The comb — estimated to be 3,700 years old — was discovered at an archaeological dig in Israel, according to a new study published Wednesday. “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and beard,” reads the inscription written in Canaanite script, experts told the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology. Tiny evidence of lice was even found on what was left of the comb hairs. The comb was excavated in 2016 at the site of Tel Lachish, about 25 miles outside Jerusalem – but a researcher at Israel’s Hebrew University only discovered the carving late last year, according to the report. “May this tusk root out the lice of hair and beard,” reads an inscription on the comb.AP Previous discoveries of Canaanite writing have been a few letters or a single word – but this is the first time researchers have found a complete sentence. “It’s a very human text,” said Yosef Garfinkel of Hebrew University, the study’s lead researcher. “It shows us that people haven’t really changed and lice haven’t really changed,” Garfinkel told The Associated Press. The find also showed that “even in the most ancient phase there were complete sentences” using the Canaanite alphabet, he said. An aerial photo shows the Tel Lachish archaeological site where the ancient lice comb was uncovered. AFP via Getty Images Carbon dating could not verify the age of the ancient comb that scientists assume was imported, as the ivory-tusked elephant was not native to the region. The small comb – about 1.5 inches wide – had worn away most of its teeth over the millennia, but six teeth on one side were likely used to detangle hair and 14 finer teeth used to target living and of their eggs, according to the study. Writing systems predated the Canaanites in Mesopotamia and Egypt, but were based on symbols rather than an alphabet, an expert in Semitic languages ​​told the Guardian. The Canaanite language was the basis for ancient Greek and Latin – and in turn many modern European languages, said Christopher Rollston of George Washington University. “Throughout human history lice have been a perennial problem,” he told the Guardian. “And this inscription beautifully reveals that even the rich and famous in ancient times were not exempt from such problems.” With Post cables