Les poids de Malia entre les premiers et les seconds palais : un essai de mise en contexte

Abstract

The weights for measuring found at Malia (MM IB-LM I-II) have already been the subject of some consideration, particularly those from the Mu Quarter. The discovery of another specimen in the Nu Quarter provides an opportunity to reconsider the documentation in its entirety: typology, metrology, dating and contexts. As regards the typology and metrology, a development can be observed in the system of weighing at Malia from the Protopalatial to the Neopalatial Period: during the first period the weights, of varying shapes, are usually of stone and the units evidenced are the smallest units, suited to precision measurements (f, w, k); in the following period, there are only lead weights in the shape of discs, based on the "Aegean" unit x. A general analysis of the contextual data, on the other hand, clearly shows the constant relationship between the weighing on the one hand and the stocking, artisanal and domestic production, and accounting and administrative operations on the other, without any chronological difference.