DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1066#0090
CRETE, FORERUNNER OF GREECE
famous polychrome ware of Middle Minoan times
has its name. *| >!
As at Knossos, so at Phaestos, we have palaces
of different epochs, but more easily to be distin-
guished. The Neolithic settlement had a long
duration, and remains of it, chiefly in the form of
pottery, have been discovered in many parts of
the site. Early Minoan pottery was not forth-
coming till recently, and even now amounts to a
very small quantity. The reason for this is that
the Middle Minoan builders made a fairly thorough
clearance of the previous structure before laying
their foundations; thus is to be explained the
frequent occurrence of Middle Minoan structures
resting immediately on the Neolithic. A few
sherds of the Second Early Minoan period, similar
to the mottled ware from Vasiliki, lie out on the
eastern border of the Theatral Area, obtained
from a small pit where the Neolithic merges into the
Minoan. Also in the north-eastern section, while
one of the writers was present in 1909, a fragment
of a vase was dug up, similar to some found in the
Second City of Hissarlik, and undoubtedly of the
same date. This discovery was made in one of the
magazines, of which another yielded the famous
disc which will be described later. Further exca-
vations at this point revealed the unsuspected
presence of a north-eastern entrance.
Passing over the Neolithic settlement and
Early Minoan occupation, the first palace whose
existence can be proved was built in the First
Middle Minoan period, about the same time as
that of Knossos, but lasted longer, not being
rebuilt until the First Late Minoan. It is this fact
76
famous polychrome ware of Middle Minoan times
has its name. *| >!
As at Knossos, so at Phaestos, we have palaces
of different epochs, but more easily to be distin-
guished. The Neolithic settlement had a long
duration, and remains of it, chiefly in the form of
pottery, have been discovered in many parts of
the site. Early Minoan pottery was not forth-
coming till recently, and even now amounts to a
very small quantity. The reason for this is that
the Middle Minoan builders made a fairly thorough
clearance of the previous structure before laying
their foundations; thus is to be explained the
frequent occurrence of Middle Minoan structures
resting immediately on the Neolithic. A few
sherds of the Second Early Minoan period, similar
to the mottled ware from Vasiliki, lie out on the
eastern border of the Theatral Area, obtained
from a small pit where the Neolithic merges into the
Minoan. Also in the north-eastern section, while
one of the writers was present in 1909, a fragment
of a vase was dug up, similar to some found in the
Second City of Hissarlik, and undoubtedly of the
same date. This discovery was made in one of the
magazines, of which another yielded the famous
disc which will be described later. Further exca-
vations at this point revealed the unsuspected
presence of a north-eastern entrance.
Passing over the Neolithic settlement and
Early Minoan occupation, the first palace whose
existence can be proved was built in the First
Middle Minoan period, about the same time as
that of Knossos, but lasted longer, not being
rebuilt until the First Late Minoan. It is this fact
76