Minoan sarcophagus (Hanover) Minoan sarcophagus (Hanover) A Minoan Sarcophagus, also called a larnax, is among the major display pieces of the antiquities collection of the Museum August Kestner in Hanover. The larnax is dated to the fourteenth century BC, which corresponds to the Late Minoan III A period, and probably comes from the island of Crete. It entered the antiquities collection of the Museum August Kestner in 1989 (inventory number 1989.30) Larnakes are clay sarcophagi modelled on wood and were a standard part of Minoan funerary practices. The Hanover larnax survives largely complete except for the fragmentary lid. Missing portions, especially on one
Minoan civilization double adzes, double- and single-bladed axes, axe-adzes, sickles and chisels. The Minoans were primarily a mercantile people who engaged in overseas trade. After 1700 BC, their culture indicates a high degree of organization. Minoan-manufactured goods suggest a network of trade with mainland Greece (notably Mycenae), Cyprus, Syria, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia and westward as far as the Iberian peninsula. Minoan religion apparently focused on female deities, with women officiants. While historians and archaeologists have long been skeptical of an outright matriarchy, the predominance of female figures in authoritative roles over male ones seems to indicate that Minoan society was matriarchal, and