• Natural triton shell



Natural triton shell
Natural triton shell

Natural triton shell

Ο-Ε765
Shell
Intact
Length: 21.4 cm. Width: 12.7 cm.
Phaistos
Neolithic settlement under the Minoan palace
Stone Age. Final Neolithic period.:
4500 - 3100 BC:
Gallery:
I
Case:
2
Exhibition thematic unit:
Stone Age (7000-3000 BC). The first communities
Neolithic communities
Description
Triton shell with traces of red paint. Found close to a Neolithic installation excavated under the Central Court of the palace of Phaistos. Tritons were used for ceremonial purposes in Minoan Crete. With minor modifications to the shell, they could be used in rituals as a sort of trumpet. However, they were also used as rhyta. The Phaistos triton was probably used in this way, as the end had been deliberately removed and it was found together with two vessels suitable for liquids, in a space where ritual gatherings appear to have been held.
Bibliography:
Karetsou, A., M. Andreadaki-Vlazaki, and N. Papadakis (eds). Κρήτη - Αίγυπτος. Πολιτισμικοί δεσμοί τριών χιλιετιών. Κατάλογος Έκθεσης. Heraklion, 2000, cat. no. 137. Todaro, S.V. The Phaistos hills before the palace: a contextual reappraisal. Praehistorica Mediterranea Vol. 5. Monza, 2013, 101, fig. 39.
Author:
E. S.


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