Mycenaean palaeography. The “pa-i-to Epigraphic Project.” An integrative approach to Linear B tablets from Knossos

“The Linear B pa-i-to Epigraphic Project” is an epigraphic and philological project aimed at publishing a new critical and palaeographic edition of 94 Linear B tablets from Knossos, mentioning the name of Phaistos and related toponymic adjectives. In particular, we aim at developing a novel methodological approach to research, based on the use of advanced non-invasive, non-destructive and contactless digital photography technologies. The methodology consists of the combination of two innovative procedures of digital acquisition – RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging) and 3D Laser Scanning. Both techniques create virtual models which allow the user to interact with them. The presentation will mainly focus on the epigraphic analysis of the tablets. Special attention will be paid to the first outcomes of the palaeographic study which, thanks to these technologies, has reached a level of precision never achieved before: in fact, the RTI images of the tablets allowed for the first time to individuate the direction and order of execution of each stroke of the syllabograms. The 3D models have also helped to demonstrate the presence or absence of a certain stroke, in some cases leading to revisions of previous readings. Consequently, it is now possible to deduce a palaeographic “map” of every single syllabogram, which leads to a better understanding of features in the personal ductus of the scribes involved. By examining whether more scribes used to write a particular syllabogram following the same order of strokes, we may further pursue the identification of a common “graphic behaviour” that could possibly allow us to infer the existence of a single or of many scribal schools. The application of this graphological approach will contribute to the edition of the new palaeographic corpus of these tablets. Accordingly, the edition will also pay due attention to the material supports of the inscriptions through highlighting material aspects which help to infer the way the tablets were shaped by the tablet-kneaders, the presence of fingerpints or smoothing/burnishing marks, etc. For this reason, transverse and longitudinal sections of the tablets were also drawn. This corpus will be integrated with the RTI images and the 3D models of the tablets presented online in the self-standing website www.paitoproject.it. This website is designed by the project members with the precise intent of providing a freely available, modern tool of epigraphic research. The dissemination of the digital files to scholars and to a wider audience through the website will enable sharing the results published in the corpus and demonstrating the precise reasons of our epigraphic, palaeographic and graphological choices.