Malia altar stone
Encyclopedia
The Malia altar stone is a stone slab bearing an inscription in Cretan hieroglyphs
, excavated in Malia
, Crete
. The stone has a cuplike cavity and is thought to be a Minoan
altar stone
. Of the 16 glyphs of the inscription, three occur twice each. The inscription is the only known instance of Cretan hieroglyphs on stone.
Cretan hieroglyphs
Cretan hieroglyphs are hieroglyphs found on artifacts of Bronze Age Minoan Crete . Symbol inventories have been compiled by Evans , Meijer , Olivier/Godart...
, excavated in Malia
Malia (city)
Malia is a coastal town and a former municipality in the Heraklion peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Hersonissos, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies 34 km east of Heraklion, the Cretan capital city. The town was the...
, Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
. The stone has a cuplike cavity and is thought to be a Minoan
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
altar stone
Altar stone
An altar stone is a piece of natural stone containing relics in a cavity and intended to serve as the essential part of an altar for the celebration of Mass in the Latin Church. Consecration by a bishop of the same rite was required...
. Of the 16 glyphs of the inscription, three occur twice each. The inscription is the only known instance of Cretan hieroglyphs on stone.
Literature
- Chapouthier, Fernand ,