Evans, Arthur: The ‘Tomb of the Double Axes’ and associated group, and the pillar rooms and ritual vessels of the ‘Little Palace’ at Knossos’ (London, 1914)

6

THE TOMB OF THE DOUBLE AXES

Tomb ia.

This secondary tomb had been rifled and the relics that it still contained
were a good deal scattered about. Among these were bronze arrowheads of the
minute type found in the ' Hunter's Tomb',1 three larger arrow or javelin heads
of the same material (fig. 10, a, b, c), a gold filigree pendant (fig. 10, d) and beads,
an almond-shaped bead of cornelian, of the class known in Crete as ' galopetras'
or milk-stones. It was engraved with a rude figure of an eagle (fig. io,g). There

Fig. 10. Objects from Tomb i a. (Slightly reduced.)

was also a larger and smaller clay jug and a small vessel of the ' hole spouted'
class (fig. ii, a, b, c). The surface of these was much decayed, but the latter bore
traces of a design, red on a buff ground, showing festoons and pendants—a
characteristic decoration of the early part of the Third Late Minoan Age.2 This
tomb belonged therefore to the same period as the later tombs of Zafer Papoura.
It seems to have been constructed at a time when even the existence of the
drojiws of the larger tomb (i) had been forgotten.

Tomb i.

The character of the principal tomb (no. i), to which the droinos led, is best
shown by the view given in fig. 12, and the plans and sections (pi. I, a, b). It will
be seen that it is of square outline somewhat over three metres in either direction,
and with its entrance on the north side. The west wall, which is the best pre-
served, shows six courses, of which the first five have an upright face. The sixth

1 Prehistoric Tombs of Knossos, p. 32, fig. 28 (Archaeologia, lix).

2 Cf. Prehistoric Tombs of Knossos, p. 22, fig. 14.