GREECE CRETE HERAKLION KNOSSOS

Royal Temple Tomb

Cemeteries of Knossos extended over all the neighbouring hills, included hundreds of tholos and chamber tombs. One of the most remarkable of these is the "Royal Temple Tomb", situated some 600m south of the Palace. Excavated by Sir Arthur Evans in 1924, it is probably the burial place of one of the last kings of Knossos (17th-14th century BC). In Minoan times a paved street ran from here to the "House of the High Priest".

Typical features of its architecture are the entrance with the courtyard, the portico and a small anteroom (pictures above) and the hypostyle, two-pillar crypt (below).

As a religious symbol, the Minoan horns of consecration were set above the crypt.