From the History of the Decipherment of West Semitic Writing: Events and People. (V) Decipherment of Palmyrene Alphabet: J. Swinton and J.-J. Barthélemy. Part I
In the mid-18th century, Barthélemy and Swinton almost simultaneously deciphered Palmyrene writing. Previously well-disposed to one another, the two scholars later turned into bitter opponents because of the controversy over the priority in that discovery. High society and, partly, the scientific community took Barthélemy’s side while Swinton got a reputation of a dilettante and a tactless person.