Knossos 1955–1957: Early Prepalatial Deposits from Platonʹs Tests in the Palace

BETWEEN 1954 and i960 Nikolaos Platon, then Ephor of Crete and Director of Heraklion Museum, conducted an extensive restoration programme at the palace of Knossos and surrounding houses originally excavated by Sir Arthur Evans. In the course of this work, which included the repair and consolidation of reconstructions/restorations made years earlier by Evans, Platon carried out new excavation of in situ deposits. This was especially the case in those areas of the site where the erosion of existing remains and the exposure of unexcavated deposits necessitated the new construction of retaining walls both within and outside the palace.2 Only very brief mention in print was made of this work at the time (Platon 1954-9; Platon and Davaras i960; Hood 1957). In 1961, just a year after the completion of his fieldwork at Knossos, Platon discovered the palace at Zakros, and his work there over many years necessarily superseded his final study and publication of the Knossos material.