It is evident that the houses of the Minoan burghers
were not the closely-packed mud hovels, separated from one another
only by narrow alleys, which characterize the plan of the Egyptian
town discovered by Petrie at Illahun, but were substantial structures,
giving accommodation which, even to modern ideas, would seem
respectable. Of course, one must suppose that the poorer quarters
of the town would scarcely be represented on a fabric designed
for use in the palace; but the actual remains of a Minoan town,
unearthed at Gournia by Mrs. H. B. Hawes, show that that town,
at least, was largely composed of houses which must have pretty
closely resembled those on the porcelain plaques of Knossos.
Most surprising of all, however, in many respects, was the revelation
of the amazingly complete system of drainage with which the palace
was provided. The gradient of the hill which underlay the domestic
quarter of the building enabled the architect to arrange for a
drainage system on a scale of completeness which is not only
unparalleled in ancient times, but which it would be hard to match
in Europe until a period as late as the middle of the nineteenth
century of our era. A number of stone shafts, descending from the
upper floors, lead to a well-built stone conduit, measuring 1 metre
by 1/2 metre, whose inner surface is lined with smooth cement.
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