The West House
The West House is a well-organised, long, narrow building of medium size, with a ground floor, first floor and a second storey in its east wing.
The main staircase at the entrance at the eastern end of the main street gave access to each storey. It was indicated through various finds that the ground level had storerooms, workshops, a kitchen and a mill-installation (machinery for grinding grain into flour).
The first floor had various rooms used for storage (mainly vessels), a lavatory, two rooms next to each other, with magnificent murals (paintings or works directly on walls) and a large chamber used for weaving. The most spectacular discoveries in the west house on the upper floor divided into the rooms 4, 4a and 5. Many frescoes including a one metre high fresco of a female holding a vessel identified as "a young priestess" was located in room 4. Another fresco was discovered in room 5 of the west house depicting a young naked fisherman holding bunches of fish. Room 4a was the smallest of the three and contains two small narrow benches divided by a narrow channel that was connected to a cylindrical, clay drainpipe that ran into a drainage system below the house. Some expert opinion according to Nanno Marinatos states a the figure in room 5 is not simply fishermen but are youthful adorants making an offering of their catch to a God. She has also argued that the majority of Theran frescoes are essentially religious in nature. Christo Doumas has identified an installation in room 4a as a toilet and bathroom installation but Nanno Marinatos argues it was a religious function as a room for preparing offerings. |
The West House is a house mainly made of stone and brick in a house structure and was extremely advanced for the bronze age belonging to the upper class. The style of the rooms and the installation of the bathroom and toilet indicates a high standard of Theran life, or at least for the owner of the house. |