Renovating the First Palace of Phaistos during the Middle Minoan IIA Phase

Ilaria Caloi,

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Abstract

L’articolo presenta la ristrutturazione del principale quartiere del Primo Palazzo di Festòs avvenuta nel MM IIA. La concomitante adozione di una nuova tecnica di manifattura ceramica, la wheel-throwing technique, impiegata per produrre nuove classi ceramiche ben attestate nei depositi associati agli ambienti ristrutturati del palazzo, fa ipotizzare che questa tecnica sia stata adottata da ceramisti collegati alla nuova leadership che ha promosso la ristrutturazione del principale quartiere del Palazzo di Festòs.

The aim of this paper is to present the architecture and associated deposits dated to the M(iddle) M(inoan) IIA phase from the original and main structure of the First Palace of Phaistos, i.e. the three-floored South-West Building rising on the Lower West Court. My recent work at Phaistos allowed me to associate two MM IIA homogeneous ceramic deposits from the South-West Building with the first renovation of the edifice occurred after its foundation in MM IB. Moreover, the technological study I recently undertook on the Phaistian Protopalatial ceramics allowed me to suggest that a new forming technique – the wheel-throwing technique - was adopted at Phaistos in MM IIA. Considering the contemporary occurrence at MM IIA Phaistos of the remodelling of the South-West Building and the introduction of an innovative forming technique, I argue that the latter was adopted by a new leadership attending the Phaistian building, and who was also the agent of the palace renovation.

Parole chiave

• Festòs
• Creta
• Phaistos
• Crete
• Bronze Age
• Ilaria Caloi