Necklace of stone beads



Necklace of stone beads

Σ-Κ2025
Stone, Metal (Lead)
Intact
Length of largest bead: 2.42 cm. Total length of necklace: 10 cm.
Lentas
Tomb II, Yerokambos
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period. Early Minoan Ι period:
3100-2700 BC:
Gallery:
I
Case:
7
Exhibition thematic unit:
Early Bronze Age - Prepalatial period (3000 - 1900 BC). Settlements and cemeteries - the rise of ruling groups
Tholos tombs
Description
The beads threaded together in this necklace were found in Tholos Tomb II at Lentas in the Mesara. They are 31 of the 1,138 beads found in the tomb. The 11 nail-shaped beads stand out, as this distinctive shape is rare. The examples shown here are all made of steatite, a mineral found in Crete, except for one bead of lead. They were found near the floor of the room and are believed to have accompanied some of the first people buried there at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. However, they cannot be linked to a specific deceased person, mainly because the burial practices of the period did not preserve the skeleton intact but included periodical removal and rearrangement of the skeletal remains. It is clear, though, that some of the dead were buried with purely personal belongings such as these beads.
Bibliography:
Alexiou, S., & P. Warren. 2004. The Early Minoan Tombs of Lebena, Southern Crete (SIMA XXX). Sävedalen: Paul Åströms Förlag, fig. 35, pl. 115Ε, p. 132.
Author:
I. G.


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