In a century which has seen the cracking of ancient languages like Linear B, Ugaritic, and others, the Phaistos Disk (Linear A Contemporary) has eluded decipherment into the 21st century. The disk is thought to date from around 1700 BC.
The Phaistos Disc is the only example of its kind, as no other inscription bearing similarly shaped signs has been found.
Mythology
According to mythology, Phaistos was the seat of king Radamanthis, who was the brother of King Minos. Radamanthis had the reputation of a just lawmaker who legislated for Cretans as well as for the islands of Asia Minor, which voluntarily adopted his judicial code. Every ninth year Radamanthis and Minos would visit the cave of Zeus and return with a new set of laws.). Phaestos was also the city that gave birth to the great wise man and soothsayer, Epimenidis, who was one of the seven wise men of the ancient world.
Hieroglyphs
The disk of Phaistos, one of the most important examples of hieroglyphic inscription from Crete, was discovered in 1903 in a small room near the depositories of the "archive chamber", in the north - east apartments of the Phaistos palace (1700- 1600 B.C.). Although many inscriptions were found by the archaeologists, they are all in Linear A code which is still undeciphered, and all we know about the site, including its name, are based on the ancient writers and findings from Knossos.
Origin
The place of its origin is extremely speculative, although subtle clues may exist in the highly pictorial signs on the disc.One sign depicts a helmet with crest, which was used later by Philistines. Another sign depicts a structure similar to the sarcophagus used by the Lycians of Asia Minor.
Because there is essentially no variation between different copies of the same symbol, it is very likely that stamps where used to create these highly detailed signs. While not really a printed work, perhaps the Phaistos Disc can be thought of as the earliest typewritten work.
The Disk
There are 45 different symbols occurring 241 times. The symbols portray recognizable objects like human figures and body parts, animals, weapons, and plants. Since the text of the disk is so short, decipherment by the statistical cryptographic techniques employed by Michael Ventris in cracking Linear B are impossible.
To this day, many people have claimed to have deciphered the Phaistos Disk, but none are completely convincing.
Height: 16cm / 6 ins;
Weight: 370 gms / 13 oz.
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