DISCOVERY 



251 



The upper stories were generally of wood. Wood 

 was extensively used Professor Mosso,' in reference 

 to a wall of the vestibule at the top of the great stair- 

 case at Phjestos, says that " a base of alabaster having 

 been made, holes were made in it to fix slabs of wood 

 all round. These were bound together, and the hollow 

 was tilled with a mixture of lime and rubble." Whole 

 tree-trunks were sometimes used as beams, and one 

 can still see the holes in the stone into which they 

 were fixed. 



There are many features of these palaces which are 

 worth minute study. In the building of the great 

 palaces it was the practice to prepare the ground 

 with a thick mixture of lime and clay and pebbles. 

 This mixture set so hard that it has now to be broken 

 up with explosives before objects below can be removed. 

 The staircase at Knossos measures nearly 15 yards 

 from side to side, and the steps are 2i feet wide and 

 hardly 5 inches deep. The most famous steps in 

 Rome were not more than 5i yards from side to side. 

 The doors of the palace, of which there were many, 

 were made to fit into the walls when open, so as not 

 to interfere with corridor space. At Hagia Triada 

 the drains of 4,000 years ago may still be seen working 

 in wet weather. At Knossos the main drain, which 

 had its sides coated with cement, was more than 

 3 feet high and nearly 2 feet broad, large enough for 

 a man to move along it ; and the smaller stone shafts 

 that discharged into it are still in position. A little 

 point of detail illustrative of the stage which Knossian 

 architecture had reached is thus described by Dr. 

 Burrows'; " Each of them was about ai feet long, 

 with a diameter that was about 6 inches at the 

 broad end, and narrowed to less than 4 inches at 

 the mouth, where it fitted into the broad end of 

 the next pipe. Jamming was carefully prevented by 

 a stop-ridge that ran round the outside of each narrow 

 end a few inches from the mouth, while the inside of 

 the butt, or broader end, was provided with a raised 

 collar that enabled it to bear the pressure of the next 

 pipe's stop-ridge, and gave an extra hold for the 

 cement that bound the two pipes together." 



There were also baths at Knossos. At any rate, a 

 good many people think they were baths. Professor 

 Mosso thinks they were chapels — a good instance of 

 the excitement which attaches to archsological 

 research. There is no arrangement, says Professor 

 Mosso, for the supply or discharge of water, a pro- 

 vision which many people will agree is necessary for a 

 bath ; moreover, the basin is lined with gypsum, 

 which is soluble in water ; one of them was placed in 

 the Throne Room ; and, finally, they were not private. 

 Professor Mosso's subtle eye even cjetects an enclosure. 



" With Matter alone, the universe cannot be got to work. 

 With Mind alone, metaphysicians may some day be able 

 to manage it."— SIR OLIVER LODGE. 



A Correspondence Course 

 in Metaphysics and 

 Applied Psychology for 

 Teachers and Students 



Apply for particulars : — - 



CHARLES WASE, M.A., Ph.D. 



3 The Studios, Cheniston Gardens, 

 Kensington, London, W.8. 



Correspondence invited from all interested 

 IN Psychology, philosophy, and metaphysics. 



' The Palaces of Crete, p. 47. 

 ' Ibid., p. 9. 



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