Cnosso. Considerazioni per una revisione delle cronologie delle prime emissioni monetali

Due to the absence of stratigraphical datas, the coinage of Knossos was dated basing on the stylistic criteria normally used in late ‘800 and early ‘900 literature. The recent study of Le Rider has marked a turning point in the history of Cretan coinage, significantly lowering the date of the first issues of Cretan poleis. Formal analysis (iconographical and technical) of the first coins produced in Knossos, toghether with the study of both cultural and economic context of Crete between the VI and V centuries BC, leads to reconsider methods and datings proposed by Le Rider: a new dating hypotesis for the first coins of Cnossos (and thus probably for the poleis of Crete in general) places the introduction of coinage in Crete in the early V century.