Archaeologist and linguist, Dr. Gareth Owens, has announced that the decipherment of the Phaistos Disc is 99% complete.

Owens, who has devoted the last 30 years to trying to solve the puzzle, will make an official announcement of the results of his research on February 7.

The Phaistos Disc, made of fired clay, was discovered in the Minoan palace of Phaistos on the island of Crete in 1908. This ancient artefact is thought to date to the middle or late Minoan Period (second millennium B.C.) and is about 15cm (5.9 in) in diameter and covered on both sides with a spiral of stamped symbols. Its purpose and meaning, and even its original geographical place of manufacture, have remained in dispute, making it one of the most famous mysteries of archaeology.

The disc is on permanent display at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion on Crete.