Lemnian Language

The Lemnian language was a language spoken on the island of Lemnos in the 6th century BC. It is mainly attested by an inscription found on a funerary stele, termed the Lemnos stele, discovered in 1885 near Kaminia. However, fragments of inscriptions on local pottery show that it was spoken there by a community. In 2009, a newly discovered inscription from Efestia was reported. Lemnian is accepted as being closely related to Etruscan. After the Athenians conquered the island in the latter half of the sixth century, Lemnian was replaced by Attic Greek.