# Cypro-Minoan > Cypro-Minoan is the undeciphered syllabic script of Late Bronze Age Cyprus, used from about 1550 to 1050 BC on some 250 objects that carry about 4,000… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-27T17:47:16+00:00 --- **MYS** 0CWRBGTW47P1·Mystery · script # Cypro-Minoan **0** [Follow][Ask a question](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=cypro-minoan) Cypro-Minoan ![Cypro-Minoan clay tablet from Enkomi, Cyprus](https://mysteriesdept.com/media/folio/cypro-minoan-lead) Mikhail Ryazanov · CC BY-SA 3.0 Where Cyprus (Enkomi, Kition, Kalavasos, Kourion, Palaepaphos); Ugarit; Tiryns⁠[[1]] Date c. 1550 to 1050 BC⁠[[1]] Corpus About 250 inscribed objects, about 4,000 signs⁠[[2]] Longest text Clay cylinder from Enkomi (##097), 217 signs⁠[[11]] Editions Olivier 2007 (217 inscriptions); Ferrara 2012 and 2013 (about 244)⁠[[15]] Sign inventory Olivier 96 signs; Ferrara 74; Valério 57 to 70; Polig and Donnelly 88⁠[[7]] Unicode Encoded in Unicode 14.0 (2021), U+12F90 to U+12FFF, 99 characters⁠[[2]] Open corpus None; the sign images used in computational work are in copyright⁠[[17]] Status Partly explained Questions 0 of 5 answered People [**Jean-Pierre Olivier** Epigraphist; HoChyMin corpus and sign list](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/people/FIG0CWRBJHJ3ZVR/jean-pierre-olivier)[**Miguel Valério** Linguist; signary and proposed values](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/people/FIG0CWRBK9044HZ/miguel-valerio)[**Silvia Ferrara** Philologist (Bologna); corpus volumes and INSCRIBE](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/people/FIG0CWRBK162R7A/silvia-ferrara)[**Cassandra M. Donnelly** Archaeologist; potmarks, writers and the integrated signary](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/people/FIG0CWRBKGT3X7T/cassandra-m-donnelly)[**Emilia Masson** Epigraphist; the CM1, CM2, CM3 classification](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/people/FIG0CWRBJSC3M5B/emilia-masson) All 7 people › [**Richard Janko** Classicist; Enkomi cylinder as an Eteocypriot account](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/people/FIG0CWRBKRM5ZA4/richard-janko)[**Thomas G. Palaima** Aegean epigraphist; critique of decipherment schemes](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/people/FIG0CWRBM0E6JSN/thomas-g-palaima) Catalog key**MYS** 0CWRBGTW47P1 Cypro-Minoan is the writing of Bronze Age Cyprus. Arthur Evans named it in 1909 for its likeness to Linear A on Crete, from which it is thought to derive, and it later gave rise to the Cypriot syllabary used for Greek and Eteocypriot in the first millennium BC⁠[[1]]⁠[[2]]. About 250 inscribed objects survive from about 1550 to 1050 BC: clay tablets, small clay balls, cylinders, vessels and potmarks, metal bowls and ingots, ivory and stone. Most come from Cypriot sites, above all Enkomi, Kition and Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios, with a group from Ugarit on the Syrian coast and single finds as far as Tiryns⁠[[1]]⁠[[2]]. The whole corpus holds about 4,000 signs, against more than 7,000 for Linear A and about 30,000 for Linear B when it was deciphered⁠[[2]]. Nothing in it can be read. The script is agreed to be a syllabary of open syllables, from the number of signs and the analogy with its relatives, and some signs look like Linear A or Cypriot syllabic signs with known values; but there is no bilingual, the texts are short, and the language is unknown⁠[[1]]⁠[[3]]. Palaima concluded in 1989 that every decipherment scheme then on offer was improbable, and no later one has changed that verdict⁠[[3]]⁠[[2]]. The work of the last two decades has been to fix the corpus and the sign list. Olivier's 2007 edition gave 217 inscriptions and 96 signs; Ferrara's 2012 and 2013 volumes added 27 more texts and argued that the three "scripts" of the standard classification are one; Valério's 2016 thesis built a signary of 57 to 70 syllabograms and proposed values for 60 sign forms⁠[[4]]⁠[[5]]⁠[[6]]⁠[[7]]. A 2022 neural-network study of 2,899 sign images supported a single script whose shapes vary with the medium, and in 2021 the script entered Unicode on Olivier's list⁠[[8]]⁠[[2]]. Of the 5 questions on this site, 0 are answered. The most likely answer to “Is Cypro-Minoan one script or several?”, not yet confirmed: cypro-Minoan is a single script; the subgroups reflect writing medium, writer and date, not separate systems. ### Key questionsset by the editors [**Is Cypro-Minoan one script or several?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBPPC0ZJY/is-cypro-minoan-one-script-or-several)Most likely: cypro-Minoan is a single script; the subgroups reflect writing medium, writer and date, not separate systems [**What language or languages does Cypro-Minoan write?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBPY653KZ/what-language-or-languages-does-cypro-minoan-write)Most likely: the language is unrelated to any known language, and the evidence cannot yet identify it [All 5 questions ](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=cypro-minoan) ## The object The corpus is a set of objects, not an archive. Eight tablets or tablet fragments carry over 2,000 signs, half the total: the small archaic tablet no. 1885 and three large tablets from Enkomi, and four from Ugarit⁠[[2]]⁠[[9]]. About 90 small clay balls of 1.5 to 2.3 cm from Enkomi and Kition carry three to five signs each; six clay cylinders, one from Enkomi and five from Kalavasos, carry the longest texts, the Enkomi cylinder with 217 signs⁠[[10]]⁠[[11]]. The rest are short marks on vessels, ingots, bowls and seals, many of them one or two signs, which makes it hard to say where Cypro-Minoan ends and potters' marks begin⁠[[12]]⁠[[13]]. [![The large Enkomi tablets (the CM2 group)](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/cab28614fff2a214b5038347a3ff70cf5b86211394312c1ef2719f25b5f5c081/w800)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC0727895/the-large-enkomi-tablets-the-cm2-group) The large Enkomi tablets (the CM2 group)Jastrow (Marie-Lan Nguyen). Public domain[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC0727895/the-large-enkomi-tablets-the-cm2-group) The texts are known from three printed editions. Olivier's Édition holistique (HoChyMin, 2007) numbered 217 inscriptions ##001 to ##217 and set out 96 signs; Ferrara's two Oxford volumes (2012, 2013), which grew out of her 2006 UCL thesis, analysed 243 and added later finds⁠[[14]]; new pieces, such as a Canaanite jar from Tiryns with a previously unseen sign, appear in Kadmos⁠[[4]]⁠[[15]]⁠[[6]]⁠[[16]]. None of this is available as open data. The 2022 Bologna study built a set of 2,899 sign images from the printed drawings but could not release it because the drawings are in copyright; its code is public under a non-commercial licence⁠[[8]]⁠[[17]]. The INSCRIBE project at Bologna (2018 to 2024) set out to build the first complete digital corpus of the three undeciphered Aegean scripts with 3D models; what is public for Cypro-Minoan is two 3D models of clay-ball replicas⁠[[18]]⁠[[19]]. Polig and Donnelly's 2022 signary rests on a digital sign database and sub-millimetre 3D scans that have not been released⁠[[20]]. The script was encoded in Unicode 14.0 in 2021: 99 characters at U+12F90 to U+12FFF, named from Olivier's catalogue numbers on the understanding that the list is a catalogue, not a decipherment⁠[[2]]⁠[[1]]. **Map of the region** [Open the full map](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/map) [+][−] 1 **Enkomi** Archaeological site Within 1 km 2 **Kition** Archaeological site Within 1 km 3 **Cyprus** Island A region 4 **Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios** Archaeological site Within 100 m 5 **Ugarit (Ras Shamra)** Archaeological site Within 1 km MappedWithin 1 kmA regionNatural Earth ### Timeline **Timeline** Squeezed where little happened. Each mark is a published claim, by how it stands:AcceptedMost likelyStill possibleDisputedRuled out ## What is known The script runs mostly left to right, separates words with a divider, has numerals like those of the other Aegean scripts, and has too few signs to be logographic and too many to be an alphabet, so it is taken to be a syllabary of open syllables⁠[[1]]. Its sign shapes link it to Linear A, which fits the archaic tablet no. 1885, the oldest text of any length, of Late Cypriot IB⁠[[9]]⁠[[2]]. A few signs carry over into the Cypriot syllabary with known values, which is the only external anchor for any reading⁠[[7]]. The classification has changed. Masson divided the texts into an archaic group and CM1, CM2 and CM3, treated as different scripts or stages; CM2 is essentially the three large Enkomi tablets (with a fourth long text), some 1,300 to 1,500 signs in a squarish style, and CM3 the small group from Ugarit⁠[[21]]⁠[[1]]. Ferrara showed that the three groups are contemporary, share statistical and combinatorial regularities and correlate with the material written on, and argued for one script⁠[[5]]. Valério built a signary from homogeneous subcorpora without the division and found 57 to 70 syllabograms; Polig and Donnelly counted 88 signs with 278 variants and also treat the corpus as one script⁠[[7]]⁠[[20]]. [![Inscribed clay balls from Enkomi and Kition (about 90)](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/322e8ccbe978152af5e5e319babc5eaeba1a4fba76ea8ae4a2677533df50f532/w800)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC0YG3ANZ/inscribed-clay-balls-from-enkomi-and-kition-about-90) Inscribed clay balls from Enkomi and Kition (about 90)Jastrow (Marie-Lan Nguyen). Public domain[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC0YG3ANZ/inscribed-clay-balls-from-enkomi-and-kition-about-90) The function of some objects is partly known. The clay balls repeat sign sequences across finds and were probably tokens or labels in an administrative or allotment system; Janko reads the structure of the Enkomi cylinder as an account⁠[[10]]⁠[[11]]. Many vessel inscriptions are mercantile, and the script's users were traders more than palace scribes⁠[[22]]. ## What has been tested The three-script division has been tested twice by measurement. Ferrara's statistics on sign frequency and combination found no difference between the groups that the writing medium could not explain⁠[[5]]. Corazza and colleagues trained an unsupervised convolutional network on 2,899 sign images from 213 inscriptions and found that the shapes cluster by support (clay tablet or other medium) rather than by subgroup, which they took as support for a single script⁠[[8]]. Both tests use the same printed drawings, so drawing conventions could shape the result. Proposed sign values have been tested only by internal consistency. Valério assigned values by comparison with Linear A and the Cypriot syllabary, then checked them by transliterating the corpus and looking for recurring words and names; he regards nine values as confirmed and reads several personal names known from cuneiform in the Ugarit tablet RS 20.25⁠[[7]]. No proposed value has been confirmed by a bilingual or by a reading that predicts the content of an unread text. Palaima's survey of earlier decipherments found none that survived this standard⁠[[3]]. ## The readings On what the script is, two positions stand. One is the older view that CM1, CM2 and CM3 are distinct scripts or stages, possibly writing different languages, with CM3 an adaptation used at Ugarit⁠[[21]]. The other, now the majority view, is that there is one script whose sign shapes vary with the writing surface and the writer, applied perhaps to more than one language⁠[[5]]⁠[[7]]⁠[[20]]⁠[[8]]. On language, nothing is established. Janko argues that the Enkomi cylinder is in Eteocypriot, the non-Greek language later written in the Cypriot syllabary; Valério allows for Eteocypriot on Cyprus and a Semitic language at Ugarit; other identifications have been proposed and none accepted⁠[[11]]⁠[[7]]⁠[[3]]. ### Published claims **Published claims and their status** | Year | Who | Claimed | Status | Reason | |---|---|---|---|---| | 1909 | Arthur Evans⁠[23] | The Bronze Age signs found on Cyprus are a linear script derived from the Minoan writing of Crete, which he called Cypro-Minoan. | Accepted | Derivation from Linear A is the accepted view and the name has stuck, though the route of transmission is not documented⁠[1]⁠[7]. | | 1974 | Emilia Masson⁠[21] | The texts fall into an archaic group and three scripts or stages, CM1, CM2 and CM3, with CM3 an adaptation used at Ugarit. | Disputed | Ferrara showed the three groups are contemporary and share their regularities, and a 2022 network study grouped the signs by writing medium instead⁠[5]⁠[8]. | | 1989 | Thomas G. Palaima⁠[3] | Every past and current decipherment of Cypro-Minoan is improbable: the texts are too few and short, there is no bilingual and the language is unknown. | Accepted | No decipherment proposed since has been accepted, and Ferrara reached the same verdict in 2012⁠[5]⁠[2]. | | 2007 | Jean-Pierre Olivier⁠[4] | The corpus holds 217 inscriptions written with 96 distinct signs. | Disputed | Later signaries merge many of his signs as variants and count 57 to 70 or 88, though his numbering is the one Unicode adopted⁠[7]⁠[20]⁠[1]. | | 2012 | Silvia Ferrara⁠[5] | CM1, CM2 and CM3 are one script whose sign shapes differ with the material written on, not three scripts. | Accepted | Valério's signary, Polig and Donnelly's sign database and the 2022 network study all reached the same result⁠[7]⁠[20]⁠[8]. | | 2016 | Miguel Valério⁠[7] | Cypro-Minoan has 57 to 70 syllabograms once variants are merged. | Disputed | Polig and Donnelly count 88 signs from the same corpus, so the inventory is still disputed⁠[20]. | | 2016 | Miguel Valério⁠[7] | Values for 60 sign forms can be proposed from Linear A and the Cypriot syllabary, nine of them confirmed, and the Ugarit tablet RS 20.25 contains personal names known from cuneiform. | Still possible | The values rest on comparison and internal consistency; no bilingual or newly found text has yet tested them⁠[7]. | | 2017 | Silvia Ferrara and Miguel Valério⁠[10] | The inscribed clay balls were tokens or labels in an administrative or allotment system, as their repeated sign sequences show. | Most likely | The repetitions across balls found together are documented, but no ball has been read⁠[10]. | | 2020 | Richard Janko⁠[11] | The 217-sign cylinder from Enkomi is an accounting document, and its language may be Eteocypriot. | Still possible | The account structure is an argument from layout; the language cannot be tested until sign values are secure⁠[7]. | | 2022 | Michele Corazza, Fabio Tamburini, Miguel Valério and Silvia Ferrara⁠[8] | A neural network trained on 2,899 sign images without prior knowledge groups the signs by writing medium, not by Masson's subgroups, so Cypro-Minoan is one script. | Most likely | No study has challenged it, but it uses the same printed drawings as earlier work, so drawing conventions could shape the result⁠[8]⁠[20]. | | 2022 | Martina Polig and Cassandra M. Donnelly⁠[20] | An integrated signary of the whole corpus has 88 signs with 278 variants. | Disputed | Valério's count of 57 to 70 merges more of these forms, and the 3D scans behind the count have not been released⁠[7]⁠[20]. | | 2024 | Cassandra M. Donnelly⁠[22] | Cypro-Minoan was written mostly by merchants on goods and vessels rather than by palace scribes, and it outlived the collapse of about 1177 BC. | Still possible | It is an interpretation of the find contexts that has not been tested against an alternative⁠[22]⁠[12]. | ## What would settle it An open sign-level corpus is the first need: every inscription transcribed in Olivier's or Unicode sign numbers with object, site, context and medium, so that frequency, position and repeated-sequence statistics can be re-run and the single-script result tested on new drawings or on the 3D scans rather than on one set of published drawings⁠[[17]]⁠[[20]]. Sign values would be settled by a bilingual, most likely from Ugarit with Akkadian or Ugaritic, or by a set of values that turns the Ugarit names and the clay balls into consistent sequences and predicts the reading of a newly found text⁠[[7]]⁠[[10]]. ## Questions 0 of 5 questions are answered. **Key questions** [All 5](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=cypro-minoan) **0** [Is Cypro-Minoan one script or several?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBPPC0ZJY/is-cypro-minoan-one-script-or-several) 0 of 1 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: cypro-Minoan is a single script; the subgroups reflect writing medium, writer and date, not separate systems **0** [What language or languages does Cypro-Minoan write?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBPY653KZ/what-language-or-languages-does-cypro-minoan-write) 0 of 2 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: the language is unrelated to any known language, and the evidence cannot yet identify it ## Evidence 12 findings [Is Cypro-Minoan one script or several?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBPPC0ZJY/is-cypro-minoan-one-script-or-several)4 findings [Cypro-Minoan is a single script; the subgroups reflect writing medium, writer and date, not separate systems.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBQXE3MHB/cypro-minoan-is-a-single-script-the-subgroups-reflect)Most likely +[The three groups are contemporary, share statistical and combinatorial regularities and correlate with the material written on.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBR583N34/the-three-groups-are-contemporary-share-statistical-and)Supported +[An unsupervised network on 2,899 sign images found clusters by support rather than by subgroup.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBRD23BC4/an-unsupervised-network-on-2-899-sign-images-found-clusters)Suggestive +[An integrated signary of 88 signs with 278 variants covers the whole corpus.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBRMW7Z65/an-integrated-signary-of-88-signs-with-278-variants-covers)Suggestive [CM1, CM2 and CM3 are distinct scripts or distinct adaptations, possibly for different languages.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBRWP0WWG/cm1-cm2-and-cm3-are-distinct-scripts-or-distinct-adaptations)Disputed −[CM2 is almost entirely the long Enkomi tablets and CM3 the Ugarit texts, so subgroup and medium or place coincide.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBS4G1JZ0/cm2-is-almost-entirely-the-long-enkomi-tablets-and-cm3-the)Supported [What language or languages does Cypro-Minoan write?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBPY653KZ/what-language-or-languages-does-cypro-minoan-write)3 findings [Cypro-Minoan on Cyprus writes Eteocypriot, the non-Greek language later written in the Cypriot syllabary.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBSM42AN0/cypro-minoan-on-cyprus-writes-eteocypriot-the-non-greek)Still possible +[The structure of the Enkomi cylinder is read as an account in a language that could be Eteocypriot.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBSVY4JBS/the-structure-of-the-enkomi-cylinder-is-read-as-an-account)Speculative [One script was used for more than one language, including a Semitic language at Ugarit.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBT3R00C7/one-script-was-used-for-more-than-one-language-including-a)Still possible +[Valério reads several personal names known from cuneiform in the Ugarit tablet RS 20.25.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBTBJ2BR9/valerio-reads-several-personal-names-known-from-cuneiform-in)Speculative [The language is unrelated to any known language, and the evidence cannot yet identify it.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBTKC4653/the-language-is-unrelated-to-any-known-language-and-the)Most likely +[All decipherment schemes up to 1989 were judged improbable, and none since has been accepted.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBTV63NJN/all-decipherment-schemes-up-to-1989-were-judged-improbable)Supported [Are any Cypro-Minoan sign values established?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBQ603RX0/are-any-cypro-minoan-sign-values-established)2 findings [A small set of values, inherited from Linear A and passed on to the Cypriot syllabary, is secure.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBVAT6F9F/a-small-set-of-values-inherited-from-linear-a-and-passed-on)Most likely +[Nine values are regarded as confirmed by comparison and distribution.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBVJM32QA/nine-values-are-regarded-as-confirmed-by-comparison-and)Suggestive [No value is secure; shape similarity across scripts is not evidence of sound.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBVTE6T09/no-value-is-secure-shape-similarity-across-scripts-is-not)Most likely +[Sign inventories range from 57 to 96 depending on the researcher, so even the units to which values attach are disputed.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBW286G11/sign-inventories-range-from-57-to-96-depending-on-the)Supported [How many syllabograms does Cypro-Minoan have?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBQDT6FAE/how-many-syllabograms-does-cypro-minoan-have)2 findings [About 57 to 70 syllabograms, once variants are merged.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBWHW64JY/about-57-to-70-syllabograms-once-variants-are-merged)Most likely +[A palaeographic signary from homogeneous subcorpora gives 57 to 70 signs.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBWSP5C8Z/a-palaeographic-signary-from-homogeneous-subcorpora-gives-57)Suggestive [About 88 to 96 distinct signs, close to Olivier's list.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBX1G5NNF/about-88-to-96-distinct-signs-close-to-oliviers-list)Most likely +[Polig and Donnelly's integrated signary has 88 signs with 278 variants.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBX9A2ANF/polig-and-donnellys-integrated-signary-has-88-signs-with-278)Suggestive [What were the inscribed clay balls for?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/questions/QST0CWRBQNM41EF/what-were-the-inscribed-clay-balls-for)1 finding [The balls were administrative tokens or lots naming people or units, used in allocation or sortition.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/answers/ANS0CWRBXRY5T6S/the-balls-were-administrative-tokens-or-lots-naming-people)Most likely +[Sign sequences repeat across balls found together.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/evidence/EVD0CWRBY0R2AVH/sign-sequences-repeat-across-balls-found-together)Supported ## Artifacts The films, photos, papers and objects this mystery rests on, each with its own key and its distance from the original. **Artifacts** [See all 10](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts) Drawing2 steps from object [Archaic tablet no. 1885 from Enkomi](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRBZQE6HKE/archaic-tablet-no-1885-from-enkomi) Duhoux (after Olivier) · publisher Photo1 step from object [The large Enkomi tablets (the CM2 group)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC0727895/the-large-enkomi-tablets-the-cm2-group) Jastrow · Public domain (released by the photographer) Document1 step from object [Clay cylinder from Enkomi (##097, ENKO Arou 001), 217 signs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC0EW3P4E/clay-cylinder-from-enkomi-097-enko-arou-001-217-signs) Department of Antiquities of Cyprus (museum not confirmed in this session) Document1 step from object [Cypro-Minoan tablets from Ugarit (RASH Atab 001 to 004, e.g. RS 17.06, RS 19.01, RS 20.25)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC0PP75RK/cypro-minoan-tablets-from-ugarit-rash-atab-001-to-004-e-g-rs) not confirmed in this session (Ugarit finds of the 1950s) Photo1 step from object [Inscribed clay balls from Enkomi and Kition (about 90)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC0YG3ANZ/inscribed-clay-balls-from-enkomi-and-kition-about-90) Jastrow · Public domain (released by the photographer) Document1 step from object [Clay cylinders from Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC1E41SWR/clay-cylinders-from-kalavasos-ayios-dhimitrios) Department of Antiquities of Cyprus (museum not confirmed in this session) Document2 steps from object [Canaanite jar with Cypro-Minoan inscription from Tiryns (TIRY Avas 001)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts/ART0CWRC1NY7YBA/canaanite-jar-with-cypro-minoan-inscription-from-tiryns-tiry) Davis, Maran, Prillwitz and Wirghová · publisher [See all 10 artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cypro-minoan/artifacts) ## See also [ **Linear A** The script of Minoan Crete, 1800 to 1450 BC, whose signs can be sounded but not read. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/linear-a) [ **Iberian language and Palaeohispanic scripts** About 2,300 pre-Roman inscriptions from Spain and France that cannot be translated. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/iberian-language) [ **Proto-Elamite and Linear Elamite** Two scripts of south-western Iran, 3100 to 1880 BC, one claimed deciphered in 2022. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-elamite) [ **Dhofari script** Short painted texts from caves in Dhofar, Oman, in a script deciphered in 2025. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dhofari-script) ## References 1. 1.[Everson, M. 2020. Final proposal to encode the Cypro-Minoan script in the SMP of the UCS (L2/20-154, WG2 N5135). Unicode Technical Committee document register.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBCXW09E2/final-proposal-to-encode-the-cypro-minoan-script-in-the-smp)cited 5 times here**SRC** 0CWRBCXW09E2 1. 2.[Wikipedia contributors n.d.. Cypro-Minoan script. Wikipedia.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBD5P7TGV/cypro-minoan-script)cited 7 times here**SRC** 0CWRBD5P7TGV 1. 3.[Palaima, T. 1989. Cypro-Minoan Scripts: Problems of Historical Context. Duhoux, Palaima and Bennet (eds), Problems in Decipherment. BCILL 49, Peeters, Louvain-la-Neuve, pp. 121 to 187.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBDDG37H9/cypro-minoan-scripts-problems-of-historical-context)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e626450)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0CWRBDDG37H9 1. 4.[Olivier, J. 2007. Édition holistique des textes chypro-minoens (HoChyMin). Biblioteca di Pasiphae VI. Fabrizio Serra Editore, Pisa and Rome.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBB767EJF/edition-holistique-des-textes-chypro-minoens-hochymin)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0CWRBB767EJF 1. 5.[Ferrara, S. 2012. Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions. Volume 1: Analysis. Oxford University Press.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBBF06AV8/cypro-minoan-inscriptions-volume-1-analysis)cited 7 times here**SRC** 0CWRBBF06AV8 1. 6.[Ferrara, S. 2013. Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions. Volume 2: The Corpus. Oxford University Press.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBBPT6K4B/cypro-minoan-inscriptions-volume-2-the-corpus)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0CWRBBPT6K4B 1. 7.[Valério, M. 2016. Investigating the Signs and Sounds of Cypro-Minoan. PhD thesis, Universitat de Barcelona (supervisor Ignasi-Xavier Adiego).](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBC6E60Z3/investigating-the-signs-and-sounds-of-cypro-minoan)cited 13 times here**SRC** 0CWRBC6E60Z3 1. 8.[Corazza, M., Tamburini, F., Valério, M. et al. 2022. Unsupervised deep learning supports reclassification of Bronze age cypriot writing system. PLOS ONE.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D8MQJ6R4GRV/unsupervised-deep-learning-supports-reclassification-of)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269544)cited 7 times here**SRC** 0D8MQJ6R4GRV 1. 9.[Duhoux, Y. 2009. The Cypro-Minoan Tablet No. 1885 (Enkomi): An Analysis. Kadmos 48(1-2), pp. 5 to 38.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBE4Y6MH9/the-cypro-minoan-tablet-no-1885-enkomi-an-analysis)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1515/kadmos.2009.002)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0CWRBE4Y6MH9 1. 10.[Ferrara, S., Valério, M. 2017. Contexts and Repetitions of Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions: Function and Subject Matter of Clay Balls. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 378, pp. 71 to 94.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBECR13SX/contexts-and-repetitions-of-cypro-minoan-inscriptions)[doi](https://doi.org/10.5615/bullamerschoorie.378.0071)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0CWRBECR13SX 1. 11.[Janko, R. 2020. Eteocypriot in the Bronze Age? The Cypro-Minoan cylinder from Enkomi as an accounting document. Kadmos 59(1-2), pp. 43 to 61.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBDX41NT5/eteocypriot-in-the-bronze-age-the-cypro-minoan-cylinder-from)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1515/kadmos-2020-0003)cited 6 times here**SRC** 0CWRBDX41NT5 1. 12.[Steele, P., Boyes, P. 2022. Writing Around the Ancient Mediterranean: Practices and Adaptations. Oxbow Books, Oxford.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBFC03XYZ/writing-around-the-ancient-mediterranean-practices-and)[doi](https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.3177144)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0CWRBFC03XYZ 1. 13.[Steele, P. 2014. Distinguishing between Cypriot scripts: Steps towards establishing a methodology. Kadmos 53(1-2), pp. 129 to 148.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBEMJ5JA7/distinguishing-between-cypriot-scripts-steps-towards)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1515/kadmos-2014-0007)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0CWRBEMJ5JA7 1. 14.[Ferrara, S. 2006. An interdisciplinary approach to the Cypro-Minoan script. PhD thesis, University College London.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBDNA5BN5/an-interdisciplinary-approach-to-the-cypro-minoan-script)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0CWRBDNA5BN5 1. 15.[Scarborough, M. 2013. Review of S. Ferrara, Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions. Volume 1: Analysis. Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2013.02.04.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBBYM7RWM/review-of-s-ferrara-cypro-minoan-inscriptions-volume-1)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0CWRBBYM7RWM 1. 16.[Davis, B., Maran, J., Prillwitz, S. et al. 2023. A Canaanite jar with a Cypro-Minoan inscription from Tiryns: TIRY Avas 001. Kadmos 62(1-2), pp. 1 to 32.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBFKT1M4Z/a-canaanite-jar-with-a-cypro-minoan-inscription-from-tiryns)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1515/kadmos-2023-0001)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0CWRBFKT1M4Z 1. 17.[Corazza, M. 2022. sign2vec_d: code for 'Unsupervised deep learning supports reclassification of Bronze age cypriot writing system'. GitHub.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBCP23RP4/sign2vec-d-code-for-unsupervised-deep-learning-supports)cited 1 time here**SRC** 0CWRBCP23RP4 1. 18.[European Commission CORDIS 2018. INSCRIBE: INvention of SCRIpts and their BEginnings (ERC Consolidator Grant 771127). cordis.europa.eu.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBFVM5MXH/inscribe-invention-of-scripts-and-their-beginnings-erc)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0CWRBFVM5MXH 1. 19.[INSCRIBE project, U. n.d.. INSCRIBE 3D models. site.unibo.it/inscribe.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBG3E718D/inscribe-3d-models)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0CWRBG3E718D 1. 20.[Polig, M., Donnelly, C. 2022. Between Frustration and Progress: An Integrated Cypro-Minoan Signary and Its Paleographic Diversity. Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici NS 8, pp. 41 to 62.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBEWC1MN7/between-frustration-and-progress-an-integrated-cypro-minoan)cited 4 times here**SRC** 0CWRBEWC1MN7 1. 21.[Masson, E. 1974. Cyprominoica: répertoires, documents de Ras Shamra, essais d'interprétation. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 31:2. Åström, Göteborg.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBGB80NM4/cyprominoica-repertoires-documents-de-ras-shamra-essais)cited 5 times here**SRC** 0CWRBGB80NM4 1. 22.[Donnelly, C. 2024. Cypro-Minoan and Its Writers: At Home and Overseas. Elements in Writing in the Ancient World. Cambridge University Press.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CWRBF462VP6/cypro-minoan-and-its-writers-at-home-and-overseas)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009381840)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0CWRBF462VP6 1. 23.[Evans, A. 1909. Scripta Minoa: The Written Documents of Minoan Crete, Volume I. Clarendon Press, Oxford.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D1GFYW45VW4/scripta-minoa-the-written-documents-of-minoan-crete-volume-i)cited 8 times here**SRC** 0D1GFYW45VW4 Last edited 27 Oct 2026