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We began our search for the "phaistos disk" in Yahoo!'s directory, where we located a small collection of web pages in the Minoan Archaeology > Phaistos Disk category. By browsing through the sites, we learned about the 6" clay disk inscribed on both sides with enigmatic hieroglyphic writing. It was discovered at Phaistos on the island of Crete, in a 1903 excavation of an important Minoan palace. The mysterious glyphs are believed to have been impressed in wet clay using a wooden or metal punch, arranged in a spiral pattern, using 45 distinct punches for a total of 241 or 242
signs in groups divided by vertical lines. We found a variety of images and interpretive schemes for the sequence of pictograms, which have never been conclusively deciphered. This is the earliest known example of a printed inscription -- some scholars suggest that it's an isolated work of solitary genius, a religious poem or incantation. Although theories abound, no one has definitively identified the meaning of the pictograms or confirmed its origins. Some believe that the object is of Anatolian origin, despite being found on Crete. Other theories go further afield. The palm-sized disk is usually dated from 1600-1750 B.C., and is on display at the Archaeological
Museum of Herakleion (Iraklion). We checked in at the authoritative Encyclopedia Britannica to read a little more about Aegean civilizations of the Bronze Age, and especially the "Period of the Late Palaces in Crete (c. 1700-1450)." You can find other intriguing sites about ancient alphabets and how they evolved in Yahoo!'s Writing Systems category.
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