Recently I saw a mention (right at the foot of the page) that a French scholar, Hubert La Marle, claims to have achieved the decipherment, and found it to be Old Persian. Apparently he did this about a dozen years ago, but the news has been slow to spread in the English speaking world, and its reception in academic circles has been underwhelming!
La Marle has a website with some explanation of his ideas, and he continues his work. He makes a point which I find interesting, that two relatives of Old Persian, Avestan and Sanskrit, are associated with religious texts, and many of the Linear A inscriptions have been found in religious contexts, although so far as I know only short statements have been found, with nothing as extensive as the Avesta or Rig Veda.
Posts
The potential for knowledge locked in many of these ancient scripts remains a "holy grail" every bit as real a discovery as The Grail itself would be.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very interesting thought.
ReplyDeleteSome of the names on the Phaistos Disc appear to be of Persian origin, so this didn't surprise me as much as it might have when I heard about it. That their influence was this extensive did, however, come as a bit of a revelation: http://neros.lordbalto.com/ChapterFourteen.htm
ReplyDelete