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The Phaistos disk

This six-inch-diameter clay disk [drawing] [info] was found in 1908 at Phaistos on Crete, and has been dated to sometime before the Thera eruption, c1628 BC. [Thera era]

In 1975, Jean Faucounau published a little-noticed but quite-convincing translation [Amazon France $15+], arguing that the language was proto-Ionic, and that the mother-culture was closer to Troy than Crete. [info] The five vowels of proto-Ionian should have been A, E, AE, I, and O/U. [languages]

Faucounau postulates Indo-Europeans from the Danube delta migrating first to Troy c2900 BC, then around the Aegean. [map&info] (Supposedly around 2500 BC, these people named the constellations!) The culture of Troy changed c2200 from 'maritime' to 'Anatolian'. Faucounau dates the disk to 1800-1750 BC.

Faucounau also argues for significant contacts with Egypt by the Sixth Dynasty, c2200 BC.

(The 'Ionian' islands on the other, western side of Greece were named later: info)

A fan of Faucounau's called 'grapheus' has since June 2001 been posting many details to sci.archaeology. [GooJa]

Grapheus says Faucounau's translation reveals "a kind of psalm, psalmodied during the corresponding mortuary ceremony describing the history and the death of a king named Arion... Face A relates the king Arion's achievements, Face B the circumstances of his death and the details concerning his burial... The Disk is Cycladic and has been brought to Crete as a trophy, then discarded when the 'Temple Depository' at Phaistos was cleaned up after an earthquake..."

'Phaistos' can be translated as proto-Greek: "the most shiny land-mark to be seen from the sea" (ie, a lighthouse). Since it's on the southern coast of Crete, this may imply open-sea voyagers making the multiday trip from north Africa.

UPDATE: More quotes from JF's translation are posted here:

"Arion, le fils d'Argos, est sans rival."

Arion, son of Argos, is without rival.

"C'est lui qui partage le butin en provenance des combats"

It is he who divides the spoils of combat.

"C'est lui qui a detruit Iasos et par sa victoire, il l'a reduite en cendres"

It is he who destroyed Iasos, and by his victory reduced it to ashes. (Since amended by JF to 'And thanks to (Athena) Nikê, he reduced it to ashes'.)

"Il a bati des forteresses dans le pays et a Iasos, le lieu de la bataille n'est plus que cendres et 'nids de poule'"

He has conquered the fortresses in the country and Iasos, the site of the battle is no more than ashes and 'chicken nests'.

The numbering here is conventional. I've labelled the pic above to get things started-- A01 is upside down and reads clockwise.

A01: (thorn)

The 02-12 combination is very common. Faucounau translates it as 'KAS' meaning 'And for what concerns...'. The other three glyphs are the proper name 'ARGOS' with a genitive ending (the square angle).

The 'thorn' is an extra line added below the last glyph, indicating a proper name. (But it's omitted when the name refers to a place.)

A02:

PA-JI-(A)S in the nominative, translated 'child'

(This form clarifies the language as intermediate between proto-Greek and Ionian: Proto-Greek "*paWid-" -> Proto-Ionic "payis" -> Classical Ionic "paîs")

A03: (thorn)

(29 was accidentally misoriented)

A04:

A05:

Faucounau sees the break with A04 added later, and the 'KAS' squeezed in as an afterthought, probably to improve the meter.

A06:

A07:

A08:

(scribe made a correction here)

A09:

A10:

(correction)

A11:

A12: (thorn)

A13:

verb

(probable correction)

A14:

ka-te-re-pi-po-syo "And I destroyed..."

A15: (inverted?) (thorn)

skel?-ko "...Skelkos..."

A16: (thorn)

ka-s-jae-so "...and Iaesos"

A17:

(probable correction)

A18:

A19: (thorn)

A20:

A20-A21-A22 repeats A14-A15-A16

ka-te-re-pi-po-sjo skel?-ko ka-s-jae-so "And I destroyed Skelkos and Iaesos"

A21: (inverted?) (thorn)

A22: (thorn)

A23:

A24:

A25:

A26:

A27:

A28:

A29:

A30:

'ARGOS' in the accusative.

A31:

B01:

(correction)

B02:

(correction)

B03: (thorn)

B04:

22 is a demonstrative used as an introductory particle

B05:

B06: (thorn)

B07:

"Stricker of Argos" (striker?)

B08:

"fatal to Argos".

B09:

B10:

07 is a demonstrative used as an introductory particle

B11:

B12:

hurt by a javelin

B13:

a-pa-pa-jo-i = 'without light' ("being blind")

refers to how Arion died, sentence continues thru B20

(correction)

B14:

di-pro-sjo (with B15 = "falling unfortunately down from his chariot")

B15:

a-to-ko

B16:

B17:

B18: (thorn)

B19:

B20: (thorn)

B21: (thorn)

B22:

B23:

B24: (thorn)

B25:

B26: (thorn)

B27:

B28:

(probable correction)

B29:

B30: (thorn)

Glyphs: theory, French, German. Cf Linear B, Egyptian ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto

Typos: French

The following identifications are Faucounau's, with the caveat "some of these interpretations may be modified in future publications":

Young man running

Warrior

Seaman with tattoo

Captive (also used in Egyptian hieroglyphs)

Little child

Woman

Female breast (or helmet?)

Glove

Basket for winnowing

Arrow with feathers (or oar?)

Bow

Round shield = ASPIS (yields acrophone 'AS')

Club (acrophone 'AR')

Yoke of buckets

Axe

Quiver (cf 3300 BC Iceman's: info&pix)

Leather-cutting tool

Rafter

End-piece of a chadouf (shaduf, machine for pumping water: pic) [ancient Egyptian]

Drinking horn made of sea-snail? (acrophone YO/YU)

Card for spinning wheel

Leather strap (for a shoe)

Axle

Portable cattle-shed for protecting babies/animals, JF cites a reference (or beehive?)

Ship

This is very similar to an undated (JF says Bronze Age?) Swedish petroglyph: [source]

Since all other glyphs are facing right, the crossbar could be an early (furled) sail. (But JF just thinks it was accidentally reversed:)

Horn of antelope

Hide

Hock of ox

Wild cat

Ram's head

Eagle (carrying snake?)

Little Bustard (Otrix tetrax) [pix]

Tunny fish (THU-NNOS, acrophone TU)

Fly (or bee?)

Branch ((H)I-KETÊRIA, acrophone I)

Oregano plant [pic]

House leek [pic] [pic]

Daisy

Crocus

Scrotum (from castrated bull)

Shuttle for repairing fishing-nets

Hand-card

Musical instrument (depicted in Egyptian art, per JF, but also resembles pubic triangle on Hittite princess c2000 BC: pic)

Piece of fabric, cut to make a dress ("tmaeton")

JF had called this a leather-cutter, but has recently accepted a counter-proposal by Philippe Plagnol. [GooJa]

Straps of leather

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