The minute, barren cliff-bound coastal island of
Pseira (modern Gk.
Psira) in the
Gulf of MirabellaThe Gulf of Mirabella, also called Mirabella Bay, is a body of water to the north of the eastern Prefecture of Nomos Lasithiou on the island of Crete, which is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital city of the Prefecture is Agios Nikolaos, a...
in northeastern
CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
is a
Minoan siteThe Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. The Minoan culture flourished from approximately 2700 to 1450 BC; afterwards, Mycenaean Greek culture became dominant at Minoan sites in Crete...
that was explored in 1906–07 by Richard Seager and partially documented by Halvor Bagge in ink and watercolors based on photographs (University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1910), and more minutely examined in 1984–92 by Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras, for
Temple UniversityTemple University is a state-related public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple University was founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell and became known as Temple College in 1888. In 1907, the college became a fully accredited university...
.
The minute, barren cliff-bound coastal island of
Pseira (modern Gk.
Psira) in the
Gulf of MirabellaThe Gulf of Mirabella, also called Mirabella Bay, is a body of water to the north of the eastern Prefecture of Nomos Lasithiou on the island of Crete, which is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital city of the Prefecture is Agios Nikolaos, a...
in northeastern
CreteCrete is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea at 8,336 km²...
is a
Minoan siteThe Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. The Minoan culture flourished from approximately 2700 to 1450 BC; afterwards, Mycenaean Greek culture became dominant at Minoan sites in Crete...
that was explored in 1906–07 by Richard Seager and partially documented by Halvor Bagge in ink and watercolors based on photographs (University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 1910), and more minutely examined in 1984–92 by Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras, for
Temple UniversityTemple University is a state-related public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Temple University was founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell and became known as Temple College in 1888. In 1907, the college became a fully accredited university...
. Archaeological materials in this seaport, sited above its harbor, to which it was connected by cliffside stairs, span the period from the end of the
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age...
in the 4
th millennium to the
Late Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age of a culture is the period when the most advanced metalworking in that culture utilised bronze. This could either have been based on the local smelting of copper and tin from ores, or trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere...
, with the cultural high point being Early Minoan to Late Minoan 1B. At that time the prosperous town of some 60 buildings was ranged round its open square (
plateia), with a single large building that occupied one side. Like many contemporary Late Minoan 1B sites, it was violently destroyed, ca 1550–1450
BCCommon Era, abbreviated as CE, is a designation for the calendar system most commonly used world-wide for numbering the year part of the date...
. A remnant of its population cleared spaces in the rubble and for a time continued to dwell in the ruined town.
Archaeology
A Minoan seal-stone from the site representing a ship is a reminder that the harbour was essential. The Minoan community supported itself by fishing and subsistence agriculture. They deeply tilled and terraced agricultural sites where they
manureManure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen that is trapped by bacteria in the soil...
d the thin limy soil with human waste from the settlement. They did not enclose their planting sites, as the island's much later
ByzantineThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
practice was, a sign that goats did not roam free in Minoan Pseira; neither were pigs kept. Dams collected seasonal
run-offSurface runoff is the water flow which occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the hydrologic cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint...
, for water was scarce on the island, though the
AegeanThe Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
region was less dry in the second millennium BC than now.
Consistent with the long period of occupation, burials in the
necropolisA necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, meaning "city of the dead"...
west of the town are of five kinds:
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age...
rock shelter burials;
cistA cist or kist , from the , is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found all over the world....
graves built of vertical slabs with
CycladicThe Cyclades are a Greek island group in the Aegean Sea, south-east of the mainland of Greece; and an administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands around the sacred island of Delos...
parallels; small rock-built tombs; jar burials; and tombs imitating houses.
ArtifactsAn artifact or artefact is any object made or modified by a human. In archaeology, an artifact is an object recovered by some archaeological endeavor, which may have a cultural interest. Examples include stone tools such as projectile points, pottery vessels, metal objects such as buttons or guns,...
from the
necropolisA necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, meaning "city of the dead"...
included clay vases, stone vessels,
obsidianObsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock. It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools without crystal growth...
, bronze tools and jewelry. Burials broke off in Middle Minoan, before the town underwent its Late Minoan expansion. The Late Minoan I building that occupies the northern side of the
plateia, cautiously identified as a "civic shrine", featured painted
stuccoStucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a coating for walls and ceilings and for decoration...
bas-reliefs in its upper floor and retains a
frescoFresco is any of several related painting types, done on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Italian word affresco which derives from the adjective fresco , which has Latin origins...
fragment of two women in Minoan dress of complicated woven design who face one another. Excavations at Pseira have been clouded by successive development in prehistoric stages obfuscating respective earlier stages, in contrast with more clearly defined strata in
KnossosKnossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political center of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
, for example.
Excavation at the House of the Rhyta disclosed evidence for some Minoan cult practice that add to our understanding of some Minoan rites, though the core meaning they evoked escapes us. In three different structures cult activity involved the use of
rhytaA Rhyton is a container from which fluids were intended to be drunk, or else poured in some ceremony such as libation. Rhyta were very common in ancient Persia where they were called Takuk...
, drinking vessels in several forms, all with a hole at the base, a
bull-shaped vesselAppearances of the Bull in mythology and worship are widespread in the ancient world. It is the subject of various cultural and religious incarnations, as well as modern mentions in new age cultures.- Paleolithic findings :...
,
tritonTriton is the common name given to a number of very large sea snails, predatory marine gastropods in the genus Charonia.The name "triton" is also often applied as part of the common name, to other, much smaller sea snails of the genus Cymatium, within the same family, Ranellidae.Tritons are named...
shells, and
chaliceA chalice is a goblet or footed cup intended to hold a drink. In general religious terms, it is intended for quaffing during a ceremony.-Christian:...
s, and a large number of cups. "Cult practices involving large numbers of rhyta continued into successive periods in the Late Bronze Age, as is demonstrated by an interesting religious structure at Ras Shamra with 15 rhyta, including
MycenaeanMycenaean Greece is a cultural period of Ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...
and Minoan examples," Betancourt observes. Chemical traces in a rhyton suggest
barleyBarley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food. It is used in soups, stews and barley bread in various countries, such as Scotland and in Africa...
,
beerBeer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely...
, and
wineWine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes...
. All of these ritual vessels were stored in between their periodic seasonal use, when large groups would gather in upper-floor rooms that had lime-washed and painted stucco reliefs on the walls and a floor that was ritually whitewashed (in the building fronting the
plateia) or paved with stone slabs (House of the Rhyta). In the House of the Rhyta, there was a kitchen space below, too substantial for the occupants of the building alone; it had a corner hearth, a mortar built into bedrock in the opposite corner, and grinding rocks. The drinking rites that were observed in the upper room were apparently accompanied by feasting.
A hoard found by Seager near the lower harbor included a rhyton in the shape of a basket decorated with
double axesLabrys is the term for a symmetrical doubleheaded axe, known to the Classical Greeks as pelekus or sagaris, and to the Romans as a bipennis....
, pear-shaped rhyta decorated with dolphins, a bull-shaped vessel, and a jar decorated with
ivyHedera is a genus of 15 species of climbing or ground-creeping evergreen woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to the Atlantic Islands, western, central and southern Europe, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan...
—which in a Greek context would indicate the presence of
DionysusIn classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos is the god of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology, and one of the twelve Olympians, amongst whom Greek mythology treated him as a late arrival...
— among other goods
The meticulous modern excavations by Betancourt and Davaras resulted in several highly specialized publications, all from INSTAP Academic Press:
- Pseira: A Bronze Age Seaport in Minoan Crete Philip P. Betancourt
- Pseira I: The Minoan Buildings on the West Side of Area A, Philip P. Betancourt, ed.
- Pseira II: Building AC (the “Shrine”) and Other Buildings in Area A, Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras, eds. 1997
- Pseira III: The Plateia Building, Cheryl R. Floyd 1998
- Pseira IV: Minoan Buildings in Areas B, C, D, and F, Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras, eds. 1999
- Pseira V: Architecture of Pseira,John C. McEnroe
- Pseira VI: The Pseira Cemetery I: The Surface Survey, edited by Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras 2003 Topography and methodology.
- Pseira VII: The Pseira Cemetery II: Excavation of the Tombs edited by Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras 2003
- Pseira VIII: The Pseira Island Survey, Part 1 by Philip Betancourt, Costis Davaras and Richard Hope Simpson
- Pseira IX: The Pseira Island Survey, Part 2: The Intensive Surface Survey, edited by Philip Betancourt, Costis Davaras and Richard Hope Simpson
An introductory CD-ROM for a broad public audience was also produced.
Line note references