The complex at Knossos was built around 1900 BC, around the same time as the other major palaces at Phaistos, Kato Zakro and Mallia. The whole of the site, including all of the outlying buildings and tombs, covers an area of about 80 hectares (200 acres). Although there is evidence of occupation throughout, it is difficult to estimate its density but the size suggests an urban area with a population of several thousands. Obviously, the central and most important building was the palace but there were a number of smaller buildings containing ceremonial elements. Evans believed they were the homes of the local gentry and called them ‘villas’ or ‘mansions’ but given the religious nature of these elements perhaps it is better to think of them as shrines. More about them in a future article.

The Palace was in use for about 700 years, but there were two major interruptions. The first was a massive earthquake, which apparently destroyed all of the palaces in Crete some time around 1700 BC. Like the other palaces, Knossos was immediately rebuilt, bigger and better than before. The second was apparently the result of the capture of the city by Mycenaean Greeks from the mainland in approximately 1450 BC. Clay tablets found in association with this later occupation were written in Linear B, which scholars now know to be a very early form of Greek. Although the palace at Knossos survived relatively undamaged, all of the others were destroyed and abandoned. The usual explanation is that the newcomers used it as their headquarters and destroyed all rival centres of power. Occupation continued until perhaps about as late as 1200 BC when the site was again destroyed by fire. This time it was not rebuilt.

Knossos: Aerial View (north at the top)

The ruins visible today belong primarily to the Second Palace Period—a somewhat bigger version of the one destroyed by the earthquake of ca. 1700 BC. The layout gives the appearance of having been carefully thought out and not as haphazard as some would suggest. It covered an area of approximately 150 x 150 metres (2.25 hectares or a little over 5.6 acres). As was the case with contemporary palaces elsewhere in Crete, the focal point of the complex was a large, rectangular Central Court and, like most of the others (Zakro being the exception) there was an extensive open area along the west side of the palace known as the West Court. The west wing contained most of the cult rooms and formal areas—as well as most of the storage facilities for agricultural products. The east wing was far less formal. It included the industrial areas and workshops of the palace—and probably the domestic apartments as well.

The buildings were primarily of stone—on the ground floor, at any rate—but with a timber frame construction (to provide flexibility in case of earth-quakes). Wood was used for the upper storeys and for all columns, roofs, door and window frames—these were reproduced in cement by Evans in the course of his restoration of the site (see right). The interior walls were plastered with clay and, if they were to be painted, with a second coat of lime plaster. The floors of the more utilitarian rooms were generally of beaten earth but other materials include a type of cement mixed with small pebbles that Evans called tarazza as well as flagstone paving. Gypsum slabs were used for interior surfaces and limestone for areas such as courtyards that were exposed to the elements.

Lighting and ventilation in such a large complex presented a number of problems for the builders. Arranging the rooms around large courtyards in the time honoured Near Eastern fashion reduced them somewhat but could never be the complete solution. While there is good evidence for windows in the upper storeys, ground floor windows raise issues of security and privacy and were probably used sparingly if at all. Some of the interior rooms could be lit by raising the height of the ceiling above that of the surrounding rooms and placing clerestory windows high on the walls. Obviously this method could not be used in every room and another solution was required. The answer was to use light-wells, vertical airshafts that ran the full height of the building (left). Some rooms could be opened up by means of a shuttered door system known as a polythyron.

It is clear that various rooms in the palace were used for special purposes and this can often be determined by their layout, furnishings and/or content. These will be discussed in more detail in the course of this study.