Minoan Crete - Architecture of palace complexes

Minoan Crete - Architecture of palace complexes

By Rebecca Sadler

The palaces of Phaistos, Zakros and Mallia, and some of the larger homes found at Gournia and Agia Triada had similar architectural features to the palace complex at Knossos, only at a smaller scale.

Multiple Choice

Which of the places below was not a palace complex, but a town?

• Phaistos

• Gournia

• Zakros

• Mallia

Palace Features

Layout

• The palaces were asymmetrical in layout, with east and west wings and a large central court aligned north-south

• 'Royal' quarters, apartments, impoartant state rooms and shrines were built around the central court, generally on the upper floor

• Some sections were multi-storeyed. Eg. at Knossos, one section may have been four storeys​

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• These were located on the ground floor.

• Magazines had no light wells or windows. At Knossos 18 storage rooms were discovere​d containing Pithoi (huge jars).

• Large stone pits may have contained​ grains, cereal and other valuable goods

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​Storage rooms & Magaznes

Multiple Choice

True or false? The palaces were symmetrical in layout.

• True

• False

Open Ended

Outline what was built around the central court.

Multiple Choice

Pithoi are ...

• ritual rooms

• workshop tools

• a type of clay tablet

• large jars

Staircases

• Grand stone staircases were another feature of the palaces

• At The Palace of Phaistos there is a stairway of almost 14m wide. Each of the 12 steps curves slightly upward in the centre, possibly to counter the optical illusion which would make the long horizontal line of the stairs appear to sag in the middle​

Workshops

• Craftman's workshops were a common feature in the palaces. Many were on the ground floor but some weaving rooms were on the upper floors

• Pictured is a workshop in Mallia​

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Multiple Choice

True or false? The staircase at Mallia was almost 14 m wide.

• False

• True

Multiple Choice

Which of the features listed would have likely been on the ground floor of the palaces?

• 'Royal' quarters

• Shrines

• apartments

• storage areas and magazines

Cult Purposes

Several small rooms were found at all palaces on the ground levels that were used for cult purposes

Large Open Spaces

• These were another feature of the palace complexes

• At Knossos, a large open area outside the palace has been called the Thetral area. It appears to have been an open area for performances with teirs of steps where the audience sat.

• The imageshows the Grandstand fresco that depicts how this area was used.​

These were another common feature of palaces and were adorned with brightly coloured columns and frescoes.

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Porticos or porches

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Ashlar is finely dressed stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid​

​ It was used in the construction and facing of walls in the palaces. Wooden beams and timber framing was used to give walls some flexability to withstand earthquake activity.

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ashlar masonry

Open Ended

In 200 words describe the common features of teh palace complexes.