MM 1A pottery from Evans' excavations at Knossos

• Main Author: Momigliano, Nicoletta
• Published: University College London (University of London) 1989
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.733312

The famous excavations of Sir Arthur Evans at Knossos produced vast quantities of ceramic material. This thesis presents a new analysis of the most important Knossian deposits assigned by Evans to the Middle Minoan IA (MM IA) phase in his system of classification of the Minoan Bronze Age. These deposits have never been systematically studied and are largely unpublished or inadequately published. The first, introductory chapter of the thesis is a short discussion of the previous studies and current definitions of Knossian MM IA pottery, of the sources of information, and of the problems involved in the study of Evans' material. Chapter 2 deals with the deposits located in the West Court, such as Houses A, B and C, etc. Chapter 3 deals with the deposits located in the area of the Palace, such as the Vat Room, the Upper East Well, etc.. Chapter 4 deals with the North Quarter of the City, a deposit from outside the area of the Palace. Chapters 2-4 present a detailed analysis of the pottery, based upon a re-examination of the relevant documentary sources (excavation notebooks etc.) and a first-hand knowledge of the ceramic material. Chapter 5 presents a typology of Knossian MM IA pottery and briefly discusses its production and decoration. The picture of Knossian MM IA pottery presented in this study is remarkably different from that of Evans. Chapter 6 discusses vases of foreign origin (and/or local imitations) found in Knossian MM IA deposits, Knossian MM IA vases Land/or local imitations) found outside the Knossos region, and the implications for relative chronology. Chapter 7 summarizes the main results obtained by this study. There is a Catalogue of the complete and restorable vases from the various deposits discussed in the text, and Appendix 1 lists various Knossian MM IA deposits, including those which could not be included in the present study.