Breaking with tradition? The adoption of the wheel-throwing technique at Protopalatial Phaistos: combining macroscopic analysis, experimental archaeology and contextual information, pp. 9-25.

In recent years, several studies have been undertaken on ceramic technology and there is now a general agreement among scholar about the introduction of the potter’s wheel in Minoan Crete in (M)iddle (M)inoan IB (1900 BC ca.), corresponding to the emergence of the First Palaces on the island. Most recent studies on ceramic technology of MM pottery from sites of northern and eastern Crete have revealed that since the introduction of the potter’s wheel in MM IB, the wheel-fashioning technique (a combination of hand-building and wheel) was the only forming technique used in Crete until the Late Bronze Age. On the contrary, in southern Crete and especially at the palatial site of Phaistos, recent studies have shown that the wheel-fashioning technique was not the only technique in use because in MM IIA (18th cent. BC), at the time of monumentalisation of the palatial site, the wheel-throwing technique was first adopted. In this paper, first I briefly present the forming techniques attested at Phaistos in the first phases of the Protopalatial period, then, I focus on the MM IIA Phaistian classes of vases which appear to be manufactured through the wheel-throwing technique, comparing them with contemporary wheel-fashioned vases. More specifically, for the class of plain handleless cups, the most common drinking cup at Bronze Age Phaistos since Prepalatial times, I compare the MM IIA examples with experimental reproductions carried out by a professional potter. Finally, using macroscopic analysis in combination with experimental archaeology and requisite contextual information, I attempt to explain why the wheel-throwing technique is almost exclusively attested at Phaistos and in sites sharing its ceramic tradition, like Kommos and Ayia Triada. Since in the MM IIA phase the main palatial building of Phaistos (i.e. the South-western Building) went through an important renovation, I argue that new groups arrived at Phaistos in MM IIA, introducing a new forming technique that was able to break with the long-lasting ceramic tradition of the site – and of the island. Moreover, it will be argued that in MM IIA plain handleless cups were mass-produced on the potter’s wheel in order to be used in the context of communal feasts during the renovation of the main palatial building and the monumentalization of the entire site

MEMORY OF A FEASTING EVENT IN THE FIRST PALACE OF PHAISTOS:PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON THE BENCH DEPOSIT OF ROOM IL

In this paper I will present a deliberate ceramic deposit found inside a large paved bench discovered in Room IL of the main building of the First Palace at Phaistos, ie the Southwest quarter. This deliberate deposit is highly significant for two reasons: firstly, it is a closed and sealed deposit dated to MM IIA, and it therefore represents a Protopalatial feasting context, which allows us to gain a deeper understanding of feasting activities in Protopalatial Crete; secondly, it consists of an exceptionally large assemblage of whole and fragmentary vases, combined with faunal remnants and with ‘ritual’ objects.Without attempting to label the typology of the feasting reflected by this peculiar bench deposit, it will nevertheless be argued that the bench of Room IL was constructed and filled at the same time as the new renovation plan of the Southwest quarter that occurred at the beginning of MM II, most likely in MM IIA

Recherches en cours sur la séquence chronologique au Palais de Malia (2022)

The paper illustrates the most recent research conducted at the Malia Palace under the direction of Maud Devolder, with the collaboration of Ilaria Caloi and Iro Mathioudaki

Recherches en cours sur la séquence chronologique au Palais de Malia (2022)

Données scientifiques produites : EFA, programme « Palais de Malia » Chroniques de l’EFA : Malia, palais, 2019 Les deux campagnes d’étude menées en 2022 dans le cadre du projet d’étude et de publication du Palais de Malia se sont concentrées d’une part sur l’étude du matériel céramique et des données stratigraphiques associés à la séquence de l’occupation néopalatiale au sein de l’édifice (fouilles et sondages 1915-1992 ; du 17 janvier au 19 février 2022), et d’autre part sur la finalisation ..

Pedestalled bowls with a central hole in Protopalatial Crete: a ritual and communal function?

In this paper I deal with a peculiar ceramic shape attested on Crete in the First Palace or Protopalatial period (M(iddle) M(inoan) IB-MM IIB: XIX-XVIII cent. BC): the pedestalled bowl. It is composed of a tall, tubular pedestal and a bowl on the top with a hole in the centre, which implies a ritual use of the vase. These vases, known in the literature as fruitstands, compotiers, offering tables, or simply pedestalled vases, drew my attention for the three following reasons: first, the pedestalled bowls attested in the Protopalatial period differ from the earlier examples, i.e. Neolithic and Prepalatial, in their standard shape, which shows a tall and tubular pedestal and an elaborate bowl with a central hole. Second, they mainly occur in palatial centres and major Cretan settlements, and more rarely in funerary and cult settings, in contexts often associated with ceremonial activities. Third, most of them show skeuomorphic features and connections with foreign elements: they may imitate shapes of Egyptian stone vessels, like carinated bowls, and features of the Giali (Dodecannese) obsidians, i.e. the white-spotted appearance. Combining the special features of these vases with the most recent information from their contexts of finding, I will argue that they were especially attributed a ritual use during ceremonial activities and a social function in expressing both the high status and international connections of Minoan elites

Renovating the First Palace of Phaistos during the Middle Minoan IIA phase (18th cent. BC). Combining architectural and ceramic phases

This paper focuses on a phase of flourishing of the Minoan site at Phaistos, Southern Crete. The aim is to present the architecture and associated deposits dated to the M(iddle) M(inoan) IIA phase from the original and main structure of the First Palace of Phaistos, i.e. the three-floored South-West Building rising on the Lower West Court. My recent work at Phaistos allowed me to associate two MM IIA homogeneous ceramic deposits from the South-West Building with the first architectural transformations occurred in the building after its foundation in MM IB. These changes included some alterations to the access system and to the internal circulation patterns, likely due to a need of a major control of the building. Moreover, the technological study undertaken on the Protopalatial ceramics from Phaistos allowed me to affirm that a new forming technique – the wheel-throwing technique - was adopted at Phaistos in MM IIA. Considering the contemporary occurrence at MM IIA Phaistos of the remodelling of the South-West Building and the introduction of an innovative forming technique, I argue that the latter was adopted by a new group working at/attending the Phaistian building, and who was also the agent of the palace renovation