Creta Antica (E-Journal - Università di Catania)
Not a member yet
158 research outputs found
Sort by
MINOAN THREE-DIMENSIONAL ANTHROPOMORPHIC REPRESENTATIONS. PROBLEMS OF DEFINITION
Full text linkAs well as devising these new categories, this paper was attentive to the use of religiously laden terms such as the nouns ‘deities’ and ‘adorants’ or the epithet ‘cultic’. It was argued that such terms can only be employed following careful considerations of each artefact’s material and contextual situation alongside its visual appearance. Indeed, focussing on the objects’ physical remains, alongside their representative values, might help limit the scope of speculation based on present-day visual perceptions and aesthetic tastes.Finally, it can be concluded that this contribution, which must not be read as a condemnation of past vocabulary uses, but rather as a presently situated development from earlier research, is intended as a semantic facilitator for research on these various groups of Minoan three-dimensional anthropomorphic representations
ΑΝAΓΛΥΦΟΙ ΣΚYΦΟΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΑΡΧΑIΑ ΛAΠΠΑ (ΑΡΓΥΡΟYΠΟΛΗ) ΣΤΟ ΡEθΥΜΝΟ
Full text linkThis article examines the skyphoi with relief decoration retrieved from the rescue excavation of the Voughioukalaki area, which is located within ancient Lappa, in the territory of modern Argyroupolis near Rethymno. The two hundred and thirty six sherds found in a domestic context enrich the available documentation on the socio-economic conditions of Lappa during the Hellenistic period, highlighting the commercial relationships of the city with the other trade-centres of that period. The morphological, technical and iconographic analysis of these skyphoi with relief decoration aims to complete the existing bibliography concerning this particular Cretan class of pottery
FRAMMENTI DI INTONACI E STUCCHI DIPINTI INEDITI DA FESTÒS
Full text linkIn 1909, fragments of decorated wall plaster from Phaistos were brought to the Archaeological Museum of Florence, thanks to Luigi Pernier. They partially show decorative patterns, which are common in Crete, but some of them represent exclusive motifs unknown until now in the palace of Phaistos. In this way they add new aspects to the fresco repertoire of the Neopalatial period. Chemical analysis will provide further data about the nature of the pigments and technical fulfilment - important elements for understanding basic aspects of arts and crafts in the Aegean Bronze Age
ALTARI E SACELLI FRA IL TM II E IL TM IIIA1 AD H. TRIADA:UN CULTO IDENTITARIO DELLE ROVINE?
Full text linkIn this paper it is argued that the rectangular stepped platform recently excavated within a room of the Casa delle sfere fittili, in the southern sector of the settlement at Ayia Triada, is an altar. The structure is dated on stratigraphic grounds to the LM II period (as is the nearby room, A/1) and is interpreted as part of a cult of the ruins that, following the LM IB destruction, assisted in the construction of social and cultural identities.A second structure is considered to have a similar function, although it is less regular in shape. This second structure is located to the north-west of the Complesso della mazza di breccia (which was destroyed at the end of LM IB, together with the Villa Reale). This platform, which was constructed against a room of the Complesso when it already lay in ruins, incorporated a few stones, and had three architectural phases, all attributable to the LM II period.These LM II altars are considered to be successors of the LM IB structures identified at Phaistos in the north-west corner of the central court of the Second Palace, and at Ayia Triada in the light-well located between staircases 75 and 74 of the Villa Reale.The cult of ruins, or rather the altars through which it was performed, therefore seem to have originated within the structures of power and within ceremonies that were directly linked to the palatial elites. After the destruction of the second palaces, this original link, which was topographical and ideological, would have been sublimated with the symbolic connection with those structures that, albeit in ruins, were somehow still involved in the ceremonial-liturgical sphere. Finally, on the basis of the available evidence from Ayia Triada, it is argued that the cult of the ruins continued in LM IIIA1 in shrines of trapezoidal shape (such as Sacello E), and in LM IIIA2 this was superceeded by a cult of the ancestors, which apparently became the prevalent means to express cultural identity
LE CAMPAGNE DEL 2009 E DEL 2010 SULLA PATELA DI PRINIÀS. RELAZIONE PRELIMINARE
Full text linkThis paper describes the excavations, restoration and study activities conducted at Prinias in 2009 and 2010 by an archaeological mission of Catania University and the Istituto per i Beni Archeologici e Monumentali of the CNR.The excavations were carried out in the area of Temple A (by A. Pautasso), in two locations to the south of temple B (by R. Gigli and D. Palermo respectively), and on the western slope of the plateau (by S. Rizza). In the first area, A. Pautasso investigated a series of rooms situated to the West of the temple and in part obliterated by its construction, clarifying the various phases of use of the area and also uncovering two fragments of sculptures (a sphinx and a bull) belonging to the temple decoration. In the area of temple B the excavations were conducted in two sectors. R. Gigli focused on the area to the south of the temple uncovering new buildings which have enabled us to pinpoint an interesting organization of this part of the town. Here, four main buildings, of similar plan but perhaps of different function, had their facades aligned along the western side of a large court. D. Palermo focused on the large building to the south of temple B, and more specifically on its westernmost room which was furnished with a large three-pillar complex of undoubtedly religious nature, and he was able to clarify not only its chronology but also the occupation history of this area of the plateau between the proto-geometric and Orientalizing periods.Three trenches were opened by S. Rizza on the western slopes of the plateau, along a long tract of fortification wall which had been previously identified, and possibly dated back to the VII century BC.In 2009 and 2010 G. Biondi commenced study of some materials retrieved from several sites identified in the ’80s during a survey carried out in the territory in cooperation with the KG Eforia
IMPIANTI DI LAVORAZIONE A FESTÒS ED HAGHIA TRIADA IN ETÀ PALAZIALE: PER UNA RASSEGNA DELLE EVIDENZE
Full text linkThis article presents a review of surviving fixed installations in the two nearby sites of Phaistos and Ayia Triada from MM I to LM IB, in order to clarify some issues concerning centralization (physical concentration of activities in proximity to a central place) or decentralization (dislocation of activities in the territory, controlled via officials) of production in Minoan palatial Crete. In contrast to other kinds of evidence, such as tools, fixed installations permit the identification of working areas without any doubt. When they are close to a major building, such as a palace or a villa, they can indicate centralization of production. Following on from previous work by Alberti, 12 installations have been identified in the two sites, which were involved in pottery production (Phaistos: kiln from the western area, kilns in Court 90; Ayia Triada: kiln), liquid processing, sometimes dying activities (Phaistos: Room XX, Vasca XXX (?), Vano LX/101; Chalara: Room Alfa; Ayia Triada: Vano del Pistrinum, Casa del LebeteVano 9 (?), weaving (AyiaTriada: Casa delle Sfere Fittili) and some unspecified activities (Phaistos, Vano CV; AyiaTriada, Villa, Vano 45). The chronology spans from MM II (Phaistos, Room XX, Vasca XXX, Vano CV) to MM IIB (Phaistos, kiln to the west), to MM III (VanoLX/101), and LM IB (all the evidence from Ayia Triada). The chronology of the kilns of court 90 at Phaistos is unfortunately uncertain (MM III or LM I or LM IB or LM II). A general trend can be detected: the central building does not seem to be interested in direct control of production, with the exception of some specific kinds of textiles, and the manufacture of many items seems to be performed well outside palatial control. Only in some periods (as at the very end of MM IIB and the beginning of MM IIIA) do the elites seem to make an attempt to gain a stronger control, but the LM IB kiln from Ayia Triada seems more likely to be the product of a strategy aimed at reinforcing cohesion and consensus through the building of a state sponsored facility than the result of an interest in exerting a strict control over pottery manufacture
MEMORY OF A FEASTING EVENT IN THE FIRST PALACE OF PHAISTOS:PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON THE BENCH DEPOSIT OF ROOM IL
Full text linkIn 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
HUMAN REMAINS AT FN PHAISTOS: IDENTIFYING AND INTERPRETING PRACTICESOF DISPOSAL AND MANIPULATION OF THE DEADFROM AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Full text linkThe human remains identified at FN Phaistos have so far received little attention, perhaps because they were considered too sparse to be conclusive for understanding the burial practices followed at the site. In fact, leaving aside the skeleton found within a burnt layer identified in Kouloura II, which probably represents a victim of the destruction that ended Phaistos III, only three cases might potentially represent a burial: the skeleton of a child, found in proximity to the 2nd base of the colonnade that runs along the western side of the central court of the palace; the skeleton found in proximity to room 22, near to a well that was constructed in the Hellenistic period; and the bones that were found in the rubbish dumped on the bedrock in the area of room 8.In this paper it will be argued (a) that although the principal place of disposal of the dead was not located on the hilltop, children and adults could be exceptionally buried within the settlement following different mortuary practices, primary for children and secondary for young adults and adults; and (b) that the cranium and long bones found near room 22 do not represent a proper burial inasmuch as they were not re-buried in a final resting place, but entered the archaeological record while they were in the process of being used by the living in the course of ceremonies that were held at a supra-household level and involved the use of red ochre, and the consumption of meat and drink
METALLURGICAL PRODUCTION AND LONG-DISTANCE INTERACTION: NEW EVIDENCE FROM LM III PHAISTOS
Full text linkThis paper takes into consideration two fragmentary moulds from the LM IIIC context of the Casa a Ovest del Piazzale I at Phaistos. The identification of the matrix for a bronze winged-axe comparable with the well-known item from a mould of Mycenae gives the opportunity for having a deeper insight into the relations linking Crete to Italy in the field of metallurgical activities at the close of the Late Bronze Age. A quick survey of postpalatial moulds is useful for considering some aspects of the technological koiné of the 12th century Aegean. Finally, the settlement pattern of Late Bronze Age Crete is reconsidered in particular as regards the interaction dynamics involving the lowland coastal sites on the one hand and the highland inner settlements on the other