The Archaic Fonts Collection

Pair Fonts updates it’s fonts list and offers you a collection of archaic fonts from 3000 BC to the Middle Ages. This is a description of the fonts you will find in the ‘archaic’ category. So, let’s begin:

Proto-Semitic

This is a font from around 1600 BC used in the Middle East. This is an alphabetic script also known as Proto-Siniatic or Proto-Canaanite and it has its origins to the Egyptian Hieroglyphics. The font consists of 23 letters.

Phoenician

This is a font from around 1000 BC. The font can be used in both directions (left & right) as Phoenicians used to write from right to left. The font consists of 23 letters.

Ancient Greek (Greek4cbc, Greek6cbc)

These are two fonts from two different periods, the 4^th and 6^th century BC. The Greek alphabet was based upon the Phoenician alphabet and it is written from left to right. The first font of the 6^th century consists of 26 letters and the second font from the 4^th century of 24 letters (as it is today).

Etruscan

Etruscan font consists of 27 letters and it is based on Phoenician and Greek alphabet. Romans based their alphabet on this alphabet. The font is also provided in 2 directions (left to right and right to left).

Runic

This is a script used in North Europe until after the Middle ages and it consists of glyphs. This is the Anglo-Saxon version of the script.

Hieroglyphics

Used by the Egyptians from 3000 BC to 400 AD. The font consists of nearly 60 hieroglyphs (6000 are known).

Linear B

It is a syllabary used from 1600 to 1200 BC in the Greek Mycenaean dialect. The font consists of around 90 signs some of which have yet to be deciphered.

Cypriot

It is a syllabary used from 1000 to 200 BC in Cyprus for writing Greek. It is related to Linear B and has some of the same signs. The font consists of 55 signs.

Ugaritic Cuneiform

This script appeared around 1300 BC until 75 AD. The font consists of 30 letters and an ideographic word divider.

Old Persian

This script was used from 500 to 350 BC. It consists of 45 glyphs and ideographs.

Aramaic

Aramaic was used between 1000 to 100 BC in the Middle East. The font consists of 22 letters.

Nabatean

Nabatean was used between 400 BC to 400 AD. It is related to the Aramaic script. The font consists of 22 letters.

South Arabian

The script was used in southern Arabia between 500 BC to 600 AD.