The archeological site at Malia was an interesting experience. We had gone to Zakros that morning, a fantastic and extensive site, and then Praisos in the afternoon, a differently interesting site which also required time to process. We knew Malia wouldn't close until 6:00pm, and the GPS said we could get there by 5:10, so we decided to try.
Without any issues, we got there at 5:10, and discovered that the site had 3 major excavations under elaborate arched coverings, one with an elevated walkway, as well as a large area outside. There was absolutely no way we were going to be able to thoughtfully process this site and understand the nuances of the walls, doors, openings, anything, so we decided to photograph everything and process it later. We allocated 15 min to each of the 3 covered sites and 5 min to the open courtyard. This was doable.
Now, I should have known because we encountered this with the Parthenon one time we went at sunset and wanted to get pictures from certain perspectives. About 10 minutes before the actual closing time, the site attendants start herding the visitors to the exit because the closing time isn't, in their mind, when the last visitor is supposed to leave. It is the time when the place is already locked up and they are in their cars leaving. One explicitly told me that since he arrived 15 min early to open, he should be comped the time on the other end. But that doesn't explain why the other two also left early, and were clearly seen making a beeline for a bus. Fundamentally, though, this means 6:00pm is really 5:55pm, and more like 5:50pm if no one balks too much, and definitely 5:40 if the site is empty at the time of last admittance. One person came at 5:45 just to see one detail, not the whole site, he had once seen 45 years ago and the attendants gave him such flack about arriving late. Randall ran interference for me as I wandered the long way to the exit, but even still they chided him that we should have come earlier. He retorted that the Greek roads didn't allow him to get here any faster than he did and that we had already seen one Minoan settlement today. Since Malia is 30 min from Knossos, they probably presumed that was where we came from because they didn't seem too persuaded by his argument. I would have told them point blank that we had driven 2.5 hours from Zakros by way of Praisos, and watched their faces. Ultimately, this is a government job with no real opportunity for advancement, and these people are the epitome of surly.
I haven't had time to process what I saw, so I will leave you with the impression of my experience there. The maps of the site/excavations and 8 random photos, two each from A, B, C and the courtyard. You can try to figure it out.
Site Map
Courtyard Map
Random photos from the Courtyard
No separate site map for Excavation Site A, but I think this was described as "the magazines". Not sure what they were storing here--could be wine; could be weapons.
Excavation Site B Map
Random photographs from Excavation Site B
Also no separate map for Excavation Site C, but I recall this was the workshop area with a kiln and seal carvers, among other skills. And I really did love that they showed engineering for the second floor, so maybe this picture isn't quite so random!
I probably took 300 pictures at this site, not knowing what I would want to see later, but I am just so frustrated by the experience that it is hard to want to really study these pictures. If you are interested, I'll share some other photos later.
Obviously, we will have to go back, and since I know the adjacent covered areas as seen from the satellite view are part of the site, and not some commercial greenhouse or other business structure, I can plan an appropriate amount of time to understand what I am seeing in the moment. And quite possibly, those attendants will have moved on to other important jobs by then as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment