About Linear B

Linear B is the earliest known form of Greek, written in a syllabic script used by the Mycenaean civilization from approximately 1450 to 1200 BCE. It was used primarily for administrative record-keeping on clay tablets found at palace centers across Crete and mainland Greece, including Knossos, Pylos, and Mycenae. The script consists of roughly 87 syllabic signs plus ideograms and numerals.

Linear B was deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris, an English architect and amateur linguist, in one of the greatest intellectual achievements of the 20th century. The decipherment proved that the Mycenaeans spoke an early form of Greek, resolving a major archaeological debate. Linear B evolved from the earlier, still-undeciphered Linear A script used by the Minoan civilization. Most surviving texts are inventories and administrative records rather than literature.