the most ancient form of the Greek language that has been discovered. It was a chancellery language, used mainly for records and inventories of royal palaces and commercial establishments. Written in a syllabic script known as Linear B (Linear A and Linear B), it has been found mostly on clay tablets discovered at Knossos and Chania in Crete and at Pylos, Mycenae, Tiryns, and Thebes on the mainland, as well as in inscriptions on pots and jars from Thebes, Mycenae, and other cities that imported these vessels from Crete.