Mycenaean Inscription from Knossos: Cretan Linear B Tablet Recreation (plaster cast) about 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches. About 1400 BC. One of the Linear B tablets discovered in 1900 by archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in the ruins of Cretes Palace of Knossos. Linear B is one of the earliest forms of Greek writing, developed from Semitic script used by Phoenician traders. Its earliest form under the Minoans is known as Linear A. Linear B dates to the Mycenaean occupation after 1450 BC.