Sea-Shells, Land Snails and other Marine Remains from Akrotiri

Almost all shells served as food, some as bait, others as ornamental objects, ritual utensils, in building etc. An attempt has been made to compare the sample with other contemporary shell samples from Crete and the Aegean.

INTRODUCTION

During the last decade analysis of faunal and floral remains has become increasingly important in Mediterranean archaeology. Specialist studies concerning domesticated animals and food plants are quite common, but as yet less attention has been paid to marine invertebrates and fish bones (Karali 1979).

Through application of modern archaeological methods, appropriate planning and programming, satisfactory recovery of this kind of material can be achieved, enabling us to reconstruct our environmental past. Small samples collected at random are less useful and significant than larger and systematically collected ones. To recover and preserve smaller objects and shell debris requires hand-sieving and flotation.

The publication of the marine shells and land snails found at Akrotiri in numerous campaigns from 1967-1987 is one of a series of scientific studies of the various materials produced by the site, which are expected to provide valuable data on the function of the architectural remains and artefacts excavated there.

Until recently the sea shells have only been mentioned by the excavators in passing, because they did not consider these remnants able to furnish any indications about dating or of particular artistic value. For this reason, although we have samples of shells from the first campaigns at Akrotiri, we do not have the whole quantity of shells found by the excavators. Now that the importance of this material has been recognized, our collection is much more complete. This discontinuity in the pattern of recovering sea shells from the excavation creates several problems in their study as a whole and thus leaves many questions unanswered. So we have to assume that what is lost is lost forever and then proceed to confront a second problem, which is the labelling and deciphering of the old material; this is sometimes complicated or incomplete since only recently has a general conventional table of the names of the buildings and areas been established. Consequently some questions will probably never be answered and some of the shells cannot be assigned to the place they were originally found.

The shells found at Akrotiri are both whole (complete) and fragments (incomplete). Fragments have been counted as whole when large or found alone, otherwise an attempt has been made to assemble those fragments belonging to a whole shell. Totals and percentages (Karali 1987), although not exactly representative of reality, as is apparent from the foregoing remarks, are nevertheless close to it (Table 1, 2).

The zoological species have been identified and in the general table their find-spots and distribution over the whole area is presented. Such catalogues exist for each building and separately for each room. In the right hand column of the table are the totals per room or building and on the bottom horizontal line the totals per zoological species. At the right corner is the total number of shells (Table 2).

There are 2349 invertebrate remains from Cycladic levels, not counting the innumerable fragments used as cement on the floors and those samples from the first seasons of which the provenance is unknown. These come from the West House, House of the Ladies, Xeste 2, Xeste 3, Xeste 4, Sectors Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and from some trial trenches.

Twenty-four different species have been identified of which 23 are marine (including bivalves, gastropods and cephalopods) and 1 terrestrial (Fig. 1).

Over 54.1% of the collection, 1220 shells, are Murex spp., most of them fragmented. Of these 1196 shells are Murex trunculus Linné (53.8%) and 24 shells are Murex brandaris Linné (1.06%). Murex is mainly found on hard rocky bottoms in the upper coastal zone and they are often caught for bait. Over 32.8% of the collection, 739 shells, are Patella spp., most of them Patella coerulea Linné, some Patella aspera Linné and some Patella vulgata Linné. Limpets are found in the littoral zone and above the water line. They live attached to rocks and graze on algae. Throughout the Mediterranean they are eaten raw and the first three months of the year are considered the best time for limpet consumption. They are also commonly used as fish bait.

The rest of the marine invertebrates are represented in very small quantities and as a whole account for only 13.04% of the total: 81 Monodonta turbinata Born, 49 Glycimeris glycimeris Linné, 31 Triton tritonis Linné, 23 Pinna nobilis Linné, 23 Paracentrotus lividus Lamarck, 17 Cassidaria cassidaria Lamarck, 13 Columbella rustica Linné, 8 Cerithium vulgatum Bruguières, 8 Luria lurida Linné, 6 Gibbula divaricata Linné, 6 Spondylus gaederopus Linné, 5 Callista chione Linné, 5 Pisania maculosa Lamarck, 4 Euthria cornea Linné, 3 Cardium edule Linné, 3 Pecten jacobaeus Linné, 3 Arca noae Linné, 3 Lemintina arenaria Linné, 2 Nassa neritea Linné, 1 Conus ventricosus Gmelin.

The land snail Helix cincta Müller seems to have been much appreciated by the inhabitants of Akrotiri, comprising 8% of the total of shell remains and represented by 196 specimens. It is quite common in Greece and is found at many archaeological sites.

Of the molluscs enumerated, 66% are found on rocky shores (e.g. Patella spp., Murex spp. etc.), 13% on sandy shores (e.g. Cardium spp., Lemintina arenaria L. etc.) and 21% on mixed shores (e.g. Monodonta spp., Columbella spp.).

Their ecological environment is almost the same as the present shores of the site. This is an important point because analysis of collections of shells and fish bones from coastal sites often permits a reconstruction of the ancient coastline. Since these have specific habitats, it is possible to reconstruct the ancient beach by comparing the archaeological collection with modern beach fauna. Marine fauna in conjunction with geological investigation may lead to a new understanding of the site as a harbour or port.

The number of shells found is quite small for such an extensive site. Many of them have been found discarded outside the buildings, in the streets or accumulations of debris and only a few actually in the rooms, these last probably left by chance after clearing.

We suppose that the inhabited places were cleaned out regularly and refuse thrown away. The fact that only a few shells look burnt is an indication of the manner of consumption of this kind of foodstuff, which was probably eaten raw. Most of the marine invertebrate remains and fish bones found are residues of food consumption. They were, and still are, a major source of protein for many people. Only careful collection, identification and analysis will indicate just how significant a source of food this material was for the inhabitants of the site. With regard to fish remains, the parts most often recovered, the vertebrae, are not particularly useful in analysis, skull bones and otoliths being more important.

Shells have been used for various utilitarian functions, especially where they are readily available, as is the case for the Aegean islands (Karali 1979, 57-59). In the Mediterranean they have been used as pottery burnishers, which could be the case for some much worn shells; or as vessels, which could be the case with the beautiful small pecten box found in room 11 of Xeste 3, and probably another pecten box from room 5 in the West House (Fig. 2). These small boxes are not common at this period and were probably used in the feminine toilet as cosmetic containers. The same type of object occurs much later in Classical and Roman times.

Several tritons have also been found at Akrotiri, most of them in a good state of preservation. Excluding those found in the House of the Ladies (which is still being excavated) and fragments found in the course of digging, 31 tritons have been recognized, 7 of which are almost intact (Fig. 3). Their dimensions vary from length 28.7 cm and width 8.7 cm for the largest, to length 6.7 cm and width 3.7 cm the smallest.

Triton tritonis Linné is a gastropod common in European seas, where it lives at a considerable depth. Most of the tritons found at Akrotiri have their apex cut away. Their use was uncertain: it could have been votive or utilitarian. The shell trumpet used for signalling alarm, summoning to assembly or prayer is a common votive in Bronze Age Greece, found in sanctuaries and accompanying burials, as well as being copied in stone, pottery and metal. The use of triton shells in Minoan and Mycenaean ritual has been discussed by several authors. A lentoid crystal sealstone from the Idean Cave in Crete shows a priestess blowing such a trumpet, or using a sacred vessel made out of a triton, standing in front of an altar with horns of consecration (Mosso 1908, 141). Another use of tritons is as ladles for wine or olive oil, which was and still is widespread in certain rural communities. It is difficult to ascertain whether the tritons found on Thera had a religious or utilitarian function. Further study of the buildings in which they were found and their exact context will perhaps throw light on this matter.

Murex shells are particularly abundant (Fig. 4). The presence of such large quantities of murex fragments, most of which are in fact crushed, immediately prompts us to think of one of the most famous uses of this mollusc in the ancient Mediterranean, namely the production of porphyry. This purple dye is produced by extracting the hypobranchial gland found in the mantle cavity, for which the living mollusc was required. Water-worn or beach-worn specimens indicate that they were not collected for dye or for food. The liquid is whitish in appearance at first, turning blue-purple on exposure to the air and sun. The animal was extracted by piercing or crushing the shell. It was then mixed with salt and water and boiled in huge basins for several days. Enormous numbers are required (12,000 shells yield 1.50 grams of dye, only sufficient for the border of a garment). Modern researchers are tempted to see 'purple dye' production wherever they find a certain concentration of murex in the debris, though this operation requires specific installations in the open air, no indications of which have been found so far. The noxious odour produced makes it unlikely that the dye would have been manufactured near an inhabited area. Moreover, it seems improbable that in such a well-organized and 'hygiene conscious' society as that at Akrotiri such a process would take place in the middle of the city. If such an operation existed, which is possible, this would have taken place on the outskirts, far from the inhabited area. Only extension of the excavation will furnish such indications. So, for the present, our murex sample from the buildings and streets will be interpreted as mainly food debris and bait.

Mention should be made of the crushed shells, mostly murex, used as construction material for the floors of many rooms (Xeste 3, Pithoi Storeroom A2, B6 inter al.), as well as in mortar, as a filler in pottery production etc.

The zoological species and their uses display many similarities with mollusc remains from other Cycladic islands (Paros, Amorgos, Milos, Syros etc.) and Crete (Knossos, Mallia, Myrtos, Kommos etc.) of the same periods. The composition of the samples depends on the nature of the shores and proximity to the coast. Their presence and their role in the everyday life of the people, as well as in art and religion, is both understandable and normal for populations composed largely of fishermen and seafarers.

Of course by no means everything is yet known about the malacological material from Akrotiri. Nevertheless it has been demonstrated that the ecological environment at the time the site flourished was very similar to the present one. The study of modern shellfish consumption patterns, animal behaviour, shell growth-band and thickening and an examination of shells, fish vertebrae and otoliths using oxygen isotope analysis may allow for a reconstruction of seasonal patterns, particularly with regard to food consumption at Akrotiri. Shellfish and fish are still an important part of the diet today and are used as bait in the same way. This is equally applicable to land snails which are still appreciated as a delicacy. The vases containing land snails are proof of this same use in the Cycladic city.

The potential of shellfish analyses at Akrotiri and in Aegean archaeology has yet to be fully realized by most archaeologists and specialists.

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