What is essential is invisible to the eye. Multi-layered and internally supported vessels at Protopalatial Phaistos

Recent studies of Prepalatial and Protopalatial pottery from Phaistos have shown that the multi-layered composition of most locally made vases was the outcome of a peculiar way of joining together subsequent slabs of clay by overlapping them and securing the junctures through the application of extra layers (layering technique). This technique, which can be seen as half-way between moulding and slab-building, required that each new section was applied over the previously shaped one when this was dry enough to withstand the pressure exercised by the potter without being deformed, and thus ultimately involved specific technical expedients (such as scoring, keying and the use of liquid clay) to improve the adherence between elements that had different degrees of plasticity. This paper aims to expand further on this forming technique and, by building upon the features of two peculiar multi-layered vases in Kamares ware, it will argue that the ceramic rings found in the production area at Phaistos and originally interpreted as kiln-supports were in fact used as internal supports to shape fine-textured rims and bases of coarse-bodied vases in Kamares ware