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CENTRAL CEILING AND ROOF SUPPORTS IN EARLY MINOAN II ARCHITECTURE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2016

J.W. Shaw*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto

Abstract

This article focuses on some central supporting walls one can see in certain buildings at Early Minoan Hagia Triadha, Fournou Korifi (Myrtos) and Vasiliki. The walls, which have Π-, C-, and L- shapes, have been viewed as central ceiling/roof supports. But that interpretation is only a partial one, for it does not explain the walls' ‘enclosing’ shapes. The solution I argue for here is that a ladder was set in each, providing access to the roof in single-storeyed buildings, as at Hagia Triadha, or to a second floor, as at Vasiliki. My investigation attempts to clarify one of the unique characteristics of Early Minoan architecture as well as how that form may have been adapted to provide access in buildings with more than a single storey.

Υποστήριξη οροφής και στέγης στην αρχιτεκτονική της Πρώιμης Μινωικής ΙΙ περιόδου

Το άρθρο αυτό επικεντρώνεται σε μερικούς κεντρικούς υποστηρικτικούς τοίχους των πρώιμων μινωικών κτηρίων στην Αγία Τριάδα, στο Φούρνου Κορυφή (Μύρτο) και στη Βασιλική. Οι τοίχοι, οι οποίοι έχουν σχήμα Π, C, και L, έχουν ερμηνευθεί ως τοίχοι στήριξης οροφής. Θεωρούμε ότι αυτή η ερμηνεία είναι μόνο μερικώς σωστή, εφόσον δεν εξηγεί τον περικλείοντα χαρακτήρα των τοίχων. Προτείνουμε ότι οι τοίχοι στηρίζαν σκάλες, που παρείχαν πρόσβαση στην οροφή των κτηριών με ένα όροφο, όπως στην Αγία Τριάδα, ή στο δεύτερο όροφο, όπως στη Βασιλική. Η έρευνα μας επιχειρεί να διασαφηνίσει ένα από τα μοναδικά χαρακτηριστικά της πρώιμης μινωικής αρχιτεκτονικής καθώς και το πώς αυτά τα αρχιτεκτονικά στοιχεία προσαρμόστηκαν ώστε να παρέχουν πρόσβαση σε κτήρια με πάνω από έναν όροφο.

Μετάφραση: Χ. Κωνσταντακοπούλου

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2016 

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