"It would be nice for the Macedonian Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi to tell us about the fate of the tombstone found in the summer of 2007."
By Arben LLALLAIn July 2007, in the village of Forina, Gostivar, during the village sewage works, a tombstone of the 4th century was discovered. That period, today's Speaker of the Parliament of Macedonia Talat Xhaferi made me a phone call to see this tombstone as a historian.
As soon as I heard this news I went in that place and begun searchings of where this historical fact was found. At Forina I was received by Mr. Xhaferi, who showed me where was the antique tombstone. There were also many villagers who kept it as a rare thing.Which period does it belong to? In what language is written on it?
These are the questions that torment the inhabitants of this village.
As for this testimony we are dealing with a marble slab in which is depicted a man's figure and below it is the inscription: ΑΝΝΙΑΤωΥΙω, ΕΠΙΚΑΔωΜΝΗ, ΜΗCΧAΡΙΝ.
In ancient times, people wrote in abbreviations, but over time, each language developed, making it difficult for us to understand their inscriptions today.
According to me, the plate found at Forina is a tomb of Byzantine period, in IV century. The inscription is written in letters that today are known as Greek letters. On the tablet is the figure of a young girl. Where we define it from the appearance, with a thin and long neck, with a narrow forehead and a hair higher than the forehead.
For the inscription as I said above is in Greek letters, but there is also a letter that does not belong to the Greek alphabet, but to the Latin alphabet, it is the letter "C".
The question may be: Why a tombstone with a Greek inscription in Forine!?
The ancient Albanians known as Illyrians wrote almost in today's alphabet adopted by the Greeks. This has been proven by many foreign scientists who have been dealing with and dealing with the science of Albanology. Among them is the Austrian albanologist Johann Geog Von Hahn 1811-1869, who is the rescuer of Pelasgian ABC of Theodor Haxhifilip Elbasan and known as Dhaskal Todri.
So the Greeks took the alphabet of the Albanians by developing and adopting it. Many foreign scientists have concluded that Greeks came later than Albanians in the Balkans. Even the Greeks connected 2 or 3 Albanian words in one word by forming a new word, a new language, which today is the language of the Greeks. Any Albanian who knows and deals with Greek language studies will notice this phenomenon easily.
We must know that until 1937 Orthodox Albanians used Greek language in religious rites and scripture, until April 12, 1937, when the Holy Synod of Fanar officially recognized the autocephalousness of the Albanian Orthodox Church (KOASH), which in all religious ceremonies to be used only the Albanian.
The issue after 10 years is that where is this tombstone? Who studied it? Is there an Illyrian cemetery in Foria and was paved after its discovery?
From the conversations I had with the Forina village elders they showed me that an old cemetery with such tiles was found, but covered with concrete slabs, told me about the former Albanian inhabitants of Forina who belonged to the Orthodox faith but now are asymilated in Slavic Macedonians and had established a new village.
It would be nice for the Speaker of the Parliament of Macedonia Talat Xhaferi to tell us about the fate of the tombstone found in the summer of 2007.
This is just one of those tragic stories of Albanians who have for centuries lost traces of their cultural and religious heritage./Oculus News