Linear B - Wikipedia Linear B Syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek This article is about the ancient syllabary. For the JavaScript engine, see linear b ( script engine ). Not to be confused with Linear Pottery culture. Linear B Type Syllabary with additional ideograms Languages Mycenaean Greek Time period Late Bronze Age Status Extinct Parent systems Linear A Linear B Sister systems Cypro - Minoan syllabary Direction Left - to - right ISO 15924 Linb, 401 Unicode alias Linear B Unicode range U + 10000 -- U + 1007F Syllabary U + 10080 -- U + 100FF Ideograms This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help : IPA. This article contains Linear B Unicode characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Linear B. Linear B is a syllabic script that was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries. The oldest Mycenaean writing dates to about 1450 BC. It is descended from the older Linear A, an undeciphered earlier script used for writing the Minoan language, as is the later Cypriot syllabary, which also recorded Greek. Linear B, found mainly in the palace archives at Knossos, Cydonia, Pylos, Thebes and Mycenae, disappeared with the fall of Mycenaean civilization during the Late Bronze Age collapse. The succeeding period, known as the Greek Dark Ages, provides no evidence of the use of writing. It is also the only one of the prehistoric Aegean scripts to have been deciphered, by English architect and self - taught linguist Michael Ventris. Linear B consists of around 87 syllabic signs and over 100 ideographic signs. These ideograms or `` signifying '' signs symbolize objects or commodities. They have no phonetic value and are never used as word signs in writing a sentence. The application of Linear B appears to have been confined to administrative contexts. In all the thousands of clay tablets, a relatively small number of different `` hands '' have been detected : 45 in Pylos ( west coast of the Peloponnese, in southern Greece ) and 66 in Knossos ( Crete ). It is possible that the script was used only by a guild of professional scribes who served the central palaces. Once the palaces were destroyed, the script disappeared. Contents 1 Script 1.1 Syllabic signs 1.2 Special and unknown signs 1.3 Spelling and pronunciation 1.4 Ideograms 2 Archives 2.1 Corpus 2.2 Chronology 2.2. 1 Timeline of Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean scripts 2.2. 2 Timeline of Linear B 2.2. 3 Controversy on the date of the Knossos tablets 2.3 Contents 3 Discovery and decipherment 3.1 Arthur J. Evans ' classification of scripts 3.2 Early attempts 3.3 Alice Kober 's triplets 3.4 Emmett L. Bennett 's transcription conventions 3.5 Michael Ventris ' identification as Greek 4 Unicode 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Sources 8 Bibliography 9 Further reading 10 External links Script Linear B has roughly 200 signs, divided into syllabic signs with phonetic values and ideograms with semantic values. The representations and naming of these signs have been standardized by a series of international colloquia starting with the first in Paris in 1956. After the third meeting in 1961 at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin, a standard proposed primarily by Emmett L. Bennett, Jr. ( 1918 -- 2011 ), became known as the Wingspread Convention, which was adopted by a new organization, the Comité International Permanent des Études Mycéniennes ( CIPEM ), affiliated in 1970 by the fifth colloquium with UNESCO. Colloquia continue : the 13th occurred in 2010 in Paris. Many of the signs are identical or similar to those in Linear A ; however, Linear A encodes an as - yet unknown language, and it is uncertain whether similar signs had the same phonetic values. Syllabic signs The grid developed during decipherment by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick of phonetic values for syllabic signs is shown below. Initial consonants are in the leftmost column ; vowels are in the top row beneath the title. The transcription of the syllable ( it may not have been pronounced that way ) is listed next to the sign along with Bennett 's identifying number for the sign preceded by an asterisk ( as was Ventris ' and Chadwick 's convention ). In cases where the transcription of the sign remains in doubt, Bennett 's number serves to identify the sign. The signs on the tablets and sealings often show considerable variation from each other and from the representations below. Discovery of the reasons for the variation and possible semantic differences is a topic of ongoing debate in Mycenaean studies. Recognised signs of shape V, CV - a - e - i - o - u 𐀀 * 08 𐀁 * 38 𐀂 i * 28 𐀃 o * 61 𐀄 u * 10 d - 𐀅 da * 01 𐀆 de * 45 𐀇 di * 07 𐀈 do * 14 𐀉 du * 51 j - 𐀊 ja * 57 𐀋 je * 46 𐀍 jo * 36 k - 𐀏 ka * 77 𐀐 ke * 44 𐀑 ki * 67 𐀒 ko * 70 𐀓 ku * 81 m - 𐀔 ma * 80 𐀕 me * 13 𐀖 mi * 73 𐀗 mo * 15 𐀘 mu * 23 n - 𐀙 na * 06 𐀚 ne * 24 𐀛 ni * 30 𐀜 no * 52 𐀝 nu * 55 p - 𐀞 pa * 03 𐀟 pe * 72 𐀠 pi * 39 𐀡 po * 11 𐀢 pu * 50 q - 𐀣 qa * 16 𐀤 qe * 78 𐀥 qi * 21 𐀦 qo * 32 r - 𐀨 ra * 60 𐀩 re * 27 𐀪 ri * 53 𐀫 ro * 02 𐀬 ru * 26 s - 𐀭 sa * 31 𐀮 se * 09 𐀯 si * 41 𐀰 so * 12 𐀱 su * 58 t - 𐀲 ta * 59 𐀳 te * 04 𐀴 ti * 37 𐀵 to * 05 𐀶 tu * 69 w - 𐀷 wa * 54 𐀸 we * 75 𐀹 wi * 40 𐀺 wo * 42 z - 𐀼 za * 17 𐀽 ze * 74 𐀿 zo * 20 Special and unknown signs In addition to the grid, the first edition of Documents contained a number of other signs termed `` homophones '' because they appeared at that time to resemble the sounds of other syllables and were transcribed accordingly : pa and pa were presumed homophonous to pa. Many of these were identified by the second edition and are shown in the `` special values '' below. The second edition relates : `` It may be taken as axiomatic that there are no true homophones. '' The unconfirmed identifications of * 34 and * 35 as ai and ai were removed. pa became qa. Special values Character 𐁀 𐁁 𐁂 𐁃 𐁄 𐁅 𐁇 𐁆 𐁈 𐁉 𐁊 𐁋 𐁌 𐁍 Transcription a ( ha ) a ( ai ) au dwe dwo nwa pte pu ( phu ) ra ( rya ) ra ( rai ) ro ( ryo ) ta ( tya ) twe two Bennett 's Number * 25 * 43 * 85 * 71 * 90 * 48 * 62 * 29 * 76 * 33 * 68 * 66 * 87 * 91 Other values remain unknown, mainly because of scarcity of evidence concerning them. Note that * 34 and * 35 are mirror images of each other but whether this graphic relationship indicates a phonetic one remains unconfirmed. Untranscribed and doubtful values Character 𐁐 𐁑 𐁒 𐁓 𐁔 𐁕 𐁖 𐁗 𐁘 𐀎 𐁙 𐁚 𐁛 𐁜 𐁝 Transcription * 18 * 19 * 22 * 34 * 35 * 47 * 49 pa ? * 63 swi ? ju ? zu ? swa ? * 83 * 86 * 89 Bennett 's Number * 18 * 19 * 22 * 34 * 35 * 47 * 49 * 56 * 63 * 64 * 65 * 79 * 82 * 83 * 86 * 89 In recent times, CIPEM inherited the former authority of Bennett and the Wingspread Convention in deciding what signs are `` confirmed '' and how to officially represent the various sign categories. In editions of Mycenaean texts, the signs whose values have not been confirmed by CIPEM are always transcribed as numbers preceded by an asterisk ( e.g., * 64 ). CIPEM also allocates the numerical identifiers, and until such allocation, new signs ( or obscured or mutilated signs ) are transcribed as a bullet - point enclosed in square brackets : ( ). Spelling and pronunciation The signs are approximations ― each may be used to represent a variety of about 70 distinct combinations of sounds, within rules and conventions. The grid presents a system of monosyllabic signs of the type V / CV. Clarification of the 14 or so special values tested the limits of the grid model, but Chadwick in the end concluded that even with the ramifications, the syllabic signs can unexceptionally be considered monosyllabic. Possible exceptions, Chadwick goes on to explain, include the two diphthongs, 𐁁 ( ai ) and 𐁂 ( au ), as in 𐁁𐀓𐀠𐀴𐀍, ai - ku - pi - ti - jo, for Aiguptios ( Αἰγύπτιος, `` Egyptian '' ) and 𐁂𐀐𐀷, au - ke - wa, for Augewās ( Αὐγείας `` Augeas '' ). However, a diphthong is by definition two vowels united into a single sound and therefore might be typed as just V. Thus 𐁉 ( rai ), as in 𐀁𐁉𐀺, e-rai - wo, for elaiwon ( ἔλαιον ), is of the type CV. Diphthongs are otherwise treated as two monosyllables : 𐀀𐀫𐀄𐀨, a-ro - u-ra, for arourans ( accusative plural of ἄρουραι, `` tamarisk trees '' ), of the types CV and V. Lengths of vowels and accents are not marked. 𐁌 ( Twe ), 𐁍 ( two ), 𐁃 ( dwe ), 𐁄 ( dwo ), 𐁅 ( nwa ) and the more doubtful 𐁘 ( swi ) and 𐁚 ( swa ) may be regarded as beginning with labialized consonants, rather than two consonants, even though they may alternate with a two - sign form : o - da - twe - ta and o - da - tu - we - ta for Odatwenta ; a-si - wi - jo and a-swi - jo for Aswios ( Ἄσιος ). Similarly, 𐁈 ( rya ), 𐁊 ( ryo ) and 𐁋 ( tya ) begin with palatalized consonants rather than two consonants : - ti - ri - ja for - trja ( - τρια ). The one sign Chadwick tags as the exception to the monosyllabic rule is 𐁇 ( pte ), but this he attributes to a development pte < * pje as in kleptei < * klep - jei. Linear B does not consistently distinguish between voiced and unvoiced stop consonants ( except in the dental series ) and between aspirated and unaspirated stops even when these distinctions are phonemic in Mycenaean Greek. For example, pa - te is patēr ( πατήρ ), pa - si is phāsi ( φησί ) ; p on the other hand never represents β : βασιλεύς ( `` basileus '', meaning in this period `` court official or local chieftain '' ) is qa - si - re-u ) ; ko - ru is korus ( κόρυς, `` helmet '' ), ka - ra - we is grāwes ( plural of γρηύς ), ko - no is skhoinos ( `` rope '' ). Exceptionally, however, the dentals are represented by a t - series and a d - series for unvoiced and voiced : to - so for tosos ( τόσος or τόσσος ) but do - ra for dōra ( plural of δῶρον, `` gift '' ). Aspiration, however, is not marked : to - ra - ke for thōrākes ( plural of θώραξ, `` breastplate '' ). In other cases aspiration can be marked but is optional : pu - te for phutēr ( `` planter '', from φυτεύω ), but phu - te - re for phutēres ( `` planters '' ). Initial aspiration may be marked only in the case of initial a and rarely : ha - te - ro for hateron ( masculine ἅτερος ), and yet a-ni - ja for hāniai ( ἁνίαι ). The j - series represents the semivowel equivalent to English `` y '', and is used word - initially and as an intervocalic glide after a syllable ending in i : - a-jo for - αῖος ( - aios ) ; a-te - mi - ti - jo for Ἀρτεμίτιος ( Artemitios ). The w - series similarly are semivowels used word - initially and intervocalically after a syllable ending in u : ku - wa - no for kuanos ( κύανος, `` blue '' ). The r - series includes both the / r / and / l / phonemes : ti - ri - po for tripos ( τρίπος, i.e. τρίπους ) and tu - ri - so for Tulisos ( Τυλισός ). The q - series is used for monosyllables beginning with a class of consonants that disappeared from classical Greek by regular phonetic change : the labialized velar consonants ( see under Mycenaean Greek ). These had entered the language from various sources : inheritance from Proto - Indo - European, assimilation, borrowing of foreign words, especially names. In Mycenaean they are / kw /, / gw /, and rarely / kwh / in names and a few words : a-pi - qo - ro for amphiq oloi ( ἀμφίπολοι ) ; qo - u-ko - ro for g oukoloi ( βουκόλοι. `` cowherders '' ) ; - qo - i - ta for - φόντης. Some consonants in some contexts are not written ( but are understood ) : word - initial s - and - w before a consonant, as in pe - ma for sperma ( σπέρμα, `` seed '' ) ; syllable - final - l, - m, - n, - r, - s ; only word - final velars are notated by plene writing : a-to - ro - qo for anthrōq os ( ἄνθρωπος, `` human being, person '' ). In the first example, the pe -, which was primarily used as its value pe of grid class CV, is being used for sper -, not in that class. This was not an innovative or exceptional use, but followed the stated rules. Similarly, a, being primarily of grid class V, is being used as an - and could be used for al, am, ar, and so on. Clusters of two or three consonants that do not follow the initial s - and - w rule or the double consonants : ξ ( ks or x ), ψ ( ps ) and q s ( which later did not exist in classical Greek ) were represented by the same number of signs of type CV as the cluster had consonants : ko - no - so for Knōsos, ku - ru - so for khrusos ( χρυσός, `` gold '' ). The consonants were the same as in the cluster. The vowels so introduced have been called `` empty '', `` null '', `` extra '', `` dead '' and other terms by various writers as they represent no sound. The sign was not alphabetic : rules governed the selection of the vowel and therefore of the sign. The vowel had to be the same as the one of the first syllable following the cluster or if at the end of the word, preceding : ti - ri - po with ti - ( instead of ta -, te - and so on ) to match - ri -. A rare exception occurs in words formed from wa - na - ka, wanax ( ϝάναξ, Homeric and Classical ἄναξ ) : wa - na - ka - te for wanaktei ( dative ), and wa - na - ka - te - ro for wanakteros, the adjectival form. Ideograms Linear B also uses a large number of ideograms. They express : The type of object concerned ( e.g. a cow, wool, a spear ) A unit of measure. They are typically at the end of a line before a number and appear to signify the object the number applies to. Many of the values remain unknown or disputed. Some commodities such as cloth and containers are divided into many different categories represented by distinct ideograms. Livestock may be marked with respect to their sex. The numerical references for the ideograms were originally devised by Ventris and Bennett, divided into functional groups corresponding to the breakdown of Bennett 's index. These groups are numbered beginning 100, 110, 120 etc., with some provision of spare numbers for future additions ; the official CIPEM numberings used today are based on Ventris and Bennett 's numbering, with the provision that three or four letter codes ( written in small capitals ), based on Latin words that seemed relevant at the time, are used where the meanings are known and agreed. Unicode ( as of version 5.0 ) encodes 123 Linear B ideograms. The ideograms are symbols, not pictures of the objects in question -- e.g. one tablet records a tripod with missing legs, but the ideogram used is of a tripod with three legs. In modern transcriptions of Linear B tablets, it is typically convenient to represent an ideogram by its Latin or English name or by an abbreviation of the Latin name. Ventris and Chadwick generally used English ; Bennett, Latin. Neither the English nor the Latin can be relied upon as an accurate name of the object ; in fact, the identification of some of the more obscure objects is a matter of exegesis. Ideograms Glyph Code point Bennett CIPEM English People and Animals U + 10080 100 A - VIR vir MAN U + 10081 102 A - MUL mulier WOMAN U + 10082 104 Cn CERV cervus DEER U + 10083 105 Ca S - EQU equus HORSE U + 10084 105 Ca EQU mare U + 10085 105 Ca EQU stallion 𐀥 U + 10025 106 QI * 21 OVIS ovis SHEEP 𐀥 WE * 75 we - ka - ta Bous ergatēs `` Adjunct to ox '' ( 1973 ) U + 10086 106 C - D - OVIS EWE U + 10087 106 C - D - OVIS RAM 𐁒 U + 10052 107 RA * 22 CAP capra GOAT 𐂈 U + 10088 107 C - Mc CAP SHE - GOAT 𐂉 U + 10089 107 C - CAP HE - GOAT 𐁂 U + 10042 108 AU * 85 C - SUS sūs PIG 𐂊 U + 1008A 108 C - SUS SOW 𐂋 U + 1008B 108 C - SUS BOAR 𐀘 U + 10018 109 MU * 23 C - BOS bōs OX 𐂌 U + 1008C 109 C - BOS COW 𐂍 U + 1008D 109 C - BOS OX / BULL Units of Measurement 110 Z kotylai Volume Cup 111 V khoinikes Volume 112 Dry 113 Liquid 114 Weight * 21 Weight * 2 Weight 115 Weight 116 Weight 117 dimnaion Weight 118 talanton TALENT * 72 G - Bunch ? * 74 S - Pair * 15 S - Single * 61 Deficit By Dry Measure 𐂎 U + 1008E 120 E - F - GRA grānum WHEAT 𐂏 U + 1008F 121 F - HORD hordeum BARLEY 𐂐 U + 10091 122 F - U - OLIV olīva OLIVES 𐀛 U + 1001B NI * 30 F FICUS FIGS 𐀎 U + 1000E * 65 FARINA FLOUR `` some kind of grain '' 𐂑 U + 10091 123 G - Un AROM arōma CONDIMENT KO * 70 G - Coriander 𐀭 U + 1002D SA * 31 G - Sesame KU * 81 G - Cumin SE * 9 G - Celery MA * 80 G - Fennel 124 G - PYC cyperus 𐂒 U + 10092 125 F - CYP cyperus ? 126 F - CYP+KU cyperus+ku 𐂓 U + 10093 127 Un KAPO fruit ? 𐂔 U + 10094 128 G - KANAKO safflower By liquid measure 𐂕 U + 10095 130 OLE ŏlĕum oil 𐂖 U + 10096 131 VIN vinum wine 𐂘 U + 10098 133 unguent 𐂙 U + 10099 135 honey By weight By weight or in units Counted in units Vessels 𐃟 U + 100DF 200 sartāgo BOILING PAN 𐃠 U + 100E0 201 TRI tripūs TRIPOD CAULDRON 𐃡 U + 100E1 202 pōculum GOBLET ? 𐃢 U + 100E2 203 urceus WINE JAR ? 𐃣 U + 100E3 204 Ta hirnea EWER 𐃤 U + 100E4 205 K Tn hirnula JUG 𐃥 U + 100E5 206 HYD hydria HYDRIA 𐃦 U + 100E6 207 TRIPOD AMPHORA 𐃧 U + 100E7 208 PAT patera BOWL 𐃨 U + 100E8 209 AMPH amphora AMPHORA 𐃩 U + 100E9 210 STIRRIP JAR 𐃪 U + 100EA 211 WATER BOWL ? 𐃫 U + 100EB 212 SIT situla WATER JAR ? 𐃬 U + 100EC 213 LANX lanx COOKING BOWL Furniture 𐃄 U + 100C4 220 Ta scamnum FOOTSTOOL 𐃅 U + 100C5 225 ALV alveus Weapons 𐃆 U + 100C6 230 R HAS hasta SPEAR 𐃇 U + 100C7 231 R SAG sagitta ARROW 𐃈 U + 100C8 232 Ta * 232 ? 𐃉 U + 100C9 233 Ra DAGGER 𐃊 U + 100CA 234 GLA gladius SWORD Chariots 𐃌 U + 100CC 240 Sc BIG biga WHEELED CHARIOT 𐃍 U + 100CD 241 Sd Se CUR currus WHEEL-LESS CHARIOT 𐃎 U + 100CE 242 Sf Sg CAPS capsus CHARIOT FRAME 𐃏 U + 100CF 243 Sa So ROTA rota WHEEL Archives Corpus This section 's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out - of - date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Last update : Since e.g. L. Godart and A. Sacconi ( 2002 ), a source cited herein, there have been many more discoveries ; see for example the Dāmos database which lists many more items. ( March 2014 ) Inscriptions in Linear B have been found on tablets and vases or other objects ; they are catalogued and classified by, inter alia, the location of the excavation they were found in. Prefix Location Number of items and / or notes ARM Armeni Vases DIM Dimini EL Eleusis Vases GL Gla Vases HV Hagios Basileios ( Xerocampion, Laconia ) Two tablet fragments. IK Iklaina Fragment of a tablet. KH Chania 6 tablets KN Knossos ca. 4,360 tablets ( not counting finds of Linear A ) KR Kreusis ( Livadostra, Boeotia ) Vases MA Malia Vases MAM Mameloukou Cave ( Perivolia, Kissamos ) Vases MED Medeon ( Steiri, Boeotia ) MI Midea MY Mycenae 73 tablets OR Orchomenos Vases PY Pylos 1,087 tablets TH Thebes 99 tablets + 238 published in 2002 ( L. Godart and A. Sacconi, 2002 ) ; See also : Thebes tablets TI Tiryns 27 tablets Kastron of Palaia Hill ( Volos ) Kastron or Castron both is a, and means, `` castle '' ; the location is occasionally called Kastro - Palaia in English. Another 170 inscriptions in Linear B have been found on various vessels, for a total of some 6,058 known inscriptions. The oldest Linear B tablets are probably those from the Room of Chariot Tablets at Knossos, and date to the latter half of the 15th century BC. The Kafkania pebble, though from an earlier context, is not genuine. The earliest inscription from the mainland is an inscribed clay tablet found at Iklaina dating to between 1400 and 1350 BC. It is claimed that a Linear B inscription is attested on an amber bead found as far at Bernstorf, in Germany. Chronology See also : Chronology of Linear A Timeline of Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean scripts The Aegean is responsible for many of the early Greek language words that have to do with daily life such as words for tools and items that are seen every day. The sequence and the geographical spread of Cretan hieroglyphs, Linear A, and Linear B, the three overlapping, but distinct, writing systems on Bronze Age Crete, the Aegean islands, and mainland Greece are summarized as follows : Writing system Geographical area Time span Cretan hieroglyphs Crete ca. 1625 s − 1500 BC Linear A Crete, Aegean Islands ( Kea, Kythira, Milos, Santorini ), and Laconia ) ca. 2500 − 1450 BC Linear B Crete ( Knossos ), and mainland ( Pylos, Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns ) ca. 1425 s − 1200 BC Timeline of Linear B The main archives for Linear B are associated with these stages of Late Minoan and Helladic pottery : Relative date Period dates Location Locale or tablet LM II 1425 -- 1390 BC Knossos Room of the Chariot Tablets LH IIIA1 / early LH IIIA2 1400 -- 1370 BC Iklaina LM IIIA2 or LM IIIB 1370 -- 1340 BC or 1340 -- 1190 BC Knossos main archive LM IIIB 1340 -- 1190 BC Chania tablets Sq 1, 6659, KH 3 ( possibly Linear B) LH / LM IIIB1 end Chania Mycenae Thebes tablets Ar 3, Gq 5, X 6 tablets from Oil Merchant group of houses Ug tablets and Wu sealings LH IIIB2, end Mycenae Tiryns Thebes Pylos tablets from the Citadel all tablets Of tablets and new Pelopidou Street deposit all but five tablets Controversy on the date of the Knossos tablets The Knossos archive was dated by Arthur Evans to the destruction by conflagration of about 1400 BC, which would have baked and preserved the clay tablets. He dated this event to the LM II period. This view stood until Carl Blegen excavated the site of ancient Pylos in 1939 and uncovered tablets inscribed in Linear B. They were fired in the conflagration that destroyed Pylos about 1200 BC, at the end of LHIIIB. With the decipherment of Linear B by Michael Ventris in 1952, serious questions about Evans ' date began to be considered. Most notably, Blegen said that the inscribed stirrup jars, which are oil flasks with stirrup - shaped handles, imported from Crete around 1200 were of the same type as those dated by Evans to the destruction of 1400. Blegen found a number of similarities between 1200 BC Pylos and 1400 BC Knossos and suggested the Knossian evidence be reexamined, as he was sure of the 1200 Pylian date. The examination uncovered a number of difficulties. The Knossos tablets had been found at various locations in the palace. Evans had not kept exact records. Recourse was had to the day books of Evans ' assistant, Duncan Mackenzie, who had conducted the day - to - day excavations. There were discrepancies between the notes in the day books and Evans ' excavation reports. Moreover, the two men had disagreed over the location and strata of the tablets. The results of the reinvestigation were eventually published by Palmer and Boardman, On the Knossos Tablets. It contains two works, Leonard Robert Palmer 's The Find - Places of the Knossos Tablets and John Boardman 's The Date of the Knossos Tablets, representing Blegen 's and Evans ' views respectively. Consequently, the dispute was known for a time as `` the Palmer - Boardman dispute ''. There has been no generally accepted resolution to it yet. Contents The major cities and palaces used Linear B for records of disbursements of goods. Wool, sheep, and grain were some common items, often given to groups of religious people and to groups of `` men watching the coastline ''. The tablets were kept in groups in baskets on shelves, judging by impressions left in the clay from the weaving of the baskets. When the buildings they were housed in were destroyed by fires, many of the tablets were fired. Discovery and decipherment Tablet KN Fp 13, discovered by Arthur Evans. Tablet MY Oe 106 ( obverse ) exhibited at the Greek National Archaeological Museum. Bottom : tracing of the inscription ( obverse ). Right : Tracing of the reverse side depicting a male figure. Arthur J. Evans ' classification of scripts The British archaeologist Arthur Evans, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, was presented by Greville Chester in 1886 with a sealstone from Crete engraved with a writing he took to be Mycenaean. Heinrich Schliemann had encountered signs similar to these, but had never identified the signs clearly as writing, relating in his major work on Mycenae that `` of combinations of signs resembling inscriptions I have hitherto only found three or four... '' In 1893 Evans purchased more sealstones in Athens. He verified from the antiquarian dealers that the stones came from Crete. During the next year he noticed the script on other artefacts in the Ashmolean. In 1894, he embarked for Crete in search of the script. Almost immediately on arrival, he jumped into a trench at Knossos and saw the sign of the double axe on a palace wall. He knew he had found the source of the script. Subsequently, he found more stones being worn by Cretan women as amulets. They were called γαλόπετρες `` milk - stones '' and had come from the various ruins. Starting in 1894, Evans published his theories that the signs evidenced various phases in the development of a writing system in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, the first article being `` Primitive Pictographs and a Prae - Phoenician Script from Crete ''. In these articles Evans distinguished between `` pictographic writing '' and `` a linear system of writing ''. He did not explicitly define these terms, causing some confusion among subsequent writers concerning what he meant, but in 1898 he wrote `` These linear forms indeed consist of simple geometrical figures which unlike the more complicated pictorial class were little susceptible to modification, '' and `` That the linear or quasi-alphabetic signs... were in the main ultimately derived from the rudely scratched line pictures belonging to the infancy of art can hardly be doubted. '' Meanwhile, Evans began to negotiate for the land purchase of the Knossos site. He established the Cretan Exploration Fund, with only his own money at first, and by 1896 the fund had purchased one - fourth of Kephala Hill, on which the ruins were located, with first option to buy the rest. However, he could not obtain a firman excavation permit from the Ottoman government. He returned to Britain. In January 1897, the Christian population of Crete staged its final insurrection against the Ottoman Empire. The last Ottoman troops were ferried off the island by the British fleet on December 5, 1898. In that year also, Evans and his friends returned to finish paying for the site. By this time, the Fund had other contributors as well. In 1899, the Constitution of a new Cretan Republic went into effect. Once Arthur had received permission to excavate from the local authorities, excavation on the hill began on 23 March 1900. According to Evans ' report to the British School at Athens for that year, on April 5, the excavators discovered the first large cache ever of Linear B tablets among the remains of a wooden box in a disused terracotta bathtub. Subsequently, caches turned up at multiple locations, including the Room of the Chariot Tablets, where over 350 pieces from four boxes were found. The tablets were 4.5 cm ( 1.8 in ) to 19.5 cm ( 7.7 in ) long by 1.2 cm ( 0.47 in ) to 7.2 cm ( 2.8 in ) wide and were scored with horizontal lines over which text was written in about 70 characters. Even in this earliest excavation report, Evans could tell that ``... a certain number of quasi-pictorial characters also occur which seem to have an ideographic or determinative meaning. '' The excavation was over for that year by June 2. Evans reported : `` only a comparatively small proportion of the tablets were preserved in their entirety, '' the causes of destruction being rainfall through the roof of the storage room, crumbling of small pieces, and being thrown away by workmen who failed to identify them. A report on September 6 to the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland began to use some of the concepts characteristic of Evans ' later thought : `` palace of Knossos '' and `` palace of Minos ''. Appletons ' Cyclopædia of American Biography, 1900, notes that Evans took up Stillman 's theme that the palace was the labyrinth of mythology in which the half - bovine son of King Minos lurked. In the report, the tablets are now called a `` linear script '' as opposed to the `` hieroglyphic or conventionalized pictographic script ''. The linear script has characters that are `` of a free, upright, European character '' and `` seem to have been for the most part syllabic ''. Evans reasserts the ideographic idea : `` a certain number are unquestionably ideographic or determinative. '' The years after 1900 were consumed by excavations at Knossos and the discovery and study by Evans of tablets there and elsewhere, but nothing substantially new occurred. Evans planned a comprehensive work on Cretan scripts to be called Scripta Minoa. A year before the publication of volume I, he began to drop hints that he now believed the linear script was two scripts, to be presented in the forthcoming book. In Scripta Minoa I, which appeared in 1909, he explained that the discovery of the Phaistos Disc in July 1908 had caused him to pull the book from the presses so that he could include the disk by permission, as it had not yet been published. On the next page he mentioned that he was also including by permission of Federico Halbherr of the Italian Mission in Crete unpublished tablets from Hagia Triada written in a linear script of `` Class A ''. To what degree if any Halbherr was responsible for Evans ' division of the `` linear script '' into `` Class A '' and `` Class B '' is not stated. The Knossos tablets were of Class B, so that Evans could have perceived Class A only in tablets from elsewhere, and so recently that he needed permission to include the examples. Evans summarized the differences between the two scripts as `` type '' or `` form of script ; ' that is, varieties in the formation and arrangement of the characters. For example, he says `` the clay documents belonging to Class A show a certain approximation in their forms to those presenting the hieroglyphic inscriptions... the system of numerals is also in some respects intermediate between that of the hieroglyphic documents and that of the linear Class B. '' The first volume covered `` the Hieroglyphic and Primitive Linear Classes '' in three parts : the `` pre-Phoenician Scripts of Crete '', the `` Pictorial Script '' and `` the Phaistos Disk ''. One or two more volumes publishing the Linear A and Linear B tablets were planned, but Evans ran out of time ; the project required more than one man could bring to it. For a good many of the years left to him, he was deeply enmeshed in war and politics in the Balkans. When he did return to Knossos, completion and publication of the palace excavations took priority. His greatest work, Palace of Minos, came out in 1935. It did include scattered descriptions of tablets. He died in 1941, soon after Nazi forces invaded Crete. The Knossos tablets had remained in the museum at Irakleion, Crete, where many of them now were missing. The unpublished second volume consisted of notes by Evans and plates and fonts created by Clarendon Press. In 1939, Carl Blegen had uncovered the Pylos Tablets ; pressure was mounting to finish Scripta Minoa II. After Evans ' death, Alice Kober, assistant to John Myres and a major transcriber of the Knossos tablets, prompted Myres to come back from retirement and finish the work. Emmett L. Bennett, Jr. added more transcriptions. The second volume came out in 1952 with Evans cited as author and Myres as editor, just before the discovery that Linear B writes an early form of Greek. An impatient Ventris and Chadwick declared : `` Two generations of scholars had been cheated of the opportunity to work constructively on the problem. '' Early attempts Despite the limited source materials, during this time there were efforts to decipher the newly discovered Cretan script. Australian classicist Florence Stawell published an interpretation of the Phaistos Disc in the April 1911 issue of The Burlington Magazine. She followed this with the book A Clue to the Cretan Scripts, published in 1931. Stawell declared all three Cretan script forms to represent early Homeric Greek, and offered her attempts at translations. Also in 1931, F.G. Gordon 's Through Basque to Minoan was published by the Oxford University Press. Gordon attempted to prove a close link between the Basque language and Linear B, without lasting success. In 1949, the distinguished Professor Bedřich Hrozný of Prague published Les Inscriptions Crétoises, Essai de déchiffrement, a proposed decipherment of the Cretan scripts. Hrozny was internationally renowned as the translator of Hittite cuneiform decades previously. His Minoan translations into academic French, proved to be considerably subjective, and incorrect. From the 1930s to 1950s there was correspondence between, and papers published by, various international academic figures. These included Johannes Sundwall, K.D. Ktistopoulos, Ernst Sittig and V.I. Georgiev. None of them succeeded with decipherment, yet they added to knowledge and debate. Alice Kober 's triplets About the same time, Professor Alice Kober studied Linear B and managed to construct grids, linking similar symbols in groups of threes. Kober noticed that a number of Linear B words had common roots and suffixes. This led her to believe that Linear B represented an inflected language, with nouns changing their endings depending on their case. However, some characters in the middle of the words seemed to correspond with neither a root nor a suffix. Because this effect was found in other known languages, Kober surmised that the odd characters were bridging syllables, with the beginning of the syllable belonging to the root and the end belonging to the suffix. This was a reasonable assumption, since Linear B had far too many characters to be considered alphabetic and too few to be logographic ; therefore, each character should represent a syllable. Dr. Kober also showed that the two symbol word for ' total ' at the end of livestock and personnel lists, had a different symbol for gender. This gender change with one letter, usually a vowel, is most frequent in Indo - European languages. Kober had rejected any speculation on the language represented, preferring painstaking cataloguing and analysis of the actual symbols. Emmett L. Bennett 's transcription conventions The convention for numbering the symbols still in use today was first devised by United States Professor Emmett L. Bennett, Jr... Working alongside fellow academic Alice Kober, by 1950 Bennett had deciphered the metrical system, based on his intensive study of Linear B tablets unearthed at Pylos. He was also an early proponent of the idea that Linear A and B represented different languages. Bennett 's book The Pylos Tablets became a crucial resource for Michael Ventris, who later described it as `` a wonderful piece of work ''. Michael Ventris ' identification as Greek In 1935, the British School at Athens was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary with an exhibition at Burlington House, London. Among the speakers was Arthur Evans, then eighty - four years old. The teenaged Michael Ventris was present in the audience. In 1940, the 18 - year - old Ventris had an article Introducing the Minoan Language published in the American Journal of Archaeology. After wartime service as a navigator with RAF Bomber Command, and a post-war year in Occupied Germany, he returned to civilian life, and completed qualification as an architect. Despite having no university qualification, Ventris continued with his amateur interest in Linear B, corresponding with known scholars, who usually but not always replied. Michael Ventris and John Chadwick performed the bulk of the decipherment of Linear B between 1951 and 1953. At first Ventris chose his own numbering method, but later switched to Bennett 's system. His initial decipherment was achieved using Kober 's classification tables, to which he applied his own theories. Some Linear B tablets had been discovered on the Greek mainland. Noticing that certain symbol combinations appeared only on the tablets found in Crete, he conjectured that these might be names of places on the island. This proved to be correct. Working with the symbols he could decipher from this, Ventris soon unlocked much text and determined that the underlying language of Linear B was in fact Greek. This contradicted general scientific views of the time, and indeed Ventris himself had previously agreed with Evans ' hypothesis that Linear B was not Greek. Ventris ' discovery was of significance in demonstrating a Greek - speaking Minoan - Mycenaean culture on Crete, and thus presenting Greek in writing centuries earlier than had been previously accepted. Chadwick, a university lecturer in Ancient Greek philology, helped Ventris develop his decipherment of the text and discover the vocabulary and grammar of Mycenaean Greek. He noted : That any Linear B tablets are written in a language other than Greek still remains to be demonstrated ; but that words and usages not exactly paralleled in later Greek occur is both certain and to be expected. But we must not resort to `` non-Greek '' whenever we come up against an insoluble problem. Unicode Main articles : Linear B Syllabary ( Unicode block ), Linear B Ideograms ( Unicode block ), and Aegean Numbers ( Unicode block ) Linear B was added to the Unicode Standard in April, 2003 with the release of version 4.0. The Linear B Syllabary block is U + 10000 -- U + 1007F. The Linear B Ideograms block is U + 10080 -- U + 100FF. The Unicode block for the related Aegean Numbers is U + 10100 -- U + 1013F. Linear B Syllabary Official Unicode Consortium code chart ( PDF ) 0 5 6 7 8 9 U + 1000x 𐀀 𐀁 𐀂 𐀃 𐀄 𐀅 𐀆 𐀇 𐀈 𐀉 𐀊 𐀋 𐀍 𐀎 𐀏 U + 1001x 𐀐 𐀑 𐀒 𐀓 𐀔 𐀕 𐀖 𐀗 𐀘 𐀙 𐀚 𐀛 𐀜 𐀝 𐀞 𐀟 U + 1002x 𐀠 𐀡 𐀢 𐀣 𐀤 𐀥 𐀦 𐀨 𐀩 𐀪 𐀫 𐀬 𐀭 𐀮 𐀯 U + 1003x 𐀰 𐀱 𐀲 𐀳 𐀴 𐀵 𐀶 𐀷 𐀸 𐀹 𐀺 𐀼 𐀽 𐀿 U + 1004x 𐁀 𐁁 𐁂 𐁃 𐁄 𐁅 𐁆 𐁇 𐁈 𐁉 𐁊 𐁋 𐁌 𐁍 U + 1005x 𐁐 𐁑 𐁒 𐁓 𐁔 𐁕 𐁖 𐁗 𐁘 𐁙 𐁚 𐁛 𐁜 𐁝 U + 1006x U + 1007x Notes 1. ^ As of Unicode version 11.0 2. ^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points Linear B Ideograms Official Unicode Consortium code chart ( PDF ) 0 5 6 7 8 9 U + 1008x 𐂀 𐂁 𐂂 𐂃 𐂄 𐂅 𐂆 𐂇 𐂈 𐂉 𐂊 𐂋 𐂌 𐂍 𐂎 𐂏 U + 1009x 𐂐 𐂑 𐂒 𐂓 𐂔 𐂕 𐂖 𐂗 𐂘 𐂙 𐂚 𐂛 𐂜 𐂝 𐂞 𐂟 U + 100Ax 𐂠 𐂡 𐂢 𐂣 𐂤 𐂥 𐂦 𐂧 𐂨 𐂩 𐂪 𐂫 𐂬 𐂭 𐂮 𐂯 U + 100Bx 𐂰 𐂱 𐂲 𐂳 𐂴 𐂵 𐂶 𐂷 𐂸 𐂹 𐂺 𐂻 𐂼 𐂽 𐂾 𐂿 U + 100Cx 𐃀 𐃁 𐃂 𐃃 𐃄 𐃅 𐃆 𐃇 𐃈 𐃉 𐃊 𐃋 𐃌 𐃍 𐃎 𐃏 U + 100Dx 𐃐 𐃑 𐃒 𐃓 𐃔 𐃕 𐃖 𐃗 𐃘 𐃙 𐃚 𐃛 𐃜 𐃝 𐃞 𐃟 U + 100Ex 𐃠 𐃡 𐃢 𐃣 𐃤 𐃥 𐃦 𐃧 𐃨 𐃩 𐃪 𐃫 𐃬 𐃭 𐃮 𐃯 U + 100Fx 𐃰 𐃱 𐃲 𐃳 𐃴 𐃵 𐃶 𐃷 𐃸 𐃹 𐃺 Notes 1. ^ As of Unicode version 11.0 2. ^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points Aegean Numbers Official Unicode Consortium code chart ( PDF ) 0 5 6 7 8 9 U + 1010x 𐄀 𐄁 𐄂 𐄇 𐄈 𐄉 𐄊 𐄋 𐄌 𐄍 𐄎 𐄏 U + 1011x 𐄐 𐄑 𐄒 𐄓 𐄔 𐄕 𐄖 𐄗 𐄘 𐄙 𐄚 𐄛 𐄜 𐄝 𐄞 𐄟 U + 1012x 𐄠 𐄡 𐄢 𐄣 𐄤 𐄥 𐄦 𐄧 𐄨 𐄩 𐄪 𐄫 𐄬 𐄭 𐄮 𐄯 U + 1013x 𐄰 𐄱 𐄲 𐄳 𐄷 𐄸 𐄹 𐄺 𐄻 𐄼 𐄽 𐄾 𐄿 Notes 1. ^ As of Unicode version 11.0 2. ^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points See also Aegean civilizations Aegean numerals Linear A Cypro - Minoan syllabary Cypriot syllabary Proto - Greek language Notes Jump up ^ In the Unicode character names, Bennett 's number has been rendered into a three - digit code by padding with initial zeros and preceding with a B ( for `` Linear B '' ). Jump up ^ In linguistics C and V in this type of context stand for consonant and vowel. Jump up ^ Sign * 89 is not listed in Ventris & Chadwick 's ( 1973 ) tables but it does appear in the appendix of Bennett ( 1964 ) as part of the Wingspread convention. Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick use Roman characters for the reconstructed Mycenaean Greek and give the closest later literary word in Greek characters. Often the phonetics are the same, but equally as often the reconstructed words represent an earlier form. Here the classical Greek was formed by dropping the w and lengthening the e to ei. Jump up ^ The w is dropped to form the classical Greek. Jump up ^ Classical words typically have the η of the Attic - Ionic dialect where Linear B represents the original α. Jump up ^ Representing g asileus, the b coming from g Jump up ^ Double letters, as in Knossos, were never represented ; one was dropped. Jump up ^ Note that the codes do not represent all the glyphs, only the major ones. Jump up ^ Beginning date refers to first attestations, the assumed origins of all scripts lie further back in the past. Jump up ^ LM III is equivalent to LH III from a chronological perspective. Sources Jump up ^ `` New Linear B tablet found at Iklaina ''. Comité International Permanent des Études Mycéniennes, UNESCO. Retrieved 29 April 2012. Jump up ^ Hogan, C. Michael ( 2008 ). `` Cydonia ''. The Modern Antiquarian. Julian Cope. Retrieved 12 January 2009. Jump up ^ Wren, Linnea Holmer ; Wren, David J. ; Carter, Janine M. ( 1987 ). Perspectives on Western Art : Source Documents and Readings from the Ancient Near East Through the Middle Ages. Harper & Row. p. 55. ISBN 978 - 0 - 06 - 438942 - 6. Jump up ^ `` Cracking the code : the decipherment of Linear B 60 years on ''. Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. 13 October 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2017. Jump up ^ Hooker, J.T. ( 1980 ). Linear B : An Introduction. Bristol Classical Press UK. ISBN 0 - 906515 - 69 - 6. Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick 1973, p. 60. Jump up ^ Palaima, T.G. ; Melena, Josē L. `` A Brief History of CIPEM ''. Comité International Permanent des Études Mycéniennes. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2008. Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ), page 37, quotes Bennett : `` where the same sign is used in both Linear A and B there is no guarantee that the same value is assigned to it. '' Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ), Fig. 4 on page 23 states the `` Proposed values of the Mycenaean syllabary '', which is mainly the same as the table included in this article. The `` grid '' from which it came, which was built up in `` successive stages '', is shown in Fig. 3 on page 20. Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ), Fig. 9 on page 41 states Bennett 's numbers from 1 through 87 opposite the signs being numbered. The table includes variants from Knossos, Pylos, Mycenae and Thebes opposite the same numbers. ^ Jump up to : Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ), page 385. Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ), pages 391 - 392. Jump up ^ Ventris & Chadwick ( 1973 ), pages 385 - 391. Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ), page 43. Jump up ^ The examples in this section except where otherwise noted come from the Mycenaean Glossary of Ventris & Chadwick ( 1973 ). Jump up ^ Ventris & Chadwick ( 1973 ), pages 388 - 391. Jump up ^ Ventris & Chadwick ( 1973 ), page 44. Jump up ^ Ventris & Chadwick ( 1973 ), page 45. The authors use q instead of k : q, g and q h, following the use of q - in transcription. Jump up ^ Cf. Chadwick, John, The Decipherment of Linear B, 1958, p. 82 Jump up ^ This table follows the numbering scheme worked out by Ventris and Bennett and presented in Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ) in the table of Figure 10, pages 50 - 51. The superscript a refers to Bennett 's `` Editio a '', `` a hand from Pylos, of Class III ''. The superscript b refers to Bennett 's `` Editio b '', `` a hand of Knosses ''. The superscript c refers to Bennett 's `` Editio c '', `` a hand of Pylos, of Class I ''. The non-superscript letters represent the class of tablets, which precedes the individual tablet number ; for example, Sa 787 is Tablet Number 787 of the class Sa, which concerns chariots and features the WHEEL ideogram. Jump up ^ Figure 10 in Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ) states only the English names of the ideograms where they exist, but the Latin is given where it exists in Bennett, Jr. Editor, Emmett L. ( 1964 ). Mycenaean Studies : Proceedings of the Third International Colloquium for Mycenaean Studies Held at `` Wingspread, '' 4 -- 8 September 1961. Madison : University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 258 -- 259, `` Ideogrammatum Scripturae Mycenaeae Transcriptio ''. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) The `` m '' and `` f '' superscript are male and female. Jump up ^ Given in capital letters if it repeats Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ) Figure 10 ; otherwise, in lowercase. Note that not all the CIPEM glyphs appear in Figure 10. Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ) page 391 : `` 100 MAN is now used for all forms of the ideogram, so that 101 and 103 are now suppressed. '' Jump up ^ Ventris & Chadwick either edition do not follow the Wingspread Convention here but have 105 as a HE - ASS and 105 as a FOAL. Jump up ^ The 1956 edition has `` Kind of sheep '' Jump up ^ Chadwick ( 1976 ) page 105. Jump up ^ `` Double mina '', Chadwick ( 1976 ) page 102. Jump up ^ Ventris & Chadwick ( 1973 ) page 392. Jump up ^ Ventris and Chadwick ( 1973 ) page 324 has a separate table. Jump up ^ Driessen, Jan ( 2000 ). The Scribes of the Room of the Chariot Tablets at Knossos. Salamanca : Ediciones universidad de Salamanca. Jump up ^ Palaima, Thomas G. ( 2003 ). `` OL Zh1 : QVOSQVE TANDEM ''. Minos. 38 : 373 -- 85. Jump up ^ Than, Ker ( 30 March 2011 ). `` Ancient Tablet Found : Oldest Readable Writing in Europe ''. National Geographic. Retrieved 1 April 2011. Jump up ^ `` Linear B in Bavaria ? ''. archaiologia.gr. Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014. Jump up ^ Neer, Richard ( 2012 ). Greek Art and Archaeology. New York : Thames & Hudson. p. 44. ISBN 978 - 0500288771. Jump up ^ Olivier, J. ‐ P. ( February 1986 ). `` Cretan writing in the second millennium B.C. ''. World Archaeology. 17 ( 3 ) : 377 -- 389. doi : 10.1080 / 00438243.1986. 9979977. Jump up ^ `` The Danube Script and Other Ancient Writing Systems : A Typology of Distinctive Features ''. Harald Haarmann. 2008. Jump up ^ Shelmerdin, Cynthia W. ( 1998 ). `` Where Do We Go From Here ? And How Can the Linear B Tablets Help Us Get There ? ''. In Cline, Eric H. ; Harris - Cline, Diane. The Aegean and the Orient in the Second Millennium : Proceedings of the 50th Anniversary Symposium, Cincinnati, 18 - 20 April 1997 ( PDF ). Aegaeum. Universite de Liege, Histoire de L'art Et Archeologie de la Grece Antiquei. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2008 : The table is heavily indebted to this chapter. Jump up ^ Palmer, L.R. ; Boardman, John ( 1963 ). On the Knossos Tablets. Oxford : Clarendon Press. Jump up ^ Ventris & Chadwick 1973, p. 8. Jump up ^ Schliemann, Heinrich ; Gladstone, William Ewart ( 1880 ). Mycenæ. New York : Charles Scribner 's Sons. p. 114. ISBN 0 - 405 - 09851 - 0. Jump up ^ Evans, A.J. ( 1894 ). `` Primitive Pictographs and a Prae - Phoenician Script, from Crete and the Peloponnese ''. Journal of Hellenic Studies. 14 : 270 -- 372, 394. doi : 10.2307 / 623973. JSTOR 623973. Jump up ^ Evans, Arthur J. ( 1898 ). `` Further Discoveries of Cretan and Aegean Script ''. Journal of Hellenic Studies. XVII : 327 -- 395. doi : 10.2307 / 623835. JSTOR 623835. Jump up ^ Clowes, William Laird ; Markham, Clements Robert ; Mahan, Alfred Thayer ; Wilson, Herbert Wrigley ; Roosevelt, Theodore ; Laughton, Leonard George Carr ( 1903 ). The Royal Navy. VII. London : Sampson, Low, Marston and Company. pp. 444 -- 448. ISBN 1 - 86176 - 017 - 5. Jump up ^ Brown, Cynthia Ann ( 1983 ). Arthur Evans and the Palace of Minos ( Ashmolean Museum Edition : illustrated ed. ). Oxford : Ashmolean Museum. pp. 15 -- 30. ISBN 9780900090929. ^ Jump up to : Evans, Arthur J. ( 1901 ). `` Knossos : Summary Report of the Excavations in 1900 : I The Palace ''. The Annual of the British School at Athens ( VI : Session 1899 -- 1900 ) : 3 -- 70. Jump up ^ Evans, Arthur J. ( 1900 ). `` Crete : Systems of Writing ''. Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. XXX ( New Series, III ) ( 90 ) : 91 -- 93. Jump up ^ `` Archaeology : Crete ''. Appletons ' Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1900. Third Series, V ; Whole Series, XI. 1901. pp. 25 -- 28. Jump up ^ Evans, Arthur J. ( 1909 ). Scripta Minoa : The Written Documents of Minoan Crete : With Special Reference to the Archives of Knossos. Volume I : The Hieroglyphic and Primitive Linear Classes with an Account of the Discovery of the Pre-Phoenician Scripts, their Place in Minoan Story and their Mediterranean Relations : with Plates, Tables and Figures in the Text. Oxford : The Clarendon Press. Jump up ^ Scripta Minoa I, page ix. Jump up ^ Scripta Minoa I, page 36. Jump up ^ Evans, Arthur J. ( 1952 ). Scripta Minoa : The Written Documents of Minoan Crete : With Special Reference to the Archives of Knossos. Volume II : The Archives of Knossos : Clay Tablets Inscribed in Linear Script B Edited from Notes, and Supplemented by John L. Myres. Oxford : The Clarendon Press. Jump up ^ Documents in Mycenaean Greek, page 11. Jump up ^ https://www.jstor.org/stable/858643?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents Jump up ^ Chadwick, Decipherment... p. 28 Jump up ^ Chsdwick, Decipherment..., pp27 - 8 Jump up ^ Chadwick, Decipherment pp30 - 32 Jump up ^ Fox, ( 2013 ) pp. 163 - 7 Jump up ^ Robinson, ( 2002 ) p. 71 Jump up ^ Fox, ( 2013 ) pp. 107 - 9 Jump up ^ Emmett L. Bennett Jr - obituary - Daily Telegraph, London, 23 January 2012 Jump up ^ Stambaugh, Stephanie. `` Linear Scripts and the Phaistos Disk ''. mansfield.edu. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Jump up ^ Robinson, pp32 - 3 Jump up ^ Chadwick, Decipherment 1961 Pelican edition pp47 - 9 Jump up ^ Jacquetta Hawkes Dawn of the Gods 1972 Sphere Books pp49 - 51 ) ) Jump up ^ Best, Jan G.P. ; Woudhuizen, Fred C. ( 1989 ). Lost Languages from the Mediterranean. Brill Archive. ISBN 978 - 90 - 04 - 08934 - 1. Bibliography Carpenter, Rhys, ( 1957 ) `` Linear B '', Phoenix, Vol. 11, No. 2 ( Summer, 1957 ), pp. 47 -- 62 Chadwick, John ( 1958 ). The Decipherment of Linear B. Second edition ( 1990 ). Cambridge UP. ISBN 0 - 521 - 39830 - 4. Chadwick, John ( 1976 ). The Mycenaean World. Cambridge UP. ISBN 0 - 521 - 29037 - 6. Chadwick, John ( 1987 ). Linear B and Related Scripts ; `` Reading the Past ''. Third impression ( 1997 ). University of California Press / British Museum. ISBN 0 - 520 - 06019 - 9. has the Enkomi clay tablet, circa 1500 BCE., examples of Linear B tablets, and translated, the basic Linear B syllabary, the Cypriot syllabary and discussions thereof, and short sections on Linear A, and the Phaistos Disk. Fox, Margalit ( 2013 ). The Riddle of the Labyrinth : The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code. Ecco. ISBN 978 - 0062228833. Levin, Saul ( 1964 ). The Linear B Decipherment Controversy Re-examined. State University of New York Press. OCLC 288842. McDorman, Richard E. ( 2010 ). Language and the Ancient Greeks and On the Decipherment of Linear B ( A Pair of Essays ). ISBN 978 - 0 - 9839112 - 3 - 4. Palaima, Thomas G., `` Unlocking the Secrets of Ancient Writing : The Parallel Lives of Michael Ventris and Linda Schele and the Decipherment of Mycenaean and Mayan Writing '', University of Texas at Austin, Eleventh International Mycenological Colloquium, 2000. Robinson, Andrew ( 1995 ). The Story of Writing. Paperback edition ( 1999 ). Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0 - 500 - 28156 - 4. Chapter 6, Linear B, pp 108 -- 119 : discusses Arthur Evans, his work, the Cypriot clues, the syllabary, Alice Kober, the `` Grid '', and a sample tablet transliterated, and translated into English. Robinson, Andrew The Man Who Deciphered Linear B : the story of Michael Ventris ( 2002 ) Thames & Hudson ISBN 0500510776 Singh, Simon ( 2000 ). The Code Book. Anchor. ISBN 0 - 385 - 49532 - 3. for a general outline of the Linear B deciphering story, from Schliemann to Chadwick. Ventris, Michael ( 1988 ). Work notes on Minoan language research and other unedited papers. Edizioni dell'Ateneo 1988 Roma. Ventris, Michael ; Chadwick, John ( 1973 ). Documents in Mycenaean Greek ( Second ed. ). Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0 - 521 - 08558 - 6. Ventris, Michael ; Chadwick, John ( 1953 ) `` Evidence for Greek Dialect in the Mycenaean Archives '', The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 73, ( 1953 ), pp. 84 -- 103. Further Reading Bakker, Egbert J., ed. 2010. A companion to the Ancient Greek language. Oxford : Wiley - Blackwell. Chadwick, John. 1958. The decipherment of Linear B. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. Christidis, Anastasios - Phoivos, ed. 2007. A history of Ancient Greek : From the beginnings to Late Antiquity. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. Colvin, Stephen C. 2007. A historical Greek reader : Mycenaean to the koiné. Oxford : Oxford University Press. Hooker, J.T. 1980. Linear B : An introduction. Bristol, UK : Bristol Classical Press. Horrocks, Geoffrey. 2010. Greek : A history of the language and its speakers. 2nd ed. Oxford : Wiley - Blackwell. Morpurgo Davies, Anna, and Yves Duhoux, eds. 1985. Linear B : A 1984 survey. Louvain, Belgium : Peeters. -- -- -- --. 2008. A companion to Linear B : Mycenaean Greek texts and their world. Vol. 1. Louvain, Belgium : Peeters. Palaima, Thomas G. 1988. `` The development of the Mycenaean writing system. '' In Texts, tablets and scribes. Edited by J.P. Olivier and T.G. Palaima, 269 -- 342. Suplementos a `` Minos '' 10. Salamanca, Spain : Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Palmer, Leonard R. 1980. The Greek language. London : Faber & Faber. Ventris, Michael, and John Chadwick. 2008. Documents in Mycenaean Greek. 2nd ed. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Linear B. Look up Category : Mycenaean Greek nouns in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Library resources about Linear B Online books Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Ager, Simon ( 1998 -- 2009 ). `` Linear B ''. Omniglot. Retrieved 6 January 2009. Clark, Curtis ( 1992 -- 1998 ). `` TrueType Fonts : Ancient alphabets and mythic symbols : Linear B ''. Curtis Clark. -- Not Unicode Aurora, Federico ; Haug, Dag Trygve Truslew. `` DĀMOS : Database of Mycenaean at Oslo ''. et al. University of Oslo. Fox, Margalit. `` Alice E. Kober, 43 ; Lost to History No More ''. New York Times ( 11 May 2013 ). Retrieved 13 May 2013. Linear B at Curlie ( based on DMOZ ) Linear B online transliterator Lo, Lawrence ( 1996 -- 2005 ). `` Linear B ''. AncientScripts.com. Retrieved 5 January 2009. McCreedy, David ; Weiss, Mimi. `` Gallery of Unicode Fonts : Linear B Syllabary ''. WAZU, Japan. Retrieved 11 January 2009. Owens, Dr. Gareth ( 2005 -- 2008 ). `` Daidalika - Scripts and Languages of Minoan and Mycenaean Crete '' ( in English and Greek ). Technological Educational Institute ( TEI ) of Crete. Retrieved 9 January 2009. Palaeolexicon - `` Word study tool of Ancient languages, including Linear B ''. Palaeolexicon.com. Palaima, Thomas G, A Linear B Tablet from Heidelberg, Université de Liège Palaima, Thomas G. ; Pope, Elizabeth I. ; Reilly III, F. Kent ( 2000 ). The Parallel Lives of Michael Ventris and Linda Schele and the Decipherment of Mycenaean and Mayan Writing ( PDF ). Austin : University of Texas. ISBN 0 - 9649410 - 4 - X. Retrieved 13 January 2009. Palmer, Dr. Michael M ( 2002 -- 2009 ). `` The Linear B Syllabary ''. Chapel Hill, NC : Greek-Language.com. Raymoure, K.A. ( 2012 ). `` Linear B Transliterations ''. Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B. Deaditerranean. Rutter, Jeremy B. ( 1996 ). `` The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean ''. Hanover, NH : The Foundation of the Hellenic World, Dartmouth College. Archived from the original on 1 January 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2009. Types of writing systems Overview History of writing Grapheme Lists Writing systems undeciphered inventors constructed Languages by writing system / by first written accounts Types Abjads Numerals Aramaic Hatran Arabic Egyptian hieroglyphs Pitman shorthand Hebrew Ashuri Cursive Rashi Solitreo Tifinagh Manichaean Nabataean Old North Arabian Pahlavi Pegon Phoenician Paleo - Hebrew Proto - Sinaitic Psalter Punic Samaritan South Arabian Zabur Musnad Sogdian Syriac ʾEsṭrangēlā Serṭā Maḏnḥāyā Teeline Shorthand Ugaritic Abugidas Brahmic Northern Asamiya ( Ôxômiya ) Bānglā Bhaikshuki Bhujinmol Brāhmī Devanāgarī Dogri Gujarati Gupta Gurmukhī Kaithi Kalinga Khojki Khotanese Khudawadi Laṇḍā Lepcha Limbu Mahajani Meitei Mayek Modi Multani Nāgarī Nandinagari Odia ' Phags - pa Newar Ranjana Sharada Saurashtra Siddhaṃ Soyombo Sylheti Nagari Takri Tibetan Uchen Umê Tirhuta Tocharian Zanabazar Square Zhang - Zhung Drusha Marchen Marchung Pungs - chen Pungs - chung Southern Ahom Balinese Batak Baybayin Bhattiprolu Buhid Burmese Chakma Cham Grantha Goykanadi Hanunó'o Javanese Kadamba Kannada Karen Kawi Khmer Kulitan Lanna Lao Leke Lontara Malayalam Maldivian Dhives Akuru Eveyla Akuru Thaana Mon Old Makassarese Old Sundanese Pallava Pyu Rejang Rencong Sinhala Sundanese Tagbanwa Tai Le Tai Tham Tai Viet Tamil Telugu Thai Tigalari Vatteluttu Kolezhuthu Malayanma Visayan Others Boyd 's syllabic shorthand Canadian syllabics Blackfoot Déné syllabics Fox I Ge'ez Gunjala Gondi Japanese Braille Jenticha Kayah Li Kharosthi Mandombe Masaram Gondi Meroitic Miao Mwangwego Sorang Sompeng Pahawh Hmong Thomas Natural Shorthand Alphabets Linear Abkhaz Adlam Armenian Avestan Avoiuli Bassa Vah Borama Carian Caucasian Albanian Coorgi -- Cox alphabet Coptic Cyrillic Deseret Duployan shorthand Chinook writing Early Cyrillic Eclectic shorthand Elbasan Etruscan Evenki Fox II Fraser Gabelsberger shorthand Garay Georgian Asomtavruli Nuskhuri Mkhedruli Glagolitic Gothic Gregg shorthand Greek Greco - Iberian alphabet Hangul Hanifi IPA Kaddare Latin Beneventan Blackletter Carolingian minuscule Fraktur Gaelic Insular Kurrent Merovingian Sigla Sütterlin Tironian notes Visigothic Luo Lycian Lydian Manchu Mandaic Medefaidrin Molodtsov Mongolian Mru Neo-Tifinagh New Tai Lue N'Ko Ogham Oirat Ol Chiki Old Hungarian Old Italic Old Permic Orkhon Old Uyghur Osage Osmanya Pau Cin Hau Runic Anglo - Saxon Cipher Dalecarlian Elder Futhark Younger Futhark Gothic Marcomannic Medieval Staveless Sidetic Shavian Somali Tifinagh Vagindra Visible Speech Vithkuqi Wancho Zaghawa Non-linear Braille Maritime flags Morse code New York Point Semaphore line Flag semaphore Moon type Ideograms / Pictograms Adinkra Aztec Blissymbol Dongba Ersu Shaba Emoji IConji Isotype Kaidā Míkmaq Mixtec New Epoch Notation Painting Nsibidi Ojibwe Hieroglyphs Siglas poveiras Testerian Yerkish Zapotec Logograms Chinese family of scripts Chinese Characters Simplified Traditional Oracle bone script Bronze Script Seal Script large small bird - worm Hanja Idu Kanji Chữ nôm Zhuang Chinese - influenced Jurchen Khitan large script Sui Tangut Cuneiform Akkadian Assyrian Elamite Hittite Luwian Sumerian Other logo - syllabic Anatolian Bagam Cretan Isthmian Maya Proto - Elamite Yi ( Classical ) Logo - consonantal Demotic Hieratic Hieroglyphs Numerals Hindu - Arabic Abjad Attic ( Greek ) Muisca Roman Semi-syllabaries Full Celtiberian Northeastern Iberian Southeastern Iberian Khom Redundant Espanca Pahawh Hmong Khitan small script Southwest Paleohispanic Zhuyin fuhao Somacheirograms ASLwrite SignWriting si5s Stokoe Notation Syllabaries Afaka Bamum Bété Byblos Cherokee Cypriot Cypro - Minoan Ditema tsa Dinoko Eskayan Geba Great Lakes Algonquian syllabics Iban Japanese Hiragana Katakana Man'yōgana Hentaigana Sogana Jindai moji Kikakui Kpelle Linear B Linear Elamite Lisu Loma Nüshu Nwagu Aneke script Old Persian Cuneiform Sumerian Vai Woleai Yi ( Modern ) Yugtun Braille ⠃ ⠗ ⠁ ⠊ ⠇ ⠇ ⠑ Braille cell 1829 braille International uniformity ASCII braille Unicode braille patterns Braille scripts French - ordered scripts ( see for more ) Albanian Amharic Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani Belarusian Bharati Devanagari ( Hindi / Marathi / Nepali ) Bengali Punjabi Sinhalese Tamil Urdu etc. Bulgarian Burmese Cambodian Cantonese Catalan Chinese ( Mandarin, mainland ) Czech Dutch Dzongkha ( Bhutanese ) English ( Unified English ) Esperanto Estonian Faroese French Georgian German Ghanaian Greek Guarani Hawaiian Hebrew Hungarian Icelandic Inuktitut ( reassigned vowels ) Iñupiaq IPA Irish Italian Kazakh Kyrgyz Latvian Lithuanian Maltese Mongolian Māori Navajo Nigerian Northern Sami Persian Philippine Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Samoan Scandinavian Slovak South African Spanish Tatar Taiwanese Mandarin ( largely reassigned ) Thai & Lao ( Japanese vowels ) Tibetan Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese Welsh Yugoslav Reordered scripts Algerian Braille ( obsolete ) Frequency - based scripts American Braille ( obsolete ) Independent scripts Japanese Korean Two - Cell Chinese Eight - dot scripts Luxembourgish Kanji Gardner -- Salinas braille codes ( GS8 ) Symbols in braille Braille music Canadian currency marks Computer Braille Code Gardner -- Salinas braille codes ( GS8 / GS6 ) International Phonetic Alphabet ( IPA ) Nemeth braille code Braille technology Braille e-book Braille embosser Braille translator Braille watch Mountbatten Brailler Optical braille recognition Perforation Perkins Brailler Refreshable braille display Slate and stylus Braigo Persons Louis Braille Charles Barbier Valentin Haüy Thakur Vishva Narain Singh Sabriye Tenberken William Bell Wait Organisations Braille Institute of America Braille Without Borders Japan Braille Library National Braille Association Blindness organizations Schools for the blind American Printing House for the Blind Other tactile alphabets Decapoint Moon type New York Point Night writing Vibratese Related topics Accessible publishing Braille literacy RoboBraille Electronic writing systems Emoticons Emoji iConji Leet Unicode Internet slang dialects 3arabizi Alay ( Indonesia ) Denglisch Doge Fingilish ( Persian ) Greeklish Gyaru - moji ( Japan ) Jejemon ( Philippines ) Leet ( `` 1337 '' ) Lolspeak / LOLspeak / Kitteh Martian language ( Chinese ) Miguxês ( Portuguese ) Padonkaffsky jargon ( Russian ) Translit Volapuk See also English internet slang ( at Wiktionary ) SMS language Greek language Origin and genealogy Proto - Greek Pre-Greek substrate Graeco - Armenian Graeco - Aryan Graeco - Phrygian Hellenic languages Periods Mycenaean Greek ( c. 1600 -- 1100 BC ) Ancient Greek ( c. 800 -- 300 BC ) Koine Greek ( c. 300 BC -- AD 330 ) Medieval Greek ( c. 330 -- 1453 ) Modern Greek ( since 1453 ) Varieties Ancient Aeolic Arcadocypriot Attic and Ionic Doric Homeric Locrian Pamphylian Macedonian Koine Jewish Koine Greek Modern Cappadocian Misthiotika Cretan Cypriot Demotic Himariote Italiot Greco / Calabrian Griko / Apulian Katharevousa Maniot Mariupolitan Pontic Tsakonian Yevanic Phonology Ancient ( accent / teaching ) Koine Standard Modern Grammar Ancient Koine Standard Modern Writing systems Cypriot syllabary Linear B Greek alphabet History Archaic forms Attic numerals Greek numerals Orthography Diacritics Braille Cyrillization and Romanization Greeklish Literature Ancient Byzantine Modern Promotion and study Hellenic Foundation for Culture Center for the Greek Language Other Exonyms Morphemes in English Terms of endearment Place names Proverbs Greek language question Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Linear_B&oldid=854492311 '' Categories : Scripts with ISO 15924 four - letter codes Mycenaean Greek language Clay tablets Hellenic scripts Syllabary writing systems Bronze Age writing systems Aegean languages in the Bronze Age Mycenaean Crete 1900 archaeological discoveries Obsolete writing systems Scripts encoded in Unicode 4.0 Hidden categories : Articles containing Ancient Greek - language text CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Articles with short description Use British English from December 2012 Use dmy dates from May 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017 Articles with obsolete information from March 2014 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating Articles with Curlie links CS1 Greek - language sources ( el ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Afrikaans Беларуская Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Français Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Latina Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Scots Shqip Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 36 more Edit links This page was last edited on 11 August 2018, at 19 : 10 ( UTC ). 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Question: what was the writing system of the minoan called
Answer: Linear A