TECHNOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE MANUFACTURE OF THE LATE MINOAN GODDESSES FROM HALASMENOS EAST CRETE, AS REVEALED DURING THE PROCESS OF CONSERVATION

Abstract

Halasmenos is a settlement of the Late Minoan IIIC period (c. 1190–1070 BC) in East Crete with individual houses, communal buildings and a shrine. When the shrine was abandoned, it contained a large number of ceramic ritual objects, including figures of a goddess with upraised arms, snake tubes, kalathoi and plaques topped by double horns. A number of significant observations concerning the manufacture of this ritual assemblage were recorded during the process of conservation. This presentation focuses on the goddess figures and the technology employed to manufacture them. The differences which were observed may ultimately indicate different technological traditions and/or workshops, or even various social groups that dedicated these specific cult assemblages in the shrine. A conservation policy and the contribution of different disciplines (archaeology, conservation, petrography) to the study and the publication of this assemblage are also discussed.