Late Antique Knossos. Understanding the city: evidence of mosaics and religious architecture

Interpretation of the historical and epigraphical data can only provide a bare outline of the political and social environment of Knossos between the 5th and 7th centuries AD. Consequently, our understanding of late Antique Knossos comes primarily from the excavated remains of two of the Christian basilicas in the Valley; the Sanatorium Basilica and the KMF Basilica. Although excavations of the former have been published in full, concerning the KMF Basilica, only a brief summary of its architecture has been published. As a result, a detailed analysis of the excavations of the basilica itself will be made available here, including particulars of its architecture, mosaics, and summaries of the associated elements of the entire basilica complex (a detailed discussion of the whole Late Antique KMF excavations is forthcoming). As such, not only is a new and full interpretation of the KMF Basilica provided, but also for the first time the material culture of Late Antique Knossos is collated and subsequently analysed to provide a clear understanding of the nature of the city during this period. Despite a dearth of domestic evidence, a contextual study of the surviving architecture (principally religious) in conjunction with the mortuary remains, allows a broad perception of society and a clear comprehension of the development of the city. Thus the aim here is to examine the compelling evidence that, contrary to common belief, during the Late Antique period Knossos continued to be a vibrant and influential city as it had been in the Roman period.