"This
unusual discovery was made in 1908 in an underground temple depository
linked to the ancient Minoan palace site of Phaistos, on the island of
Crete. Archaeologist Luigi Pernier removed the disk from a layer of
black earth which has allowed the artifact to be contextually dated to
between 1850 BC and 1600 BC. Made from fired clay, the disk is
approximately 15cm in diameter and a centimetre thick with symbols
imprinted on both sides. The meaning of the writing has never been
understood in a way that is acceptable to mainstream archaeologists or
students of ancient languages.
It is unusual for a number of
reasons. Most importantly, it is one of a kind and no other item (with
perhaps the exception of the Arkalochori Axe) bears any similar script.
The writing itself has been created by pressing preformed characters
into the soft clay which would make this the earliest recorded use of
movable type. It is important to note that it was found close to a second tablet with standard writing from this period know as Linear A.
Although there has been some controversy over the authenticity of the
Disk it is widely believed to be genuine and is on display in the
Heraklion Museum of Crete, Greece. Numerous theories have been suggested
and range from the Phaistos Disk being a prayer token to a message from
ancient aliens. A recent and quite plausible theory is that it was a
coded message that was read and then disposed of by dropping it into the
pits. If this is the case it would represent one of the earliest forms
of sophisticated encryption."
"This
unusual discovery was made in 1908 in an underground temple depository
linked to the ancient Minoan palace site of Phaistos, on the island of
Crete. Archaeologist Luigi Pernier removed the disk from a layer of
black earth which has allowed the artifact to be contextually dated to
between 1850 BC and 1600 BC. Made from fired clay, the disk is
approximately 15cm in diameter and a centimetre thick with symbols
imprinted on both sides. The meaning of the writing has never been
understood in a way that is acceptable to mainstream archaeologists or
students of ancient languages.
It is unusual for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it is one of a kind and no other item (with perhaps the exception of the Arkalochori Axe) bears any similar script. The writing itself has been created by pressing preformed characters into the soft clay which would make this the earliest recorded use of movable type. It is important to note that it was found close to a second tablet with standard writing from this period know as Linear A.
Although there has been some controversy over the authenticity of the Disk it is widely believed to be genuine and is on display in the Heraklion Museum of Crete, Greece. Numerous theories have been suggested and range from the Phaistos Disk being a prayer token to a message from ancient aliens. A recent and quite plausible theory is that it was a coded message that was read and then disposed of by dropping it into the pits. If this is the case it would represent one of the earliest forms of sophisticated encryption."
It is unusual for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it is one of a kind and no other item (with perhaps the exception of the Arkalochori Axe) bears any similar script. The writing itself has been created by pressing preformed characters into the soft clay which would make this the earliest recorded use of movable type. It is important to note that it was found close to a second tablet with standard writing from this period know as Linear A.
Although there has been some controversy over the authenticity of the Disk it is widely believed to be genuine and is on display in the Heraklion Museum of Crete, Greece. Numerous theories have been suggested and range from the Phaistos Disk being a prayer token to a message from ancient aliens. A recent and quite plausible theory is that it was a coded message that was read and then disposed of by dropping it into the pits. If this is the case it would represent one of the earliest forms of sophisticated encryption."
No comments:
Post a Comment