Oreficerie e oggetti di ornamento personale dalla necropoli di Priniàs. Osservazioni preliminari

This paper deals with the preliminary study of the precious ornaments found in the tombs of the Necropolis of Siderospilia at Priniàs during the excava ons conducted by the University of Catania. They mostly consist of small gold and silver artefacts - pendants, nger rings, earrings, plaques originally applied to clothes - and of rock crystal, faience, hard stone beads, most of them originally belonging to necklaces. This group of precious items cons tutes one of the most signi cant assemblages of materials of this type, larger than those found in the necropolis of Knossos and only inferior, as regards the amount, to those of Eleutherna. The presence of gold items inside the cemetery can provide a great deal of informa on on the general status and wealth of the inhabitants of the site just at the beginning of the rst millennium B.C., and can be symptoma c of overseas contacts, in par cular with Cyprus. Already in the deposi ons of the rst phase of the necropolis, gold is o en associated with bronze objects. It is not unlikely that the very early examples have arrived in Priniàs from outside, following the ux of Eastern in uences and imports that in this period seem to involve di erent aspects of the Cretan material culture.