The decoding of Linear B is one of the world's greatest stories:
from the discovery of a cache of ancient tablets recording a lost
prehistoric language to the dramatic solution of the riddle nearly
seventy years later, it exerts a mesmerising pull on the
imagination. But this captivating story is missing a crucial piece.
Two men have dominated Linear B in popular history: Arthur Evans,
the intrepid Victorian archaeologist who unearthed Linear B at
Knossos and Michael Ventris, the dashing young amateur who produced
a solution. But there was a third figure: Alice Kober, without
whose painstaking work, recorded on pieces of paper clipped from
hymn-sheets and magazines and stored in cigarette boxes in her
Brooklyn loft, Linear B might still remain a mystery. Drawing on
Kober's own papers - only made available recently - Margalit Fox
provides the final piece of the enigma, and along the way reveals
how you decipher a language when you know neither its grammar nor
its alphabet as well as the stories behind other ancient languages,
like the dancing-man Rongorongo of Easter Island.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
Mon, 2 Dec 2024 | Review
by: Tanya K.
This is a nicely written account of how Arthur Evans, Alice Kober and Michael Ventril (and a few others) were involved in cracking the code to decipher the ancient Linear B script found on clay tablets on Crete and mainland Greece. Informative and interesting.
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes (0) |
No (0)
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
