29 March 2011 - Heraklion, Crete (Tuesday)

This morning we got up with plans in place and had a very relaxing breakfast.  Again the couple of Victoria joined us and we visited and shared what we had done the day before.  Today is a new day so we did not waste too much time at breakfast.

Our first order of business was to go and get our laundry.  It was ready and we were blown away by all the work she must have done.  Everything looked like it had been ironed and folder perfectly, even the underwear.   For the 8 Euros we felt that we had been given a deal since this was most of the clothes we had brought with us.   We could not thank her enough and yes we did tip.

Then we headed off to visit the Knossos site.  'Knossos, also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square. Detailed images of Cretan life in the late Bronze Age are provided by images on the walls of this palace. It is also a tourist destination today, as it is near the main city of Heraklion and has been substantially restored by archaeologist Arthur Evans. 

The city of Knossos remained important through the Classical and Roman periods, but its population shifted to the new town of Handaq (modern Heraklion) during the 9th century AD. By the 13th century, it was called Makryteikhos 'Long Wall'; the bishops of Gortyn continued to call themselves Bishops of Knossos until the 19th century.  Today, the name is used only for the archaeological site situated in the suburbs of Heraklion.

The great palace was built gradually between 1700 and 1400 BC, with periodic rebuildings after destruction.  The features that are currently most visible date, mainly to the last period of habitation, Evans termed Late Minoan. The palace has an interesting layout - the original plan can no longer be seen because of the subsequent modifications. The 1,300 rooms are connected with corridors of varying sizes and direction, which is different than other palaces of the time period which connected the rooms via several main hallways. The 6 acres (24,000 m2) of the palace included a theatre, a main entrance on each of its four cardinal faces, and extensive storerooms (also called magazines). The storerooms contained pithoi (large clay vases) that held oil, grains, dried fish, beans, and olives. Many of the items were created at the palace itself, which had grain mills, oil presses, and wine presses. Beneath the pithoi were stone holes used to store more valuable objects, such as gold. The palace used advanced architectural techniques: for example, part of it was built up to five stories high.

The palace had at least three separate liquid management systems, one for supply, one for drainage of runoff, and one for drainage of waste water.

The centerpiece of the "Mycenaean" palace was the so-called Throne Room or Little Throne Room, dated to LM II.  This chamber has an alabaster seat identified by Evans as a "throne" built into the north wall.  On three sides of the room are gypsum benches. A sort of tub area is opposite the throne, behind the benches, termed a lustral basin, meaning that Evans and his team saw it as a place for ceremonial purification.

The actual use of the room and the throne is unclear.   The lustral basin was originally thought to have had a ritual washing use, but the lack of drainage has more recently brought some scholars to doubt this theory. It is now speculated that the tank was used as an aquarium, or possibly a water reservoir.

There was so much to learn as we walked around reading the plaques and learning about the ruins.  What became clear was that there is a lot of interpretations by archaeologist Evans as he designed the restoration of many rooms.  We learned from two fellow travelers (from Germany) who seemed to be very knowledgeable about the site, that often Evans would decide what was most likely the use of a room and describe it as such. 

 However, the foundations and layout of the ‘palace’ has provided guidance.   I believe the best way to share our explorations is by the pictures and will leave interpretations to your imagination.

After we finished here we headed by bus back into town.   Our friends had suggested that we visit the Archaeology Museum but again time worked against us.  We arrived at 2:30 and they close at 3:00 so we decided to give it a miss.  Instead we wondered slowly back to our hotel so I could sort, organize and create the collages of the pictures and catch up on the blog.  Wes decided that a nap was in order.   With this schedule I hope to have this evening free of blog writing and be able to relax and read for pleasure.  We will see as tomorrow we catch a morning bus to head to Chania.