Evans, Arthur J.: The Palace of Minos: a comparative account of the successive stages of the early Cretan civilization as illustred by the discoveries at Knossos (Band 4,2): Camp-stool Fresco, long-robed priests and beneficent genii [...] (London, 1935)

NUMBERS AND ARRANGEMENT OF PITHOI 647

for suspension the bottom in this case is rounded off, and decorative tassels
are attached.

Here an interesting feature in the fabric is the strengthening of the
upper ' story' with bands consisting of narrow strips of hide. This strengthen-
ing with leather-work is interesting, since the raised bands and herring-bone
plait-work that appear above and below these, round the Minoan/zM<?2 have
been shown to be the outgrowth of a leather pattern, clearly originating—as in
the case of stone vases of early M. M. Ill date—in plaited leather strips.1

Numbers and Arrangement of Pithqi; Total Capacity of Oil Storage in
West Magazines.

Including bases found in position, evidence was forthcoming of the NinAer

B . . ,- . a oiptlltoi

existence of 1 5 i pitkoi standing m their places at the time of excavation, as ascer-

111 this amount are reckoned 12 previously extracted from Magazine III, and p0™[j;orl°

11 from the Long Corridor, which had also largely served as a repository of
oil jars arranged along its East Wall and outside the entrance janibs of the
Magazines. There was fragmentary evidence of many more.

It must be borne in mind, moreover, that in many cases the great jars
had been cleared out of the Magazines by the grubbers after treasure, who
had frequently broken into the older cists beneath the pavements. Thus,
in Magazine VII only a single pithos came to light, and in VIII and X, in
each case, not more than five.

The Magazines in which these great jars had stood formed a continuous
series from the Third to the Thirteenth inclusive, or eleven in all. There
was no evidence of such storage either in the Southernmost Group, A-c and
1, 2, or in the Northern Section, embracing Magazines XIV to XVIII, and
forming an area apart.

The Magazines themselves fell into four groups according to their Groups of
dimensions. Those of the Northern section (in which no jars occurred) zi„'Cs'
were about 10-50 metres in the length of their interior; Nos. III-V, 13 j£cJ^™?
metres: VI to X, under the N.W. Pillar Hall, c. 14-20 metres, and sions.
XI—XIII 18-50 metres. The long narrow Magazines XI and XII were,
as will be seen from Suppl. PI. LX1, completely packed with pithbi in
single rows. The existing evidence shows that there was room in

supplied me by the Curator, Mr. Henry '' See especially P.ofM., i, Fig. 296, (p.412)

Balfour. Such vessels were provided with where the plait-work is certainly copied from

basket-work covers. The pitlwi themselves .leather bands,
may have been covered with wooden disks.