History
Famous Decoded Scripts
9rows
6columns
18views
0downloads
Source:Community curated
Updated:4/9/2026
9/9
Script↕ | Decoded↕ | Decipherer↕ | Underlying Language↕ | Key Find↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Egyptian Hieroglyphs | 1822 | Jean-Francois Champollion | Ancient Egyptian | Rosetta Stone (1799) | Trilingual decree in Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphs unlocked 3,000 years of Egyptian history |
Linear B | 1952 | Michael Ventris | Mycenaean Greek | Knossos and Pylos tablets | Amateur architect proved Linear B was early Greek, 500 years before classical Greek |
Maya Glyphs | 1950s-1990s | Yuri Knorozov, Linda Schele, David Stuart | Classic Mayan | Dresden Codex and stelae | Revealed Mayan kings, wars, and dates after Thompson's wrong iconographic theory collapsed |
Cuneiform (Akkadian) | 1857 | Rawlinson, Hincks, Oppert, Talbot | Akkadian, Sumerian | Behistun Inscription | Royal Asiatic Society test confirmed decipherment, unlocked Mesopotamian civilization |
Old Persian Cuneiform | 1836 | Henry Rawlinson | Old Persian | Behistun rock inscription | Rawlinson scaled cliff to copy trilingual text of Darius the Great |
Ugaritic | 1930 | Hans Bauer, Edouard Dhorme, Charles Virolleaud | Ugaritic (Semitic) | Ras Shamra tablets | 30-character alphabetic cuneiform decoded in months, shed light on Canaanite religion |
Hittite | 1915 | Bedrich Hrozny | Hittite (Indo-European) | Hattusa archives | First known Indo-European language, revealed forgotten Hittite Empire rival to Egypt |
Luwian Hieroglyphs | 1930s-1970s | Piero Meriggi, Emmanuel Laroche, J.D. Hawkins | Luwian (Indo-European) | Karatepe bilingual | Anatolian script, bilingual Phoenician-Luwian text at Karatepe unlocked final readings |
Elamite Cuneiform | 1850 | Edwin Norris | Elamite (isolate) | Behistun Inscription (column 3) | Third column of Behistun, still a language isolate with unknown relatives |
Free to explore · No signup needed
Related Datasets
More in History
Key Decisions of WWII
Which decision of World War II most altered the course of the conflict?
16 rows1 shared tag
Famous Haunted Ships & Ghost Vessels
Mary Celeste, Flying Dutchman, SS Ourang Medan — which ghost ship has the most terrifying mystery?
15 rows1 shared tag
Famous Imposters & Identity Fraudsters
Frank Abagnale, Anna Delvey, the Tichborne Claimant — which imposter pulled off the most audacious deception?
15 rows1 shared tag
Famous Duels in History
Hamilton vs. Burr, Pushkin's fatal duel, Miyamoto Musashi — which duel is the most legendary?
15 rows1 shared tag
Mughal Emperors
Emperors of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent.
20 rows1 shared tag
Famous Mutinies on Ships & in Military
HMS Bounty, Potemkin, Indian Mutiny — which military or naval mutiny had the greatest impact on history?
15 rows1 shared tag