The Cypro-Minoan script (CM) or Cypro-Minoan syllabary (earlier on sometimes called the Cypro-Mycenaean script), is an undeciphered syllabary used on the island of Cyprus and by its trading partners during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age (). The term "Cypro-Minoan" was coined by Arthur Evans in 1909 based on its visual similarity to Linear A on Minoan Crete, from which CM is thought to be derived. Approximately 250 objects—such as clay balls, cylinders, and tablets which bear Cypro-Minoan inscriptions, have been found. Discoveries have been made at various sites around Cyprus, as well as in the ancient city of Ugarit on the Syrian coast. It is thought to be somehow related to the later Cypriot syllabary.
The Cypro-Minoan script was in use during the Late Cypriot period from the LC IA:2 period until the LC IIIA period or roughly from 1500 BC until 1150 BC. This is mainly based with the stratigraphy of the Kourion site but is in line with examples excavated at other sites.Daniel, J.F., "Prolegomena to the Cypro-Minoan Script", AJA 45, pp. 249–282, 1941
Language The language, or languages, encoded by the Cypro-Minoan script is unknown.Palaima, Thomas G. "Cypro-Minoan Scripts: Problems of Historical Context". BCILL: Problems in Decipherment, 49, 1989, pp. 121-187.
Variants
The Cypro-Minoan inscriptions were proposed to fall into three classes by Jean-Pierre Olivier (CM1, CM2, CM3). Subsequently, Emilia Masson proposed dividing them into four closely related groups: archaic CM, CM1 (also known as Linear C), CM2, and CM3 (also called Levanto-Minoan), which she considered chronological stages of development of the writing. Donnelly, Cassandra M., "Signs, marks, and Olivier Masson", Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes 50, pp. 91–107, 2020Buchholz, H.-G., "Syrien und Zypern/Kreta/Griechenland", In Land des Baal. Syrien – Forum der Völker und Kulturen, Berlin, pp. 309–314, 1982 These classifications based on the chronological nature of the archaeological context were contested by Silvia Ferrara who pointed out that CM1, CM2, and CM3 all existed simultaneously, their texts demonstrated the same statistical and combinatorial regularities, and their character sets should have been basically the same; she also noted a strong correlation between these groups and the use of different writing materials. Only the archaic CM found in the earliest archaeological context is distinct from these three.Ferrara, Silvia, "Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions". Vol. 1: Analysis (2012); Vol. 2: The Corpus (2013), Oxford University Press and
An earlier classification system divided texts into six classes, I through VI. Another proposed classification is based on differences between three geographic divisions; 1) texts found at Ugarit, 2) texts found on the island of Cyprus, and 3) texts found in the final excavation level at Enkomi.Piero Meriggi, "I nuovi testi ciprominoici", Minos, N.A.13, fasc. I, pp. 197–258, 1972 Attempts have been made to separately decipher the latter variant.Billigmeier, Jon C., "Toward a Decipherment of Cypro-Minoan", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 80, no. 3, pp. 295–300, 1976 More recent scholarship has moved toward treating the corpus as a whole without the previous categorizations.Polig, Martina; Donnelly, Cassandra M, "Between frustration and progress : an integrated cypro-minoan signary and its paleographic diversity", Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici, Issue 8, pp. 41–62, 2022 Corazza, Michele, et al., "Unsupervised deep learning supports reclassification of Bronze age cypriot writing system", PloS one 17.7, 2022Valério M., "Cypro-Minoan: An Aegean-derived Syllabary on Cyprus (and Elsewhere)", In: Paths into Script Formation in the Ancient Mediterranean, Quasar, pp. 103–128, 2018
Corpus
Examples of Cypro-Minoan script (CM) were discovered starting in the early 1930s. These included several potmarks found in 1937 at Kourion on the southwest coast of Cyprus.Daniel, John Franklin, "Excavations at Kourion: The Late Bronze Age Settlement-Provisional Report", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 261–275, 1938Myres, John L. Myres, "A Cypro-Mycenaean Inscription from Enkomi, near Salamis in Cyprus", Man xxxix, no. 26, pp. 24, 1934 An unusual find was copper ingots recovered in 1960 from a Bronze Age shipwreck by underwater archaeologists near Cape Gelidonya. Most of the ingots were marked with what are believed to be CM signs.Bass, George F., "The Promise of Underwater Archaeology", The American Scholar, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 241–54, 1963Bass, George F., et al., "Cape Gelidonya: A Bronze Age Shipwreck", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 57, no. 8, pp. 1–177, 1967 In addition to the following it has also been suggested that there are CM signs on several cylinder seals.Valério, Miguel, "Seven uncollected Cypro-Minoan inscriptions", Kadmos, vol. 53, no. 1–2, pp. 111–127, 2014
Tablets
The earliest known CM inscription of any real length was a clay tablet discovered in 1955 at the ancient site of Enkomi, near the east coast of Cyprus. It was dated to , and bore three lines of writing. A number of other tablets were subsequently found including H-1885 (CM 0) which contained 23 signs and is dated to LC IB.Duhoux, Yves, "The Cypro-Minoan Tablet No. 1885 (Enkomi): An Analysis", Kadmos, vol. 48, no. 1–2, pp. 5–38, 2010Dikaios, P., "A Second Inscribed Clay Tablet from Enkomi", Antiquity 27, pp. 233–237, 1953Dikaios, P., "More Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions from Enkomi", In: W. Brice (ed.), Europa: Studien zur Geschichte und Epigrafik der frühen Aegaeis, Berlin: De Gruyter, pp. 80–87, 1967 Several CM tablets were excavated at Ugarit in the 1950s, (RASH Atab 001 = RS 17.06), (RASH Atab 004 = RS 20.25, Aegean area), and one surface find (RS 17.006, Residential Quarter). Two tablet fragments were also found (RASH Atab 002 = RS 19.01) and (RASH Atab 003 = RS 19.0). In total, eight full or partial tablets have been found with the three found at Enkomi, totaling over 2,000 signs, making up a significant part of the known CM corpus.Schaeffer C. F. A., "Nouvelles découvertes à Ras Shamra-Ugarit et à Enkomi-Alasia (Chypre) en 1953", CRAI, pp. 97‑106, 1954Yon, Marguerite, "Artifacts Illustrating Official and Everyday Life", The City of Ugarit at Tell Ras Shamra, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 123–172, 2006Valério, Miguel, "Problems of Cypro-Minoan Paleography: The Case of Sign Shapes 08, 13 and 78", Kadmos, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 111–134, 2013Claude F. A. Schaeffer, "More Tablets from Syria and Cyprus", Antiquity 28, pp. 38–39, 1954
Vessels
CM signs, usually ranging in number from one to four, are found on various types of vessels and are usually referred to as potmarks.Hirschfeld, Nicolle, "How and Why Potmarks Matter", Near Eastern Archaeology, vol. 71, no. 1/2, pp. 120–29, 2008 These marks have also been found on structure walls. Three examples emerged at Tiryns, a large painted jug (TIRY Avas 002) with 4 signs, a clay boule (TIRY Abou 001) with 3 signs, and a Canaanite amphora (2 signs).Davis, Brent, Maran, Joseph and Wirghová, Soňa. "A new Cypro-Minoan inscription from Tiryns: TIRY Avas 002" Kadmos, vol. 53, no. 1–2, pp. 91–109, 2014Vetters, "A Clay Ball with a Cypro-Minoan Inscription from Tiryns", Archäologischer Anzeiger 2011.2, pp. 1–49, 2011Kilian, K., "Ausgrabungen in Tiryns 1982/83: Bericht zu den Grabungen", Archäologischer Anzeiger 1988, pp 105–151, 1988Maran, J., "Forschungen in der Unterburg von Tiryns 2000–2003", Archäologischer Anzeiger 2008.1, pp. 35–111, 2008 In 2022 fragments recovered in the earlier excavations were joined to partially assemble another Canaanite jar (TIRY Avas 001) with 2 signs on one handle (already published) and one on the other handle (new).Davis, Brent, Maran, Joseph, Prillwitz, Susanne and Wirghová, Soňa, "A Canaanite jar with a Cypro-Minoan inscription from Tiryns: TIRY Avas 001", Kadmos, vol. 62, no. 1–2, pp. 1–32, 2023 CM signs were found on stirrup cups in Cannatello, Sicily.Day, P. M., & Joyner, L., "Coarseware Stirrup Jars from Cannatello, Sicily: New Evidence from Petrographic Analysis", Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici47, pp. 309–31, 2005
A number of potmarks were found on bronze bowls dated to the Late Cypriote III period () on Cyprus as well as on one silver bowl found at Ugarit.V. Karageorghis, "Fouilles de Kition 1959", BCH, 1960A. Kanta and Massimo Perna, "An Inscribed Bronze Bowl from Cyprus in the Zintilis Collection", Kadmos, vol. 38, no. 1–2, pp. 97–102, 1999 Eighteen potmarks, incised after firing, on jar handles (along with one ostracon bearing about 8 signs) were found at Ashkelon. The ostracon dated to the 11th century BC, fifteen of the handles dated to the late Iron I period and the other three handles to the Late Bronze Age.Cross, Frank Moore, and Lawrence E. Stager, "Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions Found in Ashkelon", Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 129–59, 2006
Forty two potmarks were found on vessels in Kouklia at the site of Old Paphos in western Cyprus. All but one were on handles with the remaining potmark on a rim. Thirty two of the marks are or include numerals.Mitford, Terence B., "The Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions of Old Paphos", Kadmos, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 87–96, 1971 Other potmarks have been found at the Bamboula site, part of the Kition archaeological sites on Cyprus.Haskell, Halford W., "Were LM IIIB inscribed stirrup-jars palatial?", Kadmos, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 85–86, 1986Benson, J. L. and Masson, O., "Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions from Bamboula, Kourion: General Remarks and New Documents", American Journal of Archaeology 64/2, pp. 145–151, 1960A. W. Persson, "More Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions", in The Swedish Cyprus Expedition 3, Stockholm, pp. 601—618, 1937 Small numbers of CM potmarks have been found throughout the trading range.Yasur-Landau, A. and Goren, Y., "A Cypro-Minoan Potmark from Aphek", Tel Aviv 31/1, pp. 22–31, 2004Dothan, Trude, "Excavations at the cemetery of Deir el-Balaḥ (Qedem)", Qedem, vol. 10, pp. 1–114, 1978 A compendium of known potmarks was assembled in 1974.E. Masson, "Cyprominoica: Repertoires, documents de Ras Shamra: Essais d'interpretation", Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology, 31:2. Goteborg: Astroms, 1974
Clay balls
About 92 small clay balls measuring in diameter, each bearing 3–5 signs in CM, have been uncovered at Enkomi and Kition.Ferrara, S., and M. Valério, "Contexts and Repetitions of Cypro-Minoan Inscriptions: Function and Subject Matter of Clay Balls", BASOR 378, pp. 71–94, 2017Donnelly, Cassandra M., "Repetition, Sortition, and Abbreviations in the Cypro-Minoan Script", Repetition, Communication, and Meaning in the Ancient World. Brill, pp. 93–118, 2021Axel W. Persson, "Some Inscribed Terracotta Balls from Enkomi", Danielsson Octogenario Dicatae, Upsalla, pp. 269–273, 1932 Small quantities of CM inscribed clay balls have been found through the trading range including at Tiryns in Greece and Hala Sultan Tekke on Cyprus.Åström, Paul, "Excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke", Archaeology, vol. 37, no. 2, 1984, pp. 58–81, 1984
Clay cylinders