Linear B Alphabet

The Linear B Alphabet is one of the earliest known writing systems used to record the Greek language. It was developed around 1400 BC by the Mycenaean civilization and mainly used for administrative and record-keeping purposes. The script was discovered on clay tablets in Crete and mainland Greece, and it consists of about 90 syllabic signs along with several symbols for numbers and objects. Unlike modern alphabets, each sign in Linear B represents a whole syllable rather than a single letter.

Linear B evolved from an earlier script known as Linear A, which was used by the Minoan civilization, though its language remains undeciphered. The use of Linear B ended around 1200 BC with the fall of the Mycenaean kingdoms, and it was lost for centuries until being deciphered in the 1950s. This discovery helped scholars better understand the early stages of Greek language and culture.

Today, the Linear B script is studied as a key piece of ancient linguistic history. It offers a rare glimpse into the administrative life of Bronze Age Greece and marks one of the earliest written records of an Indo-European language.