1. Sir Arthur Evans and Knossos

2. Inspired by the Legend of the Minotaur and Heinrich Schliemann’s findings at Troy, Arthur Evans set out for Crete to find the palace of King Minos around Knossos.

3. Evans arrived in Crete in 1894 dreaming of finding the legendary Palace of King Minos. In order to avoid trouble from local officials concerning permission to excavate, Arthur Evans simply purchased the land in Knossos where the palace could be located.

4. Now without fear of interference from local officials, Evans was free to excavate as he saw fit.

5. Amazingly, Evans discovered an intricate palace covering 5 ½ acres.

6. The Palace at Knossos revealed a highly developed civilization that Evans named the “Minoans” who lived over 4000 years ago.

7. The Palace consisted of over 1000 rooms on at least five different levels centering around a large courtyard.

8. The palace that Evans discovered had been originally destroyed by an earthquake. 4000 years of erosion also left it in bad shape.

9. Arthur Evans decided that he would reconstruct much of the palace. Since he owned it, no one could prevent him from doing so.

10. Many archaeologists at the time were angry that Evans would try to reconstruct the Palace at Knossos. He had no evidence to rebuild it as he did.

11. However, the Palace of Knossos is one of the most spectacular archaeological sites in the world.

12. The Throne Room

13. Bull Leaping Fresco

14. Figure Eight Shield Fresco

15. Storage Pit

16. Columns and Frescoes

17. Restored Walkway

18. Doorway With Frescoes

19. Linear B Tablets

20. Arthur Evans at Knossos

21. For his work, Arthur Evans was knighted in 1911 becoming Sir Arthur Evans. He died at the ripe old age of 90 in 1941.