Storiascopio · Era 4 of 12 · primary year 4
Linear B
about 1450 BC · Knossos (Crete) and Pylos (Greece)
In short
Linear B is the writing the Mycenaeans used in the archives of their palaces, at Knossos, Pylos and Mycenae. It was made up of signs standing for syllables, together with pictures for counting things like horses, chariots and jars of oil. In 1952 the English architect Michael Ventris discovered that it hid a very early form of Greek. The clay tablets survived because the fires that destroyed the palaces baked them like bricks.
Why it matters They are the oldest written documents in the Greek language.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Linear B”
Where we are in the era “Sea civilisations”
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
about 2000 BCEvent 7 of 25about 500 BC
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/linear-b/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class