DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.807#0434
394
THE PALACE OF MINOS, ETC.
M. M. Ill
Masonry
and Signs
of Bas-
tions.
Eastern
line of
Bastions
later
removed.
Portico
above W.
Bastions.
Sally Port
at N.
Entrance.
walls of the Court of the Stone Spout and of the Hall of the Double Axes,
that the same chronological equations there arrived at must apply in the
present case. In other words, the Bastions of the N. Entrance Passage
belong-to the earlier stage of the M. M. Ill Period. Here, too, we find the
trident, the double axe, the branch, and the star, incised'in the same manner
that we see in the above structures and in other contemporary parts of the
Domestic Quarter. It is perhaps not an accidental coincidence that the
blocks of Bastion A, the Northernmost of its series, and immediately over-
looking what was the Sea Gate of the Palace, are repeatedly and exclusively
marked by the trident sign. The parallelism both in construction and in
the incised marks is carried still further, moreover, on the still existing
bases of the similar bastions, stepping up on the left-hand side of the
entrance ramp. Not only does the general appearance of the masonry
recall that of the base of the Grand Staircase in the Hall of the Colonnades,
but its blocks bear the same broad arrow sign, which may have had a
reference to analogous constructions.
Curiously enough, in the succeeding Late Minoan Period the Eastern
half of the lower Entrance section was again widened out, so that the area
recovered two-thirds of its original width. The upper part of the line of
Bastions on this side, aa, bb, cc was removed, and what remained was now
lost beneath the ascending roadway, the level of which gradually rose
throughout succeeding stages of its history. The lower courses of the
original Eastern line of the Bastions as at this time submerged by the ascend-
ing roadway are shown in Fig. 284. Part of the sloped coping slabs of
the great built drain as it descended the entrance passage are visible in the
photographic view. It is obvious that the ramp in its original form ran on
or somewhat above the level of these.
It is probable that the new road of approach continued at the same
breadth through the upper section of the Entrance Passage. It is clear,
moreover, that at the same time some stately Portico was constructed above
the Bastions on the Western side of its lower section, which were left
undisturbed. The splendid remains of painted stucco reliefs representing
bull-catching scenes that here came to light, largely on the upper level of
the roadway below, as well as a limestone column base, must have be-
longed to this Portico.
Immediately below the line of Bastions to the East of the Entrance
Passage was a curious walled recess of elongated form that may have served
as a Sally Port or Guard-room. Its outer wall, with its well-marked inter-
stices filled with clay mortar, repeats the construction of the S. light-area
THE PALACE OF MINOS, ETC.
M. M. Ill
Masonry
and Signs
of Bas-
tions.
Eastern
line of
Bastions
later
removed.
Portico
above W.
Bastions.
Sally Port
at N.
Entrance.
walls of the Court of the Stone Spout and of the Hall of the Double Axes,
that the same chronological equations there arrived at must apply in the
present case. In other words, the Bastions of the N. Entrance Passage
belong-to the earlier stage of the M. M. Ill Period. Here, too, we find the
trident, the double axe, the branch, and the star, incised'in the same manner
that we see in the above structures and in other contemporary parts of the
Domestic Quarter. It is perhaps not an accidental coincidence that the
blocks of Bastion A, the Northernmost of its series, and immediately over-
looking what was the Sea Gate of the Palace, are repeatedly and exclusively
marked by the trident sign. The parallelism both in construction and in
the incised marks is carried still further, moreover, on the still existing
bases of the similar bastions, stepping up on the left-hand side of the
entrance ramp. Not only does the general appearance of the masonry
recall that of the base of the Grand Staircase in the Hall of the Colonnades,
but its blocks bear the same broad arrow sign, which may have had a
reference to analogous constructions.
Curiously enough, in the succeeding Late Minoan Period the Eastern
half of the lower Entrance section was again widened out, so that the area
recovered two-thirds of its original width. The upper part of the line of
Bastions on this side, aa, bb, cc was removed, and what remained was now
lost beneath the ascending roadway, the level of which gradually rose
throughout succeeding stages of its history. The lower courses of the
original Eastern line of the Bastions as at this time submerged by the ascend-
ing roadway are shown in Fig. 284. Part of the sloped coping slabs of
the great built drain as it descended the entrance passage are visible in the
photographic view. It is obvious that the ramp in its original form ran on
or somewhat above the level of these.
It is probable that the new road of approach continued at the same
breadth through the upper section of the Entrance Passage. It is clear,
moreover, that at the same time some stately Portico was constructed above
the Bastions on the Western side of its lower section, which were left
undisturbed. The splendid remains of painted stucco reliefs representing
bull-catching scenes that here came to light, largely on the upper level of
the roadway below, as well as a limestone column base, must have be-
longed to this Portico.
Immediately below the line of Bastions to the East of the Entrance
Passage was a curious walled recess of elongated form that may have served
as a Sally Port or Guard-room. Its outer wall, with its well-marked inter-
stices filled with clay mortar, repeats the construction of the S. light-area