1. Discover Knossos Archaeological Dig

2. Who are You? You are Arthur Evans. You were born in 1851 in England. You worked at the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. There you became interested in seals, small carved stones from the eastern Mediterranean. You learn that many of these seals are from the island of Crete, south of Greece. There, farmers routinely plow up coins, pottery, and seals. You decide to go check it out and see what you can find.

3. Map of Crete Knossos Interested in learning more, you sail to Crete.

4. Knossos The small ancient town of Kafala (Knossos) is teeming with ruins. You are not the first to be interested in this. In 1878, another archaeologist named Minos Kalokairinos found the ruins and uncovered foundations of rooms filled with jars. Unfortunately for him but not for you, the Turkish government which then controlled Crete kicked him off the island.

5. Who am I? I am Hienrich Schliemann. I have already been excavating, and am positive I have found the ancient remains of legendary Troy. I wanted to buy the piece of land that Knossos is on, but thought it was ridiculously expensive. I don’t have that kind of money. But I highly encourage you to research the ruins at Knossos and show the rest of the world what you find.

6. Great Idea!! You, fortunately, have inherited a family fortune and do have money to buy the whole archaeological site. Now it is up to you to look through the ruins at Knossos and reveal to the world what you find. You need to also determine what you can about the art of the ancient Minoans and what their culture was like. Answer the following questions and report back to me and the rest of us.

7. Your Mission: (Should you choose to accept it, and really you don’t have a choice) You will be divided into six groups in class. As a group, you will look at the archaeological evidence presented and have to make certain conclusions about the palace of Knossos and Minoan culture. After you fill out your worksheet to help you organize your information, you will have to put together a presentation showing your artifacts and discussing your conclusions with the class.