DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.809#0034
io LATE NEOLITHIC HOUSES BENEATH CENTRAL COURT
Large
pots of
stratum «,
Shell fish,
Proto-
types of
Early
M inoan
'Chal-
ices '.
that had afterwards been highly polished. Examples of the old incised
decoration are given in Fig. 3, in rare instances containing white inlay
(Fig. 3, o), but it must be borne in mind that these only represent a fractional
percentage.1
On the floor levels of stratum a, thanks to the greater preservation of
the walling, remains of a series of larger vessels came to light, several of the
type shown in Fig. 3, r, though, owing to the imperfect cohesion of the walls,
their reconstitution was for the most part impossible. An exceptionally
large cooking-pot with a diameter of over seventy centimetres found near
the hearth in house B contained, together with a serpentine axe, the
bones of a kid. It seems to have had four handles. With it were found
large stones showing traces of fire. Abundant remains of bones of animals,
mostly cut or split, came out throughout both layers of the deposit. These
included the Cretan ox,2 goats, and swine ; bones of a dog also occurred.
That some of the food supplies were brought up from the sea was shown by
the numerous cockles found, supplemented by limpets of large size and an
occasional whelk and other shells.8 Many of the cockles and some of the
other shells had been bored to be worn as ornaments. A curious find—
inside a clot of earth near the floor of House B, and well beneath stratum a—
was part of a nut which proved to have belonged to the obtuse end of an
almond stone.*
Some fragments were found of carinated bowls of the type illustrated in
Fig. 3, x,° and which is already represented in Middle Neolithic deposits. The
'bridged' spout of these affords an early illustration of a favourite Minoan
form.8 A still more striking link of connexion is seen in the remains of
cups or bowls on conical bases supplying the immediately antecedent stage
of the elegant Early Minoan ' chalices', so well illustrated by the remains
from the Ossuary Cave of Pyrgos. A restoration is given in Fig. 3, m,
of a simpler form with slanting incised decoration and a taller and
more developed specimen, with burnished vertical striations is shown in
1 Fig. 3, t, with the chevron band against
a dotted background has been further adorned
with a ruddy ochreous wash.
* In Bos creticus of Boyd Dawkins. Numer-
ous teeth also occurred.
3 Amongst them were specimens of Trochus
lineatus, Pectunculus glycimeris, Spondylus
gaederopus, and Cypraea.
* The interior of this looked extraordinarily
fresh, but the circumstances of the discovery
seem to preclude any recent date.
5 The drawing is based on the fragments of
two specimens : the spout of another is placed
below for comparison.
6 The influence of spouted Egyptian copper
vessels with very prominent spouts on the
Early Minoan class must at the same time
be admitted. See vol. i, pp. 80-2 and
Fig. 48, a.
Large
pots of
stratum «,
Shell fish,
Proto-
types of
Early
M inoan
'Chal-
ices '.
that had afterwards been highly polished. Examples of the old incised
decoration are given in Fig. 3, in rare instances containing white inlay
(Fig. 3, o), but it must be borne in mind that these only represent a fractional
percentage.1
On the floor levels of stratum a, thanks to the greater preservation of
the walling, remains of a series of larger vessels came to light, several of the
type shown in Fig. 3, r, though, owing to the imperfect cohesion of the walls,
their reconstitution was for the most part impossible. An exceptionally
large cooking-pot with a diameter of over seventy centimetres found near
the hearth in house B contained, together with a serpentine axe, the
bones of a kid. It seems to have had four handles. With it were found
large stones showing traces of fire. Abundant remains of bones of animals,
mostly cut or split, came out throughout both layers of the deposit. These
included the Cretan ox,2 goats, and swine ; bones of a dog also occurred.
That some of the food supplies were brought up from the sea was shown by
the numerous cockles found, supplemented by limpets of large size and an
occasional whelk and other shells.8 Many of the cockles and some of the
other shells had been bored to be worn as ornaments. A curious find—
inside a clot of earth near the floor of House B, and well beneath stratum a—
was part of a nut which proved to have belonged to the obtuse end of an
almond stone.*
Some fragments were found of carinated bowls of the type illustrated in
Fig. 3, x,° and which is already represented in Middle Neolithic deposits. The
'bridged' spout of these affords an early illustration of a favourite Minoan
form.8 A still more striking link of connexion is seen in the remains of
cups or bowls on conical bases supplying the immediately antecedent stage
of the elegant Early Minoan ' chalices', so well illustrated by the remains
from the Ossuary Cave of Pyrgos. A restoration is given in Fig. 3, m,
of a simpler form with slanting incised decoration and a taller and
more developed specimen, with burnished vertical striations is shown in
1 Fig. 3, t, with the chevron band against
a dotted background has been further adorned
with a ruddy ochreous wash.
* In Bos creticus of Boyd Dawkins. Numer-
ous teeth also occurred.
3 Amongst them were specimens of Trochus
lineatus, Pectunculus glycimeris, Spondylus
gaederopus, and Cypraea.
* The interior of this looked extraordinarily
fresh, but the circumstances of the discovery
seem to preclude any recent date.
5 The drawing is based on the fragments of
two specimens : the spout of another is placed
below for comparison.
6 The influence of spouted Egyptian copper
vessels with very prominent spouts on the
Early Minoan class must at the same time
be admitted. See vol. i, pp. 80-2 and
Fig. 48, a.