The Odd Man Out: Minoan Scarabs and Scaraboids
Jacke Phillips

Scarabs produced by Minoan artisans on Crete are virtually unknown to the majority of scarab researchers, largely because they are an isolated phenomenon that has little to do with scarab development in the rest of the Bronze Age Mediterranean world. They first appear in the MM IA period, before the 'First Places' and before indigenous production in the Levant. They are, initially, apparently indigenous 'copies' of the generally contemporary Egyptian early Middle Kingdom type, but still have a character and presentation recognisably their own. After this initial appearance, Minoan scarabs quickly transform into several different stylistic types that are entirely unrelated to the foreign scarabs that continue to be imported onto the island.