Sir Arthur Evans and Knossos
• Inspired by the Legend of the Minotaur and
Heinrich Schliemann’s findings at Troy, Arthur
Evans set out for Crete to find the palace of
King Minos around Knossos.
• Evans arrived in Crete in 1894 dreaming of
finding the legendary Palace of King Minos.
In order to avoid trouble from local officials
concerning permission to excavate, Arthur
Evans simply purchased the land in Knossos
where the palace could be located.
• Now without fear of interference from local officials,
Evans was free to excavate as he saw fit.
• Amazingly, Evans discovered an intricate
palace covering 5 ½ acres.
• The Palace at Knossos revealed a highly
developed civilization that Evans named the
“Minoans” who lived over 4000 years ago.
• The Palace consisted of over 1000 rooms on at least
five different levels centering around a large
courtyard.
• The palace that Evans discovered had been
originally destroyed by an earthquake. 4000
years of erosion also left it in bad shape.
• Arthur Evans decided that he would
reconstruct much of the palace. Since he
owned it, no one could prevent him from doing
so.
• Many archaeologists at the time were angry
that Evans would try to reconstruct the Palace
at Knossos. He had no evidence to rebuild it
as he did.
• However, the Palace of Knossos is one of the
most spectacular archaeological sites in the
world.
The Throne Room
Bull Leaping Fresco
Figure Eight Shield Fresco
Storage Pit
Columns and Frescoes
Restored Walkway
Doorway With Frescoes
Linear B Tablets
Arthur Evans at Knossos
• For his work, Arthur Evans was knighted in
1911 becoming Sir Arthur Evans. He died at
the ripe old age of 90 in 1941.