Knossos Gypsades Geophysics Project

The urban landscape of Bronze Age Knossos beyond its elite core remains one of the least understood aspects of the site. Lower Gypsades Hill, immediately south of the palace at Knossos (excavated by Sir Arthur Evans) and bounded above and to the south by cemeteries, is the ideal location to investigate the outer suburbs of the settlement using geophysical techniques, because of the absence of deep post-Bronze Age occupation levels. In the summer of 2010 Bennet (Sheffield), Hatzaki (Cincinnati) and Bogaard (Oxford) directed the first phase of geophysical fieldwork over a 14-ha area of Lower Gypsades.

Fieldwork was carried out by a team lead/co-ordinated by Colin Merrony (Sheffield). The project runs under the aegis of the British School at Athens, with a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Greek state, and under the supervision of the 23rd Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and the 13th Ephoreia of Byzantine Antiquities. It is funded by the Institute for Aegean Prehistory, the Louise Taft Semple Fund, through the Department of Classics at the University of Cincinnati, the University of Sheffield, the University of Oxford and the British School at Athens.

The aim of the first phase was to gain a general understanding of the nature, density and extent of sub-surface features in this region of the overall site using extensive magnetometer survey. Results suggest a 'busy' sub-surface landscape, investigated further through resistivity survey in January 2011. Our goal is to use our enhanced appreciation of the sub-surface remains on Lower Gypsades to identify areas for future excavation.