Au-delà de l'horizon: différents régimes de visibilité des sépultures de Cnossos pendent le IIe millénaire av. J.-C.

During the Bronze Age, in the Knossos valley tombs and necropoleis are distributed in time and space with different architectures and grave goods. Within a period of about 500 years (ca. 1700-1200 BC, MMIIB-LMIIIC) we can distinguish two different phases: in the first (ca. 1700-1450 BC) necropoleis are located high up, enjoying an extraordinary view of the natural landscape and the main focal points of Minoan political and sanctified milieux (mountains, sea, caves and springs; peak sanctuaries, necropoleis; palace and city); in the second phase (ca. 1450-1200 BC), tombs are located lower down, in places from which it is impossible to see the important settings of Minoan memory and identity. It is not merely the degree of visibility that is changed, but also the quality of the visual perception and perspective. By integrating this material dataset within the historical-archaeological context of Knossos during the II millennium BC, I will propose an interpretation of the possible ideologies and thought-processes that seem to underlie the social actions so vividly expressed in the physical funerary landscape of the valley.