1-155-221 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Reconstructed balustrade west front of the Palace of Knossos, Crete, c1400 BC. Knossos was the capital of the Minoan civilization, which flourished on Crete from c3000-c1100 BC, reaching its peak in around 1600 BC. The palace was destroyed by fire in c1400 BC, but the site was discovered by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1894, and excavated from 1900 onwards.