Knossos EIA Cemeteries

This repository consists of the raw data, full R code and text, and bibliographic information used in the creation of the article 'All Equal in the Presence of Death? A Quantitative Analysis of the Early Iron Age Cemeteries at Knossos, Crete'. This article provides a novel study of two large mortuary assemblages of the Cretan Early Iron Age, which have never been systematically compared through quantitative analysis. As part of the author's commitment to data sharing and maximal reproducibility, this repository makes available all associated data and materials utilised in the production of the article. The data pertain to the Knossos North and Fortetsa cemeteries, as presented in their respective publications (Brock 1957; Coldstream and Catling 1996). This repository includes three related databases. The first includes an entry for each individual ceramic vessel. Variables include the tomb, the vessel shape, its surviving dimensions, its ceramic period and corresponding absolute dating measures. In addition, all imports, ‘Oriental’ imitations, and antique (that is, Bronze Age) artefacts are identified. In total, this database comprises just over 4540 individual artefacts. The second is similar, but with each entry corresponding to a find other than a ceramic vessel. A ‘material’ variable was added as, of course, these finds were not all made of the same substance. This database includes some 1620 individual artefacts. The final database concerns the tombs themselves. Each tomb was accorded its own entry, with variables including dating (both relative absolute), surviving dimensions, and the known and estimated number of interments, as well as tallies of the various artefact types recorded in the other two databases. These data are utilised in the article, itself written in R, with all figures and tables generated on-the-fly through code. The full text and code, as well as the produced images, are stored in the repository, as is all bibliographic information, in the form of a BibTex file which can be added to any reference manager. This repository allows the user to fully reproduce the analysis presented in the article, as well as to freely download and use the raw data for their own research. Further tombs in the wider Knossos area have since been added and are likewise made available in the repository. The most relevant data are located within the 'analysis' folder. Raw data, and data prepared for the aoristic analysis used in the article are found in 'analysis/data', the article and references in 'analysis/paper', and the figures in 'analysis/figures'.<br> References: Brock, J.K. 1957. <i>Fortetsa: Early Greek Tombs Near Knossos</i>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Coldstream, J. N., and H. W. Catling (eds.) 1996. <i>Knossos North Cemetery: Early Greek Tombs.</i> London: The British School at Athens Supplement 28. Vol. I-IV.<br>