• 1 . Four LMIII chamber tombs had already been excavated by Davaras in the same locality, see: CretChr (...)
• 2 . See A. Karetsou’s reports in: Ergon 1975, p. 195; AD 30 B2 (1975), p. 342; PAAH 1975, B pp. 522-5 (...)
• 3 . In the interval between 1975 and 2015, reorganization and renovation of Heraklion Museum necessit (...)

1The LM IIIA2-IIIB rock-cut chamber tomb excavated in 1975 at Stavros, east of the village of Galia and north of Moirès, was originally probably part of a cemetery.1 Burials I, II (Pl. 1-2) and III (Pl. 3) lay on wooden biers, fragments of which survived mingled with the bones and adhering to ribs (Pl. 2), on either side of burial IV, which was in a plain clay sarcophagus. The skeletal material was studied and written up in 1975 when preliminary reports on the tomb initially appeared.2 Efforts to locate the skeletons, to take digital photographs and check the 1975 report, were able to trace only one box of material from burial IV. Its condition had deteriorated significantly (Pl. 4-5).3

• 4 . F. E. Camps, J. M. Cameron, D. Lanham, Practical Forensic Medicine (1934).
• 5 . D. R. Brothwell, Digging up Bones (1972), p. 59.

4Age — All the long bone epiphyses are fused indicating adulthood. Obliteration of the coronal and sagittal sutures on the endocranium, which usually begins after the age of 26, had not been initiated.4 The cusps of the first molar had been reduced by wear, but dentine exposure is negligible, whilst there is none at all on the second molar. Data standards that correlate the amount of tooth attrition with age, place this individual within the range of 17-25 years.5

• 6 . R. K. Garg, D. P. Somvanshi, “Spinal tuberculosis: A review”, The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine(...)

6Minor vertebral osteophytosis seen in the spinal column was probably asymptomatic. However, pain or other symptoms would certainly have been caused by the collapse of the first lumbar centrum, which had fused with the 12th thoracic, and by the peripheral exostoses that were formed on the lower lumbar vertebral bodies. Destruction of the intervertebral disc space between adjacent vertebral bodies (Th12/ L1) and the formation of an abscess (perhaps cold) around the lesion is a characteristic feature of spinal tuberculosis.6 The progress of spinal tuberculosis or brucellosis is slow and can last from months to years. Tuberculosis and brucellosis could have been contracted through eating infected food products from domestic animals. Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be transmitted through air from humans living in poor conditions.

• 7 . L. H. D. Buxton, “Platymeria and Platycnemia”, Journal of Anatomy 73 (1938), pp. 31-36.
• 8 . W. Townsley, “Platymeria”, The Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology 58 (1946), pp. 85-89; J. Cam (...)

9Variation — Indices calculated for the femur and tibia fall into the categories platymeric and platycnemic. There is no consensus of opinion to explain these phenomena. Some authorities suggest pathological factors: association with osteoarthritis or with calcium deficiency, implying a shortage of bone,7 others suggest muscular factors related to persistent squatting, or support of the body and gait adopted when walking in hilly country.8 It has been noted that platymeria and platycnemia are not necessarily always associated and that they occur more frequently in modern primitive groups and early man.

• 9 . K. Pearson, J. Bell, A study of the long bones of the English skeleton, pt. 1-pt. 1, section 2: T (...)
• 10 . F. E. Camps, J. M. Cameron, D. Lanham (n. 4).

11Sex — The skeleton was incomplete and the pelvis too fragmentary to be of use diagnostically for determination of sex. The right temporal bone could not be restored to the rest of the skull (Pl. 3a-d), which is in a very friable condition, but the size of the mastoid process suggests it is male. This is corroborated by the robust appearance of the long bones, which are those of a stocky muscular individual. The pronounced development of the femur linea aspera, the popliteal line of the tibia and the humerus deltoid ridge are particularly noticeable. Finally, the measurement of the right femoral head (>49 mm) exceeds the means for males, 45.5 mm and 47 mm respectively, published by Pearson9 and Camps et al.10

• 11 . Ibid.
• 12 . H. V. Vallois, “La durée de la vie chez l’homme fossile”, L’  Anthropologie 47 (1937), pp. 499-53 (...)

12Age — Fusion of all the long bone epiphyses, normally achieved by the age of 25, had occurred. Synostosis of the cranial sutures on their inner aspect, a process normally believed to take place between the ages of 26 and 36, was complete.11 On the ectocranium, the section of the sagittal suture that is usually the first to be erased between the ages of 20-30 was obliterated.12 Despite reservations about cranial suture synostosis, which is susceptible to variation and thus not the most reliable method for determining age, in default of any other criterion, based on the condition of the sutures a tentative age estimate for this individual is 30 ±6 years.

• 13 . H. Ullrich, “Estimation of fertility by means of pregnancy and childbirth alterations at the pubi (...)

15Sex — Sex was determined as female from the diagnostic characteristics of the skull (Pl. 4b-d, Pl. 5a-e) with smooth contours and small mastoid processes (Pl. 5f), from the pelvis with an auricular sulcus, usually associated with pregnancy and childbirth13 and the absence of muscular tuberosities in the post-cranial skeleton, which is remarkably petite.

• 14 . T. W. McKern, T. D. Stewart, Skeletal Changes in Young American Males, Technical Report. Headquar (...)

16Age — Synostosis of the cranial sutures on the inner aspect of the skull had not been initiated, nor had sutures been obliterated from the ecto-cranium. The basi-occipital synchondrosis had fused prior to death; the line of fusion is faintly visible (Pl. 6a). Normally, this occurs between the ages of 17 and 23 years.14 Apart from incomplete fusion of the sternal ends of the clavicles (Pl. 6b-c), which usually takes place between the ages of 20-25 years, all other post-cranial epiphyses are fused. Also the fusion line of the femur proximal epiphysis was still visible (Pl. 6e). Minor dentine exposure on the occlusal surface of the first molar (Pl. 6f), places this individual within the 17-25-year age group. Overall, the criteria suggest an age estimate of about 23 years.

• 15 . For a similar lesion caused through injury sustained by a teenager running barefoot downstairs se (...)

19Post-cranial pathology — Plates 8-10 illustrate the long bones, shoulder and pelvic girdles, patellae, cervical vertebrae and extremities. A bone nodule that can be seen on the medial margin of the hallux distal phalange (Pl. 10 c-d) was probably caused by trauma to the foot tendons, from an accident sustained while running or walking barefoot.15 Such lesions are rarely seen today because footwear provides protection.

• 16 . It was known to physicians in the classical era as phthisis meaning wasting; P. J. P. McGeorge, “ (...)
• 17 . Ibid., pp. 123-4; P. J. P. McGeorge, “Έγκλημα στην Yστερομινωϊκή ΙΙΙ Περίοδο”, Αρχαιολογία 11 (19 (...)

23The disease must have been common and recognizable from the characteristic appearance of patients,16 although the source of contagion and the mechanism by which infectious diseases spread, would not have been understood in the 14th-13th centuries BC. Prevalence of tuberculosis or brucellosis was noted in a contemporary population at LMIIIA2-IIIB Armenoi, where loom weights and spindle whorls commonly placed in the tombs imp ly that the economy was centered on animal husbandry.17

• 18 . J. L. Angel (n. 17), tables 6-7, pp. 86-88: averages for femurs and tibias combine left and right (...)

25The burials in the Galia tomb are probably a family group similar to the burials in LMIII A-B chamber tombs at Armenoi. Table 3 compares the mean lengths of femurs, tibias and stature data for male populations from LMIII Armenoi near Rethymnon, Middle Helladic Lerna, Shaft Grave Circle B and Late Helladic burials studied by Angel.18

• 19 . J. M. Tanner, “Growth in height as a mirror of the standard of living” in J. Komlos (ed.), Statur (...)

26These comparisons offer a perspective on social circumstances because stature mirrors the standard of living.19 Stature correlates directly with nutritional status, since the more calories and proteins available for physical growth, the more likely it is that peop le will be able to reach their genetic potential and also remain healthy. Stature is also affected by disease and factors such as population density, hygiene and medicine.

• 20 . G. Stulp, B. Kuijper, A. P. Buunk, T. V. Pollet, S. Verhulst, “Intralocus sexual conflict over hu (...)
• 21 . The stature difference at Galia is supported by data from elsewhere: B. P. Hallager, P. J. P. McG(...)

29The 11% (18 cm) difference in stature between male burial I (163.4 cm), and female burial IV (145.5 cm), exceeds the normal 8% difference between males and females in populations worldwide.20 This deviation from the norm has implications for social gender and the relative status of men and women at this period. Moreover, burial IV’s anaemia and enamel hypoplasia suggests that the woman was chronically less adequately nourished than her male companion in the tomb. The logical inference here is that the man habitually took priority over the woman where access to food was concerned, an inference that seems to be confirmed by data from other sites of this period.21