The first excavation on a limited scale began in Knossos in 1878, by Minoas Kalokerinos, and was intensified under Sir Arthur Evans, the famous British archaeologist, in 1900; he discovered the palace's main structure. The excavations continued at intervals until
193 I, and Evans started to re-erect the main monuments of the Minoan palace, which prove that the main wing was the western one, where the religious quarters are located.The royal family's quarters were in the east wing, while the storerooms and auxiliary spaces were on the south side.
Large buildings with five floors on the east side and three on the west, with magnificent facades, colourful coatings, wall-paintings, staircases, painted columns and stone floors composed the magnificence of Knossos, all of which can be seen in the re-erected structures. The entrance leads to a large paved courtyard, with elevated paved corridors. One of them, the processions road (because the processions passed through it), leads to the western entrance; the other leads diagonally, to the theatrical area.
On the left side of the courtyard, there are three large round "wells", two of which contain remains of pre-palatial homes. Two altars, one near the western entrance and one on the western fa4acle confirm the sanctity of this area. Following a corridor with wall paintings of a procession of gift-bearers, we enter the main palace, and a staircase through the large entrances
leads us to the top floor of the sacred wing, the piano nobile.
Here, we will encounter the "Three-columned (Trikionio) Sanctuary" and the sanctuary's treasury. There is another staircase on the northern side, leading to the palace's main courtyard, part of which has been reerected with a reproduction of the wall painting. To the west of the Trikionio there is a long corridor, with a large chamber on its left and the sanctuary chamber further north. The "libation ofFering" wall paintings were found here, a section of which is known as the "Parisienne". At the end of the corridor on the top floor, another staircase leads to the storerooms. From there, one is led to the main courtyard, around which the entire palace was built. On the south side of the courtyard, we seethe corridor with the "Prince of Lilies" wall painting (the original is kept in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum). The ruins ofthe Three-part (Trimeres) Sanctuary and the entrance to the crypt chamber are located in the middle of the courtyard's western side. The square column crypts and the sanctuary's treasury are next. The "snake goddesses" were found here and are now kept in the Heraklion Museum. To the left of the Trimeres Sanctuary, a staircase connects the courtyard to the top floor. The re-erected structure with the four doors to the right of the courtyard is the antechamber to the throne room, with a wooden reproduction. The throne room, with Minos's throne, is at the back There is a re-erected section of the parapet near the northern gate, and there is a copy of the bull wall-painting in the sheltered veranda.
The end of the corridor leads to the "Telonio" (Customs Hall) where the products arriving to the palace from the ports were checked, A "cleansing tank", the largest chamber in the palace, 25 m west of the Telonio, has been re-erected.
The theatre where the "Tavrokathapsia' (ritual bullfights) took place is next door. Fifteen metres along the corridor from the northern entrance, is the Zatrikio (table game) corridor. The storeroom with the large earthenware jars is a little further east, then the "school" or potter's workshop, and then the stonemason's workshop.
To the south, you will see the multi-storey complex of the royal quarters, which communicated via the large stairwell. If you go down the steps, you are led to the weapon and axe room. To reach the queen's quarters, one must go south of the weapons chamber, where the dolphin murals were found, now replaced by reproductions. Then comes the queen's bathroom and the treasury where the ivory statuette of the bullfighter (tavrokathaptis) was found.
Twenty metres away you will find the double axe sanctuary. The "small palace", built at the same time as the second palace (1700-1400 BC) is next to the cafes on the public road. The bullhead vessel was found inside this palace. You will fnd parking spaces at Knossos archaeological site. You can also arrive there from Heraklion by public transport. There are several souvenir shops, cafes and tavernas.