Phestos

Phestos, also spelled Phaistos, is an ancient Minoan city on the island of Crete, Greece. It lies in the Mesara Plain on the southern coast and is best known for its palatial complex and for the Phaistos Disc found there.

Archaeology and site: The palace at Phestos dates to the Middle Bronze Age and expanded in the Late Bronze Age. The site features multistory buildings, a central courtyard, storerooms, and other elements typical of Minoan palatial centers. The settlement played a role in regional administration and exchange networks. The city declined after the Bronze Age collapse, and later occupation was limited.

Phaistos Disc: In 1908, Italian archaeologists led by Luigi Pernier uncovered a fired clay disk at the site, known as the Phaistos Disc. The disk measures about 15 centimeters in diameter and carries a spiral sequence of 61 stamped signs on both sides. The symbols are part of a unique script that has not been deciphered, and the disc’s exact purpose remains debated. The artifact is dated to the late Minoan period, in the second millennium BCE.

Legacy: Phestos is a key reference point for Minoan civilization and the study of undeciphered scripts. Artifacts from the site, including the Phaistos Disc, are housed in museums such as the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. The name Phestos continues to be used in scholarly and popular contexts to denote this significant Bronze Age center on Crete.