THE Heinrich (Henry) Schliemannthe man who revealed the secrets of Troy preferred to continue his investigations in Hellespont, rather than launching a large construction site in Crete – and with an uncertain result. This, of course, does not negate the fact that his island had caught interest. And the well -known archaeologist suspected that somewhere above Heraklion he may find the legendary palace of the mythical King Minos.

The local merchant and archaeologist Minos But he had secured the rights to the plot where Knossos was located and during the excavations he made in the area he discovered two palaces warehouses. The summer demanded 100,000 gold francs for the granting of rights – and even the 40,000 francs proposed by Heracliotis trader after hard bazaars, there was a lot for Schliemann. And so another archaeologist seized the opportunity: British Arthur Evans.

Evans, Oxford Museum Manager and Schliemann’s admirer, believed in excavations for Knossos, as well as the limited findings that had been resulted from the summer work until then. From 1895 he began to gradually gain more and more of the site and on March 23, 1900, 125 years ago, he began his excavations with a workshop initially 30 workers, which over time increased to 100.

The ruins of a large palace older than 3,500 years were gradually revealed. In these, Evans saw the city-state of Knossos and King Minos, as described by Homer. The excavations revealed many buildings of residences and storage sites, which were linked to stairs and corridors, the supposed apartments of the king and the queen of Knossos, as well as the large central courtyard of the palace.

An archaeologist with a lot of … imagination

The problem was, however, that during the work, Evans trusted very much … his imagination, giving his own interpretations of exactly what the findings were – and not only in frescoes from which he had only one small part in his hands, but even in whole buildings. If, for example, an alabaster chair was found in a building, then he decided rather arbitrarily that it was the “throne room”. But in many cases he may have fell completely out of his estimates.

Evans made many rebuilding in the Knossos area, acting with complete… artistic freedom and creating first wood constructions and later mainly of cement. Thus, visitors to the site enter a Minoan “Disneyland”, experiencing an impressive experience in the palaces. For today’s researchers, however, Evans’ reconstructions have proven to be a major problem – because it is no longer impossible to draw independent conclusions about the buildings in the area and therefore we will probably never know what the true utility of each of the Knossos buildings was.

The Palace’s History

What has been found with certainty, however, is the distinction between two palaces erected in the area: the first must have been constructed after 2100 BC. and destroyed around 1700 BC. From an earthquake, while the new Minoan palace must have been built around 1450 BC. And to be destroyed by a fire about a hundred years later – the destruction of the palace coincides with the end of Minoan civilization in Crete and together with the Bronze Age.

Another disadvantage of Knossos is the separation between the archaeological site and the archaeological finds. In addition to some copies of findings inside, the palace is completely empty. Many and mostly very impressive finds are found at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum – which is definitely worth a visit. However, in the way they are exposed, the visitor cannot admire them in their “natural” environment, where they were in antiquity.

In 1911 Arthur Evans was a knight for his contribution to archeology. Thirty years later, on July 11, 1941, the well -known archaeologist left his last breath at the age of 90.

Curated by: George Passas