The Wor(l)ds of Linear A: Concluding Thoughts

There is more than one way in which a conclusion to the Wor(l)ds of Linear A can be meant, beyond the obvious composition of a pertinent text, such as this one. This chapter revolves around (but is not restricted to) topics raised during the concluding discussion section of the conference, on whose proceedings this volume is based, so meticulously organized by Ester Salgarella. In this sense, this text may offer a (necessarily selective) survey on the topic and a few reflections on the theme of the conference, the writing system we have come to name, since Sir Arthur Evans first invented this nomenclature, as “Linear script of Class A” or, in short, “Linear A”. This is a happy conclusion to the first international meeting devoted entirely to this script and leading to the first international multi-author publication of the same focus. We trust it was a happy occasion for all involved, either as members of its scientific committee (mentioned and kindly acknowledged in the Foreword) or even as attendants and active participants in the stimulating discussions that followed. Moreover, each conclusion is happy because, in scholarly adventures, each end is simultaneously also a point of departure: our highest hope is that WoLA (as we suggest that the event and the volume itself be abbreviated) will stimulate further research, effectively preparing the ground for a second international meeting on Linear A, so as to establish the study of the Linear A script in its multifaceted nature as an independent (yet inter-connected) field of academic enquiry.