Linear B ro₂ sign

It is a Linear B sign that writes a syllable, transcribed ro₂. The subscript distinguishes it from the plain ro sign and from other extra signs such as ra₂ and ra₃. Scholars reconstruct its Bronze Age sound from spelling patterns: proposals range from an r followed by a brief y-like sound and o to a later doubled r. The tablets do not provide a modern pronunciation key.

One attested spelling, tu-ro₂, names cheese in Mycenaean records; TU+RO₂ is the corresponding ligature, two signs written as one. The sign contributes to the word—the sign on its own does not mean “cheese.”

Where did the sign and script come from?

Linear B grew from Linear A; this sign’s own ancestry is uncertain. The earliest surviving Linear B material comes from Knossos, where clay tablets and sealings were preserved when a palace burned. Scholars place the script’s emergence around the fifteenth or sixteenth century BCE. Its practical job was to record palace inventories, distributions, labour, and offerings.

ro₂ may be a Linear B creation or a continuation of a Linear A sign that has not been found. Linear B also shares some sign shapes and values with the later Cypriot syllabary, another script written in syllables, through Linear A. They are historical relatives; this glyph is not a direct ancestor of the Greek alphabet.

How can I enter 𐁊?

Use a Linear B input layout that supports ro₂ or Bennett-number input. On the Lexilogos Linear B keyboard, as of 2026, choose ro₂ or enter Bennett sign number 68 followed by a space. Typing ro2 on an ordinary keyboard gives the Latin transcription, not this character.