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 3): The great transitional age in the northern and eastern sections of the Palace (London, 1930)

'EXTERIOR SECTION' OF ' HALL OF DOUBLE AXES' 327

P'ig. 217. Re-used Block with Door-jambs.

court on this side. The symmetry with the doorway in the North wall is, in
fact, carried further by the circumstance that it, too, opened on the landing of
a staircase leading down to the lower terrace on the East. The researches

of 1929 brought out the fact
that at this point the massive
exterior wall above the terrace
on this side, which forms the
back wall of the light-area of
the ' Hall of the Double Axes '
on the East, here turns West—
after leaving an interval be-
tween it and the interior wall
in which the doorway opened—
of just the width of the Staircase
on the North border.

There are strong grounds
for believing that this interval
stands in connexion with an
open stepway, of which mention
has already been made. This
stepway, according to the East Palace plan as carried out at the time of the
Great Restoration, ran down the East slope from near the South-East corner of
the Central Court. (See Plan, Fig. 218.) It was accompanied, as we have seen,
by a descending runnel with parabolic curves1 like that of the East Bastion.
In addition to these more public connexions, an open Corridor led from
the West end of the Southern light-area to the private passage and apart-
ment behind the'Queen's Megaron'. Ladies would thus have had their private
entree to this social section of the great Hall without the necessity of
passing through the 'Audience Chamber' and the ' Inner Hall'. It must
be remembered, moreover, that, thanks to the upper balconies on two sides,
conversational intercourse was made easy with the chamber above.

By the North-West corner of this ' Exterior Section' of the Hall was
a small continuation of its roofed area which enabled those wishing to reach
the staircase-landing of the East Portico beyond to pass under cover in
that direction. This little roofed annexe was supported by a pier, resting on
a re-used block2 which, as will be seen from Fig. 217, showed the reveals
of two door openings belonging to some earlier system.

1 See above, p. 245, Fig. 171. M., i, p. 329 note. The further suggestion

2 This block seems to have supported a there made that there was a peristyle on this
pier rather than a column as suggested, P. of side cannot be maintained.

Con-
nexions
with step-
way from
S.E. of
Central
Court.

Back

passage

to

' Queen's

JViega-

ron'.

Roofed
annexe
N.E.