Mystery Atlas
Person

Michael Ventris

The English architect and self-taught linguist who deciphered Linear B in 1952, showing it recorded an early form of Greek; his own attempts to extend the same method to Linear A were unsuccessful before his death in a car accident in 1956.

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Science & Technology

  • Linear Ac. 1800 – 1450 BC

    Michael Ventris investigated Linear A — Ventris attempted to extend his Linear B method to Linear A after 1952 but never published a solution before his death in 1956.

  • Linear Bc. 1450 – 1200 BC

    Michael Ventris deciphered Linear B.

Explored on these pages

What Is Linear A, and Why Hasn't It Been Deciphered?

What Linear A is: the Minoan script no one can read, why its cousin Linear B was cracked in 1952, and what that decipherment revealed and didn't.