CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS*

1. Coriander, an aromatic plant of the family of Umbel-liferae, is found frequently attested in the Linear Β documents of the Mycenaean centres of Knossos, Pylos1 and Mycenae 2. It is also mentioned in Egyptian, Sanskrit and Hebrew texts 3. The use of this plant in the Aegean area in the Bronze Age is attested by the presence of coriander seeds in archaeological contexts of the second millenium 4. The combined testimony of these facts leads us to consider that this plant played a very im­portant role in the economy and diet of the second millenium.

2. In the Knossos documents coriander appears principally in those classified as Ga. These documents contain various quan­tities of aromatic seeds, used as additives to food and ingredients of perfumes, and of dates 5. Their purpose is two-fold : on the one hand they are notes of deliveries of the recorded produce to the Palace stores, and on the other of deliveries by the Palace to certain individuals and divinities.

The entries of coriander seed appear on the tablets written by three scribes, 135, 136, and 219. Scribe 135 records exclusively entries of coriander, while scribe 136 makes on some documents entries of dates together with those of coriander. Scribe 219 re-

* I am deeply indebted to Dr J o h n Chadwick, who has read the Spanish original of this paper, kindly translated it into English, and made valuable suggestions. Dr J . Ghadwick's comments are quoted as Comments in the notes of this article. The reader can see how much it has benefited from his help, bu t the responsa-bility for the contents is of course only mine.

1 An 616.5 ko-ri-jo-da-na AROM 2 1 ; U n 219.10 KO 1; U n 267.5 ko-ri-a%-da-na AROM 6; U n 592.1 ]ko AROM 8 τ 8,· .3 ko AROM 4 τ 4.

2 Ge 605.4B.5 ko-ri-a2-da-na, [.2B?] ko-ri-ja-da-na, 603.2.7 KO, . 1 , 608.1 [.4?] ko AROM, 603.3 AROM+-ÍÍO.

3 A. F. Hill, Economie Botany*, New York, Chapter X X , s.u. coriander. On Egypt,

cf. J . Fayrer, «The Flora of Ancient Egypt», Nature 28, 1883, pp . 112 f., and

D. & P. Brothwell, Food in Antiquity, London 1969, p p . 157 f. 4 Cf. M . Ventris - J . Chadwick, Documents, p . 221. 5 J . L. Melena, «po-ni-ki-jo in the Knossos Ga tablets», Minos 14, 1973, [1975J

pp . 77-84.

134 JOSÉ L. MELENA

cords offerings of certain commodities to divinities, among which coriander appears to be attested.

3. Coriander is a small annual or biennial umbelliferous plant (coriandrum sativum L.) the seeds of which are used as an aromatic substance. Coriander needs a light, deep and fresh soil, provided with limestone. It is sown in autumn, flowers in the period between March and April, and is harvested in July. The harvesting is done by cutting the whole umbels, in the middle of which the fruits ripen and acquire a yellow colour. Then they are put to dry in the sun. After 48 hours they are dry and then beaten and prepared for cleaning. A hectolitre of coriander seed weights from 30 to 32 Kg. In cultivation an average of 1,000 Kg. per hectare is obtained 6.

Seeing that it is the seeds of this plant which are recorded on the tablets, their quantities are expressed by units of the dry system (AROM:T:V:Z :: 1:1/10:1/60:1/240 :: 96:9.6:1.6:0.4 It.) 7.

4. Scribe 135 is the author of two groups of documents: one composed of those classified as Ga(l) and the other Gg(2). Both types of document are distinguished, in addition to their differing content, by their external appearance: the Ga(l) documents measure ca. 1 1 x 2 x 1 cm., while the Gg(2) documents are somewhat larger (ca. 12.5 x2.5 x l cm.) 8.

Both groups of documents come from the storerooms of the Palace of Knossos situated in the West Wing, where J.-P. Olivier has located a department («ensemble de bureaux») whose concerns include aromatic produce, spices and amphorae of honey 9.

This scribe 135 is, as already indicated, one of the authors of the coriander records. He is also the author of the entries of ku-pa-ro, cyperus rotundus L.(?) 10, which are also measured in units

6 A. Matons, Diccionario de Agricultura, Zootecnia y Veterinaria?, Barcelona-Buenos Aires 1947, s.u. cilantro.

7 We are using the new equivalents of Documents2, pp. 393-394. 8 J.-P. Olivier, Les scribes de Cnossos, Roma 1967, pp. 81 f. 9 Op. cit., pp. 106, 125.

10 Ga 517, 518, 519. The remainder of the evidence for ku-pa-ro at Knossos is found on tablets Ga 461, 464, 465, 10584-5671, 5088, 7344, 7347, 7358, 8005, G 7352?, 7355?, 7364?, 7509 + 7879, F 157[+]7356+/>., 852+8071, 5079+8259, Uc 160[+]8032, X 7770? ku-pa-ro represents Greek κύπειρος «rush», but there is no agreement in what kind of rush (galingale or cyperus rotundus?) this ku-pa-ro was, cf. M. Wylock, «La fabrication des parfums à l'époque mycénienne d'après

CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS 135

of the dry system. This plurality of entries of different sorts can give rise to difficulties in the case of fragmentary tablets from which we have lost the express mention of the plant whose seeds are recorded, or the corresponding ideogram (for ku-pa-ro GYP or AROM+PYC). This is the case of tablet Ga 7594, which preserves nothing but the first two syllabic signs of the entry : is it a record of coriander or ku-pa-ro? The text is ma-ri[. I t should be noted that tablet Ga 674 records the delivery of a certain quantity of co­riander to ma-ri-ne-we. This fact may lead us to reconstruct in Ga 7594 a form ma-ri [-ne-we AROM X, thus assigning this document to the group which record coriander. However, another fact must be reckoned with: the tablet Ga 676 records an entry of coriander allotted to tu-wi-no-no, a man qualified as ku-pi-ri-jo, while tablet Ga 517, in the same hand, records the delivery of an amount of ku-pa-ro to tu-wi-no, a man qualified as ku-pi-ri-jo. Obviously both documents refer to the same man. This fact may cause us to consider tablet Ga 7594 as recording the parallel delivery of ku-pa-ro to a man who in Ga 674 is allotted a certain quantity of coriander. We judge it therefore better to exclude this tablet from the group of documents recording amounts of coriander.

5. There are nine documents of scribe 135 recording such amounts : their addressees and the quantity of the deliveries can be set out in the form of a table:

TABLET

674 675 676 677 678 679 680.1

.2

.lat. inf. 685

7365 TOTAL

Α Β

ma-ri-ne-we ko-ri-ja-do-no pe-ma wa-na-ka-te \ko\ pe-ma tu-wi-no-no ku-pi-ri-jo ko-ri-ja-do-no

~\ni-jo ku-pi-ri-jo ^ko-ri-ja

]ja-do ]ja-do pe-ma

~\-ni-jo ~\mi-dwe

ko-sa-ma-to ko-ri-ja-do-no

AROM Τ

10 10 6 5 5 6 1 [ I

[ I 10

2 20 73 2

les tablettes Fr de Pylos», SMEA 11, 1970, pp . 129-130, includes a sound descrip­tion of κύττειρος and its uses in ancient times. We have dealt with the ku-pa-ro records in a recent paper (J . L . Melena, «ku-pa-ro en las tablillas de Gnoso», Eme-rita 1974, p p . 307-336).

136 JOSÉ L. MELENA

Column A contains those entries on the tablets in question which do not refer to the seed. The entries referring to the seed are placed in column Β and specify that it relates to seed (pe-ma) and the class of plant to which it belongs (in this case ko-ri-ja-do-no, coriander). In tablets 678, 679, and 680.1 the coriander entry appears in abbreviated form, ]ko-ri-ja and ko-ri-\ja-do respectively.

The problem arises whether to include the notes of 680.2 and lat. inf. in one or other of the columns. If we follow the com­binatory method strictly to its limits, we shall have to see in ]-ni-jo and ]mi-dwe the terms correspondig to two new classes of aromatic seeds, as M. Lejeune has pointed o u t u . Nevertheless the evidence of a man's name ~\ni-jo in 677 + 7769 inclines us to consider both forms as the names of the recipients of the quantities of coriander recorded and to place them under column A.

Within column A difficulties are caused by the double entries, that is, those which have the term ku-pi-ri-jo coupled with the man's name. In principle the doubt turns on whether this term refers to the man or whether it qualifies the seed 12. On this point L. Godart13 has shown clearly that the term refers to the man, whatever the function it indicates (cf. § 20).

6. The people to whom the amounts of coriander are allotted are the following: ma-ri-ne-we, wa-na-ka-te, tu-wi-no-no (qualified as ku-pi-ri-jo), ]ni-jo (qualified as ku-pi-ri-jo), ]-ni-jo (perhaps the same man as the previous one), ]mi-dwe, ko-sa-ma-to and ]jo.

The majority of these personal names seem to be in the dative. That is clear in the case of ma-ri-ne-we j-ëweij, dative of a name in -eus, wa-na-ka-te ¡wanakteij and perhaps ]mi-dwe (if we under­stand that as standing for ~\mi-du-we, dative of a stem in -u-). ]ni-jo, ko-sa-ma-to and ~\jo may or may not be datives. The problem is tu-wi-no-no, since tu-wi-no is attested in Ga 517.b, which indicates that it is a name ending in a nasal. I t could be a genitive, which, though strange, would explain its appearance. But there are two other possible solutions: a scribal lapsus for *tu-wi-no-ne or a dit-tography for tu-wi-no (nominative or dative of an o-stem).

11 M. Lejeune, «De quelques idéogrammes mycéniennes», REG 72, 1959, p. 145. On ]mi-dwe as man's name cf. As 5605 +5999+i/W\(3).2 ]mi-dwe VIR[.

12 Since the decipherment, cf. M. Ventris - J . Chadwick, Documents, p. 221. 13 «ku-pi-ri-jo dans les textes mycéniens», SMEA 5, 1968, pp. 64-70.

CORIANDER ON T H E KNOSSOS TABLETS 137

Another question is the identity of the persons receiving deli­veries of coriander. On ]mi-dwe and ]jo there is nothing we can say. ko-sa-ma-to is probably a man's name, cf. PY Eb 915.1/Ep 212.8.

Two men are qualified as ku-pi-ri-jo, tu-wi-no and ]ni-jo. Another man ]-ni-jo appears without this qualification, but could still be the same person. If so, we might extend the epithet ku-pi-ri-jo to the remainder of the men's names with the exception of ma-ri-ne-we and wa-na-ka-te. In the first place, wa-na-ka-te perhaps refers to the wanax of Knossos, but we ought to ask how far it makes sense to record a delivery of coriander to the wanax for his personal use on the part of the Palace administration and in the same series as deliveries to certain craftsmen [ku-pi-ri-jo). We also ought to ask whether we have to understand here the divine Wanax, although in the case of tablets of offerings (cf. § 13) we would expect deli­veries in smaller quantities. On the other hand, it is not risky to regard wa-na-ka-te as dative of a man's name, seeing that we have the evidence of a possible man's name wa-na-ka in Knossos tablet Vc 73.

Regarding ma-ri-ne-we we need to refer to the remainder of the work of scribe 135, that is, the Gg(2) tablets. The text of these documents is as follows:

713 ma-ri-ne-we ,/ do-e-ra 'ME+RV *209VAS+A 1[

995 ma-ki-ro-ne ,/ ku-pi-ri-jo , 'ME+RP *209VAS+A 6[

5184 ] *209™+A 4[

7371 ]6 *209VAS 1[

7372 ]*209VAS±A 24

As may be seen they deal with deliveries of amphorae of honey to ma-ri-ne-we and a recipient ma-ki-ro-ne qualified as ku-pi-ri-jo, as happens on the coriander tablets. In this case both ma-ri-ne-we and ma-ki-ro-ne are datives, from *ma-ri-ne-u and *ma-ki-ro respec­tively. It is nevertheless surprising that ma-ri-ne-we is qualified

138 JOSÉ L. MELENA

as do-e-ra, when we should expect do-e-ro referring to a name in -eus. We must think, therefore, of either a lapsus scribae or that these words are independent each other. On the other hand, we might think that *ma-ri-ne-u is not a man's name but the name of an office in -eus. In support of this we might adduce the evidence of the Fh oil tablets. We know that in this type of documents the term ku-pi-ri-jo occurs frequently. In Fh 5970 we read ]no, ma-ri[ and we may ask whether we ought to reconstruct a form ma-ri[-ne-u¡we as the occupational term following a man's name in ]no.

J. Chadwick14 has drawn our attention to the fact that a genitive ma-ri-ne-wo is to be read in As 1519.11. This tablet in hand 101 lists personnel, which is sent to the oikos of *ma-ri-ne-u. Its text is as follows:

.0 sup.

•1 ] .2 i-we-ro .3 ne-o-to .4 qa-ti-ja .5 o-pi-si-jo .6 pa-ja-ro .1 ki-ke-ro .8 i-to

mut.

.9-10 uacant

VIR

VIR

VIR

VIR

VIR

VIR

VIR

VIR

.11 ma-ri-ne-wo , wo-i-ko-de

.12 to-so viR 10

.13-14 vacant

.15 inf. mut.

It is interesting to stress that two men recorded {ne-o-to line 3 and o-pi-si-jo line 5) are members of the qa-si-re-wi-ja in the care oí a-nu-to (As 1516.13-14), a fact that leads us to consider the men recorded on As 1519 were connected with industry occupations. This relationship is strengthened by the evidence from the remainder work of scribe 101. Tablets in hand 101 deal mostly with textile workers (As 40, for example, lists super-

Comments, [see also Documents*, p. 559Ί.

CORIANDER ON T H E KNOSSOS TABLETS 139

visors of textile mills, and cf. Vc 958 + 962, 1523). Labour teams registered in the As (2) tablets are usually integrated by ten men. We might think that there was a workshop in the oikos of * ma-ri-ne-u under the control of the Palace and that As 1519 lists person­nel sent to this workshop. In this sense let us mention in addition tablet Gg 713, which provides us with the evidence for female workers in the care of *ma-ri-ne-u. J . Chad wick 15 has convincingly suggested that the words recorded are to be understood as «For M., for his female servant». He points a parallel form ]ma-ri-ne-wi-ja-i attested in the new Thebes tablets (Of 25, 34) and which is probably an adjective from *ma-ri-ne-u «for women of M.».

According to J. Chadwick, the striking parallel of ma-ri-ne-wo wo-i-ko-de with po-ti-ni-ja wo-ko-de (TH Of 36) forces us to consider ma-ri-ne-u as a deity's name 16. If right, the tablets Gg(2) in hand 135 are to be included in the same purpose as those documents of sets (1) in hand 103 and (3) in hand 140, which record offerings of *209VAS me-ri to several deities. Thus, wa-na-ka-te and ma-ki-ro-ne may also refer to deities and the problem of ku-pi-ri-jo would be re-open.

An explanation of *ma-ri-ne-u as a theonym does not dispose of the labour relationships of the tablets under consideration. We might suggest that a workshop was located at the shrine of * Ma-ri-ne-u. Thus, we would have an evidence for the presence of oriental elements in the Mycenaean organization of the pro­duction. Produces from the workshop of * Ma-ri-ne-u at Knossos and from that at Thebes are unknown. We only have deliveries of possible raw materials: coriander, honey and, perhaps, olive oil at Knossos; wool at Thebes. The evidence from As 1519 may allow us to think that such deliveries were not destined only for consumption. On the basis of these raw materials we might suggest a perfume workshop at the shrine of Knossos, and a textile one at that of Thebes.

Nevertheless it remains still open the possibility that * ma-ri-ne-u be an occupational term in -eus, as pointed out above. Thus, the interpretations of ma-ki-ro-ne and wa-na-ka-te as theonyms

15 Comments. 16 Comments [see also Documents2, p . 559].

140 JOSÉ L. MELENA

would be discarded, and the technical role of ku-pi-ri-jo as suggested by L. Godart would remain in force.

7. Another question is the nature of the quantities of corian­der delivered to these people. They are 20, 10 (twice), 6 (twice), 5 (twice) and 1 major units of AROM, and in addition one delivery of 2 τ units. Leaving aside this last figure, the rest of the quanti­ties fall into the pattern 5/6, 2 x 5 , 4 χ 5, which might suggest the existence of a standard measure of 5 AROM as the basis for deliveries. This basic unit of 5/6 AROM would work out as 480/576 litres of coriander seed.

8. The work of scribe 136 includes set 2 of the Ga tablets and the isolated documents Ε 749 and 849, the first of which records various quantities of grain for localities and the second seems to record orchards whose surface is expressed, as in Pylos, by means of GRA units17. The differences between the Ga(2) tablets in external appearance, structure and measurements are not signi­ficant 18 ; they all form a homogeneous group of documents record­ing various amounts of coriander and dates. The amounts of dates have been analysed elsewhere 19. The corresponding figures for coriander can be tabulated as follows:

TABLET

34 415 416 417

lat. inf. 418 419.1

.2 421 422 423

.V

428 673 T O T A L

A

pu-na-si-jo / ti-mi-nu-wo ru-ki-ti-jo a-ka-re-u / pa-i-to qa-moj ta-u-na-so su-ri-mi-jo a3-ta-jo 1 ku-ta-ti-jo tu-to J ku-ta-ti-jo ri-wi-so

]-ti-jo a-pu-do-si ]Jo

qa-ra-jo da-wa-no , e-we-de-u ti-ri-ti[ a[-pu-do-si~\ ku-ta-ti-jo[

Β

KO 'ko-ri-ja-do-no'

ko-ri-ja-do-no KO ko-ri-ja-do-no

ko-ri[-ja-do-no] ko-ri-ja-do-no ko-ri-ja-do-no ko-ri-ja-do-no

[ ] ko-ri-ja-do-no

AROM

1 9 1

1 1

1 2

[ [

16

τ V

5 6 2

1 5

5

] ]

23 1

17 J . Chadwick, Comments. 18 J.-P. Olivier, op. cit., pp. 82 f. 19 Gf. n. 5.

CORIANDER ON T H E KNOSSOS TABLETS 141

As in the previous table, column A li ts the details which qua­lify the delivery or specify a person (place-name, or ethnic adjec­tive, man's name) and column Β lists the specification of the kind of seed recorded. Column A also contains the bureaucratic notes which identify the type of delivery (a-pu-do-si).

9. The men's names given in these documents are the fol­lowing :

a) ti-mi-nu-wo or ti-mi-*56-wo located at pu-na-so. If the second reading is correct, we can cite the fragmentary man's name ]*56-wo which is the name of a shepherd at su-ri-mo (Dv 8366). If the first reading is correct, we may cite the man's name ti-mu-nu-we (Od 539, M 683.2), if we admit two ways of noting the group -mn-, which is surprising.

b) a-ka-re-u at pa-i-to, a$-ta-jo and tu-to at ku-ta-to are hapax legomena.

c) ta-u-na-so located at qa-mo is the same name of a shepherd at qa-ra (De 1269) and of another at su-ri-mo (Dv 8357.B, cf. 1478).

d) ri-wi-so located at ku-ta-to is the name of a shepherd in the same locality (Da 1114 and Dv 1111).

e) da-wa-no who seems to be at qa-ra is located at u-qa-mo (Mc 4454) and at ja-qo (Mc 4461).

f) Finally, e-we-de-u located at qa-ra is mentioned in Vc 312 without any geographical location. We may note the form ]-de-u, which is the name of a shepherd in the ra-su-to district (Da 1194).

10. The evidence of ri-wi-so is most impressive and poses the question whether the shepherds were involved in the growing of coriander. For a reply in the affirmative we need to admit the possibility of the same person appearing on two different tablets located at two different places, as would be the case of the persons mentioned in a), c) and d). In favour of the possibility we may quote, without going outside the persons considered, the existence of some probable cross-references: such as ta-u-na-so, a person who is located at qa-mo in Ga 417 and who appears as shepherd at qa-ra, and da-wa-no, who is placed at qa-ra in Ga 423 and located

142 JOSÉ L. MELENA

at u-qa-mo in Me 4454 (supposing that u-qa-mo is a spelling variant of qa-mo 20 or a scribal blend between the two adjacent place-names u-ta-no and qa-mo).

The possibility thus envisaged that the same person, or to be more exact the same shepherd, may appear located at different places may be extended to the documents of the Da-D series. First of all we must reckon with the fact that the documents concerning sheep stations must have been drawn up at different times of the agricultural year 21. We must then not be surprised if the tablets reflect a change in the location of some flocks 22. The transfer might be due to various factors when we shall not go into here: transhumance, plucking off, etc. That these flock movements really took place may be shown by the following pairs of documents

De 1269+ 1408.A ovis™ 48 ovisf 44 [ .B ta-u-na-so / qa-ra o ovism 3[

Dv 8357 +/r . .A ovism 48 ovisf[ ] .B ta-u-na-so ,/ su-ri-mo pe-ri-qo-te-jo

Dc 1167 + 7194+7666 .A we-we-si-jo-jo ovism 157[ .B da-ja-ro ,/ di-ro o ovism 1[

Dv 1420+ 7241.a we-we-si-jo , [ .b da-ja-ro / ru-ki[-to

The coincidence in the number of ovism in the first case and of the name of the 'collector' in the second may confirm the identity of the two men who bear the same name.

On the other hand the number of shepherds who seem to be lo­cated in two or more places in the Knossos tablets is fairly large:

20 J . L. Melena, «On the Knossos Mc Tablets», Minos 13, 1972, p. 30, and J. Chad-wick, Comments, points out that u- is perhaps a definite article.

21 Gf. J . T. Killen, «The Wool Industry of Crete in the Late Bronze Age», ABSA 59, 1964, p. 10 and n. 53.

22 Contrary J . Chadwick, Comments, points out in this sense that «while it is possible that a given man moves from one place to a neighbouring one, it is clear that the place names are administrative districts, and we should therefore hesitate before moving a shepherd from one administrative district to another, though he may have moved his flock from summer to winter pastures».

CORIANDER ON THE KNÍOSSOS TABLETS 143

as-ke-wa-to at ru-ki-to (Db 1295) and ra-to (Dv 1190); a-nu-ko at pa-i-to (Db 1464) and ku-ta-to (Dc 1122) 23; a-nu-mo at qa-ra (De 1362) and [ ] (Da 5204); a-ra-ko at ti-ri-to (Db 1236) and do-ti-ja (De 1307); a-te-mo at £-ra (Dc 1298) and ku-ta-to (De 1648); au-ri-jo at β-£# (Da 1080), ku-ta-to (Da 1116) and su-ri-mo (Dv 1103) 24; fl-wa-ío at ?«-mo (Db 1049) and tu-ni-ja (Db 1246); de-ke-se-u at do-ti-ja (Db 1426) and ku-ta-to (Df 1119); ¿/w-m at e-ko-so (Dd 1271) and ra-j« (Dd 1201); e-u-ko-ro at do-ti-ja (Da 1299), da-*22-to (Dd 1149) and ft-n-ίο (Db 1389) ; >-¿o at ¿-¿o-vw (Db 1274) and da-ra-ko (Dv 5989); ka-ni-to at su-ri-mo (Db 1449) and e-ko-so (Dh 1646); ma-di-qo at si-ja-du-we (Dl 930) and ώ-wo (Db 1460); ra-ra at ra-to (Db 1185) and ft'-n-fo (Dq 1234) 25; ru-na-mo at </«-ra (Da 1098) and e-ko-so (Da 1441) 26; si-ta-ro at ¿/«-wo (De 1138) and qa-mo (Dg 1316) 27; ta-de-so at e-ko-so (De 1409) and rw-fa'-to (Df 1285) 28; ta-na-po-so at ra-^-to (Db 1198) and J^-ÍO (Dv 1410); u-ra-jo at ^a-r« (Db 1265), qa-sa-ro-we (Db 1329) and ra-su-to (Dv 5357) 29; wa-du-na-ro at ¿M-n-io(Db 1242) and ku-ta-to (Dc 1118); wi-na-jo at ra-su-to (Da 1197), *56-ko-we (Db 1225), ra-fo-to (Db 1282), ra-[ ] (Df 5198) and e-ra (Dv 1330) 30; *56-du-nu-ka at do-ti-ja (Da 1132) and ra-ίο (Dv 1191) 31.

On the supposition that the same person is meant in each case, it would be possible to draw from this evidence geographical conclusions, which we shall not go into here 32, evidence which in addition may reinforce the hypothesis that the men listed in the coriander tablets are shepherds.

J. Chad wick 33 has drawn our attention to the fact that «we are in danger of assuming that the leading names on the sheep tablets are the actual men who took the sheep out to pasture.

Number of sheep differs, 100 and 50 resp. Number of sheep differs, 200, 50 and 100 resp. Number of sheep differs, 100 and 200 resp. Number of sheep differs, 110 and 100 resp. Number of sheep differs, 200 and 100 resp. Number of sheep differs, 140 and 100 resp. Number of sheep differs, 150, 50 and 200 resp. Number of sheep differs, 40, 100, 100, 100 and 100? resp. Number of sheep differs, 100 and 110 resp. Relationships of vicinity can be appreciated, as in the case of the shepherd wa-du-na-ro (tu-ri-so and ku-ta-to) or ta-u-na-so {qa-ra and su-ri-mo). Comments.

23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

33

144 JOSÉ L. MELENA

Gould they not be the local farmer responsible for the flock, but not necessarily the man who does the shepherding?». If ri-wi-so is the same person on the coriander and sheep tablets, we might think that such a man is the responsible of a joint farm devoted to growing plants and sheep-grazing.

11. However, the quantity sent to Knossos constitutes an a-pu-do-si of the man concerned. We know very little about the fiscal system in force in the Mycenaean organization. M. Lejeu-ne 34 has recently written a notable work relative to this on the tablets of scribe 24 of Pylos, Miss C. W. Shelmerdine 35 another one relative to the Ma tablets, and we may hope that the book announced by Y. Duhoux3 6 will assist our understanding of this aspect of the Mycenaean economy.

If we cannot say anything about the link which exists between the persons of the coriander tablets and the Central Administra­tion and is reflected in the delivery of an a-pu-do-si, we can cer­tainly reach some considerations about the nature of the delivery.

We mean that the first question which presents itself is whether the a-pu-do-si of a certain kind represents the total delivery of this (that is to say, that the figures of the a-pu-do-si are identical with the total amount of the crop, harvest or production) or only a proportion of this (to be more exact, a proportional fraction cal­culated upon the total foreseen).

To solve this question we have resort to the evidence of the parallel quantities of scribe 136 referring to po-ni-ki-jo, dates. The date production of one place can be calculated at i 1,232 Kg. 37. If we take 25 Kg. of dates as the average produced by a palm-tree, we are obliged to deduce the existence of some 50 palms in this area. The tablets of scribe 136 show figures of a-pu-do-si lower than these (5, 3, 8, Kg.) 38, hence we can infer that they record a proportion of the total grown in each area, though it is not possible to discover what the proportion is.

34 «Le dossier sa-ra-pe-da du scribe 24 de Pylos», Minos 14, 1973, pp. 60-76. 35 «The Pylos Ma Tablets Reconsidered», AJA 77, 1973, pp. 261-275. 36 Aspects du vocabulaire économique mycénien {Cadastre-Artisanat-Fiscalité) ; cf. also

J.-P. Olivier, «Une loi fiscale mycénienne», BCH 98, 1974, pp. 23-35. 37 J . L. Melena, op. cit. in n. 5, p . 79. 38 Op. cit., p . 78.

CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS 145

In any case the nature of the a-pu-do-si of each centre allows us to establish a hierarchy of areas ordered according to the total pro­duction. We may suppose that a larger production implies a larger a-pu-do-si. In the follow diagram we can see the a-pu-do-si of corian­der for each centre ; the quantities have been reduced to τ units :

-

92 20 20 16 [ ] 10 10 5 •5 5 [ ]

pa-i-to qa-ra ku-ta-to ru-ki-to ku-ta-to qa-mo ]/o pu-na-so su-ri-mo ]to ti-ri-to

50-27 10-92 10-92 8-74

\ 5-46 5-46 2-73 2-73 2-73

\

Of the totals preserved 50 % of the α-pu-do-si comes from the area of pa-i-to, allotted to a single person, a-ka-re-u. The dispro­portion compared with the remainder of the deliveries is obvious, and we may ask ourselves whether the quantities at pa-i-to reflect the total contribution of this area and, therefore, a-ka-re-u that of the person in the care of its collection. In this respect, J . Chad-wick 39 asks himself whether «the man making the a-pu-do-si to the administration is the grower, or the responsible official, or he merely represent the community». The existence of double individual entries at qa-ra and ku-ta-to, cf. below, inclines us to dispose of the two latter possibilities, which would require the

Comments.

146 JOSÉ L. MELENA

presence of only one man. At any rate, the Mycenaean a-pu-do-si system merits a detailed study.

The remainder of the quantities are in a normal relationship :

a) The quantities under the place-names ku-ta-to and qa-ra really represent the a-pu-do-si of two persons in each case, with the result that the contribution of each place, on the level of the single person, is reduced to that reflected by the places qa-mo and ]jo.

b) The quantities for pu-na-so, su-ri-mo and ]to are identical and exactly half the contribution of each person in a).

c) We note the fact that in the area of qa-mo a supplementary contribution from one person is listed consisting of one τ unit, which we regard as evidence for the possibility that these smaller contributions existed.

d) Finally, the contribution of ru-ki-to in the light of the previous data can be split up into a contribution composed of a) + b) + c) = 16 τ.

This evidence will be further supplemented by new facts (cf. § 15).

However, there are two ways in which the hierarchy of the places producing coriander may be established. If we pay atten­tion to the absolute figures, the hierarchical order will follow that of the preceding table. If on the other hand we pay attention to the nature of the a-pu-do-si (using a basic contribution X multi­plied by a value equivalent to τ 5), leaving aside the case oÎpa-i-to, the order runs as follows:

ru-ki-to (3X-J-1), qa-ra, ku-ta-to, qa-mo and ]jo (2X), pu-na-so, su-ri-mo and ]to (IX)

If we apply these indications to the location of coriander, we may consider that this plant is three times as abundant at ru-ki-to, and twice as abundant at qa-ra, ku-ta-to qa-mo and ~\jo compared with the remaining places (pu-na-so, su-ri-mo and ]¿o).

12. We shall now concentrate on the place-names attested by the Ga(2) tablets referring to coriander. These are pu-na-so, ru-ki-to, pa-i-to, qa-mo, su-ri-mo, ku-ta-to and qa-ra. Perhaps we should also reckon with ti-ri-to, if tablet Ga 428 records an a-pu-

CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS 147

do-si of coriander and not of dates. In fact we did not use this evi­dence in our study of po-ni-ki-jo 40, as the choice of one possibility or the other is arbitrary.

We do not know the place-names of two documents. In Ga 421 the ethnic ]-ti-jo could correspond to any of the numerous Cretan place-names in -to: ra-to, ra-su-to, ku-ta-to, ti-ri-to, ru-ki-to, da-*22-to, pa-i-to, etc. If we rely on the evidence of the list in Ε 749, which is the work of the same scribe, ti-ri-to or ku-ta-to would be the most likely.

In Ga 422 the only syllabic sign preserved indicates the pre­sence of an ethnic, which might refer to any place-name.

Another question is the geographical location of the centres which contribute coriander on the map of Crete. Locating place-names on the map of the island is a thankless task which rarely leads to firm results. We can mention the efforts of G. R. Hart and L. R. Palmer in this direction 41. A critical review of the results reached by both these authors would take us far from our present intention, and we have partially dealt with it in another place 42. A recent study by J. Chadwick on the place-names of the Cretan tablets should also be mentioned 43. From this work valuable indications can be extracted serving to locate Cretan place-names and we have profited from his discoveries.

Only one of the place-names which concern us here has an exact and certain location. This ispa-i-to, which obviously represents Phaistos, Φαιστός. The remainder offer more or less difficulty. Thus ru-ki-to, which is ussually identified with Lyttos, Λύκτος. Of course this identification raises problems. With regard to the form the correct Mycenaean spelling of Λύκτος would be *ru-ko-to and it is unnecessary to invoke the influence of the adjective ru-ki-ti-jo. C. J . Ruijgh 44 noted that we might strictly have to

40 Op. cit., p. 78 and table. 41 G. R. Hart, «The Grouping of the Place-Names in the Knossos Tablets,Mne­

mosyne 18, 1965, pp. 1-28; L. R. Palmer, «Mycenaean Inscribed Vases I I : The Mainland Finds», Kadmos 11, 1972, pp. 27-46.

42 Studies on Some Mycenaean Inscriptions from Knossos Dealing with Textiles, Supple­ment 5 to Minos, Salamanca 1975, pp. 118-134.

43 «Relations between Knossos and the Rest of Crete at the Time of the Linear Β Tablets», Proc. Third Cretological Congress, Athens 1973, I pp. 31-37.

44 Etudes sur la grammaire et le vocabulaire du grec mycénien, Amsterdam 1967, p. 180 n. 413.

148 JOSÉ L. MELENA

understand it as a place-name Λυκιστος and J . Chadwick 45 also points in this direction by indicating the possible presence of a Minoan vowel LukHos represented in Mycenaean script as i. For other reasons (relationships between place-names) L. R. Palmer4 6 thinks that the identification of ru-ki-to as Λύκτος is erroneous. For our part, continuing Chadwick's idea, we think that a sequence CuCxCCo, represented in the Mycenaean script as Cu-Ci-Co, is represented in alphabetic Greek as CuCoc(C)COç. This process, as we shall see later, also occurs in the place-name su-ri-mo if Σύλαμος. On this basis we may identify ru-ki-to with the locality of Lykastos, Λυκάστος. We wonder whether or not we can invoke a popular etymology which changed Λυκάστος for Λυκιστος under the influence of άστυ.

An almost certain identification is that noted by J . Chad­wick 47 of ku-ta-to as Κύταιον near the modern Rogdhiá. The remainder of the place-names which concern us are still to be located.

Let us begin with the pair qa-ra—ti-ri-to. These two place-names appear together on the tablet Dn 1095+5015, where the total of sheep for each locality is given as 1222 and 2290 respec­tively. J . Chadwick 48 emphasizes the fact that qa-ra must be an important place at the period of the tablets. Tablet Gv 863 de­monstrates the existence at that place of 420 vines and 104 fig-trees. The large total of sheep makes us inclined to place qa-ra in a plain 49. An important fact which should not be overlooked is the evidence of the survey tablets Uf 836, 837, 990 and 1023 suggesting the existence of orchards or plantations within its boundaries. Tablets of the same type, Uf 970, 987, 991, 1011 and 1031, prove the existence of orchards or plantations in the district of ti-ri-to. All these data, then, point to geographical contact between the boundaries of qa-ra and ti-ri-to.

J . Chadwick50 related ti-ri-to to the old name of Knossos Τρίτα, pointing out that this place ought not to be far from Knossos

45 Op. cit., p. 35. 46 Op. cit.,-p. 40. 47 Op. cit.,-pp. 34 f. 48 Op. cit., p. 36. 49 J.-P. Olivier, «La série Dn de Gnossos», SMEA, 196 , p . 86. 50 Op. cit., p. 36.

CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS 149

With the indications at our disposal we suggest to place both of these names west of Knossos in the Platypérama banks. This river has been identified with the ancient Τρίτων 51. We must obviously connect the river name with the place-name. On this basis qa-ra and ti-ri-to would be situated in what is now the eparchy of Témenos. If so, we could propose to identify qa-ra with Palla, a spot near Veneráton in the Témenos eparchy 52.

The su-ri-mo district probably has to be situated in plain on account of the large flocks of sheep found there 53. The relationships of this place-name with the two preceding ones to be grasped from certain tablets incline us to think that there must have been a close geographical relationship with both 54. Therefore we think that su-ri-mo must be situated in the same area as the previous names. In accordance with this we propose to identify su-ri-mo with Σύλαμος or Σίλαμος 55, a settlement in the Témenos eparchy >

near Iuktas. The location of the place names pu-na-so and qa-mo is uncertain.

pu-na-so might be related to Nassus, situated on the flank of Ida to the north of Haghioi Déka in the direction of Vourvoulitis 56, and to Panasós Πανασός in the same area. To allow identifica­tion with this last place we should have to admit that Πυνασός = TTavaaós with the result that we would have to ask ourselves whether the place names pu-na-so and pa-na-so (E 843.2, Uf 121) are graphic variants of the same name ; Prof. Ruipérez suggests that they may be two alternant renderings of *p°n-, cf. du-ma.

The location of qa-mo has not been firmly established. It forms a pair with u-ta-no, though with no indication of where it is, in Dn 5559. It is a centre for flocks of sheep and textiles (Ak 613, Lc 543, Le 641 -\-frr.). Our impression is that both qa-mo and u-ta-no ought to be located in the Messará or near it, on the

51 J . S. Pendlebury, The Archaeology of Crete, London 1939, p. 7, identifies the ancient Τρίτων with the Gazanós river, while M. Guarducci, IC I VII I , pp. 45-46, and 54, does with the Platypérama river, now Gióphyros river.

52 P. Faure, «Toponymes préhelléniques dans la Crète moderne, Kadmos 6, 1967, p . 67, and «Nouveaux toponymes préhelléniques dans la Crète moderne», Kad­mos 9, 1970, p. 88.

53 J.-P. Olivier, op. cit. in n. 49, p. 86. 54 L. R. Palmer, op. cit. in n. 41, pp. 35 f. and fig. 3. 55 P. Faure, «Toponymes», p. 70; A. Evans, PofM I I , p . 66. 56 P. Faure, «Toponymes», pp. 66 f., and «Nouveaux toponymes», p. 88.

150 JOSÉ L. MELENA

northern edge of the plain. For qa-mo one can point to a place-name Βάμος in the Apokoronou eparchy 57, but its location is well away from what we should expect. M. D. Petrusevski 58

associated the place-name qa-mo with the ancient Πάννονα (Pto­lemy I I I . 15.7) located at Ag. Thomas in the edge of the Messará plain. This is more or less where we should expect to find qa-mo and we have so recorded it on our map.

If qa-mo is placed at Ag. Thomas, it remains to locate its pair u-ta-no. There are two possible choices: to place it in the north, in the banks of Platypérama river; or in the south in the plain of Gheros river (Ag. Déka). To apply these possibilities to the map, u-ta-no could be situated at the LM settlement of Priniás or of Ag. Déka (Gortyn). Priniás is alleged to be the site of the ancient 'Ριζηνία or 'Ριττηνία. In principle we would think that this place name continues u-ta-no (¡Urtânos/, u-ta-ni-ja ¡Urtâniaj > *Wr°tânia > *Writánia 'Ριττηνία). However, there are three objections to such an identification59:

a) There is no evidence of W- in the place-name 'Ριζηνία / 'Ριττηνία in inscriptions which preserve the digamma: IC XXVII I (Vth cent. B.C.).4 το Ριττενιο κόσμο ... but 14. ρ-ευμεναν.

b) In the above inscription the place-name presents an old -ê-.

c) The oldest form of the place-name (VI/Vth cent, B.C.) is 'Ριζηνία. Therefore, we must reconstruct an earlier *-ts- to account for -ζ- and -ττ-, and we would expect that it were noted in the Mycenaean spelling as *u-za-no.

The possibility of an adaptation of a Minoan place-name by the Greeks on the basis of ρίζα must no be discarded. Thus, on the map we place u-ta-no in the Priniás area.

It may be observed on the map that the greater part of the places (all except ku-ta-to) are situated along the main route of the Minoan civilization alleged by Evans 60 crossing central Crete,

57 P. Faure, «Toponymes», p. 53. 58 «Qa-mo {qa-mi-jo, -ja)», %A 18, 1968, p. 112. 59 J . Ghadwick, Comments. 60 PqfM I I , § 35, and J. S. Pendlebury, op. cit., map 2. In this respect J . Ghadwick,

Comments, points: «This 'main route discovered by Evans' is, I fear, illusory. Other researchers have been unable to confirm the dating of the old roads Evans

Tentative location of the place-names concerned in the map of Crete. Dotted line shows the Main Road after Sir A. Evans, while interrupted line shows the road suggested by J. Chadwick

{see note 60).

152 JOSÉ L. MELENA

thus establishing communications between the north and south coasts and the centres of Knossos and Phaistos.

On the other hand we see that the greater part of the places are located in the northern sector of this route, in the valleys west of Knossos. This does not mean that coriander grew exclu­sively in that area, but that the control of the central administra­tion at Knossos was restricted to certain of these areas, in which ease of communication could allow them to be directly controlled. We are convinced that a large number of the Cretan place-names on the tablets are to be located in the fertile valleys of Gazanós, Xeros and Platypérama rivers in the neighbourhood of Knossos. This area is very rich in archaeological remains. While hoping for an archaeological atlas of the area 61, we can only use the lists compiled by Pendlebury and the maps in his book 62. The settlements of Marathokefalo, Apollonia, Gázion, Goníai, Ira-klion, Giofyrákia, Krusón, Pentamódion, Ag. Myron must in Mycenaean times have had other names, which are probably to be found on the tablets. Perhaps the study of their relationships may one day let us assign a Mycenaean name to each of these settlements. Thus, e-ra might be placed at an spot not far from Knossos, or da-ra-ko at H. Myron, the site of the ancient TOOKOS,

if from *Δραυκος {¡Drawkosj da-ra-ko, but it is difficult to explain why dr- > r-)6 3 ; da-*22-to is probably a coastal locality near ku-ta-to ; it could be Apollonia 64.

The same thing happens with the Messará, with its important

mentionnée!; they exist, bu t cannot be shown to be Minoan. The nature of the

terrain is such that the most westerly route from the central Messarà to the north

coast in the Iraklion area must use the pass near Ag. Varvára , as does the modern

road. But there are practicable routes further east, especially that running north

from Pyrgos via Alagnion and leading direct to Knossos. I suspect tha t this is

much more likely to be the main link between Knossos and Phaistos than the

road down to Iraklion and then back u p the valleys via either Veneráton or

Ag. Myron». 61 J . Chadwick kindly informs me that Mervyn Popham is working on this kind

of archaeological at las. 62 Op. cit.,passim 63 M . Guarducci, IC X X V I I . Nevertheless, it is likely to interpret da-ra-ko as / dla-

khon I, later γ λ δ χ ω ν , γ λ ή χ ω ν «pennyroyal», used as place-name, cf. Μαραθών, (Cretan Μάραθος), Σήσαμον, etc.

64 Cf. J . L. Melena, «ku-pa-ro en las tablillas de Gnoso», p . 330.

CORIANDER ON T H E KNOSSOS TABLETS 153

centres of pa-i-to and da-wo : what is the Mycenaean name of the settlements of Ag. Triada, Rufas, Ag. Déka, Komo, etc.?

As for the place-names studied here, it remains for us to locate the centres of qa-ra and ti-ri-to. On the map we have placed qa-ra at Veneráton for reasons already given; ti-ri-to must be situated near Knossos and the river Τρίτων. Two sites seem to be indi­cated: Ag. Syllas and Vísala (Evans). Let us remember that A. Evans noted that Vísala, near Kanli Gastelli, «was evidently the centre of a rich oil-producing district» 65. The remains of this settlement are important and even contain a kind of palace. There is no doubt that it was an important place in the Myce­naean period.

13. Another group of documents listing coriander is compos­ed of three tablets, Ga 953[+]955, 5672, 7496. Tablets 953, and 7496 are written by hand 219 66, while the fragmentary 5672 has not be ascribed to any hand, although it can be deduced from its scanty text that it must be a document similar to 953[+]955.

The text of these three tablets is as follows :

953[+]955 .1 wo-de-wi-jo-jo ,/ me[-no ]ri-jo-de .2 ko-no , MA 3 ko-ri [-ja-do-no] 2 pa-de-i , ko-no MA 2 KO τ 1[ .3a [ ] pcL-si-te-o-i .3b pa-sa-ja , ko-no , [ ] a-mi-ni-so-de , MA 2 KO τ 4

5672 .1 ]me-no , ) .2 ]MA 2 pa[ .3 ] , pa-ra[

7496 .1 ] , MA 1 KO τ 2[ .2 ]MA 2 I O T 4 [ .3 ] vacat |

In the first place we have to justify the inclusion of tablet 5672 in this group, seeing that it does not make any express mention of coriander, nor does it seen clear that it would have had one to

65 PofM ΙΓ, pp. 71 ff. ('στα Βίσαλα). 66 J.-P. Olivier, Scribes, p. 94.

154 JOSÉ L. MELENA

judge by the order of the entries (MA X KO τ Χ). Nevertheless we think we are justified in including it in this group of documents by reason of its structure and the presence of two terms : me-no, cf. 953[+]955.1, and the doubtful pa-sa[ in line 2, which is per­haps related to pa-sa-ja, cf. 953[+]955.2b.

The structure of the three documents is the same. They are tablets with entries on three lines, though 953[+]955 also shows an annotation written above line 3 (3a and 3b). The purpose of the tablets seems also to be identical in all three cases : to record the delivery of various offerings to a specified deity at a specified time of year. Elsewhere we have studied these dates and analysed there tablet Ga 953[+]955 67. What was said there can be extend to the other members of the groups.

We are not interested in the identification and meaning of the recipients of the offerings, but only the fact that the offerings consist of specified quantities of ko-no, measured in MA units (?) 68, and coriander KO, measured in τ units of the dry measure system.

The quantities of coriander offered can be set forth in the following table:

TABLET

953.1-2 .2 .3b .3a-b

7496.1 .2

TOTAL PRESERVED

RECIPIENTS

]ri-jo-de pa-de-i pa-sa-ja pa-si-te-o-i a-mi-ni-so-de

] ]

τ

2 2

[ ]

4 2 4

14

As can be seen, the offering of coriander preserves a certain regularity (2-4), corresponding perhaps to the importance of the

67 J . L. Melena, «Reflexiones sobre los meses del calendario micénico de Gnoso y sobre la fecha de la caída del Palacio», Emérita 42, 1974, pp. 77-102.

68 Op. cit., p . 91 ; the word ko-no is also attested on the Mycenae tablets (Ge 602, 603, ko-ί-ηο in 606.7) and is usually interpreted as σχοϊνος; J.-P. Olivier, «En marge d'une nouvelle édition des tablettes de Mycènes», Kadmos 8, 1969, pp. 51 f., points up the existence of two kinds of σχοΐνος; M. Wylock, «Les aromates dans les tablettes Ge de Mycènes», SMEA 15, 1973, pp. 125-129, identifies it as the Acorus calamus L.

CORIANDER ON T H E KNOSSOS TABLETS 155

receiving deity, just as happens with the olive oil offerings of the Fp tablets, as we have seen elsewhere 69.

Finally, we need to note the absence of the AROM ideogram from these tablets, a thing which happens on tablets in other hands and which does not have major importance (cf. Ga 417.lat. inf., 421).

14. It remains for us to examine a group of tablets which have not been ascribed to a scribal hand and which also record coriander. Since they do not form a coherent whole, we shall study them separately.

15. Tablet Ga(2) 7367[ -f ]7368 + 7874 has the following text:

.1 ]-ti-jo , ka-to[ ko-ri-]ja-do-no τ 6

.2 ]o τ 3 ta-si-ko[ ]o τ 3

.3 " ] τ 7 ο τ 3 [ ] [ 1 [

.4 ] 2 [ inf. mut.

We must first of all express doubts at the fact this document appeared in KT* as a member of set (2) of the Ga tablets, that is those of scribe 136. Since both the hand and the findspot of this tablet are unknown, we suggest deleting the parenthesis in the heading of this tablet; we think it cannot be fitted into set (2).

The tablet in addition poses epigraphic problems: the possible presence of an ideogram in line 2 (in place of ]o) and 3 (before τ 7); ta-si-ko^ in line 2 can be read as ta-si-ko-^ or ta-si-ko 2[. All considered, the purpose of the tablet appears clear. It is a fiscal document recording the deliveries of coriander by specified persons of a place (]-ti-jo in line 1 is probably an ethnic adjective which locates geographically the persons written below) with the note of the deficit corresponding to the assessment [o for o-pe-ro).

The quantities listed are as follows:

LINE

.1

.2

.2

.3

.4

CONTRIBUTOR

ka-to[ X

ta-si-ko[ X X

τ

6

V

0 τ

[ ] ]3 ]3 3

12

69 J . L. Melena, op. cit. in n. 67, p. 93 ff.

156 JOSÉ L. MELENA

It deals then with the record of the a-pu-do-si and correspond­ing o-pe-ro of specified persons at a specified place. We allow our­selves here an observation. We saw above that the documents in hand 136 record a-pu-do-si by places and persons (cf. § 11). In these tablets we find a delivery in the majority of cases of AROM 1. We may suppose that this is one of general patterns for the a-pu-do-si of coriander to the Palace. One AROM unit equals ten τ units. If we add up the quantities of the a-pu-do-si and the o-pe-ro of the unknown entry of line 3 of Ga 7376 we shall obtain the same result. This then seems to show that one of the standard patterns for the a-pu-do-si is AROM 1. One of the others is, as we have already seen, exactly half of this (τ 5). The divergencies from the AROM 1 pattern can be explained in other ways, for exam­ple in 423 AROM 2 can be explained as referring to the two persons, da-wa-no and e-we-de-u, who each make a single contribution.

16. Tablet Ga 738, hand and find-spot unknown, has the following text:

.a ] a-ka-wo [

.b ] / ko AROM[

a-ka-wo, probably a man's name Άλκαρων, is hapax at Knos-sos. In the lost left fragment was probably written a place-name.

17. There remain four (or perhaps five cf. § 18) documents to examine, which have the following text:

G 7525.1 ]K0 1 HORD Τ 1[ F 7542.1 ]31 KO 25 .2 inf. mut. .2 ] 6 s 1 OLE 9

V 7527.1 ]ko 4 Xd8279 .2 ] vacat ]1 KO 130[

In tablet V 7527 we should perhaps read ]K0 4. These docu­ments, which may perhaps form a single group, record deliveries of various products in conditions we cannot known given the very fragmentary state of the texts. The most important of these is F 7572 in view of the large quantities it mentions. The presence in line 2 of quantities described by liquid measure is curious, since it cannot be olive oil, because the entry for this follows;

CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS 157

we might think of wine or honey 70. The quantity of coriander must refer to the major dry unit; the absence of AROM, as we have seen above (cf. § 13), is not surprising.

Finally, let us mention tablet Xd 8279, which is in hand «124». If KO acrophonically stand, as in the above documents, for ko-ri-ja-do-no, an enormous quantity of coriander, 13,480 litres, is attested here, since the figures are to be referred to the AROM unit.

18. Tablet G 7364 presents a fragmentary text ]37 τ 5[, where a quantity of an undetermined commodity is recorded. This unknown commodity is measured by dry measure. It is obvious that these figures may refer to any kind of dry produce and we have no criterion to choose one of them. What we only would like to point out is that the document which was subsequent­ly numbered, that is 7365, refers to coriander. However, this is not a compelling argument to consider the quantities in G 7364 as referred to coriander, and we prefer not to manage them in the following calculations.

19. We shall now consider the total figures of coriander preserved on the Knossos tablets, which we have examined.

The total amount of coriander on the documents in hand 135 is AROM 73 τ 2 ( + ) . These quantities correspond to deliveries on the part of the Central Administration. The total of the docu­ments in hand 136 is AROM 18 Τ 3 ν 1. These quantities correspond to deliveries to the Central Administration (a-pu-do-si). The total of coriander preserved in the tablets in hand 219 is 14 τ units, making AROM 1 τ 4. These quantities represent deliveries on the part of the Central Administration. 13 τ units, making AROM 1 τ 3 can be allotted, which are recorded on tablet Ga 7267 and represent deliveries to the Central Administration (a-pu-do-si).

The remainder of the figures preserved raise the problem whether they should be attributed to the receipts or payments of the Knossos Administration. Thus, G 7525 and V 7527 can more probably be understood as deliveries on the part of the Central Administration. The quantities entered on both documents add up to AROM 5. The quantity of coriander listed on F 7542 is higher,

70 J . Ghadwick, Comments, indicates that the possibility of a ligatured ideogram OLE + X is not to be excluded.

158 JOSÉ L. MELENA

AROM 25, and may belong to a note of totals. The same can be said of G 7364 (?) and Xd 8279. It is impossible to say whether they represent deliveries to or from the Administration.

We can set forth these data in a table as follows:

TABLETS INCOMINGS

AROM Τ V

ms 136 18 3 1 Ga 7367 1 3

T O T A L 19 6 1

F 7542 AROM 25 G 7364(?) ]37 τ 5 Xd8279 KO 130

OUTGOINGS TABLETS

AROM Τ V

73 2 ms 135 1 4 ms219 1 G 7525 4 V 7527

79 6

The leading fact which emerges is the enormous difference in favour of outgoings. The deficit is AROM 60, that is, ± 5,760 litres of coriander. This imbalance in the excess of outgoings requires an explanation. The simplest solution is to suppose that documents recording incomings have been lost: that would entail the loss of a minimum of some 50 tablets of personal a-pu-do-si. It might also be supposed that documents dealing with the receipt of crops under the control of the Knossos Administration are missing (but cf. Xd 8279, G 7364 (?), F 7542), crops which would have gone directly into the Knossos magazines.

Nevertheless, our impression is that in order to explain this difference we need to bring in chronological facts. Obviously the documents relating to the outgoings of coriander can have been drawn during the period between the beginning of the Mycenaean year and the destruction of the Palace, whereas the documents relating to the receipt of seed can only have been written in the period between the date of the coriander harvest and the destruc­tion of the Palace. We have already shown (cf. § 3) that coriander is harvested in July. This should mean that the coriander issued by the Palace comes largely, if not all, from the proceeds of the previous year's harvest. In another study we have suggested that the centre of administration at Knossos must have been destroyed

CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS 159

in the period covering August and September 71. This would lead us to suppose that the majority of the documents relating to the a-pu-do-si of coriander for the current year had not yet reached the stage of being drawn up. The documents of the a-pu-do-si already preserved do refer to the contributions of the previous year since we would expect the corresponding mention, za-we-te-ra, as in the ku-pa-ro records 72.

If so, the total of outgoings preserved may reflect approxima­tely the amount of the coriander crop for the year preceding the destruction of Knossos. There are two possible figures for this total: the certain one of AROM 79 τ 6, and the possible one (if the amounts of F 7542 represent outgoings) of AROM 104 τ 6. The two totals reduced to litres make respectively 7,641.6 and 10,041.6 litres ( = 76.416 and 100.416 hectolitres). The equivalent in kilograms can be found, if we use the equation 1 hectolitres = 30 Kg. (cf. § 3). On this basis the volume of outgoings of coriander is 2,292.480/3,012.480 Kg. These figures73 and those on Xd 8279) can give us an idea of the nature and importance of co­riander in the Knossian economy, and also suggest that coriander was cultivated in a great scale for economical purposes.

20. What is the purpose of this huge volume of coriander? The documents in hand 219 show that it was offered to the gods together with another aromatic substance, ko-no. This seems to imply that the coriander of these tablets was used as an addition to the diet of the servants of the cult or in offerings to the gods. The quantities listed for this purpose (τ 2/4 = 12.2/36.4 litres) correspond to a monthly ration.

The documents in hand 136 record, as we have seen, the a-pu-do-si of coriander and dates. The joint presence of the two sorts of produce implies that they share both the same production area and a common purpose, that is, as an addition to the basic diet.

This use of coriander as a flavouring for food is very closely paralleled by its use in the classical period 74.

The documents in hand 135 witness the most important use

71 Op. cit. in n. 67, esp. p. 102. 72 J . L. Melena, «.ku-pa-ro en las tablillas de Cnoso», p. 325. 73 These figures imply a volume of 220 milions of seed. 74 M. Wylock, op. cit. in n. 68, pp. 135 ff.

160 JOSÉ L. MELENA

of coriander at Knossos, since they record the deliveries for indus­trial purposes of large quantities of seed to ku-pi-ri-jo and ma-ri-ne-we. L. Godart's theory 75 that ku-pi-ri-jo serves to designate the craftsman making perfumed oil has the coherence one might desire, if ma-ri-ne-we is an occupational term equally connected with this sort of occupation. If this word is to be taken as a theo-nym, we may think of a sacral workshop on oriental lines. At any rate, the evidence of these documents may be a strong indi­cation of the importance of coriander in the industry, that is to say, as an ingredient in the preparation of perfumed oils. Tablet Un 267 from Pylos, which records a list of ingredients delivered to the perfume-maker to be made into perfumed oil [o-do-ke a-ko-so-ta tu-we-ta a-re-pa-zo-o tu-we-a a-re-pa-te ze-so-me-no «Thus Alxoitas delivered spices to the unguent-boiler Thyestas, for unguent which is to be boiled») allows us to know the substances used in the manufacture of perfume by cooking them in olive oil (ze-so-me-no) : coriander (576 litres), rush (576 litres), *157 (16 units) 76, ΚΑΡΟ (240 litres) 77, wine (22 units = 633.6 litres), lanolin (8 Kg.) 78 and honey (57.6 litres).

At Knossos ingredients used are the following: coriander and rush (tablets in hand 135), honey (Gg tablets), myrrh (?) 79 (Fh tablets) and obviously olive oil (Fh tablets).

This use of coriander to perfume olive oil was unknown to the classical Greeks 80. At the present time the seeds of coriander are

75 Op. cit. in η. 13; cf. also A. Sacconi, «La mirra nella preparazione degli unguenti profumati a Cnosso», Studi in onore di Piero Meriggi ( = Athenaeum 47), Pavia 1969, pp. 285 ff.

76 PY An 616.3 28 units; Un 249.2 10 units; 267.6 16 units. This ideogram is still unidentified.

77 A. Sacconi, «The monogram ΚΑΡΟ in the Mycenaean Texts», Kadmos 9, 1972, pp. 22-26, has advanced the identification of ΚΑΡΟ with the cinnamon, basing herself upon Greek κάρφος «bark [of cinnamon]». However, this identification clashes with the fact that the commodity named ΚΑΡΟ is measured by dry mea­sure at Pylos.

78 J . T. Killen, «The Wool Ideogram in Linear Β Texts», Hermathena 96, 1962, pp. 42 ff.; J . Ghadwick, «Further Linear Β Tablets from Knossos», ABSA 57, 1972, p. 65.

79 Speculative suggestion by A. Sacconi, op. cit. in n. 75, pp. 281-289. 80 It is not recorded by Theophrastus in his list of aromata; cf. in addition M. Wy-

lock, op. cit. in n. 68, pp. 135-138.

CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS 161

used in perfumery, the essential oil being extracted from them by distillation 81. This process was not that used by the Mycena-eans, who lacked the technical means that the process demands 82. The evidence of PY Un 267 shows that the process used was cooking.

21. Finally, we offer a few more details concerning the range of distribution of the perfumed oil produced at Knossos. For this we have to bring into a comparison the evidence of some docu­ments:

X 468.1 ku-pi-ri-jo / ka-ra-[ .2 vacat [

Κ (2)773 + 1809 .A ] ke *202™ 7 .B ] ku-pi-ri-jo I ke *202™ 1

The evidence of the second document would lead us to think of a supplement ka-ra-[re-we in 468.1. However, J . Ghadwick 83

points out that is impossible to read -[re-, since the traces incline to understood something as M[. Thus we would have a new com­modity named ka-ra M measured by weight and sent to the ku-pi-ri-jo.

Nevertheless, stirrup-jars (ka-ra-re-we) were employed as re­cipient for perfumed oils. We may note the large figures of this type of vase on the Knossos tablets (1800 in Κ 700, 180 in Κ 778). This is the type of vase used for the export of wine, oil, honey and aromatic essences, and solid products such as grain or seeds 85. We may note the discovery of containers of this type in the exca­vations of Sp. Marinatos at Thera: one of them, firmly sealed, was full of the seeds of an unidentified plant 86. Evidently it was an imported product or intended for export.

81 E. Gharabot, Les huiles essentielles et les principaux constituants, Paris 1899, p. 64. 82 J . Ghadwick, Comments, stresses that «the idea of distillation (not just suitable

equipment) was unknown to the ancients». 83 Comments. 84 This new word ka-ra is a hapax. 85 J . Raison, Les vases à inscriptions peintes de l'âge mycénienne et leur contexte archéologi­

que, Roma 1967, pp. 194 ff. and n. 9. 86 Sp. Marinatos, «Some Features of 'Minoan' Crete», AAA 5, 1972, p. 446, figs.

2 and 3. The seeds at issue (length 2-3 mm.) resemble aniseed or dill-seed.

162 JOSÉ L. MELENA

We may note the presence of a term which, in our opinion, has something to do with the export of containers of this type with the most varied contents. It is the adjective e-te-jo ¡e-te-ja. Its dossier includes three documents:

Gg 521 + 712 toso I e-te-jo *209VAS 542 *I72[

Fh 359.a zo-a[ .b ku-do-ni-ja / e-te-ja[

X 8261+8551 .1 ] ku-do-ni-ja \ .2 ]5 .lat. inf. ]ja , e-te[-ja

Tablet Gg 521+712 apparently records the totals for the two types of containers (*209VAS and * 172) enumerated on tablets of the type of Gg 701 and 703, resembling those of set 2 of this series, which we analysed above (cf. § 6), where the terms ku-pi-ri-jo and ma-ri-ne-we appear. The word e-te-jo cannot be the name of the container, since there are two different types listed and this term refers to both. Tablet Fh 359 associates this term with the olive oil deliveries of the zo-a type (for boiling?), linking it with the place-name ku-do-ni-ja. This association justifies the restoration of e-te[-ja] in X 8261+8551. lat. inf.

The adjective e-te-jo ¡e-te-ja has not been explained 87 and for our part we do not see any possible explanation. The only thing we can point to is a possible connexion of the adjective with the term e-te found on tablets Am 600.a and 601.a.

On the other hand, let us stress the association of the place-name ku-do-ni-ja with containers. We may cite the text of Gg 711, which runs as follows :

] l *209VAS+A 270 J [ .v ] 290 KE 200 [ .lat. inf. ] ku-do-ni-jo , [

The acrophonic ideogram KE may be connected with ke *202VAS recorded on Κ 773 + 1809 along with ku-pi-ri-jo. We

87 C. J . Ruijgh did not deal with such a word in his book Etudes.

CORIANDER ON THE KNOSSOS TABLETS 163

must bear in mind the fact that ku-do-ni-ja was an important port and the evidence produced may suggest that Mycenaean exports sailed for abroad from this port. In this respect, another tablet may point to the same direction. Tablet Κ 700 presents the fol­lowing text:

.1 ] 300 *210VAS+KA 900 [

.2 ] 300 *210VAS+KA 900 da-mi[

This document records great quantities of vases of the ka-ra-re-we and an unknown type 88. If the fragmentary word da-mi[ is to be supplemented as da-mi [-ni-jo, we may locate these entries at ku-ta-to, since da-mi-ni-jo is a well-known 'collector' at this place in the Dk(2) tablets. As pointed out above, ku-ta-to is to be situat­ed in the northern coast near Knossos, classical Κύτοαον. Remains of a Minoan port have been found in this area 89, and we may suggest that exports for abroad were sent from this port as well.

Madrid - 3 JOSÉ L. MELENA Facultad de Filología A-35

Ciudad Universitaria

S8 Perhaps KE or ke *202VAS, cf. above. 89 Sir A. Evans, PofM I I , in a diagramatic m a p of central Crete facing p . 71 .