Photo series of the Second Palace of Knossos (ca. 1700-1600 BCE) # 2

Photo series of the Second Palace of Knossos (ca. 1700-1600 BCE) # 2

Here again you see a set of three photos of the rear stairwells of the Second Palace, which are very well preserved... indeed, so well preserved that even the ruins of Pompeii cannot boast of such restoration. The third photo shows that the interior wall structure of the Second Palace was pretty much identical with the Third, with door jambs in the same style and of the same colour. Unquestionably, the columns of the Second Palace must have looked pretty much identical to those of the Third. You can clearly see from the third and fourth photos that much of the structure of the retaining walls of the Second Palace was left intact by the Minoan engineers when they constructed the Third.    The retaining walls of the Second Palace are distinct, insofar as they are rounded at the corners. 

 

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Photo series of the Palaces of Knossos, first (1900 BCE), second (1700 BCE) & late Minoan III (1500 BCE)

Photo series of the Palaces of Knossos, first (1900 BCE), second (1700 BCE) & late Minoan III (1500 BCE)

For the next few months, at least twice a week, I shall be posting scores of the wonderful photos I took of the Palaces of Knossos, which I took the day I visited the site, May 1 2012.  Today, I am starting with 2 photos of the First Palace (ca. 1900 BCE), which was destroyed by earthquake.

The First Palace





Over its ruins the Second Palace( ca. 1700 BCE), of which you can also see a couple of photos here, was built. While the second palace also succumbed to major earthquakes, much of it still remains intact, as you will see in the next post as well.

The Second Palace





Some of the Third Palace, late Minoan II (ca. 1500-1425 BCE) was added onto the second. The rest of it was built over it. Even from the wasted ruins of the First Palace, you can see it was an advanced complex. Apparently, the population of Knossos was already around 18,000 by the time of the first palace, and had risen to at least 55,000 in the late Minoan III period. For antiquity, that is an extremely large city. 

Knossos Palace – Architecture – Geometric, Circular – Minoan Columns

Knossos Palace – Architecture – Geometric, Circular – Minoan Columns  (Click to ENLARGE):

 

Photo taken at Knossos, May 2 2012

 

Palace of Knossos – Queen’s Megaron – ceremonial stairwell

Palace of Knossos – Queen’s Megaron – ceremonial stairwell (Click to ENLARGE each photo):

 

Photos taken by yours truly on May 2, 2012

 

 

Palace of Knossos, Architecture – Earthquake-resistant

Palace of Knossos, Architecture –  Earthquake-resistant (Click to ENLARGE each photo):

Photos taken by yours truly on May 2, 2012 at Knossos.

Knossos: Fresco of the Cupbearers & walls of the Second Palace

Knossos: walls of the Second Palace & Fresco of the Cupbearers (Click to ENLARGE):

The Fresco of the Cupbearers adorned the magnificent Palatial Entranceway to the Last Palace of Knossos (Late Minoan III, ca. 1400 BCE), while the walls of the Second Palace are Middle Minoan (1700-1600 BCE)

 

 

 

 

Knossos: Plan of the Second Palace (Late Minoan III)

Knossos: Plan of the Second Palace (Late Minoan III) [Click to ENLARGE]

I took these photos and the next 4 in the next 2 posts when I was in Knossos on May 2 2012 (among several hundred others).