The Dessenne Building in the Protopalatial Settlement at Malia (Crete)

Devolder, Maud [UCL] Caloi, Ilaria [UCL]

The 2012-2015 project of the Dessenne Building aimed at publishing the remains of a Protopalatial complex situated near the Palace of Malia. Discovered in 1960 by André Dessenne, the complex was interpreted as a storage unit depending on the Palace (Dessenne Storage Area), soon to be abandoned and left unpublished. A new architectural study has allowed to reconsider the phasing of the building, and to question the primacy of storage. Complementary work included the study of ceramic material excavated in 1960 which provided large amounts of MM IIB vases destroyed at the end of the Protopalatial period on the site. This paper will provide the synthesis of the work accomplished between 2012 and 2015 in order to publish the edifice, focusing especially on soundings led under its floors. These indicate the Dessenne Building was erected later than usually suggested during the Protopalatial period, on early architectural remains sometimes incorporated in the building. A sounding along the eastern side of the complex has also provided the earliest element of the road network at Malia, as well as a fill linked to the preparation of the paving of the West Court of the Palace, thus offering stratified material for its dating. Such discoveries add to the initial publication project by contextualizing the Dessenne Building within the late Prepalatial and early Protopalatial Malia.