Arkalochori Axe

Arkalochori Axe

The bronze Arkalochori Axe is a second millennium BC Minoan votive double axe excavated by Spyridon Marinatos in 1934 in the Arkalochori cave on Crete. It is notable for being engraved with an inscription of fifteen symbols. Some of the symbols may be identified as Linear A characters, while others are reminiscent of those found on the Phaistos Disc. In particular, the "Mohican" glyph (D02), which is the most frequent character of the Phaistos Disc, appears on the axe inscription three times. The axe and the Phaistos disk are conserved in the Iraklion Archaeological Museum.

The Inscription

Of the fifteen signs, two appear to be unique. The suggestions for comparison with Linear A and Phaistos Disc glyphs are due to Torsten Timm (2005). [ [http://www.kereti.de/arkalochoriEngl.html The inscription on the Arkalochori axe] ]

Reading right to left, top to bottom, the symbols are as follows.

References


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