© Tornos NewsThe greatness of Knossos grows as new evidence suggests that an ancient Aegean city not only recovered but also flourished following the collapse of the Bronze Age.
The latest discoveries on Crete at the site of the
ancient city of Knossos suggest that the capital of Minoan Civilization was far larger and more impacting than experts believed.Scientists already knew that Knossos was
Europe's oldest city and ruled over the massive trade empire during the
Bronze age, nevertheless, new evidence suggests that the Minoans may have actually survived into the
Iron Age.
Europe's oldest city, the majestic site of the Greek Bronze Age, was the seat of power of the mythological King
Minos and the home of the enigmatic labyrinth. Also linked to far reaching legends like
Daedalus and son
Icarus, the Minoan palace and the Minoans were also considered to be the sons and daughters of
Atlantic by the ancients. This civilization is widely acclaimed as the birthplace for all western civilization and, when the mainland Greeks came out of the Stone Age, the Minoans managed a maritime empire across the entire Mediterranean basin and beyond. When Rome was not even so much as an idea, Minoans built the first paved roads.
Even though the ancient city was previously thought to have perished around
1200 B.C. after the volcanic eruption of
Thera on Santorini, new artifacts discovered by a team led by a University of
Cincinnati assistant professor of classics, Antonis Kotsonas, suggest that it was much larger and richer than was previously thought.
According to a press release on Kotsonas' work, "recent fieldwork at the ancient city of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete finds that during the early Iron Age (1100 to 600 BC), the city was rich in imports and was nearly three times larger than what was believed from earlier excavations.
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