The mystery of the Phaistos Disk has been “solved by 99 percent” says linguist and archaeologist Gareth Owens.
Owens, who has devoted 30 years in trying to solve the puzzle, will make an official announcement of the results of his research on February 7.
Ιn an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency he said that “We are reading the Phaistos disc with the vocal values of Linear B and with the help of comparative linguistics, ie comparing with other relative languages from the Indo-European language family. Reading something, however, does not mean understanding.”
The Phaistos Disc is a disk of fired clay from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the island of Crete, possibly dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age (second millennium B.C.).
The disk is about 15 cm (5.9 in) in diameter and covered on both sides with a spiral of stamped symbols.
Its purpose and meaning, and even its original geographical place of manufacture, remain disputed, making it one of the most famous mysteries of archaeology.
This unique object is now on display at the archaeological museum of Heraklion.