But the men, whoever they may
have been, who plundered the palace at the time of its great
catastrophe, had done their work thoroughly, and left behind them
little trace either of the precious metals or of bronze. It turned
out, however, that in a block of building which stands between the
West Court and the paved area to the north-west of the palace,
a strange chance had preserved enough to testify to the art of
the bronze-workers of Knossos. One of the floors of this building
had sunk in the conflagration before the plunderers had had time
to explore the room beneath, and under its debris were found five
magnificent bronze vessels--four large basins and a single-handled
ewer. The largest basin, 39 centimetres in diameter, is exquisitely
wrought with a foliated margin and handle, while another has a
lovely design of conventionalized lilies on its border.
Mention has already been made of the paved causeway which bisects
the Theatral Area of the palace. This was found, in 1904, to have
a continuation in the shape of a well-made road leading in a
north-westerly direction towards the hillside (Plate XII. 1). It
was overlaid by a Roman roadway, and an interesting comparison
was thus made possible between the Minoan work and that of the
great road-makers of later days. The Roman road came out rather
badly from the comparison, the earlier construction being superior
in every respect.
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