5 ancient scripts yet to be deciphered

july 4, 2025

Image: Shutterstock

From the Indus script to the Vinca symbols, here are some scripts that puzzle historians to this day.

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Linear A

It is a writing system used widely by the Minoan society (a Bronze Age civilisation) on Crete between 1800 and 1450 BC for administrative and religious purposes.

Image: wikipedia.org/Zde

Indus script

Used by the Indus Valley civilisation, the script was discovered in 1922 on seals and other objects. It features pictographic and abstract symbols with animal and human motifs.

Image: wikipedia.org/Public domain

Vinča symbols

Found in Southeast Europe, the Vinča symbol (4500 BC) is considered the earliest form of proto-writing, predating fully developed writing systems like Egyptian and Sumerian.

Image: wikipedia.org/Historical Museum, Dupnitsa

Rongorongo

It's a system of glyphs found on the Easter Islands that survives on just 27 tablets, predating European contact in 1722. It might have been used for recording history or religious purposes.

Image: wikipedia.org/Zde

Phaistos Disc

It's a Bronze Age artifact (1700 BC) found in Crete. The disc is engraved with 241 symbols and is believed to be a writing system. It doesn’t match any known writing system of the time.

Image: Shutterstock

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