Phaistos Disc

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Palace complex at Phaistos

The Phaistos Disc, or Phaistos Disk, is a disc of fired clay from the island of Crete, Greece, possibly from the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age (second millennium BC), bearing a text in an unknown script and language. Its purpose and its original place of manufacture remain disputed. It is now on display at the archaeological museum of Heraklion. The name is sometimes spelled Phaestos or Festos.

The disc was discovered in 1908 by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier during the excavation of the Minoan palace of Phaistos.<ref name=evans1909/> The disc is about Template:Convert in diameter and is covered on each side with a spiral text, consisting of a total of 241 occurrences of 45 distinct signs, which were created by pressing individual sign stamps onto the soft clay before firing. While its unique features initially led some scholars to suspect a forgery or hoax, the disc is now generally accepted by archaeologists as authentic.

The disc has captured the imagination of amateur and professional palaeographers, and many attempts have been made to decipher the code behind the disc's signs.<ref name=bali2000/> 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.

DiscoveryEdit

File:Table Ph1.png

The Linear A tablet PH-1 that was originally found by archaeologist Zakarias Iliakis next to the Phaistos Disc<ref>Spencer McDaniel 2022, The Baffling Ancient Unsolved Mystery of the Phaistos Disc.</ref>

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. This grouping of four rooms also served as a formal entry into the palace complex. Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier recovered the intact "dish" on 3 July 1908 during his excavation of the first Minoan palace.<ref>Pernier, Luigi, "Il Disco di Phaestos con Caratteri Pittografici (Tav. IX-XIII)", Ausonia 3, pp. 255-302, 1909</ref>

The disc was found in the main cell of an underground "temple depository". These basement cells, only accessible from above, were neatly covered with a layer of fine plaster. Their content was poor in precious artifacts, but rich in black earth and ashes, mixed with burnt bovine bones. In the northern part of the main cell, in the same black layer, a few centimetres south-east of the disc and about Template:Cvt above the floor, Linear A tablet 'PH-1' was also found.<ref>Pernier, Dr. Luigi, "Rendieonti della Reale Aeeademia dei Lincei, Classe di Seienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche", Series V, vol. 17, pp. 642-651, 1908</ref>

DatingEdit

Yves Duhoux (1977) dates the disc to between 1850 BC and 1600 BC (MMIII in Minoan chronology) on the basis of Luigi Pernier's report, which says that the disc was in a Middle Minoan undisturbed context.<ref name=duho1977>Yves Duhoux (1977): Le disque de phaestos, Leuven.</ref> Jeppesen (1963) dates it to after 1400 (LMII–LMIII in Minoan chronology). 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 BC). Jan Best suggests a date in the first half of the 14th century BC (LMIIIA) based on his dating of tablet PH-1.<ref name=acht2004/>

Physical descriptionEdit

MaterialEdit

The disc is made of fine-grained clay. Some authors have stated that the clay does not appear to be of local origin, perhaps not even from Crete.<ref name=eisen2008a/> It was intentionally and properly fired, unlike tablets and seals that were baked only accidentally.<ref name=eisen2008a/>

Shape and dimensionsEdit

The disc is approximately cylindrical, about Template:Convert in diameter and almost Template:Convert thick, with rounded edges. More precisely, the outline is slightly egg-shaped, with the diameter varying from Template:Convert and the thickness from Template:Convert. The disc is slightly concave on side A and convex on side B.<ref name=eisen2008a/>

Typographic writingEdit

The most remarkable feature of the Phaistos disc is that the embossed signs that comprise its inscription all result from pressing separate stamps – one for each symbol – into the soft clay before firing. Thus the disc can be seen as an early example of movable-type printing.<ref name="schwa1959a">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="schwa1959b">Template:Cite journal</ref> Typesetter and linguist Herbert Brekle writes:<ref name="brek1997">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

If the disc is, as assumed, a textual representation, we are really dealing with a "printed" text, which fulfills all definitional criteria of the typographic principle. The spiral sequencing of the graphematical units, the fact that they are impressed in a clay disc (blind printing!) and not imprinted are merely possible technological variants of textual representation. The decisive factor is that the material "types" are proven to be repeatedly instantiated on the clay disc.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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A medieval example of a similar blind printing technique<ref> Template:Oed </ref> is the Prüfening dedicatory inscription of 1119 AD.<ref name=brek1997/><ref name=brek2005>Herbert E. Brekle (2005): Die Prüfeninger Weiheinschrift von 1119. Eine paläographisch-typographische Untersuchung (brief summary Template:Webarchive), Scriptorium Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft, Regensburg, Template:ISBN</ref>

Popular-science author Jared Diamond describes the disc as an example of a technological innovation that did not become widespread because it was made at the wrong time in history. Diamond contrasts the process with Gutenberg's printing press.<ref> Template:Cite book</ref>

Scribed linesEdit

Besides the stamped symbols, there are a few markings made by scoring the moist clay with a sharp stylus. On each side there is a continuous spiral line that separates successive turns of the text. The strip between successive spires of this line is divided into sections by short radial lines, so that each section contains a few whole signs. The presumed start of the text, adjacent to the edge, is also marked by such a radial stroke, with the addition of five dots punched along it with the stylus. Finally, under some of the stamped signs, there are short oblique strokes.

SignsEdit

File:Diskos.von.Phaistos Detail.1 11-Aug-2004 asb PICT3372.JPG

File:Diskos.von.Phaistos Detail.2 11-Aug-2004 asb PICT3373.JPG

File:Diskos.von.Phaistos Detail.3 11-Aug-2004 asb PICT3374.JPG

File:Diskos.von.Phaistos Detail.4 11-Aug-2004 asb PICT3375.JPG

Sign list and countsEdit

There are 45 distinct signs on the disc, occurring a total of 242 times—123 on side A and 119 on side B. In addition to these, a small diagonal line was incised with a stylus (not stamped) underneath some signs, a total of 18 times. The 45 symbols were numbered by Sir Arthur Evans from 01 to 45,<ref name="evans1909">Template:Cite book</ref> and this numbering has been adopted by most researchers.

The signs were added to the Unicode universal computer character (UCS) set in 2008, after a 2006 proposal by Michael Everson and John H. Jenkins.<ref name=ever2006>Michael Everson and John H. Jenkins (1997): "Proposal for encoding the Phaistos Disc characters in the SMP of the UCS Template:Webarchive", ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 Working Group Document N3066R (L2/06-095R), 2006-04-01.</ref> In the following table, the No. column is the Evans number of each sign; the Glyph column is a modern drawing of the symbol; and the Font column uses the UCS font available in the browser. The assigned Unicode names are PHAISTOS DISC SIGN followed by the names shown under Name in the table below, taken from a 1995 book by Louis Godart.<ref name=goda1995>Louis Godart (1995): The Phaistos Disc: the enigma of an Aegean script. translated by Alexandra Doumas. Éditions Itanos. Template:Isbn</ref>

One sign occurrence on side A is too damaged to identify. According to Godart, it may be sign 03 (TATTOOED HEAD) or 20 (DOLIUM); or less probably 08 (GAUNTLET) or 44 (SMALL AXE).<ref name=goda1995/>Template:Rp Theoretically, it could also be a 46th distinct sign.

The sign images below are reversed left-to-right relative to their appearance on the disc, reflecting their presentation in most Western books and articles.<ref name=ever2011>Michael Everson (2011): "Response to L2/11‐126 'Phaistos Disc Errata' Template:Webarchive" ISO Working Group Document L2/11-166, 2011-05-06.</ref>

Also, some signs occur in the disc in two or more orientations, rotated by 90 or 180 degrees. It is generally assumed that the rotation has no semantic or linguistic value, so the rotated copies are still the same symbol. Therefore, the "normal" orientation of those signs is not known, and might have been left to the scribe's discretion.<ref name=ever2006/><ref name=ever2011/>

Sign				Frequency
No.	Glyph	Font	Name	A	B	A+B
01	01	𐇐	PEDESTRIAN	6	5	11
02	02	𐇑	PLUMED HEAD	14	5	19
03	03	𐇒	TATTOOED HEAD	2	0	2
04	04	𐇓	CAPTIVE	1	0	1
05	05	𐇔	CHILD	0	1	1
06	06	𐇕	WOMAN	2	2	4
07	07	𐇖	HELMET	3	15	18
08	08	𐇗	GAUNTLET	1	4	5
09	09	𐇘	TIARA	0	2	2
10	10	𐇙	ARROW	4	0	4
11	11	𐇚	BOW	1	0	1
12	12	𐇛	SHIELD	15	2	17
13	13	𐇜	CLUB	3	3	6
14	14	𐇝	MANACLES	1	1	2
15	15	𐇞	MATTOCK	0	1	1
16	16	𐇟	SAW	0	2	2
17	17	𐇠	LID	1	0	1
18	18	𐇡	BOOMERANG	6	6	12
19	19	𐇢	CARPENTRY PLANE	3	0	3
20	20	𐇣	DOLIUM	0	2	2
21	21	𐇤	COMB	2	0	2
22	22	𐇥	SLING	0	5	5
23	23	𐇦	COLUMN	5	6	11
24	24	𐇧	BEEHIVE	1	5	6
25	25	𐇨	SHIP	2	5	7
26	26	𐇩	HORN	5	1	6
27	27	𐇪	HIDE	10	5	15
28	28	𐇫	BULLS LEG	2	0	2
29	29	𐇬	CAT	3	8	11
30	30	𐇭	RAM	0	1	1
31	31	𐇮	EAGLE	5	0	5
32	32	𐇯	DOVE	2	1	3
33	33	𐇰	TUNNY	2	4	6
34	34	𐇱	BEE	1	2	3
35	35	𐇲	PLANE TREE	5	6	11
36	36	𐇳	VINE	0	4	4
37	37	𐇴	PAPYRUS	2	2	4
38	38	𐇵	ROSETTE	3	1	4
39	39	𐇶	LILY	1	3	4
40	40	𐇷	OX BACK	3	3	6
41	41	𐇸	FLUTE	2	0	2
42	42	𐇹	GRATER	0	1	1
43	43	𐇺	STRAINER	0	1	1
44	44	𐇻	SMALL AXE	1	0	1
45	45	𐇼	WAVY BAND	2	4	6

Nature of depicted objectsEdit

Many of the signs are depictions of concrete objects with a recognizable general nature (such as humans, birds, plants, a boat), or parts thereof (heads, hides, flowers). However, in most cases the precise nature of objects depicted is still unknown (as of 2023). The sign names assigned by scholars, in particular by Godart<ref name=goda1995/> and the Unicode consortium,<ref name=ever2006/> were rather arbitrary, often based on the slightest shape similarity.

Symbol 21 (Godart's "COMB") was once conjectured to be a palace floorplan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, this hypothesis was cast in doubt by the discovery of a vase with a nearly identical symbol incised on the bottom, believed to be a potter's mark.<ref name=bald2021/>

File:Marine ritual triton. Phaistos, 3600–3000 BC, AMH, 144493.jpg

Ritual sea snail (triton) conch, decorated with red paint. Phaistos, 3600–3000 BC.

Symbol 20 ("DOLIUM") was assumed to be the conch of a large sea snail, such as Tonna dolium or some Eudolium or Charonia species. One such conch was found at Phaistos and is believed to have been used as a musical instrument for ritual uses.

Sign distributionEdit

The distribution of symbols is highly non-random, and quite different between the two sides. Evans's symbol 02 (PLUMED HEAD) is the most frequent one, occurring 19 times—14 of them on side A. The next most frequent signs are 07 (HELMET), with 18 occurrences, mostly on side B; 12 (SHIELD), with 17, mostly on side A; and 27 (HIDE), with 15, of which 10 on side A.

Still, 26 of the 45 symbols occur on both sides, at least once on each. The most common signs that occur on only one side are 31 (EAGLE), on side A, and 22 (SLING), on side B; both with five occurrences each.

The following table shows how many distinct signs (Sign count) have the same number of occurrences (Frequency). The third number in each column is the product of the two numbers above, that is, the total number of occurrences (Token count) of those signs:

Frequency	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Sign count	1	1	1		1			1	4				1	6	3	6	3	8	9	Total = 45 signs
Token count	19	18	17		15			12	44				7	36	15	24	9	16	9	Total = 241 tokens

The nine hapaxes (symbols occurring just once) are 04 (A5), 05 (B3), 11 (A13), 15 (B8), 17 (A24), 30 (B27), 42 (B9), 43 (B4), 44 (A7). Of the eight twice-occurring symbols, four (03, 21, 28, 41) occur on side A only, three (09, 16, 20) on side B only, and only one (14) occurs on both sides.

Sign correlationsEdit

The distribution of symbol pairs too is highly non-uniform. For example, of the 17 occurrences of sign 12 (SHIELD), thirteen follow immediately sign 02 (PLUMED HEAD).

TextEdit

The following is a single image of the text "unrolled". While the order of the characters is left-to-right reversed, the signs themselves are in the original orientation.

File:PhaistosDiskTranscribed.png

Unrolled and left-to-right reversed image of the text.

DirectionalityEdit

Evans, at one point, published an assertion that the disc had been written, and should be read, from the center out, because it would have been easiest to place the inscription first and then size the disc to fit the text. There is general agreement that he was wrong, and Evans himself later changed his mind: the inscription was made, and should be read, in the clockwise sense, from the outside in toward the centre, as with the similar spiral inscription on the Lead Plaque of Magliano.<ref name=evans1921>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

"Words"Edit

The signs are laid out on each side as a single spiral text, which is split by the inscribed radial strokes into groups. These groups are conventionally called "words", even though their true linguistic or other nature is not known. Both ends of the text on each side are also assumed to be "word" boundaries. There are 61 such "words" on the Disc, with two to seven sign occurrences each: 31 on side A and 30 on side B. These "words" are conventionally numbered A1 to A31 and B1 to B30, reading from right to left (clockwise, edge-to-center).<ref name=goda1995/>

There may be one additional radial stroke near the center of side A, over-stamped by the sign 03 (TATTOOED HEAD), between sign 10 (ARROW) and the central sign 38 (ROSETTE). However, most scholars ignore that possible stroke and count the last three symbols as a single "word" 10-03-38 (which happens to occur also at about the same position on the next-to-last turn).<ref name=goda1995/>

On both sides, there is a radial line also right before the start (outermost end) of the text, with five dots punched along it using a sharp round stylus.

Fields numbering by Louis Godart

"Paragraphs"Edit

The short oblique strokes that were drawn with a stylus (not stamped) below some signs are always attached to the last sign of a "word" (assuming outside-in reading direction). Their meaning is a matter of discussion. One hypothesis, supported by Evans,<ref name=evans1909/> is that they further subdivide the text into "paragraphs".

TranscriptionsEdit

The following transcriptions of the text all assume a right-to-left (clockwise, edge-to-center) reading direction on the disc, starting at the vertical (radial) line of five dots. In these transcription, however, the order of the characters has been flipped, so that they should be read left-to-right and top-to-bottom. The oblique stroke is assumed to indicate the last word of a "paragraph". A horizontal line has been added after each "paragraph" for clarity.

For consistency with most published sources, these transcriptions assume that there is an oblique stroke at the end of word A24, even though high-resolution images show it to be just a crack.

UnicodeEdit

The following is a rendering of the Phaistos Disc inscription in Unicode characters from the Phaistos code block (code points +101D0 to +101FC). The radial strokes are denoted by the ASCII character "|" (+7C), and the oblique subscripted stroke by the comma-like PHAISTOS DISK COMBINING OBLIQUE STROKE (+101FD) after the affected symbol. The radial stroke with five dots, that indicates the presumed start of text, is denoted by the ISO Latin 1 character "¦" (+A6). The boxed question mark "⍰" (+2370) denotes the illegible sign in word A8. The appearance of the signs will depend on the font used by the browser, but normally they should all be left-to-right flipped relative to their appearance on the disc.

Side A:

¦ 𐇑𐇛𐇜𐇐𐇡𐇽

| 𐇧𐇷𐇛 | 𐇬𐇼𐇖𐇽

| 𐇬𐇬𐇱 | 𐇑𐇛𐇓𐇷𐇰 | 𐇪𐇼𐇖𐇛 | 𐇪𐇻𐇗 | 𐇑𐇛𐇕𐇡⍰ | 𐇮𐇩𐇲 | 𐇑𐇛𐇸𐇢𐇲 | 𐇐𐇸𐇷𐇖 | 𐇑𐇛𐇯𐇦𐇵𐇽

| 𐇶𐇚 | 𐇑𐇪𐇨𐇙𐇦𐇡 | 𐇫𐇐𐇽

| 𐇑𐇛𐇮𐇩𐇽

| 𐇑𐇛𐇪𐇪𐇲𐇴𐇤 | 𐇰𐇦 | 𐇑𐇛𐇮𐇩𐇽

| 𐇑𐇪𐇨𐇙𐇦𐇡 | 𐇫𐇐𐇽

| 𐇑𐇛𐇮𐇩𐇽

| 𐇑𐇛𐇪𐇝𐇯𐇡𐇪 | 𐇕𐇡𐇠𐇢𐇽

| 𐇮𐇩𐇛 | 𐇑𐇛𐇜𐇐 | 𐇦𐇢𐇲𐇽

| 𐇙𐇒𐇵 | 𐇑𐇛𐇪𐇪𐇲𐇴𐇤 | 𐇜𐇐 | 𐇙𐇒𐇵

Side B

¦ 𐇑𐇛𐇥𐇷𐇖 | 𐇪𐇼𐇖𐇲 | 𐇑𐇴𐇦𐇔𐇽

| 𐇥𐇨𐇪 | 𐇰𐇧𐇣𐇛 | 𐇟𐇦𐇡𐇺𐇽

| 𐇜𐇐𐇶𐇰 | 𐇞𐇖𐇜𐇐𐇡 | 𐇥𐇴𐇹𐇨 | 𐇖𐇧𐇷𐇲 | 𐇑𐇩𐇳𐇷 | 𐇪𐇨𐇵𐇐 | 𐇬𐇧𐇧𐇣𐇲 | 𐇟𐇝𐇡 | 𐇬𐇰𐇐 | 𐇕𐇲𐇯𐇶𐇰 | 𐇑𐇘𐇪𐇐 | 𐇬𐇳𐇖𐇗𐇽

| 𐇬𐇗𐇜 | 𐇬𐇼𐇖𐇽

| 𐇥𐇬𐇳𐇖𐇗𐇽

| 𐇪𐇱𐇦𐇨 | 𐇖𐇡𐇲 | 𐇖𐇼𐇖𐇽

| 𐇖𐇦𐇡𐇧 | 𐇥𐇬𐇳𐇖𐇗𐇽

| 𐇘𐇭𐇶𐇡𐇖 | 𐇑𐇕𐇲𐇦𐇖 | 𐇬𐇱𐇦𐇨 | 𐇼𐇖𐇽

PictorialEdit

The following transcription uses modern drawings of the signs, which are left-to-right reversed with respect to their appearance on the disc. The labels A1-A31 and B1-B30 are the traditional word numbers.<ref name=goda1995/>

Side A:

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Side B:

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NumericalEdit

The following transcription uses the Evans numbers for the signs.<ref name=acht2004/> The vertical bar characters "¦" and "|" represent the start-of-text and word-separating radial lines, respectively. The slash "/" denotes the oblique stroke under the preceding sign. The caret "^" indicates the transition from the first turn of the text (along the disc's edge) to the inner turns, and "??" is the unreadable sign.

Side A:

¦ 02 12 13 01 18/

| 24 40 12 | 29 45 07/

| 29 29 34 | 02 12 04 40 33 | 27 45 07 12 | 27 44 08 | 02 12 06 18 ?? | 31 26 35 | 02 12 41 19 35 | 01 41 40 07 | 02 12 32 23 38/

| 39 11 | ^ 02 27 25 10 23 18 | 28 01/

| 02 12 31 26/

| 02 12 27 27 35 37 21 | 33 23 | 02 12 31 26/

| 02 27 25 10 23 18 | 28 01/

| 02 12 31 26/

| 02 12 27 14 32 18 27 | 06 18 17 19/

| 31 26 12 | 02 12 13 01 | 23 19 35/

| 10 03 38 | 02 12 27 27 35 37 21 | 13 01 | 10 03 38

Side B

¦ 02 12 22 40 07 | 27 45 07 35 | 02 37 23 05/

| 22 25 27 | 33 24 20 12 | 16 23 18 43/

| 13 01 39 33 | 15 07 13 01 18 | 22 37 42 25 | 07 24 40 35 | 02 26 36 40 | 27 25 38 01 | 29 ^ 24 24 20 35 | 16 14 18 | 29 33 01 | 06 35 32 39 33 | 02 09 27 01 | 29 36 07 08/

| 29 08 13 | 29 45 07/

| 22 29 36 07 08/

| 27 34 23 25 | 07 18 35 | 07 45 07/

| 07 23 18 24 | 22 29 36 07 08/

| 09 30 39 18 07 | 02 06 35 23 07 | 29 34 23 25 | 45 07/

CorrectionsEdit

The disc shows signs of corrections having been made, with some signs erased and over-printed by other signs.

Godart describes these corrections as occurring in the following words: A1 (signs 02-12-13-01), A4 (29-29-34) together with A5 (02-12-04), A8 (12), A10 (02-41-19?-35), A12 (12), A16 (12-31-26?), A17 (second 27?), A29 (second 27?), B1 (12-22), B3 (37?), B4 (22-25 imprinted over the same), B10 (07?-24?-40?), B13 (beside 29?). Question marks indicate uncertainty about that particular sign being the result of a correction.<ref name=goda1995/>Template:Rp

The borders of word B28 were also widened to make room for sign 02.<ref name=goda1995/>Template:Rp<ref name=duho1977/>Template:Rp

Sign rotationsEdit

The two signs 27 (HIDE) in word A29 are rotated 180 degrees compared with all other occurrences of this sign: "head down" versus "head up". This rotation might be motivated by lack of space in A29.<ref name=duho1977/>Template:Rp

Arie Cate observed that if signs rotations were random with uniform distribution, then the probability that they end up in only two (or three) signs is very small.<ref name=cate2013>Arie ten Cate (2013): "A statistical analysis of the rotated signs of the Phaistos Disc", Pioneer Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, volume 6, issue 2, pages 81-88</ref>

Signs in adjacent windingsEdit

There are several locations on side A where two occurrences of the same sign lie near each other in adjacent turns of the spiral, such as sign 02 (PLUMED HEAD) in word A1 and in word A14. Also the two 27 signs (HIDE) signs in word A29 are upside down, with the "heads" pointing to the HIDE sign of word A23, in the adjacent turn. Arie Cate claims that the probability of these alignments being coincidental is rather small.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Origin of the artifactEdit

For the first few decades after its discovery most scholars argued strongly against the local origin of the artifact. Evans<ref name=evans1909/>Template:Rp wrote that:

...when one comes to compare the figures in detail with those of the Minoan hieroglyphic signary, very great discrepancy is observable... Out of the forty-five separate signs on the Phaistos Disk, no more than ten more or less resemble Cretan hieroglyphic forms... The human figures in their outline and costume are non-Minoan... The representation of the ship also differs from all similar designs that occur either among the hieroglyphic or the linear documents of Crete.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Gustave Glotz claimed that the clay was not from Crete.<ref name=glotz1925>Gustave Glotz, Marryat Ross Dobie, and E. M. Riley (1925): The Aegean Civilization. Knopf.</ref>Template:Rp Ipsen concluded that the disc was certainly from somewhere on the Aegean; however, because of its differences from Linear A or B, he, like Evans, supported a non-Cretan origin for the Disc. He observes, however, that since Linear A was a common Aegean script such an assumption will not resolve the problem of multiplicity.<ref name=ipsen1929/>Template:Rp

File:Vase 14 276 Cnossos.jpg

Vase from Knossos with a stamped sign similar to SHIELD.

However, the consensus on this question changed in later decades, as a few other artifacts were found on Crete with significant resemblances to the disc. For instance, a vase found at Knossos (Vase 14 236) bears a stamped sign identical to the disc's 25 SHIELD sign (a circle with seven dots).Template:Citation needed Also, under the bottom of a bowl found in 1965 at Phaistos (bowl F 4718 from the House South of the Ramp) there is a sign in relief, believed to be a potter's mark, that is practically identical to sign 21 (COMB).<ref name=bald2021/> A very similar sign is found as an impression on a sealing from a deposit of administrative documents discovered in 1955, beneath Room 25 of the Second Palace of Phaistos (sealing CMS II.5, n. 246).<ref name=bald2021>Giorgia Baldacci (2021): "The Phaistos Disk-An Enigmatic Artifact in its Cultural Context Template:Webarchive". The Ancient Near East (online journal), volume 9, issue 11 (November). Accessed on 2023-08-25.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Seal of the month – 2013 Template:Webarchive Heidelberg University</ref> Female images with pendulous breasts have also been found at Malia and Phaistos.<ref name=goda1995/>Template:RpThe Arkalochori Axe also bears a short inscription that uses several signs similar to those of the disc.<ref name=timm2003>Torsten Timm (2003): "The inscription on the Arkalochori axe Template:Webarchive". Online article, at the Kereti website. Accessed on 2023-09-02.</ref>

These and other finds have made Cretan origin more popular.<ref name=bald2021/> This view was expressed by Michael Trauth in 1990,<ref name=trau1990>Michael Trauth (1990): "The Phaistos Disc and the Devil's Advocate: On the Aporias of an Ancient Topic of Research". Glottometrika, volume 12 Template:Webarchive (= Quantitative linguistics, volume 45), pages 151–173. Quote: "Crete as [the] source of the Disc can no longer be called into question."</ref> Duhoux in 2000<ref name=duho2000>Yves Duhoux (2000:): "How not to decipher the Phaistos Disc Template:Webarchive", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 104, iss. 3, pp. 597–600.</ref> and Andrew Robinson in 2008.<ref name=robi2008>Andrew Robinson (2008): "A century of puzzling". Nature, volume 453, pp. 990–991 {{#invoke:doi|main}} Template:S2cid Template:PMID Quote: "Most scholars today, including Duhoux, think it a plausible working hypothesis that the disc was made in Crete."</ref>

Hoax hypothesisEdit

The uniqueness of the script, of the spiral arrangement, and of the method of writing (individual glyph stamps) have led some scholars to raise the possibility that the Phaistos disc is a 1908 forgery or hoax.<ref name=eisen2008a>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=eisen2008b>Template:Cite journal</ref> It was pointed out that the date of manufacture has never been established by thermoluminescence dating.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Andrew Robinson concurs that thermoluminescence dating would be highly desirable, but does not endorse the forgery arguments.<ref name=robi2008/>

Decipherment attemptsEdit

Template:Further

A great deal of speculation developed around the disc during the 20th century, particularly capturing the imagination of amateur archeologists. Many attempts have been made to decipher the code behind the disc's signs, with a wide variety of theories having been suggested, including prayers, a narrative or an adventure story, a "psalterion", a call to arms, a board game, and a geometric theorem; some of these theories are considered to be pseudoarchaeology, with little realistic chance of being accurate.

Most linguistic interpretations assume a syllabary, based on the proportion of 45 symbols in a text of 241 tokens typical for that type of script; some assume a syllabary with interspersed logographic symbols, a property of every known syllabary of the Ancient Near East (Linear B as well as cuneiform and hieroglyphic writing). There are, however, also alphabetic and purely logographical interpretations.

While enthusiasts still believe the mystery can be solved, scholarly attempts at decipherment are thought to be unlikely to succeed unless more examples of the signs turn up elsewhere, as it is generally thought that there is not enough context available for meaningful analysis. Any decipherment without external confirmation, such as successful comparison to other inscriptions, is unlikely to be accepted as conclusive.

Comparison with other scriptsEdit

While the Phaistos disc writing system is, on the whole, very different from other known scripts, several scholars have argued against it being an entirely independent invention. Gunther Ipsen argued that the creator must have been influenced by other scripts, and points out the Hieroglyphic Luwian script from Anatolia as an example of an original script inspired by other writing systems (its symbol values inspired by cuneiform, its shapes by Egyptian hieroglyphs).<ref name=ipsen1929>Gunther Ipsen (1929): "Der Diskus von Phaistos: Ein Versuch zur Entzifferung". Indogermanische Forschungen, volume 47, issue 1, pages 1-40. {{#invoke:doi|main}}</ref>Template:Rp

Several scholars have proposed that the Phaistos signs are older or alternate forms of Linear A glyphs, specifically. Others have pointed to similar resemblances with the Anatolian (Luwian) hieroglyphs, or with Egyptian hieroglyphs.<ref name=cunyXXX>A. Cuny</ref> More remote possibilities are the Phoenician abjad or the Byblos syllabary.

Linear AEdit

Comparison of the disc's signs with those of Linear A inscriptions go back to Evans in 1909.<ref name=evans1909/> In 1959, Benjamin Schwartz asserted a genetic relationship between the Phaistos Disc script and the Cretan linear scripts.<ref name=schwa1959a/>Template:Rp Similar claims were made also by Werner Nahm in 1975,<ref name=nahm1975>Werner Nahm (1975): "Vergleich von Zeichen des Diskos von Phaistos mit Linear A". Kadmos, volume 14, issue 2, pages 97–101 {{#invoke:doi|main}}Template:S2cid</ref> Torsten Timm in 2004,<ref name=timm2004>Torsten Timm (2004): "Der Diskos von Phaistos – Anmerkungen zur Deutung und Textstruktur Template:Webarchive". Indogermanische Forschungenvolume 109, issue 2004, pages 204–231. {{#invoke:doi|main}} Template:S2cid</ref> and others.

Some of these proposals point to similarities between some glyphs, such as 12 (SHIELD) Phaistos glyph 12, 43 (STRAINER) Phaistos glyph 43, and 31 (EAGLE) Phaistos glyph 31 to both Linear A and Linear B characters, and conjecture that they may have the same phonetic values—respectively 'qe', 'ta', and 'ku'. Based on the Linear A character distribution patterns collected by Giulio Facchetti,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Torsten Timm goes as far as identifying 20 of the 45 characters with Linear A/B signs.<ref name=timm2005/>

Anatolian hieroglyphsEdit

Parallels between the Phaistos disc script and Anatolian hieroglyphs were proposed, among others, by S. Davis in 1961<ref name=davis1961>S. Davis (1961): The Phaistos disc and the Eteocretan Inscriptions from Psychro and Praisos. Witwatersrand University Press.</ref><ref name=newt1962>B. E. Newton (1962): "S. Davis: The Phaistos Disc and the Eteocretan Inscriptions (Book Review)". Acta Classica, volume 5, page 75.</ref><ref name=davis1965>S. Davis, (1964): "Cretan Hieroglyphs: The end of a Quest?" Greece & Rome, volume 11, issue 2, pages 106-127. {{#invoke:doi|main}}</ref> and Jan Best and Fred Woudhuizen in 1988.<ref name=best1988>Jan G. P. Best, Fred C. Woudhuizen (1988): Ancient Scripts from Crete and Cyprus. Volume 9 of the publications of the Henri Frankfort Foundation. 131 pages. Template:Isbn</ref><ref name=best1989>Jan G. P. Best, Fred C. Woudhuizen (1989): Lost Languages from the Mediterranean. Volume 10 of the publications of the Henri Frankfort Foundation. 179 pages. Template:Isbn</ref> In 2004, Winfried Achterberg and others proposed an extensive mapping to Anatolian hieroglyphs, which led them to a full decipherment claim.<ref name=acht2004>Winfried Achterberg, Jan Best, Kees Enzler, Lia Rietveld, and Fred Woudhuizen (2004): The Phaistos Disc: A Luwian letter to Nestor. Volume 13 of the Publications of the Henry Frankfort Foundation.Template:Isbn</ref> The third revised and extended edition of the authors' monograph on the subject was published in 2021.<ref>Winfried Achterberg, Jan Best, Kees Enzler, Lia Rietveld, Fred Woudhuizen 2021, The Phaistos Disc: A Luwian Letter to Nestor. Third revised and extended edition: 2021. Amsterdam. academia.edu</ref>

Summary tableEdit

The following table summarizes the proposed identifications of Phaistos signs with Linear A/B,Template:Citation needed the Arkalochori Axe glyphs,Template:Citation needed and Luwian hieroglyphs:

No.	Sign	Linear A	Arkalochori Axe	Luwian hieroglyphs<ref name=acht2004/>
01	01			'SARU'
02	02		04,07,10 04	'A₂'
10	10	AB79 01 'ZU'
11	11			'SOL SUUS'
12	12	AB78 01 'QE'		'TURPI'
15	15	A364 01 B232
16	16	AB74 01 'ZE' ?
17	17	A322 01
18	18	AB37 01 'TI'
19	19	AB31 01 'SA'	11 11
22	22	A318 01
23	23	AB05 01 'TO' or AB06 01 'NA'	13 13
24	24	AB54 01 'WA'
25	25	AB86 01<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
29	29	AB80 01 'MA'	08 08
30	30	AB13 01 'ME', AB85?
31	31	AB81 01 'KU'
34	34	AB39 01 'PI'
35	35	AB04 01 'TE'	09 09
36	36	AB30 01 'NI'
39	39	AB28 01 'I'	02 02	'TARHUNT'
40	40	AB26 01 'RU' or AB27 01 'RE'
43	43	AB66 01 'TA₂'
45	45	AB76 01 'RA₂'

List of decipherment claimsEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

Decipherment claims can be categorized into linguistic decipherments, identifying the language of the inscription, and non-linguistic decipherments. A purely logographical reading is not linguistic in the strict sense: while it may reveal the meaning of the inscription, it will not allow for the identification of the underlying language.

LinguisticEdit

Unless said otherwise, the attempts below assumed the right-to-left (clockwise, edge-to-center) reading direction, starting with side A.

George Hempl, 1911: interpretation as Ionic Greek, syllabic writing.<ref name=hemp1911>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Florence Stawell, 1911: interpretation as Homeric Greek, syllabic writing; B-side first.<ref name="staw1911">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Albert Cuny, 1914: interpretation as an ancient Egyptian document, syllabic-logographic writing.Template:Citation needed
Benjamin Schwartz, 1959: interpretation as Mycenean Greek, syllabic writing, comparison to Linear B.<ref name=schwa1959a/><ref name=schwa1959b/>
Jean Faucounau, 1975: interpretation as "proto-Ionic" Greek, syllabic writing.<ref name=fauc1975>Jean Faucounau (1975): "Le déchiffrement du Disque de Phaistos est-il possible par des méthodes statistiques ?" Revue des Études Anciennes, volume 77, issues 1-4, pages 9-19. {{#invoke:doi|main}}</ref><ref name=fauc1999>Jean Faucounau (1999): Le déchiffrement du Disque de Phaistos. Paris.</ref><ref name=fauc2001>Jean Faucounau (2001): Les Proto-Ioniens : histoire d'un peuple oublié. Paris.</ref>
Vladimir I. Georgiev, 1976: interpretation as Hittite language, syllabic writing; reading outward.Template:Citation needed
Steven R. Fischer, 1988: interpretation as a Greek dialect, syllabic writing.<ref name=fisch1988>Steven R. Fischer (1988): Evidence for Hellenic Dialect in the Phaistos Disk. Template:ISBN</ref>
Kjell Aartun, 1992: interpretation as a Semitic language, syllabic writing; reading outward.<ref name="bali2000">Template:Cite book</ref>
Derk Ohlenroth, 1996: interpretation as a Greek dialect, alphabetic writing; reading outward; numerous homophonic signs.<ref name=ohl1996>Derk Ohlenroth (1996): Das Abaton des lykäischen Zeus und der Hain der Elaia: Zum Diskos von Phaistos und zur frühen griechischen Schriftkultur. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name=bali2000/>
Adam Martin, 2000: interpretation as a Greek-Minoan bilingual text, alphabetic writing; reading outward, side A as Greek, side B as Minoan.<ref name=mart2000>Adam Martin (2000): Der Diskos von Phaistos – Ein zweisprachiges Dokument geschrieben in einer frühgriechischen Alphabetschrift Template:ISBN.</ref>
Achterberg et al., 2004: interpreted as Luwian.<ref name=acht2004/>
Torsten Timm, 2005: syllabic writing, comparison to Linear A; B-side first.<ref name="timm2005">Template:Cite book</ref>
Gareth Alun Owens, 2007: interpretation as Indo-European, syllabic writing, comparison to Linear A.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }} Template:Dead link</ref>

Non-linguistic or logographicEdit

Paolo Ballotta, 1974: interpretation as logographic writing.
Leon Pomerance, 1976: interpretation as astronomical document.
Reiner J. van Meerten, 1977: interpretation as documentation of a gift to Minos.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Peter Aleff, 1982: interpretation as ancient gameboard.<ref>Peter Aleff (1982): interpretation as ancient gameboard Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ole Hagen, 1988: interpretation as calendar.<ref>Ole Hagen (1988): interpretation as calendar</ref>
Harald Haarmann, 1990: interpretation as logographic writing.
Bernd Schomburg, 1997: calendar interpretation, logograms.<ref>Bernd Schomburg (1997): calendar interpretation, logograms Template:Webarchive</ref>
Patrick Berlingame, 2010: interpretation as the mythical labyrinth.
Hermann Wenzel, 1998: astronomical interpretation.<ref>Hermann Wenzel(1998): astronomical interpretation Template:Webarchive</ref>
Alan Butler, 1999: interpretation as calendar.
Helène Whittaker, 2005: a votive miniature version of a game board similar to the Egyptian Mehen.
Wolfgang Reczko, 2009: eclipse table for Knossos, covering 4 Saros cycles of 18 years each.<ref name="recz2009">Template:Cite journal</ref>

UnicodeEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

A set of 46 symbols from the Phaistos Disc, comprising Evans's 45 signs and one combining oblique stroke, have been encoded in Unicode since April 2008 (Unicode version 5.1). They are assigned to the range 101D0–101FF in Plane 1 (the Supplementary Multilingual Plane). These characters were encoded with strong left-to-right directionality, and so in code charts and text (such as elsewhere on this page) the glyphs are mirrored from the way they appear on the disc itself.

Template:Unicode chart Phaistos Disc

Modern useEdit

Side A of the Phaistos Disc is used as the logo of FORTH, one of the largest research centers in Greece.

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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Exploring the Enduring Mystery of Crete's Phaistos Disc – AtlasObscura – 2022

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Phaistos Disc

DiscoveryEdit

DatingEdit

Physical descriptionEdit

MaterialEdit

Shape and dimensionsEdit

Typographic writingEdit

Scribed linesEdit

SignsEdit

Sign list and countsEdit

Nature of depicted objectsEdit

Sign distributionEdit

Sign correlationsEdit

TextEdit

DirectionalityEdit

"Words"Edit

"Paragraphs"Edit

TranscriptionsEdit

UnicodeEdit

PictorialEdit

NumericalEdit

CorrectionsEdit

Sign rotationsEdit

Signs in adjacent windingsEdit

Origin of the artifactEdit

Hoax hypothesisEdit

Decipherment attemptsEdit

Comparison with other scriptsEdit

Linear AEdit

Anatolian hieroglyphsEdit

Summary tableEdit

List of decipherment claimsEdit

LinguisticEdit

Non-linguistic or logographicEdit

UnicodeEdit

Modern useEdit

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Further readingEdit

GeneralEdit

Attempted deciphermentsEdit

External linksEdit