This chapter examines the ways in which the Linear B ‘extra’ signs – syllabograms which can in certain circumstances replace the ‘core’ signs of the Linear B syllabary – are often used as evidence for the process by which this writing system was created from its parent writing system, Linear A, and thus, by extension, for reconstructing aspects of…[Read more]

This chapter examines the ways in which the Linear B ‘extra’ signs – syllabograms which can in certain circumstances replace the ‘core’ signs of the Linear B syllabary – are often used as evidence for the process by which this writing system was created from its parent writing system, Linear A, and thus, by extension, for reconstructing aspects of…[Read more]

This chapter examines the ways in which the Linear B ‘extra’ signs – syllabograms which can in certain circumstances replace the ‘core’ signs of the Linear B syllabary – are often used as evidence for the process by which this writing system was created from its parent writing system, Linear A, and thus, by extension, for reconstructing aspects of…[Read more]

Transport stirrup jars – so-called because of the shape formed by their handles and false neck – are a common type of Mycenaean pottery: used to transport and store liquid commodities, usually assumed to be olive oil, they are found throughout the central and eastern Mediterranean. A small sub-group of these carry painted inscriptions in the Lin…[Read more]

Review of a collection of papers on variation in historical writing systems. The review focuses particularly on chapters on Linear B, Anatolian alphabets, and Hittite cuneiform.

Review of a collection of papers on variation in historical writing systems. The review focuses particularly on chapters on Linear B, Anatolian alphabets, and Hittite cuneiform.

Review of the most recent edition of Linear B inscriptions painted onto transport stirrup jars.

Review of the most recent edition of Linear B inscriptions painted onto transport stirrup jars.

This chapter explains the process by which the Linear B writing system was deciphered and shown to record a form of the Greek language, discussing the contributions of Emmett L Bennett, Alice E. Kober, Michael Ventris, and John Chadwick.

This chapter explains the process by which the Linear B writing system was deciphered and shown to record a form of the Greek language, discussing the contributions of Emmett L Bennett, Alice E. Kober, Michael Ventris, and John Chadwick.

More than 60 years after Michael Ventris’ decipherment of Linear B, 14 of its syllabic signs remain ‘undeciphered’: despite many proposals to assign sound-values to these signs, none has yet been officially accepted. This paper is based on part of a study investigating new approaches to these undeciphered signs: as signs which cannot yet be read…[Read more]

This article re-examines the evidence for the value of the Linear B sign pu2, in particular its appearance in the term da-pu2-ri-to- ‘labyrinth’, and demonstrates that it stands specifically for the value /phu/ (contrary to the usual assumption that it represents both /phu/ and /bu/). It then discusses the further implications of this con…[Read more]

This article re-examines the evidence for the value of the Linear B sign pu2, in particular its appearance in the term da-pu2-ri-to- ‘labyrinth’, and demonstrates that it stands specifically for the value /phu/ (contrary to the usual assumption that it represents both /phu/ and /bu/). It then discusses the further implications of this con…[Read more]

This is the accepted version of the paper; the published version is available at doi.org/10.1075/wll.00025.jud (or by contacting me). This paper investigates the issue of orthographic variation in the Linear B writing system in order to explore ways in which studying a writing system’s orthographic conventions may shed light on the history of i…[Read more]

This is the accepted version of the paper; the published version is available at doi.org/10.1075/wll.00025.jud (or by contacting me). This paper investigates the issue of orthographic variation in the Linear B writing system in order to explore ways in which studying a writing system’s orthographic conventions may shed light on the history of i…[Read more]