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Five tombs at Knossos1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2013

Extract

On the east slope of Lower Gypsades hill, about 100 metres west of the Temple Tomb, a chamber tomb came to light in August 1958, when a cutting for a new water pipe was driven through the area (A in Plate 9 a). In the course of this operation, part of a plain larnax (iii) was sliced off, and much earth removed from the west end of the collapsed chamber: at no point, however, had the municipal workmen penetrated to the tomb floor.

The chamber was approached by a sloping dromos (Plate 9 a: length 2·80 metres; max. width 1 metre), roughly cut into the natural kouskouras rock: its walls were approximately perpendicular. Although the gradient varied a good deal, there was no suggestion of a stairway.

The blocking wall was found in good condition. Of especial interest were the numerous fragments of larnakes that had been built into its fabric: some of them could be recognized as belonging to each of the three fragmentary larnakes (i, ii, v) whose scattered pieces were found below and around the two undisturbed burials in the chamber (iii, iv). We may thus distinguish two periods in the history of the tomb: larnakes i, ii, and v were evidently smashed up in order to make room for iv and iii, which must have been deposited in that order. The debris of v was found under iv, with a few adult bones in its wreckage. Part of i lay on the floor near the south-west corner, where two plain vases (2, 3) were found in situ, hence, also, came most of the fragments of the fine L.M. IIIA 2 stirrup vase (1), although its other pieces were scattered all over the floor of the tomb. This small group of offerings may belong to the disturbed adult skeleton, whose skull lay up against the lower edge of iii. Curiously, some fragments of i and ii were also found above the broken lid of iv (Plate 9 b): perhaps the lid of the later larnax was accidentally smashed at the time of the funeral, in which case the debris from earlier burials could have been piled up above it, as a rough and ready means of protection.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 1963

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References

2 Hood, Smollett, and de Jong, Archaeological Survey of the Knossos Area no. 148. This work will henceforth be abbreviated as Knossos Survey.

3 Preliminary Report: JHS lxxviii (1948) Suppl. 21.

4 It was necessary to remove iii in order to obtain free access to iv.

5 Preliminary Report: JHS lxxx (1960) Suppl. 26.

6 Knossos Survey: 100 metres north-west of no. 21.

7 Cf. EA 1904, pl. 3, 2, from Mouliana, : BSA lv (1960) 18 ff., pls. 7, 8Google Scholara–b, from Karphi.

8 Preliminary Report: JHS lxxix (1959) Suppl. 21.

9 For the reuse of L.M. tombs in the Early Iron Age, see Brock, , Fortetsa 4 ff.Google Scholar; Boardman, , BSA lv (1960) 143.Google Scholar

10 The trials were conducted by Mr. J. W. Hayes.

11 Knossos Survey no. 107. Sherds from this point, recovered by J. M. Cook in 1953, include much Protogeometric from the lower of two strata.

12 Cf. Burr, D., Hesperia ii (1933) 552 ff.Google Scholar

13 This tomb lies between nos. 15 and 16 on the Knossos Survey; it is thus an outlying member of the group excavated by Hogarth in 1900 (BSA vi (1899–1900) 82 ff.; Knossos Survey no. 15). In the same season another tomb came to light in the olive grove immediately above the Hogarth group; it had a stepped dromos and a small oval chamber, and proved to be entirely robbed.