Phaistos Disc

Phaistos Disc is a Unicode block containing the characters found on the undeciphered Phaistos Disc artefact.

The Phaistos Disc (also spelled Phaistos Disk, Phaestos Disc) is a disk of fired clay from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the Greek island of Crete, possibly dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC). It 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.

The disc was discovered in 1908 by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier in the Minoan palace-site of Phaistos, and features 241 tokens, comprising 45 unique signs, which were apparently made by pressing hieroglyphic „seals“ into a disc of soft clay, in a clockwise sequence spiraling toward the disc's center.

The Phaistos Disc captured the imagination of amateur and professional archeologists, and many attempts have been made to decipher the code behind the disc's signs. While it is not clear that it is a script, most attempted decipherments assume that it is; most additionally assume a syllabary, others an alphabet or logography. Attempts at decipherment are generally thought to be unlikely to succeed unless more examples of the signs are found, as it is generally agreed that there is not enough context available for a meaningful analysis.

Although the Phaistos Disc is generally accepted as authentic by archaeologists, a few scholars believe that the disc is a forgery or a hoax.

Eigenschaften

Bereich	101D0–101FF
Zeichen	48

Zeichenliste

Zeichentabelle

10190–101CF Ancient Symbols 10280–1029F Lycian

0: Einfache mehrsprachige Ebene

1: Zusätzliche mehrsprachige Ebene

2: Zusätzliche ideografische Ebene

3: Tertiäre ideographische Ebene

4-13: Nicht verwendet

14: Spezialisierte Zusatzebene

15: Zusätzlicher Bereich für den privaten Gebrauch – A

16: Zusätzliche Fläche zur privaten Nutzung – B