The Knossos Roman Archaeology Project Update
The Knossos Roman Archaeology Project Team (photo by Willemien de Kock)
In May 2026 a new research project started in the Knossos Valley, Crete, co-directed by Dr Daniel Stewart, University of Leicester and Professor Rebecca Sweetman, BSA Director and University of St Andrews. While Knossos (second most visited archaeological site in Greece, after the Acropolis in Athens) is renowned for its Minoan Palace, in fact it was also an important Roman Colony. Only tantalizing evidence of the city in the Roman period is known from excavated structures like the Villa Dionysus, the Unexplored Mansion and the K2K Bath House along with survey evidence (Whitelaw’s Knossos Urban Landscape Project and Hood and Smyth’s Knossos Survey) and a number of rescue excavations scattered throughout the valley.
Chewie dug his own pit to cool down in the spoil heap (photo by Rebecca Sweetman)
The aim of the Knossos Roman Archaeology and Legacy Data project is to shed light on the diachronic occupation of the city in the Roman period. Following an intensive geophysical survey in the Knossos Valley in 2025 we focused our excavation on an area to the West of the Villa Dionysus. Over the course of 5 weeks we began to uncover evidence for habitation and industrial activities of different types dated between the 1st and 3rd centuries. The industrial evidence was a surprising and exciting find, particularly in an area assumed to be so close to the centre of the Roman city. We cannot wait to get back into the field to find out more next year!
We would like to thank the British Academy, British School at Athens, Heritage Works and Society of Antiquaries of London, Universities of St Andrews and Leicester for their funding support. We had a superb team of colleagues and students from the BSA, Heritage Works, Universities of St Andrews, Leicester, Cambridge, Oxford, Royal Holloway, Groningen, University College Dublin, and Queens (Canada) whom we greatly appreciate!
Read more about the project here: https://www.bsa.ac.uk/research-2/roman-knossos/