic and partly syllabic, with some characters corresponding to numerals, agricultural terms, or family names. Some tablets appear to record transactional records, calendars, or mythic genealogies. In many instances, inscriptions were carved on limestone or schist, sometimes with mineral pigment that becomes visible only under certain lighting conditions.

Significance: Naujovs provide insights into long-distance exchange networks, administrative practices, and proto-writing in the region. They have informed revisions of regional chronology and linguistic contact among early Nordhaven communities.

See also: Runic inscriptions, epigraphy, Nordhaven archaeology.