This volume presents a complete study of the architecture and finds from
the House of the Frescoes at Knossos, a Neopalatial building uncovered
by Sir Arthur Evans and Duncan Mackenzie in 1923 and 1926. Located in a
prominent position, a few meters south of the Royal Road and close to
both the Theatral Area and the north-west corner of the Palace, the
House of the Frescoes owes its name to the large deposit of painted
plaster discovered within its ruins. Reinvestigation of the House took
place in 2016-2019 and included: on-site cleaning of the remains in
2018; detailed analysis of the pottery and other finds; and study of
archival material from the original excavations (excerpts presented in
this volume). The results offer new insights into the architecture and
finds' contexts, as well as fresh perspectives on the building's
occupation, purpose and abandonment. They suggest that the House of the
Frescoes was a non-residential building, and instead had a public role
with strong ritual connotations. Its memory survived for a while after
its abandonment, as demonstrated by the structured depositions -
including the frescoes - found within. Finally, this analysis highlights
the urban context of the House of the Frescoes and its connections with
the Royal Road area, where much archaeological work has been carried out
after Evans. The emerging picture helps to shed further light on the
character of Knossos, pre-eminent centre of Minoan Crete at the height
of the Bronze Age.
