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Fuel for thought? Beeswax in lamps and conical cups from Late Minoan Crete

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Richard P. Evershed ,
Sarah J. Vaughan ,
Stephanie N. Dudd  and
Jeffrey S. Soles
Richard P. Evershed*
Affiliation:
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, England
Sarah J. Vaughan
Affiliation:
Geoarchaeology Research Group, Department of Geology, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, England & American School of Classical Studies, Wiener Laboratory, 54 Souidias, Athens GR106-76, Greece
Stephanie N. Dudd
Affiliation:
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, England
Jeffrey S. Soles
Affiliation:
Department of Classical Studies, College of Arts & Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 237 McIver Building, Greensboro NC 27412-5001, USA
*
Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock's Close, Bristol BS8 1TS, England
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Extract

What was burned in lamps in the prehistoric Mediterranean? Olive oil, as one would first suppose? Analysis of absorbed lipids preserved in the fabric of lamps and conical cups from the Minoan site of Mochlos in eastern Crete shows for the first time that beeswax was used as an illuminant.

Type
Notes
Information
Antiquity , Volume 71 , Issue 274 , December 1997 , pp. 979 - 985
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 1997

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