Petsophas

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Remains of the summit sanctuary

Petsophas ( Greek Πετσοφάς Petsofas ) describes a former Minoan summit shrine in the municipality of Sitia in the east of the Greek island of Crete . The sanctuary excavated by John L. Myres in 1903 was used from the Middle Minoan phase MM I to the late Minoan phase SM I (around 2100–1460 BC) and belonged to the hinterland of the Minoan settlement of Roussolakkos ( Ρουσσόλακκος ).

Location and description

Ridge of the pet sofa

The Peak Sanctuary was located on 231 meters height northeast of the highest with 268 meters point of the hill back Petsofas . It was about 950 meters southeast of Roussolakkos in the Palekastro plain and about 800 meters southwest of Bondalaki Beach ( Παραλία Μπονταλάκι ) on the east coast of Crete on the Levant Sea . Below a jagged limestone ridge that drops steeply on the north side, an angled terrace wall has been preserved, which is two or five meters long from the south corner. Inside this structure there was a paved slate floor and bench.

Composite cult horns
Votive figures from Petsophas

During the excavations under John L. Myres, traces of fire were discovered that could have come from ritual fires. In addition, Myers recognized different phases in the use of the sanctuary. In him the appointment as is peak sanctuary , so Peak Sanctuary back.

The numerous finds were votive offerings , as they were later excavated in other summit shrines. Mostly it was terracotta - figurines in the form of male and female, standing or seated figures, but also various body parts that have a healing cult, and animal replicas. Among the latter there were cattle, sheep, dogs, birds (maybe pigeons), wild goats, martens and rhinoceros beetles . In addition, composite found cult horns from lime mortar, fragments of stone vessels and lamps, bronze Votivmesser and two pieces of Libationsgefäßen with inscriptions in linear a .

literature

  • John L. Myres : The Sanctuary-site of Petsofà . In: Annual of the British School at Athens . No. 9 . British School at Athens , London 1903, p. 356–387 (English, digitized version , plan and found objects [accessed on January 18, 2018]).
  • Costis Davaras: Two New Linear A Inscriptions on Libation Vessels from Petsophas . In: William C. Brice (Ed.): Kadmos . tape 11 . de Gruyter, 1972, ISSN  1613-0723 , p. 101–112 (English, digitized version [accessed September 24, 2018]).
  • Bogdan Rutkowski: Petsophas. A Cretan Peak Sanctuary (=  Studies and Monographs in Mediterranean Archeology and Civilization . Volume I , no. 1 ). Art and Archeology, Warsaw 1991, ISBN 978-83-221-0615-0 (English, review ).
  • Göran Henriksson, Mary Blomberg: Evidence for Minoan astronomical observations from the peak sanctuaries on Petsophas and Traostalos . In: Opuscula Atheniensia 21 . Gleerup, Lund 1996, pp. 99–114 (English, digitized version [PDF; 1.8 MB ; accessed on January 18, 2018]).
  • Göran Henriksson, Mary Blomberg: Petsophas and the summer solstice . In: Opuscula Atheniensia 22 . 1997/98. Gleerup, Lund 1998, pp. 147–151 (English, digitized [PDF; 1.5 MB ; accessed on January 18, 2018]).
  • Peter E. Blomberg: A new interpretation of the figurines from Petsophas and Traostalos . In: Pepragmena 9. Diethnous Krētologikou Synedriou, Elounta, 1-6 Oktōvriou 2001 . Eteria Kritikon Istorikon Meleton, Iraklio 2006, p. 333–347 (English, digital version [PDF; 7.4 MB ; accessed on January 18, 2018]).
  • Ingeborg Witzmann: Bronze Age fixed altars on Crete. Diploma thesis, University of Vienna 2009, pp. 69–71 ( PDF; 28.2 MB )
  • Christine Morris, Alan Peatfield: Health and Healing on Cretan Bronze Age Peak Sanctuaries . In: Demetrios Michaelides (Ed.): Medicine and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean World . Oxbow, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-1-78297-235-8 , pp. 54–63 (English, excerpt [accessed January 18, 2018]).
  • Krzysztof Nowicki: Final Neolithic Crete and the Southeast Aegean . de Gruyter, Boston, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-1-61451-031-4 , 9 Palaikastro Petsofas, p. 88 (English, online [accessed January 30, 2019]).
  • Gernot Heinrich: Minoan height sanctuaries . In: Melissa Vetters (ed.): The Minoan Crete (Crete excursion May 01, 2017– May 12, 2017, part 1) . University of Salzburg, Salzburg 2017, Petsophas, p. 75 ( digital copy [PDF; 7.6 MB ; accessed on January 20, 2018]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Monika Zacher: Possible Minoan Crete Proto-Palatial Communications Infrastructure of Palaces and Peak Sanctuaries with Gavdos and Malaxa. Peak Sanctuaries (Elevation - Meters), No. 42.minoer.net, February 3, 2012, accessed January 18, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Monika Zacher: Summit and height sanctuaries. Research history. minoer.net, February 3, 2012, accessed January 18, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Angeliki Pilali-Papasteriou: The bronze animal figures from Crete (=  prehistoric bronze finds . Division I, volume 3 ). Beck, Munich 1985, ISBN 978-3-406-30241-1 , animal statuettes as votive offerings: Bergheiligtümer, p. 150–151 ( excerpt [accessed January 18, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Composite horns of consecration. Ministry of Culture and Sports, 2007, accessed January 18, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Stefan Hiller : The Minoan Crete after the excavations of the last decade (=  meeting reports of the philosophical-historical class . Volume 330 ). Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1977, ISBN 978-3-7001-0176-5 , p. 168 .

Web links

Commons : Petsophas  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
  • Palaikastro: Petsofas 1. In: Digital Crete: Archaeological Atlas of Crete. Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (FORTH), Institute for Mediterranean Studies(English).;
  • Alexandros Roniotis: Petsofas. CretanBeaches, accessed January 18, 2018 .
  • Found objects. users.uoi.gr, December 19, 2014, accessed January 18, 2018 (Greek, PDF, 1009.2 KB).
  • Πετσοφάς. (PDF) Minoan peak sanctuaries: building a cultural landscape using GIS. September 20, 2015, Retrieved January 18, 2018 (Greek, KB 1,773.02).

Coordinates: 35 ° 11 ′ 13.4 "  N , 26 ° 16 ′ 43.4"  E