For over 2,000 years, scholars dismissed Sumerian cuneiform as decorative "bird tracks"

The key to finally decoding it was found by a man dangling from ropes 300 feet up a sheer Iranian cliff.

The breakthrough centered on the Behistun Inscription.

Commissioned by Darius the Great in 522 BCE, the monument featured the same royal proclamation in three distinct, long-forgotten languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian (a form of Akkadian).

Below: The Behistun Inscription features the same royal proclamation in three different cuneiform scripts.

“THAT IS NOT WRITING, ITS BIRD TRACKS.”—EXPERTS

For over 2,000 years, scholars dismissed Sumerian cuneiform as decorative "bird tracks." The key to finally decoding it was found by a man dangling from ropes 300 feet up a sheer Iranian cliff.

The breakthrough centered on the… pic.twitter.com/pa8sD48LrY

— Brian Roemmele (@BrianRoemmele)September 28, 2026