La tomba 9 della necropoli di Kalyvia a Festòs: una riconsiderazione

This paper reassesses the evidence from tomb 9 of Kalyvia near Phaistos, drawing on both the original excavation report by Luigi Savignoni and a preliminary analysis of the materials now stored in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. After reviewing elements that tomb 9 shares with other chamber tombs of the same cemetery and with tombs in the Knossos area (such as the apsidal plan, the presence of benches and cists, traces of wood under the skeletons), peculiarities are stressed as far as the composition of the pottery assemblages is concerned. All in all, fifteen clay vessels were retrieved from the tomb, which consisted of both closed and open shapes; among the latter, there were at least five drinking vessels of no less than three different shapes (kylix with high-swung handles, onehandled kylix, and fragments of at least three, and possibly four stems). So far, tomb 9 is the only tomb in Kalyvia, which documents the presence of kylikes and of several undecorated vessels that were left in situ, due to their heavily fragmentary conditions. Conversely, tomb 9 did not yield piriform jars, eight of which were retrieved in several tombs at Kalyvia, but are unparalleled in the other cemeteries of Western Messara. One more peculiarity within the cemetery is the discovery of a squat alabastron, which can be compared to specimens from tombs at Knossos, Katsambas, and Kamilari. It is suggested that alabastra could have replaced piriform jars in Final Palatial tombs of the Western Messara, due to the identity of function with the latter.