Voyage to Crete: Zominthos
by Eti Bonn-Muller
July 21, 2009
Although the Minoans are best known as seafarers, excavations at the site of Zominthos, nestled in a plateau on Mt. Ida, Crete’s highest mountain, have shown that they were also highlanders. This important second-millennium B.C. site, located about 1,200 meters above sea level, lies on the ancient route between Knossos and the sacred Ideon Cave, where the god Zeus is believed by some to have been born and raised. (Others think the legend arose from the Dikteon Cave on Eastern Crete.)
Zominthos is the only mountaintop Minoan site ever to have been excavated and is already yielding groundbreaking information on what was thought to be a well-known civilization. Today’s photos provide only a general overview. A video tour of the site, led by excavation director Yannis Sakellarakis, will be available online soon.
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Among the most exciting finds from the 2008 season were these three ceramic vessels, decorated with the delicate leaves of cane plants that grow throughout Crete. The two on the left were stacked; all three had been tucked into a niche in the wall of Room 15.
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009.
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