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- From: user@computer.uio.no (PC Jorgensen)
- Subject: Re: Minoan Scripts
- Message-ID: <user-270193042816@hf-mac16.uio.no>
- Followup-To: sci.archaeology
- Sender: news@ulrik.uio.no (Mr News)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: hf-mac16.uio.no
- Organization: UiO
- References: <38204@uflorida.cis.ufl.edu> <13JAN199312271282@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov> <C0tEED.Jsq@news.cso.uiuc.edu>
- Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 03:42:23 GMT
- Lines: 53
-
- In article <C0tEED.Jsq@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, strzaskoma@news.cso.uiuc.edu
- wrote:
- "The Phaistos disk is written in pre-Linear A hieroglyphics which no one in
- their right mind claims to be able to decipher at all."
-
-
- Interesting to read this, because recent events here in Norway seem to
- confirm your conclusion... One and a half year ago, Kjell Aartun, a
- Norwegian University stipendiate, who originally is a theologist and has
- done research
- on Ugaritic and sundry other semitic languages, went to the mass media,
- claiming to have read the Phaistos disk, and being able to read Linear A as
- well.
-
- I myself was rather sceptical (please note, this is not my academic field
- at all, I just happen to like reading about ancient peoples), partly
- because
- a lot of the statements in the newpaper articles seemed a bit odd. My
- scepticism grew when one heard nearly nothing from Aartun - until this
- month.
-
- Unfortunately, Aartun seems a 'crank', or rather, a 'rogue professor' (the
- term is from Stephen Williams' _Fantastic Archaeology_). He now just not
- only
- understands Linear A, but also our r u n e s t o n e s better than
- anyone
- else (he's pariculary interested in the oldest, from ca. 500 AD). These are
- full off Linear A signs and hieroglyphics. Both the Phaistos disk and the
- so-called Tune stone has fertility cult ritual written on it. Aartun also
- sees
- semitic language influence in the carvings (well, the newspaper articles
- aren't that clear).
-
- This month 5 quite large pieces about this theory have been published in
- a tabloid which has cultural aspirations as well. Aartun has been severely
- critised by a James E. Knirk, who holds an important post at the so-called
- Rune Archive at the University Collection of Antiques.
-
- the bottom-line is, however, that Aartun's book has been accepted by a
- very respectable German publishing house. So one might wonder whether his
- less fantastic claims could have something for them...
-
- But I remain very much the sceptic...
-
-
-
- --------------
-
- P C Jorgensen
- Graduate student (Russian, Slavic linguistics)
- Department of East European and Oriental Studies
- University of Oslo
- Norway
-