We are in Crete for a week, and no trip here would be complete without visiting the famed Minoan palace at Knossos.
There is no question that this is a large and impressive site, rendering fully multiple stories of the original construction, but as you wander through the structure and ruins, one realizes that this was an artist's rendition with a great marketing campaign. In the 1900s Arthur Evans got his hands on the site and began to "reconstruct" the palace to his own design, with permanent consequences from the introduction of a lot of concrete. The literature around the site, and elsewhere, notes that "the reconstructions are largely irreversible" and "impose Evan's ideas" but that they "capture the interest of the visitors". I was left wondering how much I could believe, versus how much told a good story. The lower the levels, the more authentic, which meant much of the vibrancy and decoration was specious. Recently, the site has been submitted for recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but this has not yet been granted. Perhaps because the a significant restoration project of the foundation and lower levels remains unfinished. Otherwise, whose heritage is being recognized?
Regardless, the site is interesting.
Artist's rendition of design of columns and colorization of upper floor. While there is some fact to support the idea that the columns tapered wider at the top than the bottom (apparently sycamores will keep growing even after having been cut?!), the rest is merely a good guess.
Artist's rendition of interior room design, colorization and frescoes.
Iconic photograph of Knossos showing artist's representation of outside columns, reconstructed walls, decorative motifs and colorizations.
Artist's reconstruction of the wood details which had since eroded.
Artist's extensive use of gypsum over wood to repair walls.
Largely original placement of walls, but with hollow cores of concrete where artist had "recreated" end cap architectural details.
Original flooring and throne. The rest...?
Artist's rendition of stairs. I will note that I am thoroughly intrigued by stairs, which reference multiple floors in ancient construction. While these are obviously assisted with modern engineering, one cannot ignore the fact that stairs had to exist, in this location, in order to access an upper floor.
As one descended into the lower levels of the site, the ruins had less artistic influence, and are now the subject of an extensive renovation project, which was impacted by the pandemic (the project was to end in 2020), and which is therefore, still under repair.
By comparison and perhaps for reference, here are some photos from the Heraklion Archaeological Museum of a clay architectural detail which was found in a tomb and a full wooden mockup of the palace.
Meanwhile, we have since visited two other significant Minoan palaces/cities (Zakros and Melia), which while lacking the height, helped us understand Knossos and separate fact from fiction.
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