Neopalatial Minoan Influence

MM IIB Phaistos, Knossos, Kommos palaces destroyed
MM IB = Protopalatial (or Old Palace)
Linear A found at Phylakopi, Ayia Irini, Akrotiri
Bacchylides said one of Minos's sons founded a colony on Keos
the fact that Ayia Irini looks incredibly Minoan makes us want to see a connection there
MM IIB intensive Minoan contact with western Asian Minor & the Dodecanese
Minoan influence relatively insignificant as far north as the Troad
Trianda on Rhodes probably an actual Minoan colony

toward the end of the Middle Helladic, Minoan influence already on the southern Mainland

Messenia:
adoption of the tholos tomb inspired by the Minoan tholos of the Mesara type as well as by indigenous circular forms of tomb such as MH tumuli
Dickinson does not think tholos was derived from the Cretan circular tombs, for which we have no evidence that they were vaulted or underground, and they had attached complexes of chambers, which early tholoi do not
Peristeria has a building with mason marks on its ashlar masonry which some consider to be Linear A signs

Laconia:
lapis Lacedaemonius (green-flecked porphyry) used by Minoans
tentative short Linear A inscription at Ayios Stephanos

Argolid:
GCA&B have many items argued to be of Minoan manufacture
inlaid daggers, silver, bronze, & stone vessels, seals & signet rings
however, the scenes look more Mycenaean, so maybe resident alien Minoan craftsmen at Mycenae making items to order
tholoi not adopted until LH I or even LH IIA, 1-3 generations later than in Messenia

1750-1500 Neopalatial
1500-1375 Mycenaean dominance at Knossos
if there was a thalassocracy, one or both of those two periods are the best candidate

maybe some colonialism going on, hard to tell if the Minoans were ruling at any particular place
depictions of a fleet at Akrotiri, but may not have been permanent, just a response to pirates

everything about Minoan influence can be explained without recourse to militarism

Theran eruption
LM IB destruction horizon across Crete, ca. 1490/1470, either related or unrelated or a little related
local earthquakes & marauders?
outside invasion?
may have been short-lived destruction, or maybe up to 25-40 years of unsettled times
Cf. France during the Hundred Years' War

LM II-IIIA2 early (1490/1470-1385/1375) Mycenaeans at Knossos?
1. Mycenaean king
2. Mycenaean viceroy
3. Minoan dynast who destroyed other palaces and dominated from Knossos

Warrior Graves, art looks a lot more Mainland,
Linear B originally attributed to this period (LM IIIA2 late 15th to early 14th), but maybe actually not until mid 13th (LM IIIB) when Knossos finally destroyed
then again, maybe some groups were earlier
so DP omits them from the evidence

Warrior Graves
shaft-niche and chamber tombs
most only a single corpse, and even multiple burials no earlier than LM IB
many of the cemeteries not in earlier use than LM II
preference for weapons as burial goods not found in earlier Cretan burials
hoards of bronze vessels common in Mainland, rare in earlier Cretan burials
two-handed goblet/kylix a Mainland shape
large amounts of jewelry worn by the dead in the tombs

first appearance of amber in Crete in the Warrior graves
more militarism in the art

LH I-IIIA1, most evidence is funerary in nature
shaft graves, tholoi, and chamber tombs

1385/1375 BCE, destruction of Knossos, LM IIIA2
bronzework suffers a severe & permanent decline in the Aegean
fire destruction by human agency, since Mycenaean presence disappears
either Mycenaean prince(s), or local population fed up

LM IIIB 13th century independent kingdom of Chania, Linear B tablets

1352-1388 Amarna occupied under Akhenaten
large finds of Mycenaean pottery
almost complete absence of Minoan pottery

Akrotiri

Major earthquake first
wrecking crews on buildings, rubble neatly piled, wrecking balls
purposeful demolition followed by rebuilding and rehabitation
may have been a decent amount of time between earthquake and volcano, years or maybe even 2-3 decades
however, rebuilding and restoration was still in progress when the eruption hit
LC I, near end of LM IA, LH I sometime before use of GCA in LH IIA

the lowest stratum of pumice ash was slightly oxidized, meaning probably exposed to the atmosphere for 2-24 months before being covered by the major pumice fall
this may have been the warning they needed to get out, since the first fall was not likely to have caused loss of life, 3 cm thick
2nd stratum of rather larger pumice between .5 and 1 meter thick
final deposit of tephra over 5 meters thick at Akrotiri and up to 50 elsewhere, bits of pumice 15 centimeters across, large boulders of basalt

most pumice to the southeast of Santorini
Greek ML & western Crete unaffected
eastern Crete 1-5 (10 max) cm of pumice
probably would have eroded quickly & increased the fertility of the soil, not brought about the collapse of civilization
some sediment found in western Anatolia
tidal wave may not have been big enough to cause massive destruction either

earthquake early in LM IA, eruption in later LM IA, Neopalatial destructions LM IB