Largest archaeological site of a famous pre-Classical Mediterranean civilization. In 1900, Sir Arthur Evans (1851-1941) began excavations at a site in the north of the island of Crete. Evans was following up on several examples of hieroglyphic writing that he had discovered in an Athens flea market. Learning that the samples had come from Crete, Evans resolved to look there for the beginnings of ancient Greek civilization uncovered in the previous two decades by such archaeologists as Heinrich Schliemann (1822-90). Evans visited a native Cretan named Minos Kalokairinos, who had excavated at Knossos 20 years before; his work had been stopped by the Cretan parliament, who feared that their Turkish overlords would confiscate any treasures he uncovered. Kalokairinos had explored the site sufficiently to know that extensive ruins lay under it. Based on this evidence, Evans came to the conclusion that the undiscovered Cretan world reflected the Homeric world that was recently uncovered by Schliemann.
Like Schliemann, Evans had little background in archaeology, but he did have a lifelong interest in antiquities. Beginning in 1883, he served as the keeper of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. However, he was unprepared for the riches he discovered within weeks of beginning his excavations at Knossos. The fire that had destroyed the palace more than three millennia before had left frescoes and other artifacts including a throne, bathtubs, and extensive plumbing almost untouched. Some of these artifacts reminded him of the few ancient Greek myths that had been passed down about Crete: many-roomed Knossos resembled the labyrinth of King Minos, while the frescoes of young men and women leaping over bulls brought to mind the legendary Minotaur.