November 3, 1923] 



NA TURE 



661 



removed the earlier Minoan or Post-Neolitliic stxata 

 from the top of the original " Tell " to form the Central 

 Court, and immediately below its pavement level 

 some traces of rubble masonry appeared, my in- 

 vestigation of which, in the summer of this year, 

 resulted in the discovery of a complete house belonging 

 — as its contents showed — to the latest Neolithic 

 phase. 



This has supplied a most valuable record of the final 

 stage in the development of the original culture of the 

 island, still preserving the impress of its fundamental 

 relationship with the mainland to the East. A female 

 clay idol of " squatting " type is in this respect very 

 significant. Still more important is a feature in the 

 house plan itself, not traceable in any dwelling of the 

 pure Minoan Age that has hitherto come to light — the 

 appearance, namely, of the fixed hearth. The same 

 arrangement conforms to the traditional i\natolian 

 usage as illustrated, for example, by Troy and Sindjirli. 

 This arrangement, as we know, was also shared by the 

 primitive house-plans of mainland Greece from Thessaly 

 to the Morea, but in Minoan Crete it was superseded 

 by the use of movable hearths. On the other hand, 

 the " but and ben " type of this Neolithic house with 

 its side magazines itself survived in a religious con- 

 nexion, as may be seen from the similar plan pre- 

 sented by the little shrine or " Casa Santa " of the 

 Minoan goddess set up on the neighbouring peak 

 of Mt. Juktas. 



Whence then did the usage of the movable hearths 

 reach Crete, which also entailed important modifications 

 in structure ? There are reasons for bringing this 

 phenomenon into relation with a wave of southern 

 influence which set in about the beginning of the 

 earliest metal age in Crete, and to which was ultimately 

 due the differentiation of the insular culture from that 

 of the neighbouring .^gean region, and the rise of the 

 brilliant Minoan civilisation, which in turn impressed 

 itself on mainland Greece. A variety of evidence can 

 be adduced indicating a very early intercourse between 

 the Nile mouths and Crete, going back even to the 

 age before Menes, when we know that navigation 

 was already well advanced among the Delta popu- 

 lation. 



Remains of a series of typical predynastic vases of 

 porphyry and other materials have come to light on 

 the site of Knossos, while imitative stone vessels in 

 variegated materials of indigenous fabric date back to 

 similar models. A class of Early Minoan idols, either 

 pointed or square below, claims a similar lineage, and 

 — as Prof. Newberry has shown — the Minoan 8-shaped 

 shield is itself the outcome of that which formed part 

 of the emblem of the Egypto-Libyan Delta goddess 

 Neith. A Minoan goddess holding this shield seen at 

 Mycenae seems to have been the prehistoric fore- 

 runner of Athena, and something of the cult of the 

 Delta goddess also , survives in that of the ^nake 

 goddess of Knos.sos. 



Later influences of the same Egypto-Libyan class are 

 traceable in certain Cretan bead-seals and amulets of 

 the period succeeding the VII th Dynasty. So in- 

 tensive was the predynastic connexion with Crete that 

 it seems possible that, at the time of Menes' conquest, 

 part of the older population had found a refuge in the 

 island. 



NO. 2818, VOL. 112] 



As no objects due to this intercourse have yet ap- 

 peared in the Neolithic Strata of Crete, we incidentally 

 obtain a terminus ad quern for the close of the Neolithic 

 period in the island. The date of the late predjTiastic 

 epoch in Egypt cannot on any showing be brought 

 down later than about 4000 B.C. 



From the earhest dynastic period in Eg\pt proofs 

 of direct intercourse with Crete continually multiply ; 

 and fresh examples of this, in the shape of fragments of 

 diorite bowls, including a remarkable specimen with 

 ears inside the rim, from the site of Knossos, are now 

 available. Most of these vessels seem to date from 

 the IVth and Vth Dynasties, from which w^e have 

 the first monumental records of Egyptian sea-going 

 fleets. 



One remarkable outstanding phenomenon is that 

 though copies of Egyptian prehistoric and early 

 d>-na5tic stone vessels occur elsewhere in Crete — 

 notably of Vlth Dynasty ointment-pots — the originals 

 so far have been found only on the site of Knossos. 

 Knossos from about the close of the Neolithic Age in 

 Crete was thus becoming a staple of commerce with the 

 Nile Valley. 



The question thus arises. By what route did these pre- 

 dynastic and protodynastic objects reach this site ? 

 In view of the prevailing northerly winds it does not 

 seem probable that early navigators from or to Egypt 

 coasted round the iron-bound promontories of northern 

 and eastern Crete. 



Further discoveries made during the course of this year 

 by me at Knossos and in the central region of the island 

 throw a new light on this question. On the southern 

 slope of the site two parallel lines of massive foundations 

 were unearthed — evidently forming part of a monu- 

 mental approach to the Palace by a broad step-way, 

 starting from a platform on which had abutted a main 

 southern highway. The remains of the paved way 

 itself were brought out on the opposite side of the ravine, 

 which had been crossed by means of a bridge ; and 

 explorations in the interior have now made clear the 

 existence of a Minoan road-line crossing the central 

 region of the island. Remains of this, with massive 

 terrace walls below and above, have been followed along 

 the western steep of Mt. Juktas in the direction of the 

 important Minoan station of Visala, and further south 

 are traceable at intervals ascending and crossing the 

 watershed — here about 1800 feet in elevation — and 

 thence heading towards Phaestos and the southern 

 ports. 



It is, therefore, probable that the Egyptian trade 

 was conducted by means of the direct sea-passage to 

 these ports and thence by this ver>' ancient transit 

 route to Knossos. While endeavouring, however, to 

 fix the exact site of the Minoan havens, a disconcerting 

 phenomenon presented itself, which is of some geo- 

 logical interest. At Matala, the Roman harbour of 

 Gortyna, the floors of rock-cut tombs of late Greek 

 date lie nearly two metres beneath sea-level, implying 

 a total sul)sidcnce of some four metres at least since 

 the beginning of the Christian era. Similar evidence 

 comes out at the Minoan port of Nirou Khani on the 

 north coast, where there is actually a submarine 

 quarry. The subsidence, therefore, probably extends 

 to the whole of central Crete, and is in strong contrast 

 to the fact that at Phalasarna, in the extreme west 



