Ya Diktu: Grammar of the Minoan Peak Sanctuary Libation Formula | Zenodo
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Published August 12, 2026
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Ya Diktu: Grammar of the Minoan Peak Sanctuary Libation Formula
Authors/Creators
di Mino, Tom<br>(Researcher)
Description
This paper argues that Linear A, the undeciphered syllabary of Bronze Age Crete, was used primarily to record an archaic Semitic language. It systematically deconstructs the peak-sanctuary libation formula, attested at least fifteen times across seven Cretan sites, which constitutes the earliest surviving written liturgical prayer of the Bronze Age Aegean. The fullest exemplar, IO Za 2, inscribed on serpentine stone, may be read as an exchange between a priestess, her Goddess, and the assembled community.
I classify Minoan as Tinitic, an independent branch of Central Semitic (shadowing Northwest Semitic), with Eteocretan as its descendant. Position-by-position analysis identifies a prefix-conjugation verbal system, derived stems, construct-state nominal chains, mimation, energic endings, and recurrent phonological correspondences. These features address recent typological objections to a Semitic classification of Minoan and anchor Bronze Age Crete within the broader linguistic and religious continuum of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East.
Descending from Cyrus H. Gordon's Evidence for the Minoan Language (1966), my decipherment draws on an expanded Linear A corpus, a tiered lexicon, and hundreds of translated inscriptions. Readings were tested through corpus statistics, constraint propagation, morphological paradigm analysis, comparisons with logographic evidence, and cross-site variant consistency. Appendices provide an auditable catalogue of proposed readings, and translations of two Keftiu incantations preserved in the London Medical Papyrus.
This preprint has not undergone formal peer review.
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https://www.minoanmystery.org/linear-a
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2026-08-12
Preprint version 1.0 publicly released
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Keywords
Linear A
Minoan Crete
Central Semitic
Northwest Semitic
Tinitic
Libation Formula
IO Za 2
EuroSciVoc
Archaeology
Humanities
Linguistics
Ancient history
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DOI
10.5281/zenodo.21903482
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Resource type<br>Preprint
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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
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© 2026 Tom di Mino. This preprint is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), except for quotations and third-party material, which remain subject to the rights of their respective holders.
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Created
August 12, 2026
Modified
August 12, 2026
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