Arkalochori Axe

The bronze Arkalochori Axe is a second millennium BC Minoan votive double axe excavated by Spyridon Marinatos in 1934 in the Arkalochori cave on Crete [1] which is believed to be part of a religious ritual.[2] It is inscribed with fifteen symbols. It has been suggested that these might be Linear A but Professor Glanville Price agrees with Louis Godart that "the characters on the axe are no more than a 'pseudo-inscription' engraved by an illiterate in uncomprehending imitation of authentic Linear A characters on other similar axes."[3] The axe and the Phaistos Disc are conserved in the Iraklion Archaeological Museum.

The Inscription

Of the fifteen signs, two appear to be unique. The suggestions for comparison with Linear A and Phaistos Disc glyphs are due to Torsten Timm (2004).[4]

Reading right to left, top to bottom, the symbols are as follows.

№ Sign Comment Linear A Phaistos Disc
01 A 304 KA ??
02 AB28 I D39
03 AB01 DA
04 D02
05
06 AB05 TO ??
07 cf. 04 D02
08 AB80 MA
09 AB04 TE ? D35
10 cf. 04 D02
11 AB31 SA ?? D19
12 cf. 08 AB80 MA
13 AB06 NA ?? D23
14 Root?
15 A338  ?

References

  1. ^ Best, Jan G. P.; Woudhuizen, Fred (31 December 1989). Lost Languages from the Mediterranean. Brill. p. 97. ISBN 978-9004089341. 
  2. ^ Whittaker, Helène (2005). "Social and Symbolic Aspects of Minoan writing". European Journal of Archaeology 8 (2): 157–181. doi:10.1177/1461957105058207. 
  3. ^ Price, Glanville (2000). Encyclopedia of the languages of Europe. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 384. ISBN 978-0631220398. http://books.google.com/books?id=29BAeKHwvuoC&pg=PA354&dq=Arkalochori+Axe+symbols&hl=en&ei=diJETPWlAciOjAfK0rlV&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
  4. ^ Timm, Torsten (2004). "Der Diskos von Phaistos - Anmerkungen zur Deutung und Textstruktur". Indogermanische Forschungen (109): 204–231.  (PDF 0.5 Mb)