Mysterious scriptures on the Phaistos Disk has finally been cracked
So did you know our ancestors from almost 4,000 years ago used disks to store information, just like we do with our CDs today?
And even more important is the fact that one of these disks – known to us as the Phaistos Disk may have finally been decoded to reveal an ancient prayer.
And even more important is the fact that one of these disks – known to us as the Phaistos Disk may have finally been decoded to reveal an ancient prayer.
The artefact, which was discovered in 1908 at the palace of Phaistos in Crete and has baffled archaeologists for more than a century, has finally been unscrambled by Dr Gareth Owens, of the Technological Educational Institute of Crete.
He believes he may have figured out some of the keywords which reveal its overall message.
Looking at the mysterious spiral inscription, he identified “the most stable word” was “mother”; in particular, “the mother goddess of the Minoan era”, which was revealed in a report published by Archaeology News Network.
Before coming up with his theory, Dr Owens analysed groupings of signs found both sides of the disk.
He found, in one case, they spelt out I-QE-KU-RJA, with I-QE meaning “great lady of importance” and AKKA (on the other side) meaning “pregnant mother”.
Putting two and two together, Dr Owens thinks that one side is dedicated to a pregnant woman while the other to a woman giving birth.
Described as the “first Minoan CD-ROM”, the disk is believed to date to the middle Minoan Bronze Age in the second Millennium BC. “It could stand for Clay Disk – Read Only Minos,” jokes Dr Owens.
Most experts think the inscription should be read inwards from the outside edge of the disk. Measuring just six inches (15cm) in diameter, the disc is made up of 241 pictures or “tokens” on both sides which are based on 45 individual signs.
The next challenge is to decipher the complete translation of the scripture, but Dr Owens feels certain it is a “genuine Minoan religious inscription”.
