This palace, in a beautiful site just southeast of Heraklion, is the most
magnificent, intricate and evocative of Crete's Minoan
sites. The imposing Palace is built on the hill of Kefala next to the river
Kairatos, in a site that has many natural advantages, including a strong
defensive position, access to good water supplies, access to the sea and
proximity to a large fertile forest. The forest produced the Cephalonian Pine a
tree that supplied the beams and the columns for the construction of the
Palace.
The site itself includes the Palace
of Knossos, the Minoan Houses, the
Little Palace, the Royal Villa, the villa "Dionysos" with famous
Roman mosaics, the south Royal Temple/Tomb and the Caravanserai. The Palace
of Knossos and the Minoan houses
are open for visits to the public. The four wings of the palace are arranged
around a central courtyard, containing the royal quarters, workshops, shrines,
storerooms, repositories, the throne room and banquet halls. The east wing
contains the residential quarters, the workshops and a shrine. The west wing
was where the storerooms with the large pithoi or storage jars, the shrines,
the repositories, the throne room and, on the upper floors, the banquet halls
were located. The north wing contained the so-called Customs House, a lustral
basin and the stone-built theatrical area. The South Propylon is the most
imposing building in the south wing. A second, paved courtyard to the west of
the palace, equipped with the processional ways, was probably used for
religious ceremonies. The walls of the palace were decorated with many frescos,
mainly depicting religious ceremonies. Many of the artifacts recovered from Knossos
are displayed in a museum in Heraklion.
Phaestos
Phaestos was the second most important palace city of Minoan
Crete. Of all the Minoan sites, Phaestos has the most
awesome location, with views of the Mesara Plain and of Mt Ida. The layout of
the palace is identical to Knossos,
with rooms arranged around a central court. The old palace was destroyed in
1700 BC, rebuilt, and then destroyed again in 1450 BC. Most of the ruins, which
are visible today, are from the new palace. 3 km away, in Agia Triada, lay the
remains of a royal mansion and the Sarcophagus.