As an archaeological site of global interest, the second most visited site in Greece, Knossos offers near-unrivalled opportunities for excavation and research. Since the pioneering work of Sir Arthur Evans began here in 1900, Knossos has been a major focus of the BSA’s activity in Greece. The BSA’s most recent projects at Knossos are the Knossos Urban Landscape Project (KULP), the Gypsades Project, the Knossos Stratigraphical Museum Curation Project and the Roman Knossos Geophysics Project. The three fieldwork projects aim, in different ways, to reveal more of the larger city of Knossos, outside its core buildings, in all periods, in the Minoan and the Roman respectively. The Curation Project seeks to preserve and make accessible digitally one of the largest and most important collections of archaeological material in the Aegean, representing over 100 years of fieldwork going back to the time of Sir Arthur Evans. It also provides training and career-development opportunities to a new generation of researchers through eight-week internships.
Other BSA projects focus on legacy material: the Knossos Neolithic Publication Project (KNPP), concentrating on study for publication of the excavations of the Neolithic site by John Evans; the Knossos Kephala Project (KKP), seeking to reconstruct the Pre-palatial surface of the tell and to publish its Neolithic stratigraphy, architecture and ceramics; the Knossos Fauna Project (KFP) studying faunal remains collected from BSA excavations of Neolithic to Roman date; the Hellenistic and Early Roman Period Project drawing principally on material from KULP to re-evaluate Knossos’ external connections Knossos; and the House of the Frescoes Project, publishing one of the finest domestic units of Knossos excavated by Evans. BSA members, in collaboration with leading specialists, are also engaged in study and publication of legacy material from excavations at the Royal Road (by Sinclair Hood; Peter Warren), Little Palace North (by Eleni Hatzaki), Stratigraphical Museum Excavation (by Peter Warren), Southwest Houses (by Colin MacDonald), Villa Dionysus (by Sara Paton), and Myrtos-Pyrgos (by Gerald Cadogan).
A range of smaller projects, mostly UK-based, include study of the South Polychrome Deposit, of zooarchaeological material from the Unexplored Mansion, of the peak sanctuary of Philiorimos and of the Early Minoan tomb of Skaniari; others focus on specific categories of material, such as weaving tools, Minoan potting skills and plasters (Polly Westlake, BSA), and the extensive human bone collection from the BSA excavations at Knossos. Some of these projects are assisted with funds from the Knossos Donated Fund and the Vronwy Hankey Memorial Fund.
The Knossos Research Centre (KRC) also hosts study by its international partners. Many important Greek projects, some of them carried out by PhD candidates, make or have made use of our facilities, mostly during the winter months. Material studied by these projects comes from the following sites/regions: Apesokari, the Aposelemis reservoir, Gavdos survey, Juktas Alonaki, Kastelli-Chania, Kastrokephala, Kophinas, Knossos Neolithic Excavation, Knossos Anetaki Plot, Miamou survey, Samonas, Skoteino Cave, Vathypetro, Viannos Roman kilns, Trypiti. The KRC is also is used on a regular basis by the Galatas (Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion), Syme Viannos (Athens Archaeological Society) and Zakros (University of Athens/ Athens Archaeological Society) projects, as well as hosting post-doctoral researchers from Spain, Italy, France, Canada, Australia, and the USA.