Evans, Arthur J.: The Palace of Minos: a comparative account of the successive stages of the early Cretan civilization as illustred by the discoveries at Knossos (Band 2,1): Fresh lights on origins and external relations (London, 1928)

248

'SHIP' SIGN IN LINEAR INSCRIPTIONS

common with the olive, and the simple spikes that stand for branches may
be taken to show that we have to deal with some kind of fir. We have
here, in fact, a very probable reference to the export of timber derived from
the old cypress woods of the island that provided the huge Palace beams.1

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Forepart
only
on ad-
vanced
Linear
Class A
and B.

Ship Sign
on Linear
Docu-
ments.

Fig. 145. Tablet of Linear Class A, from Hagia Triada, showing ' Ship ' Signs and
Winged Female Personage apparently holding an Anchor.

It is possible that 'cedar' wood reached Egypt from Crete as well as from
the Syrian ports.

In both classes of the advanced linear script the forepart only of a ship
appears among the characters. It is possible that in cases
where it is grouped with other signs, it may have formed part
of a personal name like the Greek vavs. Where, however,
it appears alone, as on both sides of a tablet of Class A from
Hagia Triada, Fig. 145, a, 3* it has clearly an ideographic value.
Here on face a it is followed by numerals meaning 30.
This tablet is noteworthy from the appearance of the two mysterious signs
already mentioned in connexion with the ink-written cup from Knossos,3 one-
of them, as there, presenting a man's legs, the other a woman's flounces, both
in the act of walking and with axe-like appendages behind that give them

1 These, as noted above (p. 7), are from of my own series), made with the kind per-
Cupressus horizontalis, surviving thickets of mission of Prof. F. Halbherr.

which are still to be found. 3 P. of M., i, pp. 615, 616, and Fig. 452, b, 18.

2 From my copy of the tablet (no. 27