350 Proceedings of the Rnijal Irish Acadciiiij. 



lireeerviiig tlie three lines of the original sign). The manacles (z) resembles 

 heth, the nail, pillar, or prop {Z,) resembles vav in both shape and meaning, the 

 remarkable key (0) simplifies into zayin, the square (cr) into gimel, and the 

 object (tt), whatever it may be, into pe. The direction of writing is from 

 right to left in each case. 



Lastly, there is a possible historical connexion. The man's head M, on the 

 disc, bears a prominent feather plume. It has long been recognized that this 

 plume is almost, if not quite, identical with the plumes worn by the Philistines 

 who led the unsuccessful coalition against Egypt in the days of Kamessu III, 

 and who are depicted on the walls of the temple of Medinet Habu, built by 

 the King of Egypt to celebrate his victories. The Philistines and their near 

 kinsmen, the Zakkala, in whom some have tried to identify the Teuerians, were 

 beaten back by the Pharaoh, and settled on the Syrian coast. 



The latter people we find shortly afterwards, in the narrative of the 

 Egyptian envoy contained on the important Golenischeff papyrus, settled on 

 the northern Palestine coast, and interpenetrating with the Phoenicians, as 

 the Philistines in southern Palestine interpenetrated with the Hebrews. 

 And it is immediately after this date that the Phoenician alphabet makes its 

 appearance. From what little we know about the Phoenicians it seems 

 incredible that they themselves should actually have been the inventors of 

 the script. 



The links of the chain are weak as yet, but I venture to think that tliis 

 disc seems to point out the direction in which we are to look for the origin of 

 the alphabet. I have put off as irrelevant for the present purpose any 

 remarks on the civilization revealed by the objects depicted in the hieroglyphs, 

 or any comparison with spiral writings found elsewhere in the Mediterranean 

 basin. What relation the Phaestos disc may bear to the Minoan Script on 

 the one hand, and the Hittite on the other, cannot be discussed until the 

 decipherment of all three has been put on a sound basis. 



