DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.807#0499
458
THE PALACE OF MINOS, ETC.
Later
Cists of
L.M. I
construc-
tion.
Probably
Vats.
Floor
Cists
mostly
paved
over by
close of
L. M. I.
Some still
used as
vats for
oil.
includes a jar of bulging" shape which seems to be typologically slightly
earlier than similar vessels of taller proportions found in the 'Temple Reposi-
tories'. It may therefore be a survival from the earlier M. M. Ill phase.
But, as a whole, the evidence of the remains found in the lower intervals of
these 'kaselles' tends to show that they passed out of use at the same date
as those of the adjoining Long Gallery and the ' Temple Repositories' them-
selves, at the close, that is, of the present Period. Some of the fragments of
wrall-painting already referred to as found in this position in the Thirteenth
Magazine fit on, as has been observed, very closely to the earliest Late Minoan
style.
The contents of these lower receptacles of the ' kaselles ' opened in the
Magazines differed in one important respect from those of the analogous
group a of the Long Gallery. There were here no traces of burnt material ;
the remains of the easily detached gold foil being indeed the only clear
record of their having been repositories of precious possessions. Possibly
the conflagration that seems to have followed on the violation of the cists
in the Long Gallery did not extend to the Magazines. In any case the
original contents of their ' kaselles' seem to have been carefully withdrawn
and no remains of burnt treasure chests were swept into them.
It would appear from the evidence given above that the construction of
the upper and shallower cists was the work of the beginning of the Late
Minoan Age, and their empty state when found would imply that they
were used as vats rather than as receptacles for treasure. That the
custom of constructing floor-cists was itself not wholly unknown in the new
era is shown by the smaller superficial cists placed over the earlier Temple
Repositories, apparently in the last Palace epoch.1
It seems, however, to have been shortly realized that owing to the
limited width of the Magazines and the size of many of the pithoi, floor space
for these large jars was of more consequence than the vats. At a date,
which from the evidence supplied by the stratification beneath the Vestibule
of the Stepped Porch we may place at least within the lower limits of the
First Late Minoan Period, they were for the most part paved over.
That in some cases, however, the new pavement was so laid down as to
allow the use of the superficial cists as oil-vats appears from a piece of
evidence supplied by the Sixth Magazine. The upper recipient seen in
Fig. 329 shows the side flags of the pavement running even with the border,
while one of its central slabs only projects as far as the original line of the
1 See below, p. 464 and Fig. 332.
THE PALACE OF MINOS, ETC.
Later
Cists of
L.M. I
construc-
tion.
Probably
Vats.
Floor
Cists
mostly
paved
over by
close of
L. M. I.
Some still
used as
vats for
oil.
includes a jar of bulging" shape which seems to be typologically slightly
earlier than similar vessels of taller proportions found in the 'Temple Reposi-
tories'. It may therefore be a survival from the earlier M. M. Ill phase.
But, as a whole, the evidence of the remains found in the lower intervals of
these 'kaselles' tends to show that they passed out of use at the same date
as those of the adjoining Long Gallery and the ' Temple Repositories' them-
selves, at the close, that is, of the present Period. Some of the fragments of
wrall-painting already referred to as found in this position in the Thirteenth
Magazine fit on, as has been observed, very closely to the earliest Late Minoan
style.
The contents of these lower receptacles of the ' kaselles ' opened in the
Magazines differed in one important respect from those of the analogous
group a of the Long Gallery. There were here no traces of burnt material ;
the remains of the easily detached gold foil being indeed the only clear
record of their having been repositories of precious possessions. Possibly
the conflagration that seems to have followed on the violation of the cists
in the Long Gallery did not extend to the Magazines. In any case the
original contents of their ' kaselles' seem to have been carefully withdrawn
and no remains of burnt treasure chests were swept into them.
It would appear from the evidence given above that the construction of
the upper and shallower cists was the work of the beginning of the Late
Minoan Age, and their empty state when found would imply that they
were used as vats rather than as receptacles for treasure. That the
custom of constructing floor-cists was itself not wholly unknown in the new
era is shown by the smaller superficial cists placed over the earlier Temple
Repositories, apparently in the last Palace epoch.1
It seems, however, to have been shortly realized that owing to the
limited width of the Magazines and the size of many of the pithoi, floor space
for these large jars was of more consequence than the vats. At a date,
which from the evidence supplied by the stratification beneath the Vestibule
of the Stepped Porch we may place at least within the lower limits of the
First Late Minoan Period, they were for the most part paved over.
That in some cases, however, the new pavement was so laid down as to
allow the use of the superficial cists as oil-vats appears from a piece of
evidence supplied by the Sixth Magazine. The upper recipient seen in
Fig. 329 shows the side flags of the pavement running even with the border,
while one of its central slabs only projects as far as the original line of the
1 See below, p. 464 and Fig. 332.