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Is the Archanes script of the late Prepalatial seals the first stage of Cretan Hieroglyphic, or a separate script?

Asked 31 Oct 2026 by ·2 answers·0·0 following
Two answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible.

Why it matters

Seals from the Archanes-Phourni cemetery of about 2100 to 1900 BC carry a recurring sequence, the Archanes formula, in signs that look like pictures but recur with the frequencies of a syllabary⁠[1]⁠[2]. Decorte argued in 2018 that the group should be defined on its own terms, Jasink and Weingarten call it a third Minoan script, and the 2024 volume rejects the older view that it is early Linear A⁠[1]⁠[3]⁠[4]. The formula recurs on the Neopalatial seal from the Knossos cult centre, where it is linked to fraction signs⁠[5].

Answers 2

Evidence: 1 for
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for
Still possible

History

  1. Roeland P.-J. E. Decorte: decorte and Jasink and Weingarten treat the Archanes seals as a script in their own right, and the 2024 volume no…For: The Archanes script is a separate script, distinct from both Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A.
  2. Athanasia Kanta et al.: the Archanes formula recurs on the Neopalatial hieroglyphic seal KN S (4/4) 01 from the Knossos cult centre, linked…For: The Archanes script is the first stage of Cretan Hieroglyphic.
  3. Anna Margherita Jasink: decorte and Jasink and Weingarten treat the Archanes seals as a script in their own right, and the 2024 volume no…For: The Archanes script is a separate script, distinct from both Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A.
  4. Cassandra M. Donnelly: decorte and Jasink and Weingarten treat the Archanes seals as a script in their own right, and the 2024 volume no…For: The Archanes script is a separate script, distinct from both Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A.
  5. Session 1: raised the question, proposed two answers and found two results bearing on its answers
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