Of all the finds from the Palace of Kato Zakros, the most important are undoubtedly the stone vessels. In quantity and variety, in quality and in excellence of their preservation, they have no equal.

All the stone vessels we have seen so far have been isolated finds with the exemption of the fragmentary vases from the Temple Repositories at Knossos. At Zakros the contents of the equivalent Temple Repositories were discovered intact. The vases shed light on the important sphere of Minoan life, the worship that took place in the Palaces.

One of the finest of the stone vessels from the Temple Repositories is the unique rhyton of rock crystal -ca 1500 - 1450 BC - shown from the Palace of Zakros.

The body of the vase made from an unusually large piece of rock crystal is joined to the neck by a gilt ring. Crystal beads threaded onto a bronze wire form the handle. It should be added that this vase represents a triumph of patience, persistence and skill on the part of the technical staff of the Museum who managed to restore it from hundreds of small fragments found in the excavations.

View the original vase at Heraklion Museum.