The Minoan Civilisation
In Our Time: History
BBC
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 7 July 2011
⏱️ 42 minutes
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Summary
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Minoan Civilisation.In 1900 the British archaeologist Arthur Evans began excavating some ancient ruins at Knossos on the island of Crete. He uncovered an enormous palace complex which reminded him of the mythical labyrinth of King Minos. Evans had in fact discovered the remnants of a Bronze Age society; in honour of Crete's legendary king he named it the Minoan Civilisation.The Minoans flourished for twelve centuries, and their civilisation was at its height around three and a half thousand years ago, when they built elaborate palaces all over the island. They were sophisticated builders and artists, and appear to have invented one of the world's earliest writing systems. Since Evans's discoveries a hundred years ago, we have learnt much about Minoan society, religion and culture - but much still remains mysterious.With:John BennetProfessor of Aegean Archaeology at Sheffield UniversityEllen AdamsLecturer in Classical Art and Archaeology at King's College LondonYannis HamilakisProfessor of Archaeology at the University of Southampton.Producer: Thomas Morris.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thanks for downloading the In Our Time podcast. For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use |
| 0:05.4 | Please go to bbc.co.uk forward slash radio for I hope you enjoy the program |
| 0:12.0 | Hello just over a hundred years ago a British archaeologist Arthur Evans began to excavate a plot of land that can loss us in Northern Crete |
| 0:20.4 | The discovery he made there were to revolutionize our understanding of prehistoric Europe over the next 35 years |
| 0:27.2 | Evans uncovered a vast complex of buildings which he called the Palace of Minos |
| 0:32.0 | It was the center he decided of a previously unknown Bronze Age society, which he dubbed the Minoan civilization |
| 0:39.2 | The Minoans flourished for around 2,000 years long before ancient Greek civilization had begun |
| 0:44.3 | There were sophisticated builders and artists and invented one of the earliest systems of writing |
| 0:49.0 | Thanks to Evans and his successors, we even know a little of their religion and customs |
| 0:53.2 | But we're still learning more about this fascinating prehistoric society |
| 0:57.5 | With me to discuss the Minoan civilization are John Bennett, professor of a Geon archaeology at the University of Sheffield |
| 1:05.1 | Ellen Adams lecturer in classical art and archaeology at King's College London and Yannis Hamilakis, professor of archaeology at the University of Southampton |
| 1:14.4 | John Bennett, can you give us some detail about who the Minoans were and when did they live? |
| 1:21.9 | We use the term, my known, to describe the Bronze Age civilization of the island of Crete |
| 1:28.4 | Crete is the southernmost island in the Aegean |
| 1:31.9 | It's about a hundred kilometers south of the famous island of Santorini, or Theora |
| 1:36.5 | About 300 kilometers north of the African coast. There's nothing between Crete and Africa and |
| 1:42.6 | The term was coined after the legendary King Minos of Greek tradition |
| 1:47.6 | To describe specifically the Bronze Age of the island. What dates are one rough dates for our listeners? |
| 1:53.2 | The Bronze Age is roughly from about three thousand five hundred BC to about eleven hundred BC |
| 1:58.9 | And the really flourishing period of the Minoans is from about two thousand two about twelve hundred BC |
| 2:05.5 | And do we know so they lived at that time? |
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