The Phaistos Disc
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The Phaistos Disc – Minoan Crete, c. 1700 BCE
Introduction & Description
The Phaistos Disc is a fired clay disc containing pictographic symbols stamped in a spiral arrangement using movable seals. It was discovered in 1908 at the Palace of Phaistos in Crete by Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier. Despite over a century of study, all attempts to decipher it have failed.
Description of the Disc
Made of baked clay, the disc is about 15 cm in diameter. It contains 241 stamped symbols across both sides in a spiral layout, with 45 unique signs that repeat in various positions. The symbols were impressed using pre-made seals — some scholars suggest this is the earliest known example of movable type printing.
What is the Disc?
The prevailing academic view is that the disc contains text in a syllabic or logosyllabic script due to the limited number of signs (45 total). The nature of the text and its language remain unknown.
Similar (but not identical) symbols appear on the Arkalochori Axe.
Alternative theories suggest it is not writing at all, but an astronomical chart, agricultural calendar, or even a board game.
Detail of symbols from the Phaistos Disc
Decipherment Attempts
Many scholars and amateurs have tried to decode the text using languages like Greek, Luwian, Semitic, Hittite, and even Basque — often producing imaginative translations. None are based on scientific criteria, and no known language fits convincingly.
Comparisons with Luwian hieroglyphs show visual similarities in some signs, but evidence is too sparse for firm conclusions. The symbols do not connect to Cretan Hieroglyphs, Linear A, or Linear B.
No proposed decipherment stands on solid ground. More discoveries are needed.
Alternative Interpretations
Board Game
The disc resembles ancient Egyptian spiral board games like Mehen (a coiled serpent). Some symbols also appear on Egyptian game pieces.
Ancient Egyptian board game Mehen
Cretan Woman’s Interpretation (Zafeiro Georgoulaki)
In 2011, Cretan researcher Zafeiro Georgoulaki, after 20+ years of study, proposed the disc is a trade map: one side shows European kingdoms, the other African ones. The circular shape suggests the Minoans knew the Earth was round.
What We Know Today
Initially thought to be made outside Crete, the disc is now firmly linked to Minoan culture, nature, and daily life.
The “Mohican haircut” head was linked by Evans to warrior helmets (like Philistines or Egyptians). Grumach saw it as a warrior-cockerel hybrid — a sacred bird in Crete. The female figure was identified by some with the Egyptian hippopotamus goddess Tawaret.
Side A of the Phaistos Disc
Side B of the Phaistos Disc
The spiral layout and symbol direction indicate the creator was left-handed — the text is read right-to-left, from the outer edge inward.
120 years after its discovery, decipherment remains an open question. New finds are essential — just as with Linear A and Cypro-Minoan.
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