Clay slab may be part of Homer epic

An inscription on a clay slab unearthed at the birth place of the ancient Olympic Games in Greece could be the oldest written excerpt from Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey ever discovered, officials said.

The Greek culture ministry said an initial estimate dates the slab, inscribed with 13 verses from the Odyssey’ s Book 14, to the Roman period, possibly before the third century.

If this estimate is confirmed, the slab could be a “magnificent archaeological, epigraphical, literary and historic item”, the ministry said.

The Games were held at Olympia in Greece from 776 BC to 393 AD.