An Early Destruction in the Mycenaean Palace at Knossos. A New Interpretation of the Excavation Field-Notes of the South-East Area of the West Wing

Acta Archaeologica Lovaniensia - Monographiae 02

151 s, + s/b levhalar, İngilizce

The controversy surrounding the date of the Mysenaean Greek Linear B tablets found in the Late Bronze Age palace at Knossos on Crete forms one of the most intriguing problems of Aegean prehistory. The present study questions the so-called "Unity of Archives" or the assumed contemporaneity of all tablets from Knossos by reexamining the original field records kept by Evans, Mackenzie and Fyfe as well as providing first hand architectural observations on the area around the Room of the Chariot Tablets in the West Wing of the palace at Knossos.

The study begins with a critical assessment of the different sources on soundings made in the West Wing of the palace before Evans started his work in 1900. Such an assessment clarifies which parts of the palace were affected by Minos Kalokairinos' soundigs in 1878 and puts these in their correct context. Moreover, il illustrates the attempts by scholars of different countries to acquire Knossos for excavation. By quoting extensively from the field records as well as presenting some unpublished material, the sequence of excavation in the area around the Room of the Chariot Tablets is reconstructed. On the basis of this, a new architectural phasing for the south-east part of the West Wing is suggested, with Linear B tablets connected with two different architectural phases, separated by a serious destruction, which is also apparent in other areas of the West Wing. These conclusions necessitate a modification of the archaeological history of Late Bronze Age Crete.