entry & exit portal

This view shows the southwest corner of the chamber, with the west entry portal positioned between the first and last scenes of the fresco cycle. Outside this door is the access corridor through which the initiate would enter. This corridor was divided into two spaces, one that is believed to have been used as a cloakroom and another where a small cupboard in which bones of small animals were found (Fierz-David, 2005, p. 20). Who were ushered through that small passage? Were the initiates willing participants or were they forced to round the room? The frescos also suggest who used this space, and who didn't.

This is a picture taken from the south end of the chamber, from the south doorway that connects the red chamber to the portico (porch). Pictured in this image is the west entry portal and access corridor, west wall, and the corner of the north wall. Scenes I through V mark the beginning of the initiate's cycle.

The frescoes, like the initiate who might have followed them, exhibit a progression that marks the ritual passage.