Knossos

The excavation of an historical site is intended to provide us with information about the past and the manifestations of its culture and society. The excavation of Knossos in modern day Crete aimed at investigating the ancient Palace of Knossos(II) known only from ancient myths. Different archaeological methods were employed at the site to discover, identify and record findings. The physical excavation of the site was was most important aspect of the investigation, which helped identify findings and relied upon a variety of techniques due to the complex nature of the site. Initially trial trenches were dug all over the site of the Knossos to reveal key areas to excavate. In these trial trenches layers of soil would be removed in 50cm chunks.…

The Palace of Knossos- The Palace of Knossos was a place built on the island of Crete by King Minos around 1900 BC It was an elaborate place with five stories containing hundreds of rooms, plumbing, brightly colored paintings called frescoes, and thousands of storage jars. This palace was where large gatherings were held, things were stored, and the king lived. The Palace of Knossos is important when studying Greece History because it gives us insight into the lives of the Minoans. The…

Part A: The Palace of Knossos is the most complex structure existing from the ancient Minoan Civilization on the island of Crete. It was built in the Minoan political center of Knossos by King Minos around 1900 BC. The palace is an extremely intricate building standing five stories with large, beautiful paintings on its walls known as frescos; it even had indoor plumbing. It is apparent that only the most important people in Minoan society lived in the palace because of its grandeur and…

Knossos is located in Crete, on the largest island off the coast of Greece, 5 kilometers southeast of the city of Heraklion (1). Being nestled within a valley near the river of Kairatos, the river currently flows only partly year-round (1). Yet, during Minoan times when the site was inhabited, the river flowed constantly. Knossos used to be surrounded with cypress and oak trees but has since been turned into acres of vineyards and olive trees (1). Knossos was established during the Bronze Age…

The Bull’s Head Rhyton of Knossos is an example of a Minoan stone ritual vase from the Late Bronze age (1550 – 1500 BCE). It is a bull’s-head shaped vase with a hole in the neck and muzzle, through which liquid was poured (Heraklion). The location of the vase was in the Minoan area of ancient Greece (also known as Crete). The Bull has a lot of ceremonial and religious value in Minoan culture and art, as it was important to ancient Minoan society and is seen in many different pieces of art.…

Sophomore 3. Short Answer Questions (10 points each, 20 points total). Choose two out of four. It is expected the length of the text for each question is about 150-200 words, single spaced. D. Why is the Knossos Palace laid out in a rather irregular form? The largest Minoan site, The palace and labyrinth at Knossos, is also perhaps the most widely known Minoan site throughout the world. Directly under this site are the remains of Neolithic settlements. These ancient remains had been under…

M. 2009. The kingdom of Mycenae: A Great Kingdom in the Late Bronze Age Aegean. University of Amsterdam, pp. 1-179. In this article Kelder reviews two conflicting perspectives on the influence Mycenae had on the Minoan civilisation: I. Sir Arthur Evans proposes that Mycenaean civilisation paid homage to the Minoan in facets such as religion, art and social organisation. II. The Director of the British School Athens uses the evidence of Linear B archives found at the Palace of Knossos,…

regions. Mycenae, Knossos, and Troy are three revered and questioned palatial sites that operated in similar and opposing ways, partially due to the form and function of the architecture. In the late 1800s into the early 1900s, three archaeologists excavated the individual sites of the Aegean basin. Sir Arthur Evans became known as the British archaeologist who uncovered the palace at Knossos on the island of Crete in the Aegean Sea. Heinrich Schliemann discovered Mycenae on the Greek mainland,…

Another week in the books and I have to say this class is going really good. For this journal entry we were asked to compare and contrast each one of the sites using your own impressions and opinions. The three websites are Knossos, Acropolis, and Pompeii Google Project. So I took the time to look at each website and I decided Pompeii Google Project would be the most fun to explore. The reason being the display seems really normal and there seem to be a lot of open space. Pompeii was an…

Modern Interpretations: Interpretation of Outer Architecture The outer Architecture of the Palace at Knossos has become largely understood and interpreted to have functioned primarily as a means of defense and was intended to serve a high level of security first and foremost. The tight space between structures on a raised foundation above the earth served to both hoist the glorified citadel up from the countryside giving it the advantage of higher ground and limited means of entry as well as…