The palace of Knossos, on the island of Crete, is one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in the world . It was discovered and excavated by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans, who spent 30 years of his life dedicated to recovering lost civilization.
Evans was familiar with ancient Greek myths and legends, and the story that fascinated him most was that of Minos, the legendary son of Zeus, king of the gods. Minos was born in Crete and became king of the island . His wife, Pasifae, fell in love with a magnificent bull and as a result of her love affairs she gave birth to the Minotaur, a monster with a human body and the head of a bull. King Minos left the Minotaur in a labyrinth hidden in the depths of his palace.
Discovery and excavation of Knossos
Evans was 51 years old when he was finally able to go to Crete, in 1899, and investigate the truth of the legend. That year Crete gained its independence from the Ottoman Turks and Evans was able to buy a piece of land on a hill called Kefala (called Knossos by locals). Evans began digging in earnest in March 1900.
His lands were on the side of a wide valley, about 5 km north of the Cretan coast. Excavation began on the 23rd, and four days later Evans noted in his field notebook that he was convinced that the city they unearthed "reaches at least well beyond the pre-Mycenaean period." Evans and his colleagues found blocks of rock engraved with strange and unrecognizable symbols. After a few weeks it was clear that these blocks were part of a large prehistoric building. In addition, as frescoes and decorations were discovered, it was observed that the bull was a recurring motif in them.
Evans was elated, as he had no doubt that he had discovered the palace of King Minos and he named the civilization that had built it after this Cretan ruler.
As the excavation progressed, Evans could see that the palace was vast. At some points it was five stories high, as well as 1,200 rooms, including storerooms, halls connecting the rooms, all grouped around a large central courtyard. The rather random arrangement of the rooms must have reminded Evans of the legend of the labyrinth. It seemed as if rooms and halls had been added to the palace as needed, with no regard for balanced design.
As the excavation progressed, the foundations of the walls and gates were discovered, as well as many objects made by Minoan craftsmen. Some remains appeared just a few centimeters below the modern surface, suggesting that the building had suffered a major catastrophe. Evans wrote:“From the day of its destruction until now the site has been completely desolate. For three thousand years or more not a single tree seems to have been planted here; a part of the land has not even passed a plow. At the time of the great fall, no doubt the palace was methodically plundered for metal objects and the fallen rubble of the rooms and passages scrambled and searched for precious loot […]. But the clay and plaster walls are still intact."
The Restoration of Knossos
While working, Evans decided to put the pieces of the gigantic puzzle together in a restoration job he called reconstitution . Since then some archaeologists have criticized his work, but it is undeniable that the modern visitor gets a better picture of the palace and the Minoan world thanks to him. Evans said that some restoration was essential, because workers have to consolidate what they have discovered before digging deeper.
The palace has thick stone walls and thinner brick walls; many had a wooden frame, probably to help the building withstand earthquakes. The walls had collapsed, the thatch and clay from the roofs had fallen, and much of the wood had rotted away. Evans replaced the damaged logs with concrete, which he then painted beige to look like wood. He subsequently rebuilt the walls using the original stones.
The western part of the palace had at least two floors, but only the first one is preserved. In a courtyard near the west entrance three large round pits have been found. Originally they may have been used to store grain or for the sacred offerings of religious ceremonies. The main entrance from the west leads through a colonnaded porch into a wide corridor lined with a procession of brightly colored life-size frescoes of young men carrying jugs. Evans found other frescoes at Knossos, which tell us much about how the Minoans lived. In an antechamber next to the grand staircase there was a fresco of a figure called a priest-king , although she may actually be a priestess.
On April 13, 1900, Arthur Evans first saw the extraordinary room that led to the central courtyard. Inside was a high-backed stone throne guarded by painted griffins. The throne room may have been the place where King Minos received important visitors to him, although some experts think it was used by priests to worship the supreme Minoan deity.
Evans found vases scattered around the room, leading him to believe that some kind of ritual was being performed when disaster struck Knossos. A large stone pile was found in a nearby corridor. Evans moved it to the antechamber of the throne because he believed the Minoans had used it to purify themselves before entering the important throne room.
Most of the rest of the first floor was taken up by narrow storerooms, where grain, olive oil, wine, dried fish, and beans were kept in huge jars. The upper floor probably contained the main reception rooms and large colonnaded halls, used by the king in public audiences.
The royal rooms
The eastern part of the palace was probably five stories high, some of which have survived because they were carved into a hillside. The different floors, which were connected by a grand staircase, contained the royal rooms. Evans called the king's room the Hall of Double Axes , because this symbol appeared engraved on some of the stone blocks of those rooms. This double room had a light well at one end and a wide gallery facing east. The entire palace was cleverly constructed to receive light, allow air to circulate, and offer protection from the fierce summer heat. During the winter, the doors were closed and the hearths provided heat.
The nearby rooms of the queen contained beautiful frescoes of dolphins and a girl dancing. In one corner, surrounded by a half-height wall, was a bathroom with a clay tub. The bathroom was probably filled by a servant and emptied through a hole in the floor that connects to the drain.
The next room was a toilet. There was a hole in the floor of the dressing room, through which water would have been run to pull the chain. The toilet drain led the sewage water to a stream that ran under the palace. Evans wrote:“The palace's elaborate drainage system and sanitation provisions excite the imagination of all who see them. The terracotta pipes, with their beautifully connected, scientifically achieved sections, dating from the earliest days of the building, are quite up to modern standards.'
In addition to the king, queen, nobles, and priests, many other people lived in the palace of Minos. There were large numbers of servants and slaves to attend to the needs of the royal family and their courtiers. Merchants, scribes, and accountants organized and kept track of large stores. There were potters, jewelers, masons, carpenters and painters (many of their warehouses have been found). Outside the palace walls, which were not surrounded by fortifications or a defensive wall, there were smaller buildings. Paths led from the palace to the city of Knossos.
From the work of Evans and others, we know that the palace was built around 1900 BC. It was destroyed, probably by an earthquake, some 200 years later. After being completely rebuilt and perhaps enlarged, the palace may have been damaged by the eruption of the volcano on the nearby island of Thera (present-day Santorini) around 1500 BC. Some 100 years later, the palace was destroyed by fire and was never rebuilt. The city of Knossos was taken over by Mycenaean warriors and became an important Greek city-state, until the Romans conquered Crete in 67 BC
The bull jump
One of the best-known frescoes found in the palace of Minos depicts a young man jumping on the back of a bull. A young woman waits to pick it up and another is about to jump over the animal's horns. Various scenes of bulls and bull jumpers have appeared on Minoan seals and bronze statuettes. Symbols in the form of bull horns have also been found at Knossos, as well as vessels and cups in the shape of bull heads.
Historians believe that the bull jump may have taken place in the central courtyard of the palace, which measures 50 by 25 meters. This sport may have been part of a religious ritual as well as entertainment, at the end of which the bull may have been sacrificed. The bull leap may have given rise to the legend of the Minotaur, the creature that was the Bull of Minos.