Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Bronze objects : Oversize bronze cauldron [Χ1758]

Oversize bronze cauldron

Χ1758

Metal (Bronze)

Intact

Height (without handles): 44 cm. Rim diameter: 1.25 m. Weight: 52. 5 kg

Tylissos

Villa Α

Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan IB period.:

1500 - 1450 BC:

Gallery:

Case:

Exhibition thematic unit:

Late Bronze Age - Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). Private and public life. Bread and circuses

Public life and social events. The communal mess

Description

Oversize bronze cauldron with hemispherical body and three vertical handles, made of hammered bronze sheets joined with rivets, many with double heads for greater stability. It was worn by use and repaired. Found with another three smaller cauldrons in a storage space in House A in Tylissos, by a villager digging for construction material from the Minoan building. This find led to the excavation of Tylissos by Iosif Hatzidakis in the early 20th century. The great cauldrons of Tylissos were used to cook large amounts of food for banquets presumably attended by numerous guests. They form part of the archaeological evidence for the organisation of large-scale feasting at the palaces, the villas and elsewhere. These banquets were occasions for the ruling groups of Minoan Crete to display their wealth and status.

Bibliography:

Borgna, E. "Aegean feasting. A Minoan perspective." Hesperia 73 (2004): 247-279. Hazzidakis, J. Les Villas Minoennes de Tylissos. ?tudes Cr?toises III. Paris, 1934, 15. Matth?us, H. Die Bronzegef?sse der Kretisch-Mykenische Kultur. Pr?historische Bronzefunde II,1. M?nchen, 1980, 82-83, 85-86. Hazzidakis, Ι. "Μινωική Τύλισσος". Αρχαιολογική Εφημερίς (1912): 197-233.

Author:

E. S.

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