Avesta word for "praise-song" (Bartholomae: "Lobgesang"); that word is not actually attested in any text. The surviving texts of the Avesta, as they exist today, derive from a single master copy produced by Sasanian Empire-era (224–651 CE) collation and recension. That master copy, now lost, is known as the 'Sassanian archetype'. The oldest surviving manuscript ("K1") of an Avestan language text is dated 1323 CE. Summaries of the various Avesta texts found in the 9th/10th century texts of Zoroastrian tradition suggest that a significant portion of the literature in the Avestan language has been lost. Only about one-quarter of the Avestan
Avesta (locality) Avesta (locality) Avesta is a locality and the seat of Avesta Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 11,949 inhabitants in 2015. The name is first found in 1303 as "Aghastadhum". "Aghe" is of similar origin as the word å, meaning stream, in this case the Avestafors, a tributary of the river Dalälven. "Stadhum" was dative plural of a word of similar origin as stead, or farm. In the Scandinavian Middle Ages there was a blast furnace at the location. In 1636 the construction of a giant copper mine was initiated near the Avesta fors. The town Avesta received partial privileges