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What did Archaeologist Arthur Evans Take from the Minoan Palace in Knossos?

According to a curator at the Ashmolean museum in Oxford, England, former museum keeper and renowned archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans, lobbied authorities of Crete to allow him to export artefacts he found while excavating the Minoan Palace of Knossos back to Britain.

Due to the influence of Sir Arthur Evans, who was appointed keeper of the Ashmolean in 1884, the museum has the largest collection of Minoan artefacts outside of Crete.

According to the University of Oxford, Evans transformed the Ashmolean into an “archaeological museum of international importance and a first-rate research institution” during his 25 years as keeper.

Sir Arthur Evans And His Travels

Sir Arthur Evans
Sir Arthur Evans. Credit: wikimedia commons / unknown author CC BY 4.0

The collections of the museum grew considerably under his keepership, both through his purchasing of objects – 2,000 a year, according to the university – and by addition of his own collected artefacts during his time as a roaming archaeologist across Europe and beyond.

Between 1894 and 1899 he spent time travelling around Crete, searching for evidence of pre-alphabetic writing in the Aegean. The search led to the discovery of three systems of writing that Evans named Cretan Hieroglyphic, Linear A and Linear B.

Between 1900 and 1931 he conducted excavations at Knossos, employing both Christian and Muslim Cretans, according to Brown University, in the US. These excavations brought to light the largest palace site known to date in the Aegean – the Minoan palace of Knossos.

Knossos
The Throne Room at Knossos. Credit: Rolf Dietrich Brecher/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA-2.0

Evans originally took over excavations from local archaeologist Minos Kalokairinos, who discovered the site in 1878.

Andrew Shapland, Sir Arthur Evans Curator of Bronze Age and Classical Greece at the Ashmolean Museum, said:

“Before 1898, Crete was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. When Minos KaloKairinos discovered the palace in 1878, his fellow Cretans stopped his excavations to prevent finds being taken to the Ottoman capital at Constantinople.

To protect the site of Knossos, the Cretan authorities encouraged Arthur Evans to buy part of the land – but not to begin excavating. Meanwhile Evans, taking advantage of the political turmoil, was able to buy antiquities for the Ashmolean on his travels around the island.

When Crete became independent, Evans lobbied for new laws allowing him to excavate at Knossos and export finds. Even then, he was only permitted to request artefacts that were not wanted by Cretan museums.”

Evans did haul back many Minoan artefacts from Crete to England, where he presented them to the Ashmolean Museum as part of his ‘personal collection’. These included a number of stamp seals, figurines and pottery fragments.

Evans presented the majority of his Minoan collection to the museum in 1938, including a seal depicting a cow and a Minoan demon from the late Minoan period (c.1450 – c.1050 BCE).

Seal depicting a cow and Minoan demon presented by Sir Arthur Evans in 1938, credit Ashmolean, University of Oxford
Seal depicting a cow and Minoan demon presented by Sir Arthur Evans in 1938, credit: Ashmolean, University of Oxford

An early Minoan-style ceramic jug from the middle Minoan period of around 2000 to 1900 BCE.

Spouted jug with painted and incised pattern, derived from that of Early Minoan III style
Spouted jug with painted and incised pattern, derived from that of Early Minoan III style, presented to the Ashmolean museum in 1938 by Sir Arthur Evans, credit: Ashmolean, University of Oxford

The archaeologist and keeper also presented a stone, cylinder-shaped seal from the late Minoan period.

Cylinder seal showing a woman riding a Minoan dragon and a man carrying a griffin
Cylinder seal showing a woman riding a Minoan dragon and a man carrying a griffin presented to the Ashmolean in 1938 by Sir Arthur Evans, credit: Ashmolean, University of Oxford

A selection of Minoan stone and gem stamps from the early and mid Minoan periods were added to the museum’s collection in 1938 too.

Perhaps among the most eye-catching of the items is the bronze figurine from the middle Minoan period that Evans presented to the museum. This item was presented much earlier than the others listed here, in 1894.

Minoan bronze figurine of male votary
Minoan bronze figurine of male votary. credit: Ashmolean, University of Oxford

The list of items shown here is not exhaustive, Evans brought many more Minoan artefacts back to Britain with him from Crete.

Evans’ father John Evans was also a distinguished archaeologist, and after his death in 1908, Evans presented his father’s collection to the Ashmolean.

Source: Greekreporter.com

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