|
THE PHAISTOS DISK, BOTH SIDES CONNECTED
HOW THE DISK WAS MADE - THE GOD KHNUM-RA
In ancient Egypt the god Khnum, one of the earliest gods, made the Ba or human bodies of children from clay on his potter's wheel. He also placed them in their mother' womb. This accounted for the origin of the human body of an individual, which came from out of this god. He was the consort of Heket, who breathed life into the children at birth. He was also thought of as the creator of other gods, so he became identified as the Ba of Ra, the human counterpart of the higher divine self or Ka. Ba was also the world for Ram (left, Phaistos Disk pictograph). The creator of the Phaistos Disk was perhaps re-enacting the work of Khnum-Ra when at the potter's wheel creating the disk.

Phaistos Disk, Side One

Phaistos Disk, Side Two
As you can see, the pictographs on the disk appear to be identical. As example, the shields (left)
that appear fifteen times on this side of the disk are clearly intended to be identical. The same is true for all the pictographs that are
apparently identical. Therefore, an assumption was made and widely accepted by all who study the disk that the pictographs were made with
tiny stamps pressed into the clay disk. This would also conveniently account for raised pictographs on the disk. As they were stamped into the wet clay, the pictographs were
created raised above the disk, making the disk itself into a kind of stamp.
In many cases the pictographs are both raised above the disk and merged with it. In some cases they appear to be pressed into it.
Still, how else could the pictographs be elevated above the disk in such a way and how else could the pictographs be made to be identical? The answer has
to be use of an early printing press technology in the form of tiny pre-made stamps. But this theory, accepted for so many years by so many people, is incorrect.
The printing press theory of using tiny stamps to create the disk is incorrect.
Nor did the stamp theory ever explain the presence of the elevated spirals on both sides of
the disk. The pictographs left, cropped from an enlarged .bmp image of the disk, show the pictographs were intended by its creater to be
identical but are not absolutely identical because the disk creator lacked the rudimentary printing press technology that has long been ascribed to the creation of the Phaistos Disk.
 As the
disk is only a little larger than a CD, the pictographs on the disk are tiny. When these two pictographs are reduced to a size that might appear on the disk, they do become "identical." But when
they are enlarged they are obviously the same but not identical.
 I cropped all the pictographs on the disk and displayed them so you can see that not a single one of them is identical to another. Obviously, a very good artist created these pictographs and this disk (see the table below). Only a good artist working in the genre of miniature art could create 240 individual pictographs to appear to be identical. It is very likely the artist excelled in the genre of miniature art during the Minoan period when art miniaturization was so popular.
 Miniature art in Minoan Crete included statues, figurines, ritual groups (below, left), incense burners, housewares, signet rings, shrine figurines, miniature goddesses, wagons (left), swings (right), shields, dresses, hats, hut urns (below) and much more.
So, the artist created 240 individual miniature pictographs. How did the artist get them onto the disk and why do the pictographs need to be identical? If an artist is making 240
pictographs to go onto a disk, then why would not the artist create unique pictographs? Eleven of the pictographs on the disk are unique. Why hand-create 229 pictographs to look exactly like other
pictographs? If the disk was intended to contain a language script, why not etch that script into the disk rather than make so many tiny pictographs? But it seems the artist wanted to make identical miniature pictographs.
If the artist had the idea and the knowledge to create unique stamps, then obviously s/he would have done so, if for no other reason than to make the pictographs truly identical and
also to save a monumental amount of time. Therefore, printing press technology in the form of tiny stamps into clay was not known at this time or, if it was known, this particular artist did not know it.
There is also the possiblity that the stamp technology was known but did not work well impressed into clay.
So how was it made? Here is my theory. The artist of the Phaistos Disk made at least 10 to 20 sketches of the disk designs prior to creating it. Perhaps the sketches were made using
papyrus or perhaps they were simply drawn into sand. Maybe they were created as other Phaistos Disks but did not come out right so were destroyed and the attempts continued until this disk was
finally created satisfactorily to the artist. Below are the five main sketches made by the artist prior to creating the Phaistos Disk.
Additional sketches were made to incorporate into the disk all known figures of plane geometry, including straight parallel lines and straight lines not parallel. (See the right columns.) After the artist made the sketches, s/he created the 240 miniature pictographs from clay and set them aside. Then the round disk was created from the same batch of clay and then the artist lightly etched the spiral designs into both sides of the wet clay disk. Next, the artist pressed the pictographs onto one side of the disk in exact locations, following the pre-made sketches. When one side of the disk was finished it was turned over and laid down so those pictographs were pressed into the wet clay as the other side was being completed. Then the disk was turned again to lay on the second side and press those pictographs into the clay. The artist then made fine lines of clay for the spirals and placed them onto the disk one side at a time along the patterns already etched into the disk.
Alternately, the artist may have created a way to elevate the disk while working on it. Depending on the wetness of the clay disk, the artist had a time frame to create it of probably two to 8 hours. This method of creating the disk also explains why the artist baked it rather than sun dried it, as baking it would ensure the pictographs were permanently merged with the clay disk. In the process of making the disk, many of the pictographs were unevenly merged into the disk and a close inspection of the disk shows smudging, particularly around the outer edges, indicating the disk may have taken some damage during this process or either the method of holding the disk upright left smudges along the edges. This method of making the Phaistos Disk seems very likely to me, especially since the hidden designs on the disk are revealed by connecting seemingly identical pictographs.
The Phaistos Disk is a pottery art masterpiece and is, at the very least, an artist's triumph in the genre of miniaturization. Not only the pictographs are miniatures but also the disk itself is intended, I believe, to be a miniature Figure 8 Shield. Each side of the disk is a face of the shield, upper and lower, and on both faces are more designs so that the Figure 8 Shield itself is a world disk in miniature. The Phaistos Disk may have been intended as a shield design to create a legendary bronze shield. (Left, pictograph of the warrior holding the disk/shield)
PHAISTOS DISK CLAY PICTOGRAPHS
With Locations on the Disk
Line segments are counted from the center of each side, spiraling out
These images are cropped from the disk. Each set of images are the same in that they are intended to be identical,
but they are not identical. They were not made with tiny stamps but created by an artist so accomplished at minature art that we believed
them to be exactly identical as though made by a printing press technology. The artist needed them to seem identical so the connect-the-dots method of solving the disk puzzle could be accomplished.
4Sun/Flower, Helios, Eight, Vertex, Dodona 3 Side A, Positions - 1, 13, 76, Segments - A1, 4, 19 1 Side B, Position - 72, Segment - B19 |
2
Astronomer-Priest, Argonaut, Sailor, Minyae, Oracle, Divine Curete
2 Side A, Positions - 2, 14, Segments - A1, 4 0 Side B |
4
Oar, Argonauts, Minyae, Minyaens
4 Side A, Positions - 3, 15, 46, 71, Segments - A1, 4, 11, 18 0 Side B |
11

Runner, Olympic Runner, Herakles, Hermes
6 Side A, Positions - 4, 19, 41, 66, 84, 118, Segments - A2, 6, 10, 17, 20, 30
5 Side B, Position - 51, 60, 71, 88, 94, Segment - B14, 16, 19, 23, 24 |
6

Spindle for Cloth
3 Side A, Positions - 5, 20, 119, Segments - A2, 6, 30
3 Side B, Position - 44, 89, 95, Segment - B12, 23, 24 |
2

Maze, Palace, House of the God, Three
2 Side A, Positions - 6, 56, Segments - A3, 15
0 Side B |
4

Thistle, Thyrsoi, Festival, Wand with Pine Cone
2 Side A, Positions - 7, 57, Segments - A3, 15
2 Side B, Position - 85, 109, Segment - B22, 28 |
11

Tree, Sacred Oak, Plant, Five
5 Side A, Positions - 8, 16, 57, 85, 90 , Segments - A3, 5, 15, 21, 22
6 Side B, Positions - 9, 29, 58, 66, 79, 111, Segments - B3, 8, 15, 18, 21, 29 |
15

Golden Fleece
10 Side A, Positions - 9, 10, 30, 34, 47, 58, 59, 72, 99, 103, Segments - A3, 3, 9, 9, 12, 15, 15, 19, 24, 25
5 Side B, Positions - 35, 52, 74, 104, 114, Segments - B9, 14, 19, 27, 29 |
17

Bronze Shield, Hexagram, Hexahedron
15 Side A, Positions - 11, 21, 23, 35, 39, 51, 60, 64, 79, 88, 95, 100, 106, 114, 120,
Segments - A3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30
2 Side B, Positions - 100, 118, Segments - B26, 30 |
19

Minyae, Headdress, Crested Dancer, Armed Dancer
14 Side A, Positions - 12, 22, 36, 40, 48, 52, 61, 65, 73, 80, 89, 96, 107, 121,
Segments - A3, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 26, 30
5 Side B, Positions - 11, 54, 78, 110, 119, Segments - B3, 14, 20, 28, 30 |
3

Crossroad, Paved Road, Adjacent Angle
3 Side A, Positions - 17, 26, 86, Segments - A5, 9, 21 |
9

Pillar, Hammer, Awl, Carpentry, Leatherworking
5 Side A, Positions - 18, 44, 53, 69, 77, Segments - A5, 12, 14, 18, 19, 4
Side B, Positions - 4, 24, 98, 108, Segments - B2, 6, 25, 26 |
6

Horn, Serpent, Fire, Rising
5 Side A, Positions - 24, 37, 49, 62, 91 , Segments - A7, 10, 13, 16, 22
1 Side B, Positions - 77, Segments - B20 |
5

Vulture, Icarus
5 Side A, Positions - 25, 38, 50, 63, 92, Segments - A7, 10, 13, 16, 22
0 Side B |
1

Hat, Hill, Pyramid, Mt. Ida
1 Side A, Positions - 27, Segments - A8
0 Side B |
12

Pyramid, Vault, Carpenter's Square
6 Side A, Positions - 28, 31, 43, 68, 93, 117, Segments - A8, 9, 12, 18, 23, 30
6 Side B, Positions - 13, 23, 30, 63, 87, 97, Segments - 4, 6, 8, 17, 23, 25 |
4

Mother, Isis/Rhea, Earth Mother
2 Side A, Positions - 29, 94, Segments - A8, 23
2 Side B, Positions - 10, 59, Segments - B3, 15 |
3

Falcon on the Perch, Bird, Partridge, Dove
2 Side A, Positions - 32, 78, Segments - A9, 19
1 Side B, Positions - 57 , Segments - B15 |
2

Yoke
1 Side A, Positions - 33, Segments - A9
1 Side B, Positions - 64 , Segments - B17 |
2

Hoof, Bull's Foot
2 Side A, Positions - 42, 67, Segments - A11, 17 |
7

Boat, Skiff
2 Side A, Positions - 46, 71, Segments - A12, 18
5 Side B, Positions - 3, 32, 73, 83, 105, Segments - B2, 9, 19, 22, 27 |
6

Sharpsnout Fish
2 Side A, Positions - 54, 90, Segments - A14, 26
4 Side B, Positions - 55, 61, 92, 103, Segments - B15, 16, 24, 26 |
1

Crab
1 Side A, Positions - 74, Segments - B18
0 Side B |
4

Grass, Marshes
1 Side A, Positions - 75, Segments - B18
3 Side B, Positions - 14, 56, 93 , Segments - B4, 15, 24 |
18

Star/Seed, Pomegranate, Fruit, Star
3 Side A, Positions - 79, 87, 97, Segments - A20, 25, 28
15 Side B, Positions - 1, 7, 12, 18, 25, 26, 28, 31, 37, 41, 48, 82, 90, 112, 115,
Segments - B1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 21, 23, 29, 30 |
6


Casket, Coffin Chest
1 Side A, Positions - 82, 105, 115, Segments - A24
3 Side B, Positions - 75, 80, 118 , Segments - B20, 21, 30 |
2

Roll Up, Baby, Rock wrapped as a baby
2 Side A, Positions - 81, 85, Segments - A20, 21
0 Side B |
5

Glove, Fingers, Dactyls, 5 Divine Curetes, Hand
1 Side A, Positions - 97, Segments - A24
4 Side B, Positions - 17, 36, 45, 47, Segments - B5, 10, 12, 12, 13 |
1

Stylized Pig, Sow
1 Side A, Positions - 98, Segments - A24
0 Side B |
6

Wave, Water, Aegean Sea
2 Side A, Positions - 102, 112 , Segments - A25, 28
4 Side B, Positions - 2, 27, 42, 113 , Segments - B1, 7, 11, 29 |
1

Father, Warrior, Dactyloi, Orion with the Pleiades hanging from the belt, Ares, Planet Mars
1 Side A, Positions - 106, Segments - A26
0 Side B |
1

Dog Scratching, Big Dog, Canis Major
1 Side A, Positions - 108, Segments - A27
0 Side B |
10

Lioness
2 Side A, Positions - 109, 112, Segments - A27, 28
8 Side B, Positions - 6, 20, 39, 43, 46, 50, 62, 70 , Segments - B2, 5, 10, 11,12,13, 16, 18 |
1

Lion Roar
1 Side A, Positions - 110, Segments - A27
0 Side B |
6

Palenquin, Temple
1 Side A, Positions - 116, Segments - A29
5 Side B, Positions - 22, 68, 69, 81, 102 , Segments - B6, 18, 18, 21, 26 |
2

Ivy, Heart of Dionysis
0 Side A, 2 Side B, Positions - 5, 34, Segments - B2, 9 |
2

Hoe, Scepter
0 Side A, 2 Side B, Positions - 8, 33, Segments - B3, 9 |
1

Ram
0 Side A, 1 Side B, Positions - 15, Segments - A4
|
2

Cave, Mystery, Hood of a Robe
0 Side A, 2 Side B, Positions - 16, 53, Segments - B4, 14 |
4

Plant, Olive Branch
0 Side A, 4 Side B, Positions - 19, 38, 49, 76, Segments - B5, 10, 13, 20 |
5

Gauge, Measuring Device, Fork, Horned Serpent
5 Side B, Positions - 21, 40, 86, 106, 117, Segments - B5, 10, 22, 27, 30 |
2

Shell, Trumpet
0 Side A, 2 Side B, Positions - 65, 99, Segments - B17, 24 |
2

Pitcher, Vase
0 Side A, 2 Side B, Positions - 67, 101, Segments - B18, 26 |
1

Saw
0 Side A
1 Side B, Positions - 84, Segments - B22 |
1

Axe, Labrys
0 Side A, 1 Side B, Positions - 91, Segments - B22 |
1

Pyramid, Equilateral, Triangle
0 Side A, 1 Side B, Positions - 96, Segments - B23 |
1

Young Man, Child, Mythical Creature
0 Side A
1 Side B, Positions - 107, Segments - B28
|
|