Zakros

Coordinates: 35°05′53″N 26°15′41″E / 35.09806°N 26.26139°E / 35.09806; 26.26139
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Zakros
Map of Minoan Crete
LocationLasithi, Crete, Greece
Coordinates35°05′53″N 26°15′41″E / 35.09806°N 26.26139°E / 35.09806; 26.26139
TypeMinoan town and "palace"
History
CulturesMinoan
Site notes
Excavation dates1901, 1961-
ArchaeologistsD.G. Hogarth, N. Platon
Public accessYes

Zakros (Greek: Ζάκρος; Linear B: 𐀼𐀒𐀫 zakoro;[1] also Zakro or Kato Zakro) is a Minoan archaeological site on the eastern coast of Crete in Lasithi, Greece. It is regarded as one of the five Minoan palaces, and its protected harbor and strategic location made it an important commercial hub for trade to the east.

The town was dominated by the Palace of Zakro, originally built around 1900 BC, rebuilt around 1600 BC, and destroyed around 1450 BC along with the other major centers of Minoan civilization. Extensive ruins of the palace remain, and are a popular tourist destination.

Zakros is sometimes divided into Epano Zakros (Upper Zakros), the portion higher up on the hillside, and Kato Zakros (Lower Zakros), the part near the sea. A Minoan villa was discovered on the road from Epano Zakos near the gorge. It is dated to the Minoan LM IA period, before the construction of the palace.[2] A ravine (usually referred to as a gorge in archaeological publications) known as the "Ravine of the Dead" runs through both the upper and lower parts of the ancient site, named after the numerous burials that have been found in the caves along its walls.

History[edit]

Palace of Zakros ruins

The monumental construction at the site proceeded in two phases. The Old Palace was built late in the Middle Minoan period and then destroyed by a large seismic event c. 1700 BC. At that point the New Palace was constructed. It was destroyed in another seismic event c. 1450 BC (between the Late Minoan IA and Late Minoan IB periods). Occupation ceased c. 1200 BC (Late Minoan III period). During the Minoan era the sea level dropped 4 times (−4.00 ± 0.30 m, −2.85 ± 0.30 m, −1.25 ± 0.05 m, and −0.50 ± 0.05 m), or the land rose, of major significance to a harbor city.[3] A large Protopalatial and Neopalatial town occupied the hills around the palace.[4]

It has been proposed that the ancient name of the site was Ditka.[5]

Archaeology[edit]

Libation vase from Zakros

The site was first recorded by Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt in 1851.[6]

The site was visited by Arthur Evans, excavator of Knossos, in 1894 and 1896. Zakro was excavated by D.G. Hogarth of the British School of Archaeology at Athens in 1901 working primarily in the central area, Ayios Antonios. In a stone cellar in one of the homes a small horde of bronze implements was found including two axe heads and three lances. Some of the pottery from later contexts was of Mycenaean Greek type. Some small sites (Xerokambolina, Ambelis, Anthropolites, Tou Koukou to Kephali, and S' tas Tavernas) in the upper Zakros Valley near Espano Zakros were also examined.[7][8][9][10] Two pits were excavated by Hogarth, the primary one being 16 feet in diameter and 18 feet deep with a deposit of 8 feet in depth at the bottom (with the top 3 feet disturbed by looting villagers). Artifacts, primarily pottery, found in the pit date to the LM IA period. [11] A single Linear A inscribed roundel (3.00 by 2.80 by 1.20 centimeters) was found, in the same deposit with a Linear A tablet and a number of clay sealings. Three of the sealings were inscribed with Cretan hieroglyphs. The deposit was in a destruction layer dated between layers LM IA and LM IB.[12][13] Human remains were found in caves at the gorge.[14]

Zakros bull's head rhyton archnmus Heraklion

In 1961, Nikolaos Platon resumed the excavation and discovered the Palace of Zakro.[15][16] During excavation an irrigation project to the west of the site revealed Middle Minoan tomb enclosures at Pezoules Kephala. Two enclosures were excavated, one a single tomb and one a multi-chambered tomb. Articulated skeletons were recovered and later examined.[17] This site has yielded several clay tablets with Linear A inscriptions.[18][19]

A number of seals, mainly of steatite, and clay sealings have been found at Zakros.[20][21][22]

Many of the excavated artifacts are housed at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum. Some items, given to Hogarth by the Cretan government, are housed at the Ashmolean Museum.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Richard Vallance Janke, The Rôle of Supersyllabograms in Mycenaean Linear B, Presentation at the Pultusk Academy of Humanities, Poland, June 30 - July 2, 2015, p. 4.
  2. ^ Mantzourani, Eleni, and Giorgos Vavouranakis, "Achladia and Epano Zakros: A Re-examination of the Architecture and Topography of Two Possible Minoan Villas in East Crete", Opuscula Atheniensia 30, pp. 99-125, 2005
  3. ^ Mourtzas, Nikos, and Eleni Kolaiti, "Shoreline reconstruction of the submerged Minoan harbour morphology in the bay of Kato Zakros (Eastern Crete, Greece)", Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 12, pp. 684-698, 2017
  4. ^ [1]Rehak, Paul, and John G. Younger, "Neopalatial, final palatial, and postpalatial Crete", American Journal of Archaeology 102.1, pp. 91-173, 1998
  5. ^ [2]Huxley, George, "The Ancient Name of Zakro", Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 8.2, pp. 85-87, 1967
  6. ^ Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (1865). Travels and Researches in Crete. J. van Voorst. OCLC 1000662504. Volume 1
  7. ^ D.G. Hogarth, "Excavations at Zakro, Crete", Annual of the British School at Athens 7, pp. 121-49, 1901
  8. ^ Dawkins, R. M., "Pottery from Zakro", The Journal of Hellenic Studies 23, pp. 248-260, 1903
  9. ^ [3]Hogarth, David George, "Bronze-age vases from Zakro", The Journal of Hellenic Studies 22, pp. 333-338, 1902
  10. ^ Hogarth, D. G., "Exploration at Zakro in Eastern Crete", Man, vol. 1, pp. 186–87, 1901
  11. ^ Platon, Lefteris, "On the dating and character of the'Zakros pits deposit'", British School at Athens Studies, pp. 243-257, 2010
  12. ^ D. G. Hogarth, "The Zakro Sealings", JHS 22, pp. 76-93, 1902
  13. ^ Perna, Massimo, "The Roundel in Linear A from Zakro Wc 2 (HM 84)", Kadmos 33.1, pp. 29-37, 1994
  14. ^ W. Boyd Dawkins, "Skulls from cave burials at Zakro", Annual of the British School at Athens 7, pp. 150-55, 1901
  15. ^ Platon, N, "Ανασκαφή Ζάκρου", Prakt, pp. 216-224, 1961
  16. ^ Platon, N, "Ανασκαφή Ζάκρου", Prakt, pp. 142-168, 1962
  17. ^ [4]Becker, M. J., "Human Skeletal Remains from Kato Zakro", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 79, no. 3, pp. 271–76, 1975
  18. ^ Brice, William C., "The Zakro Tablets 16, 17 and 18", Kadmos 21.1, pp. 9-14, 1982
  19. ^ Hooker, James T., "Remarks on the Linear A Inscriptions from Zakro", Kadmos 16.1, pp. 13-15, 1977
  20. ^ Hogarth, D. G., "Note on two Zakro sealings", Annual of the British School at Athens 17, pp. 264-265, 1911
  21. ^ [5]Weingarten, Judith, "Aspects of tradition and innovation in the work of the Zakro Master", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 11.1, pp. 167-180, 1985
  22. ^ Weingarten, Judith, "Two inscribed sealings from Zakro", Kadmos 22.2, pp. 107-108, 1983

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Bosanquet, R. C., "Excavations at Palaikastro. II: § 3.—The Chronology of Palaikastro and Zakro", Annual of the British School at Athens 9, pp. 281-287, 1903
  • Chrysoulaki, S., and L. Platon, "Relations between the town and palace of Zakros", in R. Hagg, and N. Marinatos (eds.), The Function of the Minoan Palaces, Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens, 10 –16 June 1984 (Acta Instituti Atheniensis Regni Sueciae, Series 4º: ΧΧΧV), Stockholm, 77– 84, 1987
  • [6]Nikolaos Platon, "Zakros: The Discovery of a Lost Palace of Ancient Crete", Scribner, 1971 ISBN 978-0684311036
  • Platon, Lefteris, and Eleni Gerontakou, "Middle Minoan III: a'gap'or a 'missing link' in the history of the Minoan site of Zakros?", British School at Athens Studies, pp. 197-212, 2013
  • Platon, Lefteris, "Studying the Character of the Minoan 'Household' within the Limits of the Neopalatial Settlement of Zakros", Hesperia Supplements 44, pp. 151-161, 2011
  • Judith Reid, "Minoan Kato Zakro: A Pastoral Economy", BAR Publishing, 2007 ISBN 9781407301570
  • Stieglitz, Robert R., "The Minoan Pithos Inscription from Zakro", Kadmos 22.1, pp. 5-7, 1983
  • Syrmos, Nikolaos Ch., "Microcephaly in ancient Greece—the Minoan microcephalus of Zakros", Child's Nervous System 27.5, pp. 685-686, 2011
  • Thompson, James G., "Clues to the location of bull jumping at Zakro", Journal of Sport History 19.2, pp. 163-168, 1992
  • Weingarten, Judith, "The use of the Zakro sealings", Kadmos 22.1, pp. 8-13, 1983

External links[edit]

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