The Cretan discoveries have tended as much as any work of recent
years to reduce the extravagant claims which used to be put forward
on behalf of the Phoenicians as originators of many of the elements
of ancient civilization, and evidence is now forthcoming to show that
originality in even their most famous and characteristic industry,
the dyeing of robes with the renowned 'Tyrian purple,' must be denied
to them and claimed for the Minoans. In 1903, Messrs. Bosanquet
and Currelly found on the island of Kouphonisi (Leuke), off the
south-east coast of Crete, a bank of the pounded shell of the murex
from which the purple dye was obtained, associated with pottery of
the Middle Minoan period; and in 1904 they discovered at Palaikastro
two similar purple shell deposits, in either case associated with
pottery of the same date.
[Illustration XVII: (1) HALL OF THE DOUBLE AXES (_p_. 86)
(2) GREAT STAIRCASE, KNOSSOS (_p_. 86)]
At Zakro, on the eastern coast of the island, Mr. Hogarth has excavated
the remains of what must have been an important trading-station.
In one single house of one of its merchants he came upon 500 clay
seal-impressions, with specimens of almost every type of Cretan
seal design, which had evidently been used for sealing bales of
goods. Some of the Zakro pottery also was of extreme beauty, one
specimen in particular, conspicuous from the fact that its delicate
decoration had been laid on subsequent to the firing of the vessel,
and could be removed by the slightest touch of the finger, showing
evident traces of Egyptian influence in its adaptation of the familiar
lotus design of Nilotic decorative art (Plate XXIX.
Pages:
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155