Unfolding the History of the Palace at Malia

Following its discovery by Iossif Hazzidakis in 1915, the Minoan Palace at Malia was excavated by the French School at Athens until 1935. After two decades of extensive excavations, the site continued to be the focus of archaeological research and soundings were made between 1936 and 1992 to explore the earliest levels under the edifice. Several generations of archaeologists successively led by Fernand Chapouthier, Pierre Demargne and Olivier Pelon explored a monumental palatial edifice, the scale of which matched that of the Palaces at Knossos and Phaistos. The thorough excavations within and under the building and its surroundings in the Malia town outlined a long and complex history of occupation. However, many questions were left unsolved and the Palace at Malia is now the focus of a new research project. This conference discusses a series of new hypotheses concerning the evolution of the building during the Proto- and Neopalatial periods (ca. 1900-1700 and 1700-1450 BCE). The detailed observation of the architectural remains has enabled the identification of elaborate features that the First Palace at Malia shared with those at Knossos and Phaistos, which suggests that an architectural koine emerged in Crete during the early 2nd millennium BCE. After its destruction around 1700 BCE, the Palace at Malia was thoroughly reconstructed during an extensive Neopalatial building program that involved both local and non-local participants, who performed different crafts with varying skills. This Second Palace reflects the will of the builders to conform to pan-Minoan architectural practices, especially under the predominating influence of Knossos. But it also shows how the building project was adapted to local resources and echoed the particular history of the site. By focusing on building materials and techniques, this conference aims at reassessing the observations made by the early excavators, so as to shed light on the material and human processes that contributed to the creation of a major edifice in Minoan history