• Stone horns of consecration



Stone horns of consecration
Stone horns of consecration
Stone horns of consecration

Stone horns of consecration

Λ563
Stone
Mended
Height: 36 cm. Width: 37 cm.
Gournia
Palace
Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan I period.:
1600 - 1450 BC:
Gallery:
XI
Case:
118
Exhibition thematic unit:
Late Bronze Age - Postpalatial period (1300-1100 BC). Settlements. Sanctuaries. Tombs
Communal shrines
Description
Pair of stone "horns of consecration". Found in front of the North Portico at the north end of the palace of Gournia. One hypothesis is that they may have fallen from the roof of the portico. In the Neopalatial period, horns of consecration adorned buildings of religious significance, as we know both from the iconography (frescoes, seals, signet rings) and from the actual objects excavated. The horns found at the palace of Knossos and the Juktas peak sanctuary are approximately two metres tall. Smaller examples, like this one from Gournia, did not necessarily adorn outdoor areas but were also used in indoor shrines. Whatever their use, these objects signalled the sanctity of the space they decorated.
Bibliography:
Boyd Hawes, H. et al. Gournia, Vasilike and Other Prehistoric Sites on the Isthmus of Hierapetra, Crete. Philadelphia, 1908, 25, 48, pl. XI. D'Agata, A. L. "Late Minoan Crete and Horns of Consecration: A Symbol in Action." In R. Laffineur and J. L. Crowley (eds), ΕΙΚΩΝ. Aegean Bronze Age Iconography: Shaping a Methodology, Aegaeum 8. Li?ge, 1992, 247-256.
Author:
E. S.


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