The Voynich manuscript, described as "the
world's most mysterious manuscript", is a work which dates to the early
15th century, possibly from northern Italy. It is named after the book
dealer Wilfrid Voynich, who purchased it in 1912.
Some pages are missing, but the current
version comprises about 240 vellum pages, most with illustrations. Much
of the manuscript resembles herbal manuscripts of the time period,
seeming to present illustrations and information about plants and their
possible uses for medical purposes. However, most of the plants do not
match known species, and the manuscript's script and language remain
unknown and unreadable. Possibly some form of encrypted ciphertext, the
Voynich manuscript has been studied by many professional and amateur
cryptographers, including American and British codebreakers from both
World War I and World War II. As yet, it has defied all decipherment
attempts, becoming a cause célèbre of historical cryptology. The mystery
surrounding it has excited the popular imagination, making the
manuscript a subject of both fanciful theories and novels. None of the
many speculative solutions proposed over the last hundred years has yet
been independently verified.
The Codex Seraphinianus
The Codex Seraphinianus is kind of like a
textbook for a universe parallel to our own. Luigi Serafini, an
Italian designer and architect, finished writing and illustrating
the book in 1978. Strange diagrams and pictures accompany florid and
incomprehensible text, which defied linguists and cryptographers for
decades.
The
book's overall feel is like that of a child reading books intended for
adults. It seems clear that the pictures and words have a consistency
in meaning, but what that meaning might be is still lost on the reader.
The book was extremely rare for some time, costing anywhere between
$200 and $400. Library copies were very often stolen. In 2006, a
relatively affordable copy was produced and the Codex
Seraphinianus was widely examined for the first time.
What seems clear is that Serafini
was deeply influenced by the Voynich Manuscript. The Voynich Manuscript
is believed to have been written some time in the 1400s or 1500s and it
too was written in a mysterious language and accompanied by strange
diagrams and pictures. It too seems to be an encyclopedia for an
unknown world. The most skillful cryptographers and statistical
analysts in the world--from mathematicians to the CIA codecrackers--have
worked to determine the manuscript's cipher with no success. The
smooth ductus of the writer's pen and the indentation of letters suggest
the writer knew what he was writing. Closer analysis reveals patterns
in the words like that of a natural language. It is theorized that the
great court mystic, Roger Bacon, is somehow behind the Voynich
Manuscript. Though we don't know if he was the actual writer, he almost
certainly had the manuscript in his possession for much of his adult
life.
Serafini's language, on the other
had, appears to share certain traits with automatic writing. Though the
system seems undoubtedly complex, its lack of a coherent cipher, in
this case, suggests that the letters were chosen at random. Divided
into eleven chapters, the Codex Seraphinianus illuminates
subjects ranging from the biology of wonderous creatures to bizarre
social practices and complex machines used by a variety of different
humanoid races.
Serafini
never put a great deal of effort into hiding his authorship of the
Codex Seraphinianus. The surreal and often humorous depictions of
natural and social dynamics seem intended to poke fun at absurd aspects
of human social convention. Its bizarre illustrations have such a
strange resonance with our own world. It reminds me of what fellow
Surrealist Luis Buñuel once said when asked why he chose to make films:
"To show we do not live in the best of all possible worlds."
Look at the entire Codex Seraphinianus online here.
The Codex Gigas aka "The Devil's Bible"
It's a mysterious book that in its day
was believed to contain all human knowledge. But why did medieval people
believe that the author sold his soul to the devil to be able to write
it?
The "Devil's Bible," a behemoth volume weighing in at 165 pounds, believed to have been produced by a single monk over the course of decades in the 13th Century, is the focus of a documentary that was featured on the National Geographic Channel.
The "Devil's Bible," a behemoth volume weighing in at 165 pounds, believed to have been produced by a single monk over the course of decades in the 13th Century, is the focus of a documentary that was featured on the National Geographic Channel.
The "Devil's Bible," a behemoth volume weighing in at 165 pounds, believed to have been produced by a single monk over the course of decades in the 13th Century, is the focus of a documentary that was featured on the National Geographic Channel.
The "Devil's Bible," a behemoth volume weighing in at 165 pounds, believed to have been produced by a single monk over the course of decades in the 13th Century, is the focus of a documentary that was featured on the National Geographic Channel.
The disc of Phaistos
In a century which has seen the
cracking of Linear B, Ugaritic, and other orthographic systems, the
Phaistos Disk has eluded decipherment. The disk is thought to date from
around 1700 BC.
History
The disc of Phaistos is the most
important example of hieroglyphic inscription from Crete and was
discovered in 1903 in a small room near the depositories of the "archive
chamber", in the north - east apartments of the palace, together with a
Linear A tablet and pottery dated to the beginning of the Neo-palatial
period (1700- 1600 B.C.).
The exact location of Phaistos was first
determined in the middle of the 19th century by the British admiral
Spratt, while the archaeological investigation of the palace started in
1884 by the Italians F. Halbherr and A. Taramelli.
After the declaration of the independent
Cretan State in 1898, excavations were carried out by F. Halbherr and L.
Pernier in 1900-1904 and later, in 1950-1971, by Doro Levi, under the
auspices of the Italian Archaeological School at Athens.
The Phaistos Disk, today on display at the Iraklion Archaeological Museum,
was discovered in Crete in 1908.
was discovered in Crete in 1908.
Although many inscriptions were found by
the archaeologists, they are all in Linear A code which is still
undecipherd, and all we know about the site, even its name are based to
the ancient writers and findings from Knossos.
According to mythology, Phaistos was the
seat of king Radamanthis, brother of king Minos. It was also the city
that gave birth to the great wise man and soothsayer Epimenidis, one of
the seven wise men of the ancient world.
Excavations by archaeologists have unearthed ruins of the Neolithic times (3.000 B.C.).
During the Minoan times, Phaistos was a very important city-state. Its dominion, at its peak, stretched from Lithinon to Psychion and included the Paximadia islands. The city participated to the Trojan war and later became one of the most important cities-states of the Dorian period.
Phaistos continued to flourish during Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic times. It was destroyed by the Gortynians during the 3rd century B.C. In spite of that, Phaistos continued to exist during the Roman period.
Phaistos had two ports, Matala and Kommos.
Excavations by archaeologists have unearthed ruins of the Neolithic times (3.000 B.C.).
During the Minoan times, Phaistos was a very important city-state. Its dominion, at its peak, stretched from Lithinon to Psychion and included the Paximadia islands. The city participated to the Trojan war and later became one of the most important cities-states of the Dorian period.
Phaistos continued to flourish during Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic times. It was destroyed by the Gortynians during the 3rd century B.C. In spite of that, Phaistos continued to exist during the Roman period.
Phaistos had two ports, Matala and Kommos.
Since 1900, continuous
archaeological excavations from the Italian Archaeological School, have
brought to light the magnificent Minoan palace of Phaistos with its
great royal courts, the great staircases, the theatre, the storerooms
and the famous disk of Phaistos.
The first palace was built at 2.000 B.C. This palace was destroyed at 1.700 B.C. by an earthquake. It was built again, more luxurious and magnificent and it was destroyed again, probably by another earthquake, at 1.400 B.C.
The location of the palace was carefully chosen, so as not only to absolutely control the valley of Messara, but to also offer a panoramic view of the surrounding area with the scattered villages, just like today, at the foot of the mountains Psiloritis and Asterousia.
The palace dominated and controlled the Messara valley and it was the center of the city. It was the administrational and economical center of the area.
Goods not only for consumption but mainly for trade were kept in its huge storerooms. The palace was surrounded by luxurious mansions and crowded urban communities. Along with the surrounding settlements covered an area of 18.000 sq. meters.
A paved road leads to the ruins of the Royal Minoan villa of Agia Triada, 3 km west of Phaistos.
The first palace was built at 2.000 B.C. This palace was destroyed at 1.700 B.C. by an earthquake. It was built again, more luxurious and magnificent and it was destroyed again, probably by another earthquake, at 1.400 B.C.
The location of the palace was carefully chosen, so as not only to absolutely control the valley of Messara, but to also offer a panoramic view of the surrounding area with the scattered villages, just like today, at the foot of the mountains Psiloritis and Asterousia.
The palace dominated and controlled the Messara valley and it was the center of the city. It was the administrational and economical center of the area.
Goods not only for consumption but mainly for trade were kept in its huge storerooms. The palace was surrounded by luxurious mansions and crowded urban communities. Along with the surrounding settlements covered an area of 18.000 sq. meters.
A paved road leads to the ruins of the Royal Minoan villa of Agia Triada, 3 km west of Phaistos.
Decipherment
Both surfaces of this clay disc are
covered with hieroglyphs arranged in a spiral zone, impressed on the
clay when it was damp. The signs make up groups divided from each other
by vertical lines, and each of these groups should represent a word.
Forty five different types of signs have
been distinguished, of which a few can be identified with the
hieroglyphs in use in the Proto- palatial period.
Some hieroglyphic sequences recur like
refrains, suggesting a religious hymn, and Pernier regards the content
of the text as ritual. Others have suggested that the text is a list of
soldiers, and lately Davis has interpreted it as a document in the
Hittic language in which a king discusses the erection of the Palace of
Phaistos.
In a century which has seen the cracking
of Linear B, Ugaritic, and other orthographic systems, the Phaistos Disk
has eluded decipherment. The disk is thought to date from around 1700
BC. It is a roundish disk of clay, with symbols stamped into it. The
text consists of 61 words, 16 of which are accompanied by a mysterious
"slash" mark.
There are 45 different symbols occurring
241 times. The symbols portray recognizable objects like human figures
and body parts, animals, weapons, and plants. Since the text of the disk
is so short, decipherment by the statistical cryptographic techniques
employed by Michael Ventris in cracking Linear B are impossible.
Late last year, however, Dr. Keith A.J.
Massey and his twin brother Rev. Kevin Massey-Gillespie discovered the
secret they believe provides the key to cracking the Phaistos Disk.
Another ancient writing system provides the key to reading the Phaistos Disk.
At Byblos in modern day Lebanon, an advanced culture flourished for centuries. There are many signs of contact between Ancient Crete and Byblos, including signs of orthographic borrowing as pointed out by Victor Kenna in "The Stamp Seal, Byblos 6593" Kadmos 9 (1970) pp 93-96.
Further, examples of the yet undeciphered Linear A script have recently been found in Turkey, providing evidence of orthographic relationships between Crete and Asia Minor.
The Proto-Byblic script was used in the early part of the 2nd millenium BC, a time contemporary with the supposed date of the Phaistos Disk. The underlying language of the Proto-Byblic script was Semitic. It is a linear script which displays many identifiable objects, like weapons, human figures, and body parts. The Proto-Byblic script, catalogued by Maurice Dunand in the 1940's bears striking resemblance to the symbols of the Phaistos Disk. The similarity of one Proto-Byblic character to a Phaistos symbol was noted by Dunand in his book Byblia Grammata, Beyrouth, 1945 on p 90, "Il est presque identique a celui du disque de Phaestos qu-Evans avait identifie avec une colombe." [ It is almost identical to something from the disk of Phaistos which (Sir Arthur) Evans has identified with a dove.] Dunand did not pursue his observation of the similarities, yet it is this Proto-Byblic script which is demonstrated by the Massey twins as being a closely related orthographic system to the Phaistos Disk. Eduard Dhorme, one of the decipherers of Hittite, published the first consonantal values for the Proto-Byblic script in SYRIA XXV 1946 in an article, "Dechiffrement des Inscriptions Pseudo-Hieroglyphicques de Byblos." A comparison of these values with the symbols of the Phaistos Disk yielded consonantal assignments for a surprising amount of the writing on the disk.
It should be noted here that all previous attempts to decipher the Phaistos Disk have been subjective attempts, assigning phonetic values to the characters with no true objective criteria. This is therefore the first effort at cracking the disk by OBJECTIVE determinations. When these consonantal values are examined, elements of an Hellenic language emerge in the text of the disk. Scholars had never known what the significence of a mysterious "slash" on 16 of the words of the Phaistos Disk. We observed, based on our values, that each of these 16 words are numerals counting commodities on the disk, similar to the majority of Linear B texts.
At Byblos in modern day Lebanon, an advanced culture flourished for centuries. There are many signs of contact between Ancient Crete and Byblos, including signs of orthographic borrowing as pointed out by Victor Kenna in "The Stamp Seal, Byblos 6593" Kadmos 9 (1970) pp 93-96.
Further, examples of the yet undeciphered Linear A script have recently been found in Turkey, providing evidence of orthographic relationships between Crete and Asia Minor.
The Proto-Byblic script was used in the early part of the 2nd millenium BC, a time contemporary with the supposed date of the Phaistos Disk. The underlying language of the Proto-Byblic script was Semitic. It is a linear script which displays many identifiable objects, like weapons, human figures, and body parts. The Proto-Byblic script, catalogued by Maurice Dunand in the 1940's bears striking resemblance to the symbols of the Phaistos Disk. The similarity of one Proto-Byblic character to a Phaistos symbol was noted by Dunand in his book Byblia Grammata, Beyrouth, 1945 on p 90, "Il est presque identique a celui du disque de Phaestos qu-Evans avait identifie avec une colombe." [ It is almost identical to something from the disk of Phaistos which (Sir Arthur) Evans has identified with a dove.] Dunand did not pursue his observation of the similarities, yet it is this Proto-Byblic script which is demonstrated by the Massey twins as being a closely related orthographic system to the Phaistos Disk. Eduard Dhorme, one of the decipherers of Hittite, published the first consonantal values for the Proto-Byblic script in SYRIA XXV 1946 in an article, "Dechiffrement des Inscriptions Pseudo-Hieroglyphicques de Byblos." A comparison of these values with the symbols of the Phaistos Disk yielded consonantal assignments for a surprising amount of the writing on the disk.
It should be noted here that all previous attempts to decipher the Phaistos Disk have been subjective attempts, assigning phonetic values to the characters with no true objective criteria. This is therefore the first effort at cracking the disk by OBJECTIVE determinations. When these consonantal values are examined, elements of an Hellenic language emerge in the text of the disk. Scholars had never known what the significence of a mysterious "slash" on 16 of the words of the Phaistos Disk. We observed, based on our values, that each of these 16 words are numerals counting commodities on the disk, similar to the majority of Linear B texts.
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