Arthur Evans

Sir Arthur John Evans (Born July 8 1851 in Nash Mills, England and died July 11 1941) was a British archaeologist most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Evans attended Harrow School and Brasenose College (The University of Oxford and University of Göttingen).

Before Evans began work in Crete, archaeologist Minos Kalokairinos unearthed two of the palace’s storerooms in 1894, but the Turkish government interrupted his work before he could complete excavations. Evans had been deciphering script on seal stones on Crete in 1894 and when the island was declared an independent state in 1900, he purchased the site and began his excavations of the palace ruins. Arthur Evans found 3,000 clay tablets during excavations and worked to transcribe them. From the transcriptions it was clear that the tablets bore traces of more than one script. On the basis of the ceramic evidence and stratigraphy, Evans concluded that there was a civilization on Crete before the civilizations recently brought to light by the adventurer-archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann at Mycenae and Tiryns. The huge ruin of Knossos spanned five acres and had a maze-like quality to it that reminded Evans of the labyrinth described in Greek myth as having been built by King Minos to hide his monstrous child. Thus, Evans dubbed the civilization once inhabiting this great palace the Minoans. By 1903, most of the palace was excavated, bringing to light an advanced city containing with artwork and many examples of writing. Painted on the walls of the palace were numerous scenes depicting bulls, leading Evans to conclude that the Minoans did indeed worship the bull.

Evans was knighted in 1911 for his services to archaeology and is commemorated both at Knossos and at the Ashmolean Museum. In 1913 he paid out of his own pocket £100 to double the amount paid with the studentship established jointly by the University of London and the Society of Antiquaries in memory of Augustus Wollaston Franks, won that year by Mortimer Wheeler.

Evans, however, should also be remembered for his own irrationally obstinate Creto-centrism, which led to unfriendly debate between himself and the mainland archaeologists Carl Blegen and Alan Wace.

References

Evans, A.J. (1901). Scripta Minoa - Volume 1.
Evans, A.J. (1952). Scripta Minoa - Volume 2.
Evans, A.J. (1921-35). The Palace of Minos - Volumes 1-4.
Evans, A.J. (1933). Jarn Mound.
Powell, Dilys (1973). The Villa Ariadne. Originally published by Hodder & Stoughton, London. A very lively account of Evan's residence at Knossos and the house he build himself there, which he later willed to the British School of Archæology at Athens.
Ross, J. (1990). Chronicle of the 20th Century. Chronicle Australia Pty Ltd. ISBN 1872031803.