DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.8757#0099
72
THE PILLAR ROOMS AND RITUAL VESSELS
the direction of a side door of the corridor already mentioned, and at the
same time gives access to another door leading to the third of this group of
pillar-rooms. The exterior wall of this section
of the building on its southern and eastern
sides was faced with fine gypsum orthostatic
blocks, about 82 cm. high (see fig. 81), pro-
ducing an effect comparable to that of the
west wall of the Palace itself. For the m ore
inconspicuous back-wall the architect here,
as elsewhere, had contented himself with fine
ashlar masonry.
The corridor described, after passing a
small paved court on the right, which formed
a kind of central light area for this part of
the building, reaches a staircase—the ' West
Stairs'—which led by a double flight to an
upper story. Upon these stairs and in a small
shaft to the left of the first landing, con-
nected apparently with the drainage system,
was found a group of ritual objects of the
highest interest.
So far as the form of the cult was con-
cerned the most significant among these
objects were the remains of a socketed base ot
dark steatite, about 15 cm. in height, of the
stepped form characteristic of the bases used
for the shafts of the sacred Double Axes.
On the sarcophagus of Hagia Triada the
axes are seen rising from bases of this form,
and actual specimens were found in a sanc-
tuary of the building, associated with the
bronze axe blades. Small steatite bases of
this kind were also found in association with
bronze double axes in the ' Dictaean Cave
An example of one of these obtained by me
from the cave in 1899 is shown in fig. 82,
with the shaft restored and surmounted by a
double axe. In the present case the remains of the stepped socket were found
in the pit on the south side of the staircase, in company with the greater part of
a magnificent rhyton of inlaid steatite in the form of a bull's head, while in the
Fig. 82. Double axe and stepped steatite socket
from Dictaean Cave (Psychro);
THE PILLAR ROOMS AND RITUAL VESSELS
the direction of a side door of the corridor already mentioned, and at the
same time gives access to another door leading to the third of this group of
pillar-rooms. The exterior wall of this section
of the building on its southern and eastern
sides was faced with fine gypsum orthostatic
blocks, about 82 cm. high (see fig. 81), pro-
ducing an effect comparable to that of the
west wall of the Palace itself. For the m ore
inconspicuous back-wall the architect here,
as elsewhere, had contented himself with fine
ashlar masonry.
The corridor described, after passing a
small paved court on the right, which formed
a kind of central light area for this part of
the building, reaches a staircase—the ' West
Stairs'—which led by a double flight to an
upper story. Upon these stairs and in a small
shaft to the left of the first landing, con-
nected apparently with the drainage system,
was found a group of ritual objects of the
highest interest.
So far as the form of the cult was con-
cerned the most significant among these
objects were the remains of a socketed base ot
dark steatite, about 15 cm. in height, of the
stepped form characteristic of the bases used
for the shafts of the sacred Double Axes.
On the sarcophagus of Hagia Triada the
axes are seen rising from bases of this form,
and actual specimens were found in a sanc-
tuary of the building, associated with the
bronze axe blades. Small steatite bases of
this kind were also found in association with
bronze double axes in the ' Dictaean Cave
An example of one of these obtained by me
from the cave in 1899 is shown in fig. 82,
with the shaft restored and surmounted by a
double axe. In the present case the remains of the stepped socket were found
in the pit on the south side of the staircase, in company with the greater part of
a magnificent rhyton of inlaid steatite in the form of a bull's head, while in the
Fig. 82. Double axe and stepped steatite socket
from Dictaean Cave (Psychro);