After over a century of excavation at the site, archaeologists now regard it as the centre of the Bronze Age Minoan civilisation, the home of the earliest farmers in Europe and a thriving Greek and Roman city. This talk will trace the history of exploration of Knossos, beginning with the early travellers searching for the mythical Labyrinth and ending with more recent discoveries.

Watercolour of restored Taureador Fresco from Knossos, Emile Gilliéron, c. 1902. © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford.