Duncan Mackenzie: A Cautious Canny Highlander and the Palace of Minos At Knossos (BICS Supplement 72)

The discoveries at the ‘Palace of Minos’ at Knossos in Crete from 1900 till 1929 were sensational. They attracted the curious and the famous – and have always been associated with the larger-than-life personality of Sir Arthur Evans.But more recently the dependability of Evan’s publications on the discoveries has been questioned, and the role of Duncan Mackenzie, Evan’s assistant at Knossos, has been re-considered.

Mackenzie’s life is the story of a bright lad from a poor Highland family who made good as a gifted field-archaeologist, but never acquired an established and secure position, nor lasting fame, and who eventually died mad and forgotten. The study investigates the relationship between the very different personalities of Evans and Mackenzie, and explores the consequences for the study of Knossos.