Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Tablets : The Phaistos Disc. Clay disc with impressed pictorial signs in a spiral pattern [Π-Ν1358]

Writing in Ancient Crete ➔ The Phaistos Disc. Clay disc with impressed pictorial signs in a spiral pattern

Π-Ν1358

Clay

Intact

Diameter: 15.8-16.5 cm.

Phaistos

House 101

Middle Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Middle Minoan ΙII period.:

1700-1650 BC c.:

Gallery:

Case:

Exhibition thematic unit:

Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). The New Palaces. The zenith of Minoan civilisation

The Phaistos Disc

Description

Clay disc with inscriptions arranged in a spiral pattern on both sides. Both sides of the disc were impressed with tiny seals, bearing 241 signs in total, while the clay was still wet. A vertical line with five dots on the outer edge of each side marks the beginning and the direction of reading of the inscriptions, from the edge of the disc towards the centre. The impressed pictograms, often depicting themes drawn from the natural world or material culture, are arranged in 61 groups, presumably representing words. These are separated by vertical or radiating incised lines. The repetition of certain groups of signs, like a refrain, is the strongest evidence that the inscription is a hymn or incantation. Experts have not yet reached a definitive conclusion on the contents of the inscription and its possible relationship to the three pre-alphabetic scripts of the prehistoric Aegean, Linear A, Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear B.

Bibliography:

Godart, L. The Phaistos disc - The enigma of an Aegean script. Iraklion, 1996. Duhoux, Y. “Les langues du lin?aire A et du disque de Phaestos.” Minos 18 (1983): 33-68. Duhoux, Y. “How not to decipher the Phaistos Disc: A Review.” American Journal of Archaeology 104.3 (2000): 597-600. Younger, J.G. “The Aegean Bard: Evidence for Sound and Song.”. In S.P. Morris and R. Laffineur (eds), Epos: Reconsidering Greek Epic and Aegean Bronze Age Archaeology. Proceedings of the 11th International Aegean Conference, Los Angeles, UCLA – The J. Paul Getty Villa, 20-23 April 2006. AEGAEUM 28. Li?ge and Austin, 2007, 71?78. Anastasiadou, M. "The Phaistos Disc as a Genuine Minoan Artefact and its Place in the Stylistic Milieu of Crete in the Protopalatial Period." Creta Antica 17 (2016): 13-57.

Author:

G. F.

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