Linear B (Knossos)

Linear A, the language of Minoan Crete, was supplanted by Linear B, tablets engraved with which have been found dating back from about 1200 bc. A number of clay tablets with Linear B script on them found at Knossos were preserved thanks to a fire that baked them. British architect Michael Ventris and his colleague John Chadwick deciphered the writing in 1952 and identified the language (Mycenaean) as an archaic form of Greek. This image shows a clay tablet from Knossos held at the British Museum in London, inscribed in Linear B. It dates back to around 1400 to 1450 bc and is 15.5 cm in length.

British Museum, London, UK/Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York

Appears in these articles

Archaeology; Greek Language; Ventris, Michael George Francis; Evans, Sir Arthur John; Knossos

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