Roman Knossos: Discovering the City through the Evidence of Rescue Excavations

Minos Kalokairinos is renowned for his discovery of the Minoan palace of Knossos. However, his pioneering investigations of the topography and monuments of Greek and Roman Knossos, as laid out especially in his Cretan Archaeological Journal, have largely been overlooked. In the Journal, Kalokairinos offers invaluable information on the changing archaeological landscape of Knossos in the second half of the nineteenth century. This enables the identification of several unknown or lost monuments, including major structures, inscriptions and sculptures, and allows the location of the context of discovery to be assigned to specific parts of the ancient city. Additionally, the Journal offers glimpses into the collection of Knossian antiquities and their export beyond the island. Antiquities from the site ended up in Athens, and as far afield as Egypt and western Europe, and have hitherto been considered as unprovenanced. They are here identified as Knossian and are traced to their specific context of discovery, with considerable implications for our understanding of the topography, the monuments and the epigraphic record of the ancient city.

“…48.7). Sections of the monument were traced in rescue excavations in 1977 and 1992–3 (Sweetman 2010, 344, 349, 360, 364).…”

Section: The Acropolis Hill and The City Walls Of Knossosmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greek and Roman Knossos: The Pioneering Investigations of Minos Kalokairinos

Kotsonas

2016

“…Following Eickstedt's (1991) seminal study, material from rescue excavations is now being increasingly integrated into more synthetic archaeological exploration and interpretation of ancient Greek urban sites ( e.g. Lolos, Gourley and Stewart 2007; Sweetman 2010). Ideally, rescue excavations provide stratified sequences of archaeological material that can be examined in a manner similar to urban surveys ( e.g.…”

Section: Settlement Continuity and Change After 86 Bc: The Evidence Fmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Piraeus From 86 Bc to Late Antiquity: Continuity and Change in the Landscape, Function and Economy of the Port of Roman Athens

Grigoropoulos

2016

Modern perceptions of the ancient Piraeus have been monopolised by the urban image and function of the port as the naval stronghold of Classical Athens. Existing scholarship so far has tended to consider the post-Classical centuries, especially the era following the sack of the port in 86bcby the Romans, as a period of decline. Such preconceptions, based on largely superficial readings of a few ancient literary texts and a near-total disregard of the material evidence, have created a distorted image of the Piraeus and its significance in the Roman period. Drawing upon textual sources as well as archaeological evidence, this paper explores the changing nature of urban settlement, maritime functions and the economy of the port from the time of its destruction in 86bcto around the sixth centuryad. Particular emphasis is placed on a re-examination of the existing evidence from rescue excavations conducted by the Greek Archaeological Service as they relate to the topography of the Roman port and its long-term evolution. This combined study offers a more complex picture of the infrastructure, urban image and operational capability of the port during the Roman period than was hitherto possible. It also permits a more balanced understanding of the port's function at local, regional and provincial levels, and thus enables comparisons with other Roman ports in the Aegean and the rest of the Mediterranean.

“…The Bedevi Kamara and the location Stani lie just northwest of the Knossos Survey Area, whose section A1 barely touches the stream flowing towards Heraklion. This location was beyond the northernmost residential district of Roman Knossos, whose boundaries are indicated by the North Cemetery in the area of Ambelokipi and the necropolis at the modern Venizelion (Sweetman 2010, 349 and 355). Rather it was in a location near the place where the Roman road between Knossos and Heraklion crossed the stream.…”

Section: The Archaeological and Topographical Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the central Knossos Valley, where Sweetman has located the civic centre and a prestige residential area, rescue excavations uncovered a substantial east–west road construction south of the Civil Basilica, one that may also run along south of the Villa Dionysos (Sweetman 2010, 350; Fig. 9 b nos.…”

Section: The Road Connections Of Knossosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the southern Knossos Valley, where Sweetman locates an area that mixed affluent residences with small-scale industry, rescue excavations revealed part of the road in the area of the Little Palace North – near the Unexplored Mansion – as well as a cobbled road surface extending to the north (Sweetman 2010, 351–2; Fig. 9 b no.…”

Section: The Road Connections Of Knossosmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Four Inscriptions From Greater Knossos and the Road to Its Port at Heraklion (Crete)

Bowsky

2012

Four inscriptions of Hellenistic to Early Roman date were found in rescue excavations undertaken during the construction of public housing at the location Bedevi, east of Leophoros Knossou in the suburbs of modern Aghios Ioannis (Heraklion). These four inscriptions constitute an intriguing group as they provide evidence of a rural installation where a vessel with an inscribed lid was stored, a sepulchral site and private worship of Artemis, as well as a point between ancient Heraklion and Knossos where a Roman road crossed the Chrysopigis stream. In antiquity this area was part of the greater Knossos area, albeit closer to Heraklion than to Knossos. These four inscriptions provide new evidence for the nature of this area and for the northern road connections of Roman Knossos, particularly the road that linked Knossos with its harbour at Heraklion.