Petsofas is the archaeological site of a

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

peak sanctuary Minoan peak sanctuaries are widespread throughout the island of Crete (Greece). Most scholars agree that peak sanctuaries were used for religious rites. In all peak sanctuaries human and animal clay figurines have been found. Clay body parts, al ...

in eastern

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. It overlooks the Minoan town of

Palaikastro Palaikastro or Palekastro ( el, Παλαίκαστρο, officially el, Παλαίκαστρον), with the Godart and Olivier abbreviation PK, is a thriving town, geographic heir to a long line of settlements extending back into prehistoric ti ...

and was excavated by John Myres in 1903. He discovered a large number of clay figurines, including animal and human figures dating to 1400 to 1450.

Archaeology

Among the ubiquitous human and animal figurines found in

peak sanctuaries Minoan peak sanctuaries are widespread throughout the island of Crete (Greece). Most scholars agree that peak sanctuaries were used for religious rites. In all peak sanctuaries human and animal clay figurines have been found. Clay body parts, al ...

, Petsofas uniquely has clay figurines of weasels and tortoises. Some Petsophas

cylinder seal A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch (2 to 3 cm) in length, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface, generally ...

s bear a male figure resembling specimens recovered at the Minoan site of

Knossos Knossos (also Cnossos, both pronounced ; grc, Κνωσός, Knōsós, ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city. Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the na ...

.C. Michael Hogan
''Knossos fieldnotes'', The Modern Antiquarian (2007)
/ref> Stone lamps, ceramic

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

s and ceramic building models have also been found at Petsofas.

References

External links

1903 archaeological discoveries Peak sanctuaries {{AncientGreece-archaeology-stub

Archaeology

See also

References

External links