DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1118#0635
SEPULCHRAL CHAMBER AND PILLAR SHRINE 977
• amethystine beads, of Egyptian Middle Empire tradition, well
ented in the Robbers' Cache, also occurred in the vault (Fig. 928).
r£, „mnlete disappearance both of the mortal remains themselves and of But
The COli'l-"^- ' . ,,,.,., . precious
„. nrecious relics was no doubt facilitated by their having been for relics-
,„cr oart contained, as appears to have been the case in some of the mclutlln-
the most |^tLi * . ■_ i^|ng—
. rt Graves at Mycenae, in wooden coffins, themselves studded with removed.
A orative °'olcl plates. Of the fate of the signet-ring and of part of a share
0f jewellery we have some indications.
The Sepulchral Chamber as a Ritual Pillar Crypt.
The Southern section of the Sepulchral Chamber, as seen when cleared Sepul-
111 d its vault again closed in, is shown in Fig. 937. Its central pillar, of chamber
which the Southern face is here included, though of use in supporting "self.a
the timber framework that minimized the danger of falls from the rock pillar
vault, was essentially of the same character as those which in the neigh- clyp'
bourincr Pillar Room held the weight of the columns in the sanctuary
chamber above. As in the case of other Minoan examples, these ' Pillars
of the House ', over and above their structural functions, were essentially of
a religious kind. They were, in fact, baetylic. pillars which at any time by
ritual acts and intercession could become the actual habitation of a spiritual
being, whether of a divinity or of a deceased human being. I'fis observable
that the pillar in the tomb occupied the centre of a sunken square of pave-
ment as was usual in this class of sanctuary crypt and which seems to have
been reserved for cult objects and to have been set out with a special view
to libations. Here, too, by ritual means the spiritual being, whether celestial
or—as in this case we may well believe, ancestral—could be charmed into
making the pillar itself a temporary place of indwelling;
To the inner religious understanding there was, indeed, no need for
the presence of the mortal remains themselves for communion with the
great departed. Like the Tomb of the Double Axes, North of Knossos,
where a column in relief was cut in the inner wall of the chamber, beside
which ritual vessels and sacred double axes were found, here too the
sepulchral chamber was also used for a shrine.
How far and at what seasons such a sepulchral shrine was rendered
accessible to votaries it is impossible to say. The 'Saints' Graves' of
Mahometan cult—in its primitive 'baetylic' features so like the Minoan—
( [- 1. P- 290, Fig. 225 above). An alabaster the Royal Tomb at Isopata (Prehistoric Tombs
specimen of coarser material and with the of Knossos, ii, Fig. 125,12).
sP°ut m one piece with the body occurred in
• amethystine beads, of Egyptian Middle Empire tradition, well
ented in the Robbers' Cache, also occurred in the vault (Fig. 928).
r£, „mnlete disappearance both of the mortal remains themselves and of But
The COli'l-"^- ' . ,,,.,., . precious
„. nrecious relics was no doubt facilitated by their having been for relics-
,„cr oart contained, as appears to have been the case in some of the mclutlln-
the most |^tLi * . ■_ i^|ng—
. rt Graves at Mycenae, in wooden coffins, themselves studded with removed.
A orative °'olcl plates. Of the fate of the signet-ring and of part of a share
0f jewellery we have some indications.
The Sepulchral Chamber as a Ritual Pillar Crypt.
The Southern section of the Sepulchral Chamber, as seen when cleared Sepul-
111 d its vault again closed in, is shown in Fig. 937. Its central pillar, of chamber
which the Southern face is here included, though of use in supporting "self.a
the timber framework that minimized the danger of falls from the rock pillar
vault, was essentially of the same character as those which in the neigh- clyp'
bourincr Pillar Room held the weight of the columns in the sanctuary
chamber above. As in the case of other Minoan examples, these ' Pillars
of the House ', over and above their structural functions, were essentially of
a religious kind. They were, in fact, baetylic. pillars which at any time by
ritual acts and intercession could become the actual habitation of a spiritual
being, whether of a divinity or of a deceased human being. I'fis observable
that the pillar in the tomb occupied the centre of a sunken square of pave-
ment as was usual in this class of sanctuary crypt and which seems to have
been reserved for cult objects and to have been set out with a special view
to libations. Here, too, by ritual means the spiritual being, whether celestial
or—as in this case we may well believe, ancestral—could be charmed into
making the pillar itself a temporary place of indwelling;
To the inner religious understanding there was, indeed, no need for
the presence of the mortal remains themselves for communion with the
great departed. Like the Tomb of the Double Axes, North of Knossos,
where a column in relief was cut in the inner wall of the chamber, beside
which ritual vessels and sacred double axes were found, here too the
sepulchral chamber was also used for a shrine.
How far and at what seasons such a sepulchral shrine was rendered
accessible to votaries it is impossible to say. The 'Saints' Graves' of
Mahometan cult—in its primitive 'baetylic' features so like the Minoan—
( [- 1. P- 290, Fig. 225 above). An alabaster the Royal Tomb at Isopata (Prehistoric Tombs
specimen of coarser material and with the of Knossos, ii, Fig. 125,12).
sP°ut m one piece with the body occurred in