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Malia (archaeological site)

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Malia (also Mallia) is a Minoan and Mycenaean archaeological site located on the northern coast of Crete in the Heraklion area. It is about 35 kilometers east of the ancient site of Knossos and 40 kilometers east of the modern city of Heraklion. The site lies about 3 kilometers east and inland from the modern village of Malia. It was occupied from the middle 3rd millennium BC until about 1250 BC. During the Late Minoan I period (1700 - 1470 BC) it had the third largest Minoan palace, destroyed at the end of the Late Minoan IB period. The other palaces are at Hagia Triada, Knossos, Phaistos, Zakros, and Gournia. It has been excavated for over a century by the French School of Athens and inscriptions of the undeciphered scripts Cretan hieroglyphs, Linear A, and the deciphered script Linear B have been found there.

Malia
Map of Minoan Crete
LocationHeraklion, Crete, Greece
Coordinates35°17′38″N 25°29′27″E / 35.29389°N 25.49083°E / 35.29389; 25.49083
TypeMinoan town and "palace"
History
CulturesMinoan, Mycenaean
Site notes
Excavation dates1919-1936, 1964-2012, 2014-present
ArchaeologistsJoseph Hazzidakis, Fernand Chapouthier, Oliver Pelon, Maud Devolder
Public accessYes

History

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Minoan chronology
Timespan Period
3100–2650 BC EM I Prepalatial
2650–2200 BC EM II
2200–2100 BC EM III
2100–1925 BC MM IA
1925–1875 BC MM IB Protopalatial
1875–1750 BC MM II
1750–1700 BC MM III Neopalatial
1700–1625 BC LM IA
1625–1470 BC LM IB
1470–1420 BC LM II Postpalatial
1420–1330 BC LM IIIA
1330–1200 BC LM IIIB
1200–1075 BC LM IIIC

The first signs of occupation at Malia, in the form of pottery, occurred in the Early Minoan IIA period (mid-3rd millennium BC). The first firmly dated structures were built in the Early Minoan IIB period. This town was of modest size and was destroyed by fire at the end of EM IIIB. After a time of near or total abandonment occupation resumed minimally in the Protopalatian Middle Minoan IA period. By the Middle Minoan IIB period the town had grown and a sizable mudbrick palace had been constructed. Archaeological finds from the level, including Anatolian obsidian, demonstrate widespread trade was in progress.[1]

 
Kamares style one-handled three-legged plate from Malia (Middle Minoan IIB period; 1800-1700 BC) - Heraklion Archaeological Museum

At c. 1700 BC, at the end of the Middle Minoan period, several areas of the town were destroyed. The palace was reconstructed in LM IA and then destroyed by the end of LM IB (c. 1450) and the town is abandoned.[2]

By c. 1450 BC the Mycenae have appeared at Malia, along with Linear B, and the town is revitalized. The town was again destroyed, by fire c. 1370 BC. The town was rebuilt and became prosperous, only to be destroyed c. 1250 BC.[2][3][4]

A geological investigation found evidence of a modest tsunami, thought to be from the Thera eruption, with a "radiocarbon range of 1744–1544 BC for the secure pre-tsunami context and an interval 1509–1430 BC for the post-event layer".[5]

Archaeology

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The ""offering table" of Kernos at the Malia palace

The site lies about 1200 meters from the coast and 20 meters about the level of the sea, separated from the sea by a marshy area which appears to have maintained that character since Minoan times. There is no harbor.[6]

From 1919 to 1922 the site was explored by Joseph Hazzidakis, the Ephor of Ancient Monuments of Crete, focusing on the Chrysolakkos Building. Finds there included the "honeybees pendant" (Malia Pendant).[7][8] In 1922 a French School of Athens team led by Fernand Chapouthier began excavations at Malia, continuing until 1936.[9][10][11][12] Work resumed in 1964 under Oliver Pelon and continued until 2012.[13][14][15] Work resumed under the direction of Maud Devolder in 2014 with a focus on publication and restoration.[16][17] In the Late Minoan IB layer an inlay was found with a representation of an Egyptian sphinx, thought to be in the style of the 18th dynasty.[18]

Excavation areas in Malia consist of the palace and a number of "town" areas.

 
Sphinx, relief ornament, Malia 1800-1700 BC, AMH, 144835
  • Palace - The existing Neopalatial palace, constructed of ashlar sandstone and mudbrick, is built on the pre-existing Protopalatial palace that was destroyed in the mudbrick Middle Minoan IIB period and incorporates some of its structures.[19][20] The palace is built around three courts, Central, North, and Northwest and measured about 80 meters (roughly east-east) by 100 meters (roughly north–south).
  • Town - The most prominent town area is Quartier Mu (also known as the Seals Workshop) which lies 200 meters to the northwest of the palace. It dates to MM II and consists of Building A, Building B, and house-workshops.[21][22] Two hoards of metal tools were found. Hoard A contained a metal drill, knife-razor, saw, axe-adze, and two stone axes while Hoard B contained a metal double axe, adze, punch, drill, and some lithic tools.[23] Another town are is Quartier Nu, dating to LM III, located north of the "Atelier de Sceaux" and north-west of the palace. It consists of three wings around a court and had two architectural phases.[24][25] There are also the lesser known Quartier Delta and Quartier Pi.[26]
 
Bee pendant, gold ornament, Chrysolakos necropolis near Malia, 1800-1700 BC, AMH, 144879
  • Chryssolakkos/Chrysolakkos - A 30 meter by 39 meter structure, constructed of ashlar blocks and consisting of many small rooms. Its function is unclear though it is often referred to as a necropolis. Its date is also controversial though usually considered to be Middle Minoan IIB. The famous Malia Pendant was found there. Excavated by Demargne, finds included a kernos (speculated to be a libation table) with two rings of cup holders. The outer ring had 29 small and 1 large depressions while the inner ring had 12 small and 1 large depression.[27][28][29]

Many of the finds from Malia are held at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

Epigraphy

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Pithos from Malia

Roundels are clay disks, sealed on the edges, found at Minoan sites. They are thought to have acted as receipts. About 78% of roundels are inscribed, typically with a single Linear A character. Five roundels have been found at Malia. One roundel bore 4 characters in 2 lines on the obverse and the 2 characters and numbers on the reverse. One bore a single character on the obverse. The remaining 3 bore only seals.[30] Six Linear A tablets have also been found at Malia.[31]

At Malia Cretan Hieroglyphic inscriptions have found in the MM IIB Quartier Mu, the MM IIIB Quartier Nu, and the MM IIIB "Depothieroglyphique" in the palace.[32][33][34] A stray jar handle fragment with two Cretan Hieroglyphic characters was also found.[35]

Several Linear B inscribed stirrup jars have been found including four in the LM IIIA2B (Mycenae) dated level.[36]

Malia altar stone

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In the 1930s a blue limestone slab with a cuplike cavity was found by a local near Malia. It bore sixteen glyphs, apparently Cretan Hieroglyphs, a very rare example of Cretan Hieroglyphs carved on stone (vs clay or on sealstones). It is listed as item number 328 in the Corpus Hieroglyphicarum Inscriptionum Cretae (CHIC). Its date is unknown though it is usually assumed to be Minoan and its usage is unknown though it has often been assumed to be an offering or altar stone.[37][38][39][40]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Carter, Tristan, and Vassilis Kilikoglou, "From reactor to royalty? Aegean and Anatolian obsidians from Quartier Mu, Malia (Crete)", Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 20.1, pp. 115-143, 2007
  2. ^ a b Poursat, Jean-Claude, "Malia: Palace, State, City", British School at Athens Studies, vol. 18, pp. 259–267, 2010
  3. ^ Driessen, J. & A. Farnoux, "Mycenaeans at Malia?", Aegean Archaeology 1, pp. 54-64, 1994
  4. ^ Carter, Tristan; Kilikoglou, Vassilis (2022). "Raw material choices and technical practices as indices of cultural change: Characterizing obsidian consumption at 'Mycenaean' Quartier Nu, Malia (Crete)". PLOS ONE. 17 (8): e0273093. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1773093C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0273093. PMC 9397941. PMID 35998178.
  5. ^ Lespez, Laurent; Lescure, Séverine; Saulnier-Copard, Ségolène; Glais, Arthur; Berger, Jean-François; Lavigne, Franck; Pearson, Charlotte; Virmoux, Clément; Müller Celka, Sylvie; Pomadère, Maia (2021). "Discovery of a tsunami deposit from the Bronze Age Santorini eruption at Malia (Crete): Impact, chronology, extension". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 15487. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-94859-1. PMC 8322394. PMID 34326405.
  6. ^ Lespez, L., et al., "Late-Middle-Holocene palaeo-environmental evolution and coastline changes of Malia (Crete)", The Mediterranean World Environment and History, Elsevier, pp. 439-452, 2003
  7. ^ "Discovery of a Minoan Palace at Malia, in Crete". Nature. 104 (2614): 356. 1919. Bibcode:1919Natur.104..356.. doi:10.1038/104356a0.
  8. ^ Nelson, E. Charles, Georgios Mavrofridis, and Ioannis TI Anagnostopoulos, "Natural history of a Bronze Age jewel found in Crete: The Malia pendant", The Antiquaries Journal 101, pp. 67-78, 2021
  9. ^ Chapouthier, Fernand, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia: premier rapport (1922-1924)",vol. 5, P. Geuthner, 1928
  10. ^ F. Chapouthier and R. Joly, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia. Deuxième rapport : exploration du palais (1925-1926)", Études Crétoises, IV, 1936
  11. ^ F. Chapouthier and P. Demargne, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia. Troisième rapport : exploration du palais, bordures orientale et septentrionale (1927, 1928, 1931 et 1932)", Études Crétoises, VI, 1942
  12. ^ Chapouthier, F., P. Demargne, and A. Dessenne, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia IV: Exploration du palais. Bordure méridionale et recherches complémentaires (1929–1935 et 1946–1960)", ÉtCrét 12, Paris: P. Geuthner, 1962
  13. ^ [1] Pelon, Olivier, et al., "Malia", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 110.2, pp. 813-822, 1986
  14. ^ [2] Pelon, Olivier, "Malia", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 123.2, pp. 468-481, 1999
  15. ^ [3]Caloi, Ilaria, and Roxane Dubois, "On some late Prepalatial pricket lamps in White‑on‑Dark Ware from beneath the North Wing of the Malia Palace", Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 145.2, pp. 577-597, 2022
  16. ^ Devolder, Maud, "Éléments Structurels En Bois Dans Un Palais de l’âge Du Bronze Crétois. Le Cas de La Cour Nord Du Palais de Malia", Pallas, no. 110, pp. 133–50, 2019
  17. ^ Devolder, Maud, "The Functions of Masons' Marks in the Bronze Age Palace at Malia (Crete)", American Journal of Archaeology 122.3, pp. 343-365, 2018
  18. ^ Michaelidis, Prokopios, "Ägyptische Sphinx aus Malia", Praehistorische Zeitschrift, vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 90-95, 1995
  19. ^ Devolder, Maud, "Reconstructing the First Palace at Malia (1900-1700 BC)", Report for the Michael Ventris Award (2016), No. UCL-Université Catholique de Louvain, 2016
  20. ^ [4] Devolder, Maud, and Marta Lorenzon, "Minoan Master Builders?. A Diachronic Study of Mudbrick Architecture in the Bronze Age Palace at Malia (Crete)", Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 143.1, pp. 63-123, 2019
  21. ^ Poursat, Jean-Claude, and Darcque, Pascal, "Rapports sur les travaux de l’École française en 1989. Malia: Sondages autour du Quartier Mu", in Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 114, pp. 908–912, 1990
  22. ^ Poursat, Jean-Claude, "Artisans Minoens: Les maisons-ateliers du Quartier Mu. Fouilles exécutées à Malia. Le Quartier Mu III", (Études Crétoises 32), Paris, 1996
  23. ^ Poutsat J.-C., "Outils de charpentiers et de menuisiers du quartier Mu de Malia (Crète),” in De l’Indus aux Balkans. Recueil à la mémoire de Jean Deshayes, Paris, pp.119–125, 1985
  24. ^ Driessen, Jan, and Hubert Fiasse, "‘Burning Down the House’: Defining the Household of Quartier Nu at Malia Using Gis", Hesperia Supplements, vol. 44, pp. 285–96, 2011
  25. ^ Driessen, J., H. Fiasse, M. Devolder, P. Hacıμuzκρρκr & Q. Letesson, "Recherches spatiales au Quartier Nu à Malia (MR III)", Creta Antica, pp. 93-110, 2008
  26. ^ Pomadère, Maia, and Gaëlle Hilbert, "Le Bois Dans l’architecture Domestique de l’âge Du Bronze à Malia (Crète): Les Exemples Des Quartiers Delta et Pi", Pallas, no. 110, pp. 113–32, 2019
  27. ^ Pierre Demargne, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia. Explorations de Nécropoles (1921-1933)", Études Crétoises, τ. VII.Ι, Paris, 1945
  28. ^ Demargne, P., "Culte funéraire et foyer domestique", BCH 56, pp. 60-88, 1932
  29. ^ Müller Celka, Sylvie, "L'ensemble architectural de Chrysolakkos à Malia: une mise à jour", Von Kreta nach Kuba. Gedenkschrift zu Ehren des Berliner Archäologen Veit Stürmer, hrsg. v. Kathrin Müller, Birgit Schiller, pp. 163-180, 2018
  30. ^ [5] Weingarten, Judith, and Éric Hallager, "The Five Roundels from Malia, with a note on two new Minoan Genii", Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 117.1, pp. 1-18, 1993
  31. ^ [6] Salgarella, Ester, "Drawing lines: The palaeography of Linear A and Linear B", Kadmos, vol. 58, no. 1–2, pp. 61–92, 2019 doi:10.1515/kadmos-2019-0004
  32. ^ Jean-Pierre Olivier, Jean-Claude Poursat, "Un nouveau document hiéroglyphique de Mallia", Kadmos, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 16-19, 1971
  33. ^ Brice, William C., "Notes on the Cretan Hieroglyphic Script" Kadmos, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 93-104, 1991
  34. ^ Weingarten, Judith, "Sealing studies in the Middle Bronze Age, III: the Minoan hieroglyphic deposits at Mallia and Knossos", Sceaux minoens et mycéniens: IVe symposium international, 10–12 septembre 1992, Clermont-Ferrand. by Walter Müller, pp. 285-310, 1995
  35. ^ Schoep, Ilse, "A new Cretan hieroglyphic inscription from Malia (MA/V Yb 03)", Kadmos, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 78-81, 1995
  36. ^ Driessen, Jan, Alexandre Farnoux, and Charlotte Langohr, "Two more Linear B inscribed stirrup jars from Malia", Festschrift for Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier for the celebration of his 65th birthday, Bonn: Habelt Verlag GmbH, pp. 59-74, 2014
  37. ^ Olivier, Jean-Pierre; Godart, Louis; et al. (Poursat, Jean-Claude), "Corpus hieroglyphicarum inscriptionum Cretae", Études Crétoises 31 (in French), Paris: De Boccard, pp. 1–447, 1996 ISBN 2-86958-082-7
  38. ^ F. Chapouthier, "Inscription Hiéroglyphique Gravée sur un Bloc de Calcaire", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, vol. 62, pp. 104-109, 1938
  39. ^ [7] Kenanidis, Ioannis K., and Evangelos C. Papakitsos, "An interpretation of the Malia stone inscription in terms of the Cretan Protolinear Script", Terra Sebus, Acta Musei Sabesiensis 9, pp. 43-56, 2017
  40. ^ [8] Peter Z. Revesz, "A Translation of the Malia Altar Stone", MATEC Web of Conferences 125, 2017 DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/201712505018

Further reading

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  • Adams, Ellen. "Power relations in Minoan Palatial Towns: An analysis of Neopalatial Knossos and Malia." Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 17.2, pp. 191, 2004
  • Anastasiadou, Maria, "A Conoid from the Malia Seal-Cutter's Workshop", Kadmos, vol. 48, no. 1–2, pp. 185–187, 2010
  • [9] Becker, Marshall, "Malia", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 99.2, pp. 726–728, 1975
  • Bellot-Gurlet, Ludovic, Olivier Pelon, and Michel Louis Séfériadès, "Détermination de provenance d’une sélection d’obsidiennes du palais minoen de Malia (Crète)", Comptes Rendus Palevol 7.7, pp. 419–427, 2008
  • Caloi, Ilaria, and Georgios Doudalis, "The Protopalatial pottery from Malia: combining new and old data", Protopalatial Pottery. Relative Chronology and Regional Differences in Middle Bronze Age Crete, Presses universitaires de Louvain, pp. 91-108, 2024
  • Dessenne, A. & J. Deshayes, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia. Exploration des maisons et quartiers d'habitation (1948-1954). Maisons (II)", Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1959
  • Daux, Georges, "Chronique des fouilles 1966. Malia", in:Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 91, pp. 882–889, 1967
  • Farnoux, A. & J. Driessen, "Inscriptions peintes en Linéaire B à Malia", BCH 115, pp. 71–97, 1991
  • Farnoux, Alexandre, "Malia et la Crète a l'époque mycénienne", Revue Archéologique, no. 1, pp. 201–16, 1992
  • Liard, Florence, "Production and trade of pottery in the so-called “South Coast” fabric in Bronze Age Crete. Current interpretations and recent findings at Malia, northern Lassithi", Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 21, pp. 973–982, 2018
  • [10] Müller, Sylvie, "Malia", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 120.2, pp. 921–928, 1996
  • [11] Müller, Sylvie, "Malia", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 122.2, pp. 548–552, 1998
  • [12]Mylona, Pantelitsa, and Maia Pomadère, "The contribution of soil micromorphology in understanding the use of space in Area Pi at Malia (Crete)", Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 36, 2021
  • Poursat, J.-Cl., "Decouvertes nouvelles a Malia (Crete): un quartier du minoen moyen", Revue Archéologique, no. 1, pp. 189–91, 1969
  • Poursat, Jean-Claude, "La Ville minoenne de Malia : recherches et publications récentes", Revue Archéologique, no. 1, pp. 61–82, 1988
  • Poursat, Jean-Claude, "Cult Activity at Malia in the Protopalatial Period", Hesperia Supplements, vol. 42, pp. 71–78, 2009
  • Preziosi, Donald, "Minoan Architectural Design: Formation and Signification", Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton, 1983
  • Schoep, Ilse, "Social and Political Organization on Crete in the Proto-Palatial Period: The Case of Middle Minoan II Malia", in:Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 15, pp. 101–132, 2002
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