Unearthed more than 100 years ago, the Phaistos Disc is engraved with mysterious symbols in a spiral shape that still baffles experts today.
The Phaistos Disc was discovered by Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier in 1908 in the ruins of a palace at Phaistos, an archaeological site on the southern coast of Crete, Greece. The disc is made of baked clay and is engraved with mysterious symbols that have never been deciphered. Initially, some scholars believed that the Phaistos Disc was a fake, but today most accept that the disc is genuine. They believe that the artifact originated from the Minoan civilization and was made more than 3,000 years ago.
The Minoans were a Bronze Age people who lived on the island of Crete and neighboring islands in the eastern Mediterranean. Their civilization was famous for its art and architecture, and is believed to have inspired the Mycenaean civilization in Greece.
In the 19th century, when their incredible remains were unearthed, experts named this civilization Minoan after King Minos in Greek mythology. King Minos imprisoned the Minotaur in a labyrinth beneath his castle at Knossos, Crete, until it was killed by the hero Theseus. However, experts believe that the Minoans lived on Crete around 3100 - 1150 BC, centuries before Minos and Theseus.
The Phaistos Disc is about 15 cm in diameter, with symbols engraved in two spirals on both sides. Most experts believe that these symbols are a type of writing. But despite many efforts over the past century, they have not been able to figure out their meaning.
In total, the disc has 45 symbols that appear 241 times. Some symbols clearly depict humans, others depict animals, plants, weapons, tools and many other objects. They are grouped into "words" with vertical strokes, but there is no information about their pronunciation or function.
Early interpretations suggested that the symbols on the Phaistos Disc were an ancient form of Greek writing, depicting an animal sacrifice taking place in a temple. However, a 2004 interpretation suggested that the symbols formed a letter about a land dispute written in the Luwian language of ancient Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Other experts have suggested that the disc is written in Hittite, Egyptian, or a prayer to a goddess, or a funeral song written in an unknown language.