Palace of Knossos

We managed to make it through most of the day yesterday without napping.  Wendy made it until about 7:00pm and I made it all the way to the late hour of 8:30pm.  Woo hoo!  I then managed to sleep 11 hours and woke up to my alarm at 8:00am this morning. Hopefully, that has provided the reset we need to quickly adjust to the time and avoid jet lag.

After getting a taste of Minoan history at the Archaeological Museum, we spent our morning exploring the Palace of Knossos.  The palace was a short 15 minute ride on the #2 line of the public bus network, and it dropped us off right at the main entrance.

The Palace is the largest in Crete and was surrounded by an extensive city.  The site of the palace was first settled in the Neolithic period beginning circa 6700 BC.  The first palace was built around 1900 BC in what is referred to as the Old Palace Period.  It was destroyed about 200 years later and a new palace was built in its place in 1700 BC (New Palace Period).

British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans was the main excavator of the site.  He interpreted the function and spaces in the palace and gave them names that reflected their uses.  He also performed some interpretive reconstructions that some have criticized as not necessarily accurate and certainly not representative of the materials and construction techniques that would have been used by the Minoans.  The names given to structures and spaces are still used today, although subsequent studies and excavations have cast doubt on some of Evans' interpretations.

Throne Room

Regardless, the Palace was a center of political, economic, and religious authority.  There are a variety of architectural elements and the many antiquities on display at the museum that were found here support this belief of the Palace's importance.  The Palace continued to be used after 1450 BC when the rest of the Cretan palaces were destroyed.  This is the time period that the Mycenaeans from mainland Greece took over Crete and it is believed that Knossos was used by the Mycenaeans until at least 1380 BC when it likely began to decline.

Royal Road

The other really cool site in Knossos next to Palace is what's called the Royal Road.  It was the main east-west artery.  It consists of a central strip containing a double row of raised limestone slabs.   The side sections were tamped earth with pebbles and small rocks, and there was even a stone drainage channel that ran the length of the road.  Very impressive for a road built 3,500 years ago. Even more impressive is the fact that this road could still be used today...but perhaps only one-way since our vehicles are just a bit larger than what they used back in their day.