So long as the war-fleet of
Minos was in being, Knossos needed no fortifications. No expedition
of any size could force a landing on the island. If the crew of a
chance pirate-galley, desperate with hunger, or tempted by reports
of the wealth of the great palace, succeeded in eluding the vigilance
of the Minoan cruisers, and made a swift rush up from the coast,
there was the bastion with its armed guard, enough to deal with
the handful of men who could be detached for such a dare-devil
enterprise. But in the fleet of Knossos was her fate; and if once
the fleet failed, she had no second line of defence on which to
rely against any serious attack. There is every evidence that the
fleet did fail at last. The manifest marks of a vast conflagration,
perhaps repeated more than once during the long history of the
palace, and the significant fact that vessels of metal are next
to unknown upon the site, while of gold there is scarcely a trace,
with the exception of scattered pieces of gold-foil, appear to
indicate either that the Minoan Sovereigns failed to maintain the
weapon which had made and guarded their Empire, or that the Minoan
sailors met at last with a stronger fleet, or more skilful mariners.
Sea-power was lost, and with it everything.
Near the main north entrance of the palace was found one of the
great artistic treasures of the season's work.
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