Minoan Archaeology

Tholos A at Apesokari (south-central Crete, Greece) was constructed on a sloping ledge of bedrock, overlooking the Mesara Plain below. Such an inconvenient topographic setting makes Tholos A an unusual example in the corpus of Minoan circular tombs, which were more commonly built on flatter ground. The builders seem to have cared greatly about placing Tholos A precisely at this location, even at the risk of jeopardizing the stability of its circular chamber. Furthermore, due to limited space availability, the annex rooms of Tholos A had to be built at a higher level on the bedrock, resulting in an architectural configuration unparalleled in other circular tombs. This paper addresses the question of why this particular location was chosen for the construction of Tholos A. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are used to examine the possibility that concerns related to visibility, intervisibility or invisibility may have played a role in the decision to build Tholos A at this particular spot. Five potential scenarios are formulated and tested to assess whether the tomb may have been placed with the intention of maximizing its visibility and ensuring (or, to the contrary, preventing) intervisibility with specific features in the local landscape.

Ιn the shadow of the Protagonists. The minor heroes of Cretan archaeology during the interwar period.

In the long history of Cretan archeology, many archaeologists served in the Archaeological Service of Crete. Not unexpectedly, relevant historiographical studies focus  on the Ephors, who by law retained the privilege of excavations and of publications.
Nevertheless, behind these brilliant men there were the  Antiquities Curators, who had been sent to serve at the Cretan Ephorate  as state mobility programs demanded, and who were charged with a variety of official tasks and duties, yet without enjoying the same rights and privilleges as those of the Ephors.
Next to the Curators  there were the "Temporary Curators", mostly schoolteachers, who, in return for a meager extra salary, took on the archaeological administration of entire regions.
The aim of the present paper is to shed light to these men who worked away in the shadow of the Ephors and who silently contributed often in a most constructive way  to the history of Cretan archeology during the interwar period.

Σκοπός αυτής της εργασίας είναι αφενός η αναφορά στα βασικά χαρακτηριστικά των ιερών κορυφής και αφετέρου η διερεύνηση της ύπαρξης ή όχι κοινών τοπογραφικών στοιχείων που θα μπορούσαν να εξηγήσουν την επιλογή των συγκεκριμένων θέσεων για λατρευτικούς σκοπούς.

This  paper  takes  female  anthopomorphic  figurines  from  the  Cretan  Bronze  Age  peak  sanctuary  of  Prinias  as  a  case  study  for  exploring  Minoan  terracotta  figurines  from  the  perspective  of  their  production.  The  specific  focus  is  on  the  processes  of  ‘making’, that is modelling and construction within a handmade coroplastic tradition in which figurines are, for the most part, constructed  from  separate  pieces  and  formed  using  a  complex,  additive  process  that  may  involve  a  variety  of  methods  such  as  shaping,  pinching,  pegging  and  applied  clay  or  painted  details.  The  aim  is  the  reconstruction  of  the  process  or  sequence  of modelling and construction of the clay figurine, paying close attention to decision-making, variant possibilities and which elements of the figurines are given the greatest care and elaboration. Such a study of the technologies of manufacture can help us to better evaluate and understand stylistic choices and variation within the context of practices of use, and thus the role of figurines in communicating social messages relating to individual and community identities

The ‘Textiles and Seals’ research project investigates the multiple and complex relationships between textile production, the iconography of seals and sealing practices in Bronze Age Greece. These relations can be traced today in the wide-ranging evidence, comprising textile imprints on the underside of and inside seal-impressed lumps of clay, seal-impressed textile tools (especially loom weights) and textile production-related motifs in the Aegean seals imagery. The main research questions that are posed by this project, aim to explain the use of textiles in sealing practices and the use of seals in the administration of textile production, as well as the meaning and diachronic frequency of references to textile production that appear in the iconography of Aegean glyptic.
In order to facilitate the achievement of these tasks, an Open Access data base has been designed specifically for this project through the services of the Digital Humanities Laboratory of the University of Warsaw. In this paper, I will briefly demonstrate the structure of this data base and the possibilities of its search engine. Although the data entry has not yet been finished, this new comparative approach to investigate the relationships between different kinds of evidence, i.e. the imagery of seals, textile imprints and seal-impressed textile tools, has already proved to be a powerful tool. It offers new interpretations based on a large number of records and, until now, unexplored combinations of various data.

This paper explores the probability of a causal relationship between the eruption of the volcano on the Aegean island of Santorini, sometime in the 2 nd millennium BCE, and the collapse of one of the foremost civilisations of the Bronze Age Mediterranean, that of the Minoans on Crete. Countless papers in the hard sciences have discussed the absolute date, size, nature, potential tsunami generation, climatic effects and various other types of accompanying hazards of this eruption, while, from an early stage of Minoan archaeology onwards, its role within the breakdown process of Cretan society in the 15 th c. BCE was considered. Unfortunately, the discussion has also been tainted with references to mythological catastrophes as those of Atlantis, Deucalion's Flood, Talos and the seven plagues of Egypt. While the relative date of the Santorini eruption is securely established, with the event happening in a ceramic period called 'advanced Late Minoan IA', discussions continue on its absolute date. This said, the widespread fire destruction levels that typify the end of most Cretan settlements belong to a somewhat later period, Late Minoan IB, and three generations may have passed between the eruption and the end of the wave of fire destructions. This temporal lapse, the limited archaeological visibility of eruption-related phenomena and the paucity of eruption-related traces in Cretan palaeoenvironmental archives (preventing an appreciation of its environmental impacts) has led scholars to downplay the impact of this catastrophic event on contemporary societies. By paying particular attention to resilience and potential catastrophe-induced psychological effects as reflected by the archaeological record, this paper reconsiders some of the major changes that can be identified in the material record of the phase following the eruption. Contrasting practices illustrating resilience following previous earthquake destructions with their absence after the eruption, we argue that the distal effects of the eruption affected the collective ethos of the Minoans , setting in motion a process of disintegration that that would lead to the collapse of Minoan society during the Late Minoan IB period. Abstract for stakeholders Disasters are foremost social phenomena and resilience can be shown to be closely linked to prior experiences of catastrophic events. Santorini Island has nowadays become a prime tourist 2 destination, as has the north coast of the island of Crete. Very little awareness of the potential danger involved seems to exist despite the fact that potential seismic, volcanic or tsunamic events continue to threaten the area. The damage and social impact of the Bronze Age eruption should be used as an example that can be instructive for local policy makers and stakeholders to put into place reliable early warning systems, emergency and evacuation procedures for residents and visitors alike in case of disasters.

This is the first comprehensive study of the largest Linear A documentary archive discovered thus far. It was found at Hagia Triada, in South-central Crete, and dated to the Late Minoan IB period, which corresponds to roughly the mid-16th century B.C. (according to the “High Chronology), or mid-15th century B.C. (according to the “Low Chronology”).
It includes 147 written clay tablets and more than 1,000 sealings of various types. Their functions and original mechanisms of interaction are reconstructed through an extensive commentary on their archaeological contexts, their physical, textual, palaeographic and/or glyptic characteristics, and their patterns of distribution.
A new classification of Linear A tablets is also suggested.
Textual and archaeological data are then compared, in order to trace an updated picture of the settlement dynamics in the region and investigate the relationship between the Palace of Phaistos and the Villa of Hagia Triada.
Since the individuals responsible for accounting also “counted” in an economic, political and social sense, agency issues, such as the roles and status of the people involved in sealing and writing practices, are also addressed throughout the book.

Even after a century of focused investigation, Minoan iconography presents numerous challenges to scholarship. Lacking literary and historical sources, the subjects of this strikingly naturalistic and graceful art form remain persistently anonymous. Divine beings cannot be reliably distinguished from humans playing priestly roles, and only a few mythical monsters can be recognized from one composition to another. Academic literature on the topic is abundant, yet consensus on even the most important points of identification (e.g., the 'Great Goddess' problem) is lacking. This essay investigates the methodological problems confronting the study of Minoan iconography, reviews current approaches to the subject, suggests directions for future research.

The aim of the present master thesis is to present the effect of fire in the manipulation of the deceased in the Aegean Bronze Age through experimental approaches. The experimental part was complemented by the macroscopic examination of selected archaeological burnt bones in order to start the building up of a database on the conditions, the technology and the effect of fire on human remains from the prehistoric Aegean. The case study bone assemblage was derived from the recently excavated Early Minoan cemetery (early 3rd mill. BC) at Koumasa, Greece. Exposure of the body to fire, causes various physical, chemical and mechanical alterations including colour change, propagation of fractures, shrinkage, warping, deformation, relative cortical preservation, as well as, removal of the organic component and modification of the inorganic crystal component. Thorough macroscopic examination of the aforementioned features can provide valuable information regarding fire’s intensity and temperature, the duration of burning events, the amount of raw material which was necessary for the manipulation of fire, the position and proximity of the body to fire, as well as the stage of decomposition of the burned remains (dry, fleshed, or semi-fleshed) at the time of burning. To that, a number of extrinsic and intrinsic factors indicate the process’ complexity and the parameters which need to be taken into account in modern simulations of firing conditions of the past. One of the main goals of this master thesis is the proposal of a specialised methodological protocol for the macroscopic study of burnt bones. This methodology was formulated taking into account all the suggestions of researchers studying burnt human bones and applied both to the burnt pig bones collected from the experimental pyres and to the human remains derived from tholos B of Koumasa. This parallel use of a common methodology in experimental and archaeological samples, which not only records biological features, but also features related to the effects of fire on the bone structure, aims to compare the data and to better understand the role of fire in the manipulation of the deceased.

Η παρούσα μεταπτυχιακή διπλωματική εργασία παρουσιάζει τη δυναμική της χρήσης της φωτιάς στη μεταχείριση των νεκρών κατά την Εποχή του Χαλκού στο Αιγαίο, έτσι όπως προκύπτει από την εφαρμογή πειραματικών προσεγγίσεων, αλλά και την παράλληλη εξέταση μέρους των ανθρώπινων σκελετικών καταλοίπων από το προανακτορικό νεκροταφείο θολωτών τάφων στην Κουμάσα (αρχές 3ης χιλιετίας π.Χ.), του νομού Ηρακλείου, Κρήτης. Μέσα από την εκτενή καταγραφή των θερμικών αλλοιώσεων που υφίσταται το ανθρώπινο σώμα εξαιτίας της έκθεσής του στη φωτιά, είναι εφικτό να εξαχθούν σημαντικά στοιχεία που σχετίζονται αφενός με την τεχνολογία της φωτιάς και την ανασύσταση της θερμικής διαδικασίας κι αφετέρου με το ρόλο που είχε η φωτιά στη μεταχείριση των νεκρών μιας κοινότητας. Για την καλύτερη και ολιστική κατανόηση του πολυσχιδούς και πολυδιάστατου χαρακτήρα ενός θερμικού επεισοδίου, όπου καίγονται ανθρώπινα μέλη, είναι απαραίτητη η διερεύνηση όλων των επιμέρους σταδίων, που συμβάλουν στη διαδικασία της καύσης. Τα καμένα οστά είναι το τελικό αποτέλεσμα μιας πολύπλοκης διαδικασίας, που απαιτεί επένδυση χρόνου και εξειδικευμένης εργασίας. Για το λόγο αυτό, ένας από τους βασικούς στόχους της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η ανασύσταση όλων των διακριτών σταδίων που ορίζουν ένα θερμικό επεισόδιο, μέσω της εφαρμογής δύο πειραμάτων σε συνθήκες που προσομοιάζουν αυτές του παρελθόντος. Η επιλογή και η συγκέντρωση της καύσιμης ύλης, η προετοιμασία του χώρου διεξαγωγής των πειραμάτων, η κατασκευή των πυρών, η παρακολούθηση των μακροσκοπικά ορατών θερμικών αλλοιώσεων που υφίσταται το σώμα λόγω της φωτιάς και τέλος η συλλογή των σκελετικών καταλοίπων από το χώρο της πυράς, προσφέρουν χρήσιμες πληροφορίες τις οποίες ο κάθε ερευνητής που μελετά καμένα οστά οφείλει να λαμβάνει υπόψη του. Έπειτα, ένας από τους βασικότερους στόχους της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η πρόταση μιας εξειδικευμένης μεθοδολογίας για τη μακροσκοπική μελέτη οστών που έχουν έρθει σε επαφή με τη φωτιά. Η συγκεκριμένη μεθοδολογία, διαμορφώθηκε λαμβάνοντας υπόψη όλες τις υποδείξεις των ερευνητών που μελετούν καμένα ανθρώπινα οστά στο εξωτερικό και εφαρμόστηκε τόσο στα οστά που συλλέχθηκαν από τις δύο πειραματικές πυρές, όσο και στα σκελετικά κατάλοιπα από το θολωτό τάφο Β του νεκροταφείου της Κουμάσας. Η παράλληλη αυτή χρήση κοινής μεθοδολογίας στα πειραματικά και αρχαιολογικά δείγματα, όπου καταγράφονται όχι μόνο βιολογικά χαρακτηριστικά, αλλά κυρίως γνωρίσματα που σχετίζονται με τις επιδράσεις της φωτιάς στην οστική επιφάνεια, αποσκοπεί στη σύγκριση των δεδομένων και στην καλύτερη κατανόηση του ρόλου της φωτιάς στη μεταχείριση των νεκρών. Μέσω της έρευνας, έχουν προκύψει σημαντικές διατυπώσεις και προτεινόμενες ερμηνείες, οι οποίες σχετίζονται με τις διάφορες μεταβλητές που επηρεάζουν ένα θερμικό επεισόδιο. Η αναλογία ωστόσο των σημερινών παρατηρήσεων με τις διαδικασίες που λάμβαναν χώρα κατά το παρελθόν, δεν είναι απόλυτη και σε καμία περίπτωση δεν μπορεί να επιτευχθεί με ασφάλεια. Παρόλα αυτά, μέσω των πειραματικών προσεγγίσεων, δίνεται η αφορμή για περαιτέρω σκέψη και προβληματισμό, σχετικά με τη χρήση της φωτιάς κατά τη μεταχείριση των νεκρών, καθώς πρόκειται για μια διαδικασία που ενσωματώνει πολλαπλές δια-δράσεις και εμπλοκές από τα μέλη της εκάστοτε κοινότητας.

The Griffin Warrior Ring No. 2 is a gold Minoan-style engraved signet ring from Pylos dating to the Late Helladic IIA (1580–1490 BCE). The ring’s bezel depicts a seascape with a columnar tree shrine flanked by palm trees situated on a rocky outcrop. Five elaborately dressed female figures stand on either side of the shrine. The tree shrine features a net pattern in the space between its stone or brick piers. It is proposed that this represents a fishing net and that the structure is a sea altar dedicated to an unnamed Minoan tree goddess akin to the Levantine Asherah. The ring’s hoop is decorated with cockle shells, further emphasising its marine theme. It will be argued that the iconography alludes to marine food resources, practical and luxury textile fibres, sea trade, transculturality and cult, and is testament to the importance of the sea in the Aegean Bronze Age.