A Bronze Age Quarry in Eastern Crete

Abstract

The sandstone quarry at Mochlos is one of four major quarries in eastern Crete that were worked during the New Palace Period of Minoan civilization (ca. 1700–1450 B.C.) to produce large ashlar blocks for nearby Minoan sites. At that time sandstone, or ammoudha, as it is known locally, was especially valued as a building material, partly because of its distinctive color and texture, but mainly because of the ease with which it could be cut, and the stone was used extensively for exterior façades, for walls around interior courts, and for other architectural features of the more important buildings on these sites. This article describes the quarry at Mochlos in some detail, including the quarrying techniques employed, and argues that the destination of the stone from the Mochlos quarry was the Minoan palace at Gournia. The article ends with a comparison of the four ammoudha quarries in eastern Crete.     

TEPHRA SAMPLES FROM MOCHLOS AND THEIR CHRONOLOGICAL IMPLICATION FOR NEOPALATIAL CRETE

Five deposits of Santorini tephra have been found in the excavations currently under way at the site of Mochlos which lies on the north coast of Crete about 140 km to the south of Santorini. This paper provides refractive index and trace element analyses for the largest of these deposits, examines the stratigraphy of all five deposits, and notes the chronological implication of this stratigraphy for the Late Minoan IB period, the floruit of Minoan civilization.     

THE MULTIPLE SEALING SYSTEM of MINOAN CRETE and ITS POSSIBLE ANTECEDENTS IN ANATOLIA

Summary: The Multiple Sealing System ( MSS ) is defined as the habitual stamping of regular combinations of two or three different seal impressions on clay nodules ( bullae ). This system was thought to be peculiar to LM IB Zakro, where it is indeed most fully developed, but a Minoan MSS can now be traced back - via MM IIIB Knossos - to the earliest administrative use of sealings on Crete, at MM IIB Phaistos. This early MSS at Phaistos has close links with a similar administrative use of seals in regular combinations at Karahöyük Level I. We suggest that the MSS is a new and objective factor to be added to the known, if often disputed, glyptic relations between MBA Anatolia and Minoan Crete.     

THE SEALING STRUCTURES OF MINOAN CRETE: MM II PHAISTOS TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS

Summary. The thousands of MM clay sealings in Room 25 of the First Palace of Phaistos testify to the importation into Crete of the Near Eastern system of storeroom administrative controls. Minoan practice then diverged from the Near Eastern model. The development of a recognizably Minoan sealing system is illustrated by the LM IB sealing deposits from Ayia Triada, Zakro and Khania (with something of its evolution traceable via Mallia and Knossos). Despite many common practices in LM IB, however, important local differences coexisted within this Minoan system, perhaps suggesting the absence of a single overriding administrative authority at this time.     

Geoarchaeological tsunami deposits at Palaikastro (Crete) and the Late Minoan IA eruption of Santorini

The explosive eruption at Santorini in the Aegean Sea during the second millennium BCE was the largest Holocene volcanic upheaval in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The eruption was disastrous for the Minoan settlements at Santorini, but the effect on human society in the neighbouring islands and regions is still clouded in uncertainty. Tsunami generation was suggested, but comparatively little evidence was found. The lack of firm tsunami traces is particularly puzzling in Crete with its coastal settlements of the Late Minoan IA period, during which the Santorini eruption occurred. Here, we report the discovery of extensive geoarchaeological tsunami deposits at Palaikastro in north-eastern Crete. These deposits are characterized by a mixture of geological materials, including volcanic Santorini ash, and archaeological settlement debris. Various tsunami signatures were identified: (1) erosional contact with the underlying strata, (2) volcanic ash intraclasts in the lower part of the deposit, (3) reworked building stone material in the lower part of the deposit, (4) individual marine shells, (5) marine micro-fauna, (6) imbrication of rounded beach pebbles, settlement debris, ceramic sherds and even bones, (7) multi-modal chaotic composition. Late Minoan human settlement activities at Palaikastro provided architectural and stratigraphic frameworks in space and time that recorded and preserved tsunami evidence as geoarchaeological deposits. Such stratigraphic resolution and preservation may not occur in the natural landscape. Volcanic ash transported by wind from Santorini south-east to Crete preceded the tsunami. Geological, archaeological and radiocarbon dating criteria all converge, indicating that the tsunami deposits are coeval with the Minoan Santorini eruption. Field evidence suggests that tsunami waves at Palaikastro were at least 9 m high. Inverse tsunami modeling was attempted, based on these newly discovered tsunamigenic deposits. The initial wave in the generation region at Santorini that best fits the stratigraphic data is a wave with +35 to −15 m initial amplitude and a crest length of about 15 km.     

The role of research and education in site management at the Lemba Experimental Village,Cyprus

Abstract

The project developed at the Lemba Experimental Village in Cyprus seeks to explain some aspects of the workings of archaeology through the medium of an ongoing and dynamic research project. The Lemba Experimental Village was established in 1988 with a view to understanding site formation processes through the construction of full-scale experimental buildings of the Chalcolithic period (3500–2800 BC). Experiments have been carried out with mud construction, lime plaster making and building construction. Monitoring and recording of construction and erosion processes provides a long-term history of events on the site which can be related to the deposits and features encountered when excavation is undertaken. Comparative information has been obtained from the structural analysis and excavation of buildings abandoned 25–30 years ago in the village of Souskiou, where similar deposits are encountered. The results of the work at Lemba and Souskiou are used as a comparative database for understanding deposits on prehistoric archaeological sites. The juxtaposition of the experimental building constructions with completed excavations at Lemba has led to the emergence of a policy of site presentation in which the methods of a particular form of archaeological research – experimental archaeology – constitute the main focus of interest on the site. This has been encouraged in the development of the site as a visitor centre, with an annually changing programme of new buildings being constructed and older ones being destroyed.     

The concealed finds from the Mühlberg-Ensemble in Kempten (southern Germany): post-medieval archaeology on the second floor

Abstract

Concealed finds in buildings are a worldwide phenomenon. Since the 14th century, the angles of vaults, the dead space between ceilings and floors, walled niches and other voids in buildings have been used to dump waste, mostly on the occasion of rebuilding activities. In a few cases, careful deposits of single objects may reflect magical practices. All finds seem to bear an immediate connection to the former inhabitants. Their dating, based on building chronology and the excellent state of preservation, especially of organic finds, makes them an excellent source for archaeology and cultural history. This paper examines an exceptional collection of assemblages recovered from dead spaces within three adjacent buildings in the town of Kempten, southern Germany. It summarizes the major research project based on the wide variety of finds recovered, including numerous objects of wood, leather, fur and textile.     

On the flow characteristics of the conical Minoan pipes used in water supply systems,via computational fluid dynamics simulations

The Minoan Terracotta pipes with their conical shape were widely used in the water distribution system in the ancient Minoan civilization. They remain one of the brightest achievements of the Minoan tribe in water supply technology and raise admiration as well as many questions about the technological advancements of antiquity, that are yet to be understood. The present work aims at answering the following questions: a) what inspired the Minoans to manufacture pipes with such a peculiar shape, that differs greatly not only from later pipe designs of antiquity, but also from contemporary cylindrical pipes and b) why was the design of those pipes abandoned after the fall of the Minoan civilization? It tries to address these questions by investigating the flow physics and dynamics that take place in such pipes, adopting advanced numerical and computational methods. The time-averaged Navier–Stokes equations along with the k − ? turbulence model are solved for a variety of geometrical parameters, pipe orientations and flow rates, in order to produce a comparative picture of the hydraulic efficiency of the conical Minoan pipes. The flow field is visualized and critical flow parameters, such as the head loss, the velocity magnitude and turbulence intensity, are calculated. These calculations show clearly that the conical Minoan pipes exhibit significantly higher pressure drops along their length compared to an equivalent straight pipe. In their widest part an extended recirculation appears, which could wash out impurities that may be present in the water, which at the same time cannot be deposited on the pipe wall. This evidence proves that the Minoan pipes are energetically expensive to operate and consequently their replacing by cylindrical pipes was inevitable. Therefore, it seems that the main advantage and purpose of the particular geometry was that they could be easily connected on site, forming long straight or slowly bending lines without having to add straight or many different fittings in between.     

Olive oil production on bronze age Crete: nutritional properties, processing methods and storage life of Minoan olive oil

Archaeological studies on olive oil produced in Crete in the Bronze Age focus primarily on aspects such as the period when olive cultivation became widespread, the number of olive trees cultivated, or the quantity of oil stored in the Minoan palaces. Olive oil is however an organic substance, a perishable product, the nutritional and storage properties of which are determined by environmental, agronomic, processing and storage conditions. In this paper archaeological, environmental and biochemical evidence is combined to present a comprehensive picture of the potential quality, nutritional and storage properties of Minoan olive oil. The comparative evidence presented suggests that Minoan olive oil was equal in quality to the cold-pressed virgin olive oils produced today, and as such, the oil was nutritionally important in the Bronze Age and a valuable trade commodity.     

A ROOM WITH A VIEW: AN EXAMINATION OF ROUND-HOUSES, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO NORTHERN BRITAIN

Summary. The arrangement of space is fundamental to architectural study. The physical structure of a building is the means of transforming and containing space. The spatial order thus created reflects and reinforces the relations between people. As such, changes in the spatial arrangement within and between buildings are seen as a means of detecting changes in social organization at a domestic level. Approaches to the study of settlement space and later prehistoric buildings are reviewed and form the basis for a re-examination of prehistoric round-houses in northern Britain. Particular emphasis is placed on the various activities that were carried out in these buildings. The reorganization of space within settlements at times of political and economic pressure is also considered.     

资源开发与史前居住方式及建筑技术进步

史前人类的居住方式大致经历了树栖、天然穴居、季节性人工营地、定居性人工聚落等几个阶段 ,最终实现了由林地、山地到阶地平原的居住地转移。人工建筑始于壁顶一体的地面式窝棚或帐篷 ,地穴式或地面式土木乃至木结构建筑标志着壁顶业已分离 ,夯土墙、土坯墙以及窑洞式房屋显示出土木建筑技术更趋成熟。而居住方式与建筑材料技术的发展演变往往是因资源开发及生态环境变迁的影响作用而导致的 ,充分揭示出资源开发、生态环境与居住建筑之间的内在联系     

Notice of the Cross-Legged Sepulchral Effigies,Existing at Cashel

Evidence recovered on the site known from late ninth-century charters as Æthelred’s hithe illustrates successive phases in the early development of London as an international port. While two middle Anglo-Saxon female skeletons were found in foreshore deposits, coins and other metalwork, along with the remains of gangplank trestles, suggest the site was a trading shore from at least the later ninth century. Riverside construction followed by the late tenth century: several low waterfront embankments date to the late tenth and early eleventh century, the waterfront was divided into regular plots and timber buildings erected. Reused nautical and building timbers include fragments of a Frisian ship and an arcaded building.     

The Earliest Harbour Installations on Aegean Foreshores

This article aims to raise awareness of a few newly discovered prehistoric harbour facilities in Crete. In particular is an unusual, if not unique, slipway suggesting how large ships were hauled up on to the land at Middle Minoan II Kommos. Also, there are huge, successive structures (Buildings T and P) with long galleries that served as shipsheds inviting close scrutiny, as well as comparison with the later Classical shipsheds sheltering elite warships of the Greek city states. The three newly excavated Minoan buildings fit historically into the beginning of a now extended tradition of Classical shipsheds. The latter are compared here with their prehistoric counterparts and briefly discussed concerning origin, development, and aspects of cultural or historical significance.     

PRELIMINARY TECHNICAL OBSERVATIONS ON KNOSSIAN FAIENCE

Summary This preliminary study of a large number of Knossian/Minoan faience objects in the Heraklion (HM) and the Ashmolean (AM) Museums presents observations about the technological development of Knossian faience throughout the life of the Palace. In earlier deposits, such as the Vat Room, simple inlays, beads, and a figure appear; faience became more complex in the succeeding period (Loomweight Basements) and reached its culmination in the Temple Repositories period, where complex inlays and vases and large-scale figures appear.     

Characterization of bricks and tiles from the 17th-century brick Chapel,St. Mary's City,Maryland

The brick Chapel at St. Mary's City, Maryland, built around 1667, would have been an impressive structure on a colonial frontier where all the other buildings were built only of wood. While the building is no longer extant, the bricks remaining in the buried foundations hold information about the technologies and materials used by brickmakers in the 17th-century Chesapeake region. Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and petrographic analysis of thin sections were used to compare the Chapel bricks and other 17th-century bricks and tiles from several Chesapeake contexts to locally available clay sources. While the composition of the Chapel bricks is generally consistent with that of clays available in southern Maryland, these historic materials could not be linked to any one deposit, and may reflect the mixing of clays from multiple sources. In contrast, building materials from other 17th-century buildings at St. Mary's City could be more precisely “matched” to specific local clay deposits. This paper reports on our initial investigations toward understanding the technology of the Chapel bricks and their relationship to other bricks from St. Mary's City.     

Assessing the role of architecture in conspicuous consumption in the middle minoan I–II periods

Summary.  This paper uses Middle Minoan architecture to explore the degree to which the conceptualization and reconstruction of the First Palaces on Crete have been unduly influenced by the model of the Minoan palace as the centralized political, economic and religious authority. It is generally assumed that this model, first formulated on the basis of the LM II–III palace at Knossos, also serves to explain the First Palaces despite the fact that relatively little attention has hitherto been paid to their external and internal characteristics. Detailed reassessment of the available data strongly suggests that the First Palaces differed from their Late Bronze Age counterparts in several important ways. Particularly striking is the absence of so-called 'palatial' architectural features (e.g. ashlar masonry, Minoan Hall, Lustral Basin, etc.), which hitherto had been thought to form an integral part of the First Palaces. Rather, the earliest evidence for these architectural features seems to be found in elite residences in settlement contexts (e.g. Malia). This observation urges a reassessment not only of the term 'palatial' architecture but also of the nature and location of power in Middle Bronze Age Crete and the role played by architecture as a medium of elite conspicuous consumption.     

THE ‘TEMPLE HOUSE’ AT LATO RECONSIDERED

This paper reconsiders the ‘Temple House’, a building excavated in 1969–70 on the Temple terrace of the site of Lato in eastern Crete. While the building was dated to the Hellenistic (HL) period and identified as domestic space by the excavator, a restudy of the material from the excavation, combined with an examination of the excavation notebooks, and observations on site, reveal a more complex history of use, unusual architectural details, and a heterogeneous range of dates (from Late Minoan (LM) IIIC to HL) and functions, suggesting original funerary and post‐funerary cult contexts. It is possible to recognize the remains of a Subminoan (SM)/Protogeometric (PG) burial and evidence for an Early Iron Age (EIA) and HL tomb cult, allowing a reconsideration of the history of Lato and the process of city‐state formation in eastern Crete.     

Colour in Minoan faience

The microstructures and chemical compositions of some 15 faience objects from Crete spanning the period from Middle Minoan IIIA through to Late Minoan IA are determined using analytical scanning electron microscopy. The Minoan faience is compared with replicate faience beads produced in the laboratory using various combinations of manganese, copper and iron as colorants. The alkali contents of the replicate beads are varied so that the colorants are present both as ions in a glass phase and as particulate oxides. These data are then used to try to infer the original colour of the Minoan faience, the great majority of which has suffered severe weathering during burial. The results suggest that instead of the present day “hallmark greys and browns” and “subtle greens and blues”, Minoan faience originally exhibited a wide range of colours, including bright turquoise blue, purple and violet, and pale yellow-green and greenish turquoise.     

THE SEALING STRUCTURES OF MINOAN CRETE: MM II PHAISTOS TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS.

Summary. Middle Minoan Knossos shares in the sealing evolution which we have seen elsewhere on the island (SSMC I): the earliest sealings are placed directly on objects, a practice which, in time, generally yields to nodules which hang on cords (first crescents, then prismatic types) and flat-based nodules which were pressed over leather strips, presumably parchment documents. We have no LM IB sealings from Knossos, a site which might have been expected to have evolved its own local version of the Minoan sealing system. Sealings from the final destruction deposits at Knossos are at once closer to the earlier practices from Phaistos and to the later system known from the mainland. The mainland connection is seen in a reduction of sealing shapes (especially the disappearance of flat-based nodule types) and in a non-intensive, non-elite pattern of seal use.     

COMMENTS ON A POPULAR MODEL OF MINOAN RELIGION

Summary. The theory that worship of a great goddess dominated Minoan religion to such an extent that it can be described in almost monotheistic terms remains commonplace in accounts of Minoan civilization. The intellectual bases of this theory are questioned, and alternative approaches are suggested.