THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS*

Introduction

The discovery of new palatial buildings during the last decade or so, and the
redefinition of precisely when "New Palace" structures were erected, l have highlighted
the need to be totally clear as to which phase of the New Palace period we are
discussing when comparing sites. LM IB Archanes, for instance, cannot be compared
with MM HIB Galatas. Thus, one of the aims of this paper is to attempt to characterize
each Neopalatial phase at Knossos, not so much ceramically as architecturally, and
to isolate deposits relevant to activities within the Palace during these phases. At
Knossos, I think it is not an exaggeration to talk of three New Palaces, each with
clearly different, if enigmatic characters that will have important repercussions when
discussing the relationship of Knossos to other major sites in North Central Crete and
the rest of the island, an issue not examined here. Instead of using a numerical system
to denote these three successive New Palaces, I have been bold enough to name them
here in a manner laden with interpretation and open to dispute. I do not expect
the names to stick in perpetuity. The MM HIB Palace, I call the New Palace, plain
and simple, in its most unadulterated form. I argue here that, although a successor
to the Old Palace, it was not a re-building with additions but rather a completely
new construction project, all parts designed and executed at once to create a single
monumental building. The LM lA Palace is suggested as the Frescoed Palace, a
building where, for the first time, monumental frescoes were employed in the most

* Acknowledgements: The paper given at the conference was entitled "Capitally, what is this city of
ours?" Neopalatial Knossos - one view of its history and role in North Central Crete. " The paper
intended also to deal with the position of Knossos in North Central Crete, but it soon became
clear that the presentation of the Palace itself was quite enough for one paper. I hope to present
my ideas on the Palace within the broader context of the City and the Region at another
time. I would like to thank Jan Driessen for giving me the opportunity to "represent" Knossos
at the Workshop. Of the many scholars who have studied the Palace, in whole or in part, I
should particularly like to thank Marina Panagiotaki for discussions over the years and specific
comments on the first draft of this paper. In addition, I have had helpful discussions with Gerald
Cadogan, J an Driessen, Tim Cunningham, Carl Knappett, Sandy MacGillivray, Hugh Sackett,
lannis Sakellarakis, Judith Weingarten and Pe ter Warren. I am grateful to Ann Thomas for her
drawings of pottery included here. Above all, I thank Sinclair Hood who introducedJan Driessen
and me to the details of the Palace in 1986 in connection with Mason's Marks, and with whom I
have had many discussions over the years. Some of those acknowledged here disagree with some
of my conclusions for which I alone am responsible - except where noted.
Zakros: late LM lA or even LM IB (cf. PLATON, BSA Conference Knossos: Palace, City and State 2002
[forthcoming] , and PLATON, this volume); Phaistos: late LM lA or LM IB (cf. LA ROSA, this
volume); Galatas: MM III (cf. RETHEMIOTAKlS, this volume).
36 Colin F. MACDONALD

public areas perhaps as a form of cult propaganda. The LM IB Palace, I call the
Ruined Palace for reasons expressed elsewhere 2 and by no means universally accepted.
I realize that this is a most contested hypothesis and here I merely qualify my thoughts
on the matter. Of course, there is a fourth Palace in this sequence, the Mycenaean
Palace which itself may be divided up into two phases, if not Palaces, that of LM Il,
representing the completion of rebuilding after LM IB, and that of LM IIIA before the
final destmction. A substantial LM II destruction within the Palace is apparent from
Evans's material in the Stratigraphical Museum. It may be that the Ruined Palace is
also the Palace under reconstruction, representing the attempt to build what became the
Mycenaean Palace.

The Beginning of the New Palace Period at Knossos

The New Palace period is a difficult concept to grasp since there is no single
ceramic period in which "New" palaces of Crete can be said to have been built. For
Knossos, at least, the New Palace period begins in MM IIIB and here I briefly restate
the proposal I have made elsewhere 3 for beginning the New Palace period oJ Knossos
in that ceramic phase, as opposed to MM IIIA after a MM IIB destruction. It is clear
that the great Palace at Phaistos was thoroughly ruined by a large earthquake in
Middle Minoan IIB, but it is my belief that its epicentre lay to the south or southwest
of the Mesara, and that damage to the sites of North Central Crete was, therefore, not
so great as to bring an architectural end to the Old Palace at Knossos. The localised
nature of destruction due to earthquake has yet to be appreciated by archaeologists.
I turn first to two houses at Knossos that were destroyed as a result of a massive
earthquake, the earthquake that appears to have thrown blocks from the SE Angle of
the Old Palace several metres into one of these houses, named by Evans, the House
of the Fallen Blocks, with the House of the Sacrificed Oxen to its west (PI. II:23-24,
III and IVa-b).4 These houses have affected the way the history of the palace has
been viewed for three main reasons. 1) The vivid image of a catastrophic earthquake
invoked by the House of the Fallen Blocks led Evans to use the term, the "Great
Destruction," and to apply this emotive label to an entire destruction horizon in the
Palace. 2) Evans dated the destruction of these two houses to Middle Minoan IIIB and
linked this event to many other d eposits within the p alace itself. 3) The magnitude

2 At the conference, the label used was the Ghost Palace. On reflection, since I can env isage a
badly damaged complex, under reconstruction, continuing to perform certain functio ns, notably
in connection with cult, the term "Ruined" seems a m ore reasonable way of describing what I
mean . For the problem s of LM IB within the Palace at Knossos see Troubled Island.
3 C.F. MACDONALD, "Defining Earthquakes and identifying the consequences in North Central
Crete during the Old and New Palace Periods," in Proceedings of the 9 th International Cretological
Congress (forthcoming).
4 Plate n is the main location plan of the paper. PM n, 296-303 . A.J. MACGILLIVRAY, Knossos:
Pottery Groups of the Old Palace Period (1998) 46-49. The presence of a serpentine and white
limestone lamp-maker's workshop is noted here by P.M. WARREN, "A Stone Vase-Maker's
Workshop in the Palace at Knossos," BSA 62 (1967) 199.
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 37

of this event was used by MacGillivray to illustrate the end of the Old Palace period,
dated by him to MM lIB, contemporary with the event in the Loomweight Basement. 5
Both Evans and MacGillivray appear to have been in error, Evans simply having
misdated the material from the houses, which belongs to MM lIB and MM IlIA.
MacGillivray had to interpret the evidence from the Houses of the Fallen Blocks and
Sacrificed Oxen as MM lIB destructions disturbed during MM IlIA since there is a
large amount of MM IlIA complete vessels amongst the deposits. This same admixture
can b e found in several deposits in the Palace (PI. Xa) and beneath the West Court. 6
The relatively simple explanation I prefer is that, following a massive earthquake
at the end of MM IlIA, the ruins were dug out, perhaps in search of victims and
salvageable goods, and in preparation for rebuilding. Formal evidence of this may be
the deposition of the Oxen Horns and Tripod Tables in the House of the Sacrificed
Oxen. There followed the largest single building campaign ever seen at Knossos.
Much of the west side of the palace was dug out and levelled, whereas massive fills
of mixed MM lIB and IlIA were deposited in basement rooms on the east side to act
as terraces for new constructions. MM IlIA is the latest pottery from beneath many
floor slabs on the east side of the New Palace, well illustrated by that from beneath
the floor of Room of the Olive Press or Drainheads (PI. Il: 15, Xa). Thus, in physical,
architectural terms, the New Palace replaced the Old after the MM IlIA earthquake.
This is an architectural, stratigraphical and historical dividing line of the strongest
order. At Knossos, there followed another large earthquake towards the end of MM
IlIB (causing Evans's somewhat hyperbolic "Great Destruction") followed by major
rebuilding connected with anti-seismic measures and a re-organization of the way in
which the palace functioned.
What follows is an examination of certain parts of the palace in order to
disentangle the original MM IlIB remains from those of LM lA, which are most
prominent today (PI. Il). The necessary dating evidence is provided en route, much
of which has been discussed by Sin clair Hood, Peter Warren and Vronwy Hankey,
and Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier,7 as well as others, whose work I hope I have adequately
acknowledged in the relevant sections.

South Propylaeum (PI. lI:l, Ill, IVc-d, Va-b and XI)8

I will begin with the South Propylaeum, in its present state much reconstituted
from the remains of the LM lA phase and concrete. In the New Palace of MM
IIIB (Evans chose MM IlIA as a date for the Propylaeum's construction without

5 MACGILLIVRAY (supra n. 4) 48-49.

6 MACGILLIVRAY (supra n. 4) 98.
7 E.g. M.S.F. HOOD, "Back to basics with Middle Minoan IllB, " in D. EVELY, I.S. LEMOS and S.
SHERRATT (eds) Minotaur and Centaur (1996) 10-16; P.M. WARREN and V. HANKEY, Aegean
Bronze Age Chronology (1989); and W.-D. NIEMEIER, "Knossos in the New Palace Period (MM
Ill-LM IB)," in D. EVELY, H. HUGHES-BROCK and N. MOMIGLIANO, Knossos. A Labyrinth of
History (1994) 71-88.
8 For the South Propylaeum see, in particular, PM II, 686-718.
38 Colin F. MACDONALD

firm evidence), its dimensions were more impressive and daring than later. The
Propylaeum, as it exists today, is that of the "Cup-Bearer" fresco, which appears to be
connected both thematically and in size (large-scale) with the frescoes in the Corridor
of the Procession, often dated to LM IB or LM II (see below). That the LM lA walls
of the Propylaeum were also frescoed is I think highly likely, particularly given the
poor quality of the masonry of the walls of the Propylaeum in this phase. Evans says:
"If the M.M. III walls were already .... compounded of the ruins of earlier structures,
the rubble material of this later (LM lA) fabric represents the ruin of a ruin."9
The original and thicker sidewalls of MM IIIB were some two and a half metres
further west and east (PI. IVc and Va). The MM IIIB Propylaeum was austerely
embellished with dadoes of finely grained stone with a marble finish, fragments of
which were found in and around a cist beneath the east wall of the LM lA Propylaeum.
Furthermore, both here, in the area of the SW Porch 10 and at the NW Corner
Entrance of the Palace, II fragments of stone cornices were discovered with relief
decoration of rosettes or half rosettes and triglyphs, all apparently belonging to the
MM IIIB Palace. I also discovered some fragments in my excavation of the Southwest
House, presumably deriving from the area of the SW Porch. The enormous care and
effort expended on the MM IIIB Propylaeum and the wide span of the structure were
not to be repeated when, after the MM IIIB earthquake and accompanying fierce fire
for which there is much evidence throughout the palace, it was rebuilt on a smaller
scale in LM lA, this time frescoed instead of "dadoed." This indicates to me that here
was a transformation from austere monumentality in MM IIIB to greater structural
stability in LM lA, the smaller spaces being opened up by light, large-scale, painted
decoration of a ceremonial nature.

Cist beneath East wall of LM lA Propylaeum (PI. II: la, III and XI)12

One feature of the South Propylaeum is worth marking well. The only reason
that we can date the Second Propylaeum to LM lA is the existence of a fine, ashlar-
built cist beneath its east wall and extending beyond, but well within the confines
of the First Propylaeum. This cist, which may have been lined with painted plaster,
was found during a test in 1925 and contained some fragments of the original stone
dadoes of the Propylaeum 13 and pottery - mostly handless cups and bowls (PI. Vb)
- datable to MM IIIB, and closely resembling pottery found in other cists I shall
mention later. Not only, therefore, is the stratigraphic succession plain and simple,
but also this is the first of a number of clearly datable occurrences of cists in or close
to public places, which were all closed in MM IIIB. For the West side of the MM
IIIB Palace, this is very much a cist horizon, even leaving aside the numerous cists
or kasellas of the West Magazines, probably also installed in MM IIIB as part of the

9 PM n, 690.
10 PM n , 163, fig. 83 and 166, fig. 84.
]1 PM n , 591 , figs 368, 370.
]2 PM n, 699-702 , fig. 439.
13 PM n, 698, fig. 438. G.n.5 in the Guide to the Stratigraphical Museum, Knossos (SMK).
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 39

overall plan of the area. A final note on the Propylaeum: Evans noted the discovery of
four faience figures (really glass according to Panagiotaki)14 with the point of a bronze
sword or d agger and a bronze votive of a youth by the south-eastern anta of the early
Propylaeum and attributed the faience (glass) figures to the same workshop as that
which produced the contemporary Temple Repository figures.

Corridor of the Procession (PI. U:25, Vd)15

Re m aining with the matter of frescoes, I shall digress for a moment to the
Corridor of the Procession where the main surviving fragments have been placed
after LM lA - usually LM IB or LM 11 in terms of their creation. 16 The monumental
processional fig ures and the bull were attached to the east and west walls of the
Corridor by the SW Porch and fragments showing dress designs and j ewellery
from life-size figures of women were found below the latest paving of the Corridor
indicating an earlier scheme of related design. Assuming that the earlier fresco
fragments represent an early "Procession Fresco, " the earliest time to which they
could date should be given by the construction of the walls on which they were
painted. In 1987, excavating on the east side of the Corridor, we were able to give a
terminus post quem of MM IUB for the construction of the east wall of the Corridor
in area DVII 21 (PI. 1I:26a and Vc-d). I suggest, therefore, that the first p aintings
belong to the post-seismic phase, that is LM lA, and that they were painted togeth er
with frescoes adorning the South Propylaeum, which replaced the sumptuous marbled
dadoes of the MM IIIB New Palace.

Central Palace Sanctuary (PI. 11:4)17

The Central Palace Sanctuary has been fully discussed by Panagiotaki 18 in

h er admirably detailed study of the area. The area was quite different and more
understandable when originally con ceived in Middle Minoan IUB. Here one can see
most clearly the MM IIlB line of the west side of the Central Court some two and
a half m e tres west of that adopted in LM lA. Access to all parts of this area from
the Lobby of the Stone Seat was direct via polythyra on the south, west and north.

14 M. PANAGIOTAKI in MELETEMATA 62 1, pI. CXXIXc. Panagiotaki thinks that these may have
been made by the same school of faience·making as the Temple Repository figures , although she
suggests that the earl iest Minoan glass belongs to LM IB based on evidence from the Royal Road.
In fact, the Royal Road material allows us to say that Minoan glass manufacture had at least begun
by LM IB and could even have started earlier.
15 For the Corridor of the Precession see, in particular, PM n, 682-5.
16 M.S.F. HOOD, "Cretan Fresco Da tes ," Proceedings of the International Symposium, the Wall Paintings
of Thera (Thera, 30 August-4 September 1997) (2000) vol. 1, 191-208.
17 For a superbly detailed account of the excavations, architecture and finds from the Centra l
Palace Sanctuary see M. PANAGIOTAKI, The Central Palace Sanctuary at Knossos (1999). See
PANAGIOTAKI (supra) 1-6 for previous research in the area.
18 PANAGIOTAKI (supra n. 17).
40 Colin F. MACDONALD

Panagiotaki has clearly explained how rooms such as the Temple Repositories Room
and Room of the Tall Pithos were originally one space. 19 She has also demonstrated
that the south wall of the West Pillar Crypt is a later addition and that the pillars in the
Crypts appear to have originally been located further south, possibly right on the E-W
axis of the Lobby.2o This will be seen to be of importance below where I suggest that
the Lobby was positioned exactly (not approximately) at the centre of the long west
side of a MM lIIB Central Court of substantially greater dimensions than that defined
today which I assign to the rebuilding of LM lA.
The key MM IIIB feature to be noted here is the proximity to the centre of
the Central Court of the huge Temple Repositories (essentially large cists) and three
slightly smaller cists to the north, which could have been connected to Repositories at
this time. 21 The staircase that ascends over the three northern cists to the piano nobile,
a very prominent feature of the west fac,;ade of the Central court was not built until
LM lA at the earliest since it is built over the MM IIIB cists, and could even belong to
a LM IB or LM II palace. The function of the cist and five vats in the Vat Room may
have been connected to the Repositories, unless the vats are LM lA and only the cist
MM IIIB.22
The contents of the Repositories are well known, particularly through
Panagiotaki's publication. Apart from the famed faience objects, over 50 sealings
and a clay tablet inscribed with Linear A on both sides were found - MM IIIB is the
period of Linear A inscribed discoveries at Knossos. The liquid capacities of the two
cement-lined repositories were respectively about 4,300 and 3,600 litres. In addition,
there were substantial numbers of large closed vessels - at least 16 jugs, 5 jars and 13
amphorae. As many as 10 or 11 Bird Vases, probably Melian in origin, may come from
the Temple repositories and the Cists to the North. All together, the vessels would
have held over 250 litres of liquids. 23 These were certainly not stored in the cists, but
perhaps on shelves in the room that at that time (MM IIIB) included the later Great
19 PANAGIOTAKI (supra n . 17) 250.
20 PANAGIOTAKI (supra n. 17) 225, 227, 251. I hope in the future to examine one further possible
arrangement of the Pillar Rooms. If what we see today is a radical re-arrangement of the area after
the MM IIIB earthquake, but assuming that both pillars are in their original positions, I think it
is possible that the two crypts and the corridor to the south were a single space with 6 pillars on
an E-W axis. The closest parallel to this at Knossos, apart from the 12-pillared North Pillar Hall,
is the Pillar Hall of the Unexplored Mansion on the same E-W axis. There are other similarities
between the Central Palace Sanctuary and Unexplored mansion including comparable room sizes
and, more importantly, almost identical dimensions in their LM lA phase. If the Little Palace is
the urban reflection of the Domestic Quarter of the Palace, was the design (and function?) of
the Unexplored Mansion influenced by the Central Palace Sanctuary? Such a radical proposal,
however, requires more detailed research than I have undertaken, as well as careful discussion
with M. Panagiotaki. Note that PANAGIOTAKI (supra n. 17) 253 even suggests the existence of 4
"crypts" in the Central Palace Sanctuary, with or without pillars.
21 Panagiotaki (supra n. 17) 250. For a MM IIIB date for the contents of the Temple Repositories and
the cists to the north see HOOD (supra n. 7) 13. Also C.F. MACDONALD (2003) forthcoming,
review ofPANAGIOTAKI inJHS 123.
22 PANAGIOTAKI (supra n . 17) 256.
23 These are very rough calculations based on Panagiotaki's detailed catalogue: PANAGIOTAKI
(supra n. 17) 175-179.
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 41

Pithos Room. The vases and the other relics in the cists will be a portion only of
the original number and were presumably retrieved from the wreckage of the area
after the MM IIIB destruction by earthquake and fire, and were deposited in the
repositories that were then covered by a gypsum slab floor and replaced by two very
much smaller cists. The location of the five MM IIIB cists, the large capacities of two
of them and the potential for supplying large numbers of people with liquids probably
indicate that one function of this area was to facilitate a major gathering, ceremony
or celebration in the Central Court. Ancillary rooms, such as the Vat Room - even
if it was separate from the Repositories - will have been involved in some way, and
direct access to the West Magazines to replenish supplies was afforded by a dog's leg
corridor from the West Pillar Crypt. 24
But that was all to change in LM lA. The earthquake of MM IIIB caused
widespread destruction by fire. The polythyron on the north side of the Lobby of the
Stone Seat was blocked with burnt floor slabs and dadoes that had collapsed from
walls. 25 The scheme of restoration adopted after the seismic destruction of MM IIIB
- as Evans put it - saw walls that had previously been lined with dadoes, covered with
plaster unless the dadoes had survived intact. This may well be true in other parts
of the Palace. In the Lobby, its fine stone seat was installed in front of the blocked
polythyron, and it was then that the Temple Repository Room as we know it was
divided from the Room of the Tall Pithos, and the two smaller cists installed with
a new gypsum slab floor. The pillars in the two Pillar Crypts may have been moved
to their present positions and two shallow cists installed on either side of the East
Pillar, a feature also seen in the contemporary Unexplored Mansion. The shallow
Vats of the Vat Room may also belong to this period rather than earlier according
to Panagiotaki. 26 It also seems likely that this is the period (LM lA) when the fine
collection of Stone Vases found to the south-west (PI. 11:3) was first put to ceremonial
use, although they are supposed to have collapsed into the room of that name during
the final destruction of the Palace early in LM IIIA:2 - an arguable contention given
the circumstances of their discovery in 1900, LM I (A or B) being a more suitable
archaeological horizon. 27
It is dear that the kind of ceremonies that stemmed from the Central Palace
Sanctuary underwent a change in the second phase of the New Palace, perhaps with
less emphasis on mass participation in the Central Court than before, though this is
merely a hypothesis since, apart from the Stone Vases, we lack any of the equipment
that might have been used at such events. However, LM lA does appear to be a period
during which access to the Palace became more physically restricted.

24 PANAGIOTAKI (supra n. 17) Plan I.

25 PANAGIOTAKI (supra n. 17) 248, pis. 32-33a. See PANAGIOTAKI (supra n. 17) 247 for
convincing possibilities for earlier phasing.
26 PANAGIOTAKI (supra n. 17) 43, fig. 15a.
27 For a brief discussion of the Room of the Stone Vases see C. MACDONALD in A. KARETSOU,
M. ANDREADAKI-VLASAKI and N. PAPADAKI, Kpr/1:T/-Atyv7fTOS. [JOAITWIlIKOl OeCYIlOl TPUOV
XIAlfTloJV. KC('t(XAOYOS (2000) 203 (Inv. no. 200), 245 (Inv. no. 247). Also see PANAGIOTAKI (supra
n . 17) 275.
42 Colin F. MACDONALD

Throne Room Complex: Tank and Drain to the north (PI. 1I:6)28

I shall pass over the Throne Room area since D. Evely and V. Fotou will have
much to say in their full publication of the 1987 trials. It seems likely, however,
that the main period of construction represented by the extant remains belongs to
MM IIIB, a period of gypsum slab floors and dadoes. Just north of the north pillar
of the Anteroom to the Throne Room and probably located within the MM IIIB
Central Court was a tank, beneath the later paving, which exited into a drain running
northeast to the top of the North Entrance Passage, and connected with the fine
storm drain that ran down its length. The tank and its drain in the Central
Court were blocked during the MM IIIB d estruction. The drain contained ewers
(PI. VIlId) identical to examples in the Temple Repositories and the pottery from
the tank includes obvious MM IIIB handless cups. The most southerly of the drains,
running from the southwest, had been cut off and, therefore, put out of use, by the
construction of the east edge of the Antechamber of the Throne Room, a modification
that appears to have taken place after the MM IIIB earthquake d estruction.

North Entrance Passage and North Pillar Hall (PI. 1I:7-8; VI)29

Moving to the North Entrance Passage but bearing in mind the tank and
drains of the north-west corner of the Central Court mentioned above, we might
anticipate some changes after the MM IIIB earthquake given the evidence that its
drainage system was damaged, if not blocked at this time. The main skeleton of the
entrance passage comprises two hefty terrace walls running north-south onto which
the Bastions were imposed at some point. There is a clear difference in the quality of
the masonry, the Bastions being much finer and covered with Mason's Marks, notably
the Trident sign (PI. Vlb-c). Evans first placed the style of masonry and the Mason's
Marks in MM IlIA and linked it with the Court of the Stone Spout (PI. Xb) and the
South Light-well of the Queen's Megaron in the Domestic Quarter. 30 Hood placed all
these in the post-seismic MM IIIB phase, essentially LM IA.3I However, each area must
be treated on its own merits. In the case of the North Entrance Passage, the dating
is intriguing but I would like to concentrate on the overall plan of the area since this
is relevant to changes in the management of the palace. Two things are immediately
worthy of note . The original west wall of the Entrance is linked with the North Lustral
Area when it turned at right angles west to join the north wall of the Lustral Area
(PI. II:10; III in red). Secondly, whilst the main orientation of the Entrance is obviously

28 AR 1987-88, 68-69 for summary of the 1987 excavations. PM Ill, 5 for mention of the tank and
drain, though incorrectly dated to MM lIB by Evans.
29 PM 1,385-404, Ill, 158-9l. JD.S. PENDLEBURY, A Guide to the Stratigraphical Museum in the Palace
at Knossos (1933) JI-II. C.F. MACDONALD, "Notes on some Late Minoan lA contexts from the
Palace of Minos and its immediate vicinity, " in EVELY, LEMOS and SHERRATT (supra n . 7)
19-20. Troubled Island, 142-145.
30 PM I, 393-4, 401, a lthough the wall of the South Light Well of the Queen's Megaron is assigned
earlier in the same volume to MM IIA, PM I, 204, fig. 153.
31 HOOD (supra n . 7) 13.
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 43

north-south, the entire complex was focussed on an east-west axis, the west leading
to the Royal Road and the east, down the slope between massive walls, now mere
foundations, and on down to the river Kairatos below. This would be the direct town
access to the river, whereas the less public, Palace access was via the East Bastion
(Pi. Il: 16), probably another MM IlIB construction. When the Bastions were built, the
North Pillar Hall may also have been constructed. Thus, we move from a phase when
there was direct access through a broad north entrance to the Central Court as well
as past the North Entrance Passage down the hill to the river, to the n ext phase (LM
l A) when access was heavily restricted on all fronts. The Pillar Hall could in part have
functioned both as a kind of stoa and as a checking area for people and goods before
leaving or entering the town or Palace. T his may also be the time at which the N .E.
Entrance was constructed with fine ashlar masonry32 and a series of small tower like
structures in the Theatral Area33 and on the west of the North Pillar Hall (Pi. III
tower over ?MM IIlB wall marked in red; Pi. VIa labelled 'Tower'),34 though the
chronology needs deeper examination. 35 Control of access appears to have been a
primary concern when making these alterations, although I should imagine that the
bastions of the North Entrance Passage were also related to anti-seismic measures
acting as supports for the original walling.
The Bastions can be assigned a terminus post quem of MM IIlB, possibly after
the earthquake, on the basis of tests made on the north side of Bastion A and inside
the east bastions B-B and C-C. 36 Some of the relevant pottery is illustrated in Pi. Vlla.
I agree with Evans that they were not all conceived at once, with Bastions A and
A-A being later additions, but, on present evidence, they were all apparently built
within the same broad ceramic period. Either then, or after a LM lA earthquake, the
northeast wall of the Entrance Passage was pushed outwards, knocking over at least
one pillar. The repairs chiefly comprised building a wall to the north (marked MM
1-1l on Evans's plan in Pi. VIa!) and removing one of the pillars completely. These will
h ave taken place eith er early in LM lA or LM IB-IT.
There are three main points worthy of note. First, there appears to h ave been
a broad monumental entrance in MM IlIB, precisely on the north-south axis of the
MM IIlB Central Court, a phenomenon that was lost when the Bastions were built
after the earthqu ake (Pi. III axes marked by red line). Secondly, the Bastions and
Pillar Hall of the next p eriod severely controlled access to and fro m both the Town
and the Palace. Thirdly, it is during LM lA that the monumental Bull Relief fresco
was probably exhibited in a public place on top of Bastion A, the last to b e added,
unless the fresco belongs to MM IlIB, never having embellished the bastion but rather
having been lost in fills of destruction debris from the MM IlIB earthquake as Hood37

32 PM I, 391-92 fig. 283.

33 PM Il, 578-587, figs. 362-366.
34 PM I, 398-400, fig. 287.
35 Troubled Island, 142-145 were probably wrong to adhere to Evans's views of MM IlIA construction
in the area.
36 HOOD (supra n. 7) 13, n. 32.
37 HOOD (supra n. 16) 67.
44 Colin F. MACDONALD

has suggested. If it is a question of a monumental fresco under the public gaze, a

phenomenon already seen in connection with the LM lA South Propylaeum, the
suitability of the name Frescoed Palace, acquires more support - referring chiefly to the
monumental frescoes displayed in public places, not to miniatures and or those with
abstract motifs. 38

North West Lustral Area (PI. 11:10 and Vllb)39

Leaving this public entrance, we move to another area, again public and
controversial but I should like to try and lay that controversy to rest today. The
North West Lustral Area was probably brought formally within the palace when the
9riginal North Entrance Passage was constructed. Evans and Hood have consistently
placed the main Lustral Basin within MM IlIA when it was also destroyed by fire.
The limestone ashlar masonry behind the gypsum dadoes of the basin is, to me,
reminiscent of the ashlar seen in one of the Temple Repositories and the Cist of the
first South Propylaeum. However, we can do little with the dating of the Lustral Basin
from the material found therein. If we take the area as a whole, we see that the North
West Portico, which was built with Bastion A is not arranged in any logical way to
accommodate the North West Lustral Basin; indeed the Lustral Basin has a slightly
different orientation to this later LM lA complex. Rather the Lustral Basin lies alone
in an enclosed area probably built at the same time as the large terrace wall to
which it is attached on the south. The style of masonry here is identical to other
major structural walls of the palace during MM IIIB. In addition, excavations in 1929
revealed a cist associated with black earth, in the northwest corner of the enclosure,
no doubt used during public gatherings in connection with the Lustral Basin. Some
of the material from the cist is illustrated in (PI. Vllb). With regard to the date of
the latest material, I am in disagreement with Mr. Hood who suggested it was "clearly
assignable to MM IIIA,"4o since it seems to me to go very well with that of the South
Propylaeum cist (PI. Vb) and the tests beneath the Bastions of the North Entrance
Passage (PI. Vlla), as well as the three cists below the later staircase north of the
Temple Repositories. Although some of the pottery would not be out of place in MM
IlIA, such MM IlIA features do occur in the MM IIIB deposit from the Hellenistic
Kiln Area, and the latest features of both deposits appear to me to be MM IIIB. A
selection of the MM IIIB deposit from the Hellenistic Kiln Area is presented in PI. IX.
If the content of the NW Lustral Area cist represents material from the destruction of
the entire area during MM IIIB, the Lustral Basin deposit may well be contemporary.
This might also be the most appropriate horizon for the Khyan lid41 found near the

38 For a useful discussion of the dates of Knossian frescoes see NIEMEIER (supra n. 7) 85-86.
39 PM n, 405-419, 59l.
40 HOOD (supra n. 7) 13.
41 PM I, 417-21, fig. 303.
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 45

Lustral Basin and the cist. An absolute date of just after 1600 BC for the end of MM
IIIB would be acceptable within the framework of traditional chronologies. 42 I would
add this area to the list of public places facilitated by cists for ceremonial events in MM
HIB, a phenomenon that is less evident, or smaller in scale, in LM lA. Note should b e
made h ere of a destroyed cist investigated by Alan Peatfield in 1987,just on the south
side of the southern wall of the NW Lustral Area (PI. 11: 11). "This appeared to have
been wrecked and filled with debris in MM IIIB."43

North-East Magazines (PI. 11: 12 and Vllla-c)44

The North-East Magazines lie adjacent to the Central Court. These three
basement rooms are notable for the large number of whole vases of a domestic
character, clearly stacked and stored there. Well over 100 vases 45 were recovered
including tripod cooking pots (25+), small pithoid jars (23+) and open j ars (20+),
ewers (PI. Vlllb) of the kind found in the Temple Repositories (5+), straight-sided cups
(5+) and handless cups (?5+), oval mouthed amphorae (5+), a beaked jug (PI. Vlllc)
well paralleled in two other MM HIB deposits (PI. Vllle)46 and a steatite vase stand.
Immediately to the west, on a higher level that I take to be a contemporary terrace
(PI. 1I:12a and obvious in PI. Ill), were many superb Vapheio Cups47 decorated with
tortoise-shell ripple - variously dated due to their superior position to MM IIIB (by
Hood 48 if the domestic vases, at a lower level to the east, properly within the confines
of the building, could b e MM IlIA) and to early LM lA (by Warren 49 if these other
vases are MM HIB). My opinion is that they belonged to the same horizon, but that
they lay on different terraces in the New Palace and should all be d ated to MM IIIB.
Architecturally, the main d eposit of jugs, j ars and tripod cooking pots belongs to the
first phase of the New Palace. The proximity of the North East Magazines to the
Central Court and the emphasis on cooking vessels within the deposit may indicate

42 S. HOOD in MELETEMATA 381-386, pI. LXXX, where h e follows K.A. Kitchen , as most
Aegeanists now do. See also WARREN and HANKEY (supra n. 7) 136 where Khyan is dated
1648-1639 BC and the NW Lustral Area context to MM IlIA, with Evans. Also see C.F.
MACDONALD, "Chronologies of the Thera Eruption," review of S. MANNING, A Test of Time
(1999), in AJA 105 (2001) 527-532. The comment on the Khyan lid (528) is not very helpful since
it merely tries to bring Manning's argument concerning absolute dates to a logical conclusion. As
will be clear here, following the Egyptian dating used by Manning, MM IIIB can !;le brought to a
suitable end just after 1600 B.C.
43 AR 1987-88,69.
44 PM 1, 386-91, fig. 281 , 568-71, fi gs. 414-5. M.R. POPHAM, "'Notes from Knossos,' Part I," in BSA
72 (1977) 193-4.
45 These rough estimates derive from PM 1,569, fig. 414.
46 PM I, 570, fig. 415c, paralleled by MM IIIB examples from the Area of the Hellenistic Kilns and
the Blind Well in the Court of the Stone Spout, see below.
47 POPHAM (supra n . 44) 187, fig. lB, pI. 29 b-f.
48 HOOD (supra n . 7) 13.
49 P.M. WARREN, "A new Minoan Deposit from Knossos, c. 1600 B.C. and its wider relations," in
BSA 86 (1991) 334. P.M. WARREN, "LM l A: Knossos, Thera, Gournia," in MELETEMATA III,
898.
46 Colin F. MACDONALD

that their function within the context of Central Court ceremonies complemented
that of other areas like the Central Palace Sanctuary where the emphasis was very
much on liquids. Alternatively, if the North East Hall (PI. II: 13) can be considered
contemporary with the MM IIIB basements, they could be service rooms for dinning
in that area. The basements seem to have gone out of use after the MM IIIB
earthquake and nothing is known of the later history of this area.

Court of the Stone Spout and Room of the Olive Press or Stone Drain-heads
(PI. II:14-15; X)SO

Moving south into the East Wing, it is here that massive fills beneath slab
floors are encountered, the latest elements of which are MM IlIA as illustrated by the
handless cups and bowls in PI. Xa from the first metre beneath the floor of the Room
of the Olive Press or Stone Drain-heads. The laying of slab floors here and in the
Magazine of the Medallion Pithoi and Corridor of the Bays, is a defining stratigraphic
moment for the beginning of the New Palace as we should understand it. When
discussing this area, Hood sl indicates that he would date the great ashlar west wall
of the Court of the Stone Spout (PI. Xb), with its trident Mason's Marks, to the
post-seismic restoration phase of MM IlIB, contemporary with the bastions of the
North Entrance Passage and walls with such marks in the Domestic Quarter. That
the installation of the drain-head is contemporary with the construction of the west
wall of the Court of the Stone Spout is indisputable since the eponymous Spout
is an integral part of that wall. True, its fine ashlar masonry with trident Mason's
Marks is comparable with the Bastions the construction of which, as we have seen,
should belong to the post-seismic phase to which Hood is referring. However, the
water system leads into a so-called "Blind Well" which evidently went out of use after a
destruction, the debris from which was found within. The pottery is clearly assignable
to MM IlIB (PI. Xc) and I would suggest that the Drainheads and Court of the Stone
Spout are all part of constructions carried out at the start of the MM IlIB New Palace,
after the MM IlIA earthquake. This is supported by a test at the base of the ashlar
wall with the spout, which produced MM IlIA pottery (PI. Xd). So, stratigraphically
this works, the only point of unease being the similarity of the ashlar masonry of
the Court to that of the Bastion A, apparently dating to post-seismic MM IlIB or LM
lA - MM IIIB being the terminus post quem. If there is a difference in date between
the Court and the Bastions, it is important to note it, since I do not wish to argue
that fine large-scale ashlar masonry was no longer employed after MM IIIB, nor that
it is a feature chiefly datable to the phase of re-building after the IIIB earthquake.
Architectural construction remained at a very high level with absolute continuity of
technical skills. What I do suggest, however, prompted by the evidence of the South
Propylaeum and Central Palace Sanctuary, is that it was decided by those rebuilding
the Palace after the MM IlIB earthquake, not to invest so much time in the labour-
intensive architectural embellishments such as gypsum and marbled dadoes and stone
50 PM 1,362-5, figs. 263, 266, 379-81, figs. 276-6.
51 HOOD (supra ll. 7) 13.
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 47

reliefs. Good limestone, ashlar masonry in both periods illustrates that it was not
only important aesthetically, but also structurally as an anti-seismic construction
technique.

The Domestic Quarter (PI. lI: 17-21; lII)52

Further south, we reach the Domestic Quarter, the main layout of which I would
assign to the New Palace of MM lIIB, even though a number of scholars suggest that
either the whole quarter or, at least, the series of ashlar walls with Mason's Marks
belongs to the post-seismic period whether termed "post-seismic" MM IlIB or early
LM IA.53 It is a very complex region beyond detailed scrutiny in this paper. Evans 54
dated the massive south and west terrace walls of the South Light Well of the Queen's
Megaron to MM lIA while assigning the core of the quarter to MM IlIA and certain
major elements to post-seismic MM lIIB. Hood 55 inclines towards a post-seismic MM
lIIB date for much of the Domestic Quarter as well as the South Light Well ashlar
terraces, contemporary with the Bastions of the North Entrance Passage. I incline
towards a pre-seismic MM lIlB date for the first main construction phase of the
Neopalatial Domestic Quarter, including the massive terrace walls of the South Light
Well of the Queen's Megaron. Great renovations did take place after the ensuing
MM lIIB earthquake, which are perhaps clearest in relation to the drainage system
(PI. lI:30).56 This system was designed to serve the spaces of the Domestic Quarter
as originally laid out. Its construction is likely to be contemporary with much of the
main plan as we see it today, unless an earlier "Domestic Quarter" had a similar layout.
The original drainage system appears to be contemporary with the construction of
the great terraces in the South Light Well of the Queen's Megaron since at a certain
point where the drain passes through the west terrace wall, the terrace and drain are

52 PM 1, 316-318,322-3,325-367. Also PM III, 401-404 for destructive episodes within the Domestic
Quarter. Note the Egyptianizing amphora(e) above the "Ivory Deposit" dated to MM I1IB by
Evans but recently to LM IB by N. CUCUZZA, "Egyptianizing Amphorae in Minoan Crete," in
KARETSOU et al. (supra n. 27) 101-106.
53 E. Hatzaki has suggested the contemporary construction of the Domestic Quarter and its
architectural sibling, the Little Palace, after the MM IIIB earthquake (E. HATZAKI, "Was the
Little Pa lace at Knossos the 'little palace' of Knossos?" in EVELY, LEMOS and SHERRATT [sup ra
n. 7] 34-45) but refers to C. MACDONALD and J. DRIESSEN, "The drainage, system of the
Domestic Quarter in the Pa lace at Knossos," BSA 83 (1988) 256-258 who present a very different
chronology, equally ermneous, with regard to the Domestic Quarte r but based on Evans's dates .
HOOD (supra n . 7) 13 assigns the fine ashlar walls with mason 's marks in the Domestic Quarte r
to this post-seismic phase.
54 MM I1A: PM I, 204-5, fig. 153; MM IlIA plan: PM I, 327-329, figs. 239-40.
55 HOOD (supra n. 7) 13. NIEMEIER (supra n. 7) 83 favours a MM I1IB/ LM lA transitional date
following J.C. OVERBECK and C.K. MACDONALD, "The date of the last Palace at Knossos,"
in AJA 80 (1976) 160-64. I have not had the opportunity to re-assess the evidence presented by
Overbeck and Macdonald. Some of the ev idence could relate to the restoration of the Quarte r
rather than its construction.
56 For a discussion of the drainage system see MACDONALD and DRIESSEN (supra n. 53). The
relative sequence within the system is important, although I would modify the dating.
48 Colin F. MACDONALD

one and the same construction. 57 It should also be noted with regard to the Domestic
Quarter, that it appears to h ave been laid out at the same time as the quarter to
the north that includes the Court of the Stone Spout discussed above where a pre-
seismic MM HIB date was argued. After the earthquake, as already mentioned, m any
alterations took place including the construction of two more drainage shafts and
the installation of the Queen's Toilette into an existing polythyron. The drains were
partly blocked after another earthquake in LM lA to which period should belong the
steatite locks and ivory acrobat, unless these are Late Minoan IB as obliquely hinted
by Cucuzza. 58 Thereafter, partial restoration of the system took place including the
installation of the stone U-shaped channel either in LM IB or LM H. To this phase of
restoration also belongs the construction of the Upper E-W Stairs (PI. H: 17) providing
extra access to the First Floor of the Hall of the Colonnades. The LM lA pottery
was found beneath the 6th and 7th steps, providing a terminus post quem for their
construction.59
The Domestic Quarter could have been a relatively secluded area of the Palace,
less suitable for public access or participation. Yet it does not seem entirely d evoted
to private living quarters, "Royal" or otherwise, despite the many similarities it
displays with the Little Palace.60 When laid out - according to my assessment in MM
HIB, before the Little Palace - it was lavishly decked with squared floor slabs and
massive d adoes, usually of gypsum, many of which bear the marks of a fire. (The
identification of precisely which d estruction caused the intense burning m ay b e open
for discussion.) Space does not permit a full discussion of its potential functions. The
installa tion in LM lA of the Queen's Toilette (or Washing Closet as I would prefer to
term it) in one of the sequences of rooms that leads from the Hall of the Colonnad es
through the Queen's Megaron into the Hall of the Double Axes, may indicate that
these b ack rooms were at times used as preparation rooms, p erhaps for a priestess
b efore h er entry into the H all of the Double Axes from the south. Other officials not
privy to the preparation rituals would have entered more directly from the H a ll of
the Colonnades along the north side. Yet others may have been able to witness the
activities through the pier-and-door partitions on the east and south of the H all of
the Double Axes. This general them e, of course, stems from Niemeier's suggestions
concerning the Throne Room Complex. 6 1 Nonetheless, some such ceremony tha t
included bathing, the facilities for which were only form ally introduced in the second
(LM lA) phase of the New Palace, may be indicated. Similar rituals, with or without
bathing, could also have taken place in the first New Palace phase since the circulatory
patterns were almost identical.

57 MACDONALD and DRIESSEN (supra n . 53) 243-4, fi g. 5 - single block 1.40 long and 0.59 m. high.
But, here, the Evans's construction date of MM HA was erroneously (I now think) followed.
58 The Egyptianising ampho ra(e) above the "Ivory Deposit" were dated to MM IIIB by Evans but
rece ntly to LM IB by CUCUZZA (supra n. 52) 101-106. r remain to be conv inced with regard to
the Knossian example(s).
59 PM III, 276 and POPHAM (supra n . 44) 194-5.
60 H ATZAKI (supra n. 53).
61 W.-D . NIEMEIER, "On the function of the Throne Room' in the palace at Knossos," in Function
Palaces, 163-168.
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 49

It should be noted here that whilst one can admire the liberal use of stone
embellishments in the MM IlIB phase of the Domestic Quarter, we know little of
other forms of decoration, notably fresco. It is likely that Miniature fresco fragments
of a bull scene from the so-called Ivory Deposit above the earliest floor in the 'Lair'
can be dated to LM lA if we accept the Acrobat as LM 1. It is just possible that the
Dolphin Floor fresco and associated Dancing lady from on top of the second phase
of a wall bordering the east of the Queen's Megaron, could be LM lA; otherwise
they must be assigned to the LM IB-Il reconstruction phase. Hood62 seems reluctant
to date any other fresco from the quarter to MM IlIB or LM lA, although he has
dated the High Reliefs of Athletes and Griffins found immediately to the north of the
Domestic Quarter to MM IlIB. But, as with the North Entrance Passage, it requires
the assumption that the fragments were lost in fills of MM IIlB destruction debris
when I think they could as easily belong to LM lA. The tendency towards an early
date (MM Ill) for all the relief frescoes comes from the securely dated MM IlIA Bull
Reliefs and Spiral Fresco of the Loomweight Basement. 63 At least we may assume
some form of continuity, though not necessarily continuity in the precise use to which
such frescoes were put - other than decorating walls.
If my impression is correct, the Domestic Quarter will have been built with
all the finest embellishments of Minoan Neopalatial architecture during the MM
IlIB building programme, before the earthquake which necessitated a great deal of
structural renovation, though luckily the Grand Staircase appears to have withstood
the tremors, an indication both of the high level of structural engineering and the
intensity of the earthquake itself, that is not so powerful as to justify the use of the
term "the Great Destruction" in comparison with all other Knossos destructions.
The modifications to the Quarter in LM lA did not include (re)decoration of the
walls with large-scale frescoes unlike certain other more public parts of the Palace.
Disruption to the area may have been less on this side of the Palace. Perhaps the
attachment of the quarter to the Great Cutting afforded the structures greater seismic
protection than the freestanding structures to the north, south and west. 64

The MM IIIB New Palace: one plan, one structure (PI. Ill)

Some of the most striking features of Palace plans 65 are that numerous walls
are aligned over great distances on the same axes and that they appear to be the
main construction lines of the New MM IlIB Palace. The adapted 1902 'sketch plan
of Fyfe in PI. III shows some of the main lines as I envisage them. However, due

62 HOOD (supra n. 16).

63 PM 1,369-376, figs. 269-70, 273.
64 This is merely a fanciful hypothesis of my own, though perhaps worth following up.
65 See S. HOOD and W. TAYLOR, The Bronze Age Palace at Knossos: Plan and Sections (1981). Here,
I have reproduced the early sketch plan of the Palace made by D.T. FYFE (BSA 8 [1901-02] pI. 1)
with the addition of the South East Angle and the Houses of the Sacrificed Oxen and Fallen
Blocks from PM 11, 295, fig. 172 . The red lines provide emphases for main MM IIIB structural
terracing as well as Central Court axes.
50 Colin F. MACDONALD

to very slight inaccuracies in the location and alignment of walls, it is not possible
to demonstrate the relationships adequately with existing plans. The most important
wall line relationships exist where major terracing of the hill was necessary, notably
on the south and east. Several major alignments appear important on the east slope,
some of which are closely spaced terraces stretching over long distances on the far
east side. The date of these terraces is not clear. One clear line in the middle of the
east slope (we exclude the east line of the Central Court, although clearly it is the
most obvious example) runs from the east side of the east Light Well of the Queen's
Megaron, north under the west side of the polythyron of the Hall of the Double
Axes to the west wall of the Court of the Stone Spout with its fine Mason's Marks
mentioned above and dating to MM IUB. It could run even further north. The main
function of these wall lines was to act as major terraces supporting the immense
weight of structures behind them and stop them slipping down the hill.
The south side of the Palace illustrates this even more clearly. However, due
to the slight inaccuracies in published plans, it proved necessary, in May 2002 after
the conference, to locate the major walls more precisely using an Electronic Distance
Meter courtesy of the Knossos Office for the Conservation of the Palace. 66 The sketch
plan in PI. XI is the first result confirming the main alignments which are obvious on
the ground, but difficult to demonstrate using any of the other plans.
A few apparent problems were encountered. Measurements taken near the
bottom of a functioning terrace (S. side of Early Magazine A) tended to be located
further south than those taken on the walls of the buildings they supported (e.g.
South Propylaeum). This is entirely logical in that the structural terrace walls are
broader than the walls of the buildings they would have supported. More work is
required in disentangling the visible wall lines of the N-S terrace supporting the
Corridor of the Procession.
That said, the four most important wall lines (A-B, D and F in PI. XI and
IU) are located on the south side of the South Corridor (F), the south side of the
South terrace Basements (D), on the line of the pier-and-door partitions of the South
Propylaeum (B) and in a line with the steps of the same structure. On this last line is
a wall which has not received any attention until now lying just south of the modern
south end of the central Court (Wall A; PI. Xe, XI).67 It comprises massive blocks in
a style that, at M.S.F. Hood's prompting in 1987, I have come to associate with the

66 I thank Alexandra Kare tsou, head of the T.L'Lfl.E.A .E. T£XV1KO rpa<p£io KV(J)aou for her assistance,
and also surveyors from the office who carried out the measurements and had them drawn
up: K. Kontoyiannis and C. Ktistakis. 71 points were measured, most on the south side of E-W
walls, which, when plotted allowed me to compile an "accurate sketch" plan (PI. XI) based on
the Hood and Taylor stone-by-stone plan with additions and some interpretation from detailed
and sketch plans reproduced in the Palace of Minos and various Annuals of the British School at
Athens; some of the latter were drawn before major "reconstitution" in concrete. We tried to take
measurements on stone that were dearly in situ and not part of restoration, however accurate.
67 With regard to PI. Xe, it should be noted that the measurements were taken only a few hours after
breaking my left arm. I have no idea if the accuracy of the measurements was been affected by
this unfortunate incident.
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 51

construction of the MM IlIB New Palace. A similar style can be seen on the south
side of Early Magazine A very nearly in line with this. 68 Surprisingly, the exact line of
wall A can be continued east with the original terrace wall on the north side of the
Corridor of the Sword Tablets, and very probably in the direction of the Monolithic
Pillar Basement (PI. III in red). Elsewhere the style of m asonry is evident in the three
other successive terraces south of this wall (B, D, F). It is also found on the south
side of the North Lustral Area (at PI. Il:ll) and perhaps also in the great foundations
north of the North East Entrance (PI. Il:9).69 In short, tracing this style of masonry
may help us reconstruct a phase plan of the New Palace. In addition to the stylistic
observation, we can note that the three of the terrace walls on the south side (B, D
and F) are almost evenly spaced with a little less than 7 metres between them.
The point of making these observations is that I believe that the alignments and
spacing of walls are not fortuitous but by design. If further research can demonstrate
this for the rest of the palace, as I believe it will, then we are dealing with the design
of a single coherent structure. One architect or a group of architects working together
drew the plans for a New Middle Minoan IlIB Palace. 70 Later repairs and additions
have simply obscured the purity of the original concept. Although there may have
been constraints on the design due to the Old Palace, I think these were few. It is at
least demonstrable that most of the West Wing was built after the demolition of most
earlier structures.
Returning to Wall A, south of the modern border of the Central Court, it
occurred to me that this could have been the original line of the southern border of
the Central Court in MM IlIB. In order to check the likelihood of this hypothesis, I
considered the potential size of a MM IIlB Central Court with its western boundary
marked by the line made by the east wall of the Temple Repositories. This enlarges
the Court (29.5m. by 56.7m. at its central point) but approximately maintains the
proportions based on the existing Court (1:l.9). In addition, although the west edge
of the eastern border of the court is rarely clear, the median north-south line of the
north end of this hypothetical court runs through the middle of the North Entrance
Passage as determined by the original east and west walls before the Bastions were

68 It must be stated that the 1987 excavations here (DVII 17) recovered a deep deposit which I would
have expected to provide a date for the construction of this wall. The latest pottery is without
doubt LM I (not MM IIIB-LM lA transition), a fact confirmed by me in May 2002. I have to
conclude that this represents a complete rebuild of a MM lIIB wall against which another wall had
been placed for support after LM lA. In TAW III.3, 84, I incorrectly assigned the DVII .17 deposit
to MM lIIB/ LM lA which in any case would have provided only a terminus post quem for the wall.
The existence of massive LM lA fills in this area is confirmed by the large deposit a couple of
metres to the south in D.xXlII.l, some of the pottery from which was illustrated by me in supra
n.29.
69 In this regard it is of interest that the paving of the N.E. Entrance runs over the southern most
foundation wall. If the foundations are MM lIIB, it follows that a LM lA date for the N.E. Entrance
as suggested above, is more likely.
70 I am aware that D. PREZIOSI, Minoan Architectural Design. Formation and Signification (1983) has
made similar suggestions using a different methodology referred to in PALYVOU's paper (this
volume). There is no space here to examine his interesting proposals which are, at times, hindered
by imprecise chronology.
52 Colin F. MACDONALD

built (PI. Ill, red line at N end of Central Court). This was not the case when the
polythyron entrance to the Throne Room Area was built. If we consider the east-west
median line of the court measuring from the south wall A (PI. Ill, E-W red dividing
line of Central Court), we find that, on the west, the line runs through the middle of
the Lobby of the Stone Seat, just south of the present pillars in the Crypts and ending
in the line of the major dividing wall between Magazines V and VI where there is also
an indentation of the West Fa~ade. On the other side, the line appears to run along
the north side of the colonnades of the Grand Staircase and the north side of the
north wall of the Hall of the Double Axes, and on down the hill. Thus, in the original
MM IIIB Central Court, both the grand Staircase and the Central Palace Sanctuary
were positioned precisely in the middle of their respective sides of the Central Court.
This may also imply a direct, though not physical, connection between the two. The
1902 sketch plan in Plate III has been chosen since it appears to indicate the extent
of the MM I1IB Central Court was understood in the very first years of excavation. I
only realised this four months after writing the original paper. Looking at the broader
picture, I think all these observations justify the consideration of the MM I1IB New
Palace as both a new and single palatial structure designed by a single architect or
group of architects. Shades of Daedalus?

Concluding Remarks

I chose to go into great detail concerning the New Palace at the expense of a
thorough examination of its relations with the town and the broader region. Such
an examination would have been entirely appropriate within the framework of the
conference. However, I felt that before we could seriously discuss the relationship of
the Palace to the town, and the role of Knossos in Minoan Crete, it was important
to characterize the palace by period, so that discussions can take account this instead
of resorting to the usual Neopalatial generalizations. By no means all the ideas in
this paper can be supported with incontrovertible archaeological evidence, but most
can profitably be accessed on the basis of our present knowledge or form a starting
point for new research. I would hope that one basic aim can be achieved over the next
decade, namely a wall phase plan of the Palace. This would allow many more people
to discuss the palace in an informed manner.
My impression of the first two New Palace periods for which we have clear
evidence is the following. The New Palace of MM I1IB was built in a single great
building programme by an elite group with the consensus and participation of the
broader community of Knossos. Enormous resources were expended on a single
central building around the traditional Central Court. Access to the Palace was less
controlled than in the next phase (LM lA) and there was also broad participation by
the community in larger and smaller ceremonies and celebrations, no doubt of both
a sacred and profane character. The Linear A script in MM I1IB is fully developed
and sealing practices seem advanced for their time. The outward impressions of the
Palace are of challengingly large proportions and of austere, yet rich architecture
expensively embellished in different stones and with some frescoes, perhaps in the
more private places.
 THE NEOPALATIAL PALACES OF KNOSSOS 53

A strong earthquake severely damaged this New Palace with its over-ambitious
proportions. A programme of re-building was then put into effect, but one that
succeeded in excluding sections of the community that had lent their support to the
original project. This may have translated into limitations on the size of communal
celebrations within the Palace as the elite became more isolated within society. This
time, the distinctly elite group of rulers may not have been able to harness the
full resources of the community for re-building. Some new and impressive ashlar
walls were built, particularly with their anti-seismic properties in mind (e.g. the
Bastions), but others were built of re-used masonry and rubble (e.g. the second South
Propylaeum). Many of the cracked dadoes and stone reliefs were apparently replaced
with plaster and some new rubble walls were rendered with plaster and, in certain
instances, with large-scale frescoes in more public places, perhaps with a view to
emphasising the control exercised by the elite over major religious ceremonies and
even to communicate their power more clearly to foreign visitors. These are just
some of the most obvious changes I see taking place, enough at least to illustrate
that the Frescoed Palace of LM lA was more than subtly different from its MM IlIB
predecessor, the true New Palace.
As for the successor to the LM lA Palace, there is no concrete evidence in LM
IB - just a few walls (e.g. south side of early Magazine A) and stairs (e.g. east-west
Staircase) that might have been constructed in LM IB. However, massive rebuilding
must have taken place which I think was interrupted in LM IB by yet another
catastrophic earthquake, before the Palace could once again be fully occupied and
fully functional. This is the explanation I prefer for the absence of LM IB deposits in
the Palace or LM IB dumps outside if these had been cleared out. The vivid signs
of a large LM IB earthquake at Galatas and Archanes should indicate that Knossos too
was hit by this seismic event, perhaps as great as that of MM IlIA. Through all this,
of course, at least the West and Central Courts would have remained intact, and if
they were focal points of ceremonial and religious activity in MM IlIB and LM lA,
they could have continued as such even when the Palace was in ruins or under
reconstruction, hence the name I have nominally and controversially attached to this
third Neopalatial phase, the Ruined Palace.

Colin F. MACDONALD
54 Colin F. MACDONALD

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

(All pottery drawings are reproduced at a scale of 1:3)

PI. 11 Location Plan for the Palace at Knossos with some emphasis on MM IIIB
elements.
PI. III Sketch Plan after D.T. FYFE (after BSA 8 [1901-1902] PI. 1) with some additions
. and major MM IIIB wall lines and axes indicated in red.
PI. IV a) Plan of SE Angle of the Palace (after PM ILl, 295 fig. 172); b) House of the
Fallen Blocks and Sacrificed Oxen (2001); c) S. Propylaeum, E. walls: MM IIIB
(left) and LM l A (right); d) Plan of the South Propylaeum (after PM 11, 691 fig.
434).
PI. V a) South Propylaeum, west side (MM IIIB); b) MM IIIB pottery from Cist in S.
Propylaeum; c) Pottery from D.VII.21 ; d) General view of Early Magazine A area
after excavation in 1987.
PI. VI North Entrance Passage. a) Plan (after BSA 8 [1901-1 902] 5, fig. 2); b) Looking
E. to MM IIIB N-S wall and an E-W wall knocked out of alignment by an (?)
earthquake; c) Bastion A (left) abutting MM IIIB W wall.
PI. VII a) Pottery from beneath the Bastions of the North Entrance; b) Pottery from the
Cist in the NW Lustral Area.
PI. VIII a) Plan of the NE Magazines and NE H all; b) Ewer from NE Magazines; c) Beaked
Jug from NE Magazines; d) Ewer from drain in NW corner of the Central Court;
e) BeakedJugs from the Blind Well in the Court of the Stone Spout (left) and the
H ellenistic Kiln Area (right).
PI. IX Vases from the Hellenistic Kiln Area (KS_ 178) including a handmade jug with
Linear A inscription (centre right).
PI. X a) Pottery from test beneath the floor of the Room of the Drainheads; b) Court
of the Stone Spout; c) Pottery from below the W wall of the Court of the Stone
Spout; d) Pottery from the Blind Well in the Court of the Stone Spou t; e) Working
plan of "Wall A:' suggested as the southern border of the MM IIIB Central
Court.
PI. XI New sketch plan (May 2002) of the South end of the Palace with EDM points
marked by red crosses.
 11
/ __ , Theatral Area
," ,\

West
Court

0t::=:::jl~E==203::==E=3==::jSP Metres
LM lA South House

1. MM IDB South P.'opylaeum; a: Cist 15. Room of the Drainheads/Olive P"ess

2. W border of Cent"al Court, MM fiB 16. E Bastion
3. Room of Stone Vases 17. E-W Stah"S
4. Central Palace Sanctuary 18. Hall of the Colonnades
a: E and W Pillar C'1'pts; b: Vat Room 19. Hall of the Double Axes
c: Temple RepositOl'ies 20. Queen's Megaron
5. Throne Room 21. Room of the Plaster Couch with ?LM lA W .C.
6. Tank and Drain blocked in MM fiB 22. SE Palace Angle
7. North Entmnce Passage; a: Bastions A, Band C; 23. House of the Fallen Blocks - MM illA
b: Ter"aces A-A, B-B and C -C; c: 'Ea.1hquaked' Wall 24. House of the Sacrificed Oxen - MM illA
8. North Pillar Hall 25. Conidor of the Procession
9. NE Entmnce 26. "Early Magazine A"; a: D.Vll.21
10. NW Lush'al Area; a: MM fiB Cist 27. Magazines 1-18
11. MM fiB Cist inside N wall of typical fiB masonry 28. Central Court; a: Wall A, S border of MM IIIB Court
12. NE Pottery Stores; a: Vapheio Cups on upper te""ace 29. Terrace Walls of E Slope
13. NE Hall 30. Dmin of Domestic Quarter
14. Court of the Stone Spout
 A B c D E F G H K L M N o p Q

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16
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10 20 40 100 MET RES

After D . T. FYF E '''0 2.

 IV

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 VIII

Central
Court

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- - - - - - - -- --"\I
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or space
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=
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Co bbl.d
Terracing
?
_____ =-=- -=- -=--_-_- E + ~ . - - - -_ _----"1 _ _ _ _ _ __ _
N

South Corridor

+S189 -------
Terrace wall remond when
FI I1 I T, ,1 '~I-
South House constructed
~2

,
~
T = Major Terl'acing fOl' Palace and Slope of Hill 'l'
+ = Points measured by EOM ____ J Scale in metres
+s# = MMin Stations of the Palllc~ Grid

LM lA South House
(points mensured and plotted by K Kontoyiannis & Y. Ktistakis
South o 10
coul'tesy of the T.A.n .E. A.E. T£XVIKO rpa<pEi.o Kvroooi>.
Plan complied nod drawn by Colin Mllcdonald • May 2002) Porch 1liiiiiiiiI-- " - ---.., J.IiI ............... ...--.._-"liIiIiiI