House X at Kommos: A Minoan Mansion near the Sea. Part 1: Architecture, Stratigraphy, and Selected Finds

Edited by Maria C. Shaw & Joseph W. Shaw

City: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Year: 2012

Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press

Series: Prehistory Monographs 35

Description: Hardback, 350 p., 86 tables, 56 b/w figures, 29 b/w plates, 4 color plates, 28,7x22 cm

Abstract

House X is by far the largest and best appointed of the Minoan houses excavated at Kommos in south-central Crete, a Minoan harbor and settlement that later became the site of a Greek sanctuary. Situated on the seacoast of the western Mesara Plain, Kommos faces west toward the Libyan Sea. House X stands on the southern edge of the Minoan town, separated by a large slab-paved road from the monumental civic buildings built and used between the Protopalatial and Postpalatial periods. The description of the stratigraphic excavation of this elite house is published with numerous architectural plans along with the cataloged small finds and tables of data on the floral and faunal materials. The excavated fresco fragments are also discussed and illustrated.

Contents

List of Tables [ix]
List of Figures [xiii]
List of Plates [xvii]
List of Color Plates [xxi]
Preface [xxiii]
List of Abbreviations [xxv]

Chapter 1. Maria C. Shaw, ‘The Architecture, Stratigraphy, and Diachronic Use of House X’ [1]

1.1. Introduction [1]
1.2. A Survey by Space: Architecture, Stratigraphy, Diachronic Use [4]

Chapter 2. Maria C. Shaw & Anne P. Chapin, ‘The Frescoes’ [53]

2.1. Introduction [53]
2.2. A Survey of Plasters [54]
2.3. Interpretation [62]
2.4. General Remarks [71]

Chapter 3. Joseph W. Shaw, Maria C. Shaw & John G. Younger, ‘The Miscellaneous Finds’ [75]

3.1. Introduction [75]
3.2. Selected Objects of Metal (Copper, Bronze and Lead) [75]
3.3. Loomweights and Spindle Whorls [78]
3.4. Implements and Other Objects of Stone [81]
3.5. Miscellaneous Objects of Clay [84]
3.6. Jewelry, Seals and a Stone Mold [85]
3.7. Terracotta Sculpture [88]
3.8. Other Finds [90]

Chapter 4. Deborah Ruscillo, ‘The Faunal Remains‘ [93]

4.1. Introduction [93]
4.2. The Sample [93]
4.3. Spatial Analysis of Faunal Remains [98]
4.4. Chronological Overview [108]
4.5. Glycymeris at Kommos and beyond during the Bronze Age [112]
4.6. Catalog of Bone and Shell Objects [115]
4.7. Conclusion [116]

Chapter 5. Maria C. Shaw, ‘Summary and General Perspective’ [117]

5.1. Setting [117]
5.2. Architecture and Plan of the House [119]
5.3. Change and Remodeling over Time [124]
5.4. Finds as Evidence for Function [126]

Concordance [131]
References [139]
Index [147]