The Minoan Unexplored Mansion at Knossos (Text) (BSA Supplementary Volume)

The `unexplored mansion', adjoining the Little Palace at Knossos was discovered by Arthur Evans but left undug. It was eventually excavated by Popham between 1967 and 1973. The mansion and its contents date from 1550 to 1200 BC-most of the finds belong to Late Minoan II, around 1425 BC, when the building was severely damaged by fire. They include over 200 decorated vases, a full range of storage and kitchen pots, bronze and stone vessels and tools, sealstones, religious figurines, and clay crucibles for bronze working. As the largest collection of objects of this period they contribute greatly to our understanding of this crucial stage in the island's history, when it had fallen under the domination of Mycenaean Greece.