Evans, Arthur J.: The Palace of Minos: a comparative account of the successive stages of the early Cretan civilization as illustred by the discoveries at Knossos (Band 2,1): Fresh lights on origins and external relations (London, 1928)

CONNEXIONS: LIBYAN AND EGYPTIAN FACTORS 59

The conclusion is unavoidable, that, long before the foundation of the
Great Palace as we know it, the site of Knossos was playing a historic part
as a centre of connexions—not perhaps exclusively commercial—between the
Minoan Priest-Kings and official Egypt of which we have other later
indications.

The explanation of this must be sought in the traces, to which the most indica-
recent exploration has now added, of at least one earlier residential seat on tJ,ere of
this spot, whose occupants had made it the pfoal of an ancient trade-route earlier

resideH"

from the Land of the Pharaohs. Unfortunately the later activities of the tial seats.
Minoan builders have largely destroyed or obscured the pre-existing remains.
As has been the case with many ancient foundations, the Palace site of
Knossos devoured itself. It has been already shown that early in M. M. I
the whole summit of the hill was levelled away to the Neolithic surface to
provide space for the Central Court and the four-square arrangement of
buildings round.1

1 So,too, at a somewhat later date apparently,
the Great Cutting was made on the Eastern
slope to contain the ' Domestic Quarter'.
Along the outskirts of the tabula rasa, thus
produced in both regions, house foundations
and other remains have come to light attesting
the extent of the Early Minoan settlement.

Underneath the West Court and outside the
South Wall of the. Palace are also remains
of houses of that Age, while on the East slope
an important Early Minoan stratum underlies
the N.E. region. The Early Hypogaeum
beneath the S. Porch must be also classed
among remains of this time.

Fig. 28. Base of Porphyry Vase, from Knossos (see above, p. 31).