THE SEALING STRUCTURES OF MINOAN CRETE: MM II PHAISTOS TO THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PALACE OF KNOSSOS

Summary. The thousands of MM clay sealings in Room 25 of the First Palace of Phaistos testify to the importation into Crete of the Near Eastern system of storeroom administrative controls. Minoan practice then diverged from the Near Eastern model. The development of a recognizably Minoan sealing system is illustrated by the LM IB sealing deposits from Ayia Triada, Zakro and Khania (with something of its evolution traceable via Mallia and Knossos). Despite many common practices in LM IB, however, important local differences coexisted within this Minoan system, perhaps suggesting the absence of a single overriding administrative authority at this time.