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)

n8

'CARAVANSERAI' BY ROAD-HEAD

gives the water-level, so that the water would have reached to the knees
of an average Minoan man > who could also have easily used it as a hip-bath.
The level of the slabs round, designed as seats for those performing their
ablutions, was 27 cm. above the water-level, or 72 cm. above the bottom of
the basin. These jutted forward about 20 cm. beyond the borders of the

Fig. 56. Bath for Foot-washing as restored ; Stone Trough to Right.

actual basin, between the upper surface of which and the slabs in question
was another row of slabs stepping back (see, too, p. 126, Fig. 61), a novel
arrangement repeated in the spring basin to be described below and doubtless
designed to allow greater play for the legs of the bathers. There was an
opening between the lines of slabbing for the descending steps on the North
side, about 50 cm. in width. It is remarkable that though the sides of the

1 The Minoans were a short race. Indeed,
measurements taken from bones in the early
ossuaries point to a mean height of only 5 ft.

4 inches, two inches less than the average
height of the modern Cretans.