Linear B: the story on HearLore

Linear B

The earliest known examples of Linear B date to around 1450 BC. This script appears in the palace archives at Knossos, Pylos, Thebes and Mycenae. It evolved from an earlier system called Linear A. Scholars believe Linear A may have recorded a language now lost to history. The Minoan civilization on Crete likely used this predecessor for their own tongue. Linear B represents the earliest attested form of Greek writing. It predates the standard Greek alphabet by several centuries. The script disappeared with the fall of the Mycenaean civilization during the Late Bronze Age collapse. No evidence of writing survives from the subsequent period known as the Greek Dark Ages.

Decipherment History

English architect Michael Ventris deciphered Linear B in 1952 based on research by American classicist Alice Kober. Ventris made his first public announcement about the breakthrough on the 1st of July 1952 via BBC Radio. He described the language as difficult archaic Greek that was five hundred years older than Homer. John Chadwick helped develop the vocabulary and grammar of Mycenaean Greek alongside Ventris. Their collaborative work resulted in the book Documents in Mycenaean Greek published in 1956. This publication appeared shortly after Ventris died in an automobile accident. Early reception included skepticism from Professor A. J. Beattie of Edinburgh who published doubts in the later 1950s. Saul Levin considered the script partly Greek but with an earlier substrate in his 1964 book. By the mid-1950s scholars like Carl Blegen and Sterling Dow viewed the discovery favorably. The script remains the only Bronze Age Aegean system to have been successfully decoded.

When did Linear B first appear in history?

The earliest known examples of Linear B date to around 1450 BC. This script appears in the palace archives at Knossos, Pylos, Thebes and Mycenae.

Who deciphered Linear B and when was it announced?

What is the structure of Linear B signs and symbols?

Linear B consists of approximately 87 syllabic signs and over 100 ideographic symbols. Each sign represents a monosyllable type V or CV structure while some characters function as diphthongs like ai or au within specific words.

Where were Linear B tablets discovered and how many exist?

Over 6,058 known inscriptions total include approximately 5,500 fragments comprising about 4,158 tablets from Knossos alone. Pylos contains roughly 1,026 tablets plus sealing nodules labels and stirrup jars.

Why did Linear B survive for thousands of years?

When buildings housing these tablets were destroyed by fire the clay baked and preserved them. This accidental baking saved what would otherwise have crumbled into dust over millennia.

Linear B

Decipherment History

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Common questions

When did Linear B first appear in history?

Who deciphered Linear B and when was it announced?

What is the structure of Linear B signs and symbols?

Where were Linear B tablets discovered and how many exist?

Why did Linear B survive for thousands of years?

Syllabic Structure

Administrative Function

Archaeological Corpus