Assembly on the Hill and Ship Wreck
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28
The West House
Room 5, north wall
H: 0.45 / L: 0.86 m
A coastal town is represented on the northern wall. In this composition, several different scenes are portrayed.
The middle left section of the Frieze shows men wearing armaments typical of Bronze Age Aegean warriors. In the top left section, above the warriors, sits a herd of goats as if corralled. Beneath the warriors is a detailed depiction of drowning men and wrecked ships, possibly casualties from a naval battle. To the left of the Frieze is a gathering of men on a hill; formally dressed, they seem to compose an assembly. Minoan shrines and votives offerings have been found on hill-tops throughout the Aegean, indicating that they were places of religious gathering.
In contrast to the formality of battle and assembly, the centre portion of the Frieze portrays images of women collecting water from a well in what seems to be a domestic snap-shot.