Their decipherment in 1952 confirmed that the Mycenaeans, who ruled Crete after the decline of the Minoans, spoke an early form of Greek, forever altering our understanding of Greek prehistory.

Discovery and Excavation of the Knossos Linear B Tablets

In 1900, British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans unearthed thousands of clay tablets at Knossos, Crete, the site of the legendary Palace of Minos. These tablets were found in administrative archives and bore two distinct scripts—Knossos Linear B Tablets and Linear A.

• Linear A (undeciphered) was the script of the earlier Minoans.
• Linear B (deciphered) was later adopted by the Mycenaeans, who ruled Crete after 1450 BCE.

Additional Linear B tablets have been found at Pylos, Thebes, Mycenae, Tiryns, and Chania, suggesting a widespread Mycenaean administrative network.

Deciphering the Script

For decades, Linear B remained unreadable, with scholars debating whether it represented a Minoan or Greek language. In 1952, British architect and linguist Michael Ventris, building on the earlier work of Alice Kober, deciphered the script.

Key breakthroughs in decipherment:

• Kober’s Analysis of the Knossos Linear B Tablets: She identified grammatical patterns and declensions, suggesting an inflected language.
• Ventris’ Insight: He proposed that Linear B was an early form of Greek, rather than an unknown Minoan language.
• Confirmation: Many words in the tablets matched later Greek words, proving that Linear B recorded Mycenaean Greek.

This discovery rewrote Greek history, proving that Mycenaean civilization was Greek-speaking centuries before Homer’s time.

What the Tablets Reveal

Administrative Records

The Linear B tablets primarily contain economic and administrative records rather than historical narratives. They list inventories, transactions, and labor assignments in meticulous detail.

• Food supplies: Barley, wheat, wine, olive oil, and honey.
• Livestock management: Sheep, cattle, pigs, and goats.
• Textiles: Wool distribution for weaving.
• Workforce: Laborers, scribes, artisans, and their rations.

These records provide a window into the Mycenaean economy, revealing a highly centralized and structured system.

Palace Bureaucracy

The Mycenaean palaces functioned as administrative and economic hubs. The Knossos Linear B Tablets indicate an elite ruling class managing vast resources.

• Scribes recorded tax collection, storage, and distribution of goods.
• Officials supervised craftsmen, farmers, and military personnel.
• Palaces controlled trade networks, importing metals and luxury goods.

This bureaucratic structure was strikingly advanced for its time, showing an early form of state governance.

Religious and Military Insights

The Knossos Linear B Tablets also contain references to Mycenaean religious practices:

• Offerings to deities, including Poseidon and Potnia (a female goddess).
• Lists of priestesses and temple personnel.
• Mentions of sacrifices and religious festivals.

Military organization is another key aspect:

• Chariot warfare: Lists of chariots, horses, and weapons.
• Armory records: Helmets, shields, and bronze weapons.
• References to fortifications and defensive measures.

This evidence confirms the militarized nature of Mycenaean society, foreshadowing its role in later Greek warfare.

The Fall of the Mycenaean Palatial System

Around 1200 BCE, Mycenaean civilization collapsed due to a combination of:

• Invasions (Dorian or Sea Peoples).
• Internal revolts and economic decline.
• Natural disasters (earthquakes, droughts, or fires).

As the palaces fell, Linear B writing disappeared, marking the beginning of the Greek Dark Ages. Writing would not re-emerge in Greece until the development of the Greek alphabet centuries later.

Conclusion

The Knossos Linear B Tablets remain one of the most important records of the ancient world. They serve as a bridge between the Bronze Age and Classical Greece, proving that the Mycenaeans were part of the broader Greek cultural and linguistic tradition.

Their discovery and decipherment stand as one of the greatest achievements in archaeology, shedding light on an ancient civilization that helped shape the Greek world.