The Phaistos Disk–An Enigmatic Artifact in its Cultural Context
November 2021 | Vol. 9.11
By Giorgia Baldacci
The Phaistos Disc (Photo from A. Evans, Scripta minoa: the written documents of minoan Crete with special reference to the archives of Knossos (Band 1): The hieroglyphic and primitive linear classes, Oxford 1909)
Like the Disc itself, the circumstances of its discovery were unique and enigmatic. It was recovered in 1908 at the palatial site of Phaistos on Crete, during the fieldwork carried out by the Italian Archaeological Mission under Luigi Pernier’s direction. But it was not found during regular excavations, but rather during an evening inspection by the local foreman, in Room 101 of the North-Eastern Complex, near the Palace proper. The stratum in which the object was found was a destruction level but had been disturbed during Hellenistic times.
Plan of the site of Phaistos, Crete. Courtesy of the Centro di Archeologia Cretese.
Building 101 with the findspot of the Phaistos Disc (readapted, after L. Pernier, «Il disco di Phaestos con caratteri pittografici», Ausonia 3, 1908, 255-302)
Only recently, fieldwork carried out by Pietro Militello (2013 and 2015) clarified the context in which the Disc lay, showing that the pottery associated was largely dated to one of the first phases of the Neopalatial period, namely the beginning of Middle Minoan IIIA. This is the period of the famous palace of Knossos and not one but two local writing systems, Linear A and the even earlier Cretan Hieroglyphic system, both of which remain undeciphered.
Thanks to the Disc’s uniqueness, many contrasting views and theories on its origins and nature have developed. On the one hand, the Disc has attracted enthusiasts of mysterious objects, who have dabbled in interpretations and decipherments, many of which are pseudo-scientific. On the other hand, in academia, the Disc has been sometimes regarded with suspicion, due to the lack of parallels and the unclear contextual and chronological circumstances of its discovery. More than once since its discovery – including recently– the Disc has been condemned as a forgery.
But recent research has shown that the Disc is not a completely isolated artefact in Minoan culture. The study of the Protopalatial clay artefacts of the site, in particular the relief potmarks and the impressed fine ware, has led to clues that argue that Disc is a genuine Minoan artefact, and that clarify its chronological context.
Bowl F 4718 from Casa a Sud della Rampa, Phaistos. Photo by the Author; drawing by G. Merlatti.
Relief potmarks: sample of the motifs. Drawings by G. Merlatti
Detail of the mark on the bottom of bowl F 4718. Photo by the Author; drawing by G. Merlatti.
Signs on Phaistos Disc (Illustration from A. Evans, Scripta minoa: the written documents of minoan Crete with special reference to the archives of Knossos (Band 1): The hieroglyphic and primitive linear classes, Oxford 1909)
Relief potmarks are found on semi-coarse vessels from the three most important sites of the Western Mesara Plain (Phaistos, Hagia Triada, and Kommos) as well as from the palatial centre of Malia. Such marks are restricted to the Protopalatial era (19th and 18th c. BCE), and consist of elaborate motifs in relief on the external base of the vases These likely indicated the craftsmen or workshop that produced the vessels. Among the Phaistian vases which bear a relief potmark is the handled bowl, found in 1965 in the Casa a Sud della Rampa. The mark on this bowl bears a motif that is basically identical to sign n. 21 of the Phaistos Disc, the “comb sign.” Moreover, a very similar sign is found as an impression on a sealing from a deposit of administrative documents discovered in 1955, beneath Room 25 of the Second Palace of Phaistos.
Sealing CMS II.5, n. 246, from Phaistos (image courtesy of the CMS Heidelberg)
The fact that the same “comb” motif is found three times with minor differences in the archaeological record of Phaistos helps prove that the Disc is genuine. It would have been impossible for any hypothetical forger of the Disc, found in 1908, to have used the sealing or the bowl as a source for the motif, as they were found only decades later during regular excavations.
Another argument for the Disc’s authenticity comes from a study recently carried out by Alessandro Sanavia on the Phaistian impressed fine ware. This ware is also characteristic of the Protopalatial period and is mostly found in the Western Mesara Plain, as well as in the palatial site of Knossos. Such vases are characterized by an array of stamped decorations of a single element repeated in sequence. The impressed fine ware shows an interesting parallel with the Phaistos Disc, both in its technical aspects, being impressions made by a stamping device, and for the presence of similar images in both. Sanavia was able to find striking comparanda for six Phaistos Disc signs.
Cups with stamped decorations from Phaistos (image courtesy A. Sanavia)
Comparisons between the Phaistos Disc signs and impressed ware motifs (image courtesy A. Sanavia)
The greatest part of the Protopalatial impressed pottery at Phaistos was recovered during the excavations carried out between 1950 and 1966, while during the original campaigns by Luigi Pernier only a few impressed fragments were discovered, and these do not display relevant iconographic parallels with the Disc signs. This sequence of events means again that in 1908 the impressed ware could not have been used as a source to perpetrate a hoax.
The evidence from the Phaistian potmarks and impressed fine ware also provides important clues for dating the Disc: all the comparisons point to the very beginning of the Neopalatial period as the best fit, or around 1750 BCE. We cannot, however, exclude the possibility that the Disc was made during the last phase of the preceding Protopalatial period, Middle Minoan IIB. But what was it actually for?
The concept of ‘uniqueness’ assigned to the Phaistos Disc must be reviewed. It is true that no similar artefacts have been found in Crete or anywhere in the Aegean: the Disc remains a special artefact. But it is not utilitarian (like a gameboard), an administrative document consulted on a regular basis (like a calendar), or a something preserved temporarily for eventual disposal. The repetition of certain combinations of signs gives a strong indication that the inscription renders a text of a religious or magical nature. Moreover, the fact that the Disc had been fired intentionally, together with the unique spiral layout structure of the inscription, make it likely that this was an artifact intended for display.
Considering the Disc from an archaeological perspective, it does not appear quite as isolated as before. Given the existence of other classes of materials with similar signs, namely the Phaistian potters’ marks and impressed ware, the Disc seems to fit into the cultural context of Phaistos during the transition from the Protopalatial to the Neopalatial period. The use of writing was well known at Phaistos, but the Disc fits also into the skilled artisanal context of local ceramics manufacture (it is first of all a clay artifact!). Moreover, it fits into contemporary sealing practices, involving the impression of designs by stamping devices. While the message itself remains unclear to us, the Disc would not have been unique to those who viewed it. That is a useful starting point for any new consideration of its message and meaning.
How to cite this article:
Baldacci, G. 2021. “The Phaistos Disk–An Enigmatic Artifact in its Cultural Context” The Ancient Near East Today 9.11. Accessed at: https://anetoday.org/phaistos-disk/.
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