The Tărtăria tablets first discovered in 1961 by archaeologist Nicolae Vlassa at a Neolithic site in the village of Tărtăria (about 30 km from Alba Iulia) in Romania. Dated to around 5300 BC, there are three tablets bear incised symbols - the Vinča symbols - and have been the subject of considerable controversy among archaeologists, some of whom claim that the symbols represent the earliest