The National Archaeological Museum, Part 2

Or, things Caroline liked that aren't quite so famous. This is part of a wall painting from Thera (modern day Santorini). This one is of two antelopes, and is part of the Acrotiri room, where all the items from Thera are displayed. It's from the 16th century BC, and it's so well preserved because Arotiri is essentially the Pompeii of the Bronze Age- there was an enormous volcanic eruption, and the resulting fall of ash blanketed much of the Cyclades and may have been responsible for the collapse of several bronze age civilizations. It also caused modern Santorini to be the shape it is- the funny bowl shaped depression is in fact the caldera.
Acrotiri was excavated after Pompeii, and the archaeologists learned their lessons well- when they found hollow spaces in the volcanic ash, they filled them with plaster so they could get impressions. Oddly enough, there have been no bodies and very few metal items of value found at the site- there must have been warning signs, because it appears that the island was successfully evacuated. This is one of the casts, and it is not a person but a bed- you can still see where ropes would have been tied to the frame to hold up whatever they were sleeping on. This is how we know as much as we know about bronze age furniture in the Aegean.
This is not from Acrotiri, but is from another Bronze Age culture. It is a figurine from the Cyclades and it was created by the same people who made the FAFs, but there are a few key differences. This figure is male, not female, and instead of a standing figure with crossed arms, he is a seated musician, playing some sort of lute or harp. It's the same age as the FAF in the last post, give or take- from between 2800 and 2300 BC.
These mysterious objects are known as "frying pan vessels", mostly because they look like frying pans. A bit. They're also from EC II, and they are found in graves. We have no idea what they were for. Mirrors has been a suggestion. Drums. Possibly idols. Or vessels for libation. You decide. They're really cool- they are covered with incised lines, and some are quite elaborate.
And this is another wall painting from Acrotiri. I included it mostly because it's really pretty.

More to come in another post! I'm limited to five photographs per post, which is why I've had to split this mega post of doom up into three parts.