Macalistkr — The Inscription on the Phaestos Disc. 345 



The first thing that strikes us, ou looking at tliese letters, is the very 

 remarkable fact that " M," the " Head with plumed head-dress," the 

 commonest of all the characters, is found at the beginnings of words only. 

 It is highly improbable that a frequent johonetic character should be thus 

 restricted in its use : therefore we infer that it is most likely a determinative 

 prefix. This assumed, we note, first, that the form of the character would 

 suggest that it was a determinative for things relating to men; and secondly, 

 that no other characters are similarly restricted. From the latter point it 

 follows that the script of the Phaestos disc uses very few determinatives. 

 And if we ask what is more likely than anything else to be indicated by such 

 a determinative, the obvious answer presents itself — a j^i'oper name. We 

 ourselves still find it convenient, notwithstanding our highly developed 

 script, to use a determinative for proper names, which takes the form of a 

 capital initial. And so I proceed to make the further assumption that words 

 beginning with the initial M are personal names. 



This being postulated, the next thing to notice is the large assembly of 

 proper names on face II. It can, indeed, be treated as a list of names and 

 titles, and may be written out in list form thus : — 



1. M^tacr Ssf iiySli nimi 



2. MfbsT s^H s<^ 



3. M^dcr(<^) kqw 



4. Ml^rrw arsh 



5. TA^^iy XK MsijX^cr pa M|kq 



6. Mfsswu(9 U M^kq Mst^X^ct pa M^kq 



7. M^szjo-s dcnliT kqf 



8. M^ta ^TW \ey 



9. M^sswu^ ta Xey 



Now there is just one type of ancient document which shows such a 

 " sediment," so to speak, of proper names at the end. This is a contract 

 tablet, which ends with a list of witnesses, and I offer the conjecture that the 

 disc is of this nature. 



It will be observed, in the foregoing list, first, that all the names begin 

 with ^. This might well be a prefix or preposition, equivalent to the word 

 pan " before, in presence of " prefixed to the names of witnesses on the 

 Assyrian contract tablets. The symbol here called | is a shield, which would 

 obviously be a suitable hieroglyphic for the meaning " before." 



Secondly, we notice that two of the supposed witnesses, nos. 6 and 9, have 



