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THE POTTERY DEPOSIT FROM THE HOUSES OF THE FALLEN BLOCKS AND THE SACRIFICED OXEN AT THE SOUTH-EASTERN CORNER OF THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 January 2019

Iro Mathioudaki
Iro Mathioudaki*
Affiliation:
Université catholique de Louvain
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

This contribution focuses on a study of the pottery assemblage deposited in the space occupied by the House of the Fallen Blocks and the House of the Sacrificed Oxen at the south-eastern corner of the Palace of Knossos. This deposit was crucial for Arthur Evans’ definition of the ‘Great Earthquake’ destruction at Knossos, because, together with fallen blocks, it was considered to be the consequence of a massive destruction. From the outset, the deposit associated with this event has played a de facto role in the definition of the New Palace era, and, in this respect, it is very important with regards to the history of the Palace of Knossos. There is no sign of stratification above the floor levels of the houses, with the material of the deposit usually interpreted as a post-destruction fill. The abundance of ceramic material and the broad representation of forms prompted Evans to call this deposit a storehouse of Middle Minoan (MM) III domestic pottery. Here, the nature of the deposit will be examined, taking into consideration information from the excavation notebooks and a detailed study of the retained pottery. The main conclusion is that the material is not MM IIIB as ascribed by Evans, but can be dated to an earlier part of the period, i.e. MM IIIA. This is significant because it might contribute to a critical reassessment of the destruction horizon generally attributed to MM IIIB. The large quantities of pottery from these houses also provide a fuller picture of what types and styles were prevalent in MM IIIA, given that there are not many published deposits of this date from the palace or town of Knossos.

Η κεραμεική απόθεση των οικιών των Πεσμένων Ογκολίθων και Θυσιασθέντων Βοών στη νοτιοανατολική γωνία του ανακτόρου της Κνωσού

Το άρθρο αυτό επικεντρώνεται στη μελέτη της κεραμεικής απόθεσης που βρέθηκε στο χώρο των οικιών των Πεσμένων Ογκολίθων και Θυσιασθέντος Βοών στη νοτιοανατολική γωνία του ανακτόρου της Κνωσού. Η απόθεση αυτή υπήρξε ουσιώδης για τον ορισμό του ‘Μεγάλου Σεισμού’ από τον Έβανς, γιατί σε συνδυασμό με τους πεσμένους λαξευτούς λίθους, θεωρήθηκε ως η συνέπεια μιας μαζικής καταστροφής. Η απόθεση ως μάρτυρος ενός τέτοιου γεγονότος έπαιξε ουσιαστικό ρόλο στον ορισμό της Νέας Ανακτορικής εποχής εξαρχής από τον ίδιο τον Έβανς και, ως εκ τούτου, είναι ιδιαιτέρως σημαντική για την ιστορία του ανακτόρου της Κνωσού. Δεν υπάρχουν ενδείξεις στρωματογραφίας πάνω από το επίπεδο των δαπέδων. Η πληθώρα κεραμεικού υλικού και το ιδιαίτερο ρεπερτόριο σχημάτων οδήγησε τον Έβανς στη θεώρηση της απόθεσης ως «αποθήκης ΜΜ ΙΙΙ οικιστικής κεραμεικής». Εδώ διερευνάται ο χαρακτήρας της απόθεσης σύμφωνα με τις πληροφορίες που περιέχονται στο ημερολόγιο της ανασκαφής και τα στοιχεία της κεραμεικής μελέτης. Η βασική συμβολή της μελέτης είναι ότι η κεραμεική δεν χρονολογείται στη ΜΜ ΙΙΙΒ, αλλά στο πρωιμότερο στάδιο της ΜΜ ΙΙΙΑ περιόδου. Αυτό είναι ένα σημαντικό πόρισμα καθώς εν δυνάμει συμβάλει στην επαναχρονολόγηση ενός γεγονότος που έπαιξε σημαντικό ρόλο στην ιστορία της Κνωσού. Οι μεγάλες ποσότητες κεραμεικής από τις οικίες μας δίνουν επίσης μια πληρέστερη εικόνα της τυπολογίας που επικρατούσε στην ΜΜ ΙΙΙΑ περίοδο, δεδομένου ότι δεν έχουμε στη διάθεσή μας πολλές δημοσιευμένες αποθέσεις κεραμεικής από το ανάκτορο ή την πόλη της Κνωσού.

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Articles
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 113 , November 2018 , pp. 19 - 73
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2019 

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References

REFERENCES

Mackenzie, D. 1922. Daybook: Campaign of 1922 (available in the Library of the British School at Athens).Google Scholar
Catling, E., Catling, H., Smyth, D., Jones, G. and Jones, R.E. 1979. ‘Knossos 1975: Middle Minoan III and Late Minoan I houses by the Acropolis’, BSA 74, 1–80.Google Scholar
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Girella, L. 2007. ‘Toward a definition of the Middle Minoan III ceramic sequence in south-central Crete: returning to the traditional MM IIIA and IIIB division?’, in Felten, F., Gauss, W. and Smetana, R. (eds), Middle Helladic Pottery and Synchronisms (Vienna), 233–55.Google Scholar
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Girella, L. 2010b. ‘A view of MM IIIA at Phaistos: pottery production and consumption at the beginning of the Neopalatial period’, Aegean Archaeology 9, 49–89.Google Scholar
Hatzaki, E. 2007a. ‘Neopalatial (MM IIIB–LM IB): KS 178, Gypsades Well (Upper Deposit) and SEX North House Groups’, in Momigliano, N. (ed.), Knossos Pottery Handbook: Neolithic and Bronze Age (British School at Athens Studies 14; London), 151–96.Google Scholar
Hatzaki, E. 2007b. ‘Ceramic groups of early Neopalatial Knossos in the context of Crete and the south Aegean’, in Felten, F., Gauss, W. and Smetana, R. (eds), Middle Helladic Pottery and Synchronisms (Vienna), 273–94.Google Scholar
Hatzaki, E. 2015. ‘Ceramic production and consumption at the Neopalatial settlement of Myrtos-Pyrgos: the case of ‘in and out’ bowls’, in Macdonald, C., Hatzaki, E. and Andreou, S. (eds), The Great Islands: Studies of Crete and Cyprus Presented to Gerald Cadogan (Athens), 49–57.Google Scholar
Hilditch, J. 2008. ‘Reconstruction of technological choice, social practice and networks of exchange from a ceramic perspective in the Middle Bronze Age Cyclades’ (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Exeter).Google Scholar
Hood, S. 1996. ‘Back to basics with Middle Minoan IIIB’, in Evely, D., Lemos, I.S. and Sherratt, S. (eds), Minotaur and Centaur: Studies in the Archaeology of Crete and Euboea Presented to Mervyn Popham (BAR International Series 638; Oxford), 10–16.Google Scholar
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Karetsou, A. and Mathioudaki, I. 2012. ‘The Middle Minoan III building complex at Alonaki, Juktas: architectural observations and pottery analysis’, CretAnt 13, 83–107.Google Scholar
Knappett, C. 2006. ‘Aegean imports at MM III Knossos’, in Proceedings of the Ninth International Cretological Conference A4 (Heraklion), 109–17.Google Scholar
Knappett, C., Macdonald, C. and Mathioudaki, I. in preparation. From First to Second Palace at Knossos: An Integrated Ceramic and Architectural Study of Evans's MM III Deposits from the Palace of Minos (British School at Athens Studies; London).Google Scholar
Knappett, C., Mathioudaki, I. and Macdonald, C. 2013. ‘Stratigraphy and ceramic typology in the Middle Minoan III palace at Knossos’, in Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds), Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London), 9–19.Google Scholar
Knappett, C. and Nikolakopoulou, I. 2008. ‘Colonialism without colonies? A Bronze Age case study from Akrotiri, Thera’, Hesperia 77, 1–42.Google Scholar
Levi, D., 1976. Festos e la civiltà minoica (Incunabula Graeca 60; Rome).Google Scholar
Levi, D. and Carinci, F. 1988. Festòs e la civiltà minoica II2: l'arte festia nell'età protopalaziale: ceramica ed altri materiali (Incunabula Graeca 77; Rome).Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. 2002. ‘The Neopalatial palaces of Knossos’, in Driessen, J., Schoep, I. and Laffineur, R. (eds), Monuments of Minos: Rethinking the Minoan Palaces (Aegaeum 23; Liège and Austin).Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. 2010. ‘Rejection and revival of traditions: Middle Minoan II–IIIA footed goblets or eggcups at Knossos’, in Krzyszkowska, O. (ed.), Cretan Offerings: Studies in Honour of Peter Warren (London), 203–12.Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. 2013. ‘Between Protopalatial houses and Neopalatial mansions: an “intermezzo” southwest of the palace at Knossos’, in Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds), Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London), 21–30.Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. 2017. ‘Punctuation in Palatial prehistory: earthquakes as the stratigraphical markers of the 18th–15th centuries BC in central Crete’, in Jusseret, S. and Sintubin, M. (eds), Minoan Earthquakes: Breaking the Myth through Interdisciplinarity (Leuven), 327–58.Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. 2007. Knossos: Protopalatial Deposits in Early Magazine A and the South-West Houses (British School at Athens Supplementary Volume 41; London).Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds) 2013. Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London).Google Scholar
MacGillivray, J.A. 1984. ‘Cycladic jars from Middle Minoan III contexts at Knossos’, in Hägg, R. and Marinatos, N. (eds), The Minoan Thalassocracy: Myth and Reality: Proceedings of the Third International Symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens 31 May–5 June 1982 (Stockholm), 153–7.Google Scholar
MacGillivray, J.A. 1998. Knossos: Pottery Groups of the Old Palace Period (British School at Athens Studies 5; London).Google Scholar
MacGillivray, J.A. 2007. ‘Protopalatial (MM IB–MM IIIA): early chamber beneath the West Court, Royal Pottery Stores, the Trial KV, and the West and South Polychrome Deposits groups’, in Momigliano, N. (ed.), Knossos Pottery Handbook: Neolithic and Bronze Age (British School at Athens Studies Series 14; London), 105–49.Google Scholar
Mathioudaki, Ι. forthcoming. ‘Middle Bronze Age Akrotiri: the other imports’, in Nikolakopoulou, I. (ed.), Middle Bronze Age Akrotiri, Thera (Athens).Google Scholar
Nikolakopoulou, I. 2010. ‘Middle Cycladic iconography: a social context for “a new chapter in Aegean art”’, in Krzyszkowska, O. (ed.), Cretan Offerings: Studies in Honour of Peter Warren (London), 213–22.Google Scholar
Nikolakopoulou, I. forthcoming. Middle Bronze Age Akrotiri, Thera (Athens).Google Scholar
Panagiotaki, M. 1999. The Central Palace Sanctuary at Knossos (British School at Athens Supplementary Volume 31; London).Google Scholar
Pendlebury, J.D.S. 1933. A Guide to the Stratigraphical Museum in the Palace at Knossos (London).Google Scholar
Popham, M. 1974. ‘Trial KV (1969), a MM building at Knossos’, BSA 69, 181–94.Google Scholar
Poursat, J.-C. and Knappett, C. 2006. Fouilles exécutées à Malia: le Quartier Mu IV: la poterie du minoen moyen III: production et utilisation (ÉtCrét 33; Paris).Google Scholar
Rethemiotakis, G. and Christakis, K. 2013. ‘The Middle Minoan III period at Galatas: pottery and historical implications’, in Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds), Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London), 93–105.Google Scholar
Rethemiotakis, G. and Warren, P.M. 2014. Knossos: A Middle Minoan III Building in Bougada Metochi (British School at Athens Studies 23; London).Google Scholar
Sakellarakis, Y. and Sakellaraki, E. 1979. ‘Anaskaphi Archanon’, Prakt, 331–92.Google Scholar
Sakellarakis, Y. and Sakellaraki, E. 1997. Archanes: Minoan Crete in a New Light (Athens).Google Scholar
Vitale, S. 2006. ‘L'insediamento di “Serraglio” durante il Tardo Bronzo: riesame dei principali contesti portati alla luce da Luigi Morricone tra il 1935 et il 1946’, ASAtene 83, 71–94.Google Scholar
Warren, P.M. 1991. ‘A new Minoan deposit from Knossos, c. 1600 BC and its wider relations’, BSA 86, 319–40.Google Scholar
Mackenzie, D. 1922. Daybook: Campaign of 1922 (available in the Library of the British School at Athens).Google Scholar
Catling, E., Catling, H., Smyth, D., Jones, G. and Jones, R.E. 1979. ‘Knossos 1975: Middle Minoan III and Late Minoan I houses by the Acropolis’, BSA 74, 1–80.Google Scholar
Evans, A.J. 1928. The Palace of Minos at Knossos II.1 (London).Google Scholar
Evans, A.J. 1935. The Palace of Minos at Knossos IV.2 (London).Google Scholar
Girella, L. 2007. ‘Toward a definition of the Middle Minoan III ceramic sequence in south-central Crete: returning to the traditional MM IIIA and IIIB division?’, in Felten, F., Gauss, W. and Smetana, R. (eds), Middle Helladic Pottery and Synchronisms (Vienna), 233–55.Google Scholar
Girella, L. 2010a. Depositi ceramic del Medio Minoico III da Festòs e Haghia Triada (Studi di Archeologia Cretese 8; Padua).Google Scholar
Girella, L. 2010b. ‘A view of MM IIIA at Phaistos: pottery production and consumption at the beginning of the Neopalatial period’, Aegean Archaeology 9, 49–89.Google Scholar
Hatzaki, E. 2007a. ‘Neopalatial (MM IIIB–LM IB): KS 178, Gypsades Well (Upper Deposit) and SEX North House Groups’, in Momigliano, N. (ed.), Knossos Pottery Handbook: Neolithic and Bronze Age (British School at Athens Studies 14; London), 151–96.Google Scholar
Hatzaki, E. 2007b. ‘Ceramic groups of early Neopalatial Knossos in the context of Crete and the south Aegean’, in Felten, F., Gauss, W. and Smetana, R. (eds), Middle Helladic Pottery and Synchronisms (Vienna), 273–94.Google Scholar
Hatzaki, E. 2015. ‘Ceramic production and consumption at the Neopalatial settlement of Myrtos-Pyrgos: the case of ‘in and out’ bowls’, in Macdonald, C., Hatzaki, E. and Andreou, S. (eds), The Great Islands: Studies of Crete and Cyprus Presented to Gerald Cadogan (Athens), 49–57.Google Scholar
Hilditch, J. 2008. ‘Reconstruction of technological choice, social practice and networks of exchange from a ceramic perspective in the Middle Bronze Age Cyclades’ (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Exeter).Google Scholar
Hood, S. 1996. ‘Back to basics with Middle Minoan IIIB’, in Evely, D., Lemos, I.S. and Sherratt, S. (eds), Minotaur and Centaur: Studies in the Archaeology of Crete and Euboea Presented to Mervyn Popham (BAR International Series 638; Oxford), 10–16.Google Scholar
Karetsou, A. 2013. ‘The Middle Minoan III building at Alonaki, Juktas’, in Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds), Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London), 71–91.Google Scholar
Karetsou, A. and Mathioudaki, I. 2012. ‘The Middle Minoan III building complex at Alonaki, Juktas: architectural observations and pottery analysis’, CretAnt 13, 83–107.Google Scholar
Knappett, C. 2006. ‘Aegean imports at MM III Knossos’, in Proceedings of the Ninth International Cretological Conference A4 (Heraklion), 109–17.Google Scholar
Knappett, C., Macdonald, C. and Mathioudaki, I. in preparation. From First to Second Palace at Knossos: An Integrated Ceramic and Architectural Study of Evans's MM III Deposits from the Palace of Minos (British School at Athens Studies; London).Google Scholar
Knappett, C., Mathioudaki, I. and Macdonald, C. 2013. ‘Stratigraphy and ceramic typology in the Middle Minoan III palace at Knossos’, in Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds), Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London), 9–19.Google Scholar
Knappett, C. and Nikolakopoulou, I. 2008. ‘Colonialism without colonies? A Bronze Age case study from Akrotiri, Thera’, Hesperia 77, 1–42.Google Scholar
Levi, D., 1976. Festos e la civiltà minoica (Incunabula Graeca 60; Rome).Google Scholar
Levi, D. and Carinci, F. 1988. Festòs e la civiltà minoica II2: l'arte festia nell'età protopalaziale: ceramica ed altri materiali (Incunabula Graeca 77; Rome).Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. 2002. ‘The Neopalatial palaces of Knossos’, in Driessen, J., Schoep, I. and Laffineur, R. (eds), Monuments of Minos: Rethinking the Minoan Palaces (Aegaeum 23; Liège and Austin).Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. 2010. ‘Rejection and revival of traditions: Middle Minoan II–IIIA footed goblets or eggcups at Knossos’, in Krzyszkowska, O. (ed.), Cretan Offerings: Studies in Honour of Peter Warren (London), 203–12.Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. 2013. ‘Between Protopalatial houses and Neopalatial mansions: an “intermezzo” southwest of the palace at Knossos’, in Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds), Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London), 21–30.Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. 2017. ‘Punctuation in Palatial prehistory: earthquakes as the stratigraphical markers of the 18th–15th centuries BC in central Crete’, in Jusseret, S. and Sintubin, M. (eds), Minoan Earthquakes: Breaking the Myth through Interdisciplinarity (Leuven), 327–58.Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. 2007. Knossos: Protopalatial Deposits in Early Magazine A and the South-West Houses (British School at Athens Supplementary Volume 41; London).Google Scholar
Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds) 2013. Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London).Google Scholar
MacGillivray, J.A. 1984. ‘Cycladic jars from Middle Minoan III contexts at Knossos’, in Hägg, R. and Marinatos, N. (eds), The Minoan Thalassocracy: Myth and Reality: Proceedings of the Third International Symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens 31 May–5 June 1982 (Stockholm), 153–7.Google Scholar
MacGillivray, J.A. 1998. Knossos: Pottery Groups of the Old Palace Period (British School at Athens Studies 5; London).Google Scholar
MacGillivray, J.A. 2007. ‘Protopalatial (MM IB–MM IIIA): early chamber beneath the West Court, Royal Pottery Stores, the Trial KV, and the West and South Polychrome Deposits groups’, in Momigliano, N. (ed.), Knossos Pottery Handbook: Neolithic and Bronze Age (British School at Athens Studies Series 14; London), 105–49.Google Scholar
Mathioudaki, Ι. forthcoming. ‘Middle Bronze Age Akrotiri: the other imports’, in Nikolakopoulou, I. (ed.), Middle Bronze Age Akrotiri, Thera (Athens).Google Scholar
Nikolakopoulou, I. 2010. ‘Middle Cycladic iconography: a social context for “a new chapter in Aegean art”’, in Krzyszkowska, O. (ed.), Cretan Offerings: Studies in Honour of Peter Warren (London), 213–22.Google Scholar
Nikolakopoulou, I. forthcoming. Middle Bronze Age Akrotiri, Thera (Athens).Google Scholar
Panagiotaki, M. 1999. The Central Palace Sanctuary at Knossos (British School at Athens Supplementary Volume 31; London).Google Scholar
Pendlebury, J.D.S. 1933. A Guide to the Stratigraphical Museum in the Palace at Knossos (London).Google Scholar
Popham, M. 1974. ‘Trial KV (1969), a MM building at Knossos’, BSA 69, 181–94.Google Scholar
Poursat, J.-C. and Knappett, C. 2006. Fouilles exécutées à Malia: le Quartier Mu IV: la poterie du minoen moyen III: production et utilisation (ÉtCrét 33; Paris).Google Scholar
Rethemiotakis, G. and Christakis, K. 2013. ‘The Middle Minoan III period at Galatas: pottery and historical implications’, in Macdonald, C.F. and Knappett, C. (eds), Intermezzo: Intermediacy and Regeneration in Middle Minoan III Crete (British School at Athens Studies 21; London), 93–105.Google Scholar
Rethemiotakis, G. and Warren, P.M. 2014. Knossos: A Middle Minoan III Building in Bougada Metochi (British School at Athens Studies 23; London).Google Scholar
Sakellarakis, Y. and Sakellaraki, E. 1979. ‘Anaskaphi Archanon’, Prakt, 331–92.Google Scholar
Sakellarakis, Y. and Sakellaraki, E. 1997. Archanes: Minoan Crete in a New Light (Athens).Google Scholar
Vitale, S. 2006. ‘L'insediamento di “Serraglio” durante il Tardo Bronzo: riesame dei principali contesti portati alla luce da Luigi Morricone tra il 1935 et il 1946’, ASAtene 83, 71–94.Google Scholar
Warren, P.M. 1991. ‘A new Minoan deposit from Knossos, c. 1600 BC and its wider relations’, BSA 86, 319–40.Google Scholar