• Tubular vessel with horns of consecration



Tubular vessel with horns of consecration
Tubular vessel with horns of consecration
Tubular vessel with horns of consecration

Tubular vessel with horns of consecration

Π1935
Clay
Mended and restored on the upper part and three of the handles.
Height: 42. 3 cm. Base diameter: 17. 8 cm.
Gournia
Settlement
Late Bronze Age. Postpalatial period, Late Minoan ΙΙΙI period.:
1300 - 1200 BC:
Gallery:
XI
Case:
118
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Postpalatial period (1300-1100 BC). Settlements. Sanctuaries. Tombs
Communal shrines
Description
Tubular vessel known as a “snake tube”, widening towards the base, with rows of four handles down opposite sides. There is also a larger handle crowned with horns of consecration and a clay disc. The narrow end is not preserved. Found in the communal shrine of the settlement at Gournia, together with three figurines of the "goddess with upraised arms", at least another two snake tubes and other ritual equipment. Both the other snake tubes have the same central handle crowned with horns of consecration. One of them had an unidentified object between the horns, perhaps one of the small clay birds found in the shrine. Two relief snakes wind along the body of the second vessel. horns of consecration, snakes and discs are all symbols which are also found on the diadems of the “goddesses with upraised arms”. Snake tubes were used as bases of vessels containing offerings to the deities.
Bibliography:
Boyd Hawes, H. et al. Gournia, Vasilike and Other Prehistoric Sites on the Isthmus of Hierapetra, Crete. Philadelphia, 1908, p. 47-48, pl. XI. Gesell, G.C. The Minoan Snake Tube: A Survey and Catalogue." American Journal of Archaeology 80 (1976): 247-259. Gesell, G.C. "The Snake Goddesses of the LM IIIB and LM IIIC period." In O. Krzyszkowska (ed.), Cretan Offerings. Studies in Honour of Peter Warren. BSA Studies 18. London, 2010: 131-139.
Author:
E. S.


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