178 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
INTERESTING DISCOVERIES IN CRETE 
TWO kinds of pottery found by Miss Harriet Boyd in her 
archaeological researches in Crete, for the University of 
Pennsylvania, this year, are considered the most important 
discoveries which she has made since she began digging in 
the buried city of Gournia in 1901. Both styles of pottery, 
according to Miss Boyd, undoubtedly belong to the three epochs 
of the city, which reach back to the third millenium before 
Christ. Beyond being able to give them a relative position 
in point of time, archaeologists possess no knowledge concern- 
ing them. 
TRAY FOR WASH BOWL AND PITCHER— AUSTIN ROSSER. (Page 172.) 
Miss Boyd calls one of the pieces Vasilica and saj's it is 
uniciue. The coloring is a mottled lustrous black and red 
and the motives are evidently taken from the stories of Libya 
and Troy. The other is a hitherto unknown style of geo- 
metric pottery, painted white on black. These finds are the 
more important, as pottery is the archaeologists' chief guide in 
Aegean excavations. In Cretan researches seven epochs have 
been established by different styles of. pottery, covering a 
period of i,ooo to 1,500 years from about 2,500 to 1,300 3-ears 
before Christ. 
.'^ There are no traditions in Crete of this buried city. The 
work of excavating was resumed last year, when a small acro- 
polis, a small palace and other buildings were imcovered, all 
belonging to one period, about 1,600 years before Christ. 
Under a permit from the Minister of Education of the 
Cretan government the work of excavation this year was con- 
ducted twelve weeks, as against ten weeks devoted to this work 
in 1901 and 1903 respectively. Abovit one hundred Cretans 
were employed under a Greek overseer from Delphi. A village 
site belonging to the third millenium was discovered about 
two miles west of Gournia, which is situated on the Isthmus 
of Hierapetra at the eastern end of the island. In Gournia 
twelve tombs were discovered in soft limestone rock shelters 
or hollow caves. Some of the tombs belong to the verj' earliest 
periods and some to the most recent or true Msecenean age, 
while one or two of them belonging to the middle period were 
"house tombs ' filled with bones. 
On the walls of these latter tombs faint traces of fresco 
work were discernible. Among the important finds in the 
tombs were what are said to be two of the most perfect skulls 
yet unearthed in Aegean excavations. One belongs to the 
third millenium and the other to the Mtecenean period. They 
are so well loreserved that the craniologists of the University 
of Pennsylvania hope to determine whether they belong to 
diflVrent races or t(-> one prehistoric race that may ha\'e iii- 
DETAIL DRAWING OF GOURD— MARGARET OVERBECK 
habited the island for thousands of years. Almost at the 
last moment before stopping excavations the workmen un- 
covered five rooms and a large vestibule of a house that was 
possibly a small palace of the late Maecenean period. 
In addition to the vast amount of pottery. Miss Boyd has 
brought back with her quantities of seal stones, stone vases, 
bronze tools and weapons and numerous other articles as well 
as a full set of casts of the 1,400 or more seal stones in the 
museum at Candia, and also casts of the more important of 
her finds which she has left behind in Crete. The collection 
represents nearly one and a half tons of material. — Philadelphia 
Ledger. 
J, 
V"^' 'i^Ak 
DETAIL DRAWING OF GOURD MARGARET OVERBECK 
