Last chance to see? Karfi (Crete) in the twenty-first century: presentation of new architectural data and their analysis in the current context of research

Abstract

The paper presents new studies of the architecture at Karfi (12th-11th centuries BC) which has significantly deteriorated since excavation in the 1930s. 1:50 plans of the best-preserved buildings, a new topographical plan of the whole site area, and an EDM plot of the main visible unexcavated remains, allow enhancement of previous commentary on social organization at the site and others of the period. It examines in detail and with the use of wide-ranging comparisons (including with sites of the preceding LM III and subsequent PG-A periods) the ways in which new social systems were materially constructed from soon after widespread settlement relocations in Crete c. 1200 BC. It highlights inter-site similarities suggesting regular, deep-rooted interaction between communities during or soon after this horizon of major social change while evaluating subtle differences probably related to differences in size and complexity between the new villages. For example, cooking facility distribution suggests a role for communal cooking, paralleled at other sites, which is here especially pronounced. This limitation on individuals' potential to achieve status through the hosting of exclusive secular feasts/gatherings may relate to particularly volatile factional competition in large settlements. Evidence recently cited in support of such a model for Karfi (the presence of several different large structures, some containing feasting evidence) is used to raise the question of whether all large secular buildings at this period must be seen as residences. The distinctive character of Karfi's eastern excavated zone (previously argued to relate to diachronic development or to ethnic origins/power balance at the sites) is here characterized in terms of its static rather than agglutinative planning, a feature possibly marking a unique social role for the area. The ‘Megarons’ block, located in this zone, is compared with similar buildings at contemporary sites, with the conclusion that Crete saw the emergence soon after 1200 BC of a fairly fixed template for public feasting buildings, drawing deliberately on features which had earlier possessed exotic/prestige associations. Though such buildings may have shared their social role with powerful families' residences, and direct emulation of their form may have been an important element in social competition, they represent a separate, standardized social institution at this period, complementing the new standardization of cult practice in settlement temples. We seem able identify consistently recognized social concepts spanning the Latest Bronze through Archaic periods in Crete, which were nonetheless transformed through their materialization in changing historical circumstances. The paper concludes by discussing future management and research potential at Karfi.

Surviving Crisis: Insights From New Excavation at Karphi, 2008

“…2). Isolation, large size, and massive construction (several surface blocks measure more than 1.5 × 0.6 m) all suggested a ‘special’ use in the context of the period (see Day and Snyder 2004; Wallace 2005a, 261–72; Wallace 2010a, 104–36). Structures potentially associated with public dining in Late Minoan IIIC settlements share some of these architectural features, but cannot yet be fully defined or characterised as a group (Wallace 2010b).…”

“…It comprises two almost identically-shaped and -sized rooms, orientated northwest to southeast, with walls preserved up to four courses above the present ground surface, like several other large buildings in the same area (Nowicki 1987, 242–3 [called C2]; Wallace 2005a, 246). No doorways are clearly visible (Wallace 2005a, 233–8). Such massive construction is infrequently seen in the rest of the Karphi site – the Great House and Building A1 provide the closest excavated parallels.…”

“…Karphi is one of the best-known settlements of the east Mediterranean Bronze to Iron Age transition (1200–1000 bc : Late Minoan IIIC–Early Protogeometric; Pendlebury et al 1937–8; Nowicki 1987; 2000, 157–64; Wallace 2005a). This is one of the clearest, most geographically extensive horizons of state collapse in Mediterranean prehistory, yet its causes and consequences remain poorly understood (Dickinson 2006; Drews 1993; Ward and Joukowsky 1992; Yasur-Landau 2010, 58–95).…”

“…While some stratigraphy was observed, the preliminary report did not describe it in any detailed way. Pottery dating for the Bronze to Iron Age transition was of limited resolution at this time (Seiradaki 1960; Wallace 2005a, 219–20; see Day 2011 for a masterly restudy of the assemblage in the light of material recently excavated from other sites of the period). Thus the diachronic growth of the settlement, and the nature of any social or functional zoning within it, remained poorly understood after excavation.…”

“…Pilot excavation at Karphi in 2008 took place as part of a wider-ranging field project in this local region, commencing in 2002 (Wallace 2003b; 2005a; 2005b) and designed to answer research questions relating to (a) changing human relationships with, and perceptions of, landscape through the crisis period, and (b) the potentially complex nature of social construction at large new communities in the post-crisis period. Pertinent to both these wider questions and partly elucidated by the pilot investigation is the nature of Karphi's economy – both subsistence and commodity spheres.…”