{"id":2262,"date":"2026-05-04T19:51:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/?p=2262"},"modified":"2026-05-04T19:51:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T19:51:43","slug":"lost-prehistoric-cities-the-golden-citadel-of-crete-and-the-city-of-the-cockerel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/lost-prehistoric-cities-the-golden-citadel-of-crete-and-the-city-of-the-cockerel\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost Prehistoric Cities: The Golden Citadel of Crete and The City of the Cockerel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Penny Fishburn and Kiera Lu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picture this: you are sitting in a grandly decorated room, a frescoed deity staring into your eyes. Depicted across a splash of softened plaster, a pair of griffins appear to lie in relaxation, eyes resting upon a large alabaster throne. A light wind blows a splash of dust through the room, further drying its ancient cypress columns. Unlike the other Grecian cities, the columns here are designed not for height, but for functionality and beauty, covered in red plaster and decorated modestly. This is Knossos, and you are in the palace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once one of the largest and most grand palaces in the world, the Palace of Knossos has resigned itself to instead be the oldest discovered civilization on the island of Crete. Though impressive, there is much more to Crete than its palatial complex. From origins as a small mud-brick village, Knossos became what many now consider a city of many roots, with frequent earthquake damage causing an exceptional amount of rebuilt and preserved structures from various eras combined in a soup of ancient glory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When interest was piqued for the first time in 1877, Knossos was excavated rapidly. However, it was not until the early 1900s, when famed archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans laid his sights upon the city, that any real excavation work began. Historical evidence shows us that the area holding Knossos was once not much more than a small village of one or two room mud brick homes, with various communal buildings housing multiple families, perhaps home to about 400 villagers. Though their foundations were stone, many of these homes are sadly lost to time. Soon after, the area was occupied by a settlement of more private people, with more distinct family groups and about twice the population of the original city. It was only later, during the bronze age, that the first palaces were built upon this land, and the true glory days of Knossos started in earnest.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The palace of Knossos is a massive complex hodge-podged together throughout the ages, standing as a testament to days of glory long past. Though many of its structures were built throughout ancient history, much of the site has been spoiled by botched reconstructions. Despite this, we are able to understand a lot of what Knossos must have looked like in its heyday. The palace is situated around a central court, which archeologists and historians believe was used to host rituals and festivals. Surrounding this, the is a sprawling, full of a variety of rooms, all decorated with gorgeous frescoes and littered with pottery, one of the most prolific Knossian relics. Winding storage magazines loop through the palace, and hidden waterworks lurk behind walls. The architecture of the palace was luxurious, designed to bring every comfort to its occupants, from water to luxurious open air ventilation shafts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trademark of architecture on Crete, the Minoan column is a marvel to behold. Designed for practicality, Minoan columns are the reverse of their Greek counterpart, wide on top and skinnier on the bottom. This is due to how they were constructed. Constructed almost purely for practicality, Minoan columns are simply uprooted cypress trees turned on their heads to prevent sprouting, but they look impressive all the same. In the palaces of Knossos and Minos, both on Crete, these wooden columns were plastered and painted before being mounted on stone bases, making them look regal and impressive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The notable residents of Knossos were greatly varied throughout time, from philosophers to architects to Olympic runners. Its philosopher Aenesidemus was famed for his philosophical skepticism, and his later counterpart in philosophy Epimenides was a somewhat revered, myth-like figure, famed for his predictions of the future. Together, they enhance a vision of Knossos, and all of Crete, as a place of philosophy. In the sixth century, architects and Knossian residents Chersiphron and his son Metagenes were famed for their creation of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Finally, Ergoteles of Himera also lived in Knossos. He left Crete over civil disorder and became a naturalized citizen of Himera, in Sicily. He later went on to win the Olympic \u2018long race\u2019 twice during his running career for Himera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Knossos is not most famed for its residents or architecture, but its myth. Legend has it that Poseidon once cursed a queen of Crete to fall in love with a bull, and she bore a child half man, half bull, called the Minotaur. He was confined to an underground labyrinth for fear of his savagery, and every nine years, seven young men and seven young women were selected as sacrifices to fuel his hunger. The king of Crete, King Minos, demanded it, and when his son was killed he demanded two young Athenians as well. After a few years of this, the Athenian prince Theseus offered to slay the Minotaur when he was sent in as sacrifice, and the king’s daughter, Ariadne, who was madly in love with Theseus, agreed to help. Theseus was successful, and the story of the Minotaurs labyrinth survived through the ages and is now a classic tale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, Knossos was a flourishing epicenter of Cretan life, adorned with gilded frescoes and brilliant plastering far ahead of its time in luxury. Its focal palace was home to a wide variety of architectural delicacies, from the Minoan column to winding storage magazines. Throughout the palace, frescoes danced across the walls. Perhaps, long ago, the gazes of many an ancient person glanced upon these storied walls. From small mud brick huts to stones bursting with history, the story of Knossos is one that will be remembered for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Compared with the lavish citadel of Knossos, the Neolithic cities of South Asia are less well known, if not somewhat obscure. Some people don\u2019t think that culture was advanced enough in these parts of the world to build anything like a city. But that\u2019s far from true. Thousands of years ago, vast cities thrived across the Indus River valley. One of the cities, located in the middle of the valley, is particularly well-built, with neatly paved streets, towering pillared halls, and wells at regular intervals. Welcome to Mohenjo-Daro, one of the most advanced centers of the Indus Valley civilization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built around 2500 BCE (about 4500 years ago), abandoned around 1700 BCE, and uncovered again in 1920, the city of Mohenjo-Daro is one of the most famous archaeological sites in South Asia, if not the world. It was one of the most prominent cities in the Indus Valley civilization, in present-day Pakistan. The civilization was one of the oldest in the world- comparable to Ancient Egypt, Norte Chico, and early Chinese civilization. The name Mohenjo-Daro, which means \u2018mound of the dead men\u2019 in Sindhi, the area\u2019s native language, is not likely to be the city\u2019s real name. Based on an ancient seal found at the site, archaeologists have proposed that the original name might have been Kukkutarma<\/em>, meaning the \u2018city of the cockerel\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city site covers approximately 300 hectares, about 750 acres of land, partitioned neatly into rectangles of buildings by straight streets that meet at right-angle corners, forming a vast grid. Mohenjo-Daro has two main parts; the Citadel, built on a mound, and the Lower City, the sprawling city beneath. The Citadel houses all the facilities of a town center, with assembly halls and public baths. One of the largest structures, discovered in 1950, is called the \u201cGreat Granary\u201d. This giant building would have been an ideal place for storing grain, such as large empty rooms with air ducts in the walls for drying out the grain. But evidence of grain has not turned up at the site, so \u201cGreat Hall\u201d might be a better name for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most renowned structure in Mohenjo-Daro is the Great Bath. This massive pool measures 40 by 23 feet (12 by 7 meters), is 8 feet deep at the lowest corner and is almost perfectly rectangular. The walls and floor of the bath are finely paved with mud bricks connected with gypsum plaster, then coated with a thick layer of bitumen to make it watertight. The bottom of the pool slopes towards the southwest corner, where a small opening connects to a channel that may have been used to carry away the used water. Two staircases made of neatly layered bricks lead down into the pool from the north and south ends. Surrounding the pool was a large courtyard with brick colonnades, the remains of which line its northern, eastern and southern sides. The rectangular bases are notched as if to hold glass or wooden screens, creating a three-sided enclosure around the bath. There is also a series of low walls on the east side, which would have partitioned the space into rooms. Archaeologists have deduced that this pool would have been used for religious purification rituals instead of common everyday bathing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The freshwater system of Mohenjo-Daro is one of the most complex and plentiful in the ancient world, as the impressive Great Bath shows. . There are over 700 wells scattered throughout the city- one for every three houses! This must have been incredibly convenient for the city\u2019s inhabitants, compared to other ancient cities in the area, which often had two or three for the whole city. The wells were built out of special wedge-shaped mud bricks to make them cylindrical- an innovation unique to the civilization, as no similar structures have been uncovered in Egypt, Sumer and other cultures of that time. Many excavated wells are extremely tall, and archaeologists theorize that they were repeatedly built up as the land was flooded over and over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mohenjo-Daro\u2019s drainage system is also extremely advanced for such an ancient city. Most houses had bathrooms on the upper stories or roofs, with toilets that could be \u2018flushed\u2019 by pouring a jar of water into them. The waste was carried from individual houses through terracotta pipes or open chutes. These connected to large sewers under the streets, which were made out of intricately laid baked mud bricks, much like the Great Bath, and sealed off with rough mortar. Many had lidded holes that could be opened for inspection, and soak pits, or cesspits, that collected solid waste and could be opened to be cleaned out. The sewers were built at a constant angle, channeling the waste towards the Indus River nearby.  The network of drains was citywide, ensuring that almost every household had access to hygiene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than its intricate water system, the most famous- and most intriguing- part of the city is its abrupt abandonment. Since the early 1900\u2019s, archeologists have theorized that Mohenjo-Daro\u2013 and the surrounding Indus Valley civilization\u2013 was invaded by Aryans from Europe, who killed off most of the population and destroyed the city. This theory was prompted by the discovery of 37 skeletons\u2013 or partial skeletons\u2013 lying in the streets, several of which are contorted. But in recent years, scientists have overthrown this theory, instead stating that Mohenjo-Daro\u2019s abandonment was most likely caused by a series of natural catastrophes. Many of the city\u2019s structures show evidence of rebuilding after water damage, which led scholars to believe that the city had been flooded repeatedly. The land around was overworked to produce crops for the city which, at its height, housed about 40,000 inhabitants. And the 4.2-kiloyear event, a centuries-long global drought which began around 2200 B.C.E., would have caused the climate to dry out and diverted the path of the monsoon rains the city depended on. Whatever the reason, the people of Mohenjo-Daro left the city in about 1700 B.C.E. and migrated towards Southeast Asia. As for the skeletons, scholars agree that they probably died from sickness, not from attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in all, Mohenjo-Daro\u2019s ruins provide a fascinating glimpse into an advanced, elaborate, and obscure culture, captivating people\u2019s imagination about a civilization that has since been almost forgotten. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Penny Fishburn and Kiera Lu Picture this: you are sitting in a grandly decorated room, a frescoed deity staring into your eyes. Depicted across a splash of softened plaster, a pair of griffins appear to lie in relaxation, eyes resting upon a large alabaster throne. A light wind blows a splash of dust through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[23],"class_list":["post-2262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","tag-long-read"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2268,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2262\/revisions\/2268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waylandmiddleschool.org\/orange_black\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}