Cultural Transformation and Continuity in East Crete during LM II-IIIA2 Early. A Ceramic Perspective

Based on a diachronic analysis of the typology and style of ceramic assemblages from several East Cretan sites (from Sissi to Palaikastro), this paper explores the different cultural processes at work within these communities during the LM II-IIIA2 early period. The degree of regional connectivity and variation in pottery consumption is assessed, and aspects of change and continuity with regard to the end of the Neopalatial period considered. In particular, the existence of a common pottery tradition – a distinctive drinking set treated in the typical dipped decoration style and technique – shared by several East Cretan sites and reminiscent of LM IB practices, is stressed. This paper also pays attention to the identification of more particular networks of interaction and this at the intra- and inter-regional level, examining specific connections with, or the absence/rejection of Knossian and Central Cretan practices. Finally, the nature of the interactions with Knossos, and with the Greek mainland, is discussed through the analysis of the ceramic category of fine medium-sized vessels decorated with various abstract motifs, and a discussion of the inception of this stylistic tradition in East Crete in LM IB. The more precise definition and chronological characterisation of distinct regional processes in pottery consumption may eventually offer a better understanding of the wider context of the socio-political changes that occurred on the island during this thorny period and, in particular, their relation to the developments that took place at Knossos

9. A Preliminary Report on the Late Minoan Pottery

Note portant sur l’auteur This chapter constitutes a preliminary account of some of the Late Minoan pottery found on the Bouffo during the first two excavation campaigns. Consequently, the funerary area (zone 1), used throughout a long period before the Neopalatial period, is not covered by the present report. This said, Late Minoan ceramics comprise most of the pottery hitherto found on the Kephali, with a majority of excavated contexts outside the cemetery, in zones 2 to 6. As yet, the stra..

Late Minoan IIIB Pottery at Sissi and Malia. Assessing local ceramic sequences, regional traditions and interregional interaction

Both during the 1989-1993 campaigns in Quartier Nu at Malia and the more recent 2007-2011 excavations on the Kefali Hill at Sissi, large architectural complexes with extensive evidence for Late Minoan IIIB occupation were revealed. In both cases, primary deposits with a large number of restorable pots specifically date to this phase. Although the study of these assemblages is still ongoing, some impressions of the respective local ceramic sequences, the degree of common regional traditions and the involvement of both Malia and Sissi in interregional ceramic distribution networks can already be given. Architectural and stratigraphical data allow the recognition of at least two different stages within the LM IIIB occupation of both building complexes even if a typo-stylistic analysis of the respective pottery assemblages does not seem to indicate a contemporary sequence. Moreover, some rather remarkable similarities but also differences exist between the two repertoires which raise questions as to the reconstruction of micro-regional consumption patterns, their nature and development. Finally, the identification of a number of finely decorated imported vessels from distant Cretan and Aegean regions adds evidence for interregional synchronisms and the development of new important nodes in the Aegean exchange network during the 13th c. BC

In Vino Veritas? In search of the evidence for past Minoan wine rituals before the krater

The ritual of drinking wine as part of a communal ceremony probably reflecting the horizontal integration of the communities who participated in the large feasts sponsored by the Mycenaean palaces is a well-known practice, embodied in our archaeological record by the ubiquitous kylikes and kraters. The latter is most probably used to mix water and wine, while presenting at the same time a substantial canvas for generous painted decoration, often taking the form of a narrative composition. A recent study has shown that the particular shape of the Mycenaean amphoroid krater – which “was not produced for use within a local Mycenaean context” (Crouwel & Morris 2015: 172) – has its origin in early Late Bronze Age Crete, where it in turn closely refers to contemporary but also earlier Minoan large jars. The study of large storage vessels in Bronze Age Crete has shed important light on different issues, from palatial economy, subsistence strategies to burial practices. However, the particular category of large brightly decorated containers may have had little to do with the other plain or simply decorated pithoi and storage containers, most often considered within the framework of the Minoan palatial or household economies. In this context, the exclusive Palace Style Jars from the Monopalatial period at Knossos essentially, have been interpreted as having a very specific function in a very specific context: portable items in display, referencing and playing with the astonishing wall paintings which adorned the last palace at Knossos. But what about this large elaborately decorated Minoan shape before and after the installation of a Mycenaean administration at Knossos? Which function, use and type(s) of content can we attribute to it? During the Neopalatial period, richly pattern-painted storage jars take the form of piriform and conical or barrel-shaped jars, sometimes exported to Thera or the Mainland. Later, in Late Minoan III, these two types of containers seem to include a new tradition of large coarse vessels, still brightly decorated, which exhibit distinct manufacturing techniques in terms of paste, shaping processes and surface treatment as well as a similar set of decorative styles. This tradition comprises the piriform jars and barrel-shaped jars but also the new amphoroid kraters and the reactivated larnakes. Despite clear connections between and within regional groups of production and manifest evidence for the interregional movement of these items but also of potters and/or painters, the definition of their respective function and contexts of consumption remains unclear, while certainly multi-faceted. In this paper it is argued that distinguishing between potential contexts of consumption of these brightly decorated containers taken as a whole and through a diachronic perspective from the Neopalatial period onwards, can provide a better understanding of the precise activities or rituals associated with these different containers. As such, it is argued that these contexts may particularly point to the special display of the consumption of liquids – especially wine, although maybe under different ‘forms’ –, which reproduced and reactivated in parts earlier, deeply-rooted, Minoan social practices