Characteristics Of Understanding The Culture And Society...

â€Å"The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.† --Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture is an important aspect of understanding the culture and society of any civilisation. Today I will be looking what similarities and differences can be seen between the Minoan architecture from 1900BC to 1150BC and the Roman architecture from 27BC to 180AD. I’ll be mainly focusing on the palaces of Knossos and Phaistos of Minoan, Crete and The Colosseum ad the Pantheon of Rome. The architecture of Bronze Age Crete seems to be defined by the archaeological discoveries of Knossos, Phaistos, Maila, Zakros and Palekastro. These four palaces and one town are the only major pieces of Minoan building from†¦show more content†¦Occupation continued in Knossos until 1200 BC when it was destroyed by fire, Knossos appears to have been kept intact until the fire as a sort of headquarters while all the other palaces were destroyed. The ruins we have today from discoveries made by Sir Arthur Evans in 1900 AD are the remains from after the Palace of Knossos was burnt down. Knossos is a clear example of monumental (of great importance or size) Minoan architecture. There are several major courts that make up the Knossos palace; these include the large, rectangular Central Court, the West Court, the West and East Wings, the theater, royal chambers, shrines and the Throne Room. Like most Minoan buildings the Central Court seems to be the main focus of the building. Stone was the primary building material, but also included a timber frame for flexibility. Mortar linked the stones together and wood was used for all the columns, doors, windows and roofs. The interior walls were plastered with clay and often had bright frescoes painted on them. The floors were generally beaten down earth, but sometimes had small pebbles stuck into them. Lighting and ventilation was primarily utilized through light-wells, vertical airshafts that ran the full height of the buildings. Drainage was controlled through a series of terracotta pipes and stone ductwork. The best-preserved section of this drainage system is below the East Wing. Polythyron doors are common feat ure of Minoan palaces and Evans