Trojan script

Trojan scriptis a series of signs of unknown origin found on vessels fromTroyexcavated byHeinrich Schliemann's expedition.Their status is disputed.

Trojan script
Script type	Undeciphered
Status	Extinct
Languages	Unknown

Analysis

Depiction of an inscription found on the terracotta vase by the royal palace.

WhileexcavatingTroy, Heinrich Schliemann unearthed various objects he believed to depict a Trojan script. These include: avasefound within the royal palace, twoterracottaseals, a red slate, and two clayspindle whorls.He was especially interested in the text on the vase, which, by his account, contained a letter similar to the modern "P."Schliemann initially attempted to translate the inscriptions based on theCypriot syllabary.Émile-Louis Burnouf,a leadingorientalist,racialist,and friend of Schliemann during the time, believed these inscriptions represented an ancient Graeco-Asiatic Alpha bet. Professor Haug, another contemporary scholar, argued that the inscriptions were connected to thePhoenician Alpha betand the Cypriot syllabary.

Philologuesattempted totransliteratethe signs asGreek.Professor Haug attempted to translate the seal; he claimed to have read the words “ta.i.o.si.i.go.”Haug believed this meant “to the divine Sigo.” He argued that the deity “Sigo” appeared in the names ofSigeum,Scamander,andSicyon.Austrian classical philologistTheodor Gomperzattempted to decipher this same inscription. Although Gomperz utilized the same method as Haug, he instead chose to read the seal from right to left instead of from left to right. He claimed it translated to “to the divine commander." Gomperz went on to translate four more terracotta seals. However, other scholars were alarmed that perfect Greek had been found in Trojan inscriptions, and the inscriptions should predate the form of Greek which was used. These translations were soon revealed as erroneous; they had been based on a mistranslation of the Cypriot script. BritishAssyriologistArchibald Sayceattempted to read the translation utilizing more recent advancements in academic understanding of the Cypriot syllabary. Professor Sayce believed that the Trojan inscriptions were copies of aBabylonian scriptand were influenced by theHittites.

Depiction of two of the spindle whorls.

In 1994,Dr. Louis Godart,republished the inscriptions; he identified the script asLinear A.Dr. Cynthia W. Shelmerdine,anAmerican classicistandarchaeologist,considers this theory "highly unlikely." According to Dr. Shelmerdine, the signs found on the spindle whorls appear in numerous other ancient scripts and ornaments. Dr. Shelmerdine has argued that any analysis of the signs is problematic due to inability to analyze the original finds.Dr. Paul MacKendrickargued they were written using Linear A to transcribe a dialect of theLuwian language.

Another inscription in the Trojan script was found in Troy II.Soviet historian of antiquityNikolay Kazanskyfound them more similar toLinear Bsigns,while another Soviet historian,Arkady Molchanov,regarded them as "imitation of writing".Archaeological analyses of the inscriptions have indicated that Troy III (2250–2100/2050 BCE) and Troy IV (2100/2050–2000/1950 BCE) predate Linear A, Troy V (2000/1950–1900/1850 BCE) coincides with linear A, and Troy II (2600/2550–2250 BCE) may be an intermediate link toBronze Agesocieties such as theUsatoveorEzerocultures.

Inscriptions

Drawing by Soviet historian of antiquities Nikolay Kazansky which depicts a sample of the Trojan script

Inscription № 2444, may be read:

ku-pa a-ro-ma ku-pa a-ro-ma

Inscription № 2445 is illegible and seems to have partly deteriorated; several signs may be identified as fragments of Linear A or Linear B signs but not as whole signs.

Dr. Paul MacKendrick claims that two of the spindle whorls can be read as "PI-MI-D/MI-D/TA." “PI-MI-D” can be translated as “Pimidas”,a personal name in the possessivegenitive.“Pi” or “Piya” appears in many ancient Anatolian names such asPiyamaranduor Pissillis. Similarly, “MI-D/TA” appears frequently in ancient Anatolian names such as Mita, Mida, and Midas. InLuwian hieroglyphicsthe name “Mita” means “servant.” However, in this context it may refer to devoted servitude of a deity. “Puri(y)as”may be read as a noun in the nominative singular or plural form” It is possible that this word is a cognate with the Hittite word “Purpura,”meaning “dumpling” or “lump.” If “Puri(y)as”shares the same meaning, then the term may refer to the spindle whorl itself, which was made of a lump of clay. It is possible the entire sentence may be translated to read: “Pimidas’s spindle whorl” or perhaps as “The spindle whorl is Pimidas’s.”

See also

• Alphabets of Asia Minor
• Cypro-Minoan syllabary
• Old European script
• Trojan language
• Teucer
• Undeciphered writing systems

References

Sources

• Kazansky, NN. (1984).Троянское письмо: к постановке вопроса.In Bernstein, S.B.; Gindin, L.A.; Golubtsova, E.S.; I.A.; Orel, V.E. (eds.).Античная балканистика: Карпато-балканский регион в диахронии (Предварительные материалы к международному симпозиуму)(in Russian).(Includes images of inscriptions 2444 and 2445.)
• Zurbach, Julien (2003)."Schriftähnlihe Zeichen und Töpferzeichen in Troia".Studia Troica(in German).13:113–130.