Everything about Arthur Evans totally explained
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 at
Kephala Hill. Evans attended
Harrow School,
Brasenose College,
Oxford, and the
University of Göttingen.
Crete excavations
Before Evans began work in Crete, archaeologist Minos Kalokairinos unearthed two of the palace’s storerooms in 1878, 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. Evans dated the Linear A Chariot Tablets at Knossos as immediately prior to the catastrophic Minoan civilisation collapse of the 15th century BC. (Hogan, 2007)
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
mythology 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.
Legacy
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 should also be remembered for his own obstinate Creto-centrism which led to unfriendly debate between himself and the mainland archaeologists
Carl Blegen and
Alan Wace.
From 1894 until his death Evans lived on
Boars Hill, near Oxford. His house, 'Youlbury', has since been demolished. He had
Jarn Mound built (by hand), surrounded by a wild garden, to make work during the depression years. Evans left part of his estate to the
Boy Scouts and
Youlbury Camp is still available for their use.
Further Information
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