Linguists have spent centuries deciphering the codes left behind on monument carvings, ancient pottery, and handmade bark-paper books – with limited success. Some progress has been made. The Interesting Info about Ancient Civilizations Secrets.
However, some ancient manuscripts still elude human comprehension, and here are a few that remain perplexing: the Voynich Manuscript contains illustrations and an incomprehensible language that no one is capable of decoding.
The Phaistos Disc
Few ancient texts are as legendary as the Phaistos Disc. Discovered by archaeologist Luigi Pernier during excavations at Phaistos Palace on Crete in Greece in 1908, it features 242 hieroglyph-like symbols comprised of 45 signs and dots covering both sides. At first, some researchers thought it to be fake; today, most archaeologists regard it as authentic.
Unfortunately, despite efforts to decipher it, the script on the Phaistos Disc remains undeciphered. Its symbols do not fit any known alphabet, ancient or modern, and so speculation abounds that perhaps some sort of secret code exists within these glyphs; unfortunately, we still have no clue as to their meaning.
The symbols on the Phaistos Disc appear stamped rather than drawn, suggesting they were created using some mechanical device. This has led some scholars to suggest they might be early examples of moveable type technology; their spiraled arrangement on both sides seems to support this interpretation as well as speculation that their text might represent hymns or chants; other scholars have even compared its language to Minoan Linear A, Mycenaean Linear B, and Egyptian Hieroglyphs but most agree it does not belong in any of these ancient texts!
The Voynich Manuscript
The Voynich Manuscript has captured the imaginations of readers, from amateur decipherers to professional codebreakers alike. Dating back to 15th century Italy, its mysterious pages contain drawings depicting strange plants, imaginary creatures, astrological charts, and medical diagrams; though none of its secrets have yet been revealed, experts have suggested it could be fake, while some think it may contain secret messages from alien civilizations.
One intriguing theory suggests that this manuscript might be written in an ancient language similar to Hebrew. First discovered by Wilfrid Voynich and now housed at Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library since 1912, many have claimed they had deciphered it; most scholars discredit such claims – even Alan Turing, who broke the Nazi Enigma code was unable to decipher Voynich Manuscript.
Experts have attempted to interpret the Voynich Manuscript by comparing its text with that of other written languages, such as Russian and Latin. Computer scientists Greg Kondrak and Bradley Hauer employed their knowledge of computer science skills by running algorithms that analyzed each anagram found within it. Discover the best info about the Science Behind The Paranormal.
The Rohonc Codex
Since its discovery, scholars have endeavored to decipher its mysterious script and interpret its cryptic illustrations, yet its meaning remains obscure. Many individuals have attempted to read and comprehend its pages but to no avail.
The Codex is a collection of 448 pages of indecipherable text and 87 images depicting military battles, landscapes, and religious icons. Scholars have noted that some symbols appear to draw inspiration from Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, which indicates the creator belonged to a culture that had an open attitude toward diverse faiths. Furthermore, its text contains both straight and rounded characters, which could indicate multiple languages being represented here.
Rohonc Codex stands out due to its watermark, which appears as an anchor within a circle within a six-rayed star. This watermark is dated between 1529 and 1540, but the book itself may have been written earlier than that period.
Levente Zoltan Kiraly was one of the most notable attempts to decode the Rohonc Codex. After studying its symbols, Kiraly discovered some were similar to Sumerian ligatures while others could be seen in Old Hungarian text; then associated Latin alphabet letters with these symbols and rearranged them into words.
The Kushan Script
Since the 1950s, Kushan script has confounded linguists. While researchers have discovered dozens of inscriptions containing it, translation remains impossible due to a lack of clear and exact images.
Last year, Tajik archaeologists discovered a short inscription at Almosi Gorge that featured both Bactrian language and Kushan script inscriptions – prompting renewed efforts to decipher it.
Bonmann and her colleagues carefully examined the new inscriptions to identify characters that make up an underlying language. Applying methods used to decipher ancient languages, they determined probable phonetic values for 15 different consonantal signs and four vocalic diacritics – as well as comparing these inscriptions with previous decoded inscriptions.
They eventually understood that the inscriptions referenced a Kushan ruler named Vema Takhtu and included references to him with titles like ‘king of kings” as well as several epithets. Based on these findings, researchers believe these inscriptions record a language developed between Bactrian and a dialect of Khotanese Saka spoken in ancient Western China.
Researchers are now engaged in an effort to decipher any remaining Kushan script inscriptions and hope that eventually, reading it thoroughly will provide more insights into its culture, which helped spread Buddhism across East Asia.