Phaistos disk is one the mysteries in archeology. It is a disk made of clay of about 15 cm in diameter. It has symbols impressed upon both the sides. It belongs to the Minoan palace of Phaistos. It probably dates to the 2nd millennium BC. It was discovered by Luigi Pernier, an Italian archeologist.

It was discovered in the year 1908 in site of the Minoan palace site. It is located in the Greek island of Crete. It was only by the 19th century the right location of it was found. It was found by a British admiral named Spratt. Many attempts have been carried about to decipher the symbols that are inscribed on this disk.

Archeologists have come up with lots of finding as well, but it still remains as a big dispute. There are many claims that they make, but nothing is confirmed nor is the script totally deciphered. The exact location, its purpose etc are also things that archeologists still dispute about. Due this uncertainty and vagueness associated with it, it still remains as one the mysteries of archeology. It still fascinates archeologists and so studies and researches are still being carries on about it. It is right now being displayed in the archeological museum of Heraklion.

There are a lot of observations made by the archeologists regarding the symbols in the disk. Lots of studies on this were made in the 20th century. These symbols are arranged in spirals. These symbols were impressed upon the damp disk. Some they are pictographs and ideograms. These are easier to understand. The ones that are really vague are other representations, that aren't as obvious as these. They say that, there are about forty five symbols in it.

These symbols resemble figures like human, plants, weapons etc. these symbols have been repeated two forty one times in the disk. There are also diagonal lines, like slashes that occur in it. It is repeated for eighteen times in it. There are lots of interpretations given to these, some consider them be related to religious discourse, some consider them to be a list of soldiers, geometric theorem, etc.

This anyway remains as an archeological mystery. Some of the archeologists hope to decipher it, while some thinks there aren't enough clues for it. The difficulty is in confirming the interpretations. There is nothing to refer to as no second disk has been found after this. Since the context in which it belongs too is disputed, deciphering it becomes all the more difficult. Archeologists are left with very few clues about it. They are still on the way to decipher it and studies are still on its way.

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Phaistos disk is still considered as an archeological mystery. Click here to know more about Phaistos disk decipherment

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