Thracian language

Some of the longer inscriptions may be Thracian in origin but they may simply reflect jumbles of names or magical formulas.

However, Indo-European scholars have pointed out that "even the notion that what the ancients called "Thracian" was a single entity is unproven.

[30] The ring features an inscription in a Greek script consisting of 8 lines, the eighth of which is located on the rim of the rotating disk; it reads without any spaces between:

Dimitar Dechev (Germanised as D. Detschew) separates the words as follows:[31][32] ΡΟΛΙΣΤΕΝΕΑΣRolisteneasΝΕΡΕΝΕΑNereneaΤΙΛΤΕΑΝtilteanΗΣΚΟēskoΑΡΑΖΕΑArazeaΔΟΜΕΑΝdomeanΤΙΛΕΖΥΠΤΑTilezyptaΜΙΗmiēΕΡΑeraΖΗΛΤΑzēltaΡΟΛΙΣΤΕΝΕΑΣ ΝΕΡΕΝΕΑ ΤΙΛΤΕΑΝ ΗΣΚΟ ΑΡΑΖΕΑ ΔΟΜΕΑΝ ΤΙΛΕΖΥΠΤΑ ΜΙΗ ΕΡΑ ΖΗΛΤΑRolisteneas Nerenea tiltean ēsko Arazea domean Tilezypta miē era zēltaI am Rolisteneas, a descendant of Nereneas; Tilezypta, an Arazian woman, delivered me to the ground.A second inscription, hitherto undeciphered, was found in 1965 near the village of Kyolmen [bg], Varbitsa Municipality, dating to the sixth century BC.

Written in a Greek alphabet variant, it is possibly a tomb stele inscription similar to the Phrygian ones; Peter A. Dimitrov's transcription thereof is:[33] i.e. A third inscription is again on a ring, found in Duvanlii [bg], Kaloyanovo Municipality, next to the left hand of a skeleton.

[37] It is only partly legible (16 out of the initial 21): ΗΥΖΙΗēuziē..........ΔΕΛΕdele//ΜΕΖΗΝΑΙmezēnaiΗΥΖΙΗ ..... ΔΕΛΕ / ΜΕΖΗΝΑΙēuziē ..... dele / mezēnaiThe word mezenai is interpreted to mean 'Horseman', and a cognate to Illyrian Menzanas (as in "Juppiter/Jove Menzanas" 'Juppiter of the foals' or 'Juppiter on a horse');[38][39][40] Albanian mëz 'foal'; Romanian mînz 'colt, foal';[41][42] Latin mannus 'small horse, pony';[43][44] Gaulish manduos 'pony' (as in tribe name Viromandui[45] 'men who own ponies').

[53] According to Crampton (1997) most Thracians were eventually Hellenized or Romanized, with the last remnants surviving in remote areas until the 5th century.

[57] Because Pulpudeva survived as Plovdiv in Slavic languages, not under Philippopolis, some authors suggest that Thracian was not completely obliterated in the 7th century.