DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.811#0393
342 PARCHMENT WINDOW-PANES : COLOURED RED
Red-
coloured
panes:
? parch-
ment.
Inner
Hall:
capable
of isola-
tion.
Fig. 227. House Facade of Faience Tablet
showing Windows above Doors.
and since glass is still a luxury with their occupants, these are generally left
either wholly open or are closed against the cold weather by a board. It is
possible that some of the upper
openings seen in the faience House
facades could be boarded up in this
simple fashion. But, as can be seen
from these, already in the Middle
Period, the Minoan private houses
were in other respects advanced far
beyond the primitive stage. In the
type reproduced in Fig. 227, where
the characteristic wooden framework
of the structure is well indicated,
two paned windows—perhaps im-
plying two casements—are shown
above the pair of door openings.
As in other cases, the panes of the
windows are filled in on the tablet
with a bright red, ochreous material, showing that they were originally
coloured, and the suggestion seems natural that the translucent material
thus tinted was oiled parchment. The windows themselves1 have often
four panes, and in one case we see an example consisting of two wings,
each with three panes.
In view of this evidence it seems probable that the lines of doorways,
such as those facing the inner section of the ' Hall of the Double Axes' on
three sides, were accompanied by windows above, opening in a similar
manner within a wooden framework, the two casements of which were
probably fitted with translucent panes of oiled parchment coloured red.
The restored arrangement is shown in the Coloured Plate XXIV opposite
p. 346. Since windows thus placed could not well have been opened
and shut without the aid of a ladder, we may infer that their seasonal
readjustment to meet changed weather conditions could not have been very
frequent.
This 'Inner Hall', with its screens of doorways that might be all
closed, was capable, as we have seen, of being entirely isolated from its
surroundings. Being of moderate size, moreover, it could be conveniently
warmed during the chilly months of the year—which in this part of Crete
extend from November to the beginning of April—by means of the clay
1 P. o/M., i, p. 303 seqq., and Fig. 226.
Red-
coloured
panes:
? parch-
ment.
Inner
Hall:
capable
of isola-
tion.
Fig. 227. House Facade of Faience Tablet
showing Windows above Doors.
and since glass is still a luxury with their occupants, these are generally left
either wholly open or are closed against the cold weather by a board. It is
possible that some of the upper
openings seen in the faience House
facades could be boarded up in this
simple fashion. But, as can be seen
from these, already in the Middle
Period, the Minoan private houses
were in other respects advanced far
beyond the primitive stage. In the
type reproduced in Fig. 227, where
the characteristic wooden framework
of the structure is well indicated,
two paned windows—perhaps im-
plying two casements—are shown
above the pair of door openings.
As in other cases, the panes of the
windows are filled in on the tablet
with a bright red, ochreous material, showing that they were originally
coloured, and the suggestion seems natural that the translucent material
thus tinted was oiled parchment. The windows themselves1 have often
four panes, and in one case we see an example consisting of two wings,
each with three panes.
In view of this evidence it seems probable that the lines of doorways,
such as those facing the inner section of the ' Hall of the Double Axes' on
three sides, were accompanied by windows above, opening in a similar
manner within a wooden framework, the two casements of which were
probably fitted with translucent panes of oiled parchment coloured red.
The restored arrangement is shown in the Coloured Plate XXIV opposite
p. 346. Since windows thus placed could not well have been opened
and shut without the aid of a ladder, we may infer that their seasonal
readjustment to meet changed weather conditions could not have been very
frequent.
This 'Inner Hall', with its screens of doorways that might be all
closed, was capable, as we have seen, of being entirely isolated from its
surroundings. Being of moderate size, moreover, it could be conveniently
warmed during the chilly months of the year—which in this part of Crete
extend from November to the beginning of April—by means of the clay
1 P. o/M., i, p. 303 seqq., and Fig. 226.