Posted on 08/03/2006 10:11:02 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
It argues that the "palaces" could more likely be "temples" rather than residential buildings. For sure, archaeologists are quick to point out that certain parts of the palaces definitely had a religious function. But some go further. Archaeologist Oswald Spengler stated in the 1930s that these "palaces" were temples for the dead. His opinion was not taken seriously, as it went against the accepted belief. Wunderlich continued where Spengler had stopped. Both noted that the state of the palaces was particularly bizarre. Thousands of people are believed to have roamed the corridors of the Palace of Knossos, but the staircases throughout the complex look as if they have never been used. Most sections of the complex reveal no sign of usage, or age. This in itself is bizarre. Almost as an aside, it is noted that the palace had no surrounding wall, making it extremely fragile. Though the island or its builder might have been unaware of war, a surrounding wall does offer protection, if only from the elements. Crete, though popular with tourists for its warm summers, nevertheless does have cold winters – and snow in the highlands.
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The Secret of Crete.
by Hans-Georg Wunderlich.
To some people, anything that they don't understand is a temple or a religous artifact.
I read an article in one of the archaeology magazines years ago that convinced me that Knossos was a necropolis.
I hear they had great plumbing. Why do the dead need plumbing?
There isn't much in the way of plumbing; there's a floor drain here and there, and in this necropolis idea, those were for doing the embalming itself. What Arthur Evans called "bathtubs" are elsewhere recognized as "bathtub sarcophagi".
Interesting, I'd like to see that also.
How about the so-called "Throne Room?" (Was that for the occasional "Evita" who got to sit up, though dead?) And how about those magazines or storerooms with all those amphorae? And the frescos depicting people outside palaces, moving about? If these palaces are NOT the palaces (of the living royals), where ARE those palaces?
By the same token, where are the palaces of the Egyptian pharaohs? Many of their tombs have survived, while the palaces are long gone.
Food and frescoes were put in tombs, likewise such thrones are found in carved subterranean tombs in places around the Mediterranean, and no one suggests the King sat there before death to lay down laws.
The burden of proof rests with those who suggest that the only palaces (or foundations thereof) that we've found, were not meant for the living. I'm unconvinced; for me, a cigar is usually just a cigar.
It'd be nice to hear someone has unearthed the tomb of a Cretan monarch, something of a point of reference. While I'm wishing, let him be sleeping with a copy of a Minoan-Egyptian dictionary!
All those bathtubs, and no faucets? Alternatively, not a necropolis, but so many bathtub sarchophagi? The idea that the Cretan necropoli were palaces was dreamed up by Arthur Evans, living as he did in the heyday of the Victorian-era British Empire. There's nothing in any of them to suggest that they were used as palaces. The strange lack of tombs on the island -- considering the extent of the supposed palaces -- contemporary with the so-called Palatial period should tell you something.
As Wunderlich pointed out, the plunderers of the necropoli dragged the remains (and occasionally the sarcophagi) out into the daylight and pulled out the valuables, leaving the human bits and some smashed sarcophagi in a few large deposits next to the structure. This is similar to the plundering pattern that took place during times of upheaval in Egypt, when the tombs of the pharaohs were plundered.
Ok, civ, I respect your judgment and I can use the mental exercise, so I'll look into it further. If you think it's plausible, maybe so! Thanks.
Thanks!
Of course! Once the Minotaur had his way with them, they were probably then laid to rest in the palace area..... ;)
Most interesting.
A Minoan Settlement After Destruction By Earthquakes
Kathimerini | 1-21-2006 | Iota Sykka
Posted on 01/22/2006 1:36:49 PM EST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1562805/posts
Protopalatial Sanctuary at Anemospilia (Archanes), More on the Peaceful Minoans
Web Site | Temple of the Sacred Sprial
Posted on 07/30/2005 10:03:20 PM EDT by Little Bill
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1454003/posts
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: International Trade and the Late Bronze Age Aegean
George Washington University ^ | 1994 | Eric H. Cline
Posted on 08/28/2004 4:49:39 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1201978/posts
The Argonaut Epos and Bronze Age Economic History
Economics Department, City College of New York
Revised May 14, 1999 | Morris Silver
Posted on 08/25/2004 10:30:51 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1199756/posts
Temples or not?
An interesting, and possibly relevant bit of information is that on the island of Malta, the great underground structure which I think is called the Hypogeum (sp?) was filled with about 7,000 skulls/skeletons. This may have been in the 19th century. At any rate apparently the Maltese authorities emptied out the structure, and threw away all but 5 or 6 skulls. (makes you want to scream doesn't it.)
I also seem to recall that there is a word referring to Egyptians that translates Red Men.
Malta’s Magnificent Hypogeum
The Cultured Traveler | May 2001 | Patrick Totty
Posted on 09/22/2004 2:07:49 AM EDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1223204/posts
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