DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.8755#0013
2
A. J. Evans
Repositories, including the faience figures of the Snake Goddess and her
Votaries, and the exquisite series of relics in the same material, throws an
entirely new light on the art and religion of the Later Palace at what
seems to have been its most brilliant epoch, as well as on the system of
writing then employed.
From the point of view of the stratification of the various historic
layers of the site, the results of the last season's work have been extremely
satisfactory. Not only have the earlier Neolithic strata been further ex-
plored, but manj- new data have been acquired as to the stages of culture
that intervened between the close of the local Stone Age and the foundation
of the Later Palace. A remarkable deposit to be described in the present
Report throws the first real light on the transitional form of culture belonging
to what I haveventured to term the' Early Minoan Period.' The Ceramic and
other illustrations of the succeeding ' Middle Minoan ' have also been of the
most remarkable kind, including vases of the polychrome style which for
beauty of form and decorative design are as yet unrivalled among objects
of this class.
These various developments necessarily enlarged the scope of the ex-
cavations, and the 50 men with which the work began had been pro-
gressively raised to about 200 by the end of April. Throughout the earlier
part of the campaign the work was much hampered by the continual rains.
There had been about forty days' almost incessant rain before the operations
began, and the downpour continued with little break for an equal space of
time after the work had been set going. The earth was thus completely
sodden, and the pits continually filled with water, so that the labour of
extracting every spadeful of earth was more than doubled. The weather did
not definite!}" improve till the latter part of April, and the operations which
had thus been seriously retarded were continued to the end of the first
week in June.
I again had throughout the valued assistance of Dr. Duncan Mackenzie
in directing the works, and, in drawing up the present Report, I have con-
stantly consulted the careful records kept by him in his Day Books
Mr. Theodore Fyfe was also happily able to come out for part of the time
to execute the architectural plans and drawings. A series of very careful
drawings of some of the most important finds was also made, under my
supervision, by the Danish artist, Mr. Halvor Bagge.
The veteran services of Gregorios Antoniou were once more secured
A. J. Evans
Repositories, including the faience figures of the Snake Goddess and her
Votaries, and the exquisite series of relics in the same material, throws an
entirely new light on the art and religion of the Later Palace at what
seems to have been its most brilliant epoch, as well as on the system of
writing then employed.
From the point of view of the stratification of the various historic
layers of the site, the results of the last season's work have been extremely
satisfactory. Not only have the earlier Neolithic strata been further ex-
plored, but manj- new data have been acquired as to the stages of culture
that intervened between the close of the local Stone Age and the foundation
of the Later Palace. A remarkable deposit to be described in the present
Report throws the first real light on the transitional form of culture belonging
to what I haveventured to term the' Early Minoan Period.' The Ceramic and
other illustrations of the succeeding ' Middle Minoan ' have also been of the
most remarkable kind, including vases of the polychrome style which for
beauty of form and decorative design are as yet unrivalled among objects
of this class.
These various developments necessarily enlarged the scope of the ex-
cavations, and the 50 men with which the work began had been pro-
gressively raised to about 200 by the end of April. Throughout the earlier
part of the campaign the work was much hampered by the continual rains.
There had been about forty days' almost incessant rain before the operations
began, and the downpour continued with little break for an equal space of
time after the work had been set going. The earth was thus completely
sodden, and the pits continually filled with water, so that the labour of
extracting every spadeful of earth was more than doubled. The weather did
not definite!}" improve till the latter part of April, and the operations which
had thus been seriously retarded were continued to the end of the first
week in June.
I again had throughout the valued assistance of Dr. Duncan Mackenzie
in directing the works, and, in drawing up the present Report, I have con-
stantly consulted the careful records kept by him in his Day Books
Mr. Theodore Fyfe was also happily able to come out for part of the time
to execute the architectural plans and drawings. A series of very careful
drawings of some of the most important finds was also made, under my
supervision, by the Danish artist, Mr. Halvor Bagge.
The veteran services of Gregorios Antoniou were once more secured