Labyrinth

Timeline

Period

Neolithic

Bronze Age/ Minoan Prepalatial

Ceramic period Approximate absolute dates Events

Initial Neolithic 7000–6500 BCE First settlers

Early Neolithic 6500–5900 BCE

Middle Neolithic 5900–5300 BCE

Late Neolithic 5300–4500 BCE

Final Neolithic 4500–3100 BCE

Early Minoan I 3100–2700 BCE First use of bronze

Early Minoan II 2700–2200 BCE

Early Minoan III 2200–2000 BCE

Middle Minoan IA 2000–1900 BCE

Protopalatial Middle Minoan IB 1900–1800 BCE First palace built

Middle Minoan IIA 1800–1750 BCE

Middle Minoan IIB 1750–1700 BCE

Neopalatial Middle Minoan III 1700–1600 BCE First palace rebuilt after major earthquake

Late Minoan IA 1600–1500 BCE c.1550BCE : Thera Eruption

Late Minoan IB 1500–1450 BCE

Final Palatial

Late Minoan II 1450–1400 BCE Warrior graves

Late Minoan IIIA 1400–1350 BCE c.1350 CE : Palace destroyed by fire

Postpalatial

Late Minoan IIIB 1350–1200 BCE

Late Minoan IIIC 1200–1050 BCE

Sub-Minoan 1050–970 BCE North Cemetery founded

Period

Ceramic period Approximate absolute dates Events

Greek Iron Age Geometric 970–700 BCE Archaic Orientalising 700–600 BCE 600–480 BCE

Classical 480–323 BCE c.425 BCE : First coins showing Labyrinth

Hellenistic 323–67 BCE

Roman 67 BCE –324 CE 27 BCE : Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus founded

Late Antique Early Byzantine 324–827 CE 365 CE : Major earthquake 795 CE : Earthquake and probable abandonment of Knossos

Medieval Arab c.828–961 CE Chandax established

Middle Byzantine 961–1204 CE Byzantine reconquest

Venetian 1204–1669 CE 1415: Christoforo Buondelmonti visits 1648: Siege of Candia begins Early modern

Ottoman 1669–1898 CE 1878: Palace discovered by Minos Kalokairinos

Cretan State 1898–1913 CE 1900: Arthur Evans starts to excavate

Greece 1913–present 1941: Battle of Crete

The Conservation and Restoration of the Palace at Knossos

Vassiliki Sythiakaki, Eliza Kavoulaki, Maria Kladou

The ongoing preservation and presentation of a monument or archaeological site depends on human intervention, whether this is repair and maintenance, or more extensive restoration and promotion. Sir Arthur Evans, excavator of the palace of Knossos, had a vision from early on that the site he was uncovering should be accessible and easily comprehensible to the public. Notable was his concept of a grand programme of reconstruction and restoration of the monument, which began in 1901 and was completed after the First World War (Figs 6, 7).

The first restorations in the Minoan palace, which occurred in tandem with the excavation, aimed at the immediate protection of the building and could be described as gentle. They were executed with vernacular materials such as wood and stone, using traditional construction techniques. The work attempted to reproduce the lost Minoan parts (through the construction of limestone columns or the filling-in of ancient masonry, for example), but also to clearly distinguish itself from what was original (by using brick pillars capped with masonry, or vaulted roofs).1

From the late 1920s restorers used reinforced concrete, focusing on what Evans himself termed ‘reconstitutions’. This new material could be used to reconstruct whole storeys, which were given architecturally resonant names such as the Loggia above the Throne Room. Concrete was also used to build columns and pillars, which were brightly coloured like the Minoan originals, and for the restoration of wall paintings, copies of which were placed in the reconstructed

Fig. 6 Central Court from south-east with Throne Room roofed, c.1904.

Fig. 7 Central Court from south-east with restored Stepped Portico, Throne Room and North Entrance, c.1930.

spaces (Figs 8, 9).2 The setting of the monument was enhanced with a landscape of trees and plants, designed according to the excavator’s Edwardian sensibilities.

After the Second World War, the maintenance and repair of the palace of Knossos was carried out by the Ephors of Antiquities, Nikolaos Platon and Stylianos Alexiou.3 Their work involved constructing shelters to protect the open spaces, repairing Minoan walls with mortar and renovating the floors.

As Platon documented, in order to clarify and improve visitors’ understanding of parts of the palace, floors that had been lost were restored in cement. In addition, to protect the original form of the monument, damaged Minoan gypsum floors were filled in and replaced.4 As for the ‘reconstitutions’ of Sir Arthur Evans, these were treated as part of the monument – not to be removed and

Fig. 8 Restored West Portico of North Entrance with copy of bull fresco.

Fig. 9 Restored South Propylaeum with copy of Procession Fresco.

taken away. Some reinforced concrete slabs were extended in order to cover and protect certain spaces.5 In the decades that followed, the Greek Archaeological Service increasingly recognised the problems facing the monument, and took systematic steps to save and restore it.

These problems included the materials from which the palace was originally built, particularly the worked gypsum on the walls and floors, which was (and remains) vulnerable to changing weather conditions and requires constant maintenance. The same is true of the reinforced concrete of the reconstituted floors. Thousands of daily visitors have contributed significantly to the deterioration of the monument.

During the 1990s wooden walkways were introduced, to manage the flow of visitors and generally improve the site’s infrastructure. These paths slow down the site’s deterioration and contribute to its fuller appreciation and understanding (Figs 10, 11). At the same time, the reception areas were improved, sensitive parts of the site were cordoned off to preserve them, and disabled access was extended across large parts of the palace. In collaboration with the Directorate for the Restoration of Ancient Monuments, there was also an extensive programme of renovation for the worn-out concrete reconstructions across the site.6

From the new millennium to the present day, projects for the protection and presentation of the Minoan palace have been carried out by various bodies:

Fig. 10 Visitor walkway in the southern part of the Palace.

Fig. 11 Visitor walkway in the northeastern part of the Palace.

initially the Fund for the Credit Management of Archaeological Works and the Knossos Scientific Committee7, then the 23rd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, and, from 2014, the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion. The works qualified for successive European Union funding programmes (second and third Community Support Frameworks, followed by the National Strategic Reference Framework), and involved large-scale maintenance, support and presentation activities, including conservation of masonry, gypsum and limestone, and Minoan mortar. They also included the reconstructions of Sir Arthur Evans: the wall paintings, the columns and the colourful decoration. The Minoan pithoi on display across the site have also been conserved. The iron beams and vaulted roofs of Evans’s ‘reconstitutions’ were replaced, and the visitor path from the South House to the Caravanserai was extended along a particularly beautiful route. This followed the original Minoan entrance to the palace, and connects spaces hitherto almost unknown to the general public.8

Structural reinforcement and conservation and restoration work was also carried out on the South Propylaeum, the West Magazines, the Tripartite Shrine, the Throne Room, the North Entrance, the Grand Staircase and the South House, as well as areas on the periphery of the palace including the Caravanserai and its Spring Chamber, the Stepped Portico, the Minoan Viaduct, the Royal Tomb, the Royal Villa and the House of the High Priest.

As part of efforts to prevent the deterioration of the Minoan palace and protect it from extreme weather events caused by climate change, from 2016–2019 it was included in the three-year, EU-funded HERACLES (HEritage Resilience Against CLimate Events on Site) research project, part of the ‘Horizon 2020’ programme.9 The project, involving 16 partners from seven different European countries, brought together agencies, universities, research centres, companies and organisations active in the field of protecting cultural heritage. In conjunction with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion, the result was a programme of monitoring, recording, forecasting and intervention for the monument in case of emergency.10

Current conservation and restoration work focuses on the masonry, stonework, floors, mortar and the painted surfaces of the Evans reconstructions. The reinforced concrete roof of the Hall of the Double Axes (King’s Megaron) has been renovated. Work continues at the northwest end of the Royal Road – the main road that connected the palace with the city of Knossos.

The restoration projects for the palace of Knossos as a whole aim to upgrade the monument and highlight its archaeological and architectural value. The objective is to restore its formal unity without changing its character or losing the signs of older interventions. The reconstitutions of Sir Arthur Evans are now an integral part of the monument’s history: they have provided a scholarly impression of the original building in the minds of both general visitors and experts alike. Even archaeological purists would find it difficult to assimilate today the image of the palace of Knossos as revealed by the excavations, or at least as it was after its first restoration at the start of the twentieth century (Figs 12, 13).11

It is precisely this image of the Minoan palace that the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion is obliged to protect, safeguard and promote, in accordance with

The Labyrinth in myth

The labyrinthine myths of Crete have long fascinated artists, authors and composers. Over the last two and a half millennia there have been a wide variety of different tellings, with characters and elements neglected or elaborated over time. This evolution of the myths was sometimes the result of individual creativity, whether in response to the demands of different audiences or media. Transmission and reception have also had an effect, as the inheritors of the myths try to make sense of the different versions according to their own sensibilities. Some authors have aimed to compile a definitive version; in other cases, specific elements or characters of the myths are abstracted and acquire new meanings. There is no shortage of choice: the Cretan myths span several generations, from Zeus and Europa to their great-grandson Idomeneus, who fought in the Trojan War. In between are the troubled ruling family of Knossos, Minos and Pasiphae, whose offspring included Androgeus, Ariadne and Asterion (the Minotaur). Entanglements with bulls and Athenians are a recurring theme (see myth timeline, pp. xx).1

A few modern examples illustrate the continuing variety of artistic responses to the Cretan myths. The minotaur in Pablo Picasso’s La Minotauromachie (1935),

Fig. 29 Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Minotauromachie, 1935 (cat. no. xx)

who also appears in other works at this time, seems to represent the artist’s own inner turmoil (Fig. 29).2 The 270 different labyrinths installed on signs at every London Underground station as part of Mark Wallinger’s Labyrinth (2013) are site-specific and open to interpretation, but they echo the act of navigating the complexities of the Tube, with its own maze-like map (Fig. 30). Both artists have engaged with classical antiquity in their work, making it possible to trace back connections to the ancient myths, even if these are not the focus of the artworks.3

In the case of Michael Ayrton, an obsession with the Cretan myths – notably the master craftsman Daedalus – provided the guiding inspiration for his art: he wrote two books in the voice of Daedalus and produced numerous sculptures and drawings. His notably sympathetic Minotaur Suite (1971) comprised ten drawings showing the Minotaur growing up – from womb to imprisoned monster – awaiting a fate which Ayrton never depicted in his work (Figs 31, 32).4

Text and image have always intertwined in tellings of the myths of Crete. Their first known reference comes in a passage of ekphrasis: a description of an object in Homer’s Iliad, composed around the eighth century BC (see timeline, pp. xx). Among the many marvellous scenes on the Shield of Achilles, Hephaestus ‘fashioned a dancing-floor like the one Daedalus created for finely-coiffured Ariadne back then in broad Knossos’.5 This passing reference shows that the poet’s audience would have been aware of the wider Cretan myths, although it remains unclear whether elements such as the Labyrinth or the Minotaur were part of

Fig. 30 Mark Wallinger (b.1959), Labyrinth #232 Green Park, 2013 (cat. no. xx)

them at this point. Knossos is also mentioned in the Odyssey, among the greatest of the 90 cities of Crete, where Minos ruled.6 As in the Iliad, the context is the later Trojan War, as Odysseus, in one of his most elaborate lies, pretends to be the brother of the Cretan hero Idomeneus. The other significant Cretan in the Iliad is Meriones, another grandson of Minos, who gives Odysseus a helmet made of boar tusks.7 By tradition both were buried at Knossos, their tombs reported as major attractions by Diodorus Siculus in the first century BC . 8

By the time of Diodorus, all of the now-familiar elements of the myth had come together, as shown in two further passages of ekphrasis. For the Roman poet Catullus, the scene occurs on a tapestry showing Ariadne abandoned on

Fig. 31 Michael Ayrton (1921–1975), Minotaur Risen, 1971 (cat. no. xx)

no. xx)

the island of Dia (not Naxos, as in other accounts), distraught as she watches Theseus depart in his ship. From this moment, Catullus unfolds the myth for his audience: Theseus choosing to come to Knossos as one of the Minotaur’s victims; Ariadne falling in love with him; his killing of the Minotaur; his escape from the labyrinth by means of a ball of thread to retrace his route. Catullus then looks forward to the effect of Ariadne’s curse, causing Theseus to forget to change the black sails on his ship to white as a signal to his father Aegeus that he is safe, prompting the old man to throw himself into the sea and, thereby, Theseus to understand Ariadne’s grief.9 Virgil, Catullus’s near contemporary, had Daedalus craft images of the myths in relief on the bronze temple doors at Cumae. A more lapidary account of the myth follows than that of Catullus, but the seven young men and women; Ariadne; the ball of thread; the labyrinth and the Minotaur are all there, as well as Daedalus’s escape by air. Only the winged figure of Icarus is missing because, suggests Virgil, his father couldn’t bear to depict his fall.10 Both accounts are finely wrought descriptions of imaginary objects, showing the poets’ descriptive and allusive skills, which a knowledgeable audience would have enjoyed. Similarly accomplished accounts of the myth were provided by Ovid: a brief summary similar to that of his contemporary Virgil in the Metamorphoses, and a longer, imagined letter from Ariadne to Theseus – with echoes of Catullus – in the Heroides.11 Other poets must have followed: a century later Juvenal begged them to stop talking about the bellowing in the Labyrinth because such descriptions had become hackneyed.12 A final, less literary, act of ekphrasis by the geographer Pausanias describes another important depiction of the myth: a bronze sculpture of Theseus and the Minotaur by Myron. This once graced the Athenian Acropolis but no longer survives, except in a Roman copy (see Ignatiadou, pp. xx).

Fig. 32 Michael Ayrton (1921–1975), Minotaur Revealed, 1971 (cat.

Ancient Silver Coin from Knossos showing the Labyrinth

Volker Heuchert

HCR 4581 is a silver coin from Knossos from around 300–270 BCE , with an image of the Labyrinth on the reverse. Apart from this image, the coin looks like a conventional ancient Greek civic coin: its obverse shows the head of an important local deity, the goddess Hera. Facing to the left, she wears an elaborate crown (στέφăνος) with floral ornaments and a pearl necklace. The coin’s reverse inscription ΚΝΩΣΙ (abbreviating ΚΝΩΣΙΩΝ) identifies it as a ‘(coin of) the citizens of Knossos’. Despite the lack of a value mark, we know that HCR4581 represented a (silver) drachm, which was the pay for one or two days’ work for a labourer. To the left and right of the Labyrinth are the two Greek letters Α (Alpha) and Ρ (Rho), which might be the initials of the person responsible for the issue. Such marks were common on Greek coins from around 400 BCE .

The Labyrinth on the reverse is the coin’s most remarkable feature. It is an idealised, schematic representation of the structure from a bird’s eye view. In the case of HCR 4581 the overall shape is a square, which is the most common representation of the Labyrinth on the coins of Knossos. A graffito from Pompeii with the Latin inscription Hic habitat Minotaurus (‘Here lives the Minotaur’) depicts the Labyrinth in the same way.38 However, other coins of Knossos show a round or crossshaped structure, or as an upright swastika.39 Rare coins even include a tiny Minotaur head in the centre of the Labyrinth. 40

Although mythological and idealised, the depiction of a building is unique among Greek coin images. The phenomenon is normally associated with the Romans, first appearing on late Republican coins around 135 BCE and around 100 years later on Imperial and Provincial ones. 41 The use of the bird’s eye perspective on Knossian coins is also exceptional. Archaic coins from Zancle in Sicily (today’s Messina) provide the only parallel:

they show the city’s stylised harbour as a crescent from above, complete with a dolphin in the centre to represent the sea. 42

Of all Knossian coinage, the Labyrinth was the city’s most common reverse design, occurring on its earliest coins – from around 425 BCE 43 – to its last issues as a Roman colony under the emperor Nero (54–64 CE ). 44 The frequent, long-term use of the iconic image demonstrates the importance of the Labyrinth and its associated myth for the city’s identity. Unsurprisingly, some of the other figures involved in the story also feature on Knossian coinage. These include the Minotaur, the head of the youthful Theseus (or Apollo?), the head of Ariadne, and Minos sitting on his throne. 45 For the latter, the reverse inscription identifies him as ΜΙΝΟΣ (‘Minos’) to avoid possible confusion with the god Zeus, who often appears in a similar guise.

On the whole, religion was the most common way to express identity on coins46 – through the depiction of heads of deities (e.g. Hera on the obverse of HCR 4581), cult statues or divine attributes (e.g. the lyre of Apollo). However, Knossos was not alone in using coins to reference events from Greek’s mythical (or historical) past. Corinthian coins featured Pegasus, who was –accordingly to legend – tamed there by Bellerophon; coins from Locris featured local Trojan War hero Ajax marching into battle. 47 During the second and third centuries CE , when there was renewed interest in local history and mythology (Antiquarianism), the deeds of Theseus featured on some Roman provincial coins, most importantly on those of his home town of Athens, where he is seen fighting and killing the Minotaur. 48

Keble College deposited HCR 4518 in the Heberden Coin Room of the Ashmolean Museum in 1934. It was purchased in 1889 for the sum of £3/30/-, equivalent to around £270 in current terms. 49

Fig. 45 Ancient silver coin from Knossos showing the Labyrinth, c.300–270 BC (obverse and reverse) (cat no. xx)

Kamares Cups from the Royal Pottery Stores

Nicoletta Momigliano

Two partly restored, rounded ‘Kamares Ware’ cups from the ‘Royal Pottery Stores’ at Knossos, dating to Middle Minoan IIA. These cups illustrate the technical skill and artistic flair of Minoan artisans, while also providing insights into some activities that took place in the Palace of Knossos, and into the power strategies of the Minoan elites.

The two cups, in a fine, buff-coloured fabric, are wheel-made and decorated with floral and spiral motifs in white, painted on a semi-lustrous, dark background. There are added details in red. Pottery similarly decorated with abstract and/or naturalistic elements in white and red paint (the latter ranging from purplish to yellowish orange in some examples) on a black-slipped surface has been called ‘Kamares Ware’. This is because the first large hoard of such vessels was discovered in the mid-1890s inside the Kamares cave, an important cult place in Minoan times, which is located on the south flank of Mount Ida (Psiloritis). 20 Subsequent excavations at Knossos and other sites revealed many other substantial assemblages of these fine ceramic products. Kamares Ware fragments were discovered even earlier at Kahun in Egypt in the late 1880s, during the excavations by the famous Egyptologist Flinders Petrie. In an article published in 1890, Petrie suggested that these polychrome fragments might be from the Aegean; this was confirmed by later discoveries in the Kamares cave and other Cretan sites mentioned above. 21 The Egyptian context of the Kamares fragments was very important, as it helped archaeologists to date this type of pottery.

Production of Kamares Ware started on Crete around 2100 BCE , in the late Prepalatial period, and is a hallmark of the Old Palace (or Protopalatial) period. 22 This ware requires high technical knowledge and skills at every stage of its manufacture – from the forming on the wheel, to the procurement and manipulation of the raw materials necessary for the decoration, and the ability to control the firing conditions in the kiln. Some of the finer vessels, such as the two examples discussed here, have walls that are so thin that they have also been called ‘eggshell ware’.

Typical of Kamares Ware is the wide variety of cups and pouring vessels (e.g. jugs, spouted jars), as well as some serving bowls, amphorae and larger storage vessels. The emphasis on drinking and pouring vessels, the high technical requirements, and the fact that many find spots of Kamares Ware are concentrated in Minoan palaces and other important sites, indicate that such cups were used by the Minoan elite, in ceremonies that involved some kind of communal and large-scale feasting. These ceremonies would have helped social cohesion and, at the same time, reinforced hierarchies through, for example, the type of drinking vessels used by different social groups: some would have used fine cups such as these, while others would drunk from more modest and plain conical cups. While the Royal Pottery Stores, where these cups come from, contained many

Fig. 97 Drawings of Kamares cups, c.1902 (cat. no. xx)

Fig. 99 Kamares cup decorated with rosette design, 1800–1750 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Fig. 98 Kamares cup decorated with flower design, 1800–1750 BCE (cat. no. xx)

exquisite examples of fine Kamares Ware, there were considerably more numerous examples of coarser and undecorated cups, jugs and jars.

The Royal Pottery Stores comprise a series of small rooms, suitably interpreted as pantries to store ceramics, which are located in the north east corner of the Palace of Knossos and were excavated in 1902 and 1905. The ‘Royal’ label23 reflects Evans’s belief that Minoan Crete was ruled by a dynasty of priest-kings

– a notion that was partly influenced by later Greek mythological references to King Minos, and partly by comparisons with other cultures of the eastern Mediterranean and near East. However this notion (and its related ‘Royal’ label) may be misleading, since the existence of a Minoan monarchy, especially during the Old Palace Period, is far from certain. As far as Evans was concerned, however, these cups were fit for a king.

thought the colour was a convention for gender, and that the white-skinned figures in the Miniature Frescoes were clearly female, but this interpretation has always been problematic: some of the white-skinned participants are muscular and have codpieces. It is more likely that the skin colour indicates status, perhaps related to time spent outdoors. These fragments appear to have fallen from an upper storey. Other scenes of bull-leaping, in relief, were also found in the same area, and associated by Evans with a ‘Great East Hall’ above. Although this upper storey did not survive, it seems plausible that above these areas for storage and industry were gathering places decorated with colourful frescoes. Various episodes of destruction and refurbishment resulted in the complex set of rooms and occupation levels that Evans and Mackenzie had to untangle as they dug deep through the layers in this area of the palace.

An upper and lower storey had survived more or less intact in the area known as the ‘Residential’ or ‘Domestic Quarter’. This had been built in a cutting into the mound, some 8m deep, which accounted for its remarkable preservation. It was accessed from the Central Court by a staircase, of which several flights remained in situ because destruction debris had filled the voids. Some of the workers at Knossos had previously been miners, and their experience of tunnelling and shoring up as they went along proved invaluable (Fig. 103).24 The ‘Grand Staircase’, as it became known, led down via a long corridor to the ‘Hall of the Double Axes’. Like the Pillar Crypts discovered in 1900 in the West Wing, it was named after the double axe signs carved into the walls. It is an example of a structure known as a ‘Minoan Hall’, which is characterised by multiple doorways whose stone footings survived in rows around the far end and across the middle.

Fig. 100 Loomweights from the Loomweight Basement at the Palace of Knossos, 2000–1600 BCE (cat no. xx)

Fig. 101 Watercolour restoration of Ladies in Blue Fresco, undated (cat no. xx)

Fig. 102 Watercolour restoration of Taureador Fresco, undated (cat no. xx)

For most of the second millennium BCE the political and administrative system of Knossos became increasingly outward looking, and its power grew as it extended and predominated over the sea. This form of expansion is the earliest attested case of a path followed by other maritime states in antiquity and later.

Ancient writers like Thucydides record the tradition of the dominion of King Minos of Knossos over the Aegean sea routes. The results of archaeological research confirm the Minoan/Knossian maritime expansion, specifically in the periods of consolidation and prosperity of the palatial state. Minoan influence is now attested throughout the Aegean, the Peloponnese and central eastern Mediterranean, along the coastline of western Anatolia, the Levant and Egypt. All the evidence confirms the existence of organised commerce built on a shared administrative, numerical and metrical system. Also apparent is the spread of architectural and artistic influence, as well as religious ideology and related iconography.

As a great naval force, Knossos needed a wellorganised port. The primary seaport of Knossos, as Sir Arthur Evans first documented, was situated at the shore of Katsambas–Poros, about one and a half kilometres east of Heraklion, at the mouth of the Kairatos River (modern Katsambadianos), whose course passed the Knossos palace. This stretch of five kilometres following the river forms the natural route from inland Knossos to the north coast.60 Archaeological research at Poros–Katsambas confirms Evans’s observations regarding the date of the coastal settlement, and its character as a port town and workshop area on an industrial scale.61

In fact, the relation between Knossos and the north coast seems to have started as early as the seventh millennium BCE , in the Early Neolithic period, when obsidian tools from the Cycladic island of Melos indicate the start of external contacts and seafaring. The place of anchorage at this time was in all likelihood the bay at Poros–Katsambas, the nearest point for accessing Knossos. The first Prepalatial evidence for occupation has a strong Cycladic character, demonstrated by intensive obsidian manufacture, early evidence for bronzesmithing, Cycladic pottery

and the sizeable head of a Cycladic figurine.62 During the Protopalatial period, at the start of the second millennium BCE , the settlement expanded, with grand buildings that contain high quality pottery similar to that of Knossos, and evidence for metallurgical activities. A considerable number of seals indicates organised commercial activities.63 The fire destruction at the end of the Protopalatial signifies the beginning of the Neopalatial period, when Minoan Crete was at its peak.

At this time a majestic new palace was erected at Knossos, the primary centre of power for Crete. Domination over the seas – the so-called Minoan Thalassocracy – was consolidated, and the organised network of internal and external trade expanded. In this context, the port prospered as its importance increased. A Neopalatial settlement densely covered the coastal zone of Poros–Katsambas. New large two-storey buildings decorated with wall paintings were erected, with courts and wells. Workshop activities were at their height: within the residential area, a group of workshops specialised in the manufacture of seals, jewellery, stone vases, miniature artworks and bronzeworking (Fig. 199). All these left behind considerable traces: raw materials, unfinished objects, moulds, tools and various by-products.64 Most of this production would have been channelled through trade networks both within Crete

The Harbour Town of Knossos at Poros–Katsambas: Port, Settlement, Industrial Centre and Necropolis Nota Dimopoulou

Fig. 199 Copper oxhide ingot, 1700–1450 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Fig. 200 Tomb on Ikarou Avenue

and beyond. From the portion that was consumed in the local market, a number of artifacts ended up in the large, rich, rock-cut chamber tombs of the Neopalatial cemetery (Fig. 200). The necropolis of the harbour town at Poros constitutes, to date, the only known extensive and organised cemetery of the Neopalatial period on Crete. It was continuously used from the later Protopalatial (Middle Minoan IIB – Middle Minoan IIIA) to the end of the Neopalatial period (Late Minoan IB): that is, more than 250 years. The tombs range in size

from 75 to 90 sq m. All have multiple chambers and deposits for setting aside relics from older burials. They were used for a series of interments on funeral beds and biers.

The importance of certain burials was marked in various ways. Valuable grave gifts and symbols of office, a mud brick platform and lime plaster borders are indicative of various patterns of social differentiation.65 Most interestingly, in the same group are warrior burials equipped with weapons, bronzes and boars’ tusk helmets (Fig. 201). Such helmets, previously considered to be of Mycenaean origin, are now proven to have existed in the Neopalatial period at Poros, in the Knossian milieu. Even excluding these, the array of grave goods included many hundreds of high-quality vases (Figs 202–203); scores of top quality seals,66 including two gold examples; 67 a selection of various types of jewellery made of precious and semi-precious materials, and a multiplicity of fine miniature artworks. Of special significance are four rare gold signet rings with religious and cult scenes. One of the latest elite burials in this cemetery (Late Minoan IB, c.1450 BCE ) was enriched with two outstanding grave offerings: a superb ewer and a valuable gold signet ring.

Fig. 201 Boar’s tusks from helmet, 1600–1450 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Fig. 202 Jug decorated with white spots, 1700–1600 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Fig. 203 Jug decorated with spirals, 1600–1500 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Fig.

Fig.

The Poros ewer, a particularly elegant shape borrowed from a metal prototype, is decorated with a wealth of motifs from the repertoire of the ‘Marine Style’, which is perhaps the highest achievement of Minoan ceramic production of any period (Fig. 206).68

The decoration, consisting of argonauts swimming amidst a net pattern, forms a stunning calligraphic composition embellished with trefoils, cockleshells, ladle motifs, seaweed, foliage and arcades, in combination with their counterparts in relief. This is the only Marine Style vase with relief appliqué decoration, a peculiarity enhanced by the sophisticated trefoil shaping of the mouth. It is an outstanding artifact in a flamboyant ware known as the ‘Special Palatial Tradition’, actually combining in one single vase motifs of all the individual styles of that period: Marine, Floral, Abstract and Geometric. The Poros ewer belongs to a small group of three similar vases – one from Zakros, now in Heraklion Archaeological Museum, the other now in Marseilles Museum – that were products of a highly specialised workshop active in the environment

190 author

of Knossos and Poros. However, the exceptional quality of the painted and relief decoration of the Poros ewer – combined with a pronounced mannerism which characterises the mature stage in this elaborate ware –makes it the finest artwork in the group.

The gold signet ring illustrates a ‘Sacred Mansion’ –a composite, two-winged, two-storey building topped with a pair of horns of consecration, with a split rosette (incurved altar) underneath (Fig. 207). These are both symbols of high religious significance.69 A female worshipper in front performs a well-known religious gesture. She stands on a flat area from which a stairway leads down and across rocky terrain. The detailed rendition of this elaborate building brings to mind the west façade of the Central Court of the Palace of Knossos: namely the Central Sanctuary, the Stepped Porch and the Central Staircase, as restored in drawing under Evans’s guidance. This reconstruction of the palace façade almost mirrors the image of the mansion depicted on the ring.

Fig. 207 The Poros Ewer, 1500–1450 BCE (cat. no. xx)

204 Cup decorated with spirals, 1600–1500 BCE (cat. no. xx)

205 Cup decorated with crocus design, 1500-1450 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Two more gold signet rings from the harbour town are included in the exhibition. One was donated by Evans to the Ashmolean Museum and, as stated by him, ‘apparently derived from the Harbour Town of Knossos’ (Fig. 208). It depicts a vessel ‘clearly leaving port’, seemingly accompanied by a descending deity, a scene referred to as an epiphany.70 Another variant in the epiphany sequence is narrated on the second example – the ‘Divine Couple Ring’ from Poros, which accompanied a Late Minoan IB burial (Fig. 209).71 The sun, along with two crescent moons and the full moon in between, appear in the sky. The iconographic sequence of celestial symbols may indicate the existence of a Minoan lunisolar calendar, by which certain dates could be fixed. This may indeed have been a crucial tool for seafaring in the complex and longlived trading network. All three rings hint at Knossian identity, as well as the outward-looking, maritime character of the harbour town; all scenes also have marked religious overtones.

The Neopalatial cemetery was abandoned at the end of Late Minoan IB (c.1450 BCE ). During the following Final Palatial period (Late Minoan II-IIIA2), metallurgy and trade still occurred at Poros, but this gradually receded. Another group of tombs located at nearby Mesa Katsambas, of Final Palatial period, differ from those at Poros.72 In the following Postpalatial period (Late Minoan IIIB) the settlement of Poros shrank, and it was finally abandoned in Late Minoan IIIC.

The old days of prosperity long gone, Poros fell into oblivion.73 Continuing research since Evans’s initial survey in 1920–1921 is gradually bringing to light again the harbour town – once the hub of trade and maritime activity of Knossos, and the cornerstone of its economic and political power.

Fig. 207 ‘Sacred Mansion’ gold ring, 1600–1450 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Fig. 208 Gold ring with design showing man and woman next to ship, 1600–1450 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Fig. 209 ‘Divine Couple’ gold ring, 1600–1450 BCE (cat. no. xx)

Picture credits