Sir Arthur Evans
Sir Arthur Evans is the archaeologist famous for the excavations he made at the royal palace of Knossos on Crete.
The English archaeologist Sir Arthur John Evans (1851-1941) is the man who put Knossos on the map. He was educated at the famous public school, Harrow, and then at Oxford University, before becoming curator of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford when he was 33‑years‑old: a job he held for the next 24 years. It was while here that he developed an interest in the coins and seals of Ancient Greece, and in particular those of Crete, which he first visited in 1894 in order to learn more.
Sir Arthur Evans' Excavations at Knossos
Sir Arthur Evans
By 1899 he had begun excavations at Knossos, and quickly unearthed a Bronze Age city and a royal palace which he named Minos after the Cretan King and son of the Greek God Zeus. He called the civilisation Minoan, and while the bulk of the important excavations were done in the first few years of the 20th century, Evans continued work on the site until 1935 - by which time he was 84-years-old.
Controversial Reconstruction
The most controversial aspect of his work is that he began to try to reconstruct the royal palace, and to re-paint it, so as to give us some idea of what it would have looked like at the time. To some scholars this was sacrilege, while to others it was a bold attempt to bring the palace back to life, and to convey some of its grandeur to the general public. Anyone who has seen the museum at the Agora in Athens, splendidly reconstructed by the American School of Archaeology, will have some sympathy with this view.
Our Pick of the Crete Guides
Linear A and Linear B
Another important discovery Sir Arthur Evans made at the site were 3000 clay tablets covered with two distinct types of indecipherable writing. One of these was referred to as Linear A, which was the language of the Minoans and has still not been fully deciphered to this day. The other was called Linear B, and this was not understood until 1952 when it was shown to be the language of the Ancient Greeks dating back to about 1500-1400 BC. This was an important step in understanding the development of the Ancient Greeks, as it showed that they had a written script much earlier than had previously been thought.
Evans himself worked on books in which he attempted to decipher the two scripts, but he will be most remembered as the man who discovered the Minoan Palace of Knossos. Less well-known is the fact that he was also a journalist in his early days, was a war correspondent in the Balkans, and in the 1880s researched and wrote a book that would sadly have been just as relevant a century later: the plight of the Slavs and Albanians in the regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time struggling for their independence from Turkey. It was after this that Evans took up his job at the Ashmolean, which eventually led him to Knossos. He was created a Knight of the British Empire in 1911, and died in 1941 at the age of 90.
Sir Arthur Evans
Evans himself worked on books in which he attempted to decipher the two scripts, but he will be most remembered as the man who discovered the Minoan Palace of Knossos. Less well-known is the fact that he was also a journalist in his early days, was a war correspondent in the Balkans, and in the 1880s researched and wrote a book that would sadly have been just as relevant a century later: the plight of the Slavs and Albanians in the regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time struggling for their independence from Turkey. It was after this that Evans took up his job at the Ashmolean, which eventually led him to Knossos. He was created a Knight of the British Empire in 1911, and died in 1941 at the age of 90.
Other Crete pages
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Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to eat in Eastern Crete including restaurants and tavernas in Elounda, Agios Nikolaos, Sitia, and Kato Zakros.
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The Greece Travel Secrets guide to Zaros in Central Crete, including what to do, where to stay, and where to eat.
Greece Travel Secrets discovers Sitia, the main town in eastern Crete, with its relaxing waterfront, inexpensive hotels, good food, and nearby ancient sites.
This Airbnb in the quiet village of Malaxa, a 30-minute drive into the hills above Chania, is a peaceful retreat with a delightful and thoughtful artist owner, with wonderful views and amenities.
For a Crete olive oil tour Greece Travel Secrets visits Biolea, one of the few olive oil factories on Crete that you can visit.
Crete's capital and largest city is Irakleio, also called Iraklion or Heraklion, a large and busy place with good restaurants, museums and historical buildings.
The best things to do on Crete and top things to see include the Samaria Gorge, the Minoan Palaces at Knossos and Phaistos, the towns of Chania and Rethymnon.
This Amari Valley drive in southern Crete starts and ends in Ayia Galini, takes four to five hours and cover 100 kilometres or 62 miles.
Visiting Knossos near Iraklion is one of the best things to do on Crete, and this page has a history of the site with visitor information.
The Byzantine Church of Panagía Kerá near Kritsa and not far from Ayios Nikolaos is one of the most famous in Crete, and close by is the site of Ancient Lato.
This Rouvas Gorge walk starts and ends in Zaros in southern Crete and should take three to four hours with a distance of eight kilometres or five miles.
Greece Travel Secrets visits Visual Arts Crete who offer accommodation and run art courses at their home and studio in the village of Kastellos near Rethymnon.
How to see eastern Crete in five days, with its beaches, Minoan palaces, timeless villages, unique churches and mountain and coastal scenery.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Zacharioudakis Winery near Ancient Gortina in southern Crete, and does a vineyard tour arranged by our guide from Go Crete.
Chania is the main city in Western Crete with a lovely setting and a beautiful harbour as well as several museums.
Agios Nikolaos is a pretty and popular town on the north coast of Crete and this page on Greece Travel Secrets covers its history, museums and beaches.
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