There were many types of Minoan burials on Crete, with cave burials, chamber tombs or tholos tombs all popular on different parts of the island.
Burial was a reflection of life. Bodies were interred with their everyday possessions as well as special funerary items. Some burials were individual, but it was more common for ancient Cretan tombs to be communal, housing the dead of whole communities or for particular clans.
Minoan Pithoi and Larnax Burials
The dead of ancient Crete were commonly interred in groups rather than individual graves. In the very early Minoan period, it was typical for generation after generation to be indiscriminately added to the same tomb with only a layer of white sand placed over the bodies. This practice led to the bones and grave goods of individuals and different generations becoming mixed, as they were often swept to one side to make room for others.
Towards the beginning of the Middle Minoan period, methods of internment in communal tombs began to change. Sometimes wooden coffins or biers were used. But more commonly, individual burials occurred in stone or terracotta vessels known as larnax or pithoi.
Larnax burials were burials peculiar to Crete. They consisted of an oval stone, terracotta or marble pot used to contain human remains placed into pits cut into the earth or individually into tombs.
Pithoi were similar to larnax. Originally pottery vessels commonly used for storing foodstuffs, they were large enough to accommodate children or infants for burial.
It was not only burials types that varied in Minoan Crete. The types of tombs used to contain these burials varied across the island.
Minoan Cave Burials
Cave burials were the earliest types of Minoan burial. Dating from the Neolithic, they are a precursor of the later chamber or house tombs. Generally, cave tombs continued to be favoured more in the island’s far eastern and western areas. Bodies were interred communally in small depressions. Famous Minoan cave burials can be found at the Trapeza cave and Yerondomouri cave.
Chamber Tombs
Chamber or house tombs were common northern of Minoan Crete, first appearing in the early Minoan period. They were circular, or horseshoe-shaped, built of stone slabs and finished with flat roofs. Inside were square or polygonal interior chambers, reached via a threshold entrance sealed with a stone slab.
Famous chamber tombs include the South Royal tomb at Gypsades, near Knossos, a two-story structure with a courtyard, portico, antechamber and pillared main square chamber.
Minoan Tholos Tombs
Most popular in central to southern Crete, during the early to middle Minoan period, there are 70 known examples of tholoi or tholos tombs across Crete, situated over forty different sites.
Tholos tombs, also common on the Greek mainland, were circular with a domed roof that gave the structure its name. The walls were thick and made of rough stone bound with clay. The diameters of tholoi across Crete varied between 4 and 13 meters. Entrances were usually small and east facing.
Each tholos tomb most likely belonged to a family group rather than to a settlement as a whole, as several tombs have been found in the same area that were in use at the same time.
Minoan Grave Goods
As for the grave goods found in these burials and tombs, they also varied. Often they were items used by the individual in life. Pottery and stone vessels, tools, seals, weapons, jewellery have all been found interred with the dead showing signs of regular use, indicating that they were personal possessions. Food and drink would also often be added to the tomb to accompany the deceased into the afterlife.
Grave goods also included specifically funerary items. These included stone vases, so small that they were impractical for everyday use. Vessels shaped like animals or people were also common. Archaeologists have established these objects were specifically made for the grave as they are not found amongst household objects discovered during excavations of Minoan towns and homes.
Sources
Vasilakis, Andonis (1999) Minoan Crete: From Myth to History. Adam Editions: Athens
The Origin and Iconography of the Late Minoan Painted Larnax
