The unique character of the Phaistos Disc stems from the fact that the entire text was inscribed in this way, reproducing a body of text with reusable characters. The Disc's inscription was likely made by pressing hieroglyphic "seals" into the soft clay, in a clockwise sequence spiraling toward the center of the disk. (LMIIIA) based on his dating of tablet PH-1. Best suggests a date in the first half of the 14th century B.C. Doubting the viability of Pernier's report, Louis Godart (1990) resigns himself to admitting that archaeologically, the disc may be dated to anywhere in Middle or Late Minoan times (MMI-LMIII, a period spanning most of the second millennium B.C.). Jeppesen (1963) dates it to after 1400 (LMII-LMIII in Minoan chronology). (MMIII in Minoan chronology) on the basis of Luigi Pernier's report, which says that the Disc was in a Middle Minoan undisturbed context. Yves Duhoux (1977) dates the disc to between 1850 B.C. This is considered as evidence that the Phaistos Disc is a genuine Minoan artifact.
A sealing found in 1955 shows the only known parallel to sign 21 (?, the "comb") of the Phaistos disc. It will either confirm that new finds are worth hunting for, or it will stop scholars from wasting their effort." Ī gold signet ring from Knossos (the Mavro Spilio ring), found in 1926, contains a Linear A inscription developed in a field defined by a spiral-similar to the Phaistos Disc. In his 2008 review, Robinson does not endorse the forgery arguments, but argues that "a thermoluminescence test for the Phaistos Disc is imperative. According to a report in The Times, the date of manufacture has never been established by thermoluminescence dating. The possibility that the disc is a 1908 forgery or hoax has been raised by two scholars. This assumption is supported by the later discovery of the Arkalochori Axe with similar, though not identical, glyphs. The assumption of authenticity is based on the excavation records by Luigi Pernier. The Phaistos Disc is generally accepted as authentic by archaeologists. The site apparently collapsed as a result of an earthquake, possibly linked with the eruption of the Santorini volcano that affected large parts of the Mediterranean region during the mid-2nd millennium B.C. In the northern part of the main cell, in the same black layer, a few centimetres south-east of the disc and about 50 cm (20 in) above the floor, Linear A tablet 'PH-1' was also found. Their content was poor in precious artifacts, but rich in black earth and ashes, mixed with burnt bovine bones.
These basement cells, only accessible from above, were neatly covered with a layer of fine plaster. The disc was found in the main cell of an underground "temple depository". Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier recovered the intact "dish", about 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter and uniformly slightly more than 1 centimetre (0.39 inches) in thickness, on 3 July 1908 during his excavation of the first Minoan palace. This grouping of four rooms also served as a formal entry into the palace complex. The Phaistos Disc was discovered in the Minoan palace-site of Phaistos, near Hagia Triada, on the south coast of Crete specifically the disc was found in the basement of room 8 in building 101 of a group of buildings to the northeast of the main palace. Attempts at decipherment are generally thought to be unlikely to succeed unless more examples of the signs are found, as it is generally agreed that there is not enough context available for a meaningful analysis.Īlthough the Phaistos Disc is generally accepted as authentic by archaeologists, a few scholars believe that the disc is a forgery or a hoax.
While it is not clear that it is a script, most attempted decipherments assume that it is most additionally assume a syllabary, others an alphabet or logography.
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The Phaistos Disc captured the imagination of amateur and professional archaeologists, and many attempts have been made to decipher the code behind the disc's signs. The disc was discovered in 1908 by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier in the Minoan palace-site of Phaistos, and features 241 tokens, comprising 45 distinct signs, which were apparently made by pressing hieroglyphic "seals" into a disc of soft clay, in a clockwise sequence spiralling toward the center of the disk.
It is now on display at the archaeological museum of Heraklion. Its purpose and its original place of manufacture remain disputed. The disk is about 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter and covered on both sides with a spiral of stamped symbols. The Phaistos Disc (also spelled Phaistos Disk, Phaestos Disc) is a disk of fired clay from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the island of Crete, possibly dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age ( second millennium BC).