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Knossos

Knossos
Κνωσός
Knossos - North Portico 02.jpg
Restored North Entrance with charging bull fresco
Crete integrated map-en.svg
Crete, showing Heraklion, location of ancient Knōsos
Alternate name Cnossus
Location Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Region North central coast, 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Heraklion
Coordinates 35°17′53″N 25°9′47″E / 35.29806°N 25.16306°E / 35.29806; 25.16306Coordinates: 35°17′53″N 25°9′47″E / 35.29806°N 25.16306°E / 35.29806; 25.16306
Type Palace complex, administrative centre, capital of Crete and regions within its jurisdiction
Length North-south length of inhabited area is 5 km (3.1 mi)
Width East-west width of inhabited area is 3 km (1.9 mi) max.
Area Total inhabited area is 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi). The palace building itself is 14,000 m2 (150,000 sq ft)
Height Unknown
History
Builder Unknown
Material Ashlar blocks of limestone or gypsum, wood, mud-brick, rubble for fill, plaster
Founded The first settlement dates to about 7000 BC. The first palace dates to 1900 BC.
Abandoned At some time in Late Minoan IIIC, 1380–1100 BC
Periods Neolithic to Late Bronze Age. The first palace was built in the Middle Minoan IA period.
Cultures Minoan, Mycenaean
Associated with In the Middle Minoan, people of unknown ethnicity termed Minoans; in the Late Minoan, by Mycenaean Greeks
Site notes
Excavation dates 1900–1931
1957–1960
1969–1970
Archaeologists For the initial teams' work discovering the palace: Arthur Evans; David George Hogarth, Director of the British School of Archaeology at Athens; Duncan Mackenzie, superintendent of excavation; Theodore Fyfe, Architect; Christian Doll, Architect
For the additional work on the Neolithic starting in 1957: John Davies Evans
Condition Restored and maintained for visitation. Evans used mainly concrete. Modern interventions include open roofing of fragile areas, stabilized soil, paved walkways, non-slip wooden ramps, trash receptacles, perimeter barbed wire fence, security lighting, retail store and dining room
Ownership Originally owned by Cretans, then by Arthur Evans, followed by the British School at Athens, and finally by the current owner, the Republic of Greece.
Management 23rd Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities
Public access Yes
Website "Knossos". British School at Athens. 
"Knossos". Odysseus. Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism. 2007. 
Current activity is preservational. Restoration is extensive. Painted concrete was used for wood in the pillars. The frecoes often were recreated from a few flakes of painted plaster.

Knossos (/ˈnɒsɒs/; Greek: Κνωσός, Knōsós, [knoˈsos]), also Latinized as Cnossus or Gnossus, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and is considered Europe's oldest city.

The name Knossos survives from ancient Greek references to the major city of Crete. The identification of Knossos with the Bronze Age site is supported by tradition and by the Roman coins that were scattered over the fields surrounding the pre-excavation site, then a large mound named Kephala Hill, elevation 85 m (279 ft) from current sea level. Many of them were inscribed with Knosion or Knos on the obverse and an image of a Minotaur or Labyrinth on the reverse, both symbols deriving from the myth of King Minos, supposed to have reigned from Knossos. The coins came from the Roman settlement of Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus, a Roman colony placed just to the north of, and politically including, Kephala. The Romans believed they had colonized Knossos. After excavation, the discovery of the Linear B tablets, and the decipherment of Linear B by Michael Ventris, the identification was confirmed by the reference to an administrative center, ...
Wikipedia

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