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The mystery of the Mycenaean 'labyrinth': the value of Linear B pu₂ and related signs

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Judson, AP 

Abstract

This article re-examines the evidence for the value of the Linear B sign pu₂, in particular its appearance in the term da-pu₂-ri-to- ‘labyrinth’, and demonstrates that it stands specifically for the value /phu/ (contrary to the usual assumption that it represents both /phu/ and /bu/). It then discusses the further implications of this conclusion, in particular for the interpretation of the undeciphered signs *56 and *22, which are often assigned to the same series as pu₂, as well as any other similar signs which may exist. This discussion illustrates the crucial impact that establishing a single sign’s value may have on the wider understanding of the Linear B script, as well as on its relationship with its parent script Linear A and even the possibility of reconstructing aspects of the Minoan language.

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Keywords

Journal Title

Studi Micenei ed Egeo Anatolici

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

NS 3

Publisher

Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche - Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico

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Sponsorship
AHRC (1222260)
This article is based on research carried out as part of my PhD thesis, entitled ‘The undeciphered signs of Linear B’, which was submitted to the University of Cambridge in April 2016, and was supported by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (grant number AH/J500094/1), the British Federation of Women Graduates’ J. Barbara Northend Scholarship (2015-2016), and the Cambridge Faculty of Classics’ Graduate Studies Fund. I am very grateful to all of these sources of financial support; to my supervisor, Torsten Meißner; to my examiners, Rupert Thompson and John Bennet; and to the reviewers of this article.