Linear A Sign A370

A370 identifies the sign; it gives no confirmed reading. The number is part of a modern sign catalogue, not a translation or a sound value.

The earliest Linear A evidence dates to the 18th century BCE and is concentrated at Phaistos on Crete.

As of 2026, the Minoan language written in Linear A remains undeciphered. A sign can represent a syllable or a whole word depending on context, and an isolated glyph cannot establish its role. Comparing similar-looking Linear B signs can suggest provisional readings for some Linear A signs, but it cannot reveal the meaning of the Minoan language.

Why was Linear A written?

It mostly kept accounts for palace administrations. Many surviving tablets record goods entering, leaving, or being stored. Formulaic inscriptions on offering tables and other cult objects probably served rituals.

During Crete’s Second Palace period, a later era of the island’s palaces, Linear A appears across Crete and the Aegean. Linear B later took over its administrative role; the latest reported Linear A inscription dates to about 1350 BCE.

Linear A overlapped with Cretan Hieroglyphic, another Cretan script, and both appear in records of goods; this shared bookkeeping does not prove direct descent. Linear B was modeled on Linear A but used to write early Greek. Later Cypriot syllabic scripts also show points of contact with Linear A.