Lydian letter Q

It is a Lydian alphabet letter, conventionally transliterated q. Scholars reconstruct its sound as a k made with rounded lips, though the exact ancient pronunciation is uncertain. The q is a scholarly transliteration, not the Latin letter Q itself.

What did 𐤲 do in Lydian writing?

It helped write Lydian words on monuments and objects.

The earliest evidence is from the late eighth/early seventh century BCE; longer inscriptions cluster in the fifth–fourth century BCE, mostly around Sardis. Stone inscriptions are mostly funerary, marking burials, though some are decrees; seals can identify owners, and objects can carry dedications. Early Lydian texts used more than one writing direction, but most surviving inscriptions run right to left.

Why do scholars write q?

Because q is the scholarly transliteration for this letter. The Lydian script was adapted from a variant of the Greek alphabet, and almost all Lydian signs have Greek counterparts. Lydian is an Anatolian language, in the same language group as Lycian and Carian. Contact with Phrygians is attested, but that does not make Lydian a Phrygian dialect.

Scholars reconstruct the Lydian q as a k-like sound made with the lips rounded, roughly like the initial sound of English “queen.” Its exact ancient pronunciation is inferred from spellings and comparison with related languages.