Bridging the Gap the Function of Houses and Residential Neighborhoods in Middle Minoan III Phaistos

8/9/2019 Bridging the Gap the Function of Houses and Residential Neighborhoods in Middle Minoan III Phaistos

1/18

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to

Hesperia Supplements.

http://www.jstor.org

Bridging the Gap: The Function of Houses and Residential Neighborhoods in Middle Minoan IIIPhaistosAuthor(s): Luca GirellaSource: Hesperia Supplements, Vol. 44, ΣТΕГА: The Archaeology of Houses and Households in

Ancient Crete (2011), pp. 81-97Published by: The American School of Classical Studies at AthensStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41363142Accessed: 17-03-2015 10:37 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available athttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of contentin a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.

For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

This content downloaded from 62.204.192.85 on Tue, 17 Mar 2015 10:37:58 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ascsahttp://www.jstor.org/stable/41363142http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/41363142http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ascsahttp://www.jstor.org/


2/18

CHAPTER

8

Bridging the

Gap:

The

Function of

Houses and

Residential

Neighborhoods in

Middle

Minoan

III

Phaistos

by

Luca

Girella

Household archaeology rovides n importantheoretical ramework

for

nderstanding

ncient ocial

behavior

hrough

he

spatial nalysis

f

all material emains ssociatedwith

ncienthouses and households.

Yet,

despite

rather

argebody

of

scholarly

iteraturehat

urrently

xists n

the

tudy

fhouses nd households

n

Greece

not

to mention ther reas

of the

world),

household

nalysis

s a

topic

that s

hardly

ttested or

Phaistos r otherMinoan settlements here

palace omplex

radition-

ally

has been the main focus f

archaeological

esearch.1he

application

of he

principles

fhousehold

rchaeology

nd attentiono the

patial

is-

tributionfhousehold rtifactsnddomesticnstallationst Phaistos an

provide

ew and nstructive

nsights

nto he ocial nd

political eorgani-

zationof his

alace-centered

ommunityuring

crucial

eriod

n

ts

ife

history

itsdestruction

n

Middle Minoan

MM)

IIB and reconstruction

in MM III.2

As is well

known,

he rea round hePalace at Phaistoswas

ntensively

inhabited

rom he Final Neolithic

eriod

onward,

esulting

n a

compli-

cated nd often

oorly reserved

palimpsest

f

domestic

rchitecture

nd

household ctivities.

uring

MM

III, however,

t s

possible

o solate

ev-

eral

mportant

lusters

f

buildings,

hich,

n

my pinion,

eem

o

represent

1

Thenew

ycle

f he

xcavations

atPhaistosarriedut

y

a Rosa

(2000-2004)

as ncoveredn he

western

nd outhwestern

art

f he

Palace

n

xceptional

umberf tra-

tifiedouses

nd loor

epositsating

fromhe inalNeolithic

eriod

o he

Hellenistic

eriod

La

Rosa

002a,

2004b, 005).

A

program

f

publishing

theNeolithicnd

repalatial

aterial

fromhis

arge

uarter

s

n

process

(Todaro 005;

Di

Tonto,

his olume

[Chap.

]).

would

ike o hank

Natalia

ogeikoff-Brogan

ndKevin

Glowacki

or he

plendidospitality

I

received

uring

he

olloquium

eld

in

erapetra

n

May

005. am

par-

ticularly

ndebted

oVincenzo a

Rosa,

ilippo

arinci,

nd

Orazio

Palio or

nsightfuluggestions.

Thanksre lso

wed oColinMac-

donald

or

mproving

y nglish

ext,

toMartino ociforo

or

elp

with

Fig.

.2, nd he

nonymous

eviewers

for

esperia.

2.

Understanding

he

omplete

depositional

istory

fhouses

equires

a

variety

f

nformationhat

s not

always

vailable. hen

we re

ealing

with ld xcavationsehave o tress

the

roblematic

earth

f nformation

useful

or

econstructing

he ormation

processes

n

relation

o he

tages

f

a domestic

tructureife

istory:

abi-

tation,

bandonment,

nd

ost-aban-

donment

rocesses

LaMotta

nd

Schiffer

999).

Objects

eft

nfloors

are

roducts

f oth bandonmentnd

post-abandonmentrocesses.

utwe

cannotxcludelso he itual

eposits,

which re

not

asily istinguishable.

A

special

orm

f itual

eposits

t

Phaistos

uring

he

rotopalatial

nd

Neopalatial

eriod

re he oundation

deposits,

hich onstitute

he

irst,

nd

largely

nvisible,

tep

f he

abitation

stage

La

Rosa

002a).


http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


3/18

82 LUCA GIRELLA

a

replacement

f some activitieswithin he Palace

complex

tself.3n

what follows

will

try

o demonstrate ow thesehouses

complemented

each other nd how

they

bsorbed hecontrol f one

importantspect

f

palatial

itual

ctivity.

Several ecent tudieshavestressed he non-monolithic

haracter f

the

Neopalatial

eriod

n

Crete,

nd

they

ave

highlighted

he

necessity

f

accurately

istinguishing

hedifferent

hronologicalhases

n

the rchitec-

tural

istory

f a siteor

building,

s well as the

mportance

f

combining

artifactual

ssemblages

ith he

proper

rchitectural

hase.4

ne

of

hemain

issues s

therole f he

Cretan

alaces

both t the

beginning

f nd

during

the

MM III

period.

s

we

already

now,

he

rocess

f

rebuilding

he

palaces

after heMM IIB

earthquake

as not

homogeneous

henomenon

ll over

the

sland,

nd a

regional

nd

ong-termpproach

s useful or nderstand-

ing

the

dynamics

f the

reorganization

f territoriesnd boundaries.

or

example,

ecentwork

uggests

significant

hange

nthe

constructionf

theKnossospalace duringMM HIB,whereaswe know hat NewPalace

at Phaistos

was notrebuilt

ntirely

ntil

ate Minoan

(LM)

IB.5

The Old

Palace of

Phaistos was

largelydestroyed

t the end of

MM

IIB.

Current

rchaeological

vidence

uggests

hat he

rebuilding

c-

tivity

ad

ust

ommencedt the

imewhen he

pottery

orkshops egan

o

produce

MM III

vessels.

lthough

he

ctivity

f

hePalace

was

nterrupted

during

hese

building perations,

he

traces f

thisnew

palatial

omplex,

evident n

several

ifferent

reas,

how

hat he

most ital unctionsfthe

Palace did

not cease.6 or

example,

he

presence

f

arge

pithoi

with

rope

decorationnd

theLinearA

tablet

ound n the

windowsill froomXLI V

(with

nother

ne from oom

101)

are

onvincing

vidence or

torage

nd

administrative

ctivities,7

nd the MM III

lustral asinbelow room

70

couldrepresentomeelite ritual ctivity. e should also keep in mind

thatboth

the

Central nd the

West

Courts

ppear

o continue

unction-

ing

at this

ime.8 or

theWest

Court,

n

particular

ecent

eexaminations

of

Levi's

excavations,

arried ut

by

La

Rosa and

Carinci,

have datedthe

3.

Especially

or

he ole f he asa

a Sud

della

Rampa,

ee lso

Carinci

2001.

4.

Driessen

nd

Macdonald

997;

Driessen,

choep,

nd

affineur002.

5.

See

Macdonald002

Knossos),

Rethemiotakis

002

Gaiatas

ediada),

and

laton

002b

Zakros).

or he

Palace f

Zakros,

ee

lso laton004.

Theproblemf heMM III occupa-

tion

t

Phaistosas een

iscussedn

three

ainrticles

Carinci

989;

ian-

dra

995;

a

Rosa

002c).

or

recent

examinationf

heMM III

ceramic

deposits

rom

haistosnd

hemain

settlements

n

South-Central

rete,

ee

Van

e

Moortel

997;

Girella

001,

2003,

007b. or

LM IB

date f

he

New

alace f

Phaistos,

ee

La Rosa

2002c,

p.

3-93.

he Villa

eale t

Ayia

riada as uiltn he

arly

eo-

palatial

eriod

MM

IIIB-LM

IA);

seeLa

Rosa 989b

nd

uglisi

003.

For

he

MM

III

period

t

Ayia

riada,

seeCarinci

003 ndGirella

005.At

Kommos,

eside he

arge

ettlement

onthe entral

ill,

uilding

was

uilt

inMM

III and

lready

bandoned

y

the ime M IA

pottery

as

n

use

(Shaw 002;Kommos).For close

investigation

f he

Neopalatialeriod

of

he

outhern

esara,

ith

pecial

attentiono

he eramic

erspective,

seeVan e

Moortel

997.

6.

The

deposits

elowoom 0

(Levi

976,

p.

05-406)

nd ne

below

oom 8

Levi

976,

p.

74-

376);

he

ortheasternector

rooms

101-104)

Pernier

935,

p.

53-375);

corridorII-7

Levi

976,

p.

55-281;

Carinci

989,

p.

5-76);

oom

LIV

below

oom 0

Pernier

935,

p.

27-

331);

oom LV

Pernier

935,

p.

21-

124).

7.

Pernier

935,

.

331,

ig.

97.

he

date f he

ingle-hole

anging

odule

(PH

Wa

32),

which

as ound elow

room

0,

s

still

ontroversial

see

Fian-

dra

994).

8.Theuse f he entral ourt

during

M III

isdemonstrated

y

the

equence

f

uildingperations

thatnvolvedhe

western

art

f he

Palace fterhe

estructionf

heOld

Palace ut

eforehe M IB

opera-

tions in

other

ords,

uring

n ndef-

inite

tage

f

MM

III.

According

o he

data rom

he rials elow

orridor

and

hose one n he

western

ide f

the

entral

ourt,

he

lignment

f

he




4/18

HOUSES

AND

NEIGHBORHOODS

IN MM III

PHAISTOS

83

so-calledWest Bastion to

MM II

insteadof

MM

III,

while

suggesting

theexistence

f a

different

M III bastion o the

east,

wherewatchtower

CIV

was one of the rooms.9

Can

we consider his

meager

rchaeological

vidence ufficiento

pro-

pose

the

xistence f

palace

s an administrative

nd distributiveenter

in MM III? Does the ackof

physical palace

mean

gap

n

political

nd

economic

ower?

inally,

nd more

peculatively,

hatwas theroleofthe

houses around

he

palace during

uch

a critical

eriod?

his

paper

will

try

o

provide

n answer o this hird

uestion.

IDENTIFYING

HOUSEHOLD

ACTIVITIES

The Phaistos

ettlementoasts

ourmain

groups

fhouses

during

MM III

(Figs.

8.1,8.2):

1. The area o thewestof hePalace,mainly epresentedy heCasa a

Sud della

Rampa

House

South

ofthe

Ramp),

which onnects

he

Lower

Courtto the

Upper

Court.

2.

The

area south

of the Palace

and west of court

LXX,

with series

of

MM

III housesdocumented

nderGeometric

uildings.

3.

The Chalara

quarter,

n

the southeast

lopes

of thePalace

hill.

4. The

building

n the

western

ill the

Acropoli

Mediana.10

The

analysis

f

these main

clusters,

ere

necessarily

ummarized,

ill

focuson

three

spects:

1)

the

spatial

distributionf the

houses, 2)

the

architectural

vidence

or

heir

orm,

nd

(3)

the nature

nd distribution

of

the material

emains.

One

important

spect

oncerning

he distributionf

these

houses s

theconnection fthe econd ndthird roups y mainpavedroad.This

route

onnected

he

Chalara

quarter

withthePalace

through

series

f

three

ourtyards

hat

were

rranged

tdifferent

evels

rom outh

o north.11

The

maincluster

f

houses

connectedwith he

Minoan road

s located

n

the

uarter

outh f

hePalace.

Farther

orth,

n

mportant

M

III house

was built

n connection

ith

strategicoint,

where

he

road urned

orth-

ward

nd continued

with

simple,

ften

atched,

eaten-earth

urface.12

Architectural

nalysis

f the

MM III houses

round

he

Palace

indi-

cates he

persistence

f

he

Protopalatial

uilding

materials

nd

techniques:

simple

rubble

masonry

with no

specific

ign

of monumental

palatial

13

foundations

f olumnases

if-

ferednorientationromhe ine f he

New alace

ront,

nd

he ack

f he

column

ase

n

he

pace

orresponding

to orridor

might

e

associated

ith

part

f

project

onsisting

f

new,

widerccesso he ourt

Levi

976,

pp.

55-281,

ls.

U,

V;

Carinci

989,

pp.

5-77).

As

far s theWest ourt

s

concerned,

ts se

s demonstrated

y

the

aved

oad

hat onnectedhis

pen

space

ith he ower

art

f he ettle-

ment,

nd,

most

f

ll,

y

heWest

Bastionnd he mall atchtower

(room IV),

which ere uilt

irectly

on he

West ourt

nMM

III

(Levi

1976,

p.

41-342,

46-347).

ee

also

La Rosa

002c,

sp. p.

4-75.

9. La

Rosa ndCarinci

009.

10.Levi's

xcavations

rought

o

light

nly

estruction

eposits

nfloors

and

ills

romhe rea

f

Acropoli

Mediana,

ithout

ny

nformation

on-

cerning

alls,

umber

f

ooms,

nd/or

dimensions

fhouses.

evertheless,

analysisf he otteryssemblages

makes

t

possible

o

rgue

or

he xis-

tence

f ne

r

group

f

houses.

he

evidence

f

he

Acropoli

ediana,

therefore,

ill e not

iscussed

n

he

followingaragraphs,

ut

ts

ottery

assemblages

re

aken

nto ccount

n

ordero

alculate

ercentages

f

essel

functions

Fig.

.5).

11.Carinci

nd

La Rosa

002.

12.Carinci

001.




5/18

84

LUCA GIRELLA

Figure

.1.Plan

of he ettlementf

Phaistos

howing

he ocation f he

main

uarters

iscussed

n

the ext.

Afterevi 976,l. ; ourtesycuola

archeologica

talianaiAtene

architecture

e.g.,

mason'smarks rashlar

masonry).

here

are,however,

a few litefeatureshat

learly

tand ut.Foremost

mong

hese s a

large

number ffragmentsfhigh-qualityrescoeshatwere iscoverednseveral

MM III A houses.

Although truly igurai

ecoration s

absent,

here s

evidence f

growing

nterest

n

stylized egetal

motifs hat

might

eason-

ably

e understood s an effect fthe

contemporaryottery roduction.13

In

addition,

ther ecorativereatmentsf

floors ndwalls how different

and more

ophisticated

se ofthe

rchitectonicnd domestic

pace

n

the

settlement

Table 8.1).

The domestic

spects

f he

housesnear hePalaceandtheir

mplica-

tions an be

explored

y

focusing

n the

patial

istributionf

pottery

nd

artifacts.he material rom

ach

of

the household nits an be

analyzed

as evidence or he

function f therooms.

The Casa a Sud della Rampa

The most

mpressive

tructuref the MM III

period

s the

Casa

a

Sud

della

Rampa Figs.

8.3, 8.4).

Preserved rom his

omplex

re

sections f

a basement f

a

large

building,

ith

floor

eposits

overed

y

stone labs

and the

remains f

plaster

floors allenfrom n

upper story.14

ecent

excavations ave

demonstratedhat his

omplex

riginally

as a seven-

room tructure

LXXXVI-XCI,

XCVI)

constructed

uring

MM IIB.15 n

MM

IIIA,

two

rooms

XCII, XCIII)

were dded to the

outhwest;

t

the

same

time,

wo

eastern ooms

LXXXVI, LXXXVII)

were

abandoned,

13.For he asa Sud

della

Rampa,

seeMilitello

001a,

p.

4-80,

l.

V;

for he

uarter

outh f he

alace,

ee

Militello

001a,

p.

0-85,

igs.

0,

19-26,

ls.

V,B,

D.

14.

Levi

976,

p.

89-505.

15.La Rosa 002a.




6/18

HOUSES AND

NEIGHBORHOODS IN

MM III

PHAISTOS

85

Figure

.2.Planof he

MM III

Palace fPhaistos

howing

he

location f hehouses iscussed

inthe ext. fterevi

976,

l.

,

with

adaptationsy

M.

Nociforo;

ourtesy

Scuola

rcheologica

talianaiAtene

TABLE 8.1.

FREQUENCIES

OF PLASTER FRAGMENTS

AND PAINTINGS

IN THE

HOUSES

AROUND

THE

PALACE OF PHAISTOS

DURING

MM III

Houses

Offering

ables

Paved loors Wall

aintings

Plaster

evetments

Casa Suddella

Rampa

x

x

x x

South fPalace

-

x

x ?

West f ourt

XX

- -

x

x

Acropoli

ediana

-

- -

-

Chalara orth

-

x

-

-

Chalara outh

x

?

-

-

Source:

ilitello

001a




7/18

86

LUCA GIRELLA

Figure

.3

left).

he Casa a Sud

della

Rampa.

View

rom

henorth-

east. hoto.Girella

Figure

.4

below).

he

pottery

assemblage

f heCasaa Sud della

Rampa.

Adapted

rom

a Rosa

002a,

foldout

l.

I,

withdditional

etails

y

L.

Girella;

ourtesy

cuola

rcheologica

italianaiAtene




8/18

HOUSES

AND

NEIGHBORHOODS

IN MM III

PHAISTOS

87

and the

resulting

ebris

was

pushed

nside and used for

eveling pera-

tions

overing

he arlier

MM IIB

floor.

he main ccess o thehouse

was

probably

rom

he

pavedroad/ramp

orth f room

XC,

as

suggested y

the remains f a

paved

threshold.16

While basement ooms

roduced

ubstantial

roups

f

pots

the esult

of the abandonment

fter he

collapse

it s

clear hat he

archaeological

deposits

mustbe understood

n

light

f

differentormation

rocesses.

n

the case of rooms

LXXXVI and

LXXXVII,

a

great

deal

of the material

seems to

have been

deliberately umped

n

order

o

fill

hese

spaces,

s

noted

bove. he

presence

ffine ableware

nd ritual essels

n this

ill

ug-

gests

hedeliberate

election f

pecific ypes

fvessels

n the

depositional

process

perhaps

form f ritual

efuse

eposition).

n

the

other ooms

thematerial eems

imply

o have

been eft ehind

when he

building

was

finally

bandoned.

What

was found

n these

rooms,

owever,

hould

not

be taken

priori

s a

representation

f

the tems sed

n

therooms

i.e.,

as

defactodeposition) or woreasons:1) because t s unknown owmany

objects

may

havebeen

removed

uring

bandonment

curation,

epletion)

or

post-abandonment

scavenging,

ecycling,

r other

disturbance),

nd

(2)

because

t s also

clear hat ome

material ound

n

these

asementooms

is from

he

collapse

fthe

floors bove.

On the

other

and,

t s

ikely

hat

the

whole or

nearly omplete

eramic essels

n

the

basement ooms

were

found lose

to their

riginal ositions.

his is

especially

rue fthe

pithoi,

whichwerefound

till

tanding

r

smashed

n the

floors.17

With

these

ualifications

n

mind,

he

patial

istribution

f he

pottery

can still

rovide

mportant

vidence

f hemultifaceted

ctivities

hat

ook

place

n the Casa

a

Sud

della

Rampa (Fig.

8.4).

Indeed,

we can

immedi-

ately

otice ome

nterestingatterns

fdistribution:

oom

LXXXVIII,

for

example, rimarilyontained ableware or heconsumptionf foodand

drink;

lso

present

were

a limited

number

f

transport

essels

for olids

or

iquids

Table

8.2).

Storage

ctivity

eemsto have

taken

place

mainly

in rooms

LXXXIX

(where

hree

argepithoi

restill

n

situ),XCVI,

XC,

XCII,

and XCIII.

An

interesting

eramic

ssemblage,

onsisting

f

ritual

and

ordinary

essels,

was

found

n roomsXCII and

XCIII.

It seems

o be

clear

hat hese

wo

rooms

how

particular

ttention

o

ritual

essels,

eaving

open

the

hypothesis

hat

hisnew ector

f he

house

was

probably

esigned

for

itual

urposes.18

urprisingly,

e have

no

information

bout

cooking

facilities,

uch s

ovens

r

hearths,

nd

only

our

ripod

ooking ots

were

recovered

rom he

ntire

ouse.Our

knowledge

f tone

bjects

s

imited

primarily

o

elaborate

tone

essels ndother

ools

hat

were

ound

n rooms

LXXXIX,

XC,

XCII,

and

XCIII,

with

notable

oncentration

n the ast

two rooms.

ucha

spatial

distributionf theartifacts

uggests

hat n ad-

dition

o food

onsumption

nd

storage,

he

western

art

f

hehouse

may

16.

Access rom

he

pper

loorso

the asement

as

robably

ained

ia

wooden

taircases.

ragments

f

wall

paintings

allen

romhe

pper

loorf

rooms

XXXVIII,

XXXIX, CI,

nd

XCII were

ecoveredn he ebris

f

rooms

XXXVI-LXXXVIL

he deco-

ration

as een

nterpreted

s a combi-

nation

f oliate

ands

ith

unning

spirals

n

blue

round.

ed

plaster

floors,

pread

n

wooden

rame,

ere

located

n

rooms

XXXIX nd

XCI;

the tone

labs,

ound

nrooms

CII

and

XCIII,

uggest

he

xistence

f

paved

evel

n he

pper

loor

f he

house

Militello

001a).

17.Levi

976,

igs.

58,

64,

66.

18.

Carinci

001.




9/18

88

LUCA GIRELLA

TABLE 8.2. POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE OF THE CASA A SUD DELLA RAMPA

(VESSELS

NOTTO

SCALE)

Sources:evi

976;

irella

003

have

been used for

itual ctivitiesn MM

IIIA.

The

fine nd

specialized

vessels,

s well

s the

tone

mplements

n

rooms

XCII and

XCIII,

seem o

suggest

replication

f

he eremonial

ctivity

f he

astern

art

LXXXVI,

LXXXVII),

which ook

place

nthe

house at

the end of MM

IIB.

South

of

the

Palace

The

area outh

f hePalace

boasts everal

ifferent

ousehold nits

ating

to the MM

III

period

Table

8.3).

The

mostelaborateMM III

building

in

this rea

s thehouse

under he

ater

Greek

temple

Fig.

8.

5).

19

This

house ontains everal

oorly

reserved

ooms;

nly

oomXLVII- a

paved

courtyard

ccessed

through

pier-and-door

artition

f

a

now-missing

room

is still

isible.

he

large

number fwall

painting ragments

ound

by

Perniern

this

reahas

been

recently

ssociated

with his

ich

esidence

by

Militello

nd

they

avebeen

dated

oMM

IIIA,

whereas he

eramic s-

semblage

rom

his ouse

s still

npublished.20

races f

pithoi

re

eportedy

Pernier,

nd

hey

ould

ndicate hat

torage

ctivity

ook

lace

n

this ouse.21

If

the

hronology

fMM

IIIA is

correct,

e haveto

take

n

consideration

19.

Pernier

935,

p.

69-172.

20.

For hewall

aintings,

ee

Militello

001a,

p.

0-84, 50-151,

154,

90-193.

21.Pernier

902,

.

18.




10/18

HOUSES

AND

NEIGHBORHOODS

IN

MM III

PHAISTOS

89

TABLE 8.3. POTTERY ASSEMBLAGE OF THE HOUSES AROUND THE PALACE OF

PHAISTOS DURING

MM III

(VESSELS

NOT TO

SCALE)

Sources:ernier

935;

evi

967-1968,976;

irella003.

the

existence f a rich

ouse,

whose

highly

laboratedrchitectural

om-

pound

differs

otally

rom herest f the

houses round hePalace.

A second et of

rooms,

robably art

fa different

ousehold

nit,

s

locatedfarther est

rooms

LXXI-LXXIV;

Fig.

8.6).

They

were

eriously

damaged y

he onstruction

f he

LM I

house

nd theGreek

emple.

he

largest

nd

best-preserved

oomof this

omplex

s room

LXXIII,

which

contained

pottery ssemblagendicating

he

consumption

f foodand

drink

nd,

to

a

lesser

xtent,

ooking ctivity

Table

8.3).

22

West

of

Court

LXX

The third luster f

houses,

whichwere recovered

elow

the Geometric

settlement,

s the

group

west f he

paved

ourt

XX.23 he

deposits

onsist

of at least four ooms:rooms

LXXV,

LXXVI

(Fig.

8.7),

and

therooms

below

nd north f Geometric oomCC.

They

have

produced

ine essels

for ood and

drink

onsumption

nd coarse

warefor se

in

transport

nd

storage

Table 8.3).

22.Levi

961-1962a,

l.

A; 1976,

pp.

28-436.

23.Levi

976,

p.

56-468.




11/18

go

LUCA GIRELLA

Figure

.5.Area outh f he

alace,

theMinoan

house

XLVII)

under

theGreek

emple.

dapted

romevi

1976,

oldout

l.

;

ourtesy

cuolarcheo-

logica

talianai

Atene

Figure

.6.Houses

outh f he

Palace,

ooms

XXI-LXXIV.

Afterevi 96 -1

62a,

oldout

l.

A;

our-

tesy

cuola

rcheologica

talianaiAtene




12/18

HOUSES AND

NEIGHBORHOODS IN MM III

PHAISTOS

91

Figure

.7.Areawest f ourt

XX,

rooms

XXV,

XXVI

under eo-

metric

ouseAA.

Adapted

romevi

1961-1962,

p.

32, 41,

igs.

4, 00;

our-

tesy

cuola

rcheologica

talianaiAtene

Chalara North

The Chalara

uarter

ies o the

outheast,

t thefoot f he

hill

n which he

Palacewas situated. he

areawas nhabited rom heNeolithic

hrough

he

Late Roman

period,

nd ts emains

ndicate

omplicated

nd

uperimposed

terracedwellingshathad beendestroyednd rebuilt everal imes.24 e

can isolatetwo

badly

preserved

ouseholdunits t the north nd south

ends of the excavated rea. n

the northern

art

Fig.

8.8),

the

MM III A

floor

eposits

f

rooms

,

к,

-X' are the

surviving art

of a three-room

complex, reserved nly along

the western

ide,

under Geometric nd

Hellenistic

onstructions.

paved

floorwas recovered

n

the main room

(A,),

nd theceramic

ssemblage

onsisted

mostly

f fine

ableware or he

consumption

f food and drink.

he most

mpressive

ind, owever,

as

the

arge

number

f stonevessels tored

n

rooms and

A;

no

traces

f

24.Levi

976,

p.

53-700;

irella

2003.




13/18

92

LUCA GIRELLA

Figure

.8.Part f henorthern

sector f heChalara

uarter.

dapted

fromketchbooks

y

.

Guida,

halara

excavations

963;

ourtesy

cuolarcheo-

logica

talianaiAtene

elaborated loors erefound n these atter wo

rooms.25he evidence

or

storage ctivity

n

this mallhouse s imited o medium nd small

ars,

for

small

uantities

f solidor

iquid

food

Table 8.3).

Chalara South

As

part

of the

eveling perations uring

he constructionf a LM IB

mansion, ill ontaining large quantity f MMII-IIIA pottery rom

the southern

art

of the

quarter

was

dumped

nto a

largebuilding.

he

MM IIIA

rooms

rooms

''-e;

Fig.

8.9)

were

part

f

a

large

building

hat

is

very oorly reserved

ince the atermansionhas

destroyed

r

reused

most of ts

parts.

Rooms

because

they

do not have

any

entrance,

possibly

erved s the toreroomsfthe

house.26 he

fill

ncluded

opious

quantities

ffine

ableware,

ut he

presence

f woconical

hyta,

wohu-

man

figurines,

nd one

offering

able lso

suggest religious omponent

accompanying

ther

ypes

f activities

Table 8.3).

27

FROM

PALACE

TO

HOUSE

As mentioned

arlier,

he

roleof the Palace

during

he MM III

period

s

questionable.

ven

though

ome

mportant

lements

urvived

e.g.,

he d-

ministrativend

possible) torage

ctivities there

re ufficient

rounds

o

suggest

hat

ther

pecific

unctions

eremoved utside hePalace. t s

my

opinion

hat everal lite

roups

were cattered

round hePalace

n

houses

thathad a

multifunctional

haracter,

here

household nd ritual ctions

took

place.

Such a

hypothesis

s

supported y

ome

meaningful

atterns.

The first

attern

the

spatial

distribution f

the houses shows

that

hey

were ocated

along

the main

paved

road,

which connected

he

lower

uarter

with he

Palace. New traces f

a

MM III

paved

street ere

25.

Lamps

.4530

Levi

976,

pl.

31:f,

)

and .

4528

Levi 976,

pl.

30:b, ),

bucket

ar

F.4529

Levi

1976,

l.

36:i).

26.Levi

976,

p.

88-693.

27.For

hyta

.

4263 nd .

3417,

human

igurine

.

4275,

nd

ffering

table .

7638,

ee

Levi

967-1968,

pp.

145-152. lsoLevi

976,

p.

88-

693,

ls.

XXX,

XXXLb;

alio

000;

Girella

003.




14/18

HOUSES

AND


PHAISTOS

93

Figure

.9.Part

f he outhern

sector f heChalara

uarter.

dapted

fromevi

967-1969,

oldout

l.

A;

our-

tesy

cuola

rcheologica

talianaiAtene

discovered

uring

he

2004

campaign

n the reawest f ower ourt

XX,

underGeometricHouse R3.

Indeed,

heconstructionf a

MM IIIA

side

wall for his

paved

road allows us to concludethat

during

MM III

this

north-southtreet till losely ollowed heProtopalatialourse,ndthat t

was renovated

nd

expanded

n order o facilitateommunicationetween

the ower

uarter

nd

the

West Court.28

Second,

despite

he

simplebuilding echnique,

he concentration

f

wall

paintings

n

the

houses outside he Palace stresses he

mportance

f

these

dwellings

nd

proves

differentse and

application

f thismedium

in MM III

(Table 8.1).

If

we

accept

that

MM III

is a transitional

hase

characterized

y ttempts

o rebuild he

Palace,

he

growingmportance

f

wall

paintings

might

e linkedwith

specific

nterest

y

the

people

iving

around t.

A

religious ignificance,

ut also a mundane

one,

cannot be

excluded.29

n

addition,

he use of elaborate rchitectonic

lements,

uch

as

paved

nd

plaster

loors,

o far ttested

nly

n the

Palace,

demonstrates

the diffusionf

palatial anguages

utside he

Palace,

before he

reorga-

nization fthe frescoes nd architectural

rogram

f the LM IB Palace.

28.La Rosa 005.

uperimposed

roads eem o

be a characteristic

f

he

Phaistosettlementhat asmain-

tained

hroughout

hemillennia.ith

this

n

mind,

ehave o tresshe

probable

onnectionetweenhe ha-

lara

uarter

nd he

alace

hrough

he

presence

f

paved

oad

reserved

directly

elow heGeometric

ne,

small

ortion

fwhichs till isible

(Levi

967-1968,

ig.

5).Otherwise,

we

might

nly

uppose

he xistencef

a north-southtreet

hat rossedhe

Chalara

uarter

o

oin

twith he

northern

ectorf he alace. his

hypothesis

ecomes

ikelyuring

M

IB,

when wo

mansions,

robably

ith

different

unctions,

ere uilt tCha-

lara nd

Ayia

hoteini.

n this

ase,

he

reorganization

f he

orthernectorf

the

alace,

ith columnar

all

room

103)

erving

s the

main orthccess

to he

alace,

hows clear

ink

ith

the womansions

elow,

hose

torage

and

warehousing

essels ave

heir

counterpart

n he

ig tirrup

ars

tored

in

room

03 f he alace

Palio

001,

pp.

83-385).

29.

Militello001a.




15/18

94

LUCA GIRELLA

Third,

fter he

ollapse

f heOld

Palace,

we have

grounds

or eliev-

ing

that t least a

part

f ts cultfunctions

nd ritual

ctivity

as moved

outside. he dissimilar

atterns

n

religious rganization

n

the

MM IIB

Palace and the residential

eighborhoods

how a less-centralized

ystem

of ritual

ractices.

n MM

IIB,

an

important

olewas

playedby

the Pal-

ace's southwest

ing,

whichhas

recently

een

nterpreted

y

Carinci

s

a

place given

ver o cult nd reserved or n individual f

high

rank,

s the

administrativeocuments nd the mount f eremonial

ottery

ith ult

scenesdemonstrate.30

Surprisingly,

heroleofthehousesoutside hePalace

during

MM

II,

particularly

he one from he

Ayia

Photeini

uarter,

s

illuminating.

his

building, lthough

t

has

a

poor

architectural

haracter,

hares he same

ritual

otteryssemblage

with he southwest

ing

of the Palace and also

usesbenches or itual

urposes.31

ew

datafrom he rchitectural

nalysis

of the southwest

ing,

s well as from ew excavation renches nd the

reexaminationf severalpottery ssemblages yLa Rosa and Carinci,

demonstratehat hePalace sufferedwo erious estructionsn MM

IIB,

the first fwhich

damaged

part

f the

wing.32

n

the

subsequent tage

but still

n

the

MM IIB

period

this ector

was restored o some

extent,

whereas

poorly

uilt

omplex

f

cultic ooms

the Sacelli)

was added to

the western

acade of the

Palace,

directly

n the

NW Paved Court .33

Significantly,

arinci

has

pointed

ut that he

ctivity

f thefirst

hase

of

the

Casa

a

Sud della

Rampa

dates o the final

tage

of

MM

IIB,

and this

could

mply

sort f

momentary

movement f the cultic

ctivity

rom

thePalace to a

separate

tructure.34

n

this

ein,

t s reasonable o

propose

a noncentralized odel t the

time fter hefinal estructionfMM IIB

and

during

MM IIIA

when

omehouses round hePalace

had taken ver

the ontrol fonepart fpalatial itual ctivityrwere nvolvednprivate

ritual

erformances.

This

hypothesis

ouldbe

supported y

he

oncentrationf tone nd

clay

ritual

essels. alio has stressed

he distribution

n

the

settlement

f

specific hapes,

uch as

the footed

amp,

he

tablet,

he bird nest

bowl,

and the block

vase,

whichwere

previously

ttested n the

Palace.35Ad-

ditionally,

would ike to

draw attention o

the

presence

f

specialized

and

ritual

essels;

f

importance

re the

shape,

the

dimension,

nd the

elaborate

ainted

nd

plastic

ecoration.

he conical

rhyton

s attested

n

theCasa a Sud della

Rampa

and

in

the

Chalara

quarter

s well.

ndeed,

thediffusionf a

widespread ariety

f

rhyta hapes

conical,

piriform,

ovoid,

bulls head

seems to be related o the nterest hown

by people

living

round he

Palace for itual

quipment

Tables 8.2, 8.3). Likewise,

the use ofsimilar ult

ymbols,

uch as theCretanwild

goat

grimi

,

is

attested

nly

n

the ettlement

nd on vessels hat

robably

ere

produced

by

the ame

workshop.36

I

would

argue

hat hesevessels

unctioned ot

merely

s a

symbolic

statement

bout he

tatus f the

ndividuals ho ived nthe

houses,

ut

also as the

mainmechanism

f the

palatial

lites o reinforceheir

ower.

Indeed,

he mount f

ablewarend

especially

he ccurrence

f

hapes

or

drink

onsumption

n

suchhouses

ouldbe

interpreted

s the

counterpart

of

the ritual

ractices

Fig.

8.10).

The attention o

liquid consumption

30.Carinci006.

31.See

Caloi,

his olume

Chap.

).

32.Carincind a Rosa

001;

a

Rosa

002a,

004b.

33. t sworth

tressing

he onfu-

sion

eneratedy

evi's

ating

f

he

entire est

acadef he alace

whose

northector

ad een

lready

xcavated

by

.

Pernier)

ohis

II

fase

rotopala-

ziale

i.e.,

MM

III). Rather,

t oincides

with heMM IIB period.

34.Carinci001.

35.Palio

000.

36.

See,

.g.,

he

grimippliqué

n

bridge-spoutedar

F.5509 romhe

West astion

Levi 976,

l.

198:f,

pl.

LXXVIII),

nd n he onical

hy-

ton .

4029

rom

halara

Levi 976,

pl.

18:e).

or he

ymbolic

ignificance

of he

retan ild

oat,

eeBloedow

2003.




16/18

HOUSES

AND


PHAISTOS

95

Figure

.10.Estimated

requencies

of

hapes

n

the

houses

ccording

o

five

rincipal

ase unctions:

a,b)

quartersround he alace fPhais-

tos;

c)

MM IIIA

and

MM IIIB.

Sources:an eMoortel

997,

irella003




17/18

ç6

LUCA GIRELLA

Figure

.1 .The

complex

ortheast

of he alace. erniernd anti

951,

p.

92,

ig.

56

would reflect

alatial anqueting erformances,

ut

they

ow are

making

use ofmore

imple

essels nd

modified

nd

unelaboratederemonialets.37

A

large

number f conical

ups,

nd of

poorly

made tablewaren

general,

wereusedfor

oasting

itualsnthe

Neopalatial eriod

n

palatial

nd elite

household ontexts. ommunal

nvolvement

n

banqueting ractices

s not

new n

Neopalatial

Crete,

utwe can now

tress marked

olitical

imen-

sion from he

manipulation

f the

banquet deology hrough

new and

codified

anguage.

he

symbolic

ower

fnew

banqueting

ets nreinforc-

ing

the ocial

position

nd the

power

f elite

groups

n

open

or restricted

performancess a well-knownhenomenon romMM IIIA to LM IB.38

FROM HOUSE TO PALACE

This

perspective

llowsme to conclude

ydiscussing

complex

f rooms

thatwas

oined

to the Palace at the

beginning

f

MM IIIA

and was

in

use

mostly

n MM

IIIB,

when

mostof the housesdiscussed bove went

out of use. The

complex Fig.

8.11),

located northeast f the

Palace,

comprised

he archive

oom

101),

with he

famous haistos

Disc,

to the

west;

n areawith

pillar rypt

o the east

102);

an elaborate

ntry

ith

a

stairway

o

thePalace

103),

which

was restoredn LM

IB;

and

a

group

ofstorerooms

104).

L. Pernier ad

nterpreted

his

omplex

sthe

guardroom

f he

Palace,

to

which kitchennd a

group

f

torerooms ere nnexed.39

espite

the

poorpreservation

f

he rea nd thedearth f nformationn the

eramic

deposits,

think

e are

dealing

with henew

ntrance

ystem

f he

Palace,

which

was

modeled,

t the

beginning

f

the

Neopalatial eriod, ccording

to a new

strategy

f

palatial

eremonies.

The

Linear

A

tablet,

ound

ogether

ith

he PhaistosDisc

in

room

101,

shows

hat

dministrativectivitiesook

place

nthewestern

art

f

the

complex.

he

focus f the

complex

s room

103,

a

columnar all suit-

able for

eceiving eople

nto

the

Palace,

especially uests

r

visitors,

nd

37.From

MM IIIA

we an

dentify

importanthanges

f eramicssem-

blage

n he

anquetingerformances:

(1)

a substantial

ncrease

n

onical

cups;

2)

the

isappearance

f

eremo-

nial eramic

quipment,onsisting

f

fine

nd laborateamares

essels,

fromhe

alaces;

3)

the

implification

of anquetingets,mostlyonsistingf

undecoratednd

imple

omesticares

(conical

ups, lates,ookingots,ugs);

and

4)

the ntroductionf he

ustrous

decorated

ares;

eeGirella

007a.

38.

See,

or

nstance,

he ases f

Gaiatas ediada nd etras:

ethemio-

takis

999a;

upp

nd

sipopoulou

1999. or he

anquetingspects

n

Neopalatial

nd

ostpalatial

rete,

ee

Borgna

004;

Girella007a.

39.Pernier

935,

p.

53-375.




18/18

Documents

Bridging the Gap the Function of Houses and Residential Neighborhoods in Middle Minoan III Phaistos