Scientists crack the code of the 4,000 year old Ancient 'Phaistos Disk'

Scientists have been trying to decipher the mysterious "Phaistos Disk" ever since the 4,000-year-old clay disk, which is 16 centimeters in diameter, was discovered in 1908 on the Greek island of Crete.

But no one seems to have been able to translate the mysterious language inscribed on the disk, which dates back to 1700 B.C. and the height of the Minoan civilization -- until now.

Gareth Owens who has studied Classics & Ancient History at UCL, and has received a Phd from EKPA on the Structure of the Minoan Language. For the last 6 years, he focuses on the Enigma of the Phaistos Disk. «We can now 'read' and 'hear' 90% of the Disk he told The Huffington Post.

The disk can be read spirally, i.e., from the rim inwards. The disk's two sides bear a total of 242 signs which can be divided into 61 groups and there are 45 different signs on the Disk.

Watch Dr. Owens describe decrypting the Phaistos disk in this video of his TED Talk below.