Directionality and readability

On clay tablets, Linear A is often written from left to right and from top to bottom. The text on this cup differs slightly in that respect because of its circular shape. The text still has a dextroverse direction, but the cyclic surface results in a spiral alignment of the signs. The arrangement of Linear A signs is often adapted to the available surface, as is visible on Minoan jewelry.

Not just the spiral alignment, but also the fact that the interior of this cup is inscribed rather than the exterior hampers the readability of this text. The interior inscription suggests that the text is designed to be read by the cup’s user only. Furthermore, it is only possible to read the text when the cup is empty or to read parts of the text when the user is drinking from the cup and turns it around. This reading while drinking is facilitated by the arrangement of the signs. The text starts in the middle at the bottom and follows the dextroverse spiral towards the rim. Moreover, the signs are painted with the top towards the bottom, and two sign groups are divided by a punctuation mark. [[Flouda 2013]]([Flouda 2013, 162]

These upside-down marks, the spiral alignment of the painted inscription and the marked use of an old cup shape make this Minoan clay cup a much more intriguing object than you would expect of a cup-shaped lump of clay. Why this archaic footed goblet shape was used for this cup, or why this inscription is written in a cup which was one or two centuries old by that time, and why the Linear A text was meant to be read only by the user, can hopefully be answered when someone manages to decipher Linear A.