Pithoi, Size and Symbols: Some Preliminary Considerations on the Akrotiri Evidence

CONTEXT

In an article exploring the interrelationship between the signs on the pithoi and the probable content, Professor C. Doumas produces a matrix structure for the total number of observed signs (Doumas 1978). Moreover he completes the matrix by hypothesizing an additional sign not encountered at the time of that study. The matrix is shown in Fig. 1. The basic motif, from which all other signs may be construed as being built, is a circle. The circle may be filled or empty, or it may contain a cruciform pattern, thus producing a fundamental set of three signs. The fundamental set is modified further with the addition of one or two concentric circles, thereby producing a total of nine signs. The modifications may represent variations in quality or type of content of the vessels (Doumas 1978). The symbols may be viewed in two alternative ways, suggested in Doumas (op. cit.), either row by row or column by column. Typical examples are shown in Figures 2 and 3.

It is often the case that signs of only one kind are encountered on a single pithos and these are invariably arranged in a columnar fashion, frequently encompassing the spigot at the bottom of the vessel bearing them. However, in one case two symbols belonging to the same row of the matrix, s22 and s23 of Fig. 1, do occur together. The number of signs on a vessel is not constant but varies in a way that seems to be correlated with the capacity of the corresponding vessel. This relationship is studied in this paper. 

THE MATERIAL AND RESULTS

In order to elicit the relationship between the number of signs and vessel capacity a series of measurements was carried out to estimate the capacity of a range of pithoi from their internal dimensions. The measurements are susceptible to a cumulative uncertainty, yielding figures for capacity that are reliable to approximately 10% - 15% of the estimated value. Thus the relationships that are elicited in this paper are also susceptible to this range of uncertainty.

For the purpose of this paper the matrix [sij], i = 1,2,3, j = 1,2,3, is taken to be the reference structure for the signs, with i representing the rows and j the columns. Thus the sign s12 is the second sign of the first row - i.e. two concentric circles. The material examined so far includes a large proportion of the signs. A table of measurements is given in Table I. The material available so far enables us to draw some inference both with respect to the intrasign as well as the intersign relationships.

Table I:

For the intrasign case the material indicates that the total number of signs on a vessel is related to the capacity of the vessel. Thus it is evident from Table I that the ratio of the capacities H/D is 1.8 while the corresponding ratio of the number of signs is 7/4 i.e. 1.75 (For convenience the ratios are expressed as decimal numbers rather than fractions). These figures are very close, indeed they are closer than the expected uncertainty range of 10% - 15%. Similarly the capacity ratio of A/F is 1.67 whereas the ratio of the number of signs is 1.4; the correspondence in this case is within the expected uncertainty range. The correspondence between E and J in Table I is again within the expected limits in that the capacity ratio is 1.09 while the ratio of the number of signs is 1. Therefore the evidence indicates that the capacity of a vessel examined in this study is directly proportional to the number of signs found on it, and this relationship is independent of the type of sign used.

Additional comments can be made with respect to the last column of Table I. It is observed that the signs s32 and s33 stand in the ratio 2:1 - i.e. s32 represents a measure of capacity which is twice that for s33. It seems that the modifying concentric circle has decreased the value by a factor of 2. However this observation is not universal in that the relationship between s22 and s23 is approximately 2:1, but inversely so. This particular case is extracted from the data of C and E in Table I.

OBSERVATIONS

1. It is evident from the above that the capacity of a pithos is conceivably indicated by the number of times a specific sign appears on it.
2. There appear to be interrelationships between certain signs (e.g. s22 and s23).
3. Apart from the apparent relationships indicated in (2) above at this point of the study there are no further salient correspondences derivable from the existing material. This part of the study will continue when new material is made available.
4. There is a frequently occurring unit value of around 24 litres, irrespective of the sign. This may mean that the different basic signs indicate the type/quality of material contained in the pithoi as already observed by Doumas (op. cit.).

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