From Cooking Vessels to Cultural Practices in the Late Bronze Age Aegean by Hruby Julie; Trusty Debra;

Author:Hruby, Julie; Trusty, Debra;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4866335
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Published: 2017-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

Figure 9.1. Map of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea with the island of Crete and the Late Minoan site of Mochlos

Figure 9.2. Mochlos Plain, Crete, Greece after Google Earth 2013. 1 = LMI and LM II–III settlements; 2 = LM 1B artisan’s quarters; 3 = LM 1B Chalinomouri farmstead

Mochlos LM Settlements

A well-organized settlement, comprised of multiple structures reaching two or three stories high, was built on the island along paved roads in the Neopalatial period. On the opposite coast, the contemporary Artisans’ Quarters, comprised of at least two multi-room, single-story buildings, was established. Based on a distinction between public workspace and private living quarters, the excavators propose that people both worked and resided in the compound (Soles 2003, 7–90). At the eastern end of the plain at Chalinomouri was an independent farming complex, a one-story structure with six rooms and attached porch (Soles 2003, 103–126). It is located next to the sea in a riverine ravine that gave its inhabitants access to fresh- as well as salt-water ecosystems. Based on the types and amounts of botanical and faunal remains recovered, the excavator proposes that its occupants practiced subsistence farming and produced surpluses of wine and olive oil. There is evidence of weaving, stone vase-making, and pottery production, but not on a large scale (Soles 2003, 103–104).

Reoccupation at Mochlos during the LM II–III period took place approximately 30–40 years after the destruction and abandonment of the Neopalatial town when the Mycenaean Greeks were believed to be in control of the palace at Knossos and were expanding their control into Eastern Crete (Soles 2008, 1–5). Mochlos would have been a strategic location at which to establish a satellite settlement because the new community could take advantage of the naturally protected harbor and agriculturally productive plain (Soles 2008, 5–128). Since the time between the destruction and abandonment of the LM IB settlement and the LM II–III reoccupation was brief, it was proposed by the excavators that some of the new settlers could have been direct descendants of families that had once lived at Mochlos (Soles 2008, 1–5). It is also possible that, if there was a change in governmental structure, foreign people moved into the area bringing new ways of performing daily activities such as cooking. The LM II–III community could have been a mix of locals and foreigners, the latter including individuals possibly from the mainland or from other regions of Crete with access to mainland objects and traditions.

The LM II–III settlement is composed of 13 single-story, one- to three-room structures that were built amongst the ruins of the Neopalatial town. Six of the houses have a quadrangular plan with an axial arrangement of rooms, and several are distinguished by a separate cook shed located in an adjacent space (Soles 2008, 6–8). Cook sheds are enclosed or semi-enclosed spaces with abundant cooking and food processing equipment, such as cooking pots and stone tools, along with charcoal, food remains, as well as eating, drinking, and storage vessels. They are set apart from living quarters and typically restricted to domestic work associated with food.

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