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| Phaistos Disc, Minoan Mystery Replica
The original Phaistos Disc is from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the Greek island of Crete, possibly dating to the middle or late Minoan Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC). Its purpose and meaning, and even its original geographical place of manufacture, remain disputed, making it one of the most famous mysteries of archaeology. This unique object is now on display at the archaeological museum of Heraklion.
The disc was discovered in 1908 by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier in the Minoan palace-site of Phaistos, and features 241 tokens, comprising 45 unique signs, which were apparently made by pressing pre-formed hieroglyphic "seals" into a disc of soft clay, in a clockwise sequence spiraling towards the disc's center. The Phaistos Disc captured the imagination of amateur and professional archeologists, and many attempts have been made to decipher the code behind the disc's signs. While it is not clear that it is a script, most attempted decipherments assume that it is; most additionally assume a syllabary, others an alphabet or logography. Attempts at decipherment are generally thought to be unlikely to succeed unless more examples of the signs are found, as it is generally agreed that there is not enough context available for a meaningful analysis. Although the Phaistos Disc is generally accepted as authentic by archaeologists, a few scholars have forwarded the opinion that the disc is a forgery or a hoax. This Replica of the Phaistos Disc is about 6 inches in diameter x .5 inches thick and covered on both sides with a spiral of stamped symbols. It is made out of solid Resin and has the look of ancient type Reddish clay. It weighs about 3 Pounds and comes with a clear easel stand to set in for Display. This Easel can be either set on a counter or mounted on wall for ease of displaying the object. You also get, with the Disc, a Copy of the original newspaper article when the item was first discovered and a certificate explaining it's history.
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