L'industria dei profumi nell'Egeo dell'Età del Bronzo

The PhD project focused on the perfume industry in the Aegean world during the Middle and Late Bronze Age (2100-1100 B.C.) and tried to reconstruct as much as possible the activity of the a-re-pa-zo-o “the perfume boiler” inside a Mycenaean palace. This dignitary is an “officer” attached to the palace, by the wa-na-ka, in charge of controlling the perfume production system and managing the raw materials used for their manufacturing. Perfumes are one of the most important luxury goods produced mainly for ritual, ceremonial and religious purposes. It is also one of the most traded luxury goods, even outside the Aegean area, as demonstrated by the numerous stirrup jars found in shipwrecks and in the Near East, as well as in the Mediterranean. The investigation method involved a careful analysis of Linear B sources regarding aromatic substances and the same type of sources from Egypt, the Near East and Greece during the Classical era in order to create a dataset for ingredients, method of production and equipment used. After the identification of the markers, the next step was the analysis of the archaeological contexts, in particular from the Mainland, Crete and Cyclades. The research activity has produced significant results regarding the typology of tools, pottery, ingredients employed and the production and storage areas among the settlements. Also, shedding light on some technical differences between the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations.