Phaistos Disk

The Phaistos Disk (or Phaestos Disk) was discovered at the Minoan palace-site of Phaistos, near Hagia Triada on the south coast of Crete, in 1903, during the excavation of a site that collapsed during an earthquake ca 1700BCE. It is a clay disc, about six inches in diameter, impressed with stamps on both sides in spiralling sequence, then carefully fired. Whether the stamped glyphs represent pictograms or a syllabary has has not yet been definitely established. The disk's purpose and meaning, and even its original geographical origin is unknown. By 1700 BCE, the script called 'Linear A' was already established in use in Minoan Crete. No comparable script has been found.

There are a total of 241 figures, including human figures, fish, birds, insects, trees, bowls, shields, boats and other objects, 45 stamps (whether from wood or metal punches) in all. Many attempts have been made to decipher it, and possible interpretations include a prayer, an adventure story, a call to arms and a geometric theorem. As a stamped inscription (not inscribed like cuneiform inscriptions), the disk bears one of the earliest printed inscriptions known.

The disk is now on display at the archaeological museum of Heraklion in Crete.

The Phaistos Disk has captured the imaginations of amateur archeologists, and some of the more fanciful interpretations of its meaning are modern classics of pseudoarchaeology.