Sir Arthur Evans - Archaeologist or Assassin?
..., concluded that these people must have existed around the time of the Minos, (who was at a time was the legendary ruler of Crete) and as a result justified the name "Minoan". The site he discovered was called Knossos, it was a massive palace-type structure. Evans believed that from the beginning it proved necessary to preserve and restore the monuments that were being uncovered. A number of parts of the Palace were restored in this way. Evans could be considered a historical assassin, during these efforts to reconstruct the lives of the Minoans he has been largely criticised for his attempts to show evidence. Especially his theory that there was a king of Crete, Evans and his team combined fresco pieces found in different rooms of the palace, resulting in a picture that never actually existed. Due to his methods being so unreliable and flawed, it is impossible to support a claim that a king existed. Once Evans found an aspect or concept of the Minoans he stuck by it. He created names for many rooms in the palace of Knossos such as the “King’s Megaron” and the “Queen’s Megaron”, however there is no specific evidence that men or women used them separately. His theories have been labeled rash and based on speculation not evidence and fact. According to the archaeologist Dr. Gae Callender, she believes that a large portion of Evans’ ideas, theories and views on Minoans were largely biased as they were based on what he’d like to think they were. Also that his reconstructions of buildings and ...