DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1066#0075
THE SITES: KNOSSOS
floor of pozzuolan cement and is shut off from the
rest by a stone balustrade, save at the point
farthest from the outer door; on the end of the
balustrade stood a column. Thus a Minoan bath
was not for immersion, but rather such a place as
we prepare for a standing shower-bath. Terra-
cotta tubs were available—a large painted one
was found close at hand—and the arrangements
allowed a generous supply of water to be poured
over the bather. It was thought fitting to decorate
this room with a specially fine fresco of formal
design.
Behind the bath lie other chambers reached by
a narrow passage from the south-west corner of
the megaron. One of these is a small court, where
spinning may have been done, for the distaff is
carved on many blocks built into its walls. In
another stands an oblong platform of rubble,
covered with plaster; this is the Room of the
Plaster Couch in Dr. Evans' nomenclature, and he
attaches a special importance to the size and
seclusion of this apartment as befitting royal
occupants. Directly above this is the spacious
Room of the Stone Bench. There is no special
divergence from ground-floor construction; the
same stone floors, panelled door frames, and stone
seats testify to the solidity of the building that
supported such weights.
A most surprising feature of Knossian architec-
ture is revealed in this part of the palace, a fully
developed drainage system, superior to any known
in Europe between that day and the last century.
Two closets of almost modern type, one on the
upper and one on the ground floor, are connected
floor of pozzuolan cement and is shut off from the
rest by a stone balustrade, save at the point
farthest from the outer door; on the end of the
balustrade stood a column. Thus a Minoan bath
was not for immersion, but rather such a place as
we prepare for a standing shower-bath. Terra-
cotta tubs were available—a large painted one
was found close at hand—and the arrangements
allowed a generous supply of water to be poured
over the bather. It was thought fitting to decorate
this room with a specially fine fresco of formal
design.
Behind the bath lie other chambers reached by
a narrow passage from the south-west corner of
the megaron. One of these is a small court, where
spinning may have been done, for the distaff is
carved on many blocks built into its walls. In
another stands an oblong platform of rubble,
covered with plaster; this is the Room of the
Plaster Couch in Dr. Evans' nomenclature, and he
attaches a special importance to the size and
seclusion of this apartment as befitting royal
occupants. Directly above this is the spacious
Room of the Stone Bench. There is no special
divergence from ground-floor construction; the
same stone floors, panelled door frames, and stone
seats testify to the solidity of the building that
supported such weights.
A most surprising feature of Knossian architec-
ture is revealed in this part of the palace, a fully
developed drainage system, superior to any known
in Europe between that day and the last century.
Two closets of almost modern type, one on the
upper and one on the ground floor, are connected