V.). The two rows of pillars which run down the hall
divide it into a nave and side aisles, and the hall presents all the
elements of a primitive basilica, with its throne for the presiding
Bishop or Priest-King. It is possible that we have here the first
suggestion of that style of architecture which, passing through the
stage where the King-Archon of Athens sat in the 'Stoa Basilike'
to try cases of impiety, found its full development at last in
the Roman Basilica, the earliest type of Christian church. 'Is
the Priest-King of Knossos, who here gave his decisions,' says
Professor Burrows, 'a direct ancestor of Praetor and Bishop, seated
in the Apse within the Chancel, speaking to the people that stood
below in Nave and Aisles?'[*]

[Footnote *: 'The Discoveries in Crete,' pp. 10, 11.]

So far in the explorations at Knossos metal-work had been conspicuous
by its absence. That the Minoans were skilled metal-workers was
obvious, for many of their ceramic triumphs presented manifest
indications of having been adaptations of metal forms; and the gold
cups of Vaphio, which, there can be little doubt, came originally
from Crete, bore witness to a skill which would not have disgraced
the best Renaissance goldsmiths. But the men, whoever they may
have been, who plundered the palace at the time of its great
catastrophe, had done their work thoroughly, and left behind them
little trace either of the precious metals or of bronze. It turned
out, however, that in a block of building which stands between the
West Court and the paved area to the north-west of the palace,
a strange chance had preserved enough to testify to the art of
the bronze-workers of Knossos. One of the floors of this building
had sunk in the conflagration before the plunderers had had time
to explore the room beneath, and under its debris were found five
magnificent bronze vessels--four large basins and a single-handled
ewer. The largest basin, 39 centimetres in diameter, is exquisitely
wrought with a foliated margin and handle, while another has a
lovely design of conventionalized lilies on its border.

Mention has already been made of the paved causeway which bisects
the Theatral Area of the palace. This was found, in 1904, to have
a continuation in the shape of a well-made road leading in a
north-westerly direction towards the hillside (Plate XII. 1). It
was overlaid by a Roman roadway, and an interesting comparison
was thus made possible between the Minoa