Minoan Writing

types of writing discovered on the island of Crete and on mainland Greece, which are indicative of the culture (see) that preceded the classical culture of Greece. Minoan writing was first studied by the British archaeologist A. Evans during excavations at the palace of Cnossus (Knossos) in 1900. He noted three stages in its development: (1) pictographic, or hieroglyphic, writing (first half of the second millennium B.C.), later differentiated by some scholars as hieroglyphic writings A (c. 2100-1900 B.C.) and B (c. 1900-1700 B.C.); (2) Linear Script A (1800-1500 B.C.); and (3) Linear Script B (1500-1400 B.C.).

Hieroglyphic writings A and B have not been deciphered. The British scholars M. Ventris and J. Chadwick deciphered Linear B and established that all the tablets were written with a syllabic script in the archaic Achaean dialect of Greek, which did not correspond to its classical rules. Linear A, also undeciphered, has 55 symbols in common with Linear B. The syllabic Cyprian writing system developed on the basis of Minoan writing.