The Phaistos disc is the oldest inscribed monument of Minoan Crete. It is a disc of fired clay bearing an inscription on both sides. It is impossible to date it with any certainty. This unique find was made in 1908, in the northern wing of the palace at Phaistos. In the same stratum there were other finds from different periods which complicate the dating issue. In spite of these stratigraphic obscurities, today it is certain that the Phaistos disc dates to the end of the Middle Minoan period, that is a little before 1600 BC.
The text on the disc consists of a series of signs which are integrated into continuous parts of a spiralling band, and should be read starting from the outside moving towards the centre, retrograde. The signs were stamped on the clay while it was still damp, and the text had been carefully designed so that all the signs would fit in the restricted area of the surface, and continues on the reverse of the disc. Among the stamped signs, human figures and objects as well as linear signs are discernible. The inscription consists of 242 signs, forming 61 groups, some of which are repeated many times. There are 45 signs, but it is thought that the system contained at least 60. According to the latest research, the inscription represents a simple syllabary.
The system is not related to later Minoan scripts; the similarity between some ideograms on the disc and certain hieroglyphic signs and some of the linear script appears to be accidental. Conversely, the similarity between certain signs and characteristic pictographic signs of Old Palace art, such as the argonaut, the ship, the rosette and wildcat heads indicates cultural similarities of the language of the disc with Minoan civilization.
Ever since the discovery of the Phaistos disc, countless unsuccessful attempts have been made to interpret and decipher it. Some theories interpret the disc not as an inscription but as an unusual tool or implement. Science fiction enthusiasts have also contributed to the debate.
One interpretations argues that the disc is not Cretan, but comes from another civilization, contemporaneous with the Minoan. The main arguments of this theory were the uniqueness of the disc and the fact that some signs derive from other second millenium civilizations. However, it does have signs in common with hieroglyphic script, the first Minoan script - but the connection with Minoan pictography is more obvious. These few but important findings have led us to the conclusion that the disc does come from Minoan Crete, or at least from somewhere in its sphere of influence, and that the text is a very early Aegean script. Elements of this script have been identified in Minoan pictography and in the later Cretan linear scripts.
Reconstruction of the Phaistos disk.
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