Has the mysterious Phaistos Disc, discovered on Crete in 1908, finally been deciphered?
The nearly 6" diameter disc has been tentatively dated as from between 1850B.C. and 1600B.C. as actual testing on the object has yet to be done, leading a few to suspect it might be a forgery[1]. In any case, it is generally accepted as authentic on several grounds, and now Gareth Owens, a noted linguist and archaeologist, has claimed to have deciphered the symbols contained in a spiral on both sides of the clay disc.
He isn't the first. IIRC, last year or maybe the one prior, there was a claim that the disc represents a calendar which combined both Lunar and Solar Time.
For his part, Owens has said that "without a doubt" it is actually a religious text and the key to unlocking the "text" is the Minoan goddess of love, Astarte.
Basically, according to Owens, the disc is a religious text about a 'pregnant goddess' who takes shape in the face of Astarte.
Personally, I'd like to see his paper on his conclusions.
1. including by Jerome M. Eisenberg, a leading New York antiquities dealer and founding editor of Minerva, an archaeological journal, who passed away a little over a week ago.
The nearly 6" diameter disc has been tentatively dated as from between 1850B.C. and 1600B.C. as actual testing on the object has yet to be done, leading a few to suspect it might be a forgery[1]. In any case, it is generally accepted as authentic on several grounds, and now Gareth Owens, a noted linguist and archaeologist, has claimed to have deciphered the symbols contained in a spiral on both sides of the clay disc.
He isn't the first. IIRC, last year or maybe the one prior, there was a claim that the disc represents a calendar which combined both Lunar and Solar Time.
For his part, Owens has said that "without a doubt" it is actually a religious text and the key to unlocking the "text" is the Minoan goddess of love, Astarte.
Basically, according to Owens, the disc is a religious text about a 'pregnant goddess' who takes shape in the face of Astarte.
Personally, I'd like to see his paper on his conclusions.
1. including by Jerome M. Eisenberg, a leading New York antiquities dealer and founding editor of Minerva, an archaeological journal, who passed away a little over a week ago.
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