Europe’s oldest city Minoan civilization capital Knossos reveals even more priceless treasures

The latest discoveries on Crete at the site of the ancient city of Knossos suggest that the capital of Minoan Civilization was far larger and more impacting than experts believed.
Scientists already knew that Knossos was Europe’s oldest city and ruled over the massive trade empire during the Bronze age, nevertheless, new evidence suggests that the Minoans may have actually survived into the Iron Age.
Europe’s oldest city, the majestic site of the Greek Bronze Age, was the seat of power of the mythological King Minos and the home of the enigmatic labyrinth. Also linked to far reaching legends like Daedalus and son Icarus, the Minoan palace and the Minoans were also considered to be the sons and daughters of Atlantic by the ancients. This civilization is widely acclaimed as the birthplace for all western civilization and, when the mainland Greeks came out of the Stone Age, the Minoans managed a maritime empire across the entire Mediterranean basin and beyond. When Rome was not even so much as an idea, Minoans built the first paved roads.
Even though the ancient city was previously thought to have perished around 1200 B.C. after the volcanic eruption of Thera on Santorini, new artifacts discovered by a team led by a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of classics, Antonis Kotsonas, suggest that it was much larger and richer than was previously thought.
According to a press release on Kotsonas’ work, "recent fieldwork at the ancient city of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete finds that during the early Iron Age (1100 to 600 BC), the city was rich in imports and was nearly three times larger than what was believed from earlier excavations.
San Francisco meeting
The discovery suggests that not only did this spectacular site in the Greek Bronze Age (between 3500 and 1100 BC) recover from the collapse of the socio-political system around 1200 BC, but also rapidly grew and thrived as a cosmopolitan hub of the Aegean and Mediterranean regions. Antonis Kotsonas, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of classics, will highlight his field research with the Knossos Urban Landscape Project at the 117th annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and Society for Classical Studies. The meeting takes place Jan. 7-10 in San Francisco.
The Knossos Urban Landscape Project over the past decade has recovered a large collection of ceramics and artifacts dating back to the Iron Age. The relics were spread over an extensive area that was previously unexplored. Kotsonas says that this exploration revealed considerable growth in the size of the settlement during the early Iron Age and also growth in the quantity and quality of its imports coming from mainland Greece, Cyprus, the Near East, Egypt, Italy, Sardinia and the western Mediterranean.
“No other site in the Aegean period has such a range of imports,” Kotsonas says. The imports include bronze and other metals – jewelry and adornments, as well as pottery. He adds that the majority of the materials, recovered from tombs, provide a glimpse of the wealth in the community, because status symbols were buried with the dead during this period.
The antiquities were collected from fields covering the remains of dwellings and cemeteries. “Distinguishing between domestic and burial contexts is essential for determining the size of the settlement and understanding the demographic, socio-political and economic development of the local community,” explains Kotsonas. “Even at this early stage in detailed analysis, it appears that this was a nucleated, rather densely occupied settlement extending over the core of the Knossos valley, from at least the east slopes of the acropolis hill on the west to the Kairatos River, and from the Vlychia stream on the south until roughly midway between the Minoan palace and the Kephala hill.”
Research partnership
Kotsonas’ Jan. 9 presentation is part of a colloquium themed, “Long-Term Urban Dynamics at Knossos: The Knossos Urban Landscape Project, 2005-2015.” Kotsonas serves as a consultant on the project, which is dedicated to intensively surveying the Knossos valley and documenting the development of the site from 7000 BC, to the early 20th century. The project is a research partnership between the Greek Archaeological Service and the British School at Athens. Kotsonas has served as a collaborator on the project since 2009.
Funding for the University of Cincinatti research was supported by the UC Department of Classics Louise Taft Semple Fund.
Kotsonas underlines that because the site also is a popular tourist attraction, there is a strong interest in development around the site. The Knossos Urban Landscape Project works to inform the community about the importance of preserving the area that has history yet to be uncovered, history that could be lost if future development destroyed unexplored parts of the site.
The AIA and SCS Joint Annual Meeting brings together professional and vocational archaeologists and classicists from around the world to share the latest developments from the field. The conference is the largest and oldest established meeting of classical scholars and archaeologists in North America.
UC’s Classics Department in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences is one of the most active centers for the study of the Greek and Roman Antiquity in the United States. UC excavations have been led at two Bronze Age palatial centers, Knossos in Crete, and Pylos in the Peloponnese, a site first discovered by UC archaeologist Carl W. Blegen in 1939.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
- 1) Greek Tourism Minister meets with 7 ambassadors about Greece's travel market
- 2) Belgian royal couple visit Sounion and Thorikos monuments in Greece
- 3) Unvaccinated Australians finally permitted to travel overseas without exemption
- 4) Tourism Minister: Cyprus will surpass last year's tourist arrivals despite Ukrainian crisis
27/06 17:57
27/06 17:54
Greece records 7,682 new Covid-19 cases and 12 fatalities on Monday
27/06 17:46
Prime Minister: Greece wants development based on investments, not on consumption
26/06 19:50
After movie gay sex scene, 150 cameras installed at Parthenon in Athens
26/06 18:54
Greece records 9.294 new Covid-19 cases and 13 fatalities on Sunday
26/06 13:42
First Hellenic Medical Diaspora World Congress held in Thessaloniki July 15-17
26/06 11:38
Hellenic Chamber of Hotels: Demand for Greece as tourist destination remains high
25/06 21:46
Russian and Belarusian flight ban in Greek airspace extended till September 22
23/06 19:54
Hellinikon Casino, Skaramaga Shipyards in fast-track bill by Greek government
23/06 18:48
Greece records 10,474 new Covid-19 cases and 17 fatalities on Thursday
23/06 18:05
Greek PM attends Young Presidents' Organization working lunch in Athens
23/06 17:38
2nd booster shots available for 30-59 age group in Greece as of Monday
22/06 22:38
Boston Youth Orchestra marks lower koilon at ancient Dodona theater of Greece
22/06 20:50
Greece approves 840-million-euros tourist project in Saronida of Attica
22/06 17:56
Greece records 10,528 new Covid-19 cases and nine fatalities on Wednesday
21/06 23:51
2022 Diversity and Inclusion Awards winners announced by IATA
21/06 00:46
ICAO to adopt long term aspirational goal to decarbonize aviation industry
21/06 00:08
21/06 00:04
4,832 new Covid-19 cases and 11 fatalities recorded in Greeece on Monday
20/06 21:56
20/06 15:16
173 passengers on the maiden voyage of the Cyprus to Greece ferry (video)
19/06 19:32
19/06 19:27
Ecumenical Patriarch honored at U.S. Embassy reception in Greek capital of Athens
19/06 16:20
First ferry linking Cyprus and Greece again after 21 years sails from Limassol port
19/06 13:11
19/06 09:16
US Ambassador to Athens invited to AHEPA World Cup 2022 Beach Volleyball Tournament
18/06 00:53
UNWTO welcomed 15 new Affiliate Members into network of tourism stakeholders
18/06 00:05
UNWTO and WHO to build coalition of health and tourism partners in Europe
17/06 11:50
UNWTO and Allianz partners advance commitment to safer, more responsibke sector
16/06 21:55
Eurogroup welcomes EC's plan to end to Greece’s enhanced surveillance
16/06 21:00
Media: Easing COVID measures to attarct tourists brings hike in Greece’s cases
16/06 20:06
ESM lauds Greece for reaching several important milestones in its reform agenda
16/06 18:14
St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Schenectady rewards Greek school students
16/06 17:17
Greece records 7,158 new Covid-19 cases and eight 8 fatalities on Thursday
16/06 13:07
15/06 20:11
42 small Greek islands allocated nearly 500 million euros for development
15/06 18:14
British Museum suggests 'sharing arrangement' of Parthenon Marbles with Greece
15/06 17:22
Greece records 9,288 Covid-19 cases and 15 fatalities on Wednesday
14/06 19:08
EU's top medicinal cannabis plant opening at Corinthia of Greece in July
14/06 18:50
Prime Minister: Greece aims at returning to investment grade by 2023
14/06 17:58
Greece records 8,083 Covid-19 cases and 12 fatalities on Tuesday
14/06 00:59
Agricultural Minister: There is no food security problem in Greece
14/06 00:01
13/06 22:51
A third of the world’s cruise vessels to visit Greece this year
13/06 17:00
13/06 13:04
12/06 00:27
Greece records 4,539 Covid-19 cases and 15 fatalities on Saturday
11/06 15:35
Platform to apply for rebates on electricity bills to go live in Greece on June 16
11/06 12:16
Passenger traffic from Attica ports for long weekend to peak on Saturday
10/06 23:54
Jeddah call to action: UNWTO sets path towards new tourism sector governance
10/06 23:42
Bogotá in Colombia joins the UNWTO Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories
10/06 23:19
IATA: EU Emissions Trading Amendment impedes global climate change cooperation
10/06 09:12
Olympians & International Swimming Stars in the Authentic Marathon Swim
09/06 23:26
SFRC approves resolution marking enduring United States-Greece partnership
09/06 23:23
Greece records 4,500 Covid-19 infections and nine fatalities in Greece on Thursday
09/06 23:19
Robert McCabe exhibition, Greece: An Enchanted Land in NY until July 7
09/06 17:12
09/06 00:47
Athens Pride Festival 2022 to continue its celebrations through June 18
09/06 00:30
UNWTO Executive Council looks beyond tourism sector recovery
08/06 23:34
Greek city of Kalamata's International Dance Festival tickets go on sale
08/06 20:37
Odessa Classics music festival to take place in Thessaloniki due to the Ukraine war
08/06 20:21
Qatar Airways launches Doha-Santorini island flights and doubles Athens routes
08/06 17:29
Greece records 4,496 Covid-19 cases and 13 fatalities on Wednesday
08/06 00:22
IATA: Drop in global air cargo demand in line with expectations
07/06 22:18
Greek Finance Ministry proposes abolition of luxury tax on fur and silver sectors
07/06 21:24
Aegean Airways carried over 1 million passengers at start of new summer season
07/06 20:22
Media report: Greece counting on tourists for big rebound during Covid-19 pandemic
07/06 18:27
5,610 Covid-19 cases and 19 fatalities recorded in Greece on Tuesday
07/06 11:11
Navarino Challenge Awarded as “Best Health & Wellness Event in Greece”
06/06 22:35
PM opens Posidonia: Greek shipping must meet challenge of 'green' transition
06/06 21:40
Archbishop of America attends the Greek Independence Day Gala in NY
06/06 20:48
Media: Enthusiastic Return to 5th Avenue for New York’s Greek Independence Parade
06/06 18:52
06/06 17:44
2,501 Covid-19 cases and 10 fatalities recorded in Greece on Monday
06/06 14:11
Beach Volley Ios 2022 championship organized on island from June 29 to July 2
04/06 22:34
Aegean Messinia Pro-Am golf event from September 14th to 17th 2022
04/06 18:30
Greece: 3,313 Covid-19 cases and 15 fatalities recorded in Greece on Saturday
04/06 13:47
Greece's 'European Stork Village' marks return of migratory birds with festival
04/06 09:03
Deputy Foreign Minister to attend Greek Independence Day parade in NYC
04/06 00:32
Jobs, recovery, sustainability: EU tourism chiefs meet as sector restarts
04/06 00:25
03/06 22:13
American tourist charged 600 euros for crab in Mykonos island going to court
03/06 01:14
Former US VP Dan Quayle savors Greek seafood in island of Mykonos (video)
03/06 01:04
The Exhibition of Adult Painting organized in Marousi suburb of Athens
02/06 22:34
Greek PM: What is happening on Astypalea island is a green revolution
02/06 21:55
Celebrity Cruises launches new Greek shore excursions collection
02/06 21:43
02/06 21:40
IATA launches MBA in aviation sector with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
02/06 19:10
02/06 18:49
UNWTO champions tourism for a healthy planet at Stockholm +50 conference
02/06 18:00
EU greenlights dispatch of 200 firefighters on standby in Greece
02/06 17:53
3,769 Covid-19 cases and nine fatalities recorded in Greece on Thursday
02/06 01:23
IOBE: Tourism will be crucial for business expectations in Greece in coming months
02/06 01:19
Nearly 885,000 passengers travelled to and from Larnaka and Pafos airports in May
01/06 22:58
Greece among top-5 countries with best value for money holidays for Brits in 2022
01/06 20:07
Greek and Malaysian ministers discuss promoting mutual exports in Athens
01/06 19:44
Directions clarify where masks are still required in Greece as of June 1
01/06 18:31
Syntagma Square’s new look to be ready in Greek capital of Athens by mid-June
01/06 17:17
4,026 Covid-19 cases and nine fatalities recorded in Greece on Wednesday
01/06 17:11
Greek Foreign Minister hosts lunch for outgoing Israeli Ambassador to Athens
Greece records 7,682 new Covid-19 cases and 12 fatalities on Monday
After movie gay sex scene, 150 cameras installed at Parthenon in Athens
Prime Minister: Greece wants development based on investments, not on consumption
Greece records 9.294 new Covid-19 cases and 13 fatalities on Sunday
Hellenic Chamber of Hotels: Demand for Greece as tourist destination remains high
First Hellenic Medical Diaspora World Congress held in Thessaloniki July 15-17
Greece records 10,474 new Covid-19 cases and 17 fatalities on Thursday
Hellinikon Casino, Skaramaga Shipyards in fast-track bill by Greek government
Russian and Belarusian flight ban in Greek airspace extended till September 22
German federal police step up again patrols at Greek airports for illegal migrants
Update on proposed recapitalisation plan for Thomas Cook at £ 900 million
First museum education dog in Greece as Cretan summer camp assistant
Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Al Thani's ultra-luxury yacht in Greek island of Skiathos
Symposium organized in Greek island of Lesvos to honor late law professor
Fire near national highway at Lykovrisi bridge near Athens partially under control
Greek government: Higher collection rate for property tax offsets revenue loss
Sports Tourism: 81-year-old Greek windsurfer enters Guinness Records
Greece's Paros to become first plastic waste-free island in Mediterranean
Applications now available for FAITH Executive Education Program in US
Media report: Virtual advisors to replace humans in Greek banks
Police operation in central Athens Exarchia district to end 4 building squats
Qatar's traditional boat Al-Mubaraki docks at old port of Corfu in Greece
Bodies of scuba divers missing in Greek island of Karpathos found
New Athens mayor Kostas Bakoyannis visits Paris to observe city's sanitation methods