Minoan Research Articles

Production and trade of pottery in the so-called “South Coast” fabric in Bronze Age Crete. Current interpretations and recent findings at Malia, northern Lassithi

This paper provides an update on occurrence patterns and mineral composition of pottery in the so-called “South Coast” fabric, a fabric with a self-explanatory provenance ascription that is characterized by a buff matrix and coarse water-worn ophiolitic sand inclusions. Based on the collation of published data supplemented by new geological, petrographic, and archaeological results, this paper offers evidence for pottery production in a similar fabric in northeastern Crete, most probably around the site(s) of Malia and/or Chersonissos, during at least Middle Minoan II and Late Minoan III. These results provide new perspectives on an archaeological problem related to the hitherto assumed importance of the site of Myrtos, on the southeastern coast of Crete, in the production and trade of such pottery. They stress the importance of thorough geological fieldwork involving sediment sampling, while also calling for caution regarding some interpretations of pottery technology that can be inferred from textural and mineralogical properties of the fabrics analyzed in thin section.

Building the Labyrinth: Arthur Evans and the Construction of Minoan Civilization

Building the Labyrinth: Arthur Evans and the Construction of Minoan Civilization

Book Review of Kavousi IIC: The Late Minoan IIIC Settlement at Vronda: Specialist Reports and Analyses, edited by Geraldine C. Gesell and Leslie Preston Day

Book Review of Kavousi IIC: The Late Minoan IIIC Settlement at Vronda: Specialist Reports and Analyses, edited by Geraldine C. Gesell and Leslie Preston Day

"If it was a state, it has collapsed" : an examinations of reasons for the collapse of the Late Minoan IA state structures

"If it was a state, it has collapsed" : an examinations of reasons for the collapse of the Late Minoan IA state structures

MUSINT II: A Complex Project on a Virtual and Interactive Museum Involving Institutions of Florence, Rome and Heraklion

MUSINT II is part of a bigger project involving a series of virtual and interactive museums, using traditional and new technologies with the aim to reach an enlarged audience. The presence of Archaeologists, Architects/Designers and Computer Scientists ensures an interdisciplinary methodology that makes our project rich of solutions and attractive to different visitors. MUSINT II uses a sophisticated structure, a series of 3 dimensional models produced both with photogrammetry and laser scanner. A complex database with numerous interconnected queries is implemented in order to enhance the study of a large number of objects giving really innovatory answers and effortless data processes. New hyper-realistic techniques are used to best illustrate the reconstruction of buildings, objects and scenes of life. A specific educational section is directed to young people where all these new techniques are applied in a winning way. The main object of MUSINT II consists in a specific category of small objects: sealings and seals coming from the excavations at Haghia Triada carried out by the Italian Archaeological expedition in Crete at the beginning of 1900. Our purpose is to offer a new analytic and, at the same time, a synthetic vision, opened to a large audience, of the historical-archaeological representation of one of the most important sites of Minoan Crete.

MARCAS Y DESMARCAS DE LA GRAN MADRE NEOLITICA EN EL ORIGEN DEL PENSAMIENTO GRIEGO

The purpose of this paper is to review some (pre-)historical assumptions beneath the classical Greek philosophy, that go back to the phrygian Great Mother, from which radiate over Minoan Crete, and reach continental Greece particularly through the institution of Eleusinian mysteries. The Great Goddess symbolizes an ontological, ethical and religious conception that has left its marks throughout the Mediterranean watershed, in elements such as the cavern, double-edged ax, butterfly-psyche, mystery initiation, sacramental renaissance, ecstatic dances, etc. Despite being savagely destroyed by the invasion of Indo-European patriarchy, such marks remain in the hidden substrate of hegemonic culture.

New evidence about the use of serpentinite in the Minoan architecture. A μ-Raman based study of the “House of the High Priest” drain in Knossos

Serpentinites have been widely used as a raw material in a huge repertoire of shapes during the Minoan period, for the construction of artifacts both for domestic use as well as for religious purposes. However, the utilization of serpentinites is extremely limited in the Minoan palatial architecture. In all the cases where the use of serpentinite is documented, it has been for the construction of column bases. The aim of this study is the investigation of the material used for the construction of the drain located under the stair leading to the adyton (sanctuary) of the “House of the High Priest” one of the peripheral monuments of the Palace of Knossos.Despite the fact that Sir A. Evans documented the stone drain and described the raw material as stone, no further comments were made regarding the exact type of stone used by the Minoans. Furthermore, the fact that a rather unusual material was used for the construction of a drain instead of a more typical material such as limestone or sandstone, enhances the ill-defined and controversial character of the “House of the High Priest”.The initial mineralogical characterization of the drain material was carried out by means of X-ray powder Diffraction leading to the identification of several minerals and polymorphs. Further examination of the sample in terms of microstructural and chemical analysis of the different inclusions was implemented by means of confocal μ-Raman spectroscopy. Within the concept of this study emphasis is given to the application of this nondestructive and noninvasive technique that can be applied in situ for the analysis and characterization of objects of archaeological significance made out of serpentinite minerals, where often sample acquisition is not possible.The choice of Raman spectroscopy as the main non-destructive analytical tool consists a strategic decision for two main reasons: (a) There are several other architectural elements implemented in the Minoan palatial architecture allegedly made out of serpentinite that macroscopically bear different characteristics and have to be examined, and (b) the majority of the Minoan stone vases corpus is consisted of artifacts made out of serpentinite but in both cases sampling is not possible. Lastly, the correlation of the data acquired from the analysis of the serpentinite outcrops on the island of Crete, with those from the archaeological objects might augment the development of knowledge regarding the cultural networks among the agricultural areas, where the serpentinite sources are located towards the centers of the Minoan civilization.

THE POWER OF IMAGES: RE-EXAMINING THE WALL PAINTINGS FROM THE THRONE ROOM AT KNOSSOS

The aim of this paper is to re-examine the painted fragments discovered by Arthur Evans and his team in the Throne Room at Knossos in 1900. We have tried to integrate systematically the extant archival data stored in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the archaeological remains at Herakleion in an attempt to retrace the history of discovery of the paintings. In our view, the iconography of this programme places its execution at the onset of Late Minoan (LM) II. We see the inclusion of both ‘traditional’ (Neopalatial) and ‘innovative’ (Final Palatial) elements in the composition as suggestive of an attempt on behalf of the artist(s) and the commissioner(s) to blend artistic traditions in the creation of a new, yet still recognisable, image of power. We assess the implications stemming from this suggestion and interpret the decorative programme of the Throne Room at Knossos as part and expression of the emergence of thewanaxideology.

Book Review of Haghia Triada III: The Late Minoan III Buildings in the Villaggio, by Santo Privitera

Book Review of Haghia Triada III: The Late Minoan III Buildings in the Villaggio, by Santo Privitera

Lipid Residue Analysis of Archaeological Pottery: An Introductory Laboratory Experiment in Archaeological Chemistry

In this research-based experiment, students are introduced to the interdisciplinary field of archaeological chemistry by extracting and analyzing lipid residues absorbed in pottery. Reproduction archaeological pottery sherds are prepared by soaking ceramic fragments in individual or combinations of vegetable oils. Students crush and extract the absorbed residues, transesterify the recovered lipids to fatty acid methyl esters, and analyze the product by GC or GC/MS. Recovered residues are characterized by analysis of the major fatty acid peaks, as identified using reference standards or mass spectral databases. An archaeological context that links the sherds to the Minoan civilization is provided to students and must be considered to correctly identify the absorbed residue(s). The laboratory has been used in a topical archaeological instrumentation course that has attracted second to fourth year students majoring in chemistry, biochemistry, and anthropology, and museum studies minors. Pedagogically, the la...

Book Review of Aphrodite’s Kephali: An Early Minoan I Defensive Site in Eastern Crete, by Philip P. Betancourt

Book Review of Aphrodite’s Kephali: An Early Minoan I Defensive Site in Eastern Crete, by Philip P. Betancourt

Online-Only Content

Previous articleNext article FreeOPEN ACCESS ON AJA ONLINE (www.ajaonline.org)Online-Only ContentPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreOnline-only content accompanying American Journal of Archaeology Volume 121, Number 3 (July 2017)BOOK REVIEWSKeeping Their Marbles: How the Treasures of the Past Ended Up in Museums… and Why They Should Stay There, by Tiffany Jenkins. Reviewed by Guy D. MiddletonThe Ancient Egyptian Economy 3000–30 BCE, by Brian Muhs. Reviewed by David WarburtonBronze Age Bureaucracy: Writing and the Practice of Government in Assyria, by Nicholas Postgate. Reviewed by Karen RadnerCitadel and Cemetery in Early Bronze Age Anatolia, by Christoph Bachhuber. Reviewed by Laura K. HarrisonPlace, Memory and Healing: An Archaeology of Anatolian Rock Monuments, by Ömür Harmanşah. Reviewed by Christoph BachhuberCypriot Cultural Details: Proceedings of the 10th Post Graduate Cypriot Archaeology Conference, edited by Iosif Hadjikyriakos and Mia Gaia Trentin. Reviewed by Craig BarkerHagios Charalambos: A Minoan Burial Cave in Crete I. Excavation and Portable Objects, by Philip P. Betancourt. Reviewed by Ilse SchoepHouses of Ill Repute: The Archaeology of Brothels, Houses and Taverns in the Greek World, edited by Allison Glazebrook and Barbara Tsakirgis. Reviewed by Peter S. AllenAphrodite’s Kephali: An Early Minoan I Defensive Site in Eastern Crete, by Philip P. Betancourt. Reviewed by P. TomkinsThe Isthmus of Corinth: Crossroads of the Mediterranean World, by David K. Pettegrew. Reviewed by Daniel StewartThe Bioarchaeology of Classical Kamarina: Life and Death in Greek Sicily, by Carrie L. Sulosky Weaver. Reviewed by Kristina KillgroveThe Archaeology of Malta: From the Neolithic Through the Roman Period, by Claudia Sagona. Reviewed by Caroline MaloneSocial Networks and Regional Identity in Bronze Age Italy, by Emma Blake. Reviewed by Mark PearceThe Horologium of Augustus: Debate and Context, edited by Lothar Haselberger. Reviewed by Jörg RüpkeThe Moving City: Processions, Passages and Promenades in Ancient Rome, edited by Ida Östenberg, Simon Malmberg, and Jonas Bjørnebye. Reviewed by Jeremy HartnettOplontis: Villa A (“of Poppaea”) at Torre Annunziata, Italy. Vol. 1, The Ancient Setting and Modern Rediscovery, edited by John R. Clarke and Nayla K. Muntasser. Reviewed by Mantha ZarmakoupiAncient Antioch: From the Seleucid Era to the Islamic Conquest, by Andrea U. De Giorgi. Reviewed by Emanuele E. IntagliataRoman Crete: New Perspectives, edited by Jane E. Francis and Anna Kouremenos. Reviewed by Rebecca J. SweetmanDougga: Études d’architecture religieuse 2. Les sanctuaires du forum, du centre de l’agglomération et de la Grande rue courbe, edited by S. Aounallah and J.-C. Golvin. Reviewed by Niccolò MugnaiList of Books Received Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Archaeology Volume 121, Number 3July 2017 The journal of the Archaeological Institute of America Views: 33Total views on this site Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3764/aja.121.3.online Copyright © 2017 by the Archaeological Institute of America. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

ACCESS TO UPPER FLOORS AND AN EARLY LIGHT WELL AT EM II VASILIKI

Discussing Early Minoan (EM) architecture in Crete, it is difficult for one to bypass the site of Vasiliki, located on the Isthmus of Ierapetra. Vasiliki was occupied during a number of prehistoric periods. Its EM IIB houses are among the best preserved, incorporating architectural features that reveal how the inhabitants managed the transition between single- and two-storied buildings, and how they, usually, reached their upper levels, probably without the use of stairways. This paper singles out three separate houses from among the group of rooms originally called the ‘Red House’ by its discoverer, Richard Seager; it presents their sequencing, the order in which they were probably built, and how their first floors and roofs were reached. Additionally, a detailed study of House C suggests that one of the large ‘rooms’ was actually open to the sky, and had served partly as an interior court, which may well have been the predecessor of the later interior courts (or light wells) characterising the elite architectural style, typical of the later Middle and Late Minoan periods.

Contrasting Histories in Early Bronze Age Aegean: Uniformity, Regionalism and the Resilience of Societies in the Northeast Peloponnese and Central Crete

Late Early Bronze Age (EB IIB–III, 2500–2000 bc) evidence from the northeast Peloponnese and central Crete present two coeval sequences of events with very different societal outcomes. By drawing on resilience theory and the model of adaptive cycles, this article explores when and why the paths of mainland Greece and Crete diverged around 2200 bc, leading to an eventually destabilizing change on the mainland and a more sustainable one on Crete. It is argued that the two EB II societal structures were more similar than current discourse generally allows. However, during some hundred years leading up to the end of the EB II period, an increased societal uniformity and a decrease of social arenas on northeast Peloponnese may in the end have circumscribed the Early Helladic communities’ room to manoeuvre. Conversely, through strong regionalism and greater multiplicity of social arenas, Early Minoan societies seem to have retained a greater level of socio-economic variability that enabled proactiveness and sustained expansion through ideological change.

Urban waste- and stormwater management in Greece: past, present and future

Urban wastewater and storm management has a long history which coincides with the appearance of the first organized human settlements (ca. 3500 BC). It began in prehistoric Crete during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3200 BC) when many remarkable developments occurred in several stages known as Minoan civilization. One of its salient characteristics was the architecture and function of its hydraulic works and especially the drainage and sewerage systems and other sanitary infrastructures in the Minoan palaces and other settlements. These technologies, although they do not give a complete picture of wastewater and stormwater technologies in ancient Greece, indicate that such technologies have been used in Greece since the Minoan times. Minoan sanitary technologies were transferred to the Greek mainland in the subsequent phases of Greek civilization, i.e. in the Mycenaean, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, and present times. The scope of this article is the presentation and discussion of the evolution of waste- and stormwater management through the long history of Greece, focusing on the hydraulic characteristics of sanitary infrastructures. Also, the present and future trends of wastewater and stormwater management are considered. Practices achieved in prehistoric Greece may have some relevance for wastewater engineering even in modern times.

Hydro-technologies in the Minoan Era

Significant characteristics of the Minoan civilization were: (a) their peaceful living with their environment and neighbors (although the Minoans dominated in the Mediterranean for almost two millennia, in none of the numerous wars and/or conflicts that occurred in the region were they directly or indirectly involved) and (b) technological developments that are unprecedented in world history, as shown by the numerous paradigms on water resources technologies used and water, wastewater, and stormwater management. These paradigms are relevant to water supply, fountains, cisterns used to store rainwater or spring water, aqueducts, dams, wells, water treatment systems, baths and toilets, sewerage and drainage systems, irrigation and drainage of agricultural land, and water use for recreation. Significant hydrologic and hydraulic achievements in Minoan Crete are considered and discussed.

Evolution of Cretan Aqueducts and Their Potential for Hydroelectric Exploitation

In this article, several archaeological, historical and other aspects of aqueducts in Crete, Greece, since the prehistoric times until today, are reviewed and presented. In Crete, since the Minoan era, various water management techniques that are found in modern water technologies were developed and applied. One of the most significant features of the Minoan civilization was the architecture of water supply systems in the palaces and other settlements. These technologies were continued and improved mainly during the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods and at the same time spread to other towns in the mainland and islands. The aqueduct technologies developed during the Classical and Hellenistic periods were further developed by Romans, mainly by enlarging their application scale (e.g., water bridges). Several paradigms of Cretan aqueducts are considered by which the significance of those technologies for water supply in areas with limited water resources is justified. A brief presentation and discussion of climatic conditions, the karst hydrogeology and the water resources management in Crete is also included. The article also describes the present water management profile of the island, in terms of the water plants, water supply–irrigation networks, and water renewable energy exploitation of dams and water pipelines.

Preserving memory in Minoan Crete Filled-in bench and platform deposits from the First Palace of Phaistos

Recent studies in Aegean prehistory have started to deal more intensively with the practice of accumulated artefacts in structured depositions and to see these as mnemonic records, reflecting people’s desire to preserve the memory of some specific events.

Prehistoric and historic hydraulic technologies in stormwater and wastewater management in Greece: a brief review

Development of urban settlements during ancient years in Greece created the need for sewerage and drainage system infrastructures. For the first time, open sewerage systems mainly stone-built are found in the Minoan Civilization. Back in those times, extensive collection systems and use of storm-water has been recorded. At the same time, wastewater was used in order to fertilize agricultural land. Developed knowledge and technology on hydraulic and sewerage systems was also found in Cycladic and Mycenaean Civilization where significant irrigation systems were found. After a period of stability, throughout the Geometric period, gradual progress was observed, which peaked in Classical and Hellenistic period from 479 BC until 67 BC. During Roman Era, baths, toilets, and sewerage systems were established.

Climatic variability and the evolution of water technologies in Crete, Hellas

The Greek island of Crete is one of the southernmost regions of Europe with a long and rich history, which begins as early as ca. 3200 BC with the onset of the Minoan civilization. The archeological findings of well-designed water supply and sewerage systems in the Minoan Palaces and other settlements, with impressive architecture and high-level functionality, suggest a good degree of understanding of the basic water management techniques well before the scientific achievements of our times. Here we document characteristic examples of the ancient hydraulic works and the related hydro-technologies throughout the history of Crete. We summarize the pressures on the water resources in Crete in connection with climatic variability and investigate how and what could be learned from the past using recent findings and paleoclimatology. The reconstructions of the Eastern Mediterranean and more specifically of the Cretan climate using different proxy data (e.g. sediment, pollen, and historical archives) demonstrate a series of alternating periods with varying climatic characteristics with fluctuation lengths spanning from a few decades to many centuries. The synthesis of the on-going research on past climate offers the opportunity to create a picture of the Cretan climatic regime for the last 10,000 years, which could be useful to both hydrologists and archeologists. As the past is the key to the future, the information provided could help in developing modern integrated and sustainable water management plans.