Arkalochori (also Arkalokhori) is a modern city in Crete and the archaeological site of a Minoan sacred cave in eastern Crete. The sacred cave was used from 2500 to 1450 BCE. It is located 32 km south of Heraklion and has a population of 15000. Arkalochori is not far south from the newly discovered Minoan palace at Galatas. Bronze and gold double axes have been excavated at the Arkalochori cave.
The Arkalochori Axe is a votive double axe excavated in the Arkalochori cave by Spyridon Marinatos. It is notable for being engraved with an inscription of 15 symbols. Some of the symbols may be identified as Linear A characters, while others are reminiscent of those found on the Phaistos Disc: in particular, the "Mohican" glyph (D02), the most frequent character of the Phaistos Disc, appears on the axe inscription both in profile and face-on. The axe is on exhibit in the Iraklion Archaeological Museum. |