Vaulted Tombs of Mesara ➔ Stone kernos
Λ677
Stone (Chlorite or chloritic Limestone)
Mended and restored.
Height: 5.3 cm. Length: 9.5 cm. Width: 9 cm.
Koumasa
Tholos Tomb Β
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period, Early Minoan ΙΙ-ΙΙI period.:
2700 - 2000 BC:
Gallery:
ICase:
7Exhibition thematic unit:
Early Bronze Age - Prepalatial period (3000 - 1900 BC). Settlements and cemeteries - the rise of ruling groupsFor the dead. From personal event to communal practices
Description
Chest-shaped vessel with four deep cavities in its upper surface. The cavities bear obvious traces of the tool used to make them. There is a hole through the centre of the vessel, perhaps for an attachment or handle. Four shallow cavities in the corners of the underside probably served to support the vessel on a base. The incised decoration of the surface consists of a combination of filled triangles, semicircles and bands. The vessel belongs to a category of stone or clay objects called kernoi, whose precise function is unknown. However, small quantities of substances or objects were obviously placed in the deep cavities in the upper surface, while their frequent presence in tombs indicates that they were used in funerary ceremonies.Bibliography:
Andreadaki-Vlazaki, M., G. Rethemiotakis and N. Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki (eds). From the Land of the Labyrinth: Minoan Crete, 3000-1100 B.C. Catalogue of the Exhibition From the Land of the Labyrinth: Minoan Crete, 3000-1100 B.C., Onassis Cultural Center, New York, March 13-September 13, 2008. New York, 2008, 249. Warren, P. Minoan Stone Vases. Cambridge, 1969, 11-14. Xanthoudides, St. The Vaulted Tombs of Mesara. An Account of Some Early Cemeteries of Southern Crete. London, 1924, 17-18, pl. ΙΙΙ:677, ΧΧΙVa:677.Author:
E. S.Photographs' metadata