What is Cretan hieroglyphs?
[[File:Disque de Phaistos A.jpg|thumb|250px|The Phaistos Disc]] '''Cretan hieroglyphs''' is a [[writing system]], used in [[Crete]] from about the 20th to the 15th century BC. It is undeciphered, so it cannot be read today. For most of its history, it was used together with [[Linear A]]. Most symbols are [[pictogram]]s, for some symbols, experts do not agree on what they represent. Most of the [[corpus]] consists of short inscriptions on [[Seal (device)|seal stone]]s, and [[clay tablet]]s. The texts are usually very short, they are inscriptions on seals, and markers on [[clay]] tablets. There are three items that are noticeably different: A stone called [[Malia altar stone]], the [[Phaistos Disc]] and the [[Arkalochori Axe]]. The exact relation of these items to the rest of the [[corpus]] is unknown. In total, there are 137 symbols. 96 seem to be words, or part of words. 32 are probably [[Logogram]]s. 9 seem to represent [[fraction (mathematics)|fractions]]. There are four [[numeral]]s, standing for 1, 10, 100 and 1000. One symbol is used to separate words, like a [[hyphen]], another looks like a cross, and probably stands for the beginning of the text. The writing is probably [[syllable|syllabic]]. ==References== *J. G. Younger: The Cretan Hieroglyphic Script: A Review Article; Minos 31–32 (1996–1997), pp 379–400. {{Europe-stub}} [[Category:Unreadable writing systems]] [[Category:Minoan culture]]