This fragment is written in a Qur’anic script known as the ‘New Style’. The script is characterised by triangular and trapezoidal heads of letters and diagonal descending strokes in bowls and tails. Descending strokes are straight and diagonal, giving the script an orthogonal and rigid overall aspect. Vocalisation is marked using the old dot system: a dot above the letter represents a fatḥa, one below represents a kasra, and a dot on the line represents a ḍamma. Additional diacritical marks, including sukūn and shadda, were added in a green iron-based ink, now oxidised.

Further Reading

• https://invisibleeast.web.ox.ac.uk/article/document-month-725-fragments-once-complete-qurans

Glossary

Bowl — the rounded closed or semi-closed curve of a letter which descends below the baseline, as in wāw, qāf, nūn, and sīn

Ḍamma — a vocalisation mark indicating a short /u/ vowel

Descender — the portion of a letter that extends below the baseline, as in rāʾ, zāyy, and lām

Diacritical marks — signs added to letters to indicate vocalisation or other phonetic features, including fatḥa, kasra, ḍamma, sukūn, and shadda

Fatḥa — a vocalisation mark indicating a short /a/ vowel

Kasra — a vocalisation mark indicating a short /i/ vowel

New Style — an eastern Qur’anic script characterised by triangular and trapezoidal letter heads and diagonal descending strokes in bowls and tails

Orthogonal — composed of right angles; used to describe scripts in which strokes meet at ninety degrees, producing a rigid, angular aspect

Shadda — a diacritical mark indicating doubling of a consonant; also called tashdīd

Sukūn — a diacritical mark indicating the absence of a vowel following a consonant