Production and trade of pottery in the so-called “South Coast” fabric in Bronze Age Crete. Current interpretations and recent findings at Malia, northern Lassithi

Abstract This paper provides an update on occurrence patterns and mineral composition of pottery in the so-called “South Coast” fabric, a fabric with a self-explanatory provenance ascription that is characterized by a buff matrix and coarse water-worn ophiolitic sand inclusions. Based on the collation of published data supplemented by new geological, petrographic, and archaeological results, this paper offers evidence for pottery production in a similar fabric in northeastern Crete, most probably around the site(s) of Malia and/or Chersonissos, during at least Middle Minoan II and Late Minoan III. These results provide new perspectives on an archaeological problem related to the hitherto assumed importance of the site of Myrtos, on the southeastern coast of Crete, in the production and trade of such pottery. They stress the importance of thorough geological fieldwork involving sediment sampling, while also calling for caution regarding some interpretations of pottery technology that can be inferred from textural and mineralogical properties of the fabrics analyzed in thin section.