N.inv. Pigorini/ Serie W

 71971 / HT Wa 1759

The single-hole hanging nodule 71971 / HT Wa 1759, together with 71972/ HT Wa 1301, bears a seal impression representing a “Griffin in left profile, regardant, with vertical parallel lines forming its wings” (Alberti et alii 2013, 11).

The nodule bears a Linear A sign on face C.

A 301/ JO?

A 301 often recurs alone on hanging nodules; its meaning is unknown, but a relation with recordings of the textile industry has been hypothesized (Weingarten 2017).   The evidence emerging from the corpus of Linear A suggests that the sign might refer to personnel. However, it may also be associated with fractions, and it is therefore uncertain whether it has always the same meaning in differing contexts (TMT  321, Schoep 2003, 138). The sign also recurs with a syllabic function in sign-groups. A possible identification with B 36/jo (?) has long been postulated based on statistical occurrences and palaeographic evidence (Duhoux 1978; Facchetti-Negri 2003, 60-62).

This single-hole hanging nodule was discovered in the North-West Quarter, between the Room 13, also known as “Stanza dei Sigilli”, and the Portico 11, like most of the cretulae probably fallen from the upper floor, which collapsed in the fire that destroyed the Villa (Halbherr 1903, 30; Levi 1925, 73; for the provenance of administrative documents See Militello 1988, 1992, 2001, 2011).

Measures 2.0 cm x 1.7 cm x 1.6 cm.

Scribe —

The seal impression HT 99 recurs 24 times. In particular, it occurs twice in the “Pigorini corpus” (Del Freo 2002-2003,65).

The motif represents a griffin in heraldic position with vertical and parallel lines forming its wings; it may belong to the “School of the Ayia Triada Winged Figures” because of a diagnostic stroke, which characterizes the restitution of the wings and the griffin’s neck. (Weigarten 1988, 96).

the griffin’s motif has a syrian origin (palmer 2014, 35), nevertheless, its aegean variant has a closer similarity with the aegean one: the lion body and the eagle head testifies that the mythologic animal is a predator, but at the same time it represents a royal and protective symbol, a shared value with the lion (Morgan 2010, 303 e 317, Blakolmer 2018, 128-132).

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