Minoan Hearths

Minoan Hearths
Author(s): Polymnia Metaxa Muhly

Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 88, No. 2 (Apr., 1984), pp. 107-122
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/504991
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Minoan Hearths*
POLYMNIA
METAXA MUHLY
(Pls. 25-27)
For William McDonald
Abstract
Fixed hearths have seldom been identifiedin Crete in
the period of the palaces, from MM Ib through LM I,
whereas braziers and portable hearths are commonfinds
in both houses and palaces. It is thereforeassumed that,
throughoutthis period, Minoans relied primarilyon portable means to provide themselves with fire for warmth
and for cooking. There is, however, a fair amount of evidence that, at least in MM I-II, fixed hearths were also
in use. Some have been known for a long time as a feature
primarily characteristicof houses at Mallia; others have
not really been recognized for what they are, since they
are consideredcultic installations.
The examination of several types of Middle Minoan
hearths indicates that they all form an interconnected
and coherentgroup of fixtures which enjoyeda relatively
brief fashion in Crete, but were neverthelessconsistently
used in private houses, larger complexes and palaces in
MM I-II. The reconsiderationof some rooms in buildings at Mallia and in the early palace at Phaistos, interpreted as shrines becauseof the presenceof such hearths,
suggests that these areas were used for domestic rather
than for cultic purposes. This conclusion,while avoiding
the inconsistencies inherent in the religious interpretation of these rooms, accounts for their location, the presence of hearths and the nature of the associatedfeatures
and objectsfound in them.
* Some of the material included here was discussed in my doctoral dissertation, "Minoan Libation Tables," (Bryn Mawr College 1981). Most of the additionalresearchfor this article was conductedat the Albright Institute and the Ecole Biblique et Archiologique in Jerusalem in 1981-1982. I wish to thank these institutions
and, in particular, their librarians, Drs. J. Biella and M. Sigrist,
for facilitating my work in many ways.
In additionto the standardabbreviationsgiven in AJA 82 (1978)
3-10 and 84 (1980) 3-4, the following are used:
P. Demargne, "Culte funiraire et foyer domesDemargne
1932
tique dans la Crite minoenne," BCH 56
(1932) 60-88.
L. Pernier, Il palazzo minoicodi Festas1 (Rome
FestUs1
1935).
Festas 2
L. Pernier and L. Banti, II palazzo minoico di
Fesths 2 (Rome 1951).
Levi 1976
D. Levi, Festhse la civilta minoica (IG 60, Rome
1976).
Maisons 1
P. Demargne and H. Gallet de Santerre,
Fouilles exdecuties Mallia. Exploration des
maisons et quartiers d'habitation (19211948) 1 (Etudes Cr~toises [EC] 9, Paris
1953).
Maisons 2
J. Deshayes and A. Dessenne, Fouilles exdecutees
Mallia. Exploration des maisons et quartiers d'habitation (1948-1954) 2 (EC 11,
Paris 1959).
&
&
The identificationof these compartmentsas kitchenor

kitchen-dining areas helps to bridge a puzzling gap in
our knowledge of the planning and organization of important daily activities in the larger Minoan establishments, a gap that has only recentlybegun to be filled with
evidencefrom the period of the second palaces.
A fixed hearth representsthe permanentallocation

of a certain amount of space for a fire. The use of such
fixtures is obviously manifold, for hearths can serve as
the focus of one or several kinds of activities which
may be domestic, industrial or even ceremonial and

religious. In archaeologicalcontextsthe specificfunction or functions of a hearth can be determined primarily through interpretation of its context, i.e., the
nature of the area where it is found, its specific location within this area and the features and objects associated with it. In addition, although as a permanent
fixture it has no independent existence, a hearth can
be shaped into distinct forms and decorated; these factors, as well as size, can have a bearing on the interpretation-of function.
Fixed hearths are a well attested feature of domestic architecture in the Aegean in all phases of the NeoMaisons 3
&
O. Pelon, Fouilles exdecutees Mallia. Exploration des maisons et quartiers d'habitation

(1963-1966) 3 (EC 16, Paris 1970).
a
Maisons 4
H. and M. van Effenterre,Fouilles exdecutees
Mallia. Exploration des maisonset quartiers
d'habitation (1956-1960) 4 (EC 22, Paris
1976).
P. Demargne, Fouilles exdcuties a Mallia. ExNecropoles 1
ploration des necropoles(1927-1933) 1 (EC
7, Paris 1945).
H. and M. van Effenterreet al., Fouilles exdcuNecropoles 2
tges c Mallia. Etude du site (1956-1957) et
exploration des necropoles (1915-1928) 2
(EC 13, Paris 1963).
F. Chapouthier,P. Demargne and A. Dessenne,
Palais 4
Fouilles exdcutees& Mallia. 4. Exploration
du palais (1929-1935, 1946-1960) (EC 12,
Paris 1962).
Poursat 1966
J.-C. Poursat, "Un sanctuairedu Minoen Moyen II g Mallia," BCH 90 (1966) 514-51.
L. Godartand J.-P. Olivier, Fouilles exdecutiesa
QuartierMu 1
Mallia. Le Quartier Mu 1 (EC 23, Paris
1978).
Van Effenterre H. van Effenterre,Le palais de Mallia et la cite
1980
minoenne 1-2 (IG 76, Rome 1980).
107
American Journal of Archaeology 88 (1984)
POLYMNIAMETAXAMUHLY
108
[AJA88
lithic and the Bronze Age, although, in an area extending as far north as Thrace and including the islands of the northwest Aegean, their use cannot be
consistently documented throughout this long time
span, since the evidence is conditionedby the availability of excavatedsettlements.Thus, little is known
in this respect about the Cyclades, where few settlements have been explored, while in the southernparts
of the mainland the recordis fuller.
Aegean hearths vary a great deal even within a certain area or a certain period. The space they occupy
may be marked only by a concentrationof ashes and
burnt material, or more clearly definedby a borderof
stones.' Frequently, hearths appear as slightly raised
areas which are coated with plaster or clay usually
spread over a substructure of pebbles, stones or
sherds. These areas may be circular, rectangular or
horseshoe-shaped. Roughly shaped fixtures of this
type with a clay lining occur in many contexts,2but
carefully made hearths in specific shapes which often
bear decoration are a feature of certain areas in the
southern part of the mainland and in the Cyclades in
two periods-Early Bronze II and Mycenaean.
Although Aegean hearths have not been the subject
of a specific study, they are regularly mentioned in
general treatments and in more specialized studies of
the area in the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. In particular, the Early Bronze II examples have been singled out because of their decoration,3 while the
hearths of the Mycenaean megara have figuredin discussions of palace architectureand Mycenaean religion.4 In contrast, fixed hearths in Minoan Crete
have received little attention. Sir Arthur Evans believed that in Crete fixed hearths went out of use after
the Neolithic period when they were superseded by
the ubiquitous braziers and tripod hearths character-
istic of the Minoan periods.5 Despite modifications

imposed by subsequent discoveries, his conclusions
have had a pervasiveinfluenceon later scholarship.
The more extensive exploration of the Neolithic
settlementat Knossosand the deepersoundingsbelow
the Minoan levels at Phaistos have produced many
examples of Neolithic hearths, ovens and "cooking
holes."'6Such features are also well represented at
Myrtos in EM II.7 Moreover, as early as 1932, Demargne had collected several examples of clay and
plaster fixtures from Mallia and Knossos, dated to
MM I, which could be identified as hearths.8 Although his identificationwas accepted,9it had little
impact and the feeling still persists that in the time of
the greatestdevelopmentof Minoan civilization,from
MM Ib through LM I, portable containers of fire
were the principal means used in Crete for heating
and cookingpurposes.1o
Yet quite early in the archaeologicalexplorationof
the island Hazzidakis had remarkedthat the diversity
of Minoan cooking equipment implied the existence
of a sophisticatedcuisine for which some sort of perCermanent installations would seem necessary."11
tainly the typical Minoan tripod cooking pot (which
can now be documentedas early as EM 112) WaSwell
adapted for use over a brazier. Portable ovens and
hearths designed for cooking are also known.13Such
equipment would perhaps be adequate in a private
house, but it could hardly meet the needs of larger establishments, which undoubtedlyexisted in Minoan
Crete, let alone those of a palatial complex. A few examples of fixed hearths, fireplaces or ovens have indeed been found in Neopalatial houses. The discovery
of a large kitchen equipped with a hearth at Zakro
has confirmedthe existenceof such installationsin the
palaces of that period,14 but evidence for cooking
1 D.R. Theochares, "Nea Makri," AthMitt 71 (1956) 6.

BCH 92 (1968) 1066, fig. 7; 94 (1970) 806, figs. 15-16 (Neolithic). K. Demakopoulou, "El6bjaEt WTb rT)v Oh/3a:
AAA 'Avwlperoi
8 (1975)
tW0i~TO
ha
7pwroEAAabLKov
192-99, figs. 2-3. C.W. Blegen,OLKO'/O)laTOa,"
Korakou(Boston 1921) 79 (MH),
190-91.
83, 85 (LH).
3M.H. Wiencke, "Banded Pithoi of Lerna III," Hesperia
39
(1970) 94-110; J. Younger, "Early Bronze Age Seal Impressions

from Keos," in Die kretisch-mykenische
Glyptik und ihre gegen-
wiirtigen Probleme (Boppard 1974) 164-72; J.C. Lavezzi, "Early

Helladic Hearth Rims at Corinth,"Hesperia 48 (1979) 342-47.
4 D. Mackenzie, "Cretan Palaces and the Aegean Civilisation,
7 P. Warren, Myrtos (BSA Suppl. 7, London 1972) 34-35, fig.
18, pl. 14A; 51-52, 80-81, fig. 28. See also referenceto a hearth in a
pre-MM Ia house at Chamaizi by C. Davaras,
)prvva'LES'
"Niat
in Proceedings
of the Third
LoELb
r7)v
\AAEt
XaatL~ov,"
olK~lav
Cretological Congress,
Rethymnon,
18-23 September 1977 vol. 1
(Athens 1973) 46-53, 51, fig. 3.

8 Demargne 1932, 76-88.
9 J.D.S. Pendlebury, The Archaeology of Crete (London 1939)
99-100.
o10J.W.
Graham, The Palaces of Crete (Princeton 1962) 126,
137; W. Taylour, The Mycenaeans (London 1964) 69; R.F. Wil-
IV," BSA 14 (1907-1908) 343-422 passim; J.W. Graham, "A

Banquet Hall at Mycenaean Pylos,"AJA 71 (1967) 354; G.E. My-
letts, Everyday Life in Ancient Crete (London 1969) 98.

11J. Hazzidakis, Les villas minoennes de Tylissos (EC 3, Paris
lonas, Mycenae and the Mycenaean Age (Princeton 1966) 47, 55,
1934) 58.
56, 62-63, 65. See also infra n. 83.
12 P. Warren and J. Tzedakis, "Debla. An Early Minoan Settlement in Western Crete,"BSA 69 (1974) 329.
13 Maisons 1, pl. 39.1-2; Levi 1976, pl. 63f; S. Marinatos, Exca-
s PM 2, 20.
6 J.D. Evans, "Excavations in the Neolithic Settlement of Knos-
sos, 1957-60. Part I," BSA 59 (1964) 148, fig. 10, pl. 31.1; 153, pl.
33.1; 158-59, fig. 13, pl. 35.2-3; 164. D. Levi, "Gli scavi a Fest6s
nel 1956 e 1957," ASAtene N.S. 19-20 (1957-1958) 339, figs.
vations at Thera 4 (Athens 1971) pl. 101a.

14 For referencesto these fixtures and the kitchen at Zakro, see
infra ns. 117-18, 120.
MINOAN HEARTHS
1984]
areas is still limited in comparisonto the extent of excavated Neopalatial remains. In contrast, although
the period of the early palaces is far less well known
architecturally, the evidence for the use of such fixtures at that time is much more extensive.
There are two reasonswhy hearths in the period of
the early palaces have generated little interest. Most
of the Middle Minoan hearths which have been identified were found in houses at Mallia in contextsthat,
for a long time, were dated to MM I. Even though
this period at Mallia is now more precisely correlated
with MM I and MM II in central and southern
Crete, the hearths have seldom been discussedin publications other than those on Mallia,15perhaps giving
the impression that they were primarily prepalatial
features which had lingered on at this site and were,
in any case, confinedto private houses.'16In addition,
two groups of relevantmaterial from Middle Minoan
levels at Phaistos have been ignored. The first-braziers sometimes found in fixed positions-were
until recentlycalled portableoffering tables or stands;
the second-a series of rectangularfixtures first found
at Phaistos-is still consideredas a relatedtype of cultic equipment.
When all this material is consideredtogether and
placed in its proper context, certain generally accepted ideas must be revised. Although there can be
no doubt that portable containersof fire were widely
used in houses and palaces in MM I-II, fixed hearths
were in use concurrently with them. More significantly, these fixtures allow identification of several
areas in at least one large complex and in an important palatial centeras examples of the elusive Minoan
kitchen.
TYPES
OF
EASTERN
MIDDLE
MINOAN
MEDITERRANEAN
HEARTHS
AND
109
ally a slightly raised border defined their perimeter

more clearly (pl. 25, fig. 1).20 The examples made of
clay were fixed in the floor in a special bedding described, in one case, as consisting of hardened clay,
coarse sherds and small stones.21The fact that they
were fragile and poorly baked22indicates that they
had been hardened gradually by fire. The plastered
hearths appear as slightly depressedcircularareas in
floors of the same material (ills. 1-2). In a Middle
Minoan house at Knossos the floor as well as the
hearth had been painted red.23In practicallyall cases
the upper surface of these fixtures showed traces of
burning, so their identificationas hearths cannot be
doubted.
The early palace at Phaistos has not revealed any
examples of this type of fixture, but the site has produced great numbersof terracottalamps and braziers.
Characteristicis a type of tall brazier with a bowlshapedreceptaclesurroundedby a wide rim. The diameter of this utensil ranges from 0.204 to 0.383 m. Its
:r
.-
'`
-c
,.
oe
.0.'*
THE
--.
BACKGROUND
..
The Middle Minoan fixed hearths discussed by

Demargne in 1932 were found at Mallia and Knossos.17Others were discoveredsoon after in the Middle
Minoan houses excavatedsouth of the palace at Mallia.18 All these fixtures were constructed of clay or
stucco in disk-shape with a cavity in the center. They
generally measured 0.65-0.85 m. across, while their Ill. 1. CircularplasteredhearthfromKnossos.(AfterPM 4,
cavitieswere often 0.14-0.16 in diameter."19
Occasion- fig. 40)
15 O. Pelon, "Maison d'Aghia Varvara et architecture domestique i Mallia," BCH 90 (1966) 566-67; H. and M. van Effen-
terre, Fouilles exdcut'es ci Mallia. Le centre politique. 1. L'Agora
(1960-1966)
162-65.
(EC 17, Paris 1969) 97; van Effenterre 1980,
16 S. Hood, The Minoans (London 1971) 26.

17 Supra n. 8. Demargne 1932, 77, pls. 6 (= Maisons 1, 29, pl.
12.2), 7 (= Maisons 1,27-28, pl. 12.1). For the hearthsfrom Knossos, see PM 1, 320-22, fig. 234; H.W. and J.D.S. Pendlebury,
"Two Protopalatial Houses at Knossos," BSA 30 (1928-1929)
55-56, fig. 2, pl. 11.1.

18 Palais 4, 13-17, plan 2, pl. 20.2-3. For others found in more
recent investigations of this area, see BCH 89 (1965) 1005; van
Effenterre 1980, 165, n. 47.
19 The largest seems to be the hearth found below the Magazine
of the Medallion Pithoi at Knossos,which was 1.13 m. in diameter.
20 Maisons 1, 29.
21 Maisons 1, 28.
22
Demargne 1932, 83, n. 1.

23 Pendlebury (supra n. 17) 55.
110
POLYMNIAMETAXAMUHLY
[AJA88
The best known example of these rectangular

hearths is HM 1621 from room VIII at Phaistos (pl.
26, fig. 6; ill. 3).28 It is a rectangleof coarse clay that
measures 0.55 x 0.45 m. and has a raised border. A
cavity 0.16 m. in diameter is set closer to one of the
short sides. The visible parts of the hearth were
smoothed,coveredwith a reddish-brownslip and well
Vtburnished. The raised border is decoratedwith im6
"
5S~I?
t
II
pressed S-spirals and figures of bovids. The object
p_I
t
I,~
'
?~
- 2 . C.
~
-:- 3<so
t
found set in a special bedding of sand and pebwas
"
.
...
.
..
".
bles. The excavatornoted its softenedand friable con- +
-"?' " ,+L-Sc.
, " +..- + : ....'6 +-.'.~:
dition, as well as the roughness of the underside,29
both indicationsthat the hearth had been constructed
Ill. 2. Sectionof circularplasteredhearthfromChrysolak- on the
spot and fired gradually. The fairly extensive
kos.(AfterDemargne1932,fig. 2)
restoration that the object received after its removal
upper surface and sides were coveredwith a red slip has smoothed over the rough underside, but has not
and well burnished. The rim was often decorated entirely obliteratedthe traces of burning on its upper
with impresseddesigns (pl. 25, fig. 3). The absenceof surfaces which were not mentioned in the original
wick cuttings and the details of the attachmentsand publicationand have gone virtually unnoticed.30
base differentiatethese objectsfrom the tall terracotta
lamps finished in a similar manner.24
The upper part of several of these braziers (and of
one lamp) has been found embedded in the floor of
houses around the palace and in the palace itself.25
The blackened condition of the utensils and, in one
Ill. 3. Longitudinalsectionof hearthfromroomVIII at
case, of the surroundingfloor, as well as the frequent
association of domestic pottery, querns and whet- Phaistos.(AfterFestUs1, fig. 107)
The same area of the palace at Phaistos contained
stones, indicates that these objects served as fixed
sources of heat and light, i.e., as hearths. The form of anotherhearth locatedin the space immediatelynorth
the upper surface of the braziers is indeed essentially of roomVIII (pl. 27, fig. 14).31It was in the shape of a
the same as that of the permanent circular hearths large rectangleformedby the levelling of the bedrock
from Mallia and Knossos.
which in this area sloped up northward to a considAnother series of fixtures of clay used at Phaistos, erable height above the level of the floor in the adjain the Mesara and at Mallia in this period can also be cent rooms. The hearth had been coated with clay
identified as belonging to a type of fixed hearth. They painted red and had a circularcavitysimilar to that of
are rectangular, with a cavity similar to that of the HM 1621. It containedfragmentsof vases and other
circular type. Several fragments-plain, coveredwith objects and burnt animal bones mixed with pebbles,
black paint or bearing impressed or painted decora- ashes and charcoal.
The third hearth from Phaistos, F 6724 (pl. 26, fig.
tion-come from Phaistos (pl. 26, figs. 9-11).26 A
was locatedin an area close to the central court of
from
Six
exis
known
Koumasa.27
7),
painted fragment
the
in
discovered
fixed
have
been
palace. It is similar to HM 1621 in size and finish
position-three
amples
at Phaistos, two at Mallia and one at Zakro. Another but undecorated.32Its cavity is funnel-shapedwith a
example from Mallia should probably be also added distinctly convex rim. Its surface is also blackenedby
fire.
to this list.
24 L.
Mercando, "Lampade, lucerne, bracieri di Festbs (Scavi
96-109, figs.
1950-1970)," ASAtene N.S. 36-37 (1974-1975)
91-93, pl. la; some examples of braziers, such as those on figs.
97.17 and 99.23, had painted decoration.
25
Levi 1976, 125-26, fig. 167; 520, figs. 805-808; 634-35, fig.
1027; 696-97, figs. 1128-29. See also Mercando (supra n. 24) 98,
n. 4 for examples found in the earlier excavations.
26 Fest&s 1, 214, fig. 93; Levi 1976, pl. 165a-b, e-g.
27 S. Xanthoudides, The Vaulted Tombs of Mesara (London
1924) 50, pl. 22 (HM 5020).
28
Festos 1, 195-208, 215-38, especially 225-34, figs. 82, 106.
29 Festas 1, 230.
30 Noted in G.C. Gesell, The Archaeological Evidence for the Minoan House Cult and its Survival in Iron Age Crete (Diss. Univer-
sity of North Carolina 1972) 265.

31 Festas 1, 205-208, fig. 90. The diameterof the cavity is said to
be 0.65 m.
32 Levi 1976, 267, n. 9, fig. 419, pl. 165d. Dimensions:
0.52 x 0.42 m. Diameter of cavity:0.165 m.
MINOANHEARTHS
1984]
The two examples from Mallia are of larger size

and more rudimentary form. They are both simple
rectangles of clay with an off-center cavity. One was
found in a complex of three small rooms excavated
west of the palace, near the Stratigraphic Museum
(pl. 27, fig. 12)33; the other was locatedin room 1.12 of
Building A in Quartier Mu.34 The former was described as having been burnt so thoroughly that the
surface below it was transformedinto a sort of brick.
No details have been published on the hearth from
Quartier Mu, but there is no doubt that it belongs to
the same series of objects.It is probablethat another,
similar hearth was found in situ in Quartier Theta,
marking by its position the main floor of a Middle
Minoan house which had been raised above ground
level. The rest of the floor had collapsed.35Finally, a
carefully made hearth of rectangular shape with a
raised borderand a stone vessel inserted in its central
cavity was found at Zakro in 1981,36 but its exact location, associationsand date are at present unknown.
The interrelationshipsof these three types of installations in terms of manufacture, shape, finish and
even methodof decorationare obviousand need not be
elaborated.Nor is there a dearth of parallels for them
outside Crete. Fixed hearths of plaster or clay spread
on a beddingof stones and sherds, in rectangular,circular or horseshoe-shape, occur not only in the Aegean, but also in many areas aroundthe eastern Mediterranean in various periods. Even very early examples of clay, such as those discoveredin Neolithic levels at Dikili Tash in Thrace (pl. 27, fig. 13), look remarkably similar to the simpler rectangular hearths
from Minoan Crete down to their off-center cavities.37Circular plasteredhearths with a cavity, exactly like those found at Mallia, have been excavatedin
houses at Tell Chuera in northern Syria, in levels 4
and 5 dated to the first half of the third millennium
B.C. (pl. 25, fig. 2).38 Similar fixtures of clay have
been found at Tell Judeideh in the 'Amuq in phase
H, which is generally equated with EB III in Pales-
tine, the period of the intrusive Khirbet Kerak ware

(ill. 4).39
33Poursat 1966, 531, fig. 18. Dimensions: 0.92 x 0.66-0.74 m.

Diameter of cavity:0.14 m. The hearth had been coatedwith black
paint of which only traces were preserved.
34 BCH 91 (1967) 882-85, fig. 1 (plan of area); 95 (1975) 797,
fig. 2 (photographof the area). The hearth is about 1.20 x 0.55 m.
and appears to have a raised borderon three sides.
35The hearth measured 1.10 x 0.60 m. and was of coarse clay so
friable that it could not be preserved.Its central part looks broken
in the published photograph;the object was describedas"l~g?reen son centre"(Maisons 4, 19, pl. 7.2).
ment ddfonc&e
from this site, see H. Kiuhne, Die Keramik von Tell Chuera und
ihre Beziehungen zu Funden aus Syrien-Paliistina, der Tiirkei und
dem Iraq (Vorderasiatische Forschungen der Max Freiherr von
Oppenheim Stiftung 1, Berlin 1976) especially 58-59, 108-17.
39 R. and L. Braidwood, Excavations in the Plain of Antioch 1.
The Earlier Assemblages, Phases A-J (OIP 61, Chicago 1960) 346,
figs. 260-61.
40 Demargne 1932, 78-83.
41 Wiencke (supra n. 3) 107.
42 L. Bernab6 Brea, Poliochni, citta preistorica nell'isola di Lemnos 1 (Monografie della Scuola Archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni Italiane in Oriente, Rome 1964) 590; pls. 82c, e, 84s-w.
43 For two examples, see J.L. Caskey, "Excavations at Lerna,
1957," Hesperia 27 (1958) 130, pl. 32c-d; G. Sflund, Excavations
at Berbati, 1936-1937 (Stockholm 1965) 99-100, figs. 81-82.
36 Ergon 1982, 66, fig. 108.
37BCH 92 (1968) 1064, fig. 6bis.

38 A. Moortgat and U. Moortgat-Correns,
Tell Chuera in Nordost Syrien. Vorliufiger Bericht iber die siebente Grabungskam-
pagne 1974 (Berlin 1976) 14, fig. 2. For the dating of the material
PLAN
I'~~
ii
Ill. 4. CircularhearthfromTell Judeideh,Syria.(After

OIP 61, fig. 260)
The connectionsof the Minoan hearths with similar fixtures in other areas have not passed unnoticed.
In his study of the circularexamples from Mallia and
Knossos, Demargne listed all the parallels known
from the Greek mainlandat the time.40 More recently
attention has been drawn to the relationship of HM
1621 from room VIII at Phaistos to the decorated
Helladic and Cycladic hearths of the Early Bronze
Age.41 The latter are particularly characteristic of
EH/EC II, and were usually of circular or keyhole
shape. Fragments of rectangularexamples, however,
furnished with a cavity and bearing impressed decoration on their border,appear in Poliochni Blue.42
These hearths have seldom been found in situ,43
but are well known on the Mainland from fragments
found in several sites in the northwestern Peloponnesos, Attica and Boiotia. Many of the decoratedexamples bear designs impressed with cylinder seals;
112
POLYMNIAMETAXAMUHLY
[AJA88
others were decoratedwith impressed triangles.44In

the Cyclades, keyhole hearths were decorated with
stamp seals, as many fragmentaryexamples from Kea
indicate.45Similar pieces are known from Delos, Syros and Naxos.46 At both Lerna and Kea, the sites
that have producedthe largest quantity of this material, many fragments of less elaborately decorated
hearths have also been found. At Kea many bore only
Kerbschnitt.47 At Lerna incised patterns, applied
strips of clay and thin black paint were used.48Undecoratedhearths are also well attestedat both sites.
Most of these objects can be shown to have been
manufactured on the spot.49 Some fragments from
Kea have handles and have, therefore, been conjectured to belong to smaller utensils that could be
moved.5s This need not always be the case. A completely preserved,unpublishedexample of an undecorated hearth, over one meter long, which is on display
in the Aghios Nikolaos Museum in eastern Crete, has
two small, obviously non-functional handles. This
hearth is closer to a figure-eight than to a keyhole
shape, but is clearly related to the Cycladicseries.
Some of these objects, however, were certainly
smaller and not made on the spot, and may have fulfilled a role similar to that of the Phaistos braziers, a
fact indicated by some of the so-called "hat vases"
from the Cyclades. These objects are not very well
known.5' A relatively large group of them has been
recently found in the area of the cemetery of Aghioi
Anargyroion Naxos.52Their shape is essentially that
of a deep bowl with a disproportionatelywide rim
decoratedwith variants of the same impresseddesign
(pl. 25, fig. 4). In some versions the bottom of the receptacle is rounded;in others, it is flattenedand often
bears mat impressions. The diameter, in both variants, ranges from 0.20 to 0.38 m., while that of the
cavity fluctuates between 0.065 to 0.125 m. Hat vases
with rounded bottoms obviously could not stand by
themselves,while even those providedwith a base lack

stability because of their proportions.The suggestion
that they are braziers,53or rather hearths that could
sometimes be moved, seems reasonable,since all that
would be needed for their support and installation
was a hole scooped in the floor to accommodatethe
receptacle.Their formal relationshipto Minoan circular hearths and the tall braziersof Phaistos is close.
On the Greek mainland in EH II impresseddecoration was also applied to pithoi with the same kind of
cylinders used on the hearths. Stamped patterns are
also common on Cycladic pottery in this period. It is
thought that the inspirationfor this decorativeprocess
came from the bordersof the eastern Mediterranean
where the fashion of decoratingpotterywith cylinder
and stamp seals developed in areas peripheral to
Mesopotamia in the Early Bronze Age.54
The association of impressed decoration with
hearths, noted in the Greek mainland and in the Cyclades in EB II, occurs also in the eastern Mediterranean and is particularly tenacious in Anatolia,
where clay furnishings have a long history. In many
areas of Anatolia, hearths were providedwith appendages, variously called pot stands, andirons or fenders, that are known in both fixed and portable versions. They frequently bore impressed and incised
decoration and, in some cases, were moulded in or
decorated with anthropomorphic or zoomorphic
forms. Such installations are associatedwith the appearanceof the Red-BlackBurnished(or KhirbetKerak) ware which spread from Transcaucasia and
northeasternAnatolia into Syria and Palestine by EB
III. Equally elaboratefixtures occur in areas of western Anatolia where large hearths decoratedwith impressed circles and other stamped designs have been
found at Beycesultanand at Kusura in secondmillennium contexts."6Decorated hearths occur even in
44 For references to these hearths, see Lavezzi (supra n. 3) n. 9.

V.2, nos. 457, 459-66, 468-74, 476-78, 480-82.
45 CMS
46 Delos: J.A. MacGillivray, "Mount Kynthos in Delos. The
Early Cycladic Settlement," BCH 104 (1980) 36-39, fig.
13.386-88; Syros: E.M. Bossert, "Kastri auf Syros," Deltion 22
(1967) 53-76, fig. 5.10; Naxos: Ch. Doumas, Early Bronze Age
Burial Habits in the Cyclades (SIMA 48, Goteborg 1977) pl. 43g
bottom.
tas, "KvKAatLKc," ArchEph 1898, pl. 9.10; O. Rubensohn, "Die

prihistorischen und fruihgriechischen Funden auf dem Burghuigel
von Paros," AthMitt 42 (1917) 44, fig. 46.
52 Doumas (supra n. 46) 103, 114-17, pls. 38-43a-f.
53 Doumas (supra n. 46) 103. See also Wiencke, (supra n. 3) 107,
who identifies the "hat vase" in the National Museum mentioned
here in n. 51 as a hearth.
54 Wiencke (supra n. 3) 107-109; M.J. Mellink in review of
C.W. Blegen et al., Troy I-II (Princeton 1950-1951), BibO 10
(1953) 60; "Anatolian Chronology" in R.W. Ehrich ed., Chronologies in Old World Archaeology (Chicago 1954)111; and especially "The Prehistory of Syro-Cilicia," review of Braidwood (supra n.
39) BibO 19 (1962) 223. For a recent discussion of seal impressions
from Palestine and their relations to the Aegean material, see A.
Ben Tor, Cylinder Seals of Third Millennium Palestine (BASOR
Suppl. series 22, 1978).
55Wiencke (supra n. 3) 106.
56 Many Anatolian hearths were collected and discussed in S.
47
CMS V.2, 354.
48 Wiencke (supra n. 3) 95-96.
49Wiencke (supra n. 3) 95; J.L. Caskey, "Investigationsin Keos.

Part II: A Conspectus of the Pottery," Hesperia 41 (1972) 366;
CMS V.2, 354; Lavezzi (supra n. 3) 344, pl. 87.6 showing rough
underside.
50so
CMS V.2, 354.
s51An unpublished example from Naxos on display in the Na-
tional Museum in Athens is illustrated in G. Papathanasopoulos,

'EOvLKb 'APXatoAoycKb Movo-ZTo.
(Athens
NEOALOLKh--KVKAaaLK
from Paros: Ch. Tsoun1981) 155, no. 79. Fragments are known
Diamant and J. Rutter, "HornedObjectsin Anatolia and the Near
1984]
MINOAN HEARTHS
113
Egypt. Circular pan hearths found at Abydos, in levels dated by Petrie to Dynasty I, bear applied, incised
and impressed decoration (pl. 25, fig. 5). The simple
incised pattern on their rim is exactly the same as that
of some fragments from Lerna57 and is combined with
rows of impressed triangles, in a manner which, in the
Aegean, is considered as characteristically Cycladic.58
In Crete the decoration of hearths displays a greater variety than in the rest of the Aegean. Not surprisingly, the decorated examples have been found in the
Phaistos palace and its vicinity. Stamped patterns occur on HM 1621 and on some fragments; a number of
other pieces have painted designs. This decorative approach employing motifs current in Middle Minoan
pottery seems to have been a particularly Cretan fashion at this time. The fixtures known from other sites
were painted red or black or left undecorated. The
hearths found in situ range in date from MM Ia to
MM II.S"9The earliest appears to be the circular example found in a house below the west koulouras at
Knossos dated to MM Ia. This period in the central
and southern parts of the island is generally agreed to
have overlapped to a lesser or greater degree with EM
III in eastern Crete.60
The securely dated examples from the mainland
and the Cyclades, i.e., those found in situ, are
EH/EC II. The hearth from Building BG at Lerna
belongs to an early phase of this period. Fragments of
undecorated pan hearths have been found in EH I
context at Corinth'61 and fragmentary examples
which offer the closest parallels to the Minoan rectangular hearths occur at Poliochni in levels usually correlated with early Troy I.62 The lower limits of the
East and Possible Connexions with the Minoan 'Horns of Consecration'," AnatSt 19 (1969) 147-77. More recently, impressive
hearths of the Early Bronze period have been found in eastern Anatolia at Korucutepe (H.N. van Loon ed., Korucutepe 2 [Amsterdam
1978] pls. 27, 84D) and Norquntepe (H. Hauptmann, "Die Entwicklung der friihbronzezeitlichen Siedlung auf dem Norquntepe
in Ost-Anatolien," Archiologisches Korrespondenzblatt 6 [1976]
9-20, pl. 7.1). For the decorated hearths at Beycesultan, see S.
Lloyd, Beycesultan 3. Late Bronze Age Architecture (Occasional
Publications of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara 11,
London 1972) pl. lb, figs. 8-9, pls. 15a-b, 16b.
57W.M.F. Petrie, Abydos, Part L 1902 (Egypt Exploration
Fund, Memoirs 22, London 1902) 25; pl. 53.13-18; cf. Wiencke
(supra n. 3) pl. 26, nos. 272, 275. For a more recent discussion of
the remains dug by Petrie, see B.J. Kemp, "The Early Development of Towns in Egypt," Antiquity 51 (1977) 189, who states that
these houses "rarely extended beyond the second Dynasty."
58 M.H. Wiencke, "Typology and Style of Prepalatial Seals," in
CMS Beiheft 1. Studien zur minoischen und helladischen Glyptik
(Berlin 1981) 257.
5s There is no secure evidence that in MM II rectangular hearths
superseded the circular type, as van Effenterre (1980, 165) suggested. In view of the still uncertain dating of the pottery from the
relevant structures at Mallia, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how
long the various hearths found at this site were in use. The rectangular example found in Quartier Theta belongs to MM Ib, according to the date assigned to this building by the same scholar (van
Effenterre 1980, 167). This would also be his date for the circular
examples found in the area of Chrysolakkos (see below p. 114, ns.
73-75) and in the South houses (van Effenterre 1980, 634). There
is no doubt, in any case, that at Phaistos fixtures of both shapes
were in use in the same period along with many braziers of various
types. There is, therefore, no reason why the latter utensils should
be connected with rectangular hearths in the MM II period, as
hypothesized for Mallia (van Effenterre 1980, 165). The heartshaped brazier singled out in this respect can be traced back to EM
II at Myrtos (Warren [supra n. 7] 137, P 523-27, pl. 55, especially
P 525). For a summary discussion of the chronology of the levels
excavated in the southwest wing of the early palace at Phaistos and
their correlation to the remains of the northwest wing, see G. Walberg, "The Date of the Archivio di Cretule in Phaistos," in CMS
Beiheft 1 (supra n. 58) 241-43. For the various types of braziers
found in the excavations of 1950-1970, see Mercando (supra n. 24).
60 P. Warren, "Problems of Chronology in Crete and the Aegean
in the Third and Earlier Second Millennium B.C.," AJA 84 (1980)
491-92.
61 Lavezzi (supra n. 3) 343.
62 C. Renfrew, The Emergence of Civilisation (London 1972)
127, table 8.1. For a correlation of Poliochni Blue with Troy Ia and
Ib, see C. Podzuweit, Gefissformen der Friihbronzezeit in Anatolien, der Agiis und angrenzenden Gebieten (Mainz 1979) 38; for a
review of the links among Troy I, Poliochni and the Aegean, see
D.F. Easton, "Towards a Chronology for the Anatolian Early
Bronze Age," AnatSt 26 (1976) 150-52; for comments in support of
an EH/EC II = Troy I equation, see also J. Yakar, "Troy and
Anatolian Early Bronze Age Chronology," AnatSt 29 (1979) 62-64.
63 Warren (supra n. 60) 493; R.L.N. Barber, "The Definition of
the Middle Cycladic Period," AJA 87 (1983) 79, ns. 19, 21.
use of such fixtures in the Aegean are uncertain,since

only fragmentary material occurs in contexts later
than mature EB II.
The correlationof MM Ia with EC IIIB and EH
III/MH
I63
suggests that the adoption of specifically
shaped and sometimesdecoratedfixed hearths in Minoan Crete lags somewhat behind their use in the Aegean. The existence in eastern Crete, an area with
strong Cycladic ties in the Early Bronze Age, of at
least one hearth closely related to Cycladic examples
may be some indicationthat these fixtures were introduced into the island throughthe Cyclades.This piece
is, however, unpublishedand no informationis available on its exact provenanceand find context.At present then, the process through which hearths of this
type were introducedin Crete cannot be preciselydetermined, although it would be difficult to see their
use on the island as unrelatedto the fashion that prevailed in the Near East and the Aegean in the Early
Bronze Age. Until the connectinglinks can be established, the comparativematerial cited here providesa
backgroundagainst which the Cretan hearths can be
seen not as an isolatedphenomenon,but in their proper context as installations which were constructed,
shaped and decorated according to methods widely
documentedin neighboringregions.At the same time,
the relationshipbetween Cretan circularhearths and
POLYMNIAMETAXAMUHLY
114
[AJA88
braziers in shape, finish and use sheds some light on

the function of the Cycladic "hat vase," which may
perhaps representtheir ultimate prototype.
The interactionbetween portablecontainersof fire
and fixed hearths and between Cretan and Aegean
hearths was an ongoing process. The rectangular
Middle Minoan hearths were also made in portable
versions, as a footed example from Phaistos indicates
(pl. 26, fig. 8).64 In turn, the plasteredand frequently
painted tripod hearths, which became so popular in
the Neopalatial period,65are connected, on the one
hand, with the painted rectangular Middle Minoan
hearthsand, on the other, with the great hearthsof the
Mycenaean megara with which they shared not only
a general affinity of form, but also a commonstock of
decorativemotifs, as Evans pointed out long ago.66
Mu, where another rectangular hearth was found,

have been interpretedas shrines.7"
The pedestalled braziers from Phaistos were also
called offering tables until recently.71The systematic
publicationof these objectshas finally placed them in
their propercontext among the other braziersand the
terracotta lamps found in Middle Minoan levels at
Phaistos. This study has also pointed out that the
great numbersof these utensils and the tracesof burning which appear consistentlyon them exclude their
identificationas offeringtables, while the areas where
they have been found in situ bear no indicationof religious activity.72
The circularhearths have also not entirely escaped
a ritual interpretation.Although Demargne identified
a series of these hearthsas utilitarian,domesticinstallations, he reserveda ritual explanationfor one examFIND CONTEXT AND FUNCTION
ple found in the area of Chrysolakkos(ill. 2) which,
The rectangularhearth from roomVIII at Phaistos he speculated,could have held a lamp or a brazier to
was the first discoveredand remainsthe best known of supply light or to burn incense in honor of the dead.73
these fixtures. No parallels were known at the time This idea, however, is based on an interpretationof
and its excavatorinterpretedit as an offering table for the find context which is by no means certain. The
liquid offerings. Banti explained the beddingin which room in which this hearth was found (area f) most
it was set as a means of protecting the floor of the probablybelongedto earlier levels below the funerary
room from spills.67The presence of such a table was enclosure.The walls defining it on the north and east
the main evidence for interpreting room VIII as a sides have the deepest foundationsof all those located
shrine, the focus of a cult complex which included in this area of the enclosure and belong to a complex
rooms V-VII, IX and the open area to the north of regularly arrangedcompartmentsnoted by the exwhere another hearth (dubbedthe "fossasacrificale") cavators for their careful construction and shared
was located. This interpretation,accepted by Evans characteristics,such as plasteredfloorsand remainsof
and Nilsson,68 has never been challenged. Similar white and red wall plaster.74
hearths discovered subsequently have accordingly
Two more circularhearthswere found in compartbeen characterized as offering tables. The obvious ments f and h in the earlierlevels exposedto the east of
traces of burning on that found in the tripartitebuild- the enclosure wall.75 Not only the hearths, but also
ing west of the palace at Mallia led the excavatorto other features of these structuresfind parallels in domodify this interpretationby identifyingit as a fixture mestic architecture,but are unknown in tombs of the
for burning sacrifices rather than for receiving liba- Middle Minoan period.'76The excavatorsthemselves
tions, in other words, as another "fossasacrificale."'69 noted the orderly plan and careful execution of these
Both the tripartitebuilding and room I.12 in Quartier walls which correspondto the characteristicsof the
64 Levi
1976, 267, fig. 420, pl. 165c.
65 For Middle Minoan examples painted red, see Pendlebury

(supra n. 17) 56, pl. 11.3 and for others with painted decoration,
M.R. Popham, "Trial KV (1969), a Middle Minoan Building at
Knossos," BSA 69 (1974) 189-90, fig. 9.
66 PM 1, 551, fig. 401 A; PM 4, 179-81, fig. 142.
67 Festas
2, 578.
68 PM
1, 218-21; M.P. Nilsson, The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion and its Survival in Greek Religion2 (Lund 1950) 124.
69 Poursat 1966, 523; see also van Effenterre 1980, 444, who calls
it a "table-hearth"or "hearth."
70 Poursat 1966; BCH 91 (1967) 885; J.-C. Poursat, "Les
fouilles r(centes de Mallia et la civilisationdes premierspalais cr&tois," CRAI 1972, 178-86, fig. 2; QuartierMu 1, 23.
1975)
71 E.g., by P. Warren, The Aegean Civilisations (Oxford
74 in reference to an example from rooms V-IX at Phaistos (Festas
1, 219-20, fig. 96).
72Mercando (supra n. 24) 98.

73 Demargne 1932, 65, figs. 2-3 (= Nicropoles 1, 34-35; pl.
48.2).
74 N cropoles 1, 30-31; pls. 38.1, 39.1. It is possiblethat the "cupules" noted in the successiveplastered floors of the compartment
which containedthe plastered "altar"also representa series of superimposedhearths of the same type; see Demargne 1932, 72 n. 1
and, in particular,pl. 5 for the clearestphotographof the fill in this
area. It is suggestive that in discussing these features Demargne
himself referredto the renewed layers of the hearth in the megaron
at Mycenae. The "cupules"were interpretedas a kind of kernoifor
offerings (Demargne 1932, 75).
7 Nicropoles 1, 40-42; pls. 38.2, 54-56, 57.3, 58.2.
76 Such featuresinclude the sectionalwall in a, the bencheslining
several compartments,the plasteredbin in h, the stairs and cobbled
area beyond h. See also infra n. 79.
MINOAN HEARTHS
1984]
115
roomsin the interiorof the enclosurejust mentioned.It

is, therefore,probablethat all these remains belong to
one complex of houses which extended below and beyond the enclosure.The constructionof the enclosure,
which, as Shaw has definitivelyshown,77employedreused material, may then representthe first utilization
or, at least, the earliest organization of this area for
burials. It has, indeed, been noted that the region east
of Chrysolakkoscontainsboth habitationremainsand
burials of diverse dates.78The reuse of a Middle Minoan house as a burial groundhas also been suggested
for the so-called "Maison des Morts," a structuresituated about 100 m. west of Chrysolakkos.79
The tendencyto assign a religiousor, at least, a dual
function to hearths and related equipment has not
been confined to Minoan examples of these objects.
The Cycladic "hatvases"are a good case in point. The
few examples known beforethe excavationof the cemetery of Aghioi Anargyroi were found in settlement
areas and have been consideredas ritual vessels presumably because of their form, which is unusual and
impracticalfor a pot."8In the publicationof the material from Aghioi Anargyroi,the hat vases were interpreted as braziers, but a cultic function was still suggested because of their associationwith graves.81Nevertheless,just as in the case of the morphologicallyrelated circular hearths found at Chrysolakkos,the interpretationof the find contextcan be questioned,since
the "hat vases" from Aghioi Anargyroi were not actually found in the graves. The nature of the other
finds recoveredfrom the excavationof the area but not
fromthe gravesthemselves-i.e., coarsejar fragments,
spindle whorls, stone net weights or pivotstones,a crucible (?), a schist mould (?) and, in particular, fragments of keyhole hearths decorated with impressed
concentriccircles-suggests that all this materialis debris from a nearby settlement.82
Fixed hearths in the Aegean and in other areas as

well have also been assigned,to a lesser or greaterdegree, a religious and/or ceremonialfunction.Such interpretations have been advanced for the hearths of
the Early Helladic and Mycenaeanmegara,as well as
for the West Anatolian and Khirbet Kerak installations.83In some cases, the buildingsin which such fixtures were found have been interpreted as shrines.
Whether these ideas are generally accepted or not,
they are, or at least purportto be, basedon a balanced
consideration of the evidence, the features of the
hearthsthemselves(e.g., exceptionalsize and/or elaborate decoration),as well as their find circumstances,
such as their presence in prominent position within
large, independent structures or in centrally located
compartments of larger complexes. The associated
finds have also played some role in the interpretation.
In contrast, the initial identificationof all Middle
Minoan rectangular fixtures as offering tables has
sufficedto prove their cultic function, and their presence has marked the areas where they were installed
as shrines. Since the evidence of the fixtures themselves and the existing parallels clearly indicate that
they were all hearths,and not objectsof "noapparent
domesticusefulness,"84this assumptioncan no longer
be unquestionably made. It seems only reasonable
that some of the criteria commonlyused in considering whether such fixtures had a religious function
should also be applied to the Minoan examples in order to clarify their specific role and the characterof
the places where they occur. One of these places, the
complex containingroomVIII at Phaistos,is the most
widely acceptedand frequently discussedexample of
a pre-LM III sanctuaryidentifiedwithin a settlement
area. It is, therefore,of some importanceto determine
not only what are the special characteristicsof the
hearths which appear in this complex and in other
77 J. Shaw, "The Chrysolakkos Facades," in Proceedings of the

Third Cretological Congress, Rethymnon, 18-23 September 1971
80 Papathanasopoulos
(supran. 51).
8' Doumas (supra n. 46) 103.
82Doumas(supran. 46) 117-20,pls.44b-49a;seealsop. 29 for
vol. 1 (Athens 1973) 319-31.

78 Pelon (supra n. 15) 552.
2, 85-102, pls. 35-40. The authors of the report
79 Nicropoles
note: "Le type de la constructionest exactementle mime au niveau

inf~rieurde Chrysolakkosou dans les maisons pripalatiales des esplanades au Sud et $ l'Ouest du Palais ou dans les maisons de la
premiere EpoqueA ou F." The first use of this structurefor burials
cannot be assigned with certainty to MM I, the date of practically
all the finds, or to LM III. The authorsof the reporthave suggested
that in MM I the building may have served as the house of a caretaker of the cemeteryand also as a depositoryof provisionsand gifts
for the dead;its reuse for burials would date to LM III (Necropoles
2, 100-101; see also van Effenterre 1980, 236-37). More recently
the earlier remains east of the Chrysolakkos enclosure were also
interpretedas a house used by the caretaker/guardof the cemetery
by van Effenterre,who considersthe hearths found in this area and
within the enclosureutilitarian rather than cultic installations (van
Effenterre 1980, 243-44).
a discussionof "oneof the mostcharacteristic

featuresof Cycladic
theircloseproximityto settlement
sites.
cemeteries,"
83
Caskey (supra n. 43); Taylour (supra n. 10) 96; E. Vermeule,
Greecein theBronzeAge(Chicago1972)176;M.Jameson,"MycenaeanReligion,"
13 (1960)38; Warren(supran. 71)
Archaeology
131;J.T. Hooker,MycenaeanGreece(StatesandCitiesof Ancient
andEarly
Greece,London1976)202;J. Mellaart,TheChalcolithic
BronzeAgesin theNearEastandAnatolia
(Beirut1966)143-44;J.
AnatSt24 (1974)
Yakar,"The Twin Shrinesof Beycesultan,"
inVanLoon(supran. 56)73-74;con151-61;M. Kelly-Buccellati,
traM.J. Mellinkinreviewof S. LloydandJ. Mellaart,Beycesultan
1-2 (Occasional
of theBritishInstituteofArchaeology
Publications
at Ankara,nos.6, 8, London1962,1965)BibO24 (1967)4; DiamantandRutter(supran. 56) 150, 152-54,ns. 24, 33;fora more
cautiousinterpretation
seeVanLoon(supran. 56)98.
84 As
Evans had characterizedthe circularhearth found at Knos-
sos (PM 4, 68).
POLYMNIAMETAXAMUHLY
116
"shrines"of this period, but also what it is about the

location, plan, features and finds that justifies the designation of these areas as cult places.
Only five of the rectangularhearths found in position can be discussed, since not much relevant information is available on the examples discovered in
Quartier Theta at Mallia and at Zakro. These five
fixtures are certainlynot remarkablein size, construction or appearance. HM 1621 from room VIII at
Phaistos is well made, but the only featurethat distinguishes it from other decoratedhearths known from
fragmentsis the motif of bovids,which may well have
had a religious significance.
The location of the five hearths varies:one is in the
largest room of a small structure;another was found
in a small room of a large complex;three were in various areas of a palace. A brief discussionof these areas
indicatesthat only one of these fixtures may have been
centrally placed.
The small building west of the palace at Mallia
where a rectangular hearth was found has a simple
plan: a vestibule gives access to the room in which the
hearth was located and is flankedon the other side by
a storeroom.85The presence of the hearth and other
finds led to its interpretationas a cult place which, on
the basis of the plan, was describedas an independent
shrine.86Within it the hearth, together with four flat
stones set around it, occupied the central part of the
largest room, but it is by no means certain that the
building was an independentstructure.
The detailed description of the site makes it clear
that some earlier walls had been incorporatedin parts
of the building, but the limited scope of the investigation has left unresolvedits possible connectionwith
other structures which may have existed near it.87
The excavator noted a large building which formed
the northern border of a narrow lane running along
the north side of the "shrine,"but observed that the
area to the west and south is lower and subject to
flooding and would, therefore,be an unlikely location
for an important structure.88There are no reasons
why a larger complex could not have extended into
the unexcavatedarea to the east and southeast where
resistivitytests have revealedthe existence of substantial walls at some distance from the "shrine."89Near
the southeast corner of the excavatedremains the be85 Poursat
1966, figs. 3-5.
86 Poursat
1966, 530.
87 B.
Rutkowski, Cult Places in the Aegean
World (Academia
Scientiarum Polona. Bibliotheca antiqua 10, Wroclaw 1972) 216,
n. 5, 235; Gesell (supra n. 30) 37-38.
88 Poursat 1966, 530.
89 J.-P. Rudant and J.-P. Thalmann, "Mallia. Prospection g0o-
[AJA88
ginning of a wall running south also suggests an extension in that direction.At present then, the best descriptionthat can be applied to this building at Mallia
is that it was self-containedrather than independent.
Building A in Quartier Mu is a large complex
thought to have been of official, perhaps administrative, characterrather than a private house. In its beginnings it dates to a late phase of MM I or to early
MM II, but was extensively remodelled in MM II
when a series of compartmentswas addedto it on the
south and southwest.90Room I.12, in which a rectangular hearth was found, is one of these additions located immediately to the left of the new entrance to
the building on the west side. It is enteredthrough an
anteroomand has no connectionwith the older part of
the building except through a window of room 1.4 (a
crypt or "lustralbasin")against which it was built. It
is situatedaway fromthe importantroomsof the complex, both those contained in the original part and
those added on during its remodelling, such as the
"megaron"1.13 or the "grande salle i banquettes"
III.4. Its location near the new entrance cannot be
considered as indicative of its importance or special
character, since the other compartments that were
added on in this area flanking the long entrance corridor, III.15, were all storerooms.
Not much can be said about the area near the central court of the Phaistos palace where another of
these hearths was found, since its plan is incomplete.
It was exposed during an in-depth explorationof earlier levels on both sides, i.e., to the east and west, of
the western stylobate of the LM I palace, in front of
rooms 22-25.91 The hearth was found fixed in the red
plastered floor of a large compartmentdated to the
first phase of the early palace. The southern limit of
this room was definedby a wall perpendicularto and
extending beyond the LM I stylobate to the east.92
The stub of a contemporarywall with the same orientation was found a short distance northeast of the
hearth. It may indicate an internal division of this
compartment,the northern limits of which could not
be determined. A step preserved east of the hearth
suggests that the area extended farther in that direction. Immediatelysouth of this area traces of a drain
dated to the same period were found below parts of
another of later date.93Farther south of the compartphysique," BCH 100 (1976) 833-34, fig. 1.
90
Quartier Mu 1, 23, 25, plan I.
91 Levi (supra n. 6) 325-48; Levi 1976, 265-71, figs. 414-19,
plan V.
92 Levi 1976, plan V, no. 3.
3 Well preserved portions of this drain were found in the southwest part of the palace (see infra p. 120, n. 127).
MINOANHEARTHS
1984]
---Fos
.A~
l
ClFI
cLL
VIl rx
VIi
VIl
FI-1
7z
(E
Occ DE
i h rte
Ill. 5. Planof roomsV-IX of the earlypalaceat Phaistos

(final phase). (After Fesths 1, fig. 309)
ment with the hearth, walls of the first phase form

another room apparently oriented toward the south.
The excavator believes that it may belong to a row
that formed the southern limit of the central court of
this phase. It appears, then, that this hearth was located in a large room at, or at least near, the southwest
cornerof the central court of the early palace.
Much more is known about room VIII, which is located at the northwest cornerof the palace. It formed
part of a complex which included rooms V-IX and
the area north of them (ill. 5). This complex was the
result of successiveremodellingsthat alteredthe original facade of the palace. The alterationsincludedthe
opening of a doorway in the west wall of room VI,
which placed the area in direct communicationwith
the west court of the palace. In contrast,no communication existed between these rooms and the rest of the
wing to the south.
In her discussion of rooms V-IX, Banti remarked
that the west approachmust have always been of secondary importance.94In fact, it can be argued that
this opening was not meant to providean approachto
94 Festas 2,
5 Festas 2,
96 Festas 2,
"7 FestUs 1,
figs. 305-306, 309.

575.
205.
the rooms at all. The plans illustrating the stages in

the remodellingof this area95indicate that the opening of the west doorway coincideswith the use of the
open space north of room VIII for the constructionof
a large hearth, the "fossasacrificale."This connection
between the complex and the space to the north of it is
clearly demonstratedby the positioning of the west
door of room VI and the stepped arrangementwhich
effectivelylinks the two areas. The curvedplan of the
poorly preserved"vanonord"was also noted by Banti
as having perhaps been designedto facilitatethe comThe reamunicationof the rooms with the "fossa."'96
son for the constructionof a circuitous rather than a
direct approachto the area of the outdoorhearth lies
in the elevation of the bedrock which rises rather
sharply toward the north and had actually been cut to
form the lower part of the north and west walls of
room V (pl. 27, fig. 14).97 Consequently, the west
doorwayof roomVI, ratherthan makingroomsV-VI
and VIII-IX accessible from the outside, in fact
served the reversepurpose. Thus, the purpose of this
whole complex was to serve the interiorof the palace.
Its connectionwith that area is, however, unknown,
as is the function of the rooms coveredby the Neopalatial reconstruction.Of these only the large storeroom XXXIV below room 69 was investigated."sThe
parts exposed south of VIII-IX do not seem, on the
basis of the plan and the finds, to have accommodated
importantceremonialor living quarters.99
The compactnessof the plan of rooms V-IX is accentuatedby the fixturesfound in them. The hearthof
room VIII is essentially a smaller, more carefully
made version of the "fossasacrificale."All the rooms,
except VII (a tiny cubicle, accessible only from the
outside, which representsa late utilization of the jutting angle of VI), are well supplied with benches.
Benches lined the passage connectingVIII with IX,
an arrangementwhich suggests that the latter was an
annex of the former.A small cupboardwas hollowed
out in a bench in VIII. In V and VI the bencheswere
associatedwith other features. In V the bench had a
cavity next to which a quern was found. In VI a drain
ran below one bench;the other was furnishedwith a
potstand and a sort of basin of plastered limestone
slabs. The features in these two rooms were interpreted by the excavatorsas connectedwith the preparation of cereals and liquids used in the cult activities
in room VIII, the shrine itself.1"0
98 Festas
1, 316-27.
575.
117
" Festbs
100 Festas
1, 239-85.
2, 578.
118
POLYMNIAMETAXAMUHLY
The finds from all the areas within the complex

were fairly uniform, consisting mainly of plain and
decoratedpottery, some stone vases and a few implements.'0' In VII some animal bones were found.102
The only objectsthat can be identifiedsecurelyas having religious associations are four libation tables of
stone and a triton shell.1'03The latter was found near
one of the libation tables by the passage leading from
VIII to IX.'04 Another of these vessels came from
VIII.'o5 Two more were among the contentsof room
VI.'06 In comparisonto HM 1621, these objectshave
not received much attention as evidence of religious
activity, but their presence cannot be ignored, especially in view of the dearthof such materialin the other areas where rectangularhearths have been found.
Nothing indicative of religious activity was found
in the vicinity of the hearth located near the central
court of the Phaistos palace. Much domestic pottery
dating to the first phase of the early palace was collected along the southern wall of the compartmentin
which the hearth was discovered.'07Nor have cult objects apparently been found in room 1.12 of Quartier
Mu. In its anteroom, which was furnished with a
bench, pottery was storedin a recess.'08
In contrast, practically all the finds from the MM
II "shrine"at Mallia that could somehow be considered of religious significancehave been so interpreted.
Among them only two clay animal figurines and a
fragment of a terracottatriton shell could possibly be
included under this heading. Two of these objects
were not part of the floor deposits.1'9None of them
was found in the room with the hearth which, however, contained a real triton shell. Of the other contents of this room, four portable"offeringtables"must
be braziers. Two bore traces of burning. All are simi1o'1Festas 1, 215-38.
102
Festas 2, 577, n. 681.

103According to Nilsson (supra n. 68) 124, the discoveryof this
particularexample in roomVIII provesthat triton shells were used

in Minoan cult.
104
105
106
Festas 1, 235-38, fig. 113.

Festas 1, 227-28, fig. 105.
Festas 1, 221-22, figs. 99-100.
107 Levi 1976, 271-74, figs. 427-31. The pottery discussed here
includes all that comes from this area, not just that found north of
wall no. 3, i.e., in the room with the hearth.
0losBCH 95 (1971) 797, figs. 2-3.

o09Poursat 1966, 536, nos. 7 and 8, figs. 25-26. One of the animals and the triton shell fragment were found in the floor of the
storeroom;the other animal lay on the floor of the vestibule.On the
questionable identificationof the tubular objectno. 4 on p. 535, fig.
19, as a "vase-tube,"see Gesell (supra n. 30) 39, 157. Some recently
found tubes that supported receptacleshave been discussed by G.
Cadogan, "Clay Tubes in Minoan Religion,"in Proceedingsof the
Third Cretological Congress, Rethymnon, September 18-23, 1971
[AJA88
lar in profile and finish to the pedestalled braziers

from Phaistos although, unlike the latter, they have
no cavity.110The bottom of a tripod vessel stamped
with a double axe design, which was found reversed
on top of the hearth, is a fragmentaryexample of a
In
type of cookingtray well known from Phaistos.11"'
its broken conditionthis utensil must have been used
to help extinguish the fire. A jar embeddedin the floor
near the door, interpreted as a receptacle for libations,112 is a commonappendageof hearths meant for
either storage or collectionof refuse. Many sherds of
coarse pots were found among the stones of a poorly
preservedbench in the southeastcornerof the roomby
which lay a crushed cooking pot. The only other features of the room which are of interestare four flattish
stones set around the hearth. The position of one, set
near the northwest cornerof the hearth, suggeststhat
it is the base of a roof support,an idea entertainedbut
discarded by the excavator113;the other three must
have been potstands.
INTERPRETATION
This brief survey of rectangular Middle Minoan

hearths indicates that little exists to connect them
with religion and cult. They themselveswere not specially made religious objects,but simply one of several types of fixed hearths which, as the accumulating
evidence indicates, were widely used in this period.
The material from Phaistos shows that several
hearths of rectangularshape were used concurrently
in the palace and in its immediate area. Some fragments from this site and a more completelypreserved
crude specimen from Quartier Theta at Mallia were
found in modest private houses. With the examples
discoveredin situ, practicallyall the associatedmate(Crete) during 1976,"Hesperia 46 (1977) 227-29, pl. 54a, c-e.
110oPoursat 1966, 531-32, no. 2a-d, fig. 20. The correspondence
with the Phaistos braziers extends even to the manner in which
these utensils were slipped and burnished;cf. the descriptionof no.
2 with Mercando (supra n. 24) 96; for the resemblancein profiles
cf. fig. 20a to Mercando fig. 97, no. 17.
"' Poursat 1966, 536, no. 5, fig. 22; cf. Levi 1976, pl. 65b-c, f;
597-98, no. 1021 (with impressed design). See also P.P. Betancourt, Cooking Vessels from Minoan Kommos (University of Cali-
fornia, Institute of Archaeology,Occasional Paper 7, Los Angeles

1980) 7, fig. 4. The double axe and other impresseddesigns occur
on a variety of pots and utensils at Mallia and Phaistos. For a recent discussion of this material, see Quartier Mu 1, 106-16 and
especially42-44.
112Poursat 1966, 521.
113Poursat 1966, 523. For a hearth locatednear a roof support in

Quartier Gamma, see Demargne 1932, 87; for the possibility of a
second, symmetricallyplaced support in the same area, see van Effenterre 1980, 163, n. 39. Similar arrangementsoccur in LM I
houses as in Maisons 2, 12, 30.
vol. 1 (Athens 1973) 34-58; J.W. Shaw, "Excavationsat Kommos
1984]
119
MINOANHEARTHS
rial, both architecturaland artifactual,is of domestic,

utilitarian character, appropriate for use in cooking
and related activities.
The location of three of these hearths, those found
in 1.12 in Quartier Mu and in rooms V-IX at Phaistos, can only be called peripheral. Both areas appear
as self-contained units, relatively isolated but nevertheless forming part of areas which appear (quite
clearly in Quartier Mu, less certainly at Phaistos) to
have housed service quarters, such as storerooms.
Only one hearth, F 6724 from Phaistos, may be said
to have occupied a central location. Another, at Mallia, may have done so, if the building in which it was
found was unattached. No trace of religious activity
can be discernedin the finds associatedwith the former, and the independentcharacterof the "shrine"at
Mallia is questionable. On the other hand, the plan
and organization of the latter find a good parallel in
room 1.12 in Quartier Mu with its anteroom and
small storeroom.
The peripherallocation and/or self-containedplan
of certain units within Minoan palatial complexes
have been taken as suggestiveof religious function.114
Much has also been written about the unpretentious
plan and furnishings of Minoan cult areas found in
palaces and settlements, and it has come to be taken
almost for granted that they are often found "in the
midst of other rooms used for domestic and everyday
activities.""5 The subject is much too large to be
treated in detail in this article. It should, however, be
noted that these observations,in so far as they pertain
to the period of the palaces, are based on the characteristics of areas such as those under discussion here
and, ultimately, on the features of rooms V-IX at
Phaistos which "in considering the question of the
groundplan, the functionof the various roomsand the
ease of access are the best example [of a palatial
shrine] to study.""'16Yet it is precisely these features
and their location that not only are most difficult to
reconcile with a cultic function of these rooms and of
the other areas discussedhere, but also make far better sense if a religious interpretationis abandoned.
As mentioned earlier, although widely used in the
period of the second palaces, braziers and portable
hearths did not entirely oust permanenthearths. Circular hearths of clay without a cavity and a rectangular type made up of individual bricks have been
found in LM I houses at Mallia.'7 A fireplacewith a
chimney in the corner of the main room of a small
LM I house at Prasas represents another type of
cooking-heating installation."8 But these are rare
finds. As a result, it has been argued (usually on the
basis of modern parallels) that cooking activities
which needed a permanent installation must have
been carriedout in areas adjacentto the buildings, in
the open or in flimsy structuresnot commonlyidentified or excavated.'" The discoveryof a kitchenon the
north side of the central court in the palace at Zakro
indicates that this was not always the case. Room
XXXII at Zakro, a large compartmentwith two rows
of pillars, was furnished with a hearth and a large
amount of portablekitchen equipment (cookingpots,
braziers, a grill, a mortar, etc.) which were found in
the roomitself and in its annexes. Many animal bones
were also found in these areas.120 It seems certainthat
this well equipped kitchen served a banquet hall located above it, on the upper storey. The discoveryof
the kitchen at Zakro gains added significancesince it
provideswelcome confirmationfor the proposedidentification, in at least two other LM I palaces, of similar arrangementsof kitchen quarters,storeroomsand
banquet hall.121
The locationof these units in LM I may be similar
to that of the area near the central court of the early
palace at Phaistos where the rectangularhearth could
mark the location of a large kitchen supplying a dining area near or above it. Conversely, the kitchen in
room I.12 of Building A in Quartier Mu and the complex at the northwesterncornerof the palace at Phaistos aptly illustrate the peripheral siting considered
14E.g., by Banti in Festds2, 582-83 and in "I culti minoici e greci

di Haghia Triada," ASAtene N.S. 3-4 (1941-1943) 45-46, where
she argued that cult rooms initially set apart within buildings became eventually, after MM III, independent shrines. Even Nilsson, (supra n. 68) 77, n. 1, who criticizedthis position, stated it was
only natural that "the cult room was isolated from the rooms used
for practical purposes and finally, as at Gournia, became a public
sanctuary."The public characterof the so-called MM II "shrine"
at Mallia, cautiouslyhinted at by its excavator(Poursat 1966, 530),
has been maintained by van Effenterre (1980, 442-44), who characterizes it as a town shrine.
115Rutkowski (supra n. 87) 224.
116Rutkowski (supra n. 87) 224.
117Maisons 2, 12-13, pl. 3.2; 30-31; pl. 7.1. van Effenterre(supra
n. 15) 97-98, pl. 55.1-2.
l Hpaor-'Hpa118N. Platon, "'AvaoKxal

tvoLiLVixvolKxtv
Praktika 1951, 255-56, figs. 4-5. For reportsof other firexAELov,"
places or hearthsin LM I contexts,see R.B. Seager,Excavationson
the Island of Pseira, Crete (University of Pennsylvania, the Museum, Anthropological Publications 3.1, Philadelphia 1910) 16;
BCH 48 (1924) 496, n. 2; S. Marinatos, "Tb Mwv'ixbv Cdyapov
ArchEph 1939-1941, 76-77.
ExAapoxKatrov,"
119Hood (supra n. 16) 26; P. Faure, Kreta. Das Leben im Reich
des Minos2 (Stuttgart 1978) 155. See also Betancourt (supra n.
111)9.
120N. Platon, "'Avaoxa
a' ZcxKpov,"Praktika 1964, 152-54;
1965, 193-96.
121J.W. Graham, "The Minoan Banquet Hall," AJA 65 (1961)
165-72.
POLYMNIAMETAXAMUHLY
120
appropriatefor such installations, since both were set

apart in structuresadded on to the original buildings
and, in the latter case, partially in the open. Similarly,
the MM II "shrine"west of the palace at Mallia can
be best understood as a service area of specialized
function attached to a larger complex; there is evidence that large buildings existed in its immediatevicinity. The finds from this structure do not justify its
identificationas a cult place; they form instead an assemblage wholly appropriatefor a kitchen. The similarity of the plan of this complex to that of the peak
shrine at Jukhtas, adducedby the excavator,122 is not
valid, since the plan of the structuresat Jukhtas used
in this comparison is that sketched by Evans, which
does not correspondto what has been uncoveredin the
recent systematic exploration of this site.123 On the
other hand, the allocation of the restrictedamount of
space encompassedby the building at Mallia can be
paralleled in room 1.12 and its annexes in Quartier
Mu, but makes no sense for a small private house; its
plan is totally unlike that of contemporaryhouses at
the site, even those of unpretentiouscharacter.124
The central location of fixed hearths in the Middle
Minoan houses at Mallia has been noted.125The plan
of those excavated south of the palace reveals that
these fixtures were usually placed in the largestor one
of the largest compartments. On several occasions
these rooms and/or the areas adjacent to them were
well equipped with benches.126This arrangement
conforms to the organization of small private dwellings which would not have many areas of specialized
function. In such houses the area with the hearthmust
have servedas a kitchen and dining room,and also as a
living and working area in the winter. In a largercomplex like Building A in Quartier Mu, which, whether
as an official establishmentor as a private residence,
must have accommodated a substantial number of
people, a greaterspecializationin the use of space is to
be expected.There, the cookingfacilities are relegated
to a peripheral, service area. Finally, in a palace
which, in addition to living quarters, containedstorerooms, workrooms, business offices and ceremonial
chambers and in which many classes of people
worked, lived and were admitted as visitors, several
122
Poursat 1966, 528-29, fig. 17.
123A. Karetsou, "The Peak Sanctuaryof Mt. Juktas," in R. Hagg

and N. Marinatos eds., Sanctuaries and Cults in the Aegean Bronze
Age. Proceedings of the First International Symposium at the

Swedish Institute in Athens, 12-13 May, 1980 (Stockholm 1981)
137-53, figs. 4, 5.
124See van Effenterre 1980, fig. 224 for plans of early houses at
Mallia.
125Pelon (supra n. 15) 566-67; van Effenterre 1980, 162-64.
126Palais 4,
plan II, especially areas 2 and 3 of Maison A and 4-5
of Maison C. Whether these "houses"representagglomerationsof
[AJA88
areas of varied elaborationmust have been provided

for the preparationof food and its consumption.
The excavationof the early palace at Phaistos has
revealed several areas with fixed hearths. Whether
these fixtures were used for cookingor only to supply
warmth and light or for both purposesmust be determined in each case by the find context.Thus, the suggestion that the rectangular hearth found near the
centralcourt may have been a cookinginstallationcan
only be tentative,since the evidenceof the plan and of
the finds is not as complete and conclusive as that
available in roomsV-IX or in the MM II "shrine"at
Mallia. On the other hand, certain features of rooms
V-IX -specifically the disposition of the benches in
VIII-IX, which is reminiscentof the arrangementin
the Middle Minoan houses at Mallia discussedabove,
and the presenceof indoor and outdoor hearths-indicate that this complex in its final phase was something more than a kitchen, i.e., that in addition to
cooking it provideddining facilities. The preparation
of food would take place in V and VI, while most of
the cooking would have been carried out in the open
area to the north. Utensils could be stored in VII.
Rooms VIII-IX would have served as dining areas,
with the indoor hearth used to provide warmth and
perhaps also as a supplementaryor alternatecooking
installation.
The best parallel for the arrangement of rooms
VIII-IX within the palace is in rooms LIX-LX of
the southwestwing.127These two roomsare interconnected in a similar way as VIII-IX and both are supplied with benches.In LIX a brazierfixed in the floor
corresponds to the hearth of VIII. Room LIX has
been interpretedas a waiting room, but togetherwith
LX could well have been a dining area. A stone basin
fixed in a corner of the room suggested to the excavator that facilities for washing were provided here
for the visitors128-provisions moreappropriateto the
utilization of this area for dining. More significantly,
rooms LIX-LX are surrounded by storage areas
(LVIII a-e, LXI-LXIII, LXV) where much domestic pottery, wine and other provisions were kept129
and, like V-IX, are located near the outer corner of
the wing and have directaccessto the courtyard.They
smaller units sharing access ways or complexes inhabited by multiple "cellules familiales," as has been recently suggested by van Effenterre (1980, 164), is an academic distinction in this respect. It is
possible that some hearths in this area, as in no. 4 of the east part of
"House" A, and perhaps also in the L-shaped area of the west part
to which both sections of the "House" had access, were located in
the open and were used as alternate or supplementary cooking
facilities.
127 Levi
1976, 121-33, figs. 164-88.
128
Levi 1976, 122-23.
129 Levi
1976, 110-20, 137-51, pl. C.
1984]
MINOANHEARTHS
121
could easily have been supplied with food preparedin

an area located nearby. This part of the palace was
greatly disturbedby later structureswhich could have
obliteratedthe remains of such an area. The fact that
LIX was provided from the beginning with a relatively wide, well constructedapproach from the west
may indicate that, unlike the complex in the north,
this unit servedvisitors or personnelworking primarily beyond the confinesof the palace. The more elaborate fixtures of the northwest complex may, in turn,
reflect the comparativelyhigher status of the people
accommodatedthere.
The designation of the units with rectangular
hearths as domestic rather than cultic need not mean
that no religious activitytook place there;evidencefor
such activity exists, particularly in rooms V-IX at
Phaistos. They were not only furnished with a hearth
marked with a symbol of probable religious significance, but also numbered among their contents four
libation tables and a triton shell. Proportionally,these
objects form a small group among the other contents
of this area, but, as the extensive literature on this
subjectmakes clear, the sparse representationof cultic
objectshas never been an obstacleto the identification
of an area within a Minoan palace or settlementas a
shrine. Not even the realization by some scholarsthat
the Middle Minoan rectangularfixtures were hearths
rather than tables for liquid offerings has affected
their belief in the cultic function of these fixtures. It
might indeed be argued that a cult place (whether
public or domestic)furnishedwith a hearth would not
be out of place in Middle Minoan Crete, where fire
played an important role in the rituals practiced in
countryshrines. Such an interpretationwas suggested
by Banti for rooms V-IX at Phaistos because of the
existence of the so-called "fossasacrificale."'30
If, however, such a link between sanctuaries located in settlements and country shrines is to be assumed, then some evidenceof other similaritiesshould
also be expected. Yet votives which aboundin country
shrines of the period are absent in room VIII and in
the other "sanctuaries"with hearths. The cult objects
found in these areas cannot be considered sufficient
evidence for identifying them as cult places. If the socalled Middle Minoan II "shrine"near the palace at
Mallia was meant for public use, then, despite its location in the midst of a well populated area during a
period of great prosperity and development, it was
poorer than even the most modest country shrines.131

If rooms V-IX at Phaistos are to be consideredas a
cult place attached to an important palatial center,
then the comparativepaucity and modest quality of
their portable furnishings are hard to explain. It is
also not easy to understandwhy all the "shrines"of
this type, and especially that at Phaistos, should have
been completelyobliteratedand forgottenat the end of
the first palace period, while contemporarycountry
shrines continued to develop. Rituals involving the
use of fire were still practicedat peak shrines during
the periodof the secondpalaces and lasted even longer
at places such as Jukhtas, the cave of Psychroand the
sanctuary at Syme. Yet, as noted by Banti,132the
"fossa sacrificale"at Phaistos was buried, although
the area where it was located was not affectedby the
building of the second palace, so it could have easily
continued in use. If, however, the Middle Minoan
"shrines"at Phaistos and Mallia were actually domestic areas, then their abandonmentrequires no explanation. Nor is one necessary for any changes that
might have been made in the locationand internal arrangementof areas used for cookingand dining in the
complexesthat were rebuiltin the Neopalatial period,
since the dispositionof such areas would be adaptedto
the general plan and organization of the new buildings and would also reflect, to some extent, the fact
that the fixed hearths current in the Middle Minoan
period had gone out of use.
Thus, from every point of view, the interpretation
of roomsV-IX and of the "shrines"at Mallia as areas
of domestic function seems to accountbest for all the
evidence available (or, for that matter, lacking) in
these places. In the same way, the presence of some
religious objectswithin these areas can be best understood as evidence of domestic cult practices.There is
certainly ample evidencethat the preparationand, in
particular,the consumptionof food, an especially important daily activity, are closely connectedwith rituals, such as sacrificeand libation, in many cultures
and periods. It is more than probable that the cultic
objectsfound in the complex of rooms V-IX at Phaistos were used in religious acts that accompaniedthe
main activityfor which this complex was designed.133
Such practiceswould also account for the use of religious symbols on a hearth.
Permanent installations for cooking certainly did
not disappear in Crete with the end of the first pal-
130Festas 2, 580. The presenceof rectangularhearths in the MM

II "shrine"at Mallia, in room 1.12 at Quartier Mu and in room
VIII at Phaistos has also been consideredevidencefor the practice
of similar rituals in town shrines and in domesticand palatial cult
places (van Effenterre 1980, 448).
poor or looted peak shrines.

132Festas2, 580.
133For a similar interpretationof Transcaucasianhearths, see C.
Burney and D.M. Lang, The Peoples of the Hills (London 1971)
77-78.
131 See Davaras (supra n. 7) 51 on the wealth of objects found in
122
POLYMNIAMETAXAMUHLY
aces, nor were they all relegated to outlying areas in

large complexes, as the Zakro kitchen demonstrates.
For all practical purposes, however, the freestanding
hearths of specific shapes meant for cooking and/or
heating purposes did go out of use at that time. Evans
thought that the changeover to portable hearths occurred under the influence of other cultures in the
southeastern Mediterranean, specifically under that
of Egypt, an opinion shared by Demargne.134 It is
possible, however, that more than a shift in fashion
underlay this change. Open, fixed hearths where fire
is usually preserved overnight135 represent serious fire
hazards. This factor, as well as the desire to avoid
smoke and odors, may already have been taken into
consideration in the large Middle Minoan establishments where kitchens seem to have been set away
from the central quarters. The effects of uncontrol-
lable fire on buildings which utilized wood extensively in the frameworksand in architecturaldetails have
134
PM 2, 20-21; 3, 350-51; Demargne 1932, 88. It should be
forcookingandheatnoted,however,thatpermanentinstallations
ingpurposesarewellattestedin Egypt.Fireplacesbuiltagainstthe
wall were found in housesof the Middle Kingdomat Kahun
(W.M.F. Petrie,Kahun,Gurob,andHawara[London1890]23),
but freestanding
hearthsof clayin the shapeof circulardishescementedto the floorservedto warmthe principalroomof workmen'shousesat Amarna(E.T. PeetandC.L.Woolley,TheCityof
Akhenaten1 [EgyptExplorationSociety,Memoirs38, London
1932]45, 66, pl. 6, fig. 6; see also B. Bruyre, Rapportsur les
fouillesde Deirel Medineh[ 1934-1935]Illemepartie:Le village,
les discharges
publiques,la stationde reposdu colde la Valliedes
[AJA88
been vividly demonstrated by the excavation of Quartier Mu, which was destroyed at the end of MM II or
a little later.'136In basement areas where the fire had

burned fiercest, vases and sherds were swollen, blistered, twisted and bent, while bricks were transformed into a sort of slag and partially vitrified.
D'une maniare g~nbrale,les effets de l'incendie sont
particulibrementfrappants: escaliers affaiss(s, murs
qui semblent avoir fondu et ont plib sur eux-mimes
presque dis le niveau du sol. Plus encore que d'un
&croulementbrutal, on retire de ses ruines l'impression d'une fusion partielle du bitiment dans un gigantesque brasier.'37
The impression created on the Minoans who witnessed such a destruction could hardly have been
less powerful than that registered by the present-day
archaeologists.
444 SOUTH49TH STREET
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 19104
Rois [Fouilles de l'Institut Frangais d'ArchbologieOrientale du

Caire 16, 1939] 259). I owe many thanks to Professor David B.
O'Connorwho supplied me with several useful referencesto Egyptian hearths.
135This seems to be the most reasonable explanation for the pres-
ence of cavities in many fixed hearths (van Effenterre 1980, 165).

In the case of the Middle Minoan hearths supportingevidencecan
be gleaned from the projecting rims and more intense traces of
burning in and around cavities that occur in some examples (see,
e.g., here pl. 26, fig. 7, ill. 2; Poursat 1966, 531).
136
Quartier Mu 1, 25; van Effenterre 1980, 36, n. 62.
137 Quartier Mu 1, 21.
MUHLY
FIG. I. Mallia, circular clay hearth. Diameter: 0. 85 m. (After

Demargne
1932,
pl. VI)
FIG. 3. Phaistos, terracotta brazier. Diameter: 0. 34 m. (After

ASAtene 36-37 [1974-19751] fig- 97. 14)
FIG. 4. Naxos, circular hearth. Diameter: o. 30 m. (After SIMA

48, pl. 40b)
::: -I
?I-----::
I_i_:-----~_:~-~ I~:~-r:__
-'wiii
_-:.i:i
--:~'::i~-_--_--I----:::::i-i-i-i-ii:
ii-~:-(-l_:!:-i_-r~-i:
--~:---:'-'-:--::---':-i--::::~-:-"~?:'~
---i:-ii-i-i--i-----:--:-:--ia~`i:i:iiiri::i-?:iiii:i
iii:i:iiiiiii
iiiiii-i--ixi-ii-ii-~iiiiii~i~ii:i~--~-i-i:i
-':i-ii:i--i:iii:::-~~i_:i~,i,;iiii-::--i
:---::-::i:
.I ---:-:
-r
?_:
-_i_iii;-
_iiiiiiiiR~a-i~iiiiiiii
--::ii?_~l~;~I-. :1-I
-- ?il II:- I-~
_--: Ii:li
-::iiii:. II_iii;::---I:
25
FIG. 2. Tell Chuera, Syria, circular plaster hearth. (After A.

Moortgat and U. Moortgat-Correns, Tell Chuera... 1976, fig. 2)
~:--: -:-ii-:i::::i::--ii:;
::i:----.:-----:--::?:--~i-:---I::-,,~~_
._ i- I:i-i
:I, -::~
-::--:-i... ~:i-ii-i_-iii_:i:i:
I-_
~iiii-:iiiiii-i-iiii~_
ii'
-i-i.::iiiiiiiii
Ii:
::-----:-- Il_;~-lli
--::_
_--:-~::
i:
PLATE
i:?::
:::
. -":"~I!
II:li-i:
I~
d :_
-i..,i-iiiiiiiii~
FIG.5. Abydos, Egypt, circularhearthand fragmentsof others. (After Petrie, AbydosI,

pl. 53. 13-18)
::
1
PLATE
26
MUHLY
FIG. 6. Rectangular hearth from room VIII at Phaistos (HM

1621). Dimensions: o. 55 x 0.45 m. (After Festbs I, fig. io6)
FIG. 7. Rectangular hearth from area C 40 at Phaistos (F 6724).

Dimensions: o.52 X 0.42 m. (After Levi 1976, pl. 165 d)
FIG. 8. Phaistos, fragmentary portable

hearth. Dimensions: 0.52 x 0. 40 m.
(Courtesy Italian School of Archaeology at
Athens)
FIG. 9. Phaistos, decorated fragments of

rectangular hearths. (After Festbs I, fig.
93)
FIG. i0. Phaistos, decorated fragment of rectangular hearth.

Dimensions: 0. 22 X O. 17 m. (Courtesy Italian School of
Archaeology at Athens)
FIG. I I. Phaistos, decorated fragment of rectangular hearth.

Dimensions: o. 215 x 0. 146 m. (Courtesy Italian School of
MUHLY
FIG. 12. Mallia, rectangular hearth. Dimensions: 0.92 x

o 66-0. 74 m. (Courtesy French School of Archaeology at
Athens)
PLATE
27
FIG. I3. Dikili Tash, Thrace, hearth. (Courtesy French School of

FIG. 14. View of rooms V-VIII at Phaistos from NE, with large rectangular hearth in the foreground. (After Festas I, fig. i06)

Minoan Hearths

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Minoan Hearths

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Minoan Hearths

Author(s): Polymnia Metaxa Muhly

The identificationof these compartmentsas kitchenor

A fixed hearth representsthe permanentallocation

may be domestic, industrial or even ceremonial and

O. Pelon, Fouilles exdecutees Mallia. Exploration des maisons et quartiers d'habitation

istic of the Minoan periods.5 Despite modifications

1 D.R. Theochares, "Nea Makri," AthMitt 71 (1956) 6.

(1970) 94-110; J. Younger, "Early Bronze Age Seal Impressions

Glyptik und ihre gegen-

wiirtigen Probleme (Boppard 1974) 164-72; J.C. Lavezzi, "Early

7 P. Warren, Myrtos (BSA Suppl. 7, London 1972) 34-35, fig.

18-23 September 1977 vol. 1

(Athens 1973) 46-53, 51, fig. 3.

Graham, The Palaces of Crete (Princeton 1962) 126,

137; W. Taylour, The Mycenaeans (London 1964) 69; R.F. Wil-

IV," BSA 14 (1907-1908) 343-422 passim; J.W. Graham, "A

letts, Everyday Life in Ancient Crete (London 1969) 98.

56, 62-63, 65. See also infra n. 83.

vations at Thera 4 (Athens 1971) pl. 101a.

infra ns. 117-18, 120.

ally a slightly raised border defined their perimeter

The Middle Minoan fixed hearths discussed by

terre, Fouilles exdcut'es ci Mallia. Le centre politique. 1. L'Agora

(EC 17, Paris 1969) 97; van Effenterre 1980,

16 S. Hood, The Minoans (London 1971) 26.

55-56, fig. 2, pl. 11.1.

Demargne 1932, 83, n. 1.

The best known example of these rectangular

Festos 1, 195-208, 215-38, especially 225-34, figs. 82, 106.

sity of North Carolina 1972) 265.

The two examples from Mallia are of larger size

tine, the period of the intrusive Khirbet Kerak ware

33Poursat 1966, 531, fig. 18. Dimensions: 0.92 x 0.66-0.74 m.

36 Ergon 1982, 66, fig. 108.

37BCH 92 (1968) 1064, fig. 6bis.

Ill. 4. CircularhearthfromTell Judeideh,Syria.(After

others were decoratedwith impressed triangles.44In

themselves,while even those providedwith a base lack

44 For references to these hearths, see Lavezzi (supra n. 3) n. 9.

tas, "KvKAatLKc," ArchEph 1898, pl. 9.10; O. Rubensohn, "Die

CMS V.2, 354.

48 Wiencke (supra n. 3) 95-96.

49Wiencke (supra n. 3) 95; J.L. Caskey, "Investigationsin Keos.

tional Museum in Athens is illustrated in G. Papathanasopoulos,

Diamant and J. Rutter, "HornedObjectsin Anatolia and the Near

use of such fixtures in the Aegean are uncertain,since

suggests that the adoption of specifically

braziers in shape, finish and use sheds some light on

Mu, where another rectangular hearth was found,

65 For Middle Minoan examples painted red, see Pendlebury

72Mercando (supra n. 24) 98.

roomsin the interiorof the enclosurejust mentioned.It

Fixed hearths in the Aegean and in other areas as

77 J. Shaw, "The Chrysolakkos Facades," in Proceedings of the

vol. 1 (Athens 1973) 319-31.

note: "Le type de la constructionest exactementle mime au niveau

a discussionof "oneof the mostcharacteristic

Caskey (supra n. 43); Taylour (supra n. 10) 96; E. Vermeule,

Evans had characterizedthe circularhearth found at Knos-

sos (PM 4, 68).

"shrines"of this period, but also what it is about the

Ill. 5. Planof roomsV-IX of the earlypalaceat Phaistos

ment with the hearth, walls of the first phase form