Classification, Use and Function of Hanging Nodules in the Neopalatial Administrative Practices (Minoan Crete)

Clay sealings are administrative devices well attested in the Aegean during the entire Bronze Age. Their shapes, characteristics and function change through time and, at least until the last phase of the Late Bronze Age, are in part still poorly defined. As for the Neopalatial period, almost all the available material dates to LM I and is grouped in four main types, conventionally called noduli, roundels, flat-based nodules and hanging nodules. The present paper focuses on the hanging nodules, which are in turn divided into Single-hole hanging nodules (also called sting-end nodules) and Two-hole hanging nodules (also called string nodules). Since the evidence at our disposal is inconsistent, its interpretation largely depends on the way in which data have been collected. My goal here is to suggest some adjustments in the classification methodology, and to highlight possible relationships among different types of documents according to the archaeological contexts in which they have been found.