Linear B Tablets

^{Palace of Nestor}

Administrative tablets and sealings from the Aegean Bronze Age Palace of Nestor at Pylos, in Messenia, Greece were unearthed by Carl Blegen beginning on the first day of excavations in 1939. These tablets, inscribed with a script known as Linear B, record the administrative activity of the palace. For the 2nd year in a row, Benjamin Rennison from the WLCC has been working with colleagues from the College of Charleston in Greece to photograph and document the tablets for future research. RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging) and 3d scanning were used in documentation. These methods of data acquisition will provide the end user with highly accurate renditions of the color, shape, topography, and texture of each and every administrative document from Pylos.

The Breuckmann white light scanner works by projecting a sequence of fringe patterns (black and white lines) onto the artifact, while two cameras capture the projected pattern in full color. Objects are resting on a turntable to allow the rotation of the tablet without moving it by hand. This scanner provides a high-resolution three dimensional models of the tablets in color.

Above: Linear B tablet from the palace at Hora Museum.

Click here to read more at the ArchaeoInformant.