Knossos: Stratigraphical Museum Excavations, 1978–82. Part IV

Abstract

Knossos Part IV gives an account of the Late Hellenistic and Roman periods on the site, following upon the SubMinoan/Early Protogeometric-Hellenistic Part HI (AR 1984-85, 124-29). As before, the account is provisional. Catalogued vases of all periods stand (April 1988) at 1,841 and over half of a total unlikely to be less than 15,000 kg. of sherds has been studied. Study of the remainder is progressing and may require modification of details in the present report. For instruction in dating a number of Roman pieces I am very grateful to Dr J.W. Hayes and Mr L.H. Sackett. Mr Sackett has been specially helpful in providing parallel pieces from the much richer 1st and 2nd century A.D. levels over the Unexplored Mansion to the east. Drs D.J. Thompson and MJ. Price kindly dated the coins and Dr Jennifer Price identified and dated catalogued pieces of glass. Plan tracings in Figs. 1, 24 and 50 are the work of Mr David Smyth. It is intended that a final preliminary report, Part V, will present the main evidence for some substantial Minoan deposits, MMIALMIB, discovered and studied since Part I (AR 1980-81, 73-92). After an absence of buildings, though not of pits and wells, from around Late Protogeometric to about 250— 225 B.C., we find an expansion of the city in later Hellenistic times and building occupation, probably continuous, to at least the 2nd century A.D., followed by 4th and perhaps 5th century constructions. The surviving movable artefacts were not rich and good floor deposits were almost non-existent. The reason for this was that successive building levels often removed predecessors down to the foundations, while the ground slope down from west to east and the consequent and constant need for north-south retaining walls added to the stratigraphical complexity. Full interpretation of buildings is, therefore, not easy and sometimes not possible. Nevertheless this segment of Knossian late Hellenistic and Roman urban life does yield a number of interesting products.