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68-534: The building at Hagia Photia has 37 rooms that open onto a central court, but which do not necessarily connect to adjoining rooms. It was originally built in the Middle Minoan period with a surrounding fortification wall. The fortifications are important to note, as so few Minoan settlements have evidence of city walls . Other fortified Minoan settlements are from the Pre-Palatial period, but Hagia Photia

136-477: A brief adoption of horned stands in cooking pot production, primarily used during the EM II period. These features have not been identified elsewhere beyond Knossos and surrounding regions. Cups had reduced in size for it to be used by one person. The vast majority of these Minoan tripod cooking pots had deep featured bodies, usually being supported with three legs with either horizontal handles or vertical handles with

204-676: A coming-of-age rite, the Boxer Rhyton (Hagia Triada), showing boxing scenes, the Sanctuary Rhyton , depicting a peak sanctuary to the "mistress of animals" and featuring birds and leaping goats, and others. Around 1450 BCE, the beginning of LM II, the Mycenaean Greeks must have moved into the palace of Knossos. They were well-established by 1400, if the Linear B tablets can be dated to then. The resulting LM II culture

272-541: A cup combined with a funnel-shaped stand could be set on a hard surface without spilling. As the Pyrgos site was a rock shelter used as an ossuary, some hypothesize ceremonial usage]. This type of pottery was black, grey or brown, and burnished, with some sort of incised linear pattern. It may have imitated wood. The EM II era in the Minoan civilization saw the start of tripod cooking pots at places like Knossos, with that came

340-659: A gradual shift from localized clan-based villages towards the more urbanized and stratified society of later periods. EM I (c. 3100-2650 BC) is marked by the appearance of the first painted ceramics. Continuing a trend that began during the Neolithic, settlements grew in size and complexity, and spread from fertile plains towards highland sites and islands as the Minoans learned to exploit less hospitable terrain. EM II (c. 2650-2200 BC) has been termed an international era. Trade intensified and Minoan ships began sailing beyond

408-534: A small opening on the top. They appear to be the most common way to cook. These cooking tripods were made from red firing clay with rock fragments to create the coarse touch that these pots had. The usage of animal goods can be identified in the tripod cooking pots, and the usage of plant byproducts can also be identified. The mixture of both can be found in the tripod cooking pots, but with plant byproducts being more evident than animal byproducts in some instances. There appears to be also found residue of beeswax in

476-629: A wide variety of richly decorated Minoan pottery . Its restless sequence of quirky maturing artistic styles reveals something of Minoan patrons' pleasure in novelty while they assist archaeologists in assigning relative dates to the strata of their sites. Pots that contained oils and ointments, exported from 18th century BC Crete , have been found at sites through the Aegean islands and mainland Greece , in Cyprus , along coastal Syria and in Egypt , showing

544-544: Is a typical all-over leafy decoration, for which first workshop painters begin to be identifiable through their characteristic motifs; as with all Minoan art, no name ever appears. In LMIB, the Marine Style also emerges; in this style, perhaps inspired by frescoes, the entire surface of a pot was covered with sea creatures, octopus, fish and dolphins, against a background of rocks, seaweed and sponges ( Examples 1 , Examples 2 , Examples 3 , Examples 4 ). The Marine Style

612-572: Is based on the sequence of pottery styles excavated at Minoan sites. For instance, the transition from EM III to MM IA is characterized by the appearance of handmade polychrome pottery; the transition from MM IA to MM IB follows the appearance of wheel-made pottery . This framework was originated by Arthur Evans during his excavations at Knossos. It remains the standard in Minoan archaeology, though it has been revised and refined by subsequent researchers and some aspects remain under debate. An alternative framework divides Minoan history based on

680-524: Is developing understanding of the details of production. The styles of pottery show considerable regional variation within Crete in many periods. Early Minoan pottery is broadly characterized by a large number of local wares with frequent Cycladic parallels or imports, suggesting a population of checkerboard ethnicity deriving from various locations in the eastern Aegean and beyond. Early Minoan pottery, to some extent, continued, and possibly evolved from,

748-428: Is more free flowing with no distinct zones, because it shows sea creatures as floating, as they would in the ocean. The Marine style was the last purely Minoan style; towards the end of LMIB, all the palaces except Knossos were violently destroyed, as were many of the villas and towns. Dated to LM IA and following also are conical rhyta , or drinking cups, in steatite and also imitated in ceramic. ( Example ) Some of

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816-479: Is not a break with the Minoan past. Minoan traditions continue under a new administration. However, the vase forms and designs became more and more Mycenaean in character with a large variety of decoration. Style names have multiplied and depend to some degree on the author. The names below are only a few of the most common. Some authors just use the name "Mycenaean Koine"; that is, the Late Minoan pottery of Crete

884-439: Is of particular significance to the chronology of Minoan history. The Theran eruption plays a role in both the high and low chronological approaches, although there is a difference in the date range each system assigns to the event. In his initial framework, Evans vaguely assigned the eruption to the 17th century BCE. Low chronological assessments revise the eruption to the mid-15th century, while high and blended chronologies push

952-604: Is of the Old Palatial period. Three apsidal buttresses along the north wall (which faces the sea) and a fourth at the southwest corner of the outer wall are similar to the buttresses on fortification walls at Lerna in the Argolid subregion and Chalandriani cemetery on the Island of Syros . The site was abandoned, and circular structures were built over its ruins. The structures might be tholos tombs , and they would be

1020-489: Is often used side-by-side with the ceramic chronology, since the two are commensurate. For instance, the Prepalatial period covers the ceramic phases EM I through MM IA. Establishing an absolute chronology has proved difficult. Archaeologists have attempted to determine calendar dates by synchronizing the periods of Minoan relative chronology with those of better understood neighbors. For example, Minoan artifacts from

1088-648: The Archaeological Museum of Sitia and the Agios Nikolaos, Crete , Museum. 35°11′45.4″N 26°08′52.1″E  /  35.195944°N 26.147806°E  / 35.195944; 26.147806 This Crete location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to archaeology in Greece is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Minoan pottery The Minoan civilization produced

1156-509: The Grotta-Pelos early Cycladic I culture. Some have suggested imports or immigrations. See also Hagia Photia . The painted parallel-line decoration of Ayios Onouphrios I Ware was drawn with an iron-red clay slip that would fire red under oxidizing conditions in a clean kiln but under the reducing conditions of a smoky fire turn darker, without much control over color, which could range from red to brown. A dark-on-light painted pattern

1224-457: The Minoan site in eastern Crete, has mottled glaze effects, early experiments with controlling color, but the elongated spouts drawn from the body and ending in semicircular spouts show the beginnings of the tradition of Minoan elegance ( Examples 1 , Examples 2 ). The mottling was produced by uneven firing of the slip-covered pot, with the hottest areas turning dark. Considering that the mottling

1292-548: The Monopalatial period , as the palace at Knossos was the sole one remaining in use. Late Minoan III (c. 1420-1075 BC) shows profound social and political changes. Among the palaces, only Knossos remained in use, though it too was destroyed by LM IIIB2 and possibly earlier. The language of administration shifted to Mycenaean Greek , written in Linear B , and material culture shows increased mainland influence, reflecting

1360-640: The Snake goddess figurines , La Parisienne Fresco , and the marine style of pottery decoration. Late Minoan I (c. 1700-1470 BC) was a continuation of the prosperous Neopalatial culture. A notable event from this era was the eruption of the Thera volcano , which occurred around 1600 BC towards the end of the LM IA subperiod. One of the largest volcanic explosions in recorded history, it ejected about 60 to 100 cubic kilometres (14 to 24 cu mi) of material and

1428-430: The eruption of Thera around 1600 BC, synchronism with Egyptian records would place it roughly a century later. The standard relative chronology divides Minoan history into three eras: Early Minoan (EM) , Middle Minoan (MM) and Late Minoan (LM) . These eras are divided into sub-eras using Roman numerals (e.g. EM I, EM II, EM III) and sub-sub-eras using capital letters (e.g. LM IIIA, LMIIIB, LM IIIC). This system

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1496-645: The horror vacui or "dread of emptiness". The whole field of decoration is filled densely. ( Examples ). The Stirrup Jar is especially frequent. Finally, in the Subminoan period, the geometric designs of the Dorians become more apparent. ( Example ) Minoan wares were already familiar from finds on the Greek mainland, and export markets like Egypt, before it was realized that they came from Crete. In most 19th-century literature they are described as "Mycenaean", and

1564-507: The sand dollar tests , and barnacle growths ( Example ). Barbotine ware features three-dimensional decorations, as well as the use of the ceramic slip. Ridges and protuberances of various types are seen on the surface of vessels. The earliest stages of Kamares ware also appear at this time. Scholars place Barbotine ware a bit earlier than the Kamares ware, Gisela Walberg places Barbotine Ware, with its thin walls and dynamic motifs, in

1632-453: The Aegean to Egypt and Syria, possibly enabled by the invention of masted ships. Minoan material culture shows increased international influence, for instance in the adoption of Minoan seals based on the older Near Eastern seal . Minoan settlements grew, some doubling in size, and monumental buildings were constructed at sites that would later become palaces. EM III (c. 2200-2100 BC) saw

1700-459: The Cyclades, while both FN and EM I settlements are contemporaneous, with EM I gradually replacing FN. Of the three possibilities, no immigration, total replacement of natives by immigrants, immigrants settling among natives, Hutchinson takes a compromise view: EM I types include Pyrgos Ware , also called "Burnished Ware". The major form was the " chalice ", or Arkalochori Chalice , in which

1768-474: The Early Kamares Ware phase. Spirals and whorls motifs appear in Minoan pottery from EM I onwards (Walberg), but they become especially popular during EM III. A new shape is the straight-sided cylindrical cup. MMIA wares and local pottery imitating them are found at coastal sites in the eastern Peloponnese , though not more widely in the Aegean until MMIB; their influence on local pottery in

1836-472: The Floral Style.) The floral style depicts palms and papyrus, with various kinds of lilies and elaborate leaves. It appears in both pottery and frescoes. One tradition of art criticism calls this the "natural style" or "naturalism" but another points out that the stylized forms and colors are far from natural. Green, the natural color of vegetation, appears rarely. Depth is represented by position around

1904-507: The LM IB ceramic period have been found in 18th Dynasty contexts in Egypt, for which Egyptian chronology provides generally accepted calendar dates. However, dates determined in this manner do not always match the results of carbon dating and other methods based on natural science . Much of the controversy concerns the dating of the eruption of Thera , which is known to have occurred towards

1972-486: The Late Minoan all-over patterned "Marine Style" and "Floral Style". These were widely exported around the Aegean civilizations and sometimes beyond, and are the high points of the Minoan pottery tradition. The most comprehensive collection is in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum on Crete. The traditional chronology for dating Minoan civilization was developed by Sir Arthur Evans in

2040-587: The MM IB, but other "handmade" methods of forming the body remained in use, and were needed for objects with sculptural shapes. Ceramic glazes were not used, and none of the wares were fired to very high temperatures, remaining earthenware or terracotta . All of these characteristics remain true of later Greek pottery throughout its great period. The finest wares often have very thin-walled bodies. The excavation of an abandoned LM kiln at Kommos (the port of Phaistos ), complete with its "wasters" (malformed pots),

2108-458: The Neolithic. Middle Minoan artisans developed new colorful paints and adopted the potter's wheel during MM IB, producing wares such as Kamares ware . MM II (c. 1875-1750 BC) saw the development of the Minoan writing systems, Cretan hieroglyphic and Linear A . It ended with mass destructions generally attributed to earthquakes, though violent destruction has been considered as an alternative explanation. MM III (c. 1750-1700 BC) marks

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2176-522: The Northern and Northeastern sections of the island. Another EM I type, Incised Ware , also called Scored Ware , were hand-shaped, round-bottomed, dark-burnished jugs ( Example ) and bulbous cups and jars (" pyxes "). Favored decor was incised line patterns, vertical, horizontal or herring-bone. These pots are from the north and northeast of Crete and appear to be modeled after the Kampos Phase of

2244-505: The beginning of the Neopalatial period. Most of the palaces were rebuilt with architectural innovations, with the notable exception of Phaistos. Cretan hieroglyphs were abandoned in favor of Linear A, and Minoan cultural influence becomes significant in mainland Greece. The Late Minoan period was an eventful time that saw profound change in Minoan society. Many of the most recognizable Minoan artifacts date from this time, for instance

2312-546: The ceramic ware. During LMII, Mycenean influence became apparent. The vase forms at Knossos are similar to those on the mainland. The Palace Style showcased by them adapts elements of the previous styles but also adds features, such as the practice of confining decor in reserves and bands, emphasizing the base and shoulder of the pot and the movement towards abstraction ( Examples 1 , Examples 2 , Examples 3 ). This style started in LM II and went on into LM III. The palace style

2380-518: The construction phases of the Minoan palaces . In this system, the Prepalatial period covers the timespan before the construction of the palaces. The Protopalatial era begins with the construction of the first palaces, and ends with their destruction. The Neopalatial period, often considered the zenith of Minoan civilization, begins with the rebuilding of the palaces, and ends with yet another wave of destructions. The Postpalatial period covers

2448-400: The continuation of these trends. MM I (c. 2100-1875 BC) saw the emergence of Protopalatial society. During MM IA (c. 2100-1925 BC), populations increased dramatically at sites such as Knossos, Phaistos, and Malia, accompanied by major construction projects. During MM IB (c. 1925-1875 BC), the first palaces were built at these sites, in areas which had been used for communal ceremonies since

2516-583: The date back to a point in between Evans' and low chronologies, a more commonly accepted specific date of approximately 1628, though the date is by no means generally agreed. The precise date is of more concern to archaeologists of the Asian mainland and Ancient Egypt, where volcanic ash from Thera is widely evident, and there are established competing chronologies, than to those of Crete. High chronological techniques such as radiocarbon dating can be used in conjunction with evidence from artifacts indirectly related to

2584-595: The early years of the 20th century AD. His terminology and the one proposed by Nikolaos Platon are still generally in use and appear in this article. For more details, see the Minoan chronology . Evans classified fine pottery by the changes in its forms and styles of decoration. Platon concentrated on the episodic history of the Palace of Knossos . A new method, fabric analysis, involves geologic analysis of coarse and mainly non-decorated sherds as though they were rocks. The resulting classifications are based on composition of

2652-465: The end of the LM IA period. While carbon dating places this event (and thus LM IA) around 1600 BC, synchronism with Egyptian records would place it roughly a century later. The timing of natural disasters is of importance to high and low chronologies, which can use the resulting geological evidence to date co-located artifacts. The eruption of the Thera volcano on what is now the island of Santorini

2720-469: The era in which Minoan culture continued in the absence of the palaces. Some variants of this system include a Final palace period or a Monopalatial period between the Neo- and Postpalatial periods, corresponding to era when the palace at Knossos was reoccupied. The architectural periodization was proposed by Nikolaos Platon in 1961, though later scholars have proposed variants and refinements. This system

2788-495: The eruption, such as eruption-caused tsunami debris to pinpoint the exact timing of the event, and therefore which Minoan period it belongs in. However, the broadness of radiocarbon dating has also resulted in dates for the eruption of Thera that do not precisely match evidence from the archeological record. Early Minoan society developed largely continuously from local Neolithic predecessors, with some cultural influence and perhaps migration from eastern populations. This period saw

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2856-627: The forms of ceramic ones, Ventris and Chadwick were able to make a few new correlations. Minoan chronology Minoan chronology is a framework of dates used to divide the history of the Minoan civilization . Two systems of relative chronology are used for the Minoans. One is based on sequences of pottery styles, while the other is based on the architectural phases of the Minoan palaces . These systems are often used alongside one another. Establishing an absolute chronology has proved difficult, since different methodologies provide different results. For instance, while carbon dating places

2924-479: The geometric slip-painted designs of Koumasa Ware seem to have developed from the wares of Aghios Onouphrios. The designs are in red or black on a light background. Forms are cups, bowls, jugs and teapots ( Example: "Goddess of Myrtos" ). Also from EM IIA are the cylindrical and spherical pyxides called Fine Gray Ware or just Gray Ware , featuring a polished surface with incised diagonals, dots, rings and semicircles. The EM IIA and IIB Vasiliki Ware , named for

2992-608: The increasing use of motifs drawn from nature heralded the decline and end of the Kamares style. The Kamares featured whole-field floral designs with all elements linked together (Matz). In MMIII patterned vegetative designs, the Patterned Style , began to appear. This phase was replaced by individual vegetative scenes, which marks the start of the Floral Style . Matz refers to the "Age of Efflorescence", which reached an apogee in LM IA. (Some would include Kamares Ware under

3060-432: The island, marking the end of Neopalatial society. These destructions are thought to have been deliberate, since they spared certain sites in a manner inconsistent with natural disasters. For instance, the town at Knossos burned while the palace itself did not. The causes of these destructions have been a perennial topic of debate. While some researchers attributed them to Mycenaean conquerors, others have argued that they were

3128-585: The local Final Neolithic (FN) without a severe break. Many suggest that Minoan civilization evolved in-situ and was not imported from the East. Its other main feature is its variety from site to site, which is suggestive of localism of Early Minoan social traditions. Studies of the relationship between EM I and FN have been conducted mainly in East Crete. There the Final Neolithic has affinities to

3196-484: The main scene. LMI marks the highwater of Minoan influence throughout the southern Aegean (Peloponnese, Cyclades, Dodecanese, southwestern Anatolia). Late Minoan pottery was widely exported; it has turned up in Cyprus, the Cyclades, Egypt and Mycenae. Fluent movemented designs drawn from flower and leaf forms , painted in reds and black on white grounds predominate, in steady development from Middle Minoan. In LMIB there

3264-507: The most northerly and most easterly tombs of their kind on the island. Many of the grave goods here are Cycladic , and they may indicate that Hagia Photia was a Cycladic colony. Two Kouphota hill caves (which face the sea) contain Neolithic , Pre-Palatial, and Old Palance period remnants. 150 meters to the east, a Minoan cemetery, Glyphada , has been excavated with over 250 Minoan chamber tombs. Finds excavated from Hagia Photia are at

3332-409: The nearby Cyclades has been studied by Angelia G. Papagiannopoulou (1991). Shards of MM IIA pottery have been recovered in Egypt and at Ugarit . Kamares Ware was named after finds in the cave sanctuary at Kamares on Mt. Ida in 1890. It is the first of the virtuoso polychrome wares of Minoan civilization, though the first expressions of recognizably proto-Kamares decor predate the introduction of

3400-434: The palace of Knossos. An average pithos held about 1100 pounds of fluid. Perhaps because of the weight, pithoi were not stored on the upper floors. New styles emerge at this time: an Incised Style (see above), and the tactile Barbotine ware, featuring the relief decoration studded with knobs and cones of applied clay in bands, waves and ridges. Such decorations are sometimes reminiscent of the marine-derived features such as

3468-487: The palaces. There is some evidence that women were also potters. Archaeologists seeking to understand the conditions of production have drawn tentative comparisons with aspects of both modern Cretan rural artisans and the better-documented Egyptian and Mesopotamian Bronze Age industries. In Linear B the word for potter is "ke-ra-me-u". Technically, slips were widely used, with a variety of effects well understood. The potter's wheel appears to have been available from

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3536-624: The pot is densely covered, but sometimes the space is partitioned by bands. One variety features extravagantly thin bodies and is called Eggshell Ware ( Example 1 , Example 2 ). Four stages of Kamares ware were identified by Gisela Walberg (1976), with a "Classic Kamares" palace style sited in MM II, especially in the palace complex of Phaistos. New shapes were introduced, with whirling and radiating motifs .( Examples 1 , Examples 2 , Examples 3 , Examples 4 , Examples 5 , Examples 6 , Examples 7 , Examples 8 , Examples 9 , Examples 10 ) In MMIIB,

3604-503: The potter's wheel. Finer clay, thrown on the wheel, permitted more precisely fashioned forms, which were covered with a dark-firing slip and exuberantly painted with slips in white, reds and browns in fluent floral designs , of rosettes or conjoined coiling and uncoiling spirals. Designs are repetitive or sometimes free-floating, but always symmetrically composed. Themes from nature begin here with octopuses, shellfish, lilies, crocuses and palm-trees, all highly stylized. The entire surface of

3672-429: The recognition and analysis of styles and periods had gone some way on this assumption. Only in the 1890s were the first finds on Crete recognised and published, from a cave at Kamares. These were found by a local archaeologist who allowed the young John Myres to publish them; Myres had realized that they were the same ware as finds in Egypt published by Flinders Petrie . For several decades analysis of Minoan pottery

3740-410: The result of internal upheavals. Similarly, while some researchers have attempted to link them to lingering environmental disruption from the Thera eruption, others have argued that the two events are too distant in time for any causal relation. Late Minoan II (c. 1470-1420 BC) is sparsely represented in the archaeological record, but appears to have been a period of decline. It marks the beginning of

3808-486: The rhyta are ornate libation vessels, such as the noted " Bull's-head Rhyton " found at Knossos. The Bull's Head Rhyton , however, was a specific type of which many instances have been found. The bull's head is found in ceramic as well. Other noted stone vases of LM IA and II are the "Harvester Vase" View 1 , View 3 , View 4 , from Hagia Triada , which depicts a harvest procession, " the Chieftain Cup ", depicting

3876-457: The rise of elite wares, emphasizing refinements and novelty, so that palace and provincial pottery become differentiated. The forms of the best wares were designed for table and service . In the palace workshops, the introduction from the Levant of the potter's wheel in MM IB enabled perfectly symmetrical bodies to be thrown from swiftly revolving clay. The well-controlled iron-red slip that

3944-404: The sherds. Little is known about the way the pottery was produced, but it was probably in small artisanal workshops, often clustered in settlements near good sources of clay for potting. For many, potting may well have been a seasonal activity, combined with farming, although the volume and sophistication of later wares suggests full-time specialists, and two classes of workshop, one catering to

4012-596: The tripod cooking pots. Most of these discoveries were found at Sissi. What that beeswax was used for is uncertain. This appears to potentially lead to the possibility of subtypes of these cooking pots. There is evidence that these pots started to show up during the EMI in the Hagia Photia; its appearance in the Hagia Photia during the second EMII period is questionable.   Most of these discoveries were located in

4080-471: The wide trading contacts of the Minoans. The pottery includes vases, figurines, models of buildings, and burial urns called larnakes . Several pottery shapes, especially the rhyton cup, were also produced in soft stones such as steatite , but there was almost no overlap with metal vessels. The finest achievements came in the Middle Minoan period, with the palace pottery called Kamares ware , and

4148-674: Was added to the color repertory during MM I could be achieved only in insulated closed kilns that were free of oxygen or smoke. Any population center requires facilities in support of human needs and that is true of the palaces as well. Knossos had extensive sanitation, water supply and drainage systems, which is evidence that it was not a ceremonial labyrinth or large tomb. Liquid and granular necessities were stored in pithoi located in magazines, or storage rooms, and elsewhere. Pithoi make their earliest appearance just before MMI begins and continue into Late Minoan, becoming very rare by LMIII ( Examples 1 , Examples 2 ). About 400 pithoi were found at

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4216-563: Was controlled into a pattern, touching with hot coals was probably used to produce it. The effect was paralleled in cups made of mottled stone. In the latest brief transition (EM III), wares in eastern Crete begin to be covered in dark slip with light slip-painted decor of lines and spirals; the first checkered motifs appear; the first petallike loops and leafy bands appear, at Gournia (Walberg 1986). Rosettes appear and spiral links sometimes joined into bands. These motifs are similar to those found on seals . In north central Crete, where Knossos

4284-578: Was essentially stylistic and typological, but in recent decades there has been a turn towards technical and socio-economic analysis. The Linear B tablets contain records of vessels made of various materials. The vessel ideograms are not so clear as to make correlation with discovered artifacts easy. Using a drawing of the "Contents of the Tomb of the Tripod Hearth" at Zafer Papoura from Evans' Palace of Minos , which depicts LM II bronze vessels, many in

4352-568: Was measured at 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index . While the eruption destroyed Cycladic settlements such as Akrotiri and led to the abandonment of some sites in northeast Crete, other Minoan sites such as Knossos continued to prosper. The post-eruption LM IB period (c.1625-1470) saw ambitious new building projects, booming international trade, and artistic developments such as the marine style . Late Minoan IB (c. 1625-1470 BC) ended with severe destructions throughout

4420-685: Was mostly confined to Knossos. In the late manifestation of the palace style, fluent and spontaneous earlier motifs stiffened and became more geometrical and abstracted. Egyptian motifs such as papyrus and lotus are prominent. The Plain Style and Close Style developed in LM IIIA, B from the Palace Style. In the Close Style the Marine and Floral Styles themes continue, but the artist manifests

4488-471: Was then applied. From this beginning, Minoan potters already concentrated on the linear forms of designs, perfecting coherent designs and voids that would ideally suit the shape of the ware. Shapes were jugs, two-handled cups and bowls. The ware came from north and south central Crete, as did Lebena Ware of the same general types but decorated by painting white patterns over a solid red painted background ( Example ). The latter came from EM I tombs. In EM IIA,

4556-441: Was to emerge, there is little similarity: dark on light linear banding prevails; footed goblets make their appearance ( Example ). The rise of the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos and their new type of urbanized, centralized society with redistribution centers required more storage vessels and ones more specifically suited to a range of functions. In palace workshops, standardization suggests more supervised operations and

4624-544: Was to some degree just a variety of widespread Mycenaean forms. The designs are found also on seals and ceilings, in frescoes and on other artifacts. Often Late Minoan pottery is not easily placed in sub-periods. In addition are imports from the neighboring coasts of the Mediterranean. Ceramic is not the only material used: breccia , calcite , chlorite , schist , dolomite and other colored and patterned stone were carved into pottery forms. Bronze ware appears imitating

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