Prehistoric Crete: Neo-Palatial Knossos

Introduction

In this session, we explore the actual site of Knossos, beginning with an overview of its history before and after the Neo-palatial period. We concentrate particularly on the Second Palace complex, and look at some artefacts found here, in the context of what this can tell us about the people who lived in the palace itself. The following account will mark with an asterisk (*) those buildings that will feature in the comparative chart in Session 4 of this unit.

You will remember that we discussed excavation with its strengths and weaknesses in Unit 1 Session 5 Lesson 3. Please refer back to this lesson should you need to.

Required Reading

In this session, you will need to read the following:

Insight Guide: Crete, pp 106-17 on Knossos.