Ventris, << VEHN trihs, >> Michael George Francis (1922-1956), a British architect, solved one of the great mysteries of archaeology. He deciphered Linear B, a system of writing used by the ancient Greeks about 3,500 years ago. Inscriptions in Linear B were first found on clay tablets discovered at Knossos, Crete, about 1900. But all efforts to decipher them failed until Ventris, an amateur cryptographer, succeeded in 1953. Working with data compiled by the American scholar Alice Krober, he proved that Linear B was Greek written in the form of writing used by the Minoans, the people of ancient Crete. As a result, scholars changed their views about the early history of ancient Greece. Ventris was born on July 12, 1922, at Wheathampstead, England. He died on Sept. 6, 1956. See also Aegean civilization ; Greece, Ancient (Beginnings) .
