In Nov 2015 I reviewed our visit to Knossos (below). In Dec 2018 we “found ourselves” in Crete yet again and visited a further 3 of the 5 “Minoan Palatial Centres” (as well as re-visiting Knossos and the fabulous Heraklion Archaeological Museum) - perhaps a bit of “overkill” on the Minoan front, but providing an opportunity to compare and contrast the 4 locations and, potentially, to reassess the chances of any nomination and its likely success.

It is worth mentioning perhaps that there are a large number of archaeological sites on Crete which date back to the civilisation now called “Minoan”. They are signposted everywhere when one drives around! For instance we also visited the site of a Minoan “town” now called Gournia. This was one of the 5 sites included in the original T List entry of 1985 (see my earlier review below from Nov 2015 for a history of changes to this T List entry which resulted first in Knossos standing alone and then a revertion to 5 sites but with Gournia replace by Kydonia). It was excavated around 1903 and contains what the archaeologists titled a “Palace complex”. It was important enough to have been called the “trading centre of the island in Minoan times” (Wiki) - but it is significantly smaller than the 3 largest and most famous “palace” sites on Crete. These are all identifiable, according to archaeologists, as being relatable to the later Homeric myth regarding Crete -  that there were 3 sons of Zeus and Europa – Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon  who each became Kings of Crete. Each is associated by inference from discoveries etc with a major “Palatial City” i.e Knossos, Phaestos and Malia respectively.  So far so good – but why go further? Aren’t 3 enough? The reasoning for doing so isn’t really addressed in the T List description.  Zakros is indeed widely considered the next most important (we didn’t visit it) - but Kydonia doesn’t fit the pattern at all. A cynic might conclude that extending the geographic coverage of a nomination among more Cretan provinces for political popularity reasons might have something to do with it. Others might find “good” archaeological reasons! I await explanations in any Nomination.

PHAISTOS  is by far the “best situated” of the 4 sites we saw. It occupies a fine hill-top location overlooking a fertile valley of olive groves and more distant high mountains (photo). It contains the “full range” of Minoan palatial structures (see later) and has a major benefit, compared with Knossos, of being fully authentic with none of the reconstruction added by Evans there. It is perhaps most famous for the discovery of the “Phaistos Disk” with its, as yet, un-deciphered hieroglyphic script and one of the “star exhibits” at the Heraklion Museum. The exact spot of discovery is marked by an information board! An aspect to note is that, in one of the distant mountains, accurately aligned with the main palace courtyard, lies the “Peak Sanctuary” of Kamares. Other “Minonan” palaces have similarly aligned cave sanctuaries – but, apparently, it isn’t intended to include any of them with “their” palaces.

MALIA occupies a flat site on the north coast near the modern town of the same name (“one of the leading spots for nightlife in Europe” -  Wiki!!). Unlike Knossos and Phaistos, its current name is taken from the town and has no connection with whatever it might have been called in Homeric times or earlier. It also is un-restored a la Evans and a particular claim to fame is that the structures from the “Early” and “Late” palace periods are completely separate rather than built over each other (An understanding of the Minoan periods  represented within the palatial sites  is of help when visiting the sites). A 3rd “area” of houses and workshops – all covered by a large modern canopy was, unfortunately, closed in Dec so I can’t comment on its contents. If you have already seen Knossos and Phaistos (as we had) you will begin to recognise the features common to all “Minoan” palaces - a Great Square, a ritual “lustral basin”, an “altar”, a  “Megaron” or 2, a few round storage pits (Evans coined the term  “kouloura” for those he found at Knossos after the shape of Greek bread!). storage “magazines” and numerous Pithoi jars. But, notably, no defensive walls. The functions assigned to many of the rooms don’t seem obvious based on what you are looking at but were no doubt justified by discoveries made there (albeit that Evans in particular seems to have been given to “flights of fancy” in support of his preconceptions!). Minoan sites don’t exactly “wow” with their on-view remains – they didn’t “do” monumental statues, carved pillars or mosaics and any wall paintings (apparently “lacking” at both Phaestos and Malia anyway) and artefacts have all been removed to museums - which is why it is so important to go the Heraklion museum to see what was discovered in them. One carved item which is still on show in situ at Malia is a particularly clear “Kernos Stone” whose exact role in Minoan rituals is, like so much else about that civilisation, still shrouded in mystery.

KYDONIA was very much the “odd man out” of the 4 “palaces” we saw. It is situated beneath the historic port town of “Chania”. Its name (obviously related to that of the modern town) has been found on deciphered linear B tablets from Knossos and was mentioned in the Odyssey (post Minoan of course). As with Phaistos, its general location had been worked out from descriptions by Strabo but it wasn’t discovered until the almost total destruction of Chania in WWII. Only a few parts are visible where vacant “lots” have been left without modern buildings and excavations have taken place - our map coordinates are exactly correct for the main site which is covered by a large roof. An “advantage” is that, unlike the other sites, “entrance” is free!! Except that “entrance” consists of viewing the excavations on the other side of a steel fence! But it is well explained by signage. However it doesn’t contain any of the “classic” elements of a palace but consists of a few connected rooms and a “street”. This report by the Swedish led group carrying out the recent excavations describes the site, its history and the findings . Note that, nowhere in this report is the description “Palace” assigned to any of the excavated buildings. The same is true for the on-site notice boards AND the UNESCO T List entry. The buildings are described simply as “important”. All that is said is that “a complete inscribed stirrup jar indicating that its contents (were) of royal property was discovered in 2005”. Another major find was the “Master Impression” – a seal described as “one of the most important finds from Minoan Crete”. Its importance lies in the fact that “It depicts a great complex of multi-storied buildings with many windows set in a rocky seaside landscape. Horns of consecration crown the buildings, which appear to be surrounded by a wall with two closed main gates.” Amazingly, it resides in the museum at Chania rather than in that at Heraklion  - unfortunately the museum was closed when we were there!!! This article states the arguments for the assumption that a Minoan Palace lies under Chania, but does not claim it as proven - leaving quite why Greece has picked it as one of the 5 “Palatial Centres”, as being “unclear”.

So – if you are in Crete, which of the 5 should you visit? I can’t of course assess Zakros, but everything I have read about it would indicate that it doesn’t overtake any of the others. If you had made the journey out to it in far eastern Crete you could already have seen Knossos and Malia so might need to be a real “Minoan buff” to take it in as well! Knossos is un-missable for its size and for its role in the discovery and interpretation of the Minoans. But it is atypical - not least because of the anachronistic reconstructions, so at least a second site is “needed”, both to see an “original” and to identify/cement in the mind the common elements across all palaces. My choice would be Phaistos, but seeing Malia instead wouldn’t be a mistake. Which leaves Kydonia. Chania is a pleasant port town which you might want to visit anyway – if so then it would be silly not to walk the few blocks from the harbour to see the excavations. However, you will not be seeing a typical “Palace”.

And what about a possible future nomination? One local I spoke to who I would assess as being reasonably knowledgeable and reliable on the matter, confirmed that Knossos remained problematical because of construction on and around the site which the government wasn’t able to overcome/remove – partly because of cost. I am surprised, since the main part of Knossos seems clear enough (though the extended remains including cemeteries etc may have been compromised) and the souvenir shops and cafés crowding in from outside don’t seem to be worse than those next to many other inscribed archaeological sites - but, no doubt. Greece has received advice on this from ICOMOS etc. As I commented in my Knossos review, I don’t see how adding another 4 locations can overcome or simplify things or mitigate the original problem! I have since seen it suggested that a benefit would be to decouple the nomination somewhat from the Evans “heritage” and theories/approaches which “overwhelm” Knossos but are now considered outmoded. The non-inclusion of the linked “Peak Sanctuaries” could also create a problem – Spain’s Antequera Dolmen inscription took care to include similarly “related” caves. There is also the issue of why these 4 extra locations have been chosen - particularly Kydonia and Zakros. My contact gave no indication of any upcoming change in the situation in the near future so it would appear that this site is likely to remain on the Greek T List for some years to come and also needs a fair bit of work to clarify what should be nominated in order to represent the “Minoan Civilisation” on the List.