Pylos Combat Agate

The Pylos Combat Agate is an Minoan sealstone of the Mycenaean era, likely manufactured in Late Minoan Crete. It depicts two warriors engaged in hand-to-hand combat.[1][2] It was discovered in the Griffin Warrior Tomb near the Palace of Nestor in Pylos and is dated to about 1450 BCE.[3] The seal has come to be known as Pylos Combat Agate.[2]

Pylos Combat Agate
The Pylos Combat Agate
MaterialAgate
Size3.4 centimetres (1.3 in)
Created1450 BCE
Period/cultureAegean Bronze Age
Discovered2017
Pylos, Greece
37°01′41.6″N 21°41′45.4″E
Discovered bySharon Stocker and Jack L. Davis
Location of discovery

The seal is noted for its exceptionally fine and elaborate engraving, and considered "the single best work of glyptic art ever recovered from the Aegean Bronze Age"[2] the quality of the work anticipates later developments as far ahead as the Classical era of a millennium later.

Background
Main article: Griffin Warrior Tomb

The Pylos Combat Agate was discovered by a University of Cincinnati archaeological team directed by Sharon Stocker and Jack Davis in the Griffin Warrior Tomb near modern-day Pylos. It consists of an amygdaloid (almond-shaped) sealstone of banded agate, with gold caps, measuring 3.6 cm in length (1.4 in) and was found alongside four gold signet rings.[4][5]

Though the site was discovered in 2015, the agate, then covered in limestone, would not be revealed until 2017 as other finds from the site were published first.[6] Afterwards, the agate underwent conservation and study for a year. Prior to conservation, the stone was believed to be a bead due to its small scale.[7] Due to a longstanding consensus that Mycenaean civilizations imported or stole riches from Minoan Crete, it is believed that the seal was created in Crete.[1][8] The fact that the stone was found in a Mycenaean tomb in mainland Greece is suggestive of cultural exchange between the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations.[3]

Subject matter

The seal portrays a warrior who, having already defeated one opponent sprawled at his feet, is plunging his sword into the exposed neck of another foe with a "figure-of-eight" shield, while at the same time grabbing the crest of the man's helmet.[2] The scene strikingly resembles that of the gold cushion seal from Shaft Grave III in Grave Circle A in Mycenae[9] (and is similar to other Late Bronze Age signets or seals, such as the "Battle of the Glen" gold signet from the Shaft Grave IV at Mycenae). It is believed that both objects were modeled after a well-known prototype, perhaps a wall painting,[10] as it had already been suggested for other Early Mycenaean works of glyptic art;[11] this view is partly shared by the discoverers, who otherwise see an intentional parallel between the winning hero in the sealstone and the person who was buried with it, also in view of the correspondence between his arms and ornaments (e.g., a necklace and a sealstone) and objects that are also found in the grave, close to the body.[1]

Similar scenes in Mycenean seals
The combat scene in this gold cushion seal (from Grave III of Grave Circle A in Mycenae) closely resembles the one in the Pylos Combat Agate
A similar combat scene in the "Battle of the Glen" ring, Shaft Grave IV at Mycenae. National Archaeological Museum of Athens
"Battle of the Glen" ring (drawing of the impression)

Impact

In 2016, the Greek Culture Ministry referred to this excavation as the most significant discovery in continental Greece in the last 65 years.[2] The small scale of the intricate details prompted questions regarding ancient Greek civilizations' ability to create such an object; some archaeologists believe that such minute details could have only been created with the help of a magnifying glass, though none dating from the stone's period have been found on the island of Crete.[12]

Its co-discoverer, Dr. Jack Davis, refers to the piece as "incomprehensibly small", remarking that works of art with as much detail would not be seen "for another thousand years."[2] He also added: “It seems that the Minoans were producing art of the sort that no one ever imagined they were capable of producing. It's a spectacular find."[2] Researchers have asserted that this discovery challenges previously established consensuses regarding the artistic development of the Minoan civilization.[3] The agate's researchers state that this discovery necessitates a reevaluation of the time-line on which Greek art developed.[13] While dated as belonging to the Aegean Bronze Age, Davis notes that it bears more resemblance to Classical period art, which developed a millennium later, due to the breadth of anatomical knowledge embodied in the stone's engravings.[2]

See also

References
  1. Stocker, Sharon R.; Davis, Jack L. (2017). "The Combat Agate from the Grave of the Griffin Warrior at Pylos". Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. 86 (4): 583–605. doi:10.2972/hesperia.86.4.0583. ISSN 0018-098X. JSTOR 10.2972/hesperia.86.4.0583.
  2. "Unearthing a masterpiece". University of Cincinnati Magazine. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  3. Gibbens, Sarah (7 November 2017). "Ancient Greek 'Masterpiece' Revealed on Thumb-Size Gem". National Geographic. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  4. Goenka, Himanshu (7 November 2017). "Pylos Combat Agate, Ancient Greek Seal, Fine Specimen Of Miniature Prehistoric Art". International Business Times. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  5. In, Geology. "Pylos Combat Agate' Rare Minoan Sealstone Discovered". Geology IN. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  6. Ne, NICHOLAS WADE New York Times (2017-11-15). "Grecian artifact evokes tales from the 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey'". The Bulletin. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  7. Harthorne, Michael (2017-11-07). "Epic Battle on Tiny Stone Could Change Our Knowledge of Ancient Greece". Newser. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  8. "Archaeologists unearth 'masterpiece' sealstone in Greek tomb". EurekAlert Science News. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. Sakellariou, Agnes; Matz, Friedrich; Biesantz, Hagen (2016). Matz, Friedrich; Biesantz, Hagen (eds.). Die Minoischen und Mykenischen Siegel des Nationalmuseums in Athen (Corpus der Minoischen und Mykenischen Siegel, Vol. 1). Corpus der Minoischen und Mykenischen Siegel. Heidelberg: Propileaeum. p. 22. doi:10.11588/propylaeum.93.112. ISBN 9783946654209. OCLC 953314912.
  10. Saraceni, Jessica E. "Griffin Warrior's Tomb Yields Finely Carved Seal Stone - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  11. Hiller, S. 1999. “Scenes of Warfare and Combat in the Arts of Aegean Late Bronze Age: Reflections on Typology and Development,” in Laffineur and Driessen 1999, pp. 319-330.
  12. Wade, Nicholas (6 November 2017). "A Grecian Artifact Evokes Tales From the 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey'". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  13. "Pylos Combat Agate Could Rewrite Ancient Greek Art History - Deviant World". Deviant World. 2017-11-14. Archived from the original on 2017-12-17. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
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