Brauron Parch 1383

Satellite rendering of a three year duration of drought must fall far short of the enduring miseries accumulated throughout. Here the basic topography of Brauron Basin reveals as a geological depression into which a very vast watershed flowed every spring season. What it does not depict is the subsurface effects of plate tectonic subduction, by the North African Continental Plate cramming under the highly fissured European Continental Plate of southern Eurasia. The vector of cramming is towards north/northeast, the enormous forces inherent the delving called subduction. As is often the case of surface geological depressions, the process of subduction beneath allowed upheavals of lava magma to pierce through through one or both plate mantles at some millennial time of their past subsurface movements. Original occurrences staggered over average intervals of 800 years. Visually, they upheavals take the form of spews which spout and fall back uipon themselves to finalize at dry humps or hummocks. They inexplicably stand fixed after the solidification of the magma spews — with nothing afterwards of natural forces to either uplift them further, or else to erode and shape them.

There are three main dry-rock lava hummocks composing the upper left and central content of the depiction. Three humps can be discerned below them; they’re marginal to the main depression of Brauron Basin, which is a summertime dryland sink.

Under the three year drought, all prior segmentation of the Basin had become hard-panned, but their edges allowed some moisture retention that allowed propagation of edible plants for their yield of seeds alone. The content of the depiction along its seaside edge was forestation, by pines of straight and tall stands. The skirts of Mount Hymettos, a high and long elevated rift, composes the left side content, and it composed of hardwood intermized pines of gnarly growth habits, which to say of the bents and curves of their trunks and limbs such as Bonsai plants try to replicate.

Harder to discern, but important to the drainage of the natural depression by the Basin, are the main forks running south/southwest and south/southeast by partition of another hummock at the very bottom of the depiction. It is echoed by the right side vale of upward sloping terrain. Another hump may be perceived of a low elevation allowing for some human tended overgrowth and,or harvested woodland. The other side vale, running S/SW, was an extension of the Basin proper, through which a creek flowed to bend its trickling around the southern skirt of Mount Hymettos.

Terrain along the edge of the depiction is blue green for terraced Olive orchards. These are easily perceptible along the left side and upper left side trimming of the depiction. The image otherwise means to convey the impression of terraced closes for livestock pasturage and, or for stands of orchard undergrowth for crop cultivation of grain varietals. Such agriculture attest our high regard for contour farming during the Late Aegean Bronze Age as earliest ever practiced by Cretan settlers.

This depiction features prominently in Book One Prelude of Cephalos Ward of Eleusis.