From 1957 to 1961 the British School at Athens undertook an extensive
programme of stratigraphical excavations at Knossos under Sinclair Hood,
then Director of the School. This report publishes in detail the results
of investigations into Early Minoan levels, which shed much new light on
the era before the "Old Palace" was established. The three excavations
comprised: an Early Minoan I deep well, the oldest at Knossos; trials on
the north side of the Royal Road, with Early Minoan II-III house
remains; and similar trials in the Early Houses below the South Front of
the Palace, which included investigation of the South Front House of
Early Minoan III. The volume provides invaluable data on the types and
phased development of pottery in this major settlement site of the third
millennium BC, a period when much of our Cretan evidence derives from
tombs. It also helps to chronicle the expansion of Knossos during the
Early Bronze Age and offers new insights into the material culture of
Prepalatial society, including possible feasting in Early Minoan I, new
evidence for olives and wine and well-dated Early Minoan III seal
impressions of the Parading Lions group. A valuable addition is a
chapter devoted to other Early Minoan pottery from Knossos held in
museums in Europe and the USA. Copiously illustrated with line drawings
and photographs, the volume will serve as a major resource for all
interested in early cultural developments in the Aegean and Eastern
Mediterranean.
