The Decipherment of Linear B

John Chadwick

doi:10.1017/CBO9781107589032

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 Mycenaean archaeology, uncovering fascinating details of the religion and economic history of an ancient civilisation.

Review of previous edition:‘… not only an account of a startling piece of philological and archaeological research, but a simple, moving human story.'

Source: The Spectator

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The Decipherment of Linear B

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-v

Illustrations
pp vi-vi

Preface
pp vii-x

1 - MICHAEL VENTRIS
pp 1-4

2 - THE MINOAN SCRIPTS
pp 5-25

3 - HOPES AND FAILURES
pp 26-39

4 - BIRTH OF A THEORY
pp 40-66

5 - GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
pp 67-80

6 - THE DECIPHERMENT AND THE CRITICS
pp 81-100

7 - LIFE IN MYCENAEAN GREECE
pp 101-133

8 - PROSPECTS
pp 134-140

Postscript
pp 141-157

Appendix: Mycenaean Tablets in Transcription
pp 158-161

Index
pp 162-164

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