Rarely known... or understood

DDWs March 2014 Vocabulary Challenge - Selcouth

Selcouth comes from old English, and means something a little out of the ordinary, unusual or rarely known.

In 1878 Minos Kalokairinos (Μιλος Καλοκαιρινος) uncovered some ancient items on Crete, near Heraklion (Ηρακλειον). In 1900, the site began to be excavated by Arthur Evans, and they uncovered one of the largest palace compounds ever excavated. Within that, they discovered two tablets, with distinct writing, Linear A and Linear B.

We went to see The Palace of Knossos in 2010. My eldest was most struck by the tablet with the Linear A writing - simply propped up amongst the ruins. Linear A has never been deciphered. It is thought that this was the earliest writing form in Europe, and dates back, possibly predating Homer. There are many theories. My guess is that it dates to the time of the sea peoples, which would explain the other locations where tablets have been found, such as Miletus, Mycaenae, etc... But it is linked to some of the most enduring mysteries in archaeology, literature, and early Greek / Mediterranean history.

In the shop, my eldest bought this, a metal representation of the tablet we saw.