The Marine Aspect of the Temple Repositories in the Palace of Knossos

The so-called Temple Repositories in the West Wing of the palace of Knossos are famous for their faience ‘snake goddesses’. However, along with hundreds of other objects, there were also remains of molluscs, with about 6392 marine shells of more than 35 species and subspecies. These are unique in the sense that even if the molluscs were originally collected to be consumed, their shells were not discarded as food debris by the Minoans. On the contrary, they were used in the shrine to which the ‘snake goddesses’ and all the other objects belonged as something important, since over 600 of them were painted. The painted ones may have been displayed on the altar or arranged on panels on the walls of the shrine. Others bear deliberate perforations at the umbo (the ‘beak’ of a bivalve) to be suspended perhaps in garlands with flowers and beads, while others display similar perforations caused by biogenic processes. Their importance is also evident in the fact that after the destruction of the shrine they belonged to, they were collected along with all the other important artefacts (made of faience, gold, ivory) and were carefully arranged inside the Temple Repositories and covered in soil—a ceremonial burial at the heart of the palace. Along with an analysis of these important remains in their context, the marine shells will be compared with the shells living today in the Aegean Sea. They will also be discussed according to their natural setting and habitat through an overview of the development and changes of the shores of the Knossos region.