The Decipherment of Linear B (Canto) - Softcover

Chadwick, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521398304 ISBN 13: 9780521398305

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1990

Synopsis

The languages of the ancient world and the mysterious scripts, long undeciphered, in which they were encoded have represented one of the most intriguing problems of classical archaeology in modern times. This celebrated account of the decipherment of Linear B in the 1950s by Michael Ventris was written by his close collaborator in the momentous discovery. In revealing the secrets of Linear B it offers a valuable survey of late Minoan and Myceanean archaeology, uncovering fascinating details of the religion and economic history of an ancient civilisation.

About this title

Book Description:

Fascinating details of the religious and economic history of an ancient pre-Hellenic civilization are revealed in this celebrated account of the decipherment of Linear B from Mycenaean Greek in the 1950s.

Review:

'In this present short book - lucid, concise and admirable - Chadwick tells us something of Ventris and his mind, and of the problems involved in the decipherment of Minoan-Mycenaean scripts. It is written for the layman and very well written. It is not only an account of a startling piece of philological and archaeological research, but a simple, moving human story.' The Spectator

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0521398304
• ISBN 13: 9780521398305
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 180