All equal in the presence of death? A quantitative analysis of the Early Iron Age cemeteries of Knossos, Crete

The Early Iron Age cemeteries of Knossos, Crete, represent the richest source of archaeological material at the site for the period between the end of the Bronze Age and the emergence of the Archaic polis, or city-state. However, despite well-published excavation reports on the two largest burial grounds and studies dealing with various artefacts and individual tombs therein, no substantial comparative, quantitative analysis has yet been published. Such an analysis is provided here, examining both the synchronic and diachronic variation among the tombs of these two cemeteries. Through a range of quantitative techniques, this study isolates two significant patterns of burial among the largest tombs at both cemeteries and considers the broader social contexts within which these were constructed and used. The relationship between the patrons of these tombs and the development of the citystate of Knossos is also discussed. This paper demonstrates the potential for quantitative analyses to contribute to nuanced, context-specific theories of social practice, and advocates their wider application to the archaeological record of the Cretan Early Iron Age. It also serves as a demonstration of maximal research reproducibility, with the full datasets and code underpinning the analysis made freely available to download and use.