Malia (also Mallia) is a

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

and Mycenaean

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

located on the northern coast of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

in the

Heraklion Heraklion or Herakleion ( ; , , ), sometimes Iraklion, is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in G ...

area. It is about 35 kilometers east of the ancient site of

Knossos Knossos (; , ; Linear B: ''Ko-no-so'') is a Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete. The site was a major centre of the Minoan civilization and is known for its association with the Greek myth of Theseus and the minotaur. It is located on th ...

and 40 kilometers east of the modern city of

. The site lies about 3 kilometers east and inland from the modern village of Malia. It was occupied from the middle 3rd millennium BC until about 1250 BC. During the Late Minoan I period (1700 - 1470 BC) it had the third largest

Minoan palace Minoan palaces were massive building complexes built on Crete during the Bronze Age. They are often considered emblematic of the Minoan civilization and are modern tourist destinations. Archaeologists generally recognize five structures as palac ...

, destroyed at the end of the Late Minoan IB period. The other palaces are at

Hagia Triada Hagia Triada (also Haghia Triada, Hagia Triadha, Ayia Triada, Agia Triada), () is a Minoan archaeological site in Crete. The site includes the remains of an extensive settlement noted for its monumental NeoPalatial and PostPalatial period build ...

Phaistos Phaistos (, ; Ancient Greek: , , Linear B: ''Pa-i-to''; Linear A: ''Pa-i-to''), also Transliteration, transliterated as Phaestos, Festos and Latin Phaestus, is a Bronze Age archaeological site at modern Faistos, a municipality in south centr ...

Zakros Zakros ( also Zakro or Kato Zakro) is a Minoan archaeological site on the eastern coast of Crete in Lasithi, Greece. It is regarded as one of the six Minoan palaces, and its protected harbor and strategic location made it an important commercial ...

, and Gournia. It has been excavated for over a century by the French School of Athens and inscriptions of the undeciphered scripts

Cretan hieroglyphs Cretan hieroglyphs are a hieroglyphic writing system used in early Bronze Age Crete, during the Minoan era. They predate Linear A by about a century, but the two writing systems continued to be used in parallel for most of their history. , t ...

Linear A Linear A is a writing system that was used by the Minoans of Crete from 1800 BC to 1450 BC. Linear A was the primary script used in Minoan palaces, palace and religious writings of the Minoan civilization. It evolved into Linear B, ...

, and the deciphered script

Linear B Linear B is a syllabary, syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest Attested language, attested form of the Greek language. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries, the earliest known examp ...

have been found there.

History

The first signs of occupation at Malia, in the form of pottery, occurred in the Early Minoan IIA period (mid-3rd millennium BC). The first firmly dated structures were built in the Early Minoan IIB period. This town was of modest size and was destroyed by fire at the end of EM IIIB. After a time of near or total abandonment occupation resumed minimally in the Protopalatian Middle Minoan IA period. By the Middle Minoan IIB period the town had grown and a sizable mudbrick palace had been constructed. Archaeological finds from the level, including Anatolian

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

, demonstrate widespread trade was in progress. MM IIB Kamares style one-handled three-legged plate from Malia - Herakleion AM - 01

At c. 1700 BC, at the end of the Middle Minoan period, several areas of the town were destroyed. The palace was reconstructed in LM IA and then destroyed by the end of LM IB (c. 1450) and the town is abandoned.Poursat, Jean-Claude, "Malia: Palace, State, City", British School at Athens Studies, vol. 18, pp. 259–267, 2010 By c. 1450 BC the Mycenae have appeared at Malia, along with

, and the town is revitalized. The town was again destroyed, by fire c. 1370 BC. The town was rebuilt and became prosperous, only to be destroyed c. 1250 BC. A geological investigation found evidence of a modest tsunami, thought to be from the

Thera Santorini (, ), officially Thira (, ) or Thera, is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from the mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago formed by the Santorini caldera. It is the southernmos ...

eruption, with a "radiocarbon range of 1744–1544 BC for the secure pre-tsunami context and an interval 1509–1430 BC for the post-event layer".

Archaeology

The site lies about 1200 meters from the coast and 20 meters about the level of the sea, separated from the sea by a marshy area which appears to have maintained that character since Minoan times. There is no harbor. From 1919 to 1922 the site was explored by Joseph Hazzidakis, the Ephor of Ancient Monuments of Crete, focusing on the Chrysolakkos Building. Finds there included the "honeybees pendant" ( Malia Pendant). In 1922 a French School of Athens team led by Fernand Chapouthier began excavations at Malia, continuing until 1936. Work resumed in 1964 under Oliver Pelon and continued until 2012. Work resumed under the direction of Maud Devolder in 2014 with a focus on publication and restoration. In the Late Minoan IB layer an inlay was found with a representation of an Egyptian

sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

, thought to be in the style of the 18th dynasty. Excavation areas in Malia consist of the palace and a number of "town" areas. *Palace - The existing Neopalatial palace, constructed of ashlar sandstone and mudbrick, is built on the pre-existing Protopalatial palace that was destroyed in the mudbrick Middle Minoan IIB period and incorporates some of its structures. The palace is built around three courts, Central, North, and Northwest and measured about 80 meters (roughly east-east) by 100 meters (roughly north–south). *Town - The most prominent town area is Quartier Mu (also known as the Seals Workshop) which lies 200 meters to the northwest of the palace. It dates to MM II and consists of Building A, Building B, and house-workshops. Two hoards of metal tools were found. Hoard A contained a metal drill, knife-razor, saw, axe-adze, and two stone axes while Hoard B contained a metal double axe, adze, punch, drill, and some lithic tools. Another town are is Quartier Nu, dating to LM III, located north of the "Atelier de Sceaux" and north-west of the palace. It consists of three wings around a court and had two architectural phases. There are also the lesser known Quartier Delta and Quartier Pi. * Chryssolakkos/Chrysolakkos - A 30 meter by 39 meter structure, constructed of ashlar blocks and consisting of many small rooms. Its function is unclear though it is often referred to as a necropolis. Its date is also controversial though usually considered to be Middle Minoan IIB. The famous Malia Pendant was found there. Excavated by Demargne, finds included a kernos (speculated to be a libation table) with two rings of cup holders. The outer ring had 29 small and 1 large depressions while the inner ring had 12 small and 1 large depression. Many of the finds from Malia are held at the

Heraklion Archaeological Museum The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Heraklion on Crete. It is one of the largest museums in Greece, and the best in the world for Minoan art, as it contains by far the most important and complete collection of artefacts of t ...

Epigraphy

Roundels are clay disks, sealed on the edges, found at Minoan sites. They are thought to have acted as receipts. About 78% of roundels are inscribed, typically with a single

character. Five roundels have been found at Malia. One roundel bore 4 characters in 2 lines on the obverse and the 2 characters and numbers on the reverse. One bore a single character on the obverse. The remaining 3 bore only seals. Six Linear A tablets have also been found at Malia.
Salgarella, Ester, "Drawing lines: The palaeography of Linear A and Linear B", Kadmos, vol. 58, no. 1–2, pp. 61–92, 2019 At Malia Cretan Hieroglyphs, Cretan Hieroglyphic inscriptions have found in the MM IIB Quartier Mu, the MM IIIB Quartier Nu, and the MM IIIB "Depothieroglyphique" in the palace. A stray jar handle fragment with two Cretan Hieroglyphic characters was also found. Several Linear B inscribed stirrup jars have been found including four in the LM IIIA2B (Mycenae) dated level.

Malia altar stone

In the 1930s a blue

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

slab with a cuplike cavity was found by a local near Malia. It bore sixteen glyphs, apparently

Cretan Hieroglyphs Cretan hieroglyphs are a hieroglyphic writing system used in early Bronze Age Crete, during the Minoan era. They predate Linear A by about a century, but the two writing systems continued to be used in parallel for most of their history. , t ...

, a very rare example of Cretan Hieroglyphs carved on stone (vs clay or on sealstones). It is listed as item number 328 in the Corpus Hieroglyphicarum Inscriptionum Cretae (CHIC). Its date is unknown though it is usually assumed to be Minoan and its usage is unknown though it has often been assumed to be an offering or altar stone.
Peter Z. Revesz, "A Translation of the Malia Altar Stone", MATEC Web of Conferences 125, 2017 DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/201712505018

References

External links

French School of Athens Malia siteThe Neopalatial Sequence of the Palace at Malia (1700-1430 BCE, Crete). A Contextual, Architectural and Ceramic Approach - Levy-White publication project
* ttps://mwenge.github.io/linear0.xyz/ Cretan Hieroglyph texts at Malia {{Authority control Minoan sites in Crete Linear A