Sir Arthur Evans

Sir Arthur John Evans (Born July 8, 1851 and died July 11, 1941) was a British archaeologist who was well known for of his work on the Minoan palace at Knossos on Crete. Evans was born in Nash Mills, England and was educated at Oxford and the University of Göttingen. He was also curator of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford from 1884 to 1908.

Evans was drawn to the island of Crete initially because of his interest in ancient coins and seal stones. He began his excavations at Knossos in 1899 when he took over the site which was previously being excavated by Minos Kalikairinos. He found evidence of an early Bronze Age civilization which predates the recently discovered Mycenaean settlements. He also found a large number of clay tablets written in new scripts, including Linear A and Linear B. Evans finished most of the excavations at Knossos by 1903. He continued research and work on the surrounding areas until 1931. He also oversaw a great deal of the restoration of the palace at Knossos, which is now considered by many to be excessive.

Evans published a four-volume work entitled The Palace of Minos at Knossos. He was also knighted in 1911 for his work at Knossos.

Sources

Biers, William R. The Archaeology of Greece. 2nd Ed. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1980.

Whitley, James, The Archaeology of Ancient Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Caitlin Howitt