The Minoan double vase: memory of a ritual artifact

The double vase is a particular shape of Minoan pottery, found mainly in funerary settings. It belongs to the category of multipartite vessels and consists of a jug attached to a closed container by means of a communicating duct and a vertical handle. Five such vases have been identified where the vase comprises a jug and two closed containers. The unusual form of these vases has made it difficult to establish their practical purpose. That the two separate containers are attached to one another probably indicates that their contents might be mixed together. The resemblance these double vases bear to certain Early and Middle Cypriot vessels used in the preparation of perfumes prompted the hypothesis that the Minoan double vase might contain perfumes too.According to the literature, 47 such double vases have been found at 23 different sites on Crete, 5 whereas just three in continental Greece,6 and four in the Cyclades.