The Pseira Cemetery

The Pseira Cemetery
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher:
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2002
Genre: Excavations (Archaeology)
ISBN:

Pseira VII

Pseira VII
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2003-07-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623030935

Richard B. Seager excavated the Minoan cemetery at Pseira in 1907, but the work was never published. The Temple University excavations (1985-1994) under the direction of Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras conducted an intensive surface survey of the cemetery area, cleaned and drew plans of all visible tombs, and excavated tombs that had not been previously excavated. The results of the cemetery excavations on the small island off the northeast coast of Crete are published in two volumes. Pseira VII presents the results from the excavation and cleaning of the 19 tombs that still exist at the Pseira cemetery. The cemetery is remarkable for the diversity of its tomb types. Burials were in cist graves built of vertical slabs (a class with Cycladic parallels), in small tombs constructed of fieldstones, in house tombs, and in jars. Burials were communal, as is usual in Minoan cemeteries. Artifacts included clay vases, stone vessels, obsidian, bronze tools, jewelry, and other objects.

Pseira VI

Pseira VI
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2002-12-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623030900

Richard B. Seager excavated the Minoan cemetery at Pseira in 1907, but the work was never published. The Temple University excavations (1985-1994) under the direction of Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras conducted an intensive surface survey of the cemetery area, cleaned and drew plans of all visible tombs, and excavated tombs that had not been previously excavated. The results of the cemetery excavations on the small island off the northeast coast of Crete are published in two volumes. Pseira VI publishes the methodology that was employed for the investigation, the topography of the cemetery area, the little that can be reconstructed of Seager's campaign, the ceramic petrography for the cemetery pottery, and the results of the intensive surface survey. The survey shows that the cemetery was first used in the Neolithic period, and it was abandoned in Middle Minoan II, before the expansion of the nearby town in LM I. It also demonstrates that the cemetery was larger than the area suggested by the 33 tombs found by Seager, and it shows that the customs included burial in jars, even though no examples have been excavated.

Pseira X

Pseira X
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2009-12-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623031117

This book is the tenth volume in the series of excavation reports about the harbor town of Pseira, which is located on the island of the same name, just off the northeast coast of Crete. The book focuses on the excavation and interpretation of the architecture and material culture in Block AF. This southern group of buildings is one of the most important areas in the settlement because of its long succession of building phases. Block AF provides the fullest sequence of building phases from any one area at Pseira, with habitation extending from before MM II to LM III. It has examples of complex architectural details including a "pillar crypt," elaborate upstairs floors, a well-preserved U-shaped staircase, and a well-designed kitchen, all of which contribute significantly to our knowledge of East Cretan building practices. In addition to domestic pottery, the houses furnish examples of stone tools, stone vessels, loom weights, inscriptions in Linear A, cult objects, animal bones, marine shells, and a wide range of material recovered from water sieving. This latter category, with burned grain, fish bones, shells, and other categories of materials, fills many gaps in our knowledge of Pseiran life.

Pseira IX

Pseira IX
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2005-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623030994

Richard B. Seager excavated the Minoan town and cemetery at Pseira in 1906-1907, but the work was not fully published. The Temple University excavations (1985-1994) under the direction of Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras conducted an intensive surface survey of the island. The results of the survey on the small island off the northeast coast of Crete are published in two volumes. Pseira VIII presents the results from the corollary studies that accompany the surface survey. Pseira IX presents the results from the intensive surface survey.

Pseira VIII

Pseira VIII
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2004-10-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 162303096X

Richard B. Seager excavated the Minoan town and cemetery at Pseira in 1906-1907, but the work was not fully published. The Temple University excavations (1985-1994) under the direction of Philip P. Betancourt and Costis Davaras conducted an intensive surface survey of the island. The results of the survey on the small island off the northeast coast of Crete are published in two volumes. Pseira VIII presents the results from the corollary studies that accompany the surface survey. Pseira IX presents the results from the intensive surface survey.

The Hagia Photia Cemetery I

The Hagia Photia Cemetery I
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2004-12-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623030722

The Hagia Photia Cemetery takes its name from the nearby village on the northeast coast of Crete, 5 km east of modern Siteia. This large Early Minoan burial ground with over fifteen hundred Cycladic imports was discovered in 1971. A total of 263 tombs were excavated as a rescue excavation in 1971 and 1984. Among the 1800 artefacts are some of the earliest known Cretan discoveries of several types: the grave goods come mostly from the Kampos Group, an assemblage of artefacts known mainly from the Cyclades. Similarly, the tombs represent an architectural style and a series of burial customs that are foreign to Crete but familiar from elsewhere within the Aegean. In fact, the cemetery has such close parallels from the Cyclades that it has often been regarded as a Cycladic colony. The burial contents are an extremely interesting body of evidence for the study of the formative phases of Minoan Crete.

The Minoan Shipwreck at Pseira, Crete

The Minoan Shipwreck at Pseira, Crete
Author: Elpida Hadjidaki-Marder
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 165
Release: 2021-06-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623034345

The excavation of a Minoan shipwreck dated to 1725/1700 BC is described. The cargo includes the largest known corpus of complete and almost complete clay vessels from a single Middle Minoan IIB deposit. The transport boat provides interesting information on a society that revolved around seafaring.

Aphrodite's Kephali

Aphrodite's Kephali
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 271
Release: 2013-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623032830

The small site of Aphrodite's Kephali, among several other Minoan and later sites, took advantage of the valley topography in the Isthmus of Ierapetra in eastern Crete by establishing themselves along the nearby hills, resulting in easy access to the natural trade route between the Aegean and the Libyan Seas. A discussion of the architecture, artifacts, and ecofacts are presented from the excavation of this Early Minoan I watchtower. The conclusions challenge some of the commonly held views about Crete in the third millennium B.C. It is suggested that rather than being a precursor to a socially complex state that would arise later, early polities involving several communities probably already existed in the isthmus during the EM I period. Social and economic differentiation existed on a regional, not just a local level, and decisions for mutual defense could involve collaboration by groups of workers, including the building of the watchtower that is the focus of this volume.

Philistor

Philistor
Author: Philip P. Betancourt
Publisher: INSTAP Academic Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2012-09-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1623030307

Contributions by 37 scholars are brought together here to create a volume in honor of the long and fruitful career of Costis Davaras, former Ephor of Crete and Professor Emeritus of Minoan Archaeology at the University of Athens. Articles pertain to Bronze Age Crete and include mortuary studies, experimental archaeology, numerous artifactual studies, and discussions on the greater Minoan civilization.