On July 3, 1908, the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier discovered the “Phastos Disc”
The timeline of discovery
According to the excavation diary recorded by the chief archaeologist Luigi Pernier (Luigi Pernier), the disc was discovered at 7 pm on July 3, 1908, by Zacharias Iliakis, chief craftsman and trusted man of the Italian mission to Phaistos. That afternoon, Iliakis was supervising the work, while the Pernier had returned to the mission house in Voroi in order to draft a letter to the Director of the School. He had just completed and signed the letter when the Iliakis with the objectIt was already dusk and the Pernier Examining the object, which was still half-covered with soil under the dim light, he found that there were writing marks on only one side. Shocked by the discovery, he added the following paragraph at the end of the letter:
"I am happy to announce that tonight we found in the new excavation NE of the plateau of the acropolis of Phaistos a clay disk (diam. 0,16) covered with Minoan pictographic signs (over a hundred) impressed with a seal in concentric circles. We are in front of one of the most important monuments of early Cretan writing.".TThe next day, Pernier goes to the excavation, asks Iliakis to show him the location of the find, and records the information in the excavation diary. After cleaning, it is discovered that the object also bears writing on its other side.
The unique features
The disc is made of very pure, fine-grained clay, like that used for eggshell vases. Its shape is not a perfect circle but its diameter ranges from 158 to 165 millimeters. Its surface is not completely smooth but its thickness ranges between 16 and 21 millimeters because it was made by hand, by pressing a piece of clay onto a flat surface and not with a mold.
The writing points, a total of 242, are developed within a spiral frame, which was engraved by the craftsman as a guide, with the help of a pin, from the periphery of the disc towards the center, and were imprinted on the fresh clay with sealsA total of 45 different signs compose 61 different groups of two to seven signs, distinguished by vertical incisions and apparently corresponding to words.The reading direction was probably from the periphery to the center, starting from a vertical line with five dots.
Side A was probably made first. After the text was imprinted, the disc was fired. The firing was probably intentional, as it was done so perfectly that the surface acquired a smooth texture and a beautiful yellowish color. It seems that the intention of its creators was to preserve it for a long time.
Authenticity
The disc was found in room 8 of house 101 of the palace, on the NE plateau of the hill. A Linear A tablet was found with it as well as pottery mainly of the Kamaraic style. The finds confirm that the disc must be dated to around 1700/1650 BC.
The dating of the layer excavated by L. Pernier was also confirmed by recent excavations of P. Militello in the same area, which brought to light another fragment of a Linear A tablet. A significant contribution to confirming the dating is also provided by the clay seal with the symbol of the "comb" from the layer of Linear A seals and tablets found under the floor of room 25. According to more recent evidence, this is a destruction layer from the last period of use of the old palace (Middle Minoan IIB).
The vase bearing the stamp with the “comb” mark on the base from the House “south of the ramp” is also dated to the same period or MMIIIA. Other objects with inscriptions in a spiral arrangement, such as the gold ring from Mavro Spilio (MMIII/YMIA), two conical cups from Knossos (MMIII) and a neopalatial cup from Tsoutsouros, confirm the dating of the disc and its relevance to the artistic centers of Central Crete.
The writing
The writing on the disc is contemporary with Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A, two scripts that developed in parallel during the Paleopalatial period either in different geographical areas or for different purposes. Cretan Hieroglyphic, so named because of its external similarity to Egyptian hieroglyphics, was in fact a syllabic script (each point corresponded to a syllable and not to a concept) like Linear A and later Linear B. Accordingly, the pictorial signs on the Phaistos disc are not ideograms, but syllables, which when grouped together form words.
There are a total of 61 such groups of signs on each side, i.e. 61 words. The text on each side, however, is different. The differences with Cretan Hieroglyphics are partly due to the fact that the signs on the disc were not engraved but were stamped. There is disagreement about the reading direction, but most agree that it followed the engraving direction of the frame, i.e. from left to right and from the periphery to the center.
The symbols – signs
The points on the disc are mainly depictions of people, animals, plants and objects. There are a total of 45 different points on the disc, most of which are easily recognizable.
photo by https://www.cretapost.gr/786378/o-diskos-tis-festou-ke-i-grammiki-grafi-a-dyo-alyta-mystiria/
1. Walking man, 2. Human head in profile with a peculiar headdress or helmet with a crest, 3. Human head in profile with a tattoo on the cheek, 4. Perhaps a naked child, 5. Prisoner with hands tied behind his back, 6. Topless woman in a skirt, 7. Perhaps a cap, 8. Hand covered with a belt or boxing glove, 9. According to Evans, a type of tiara, 10. Arrow, 11. Bow, 12. Shield or waxen, 13. Club, 14. Uncertain. According to Evans, handcuffs. According to Pernier, a symbol of the mountain, 15. A spade, 16. A similar bronze one was found at Phaistos, 17. Saw, 18. Stopper, 19. Angle or boomerang, 20. A type of carpentry plane, 21. A shell of the dolium type, 22. Comb, 23. Sling or channel (musical instrument), 23. Hammer or column with a capital, 24. Wooden furniture, cage or hive, 25. Ship, 26. Horn, 27. Hide (animal skin), 28. Bull's hoof, 29. Cat's head, 30. Ram's head, 31. Flying bird, 32. Sitting dove, 33. Fish, perhaps tuna, 34. Bee, 35. Branch with leaves or tree, 36. Bush, 37. Papyrus, 38. Rose, 39. Lily, 40. Ox's back, 41. Flute, 42. Grater, 43. Ithmos (strainer), 44.. Small axe, 45. Corrugated ribbon.
The interpretation of the signs is based on Luis Godart's monograph, The Phaistos Disc: The Enigma of an Aegean Script, 1985.
The problems of interpretation
The Minoan language recorded on the disc is currently unknown to us, and this constitutes the greatest obstacle to understanding its content. However, numerous attempts have been made to decode the writing and interpret the inscription, many of which move in the realm of fantasy. At present, only a few conclusions can be made. Eleven of the 61 sets of signs (words) begin with the same signs (a head with a characteristic headdress and a circle with seven dots). There are also sets of signs that are repeated (e.g. an ox's leg and a walking man, a flying bird and ox horns, an oar, a head and a rosette). The repetition of certain sets has led some to assume that this is a religious hymn or a magical text. It has also been argued that it is an astronomical calendar. However, the interpretation of the text will only be possible if the understanding and decipherment of Cretan Hieroglyphs and Linear A is achieved.
Source:
https://messaramuseum.gr/site/dynamic-mouseio.shtml?
main photo
C messier – CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38737955 - https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/
