Comrade BNS
26th June 2004, 10:10
I saw a show today on TV about Archaeology, which i found very interesting. On it they challenged many of the long held beliefs regarding Greek, Anatolian and Minoan cultures, especially they "Migration" theories and some such. Through contextural and archaeological evidence alot of these were dismissed as "the Edwardian fantasies" of Sir. Arthur Evans and Heinrich Schliemenn amongst others.
One very interesting point though, was that when Evans uncovered the "Palace" at knossos, the foundations of it having been built from wood, had completely rotted away. Thus as he dug, Evans had to relay and in effect rebuild the structure. And i'm not just talking putting in a few pylons etc... he used concrete and reinforced steel pins to hold it together. This together with the masses of pots and sotrehouse type rooms found at the "Palace" led archaeologists to believe that it was perhaps not in fact a Palace, but could quite possibly have been a Temple or even a sacred storehouse complex of sorts, and Evans had merely built it to fit some perceived personal fancy.
Has anyone else heard of these theories? I must admit they are quite compelling, although Ancient History is built primarily on theories, some more compelling then others.
Comrade BNS
One very interesting point though, was that when Evans uncovered the "Palace" at knossos, the foundations of it having been built from wood, had completely rotted away. Thus as he dug, Evans had to relay and in effect rebuild the structure. And i'm not just talking putting in a few pylons etc... he used concrete and reinforced steel pins to hold it together. This together with the masses of pots and sotrehouse type rooms found at the "Palace" led archaeologists to believe that it was perhaps not in fact a Palace, but could quite possibly have been a Temple or even a sacred storehouse complex of sorts, and Evans had merely built it to fit some perceived personal fancy.
Has anyone else heard of these theories? I must admit they are quite compelling, although Ancient History is built primarily on theories, some more compelling then others.
Comrade BNS