‘Knossos: Looking for the Labyrinth’: a talk by Dr. Andrew Shapland

On Thursday 11th May at 7pm, the Bristol CA will be joined by Dr. Andrew Shapland of the Ashmolean Museum, who will be delivering a talk on ‘Knossos: Looking for the Labyrinth’. As usual, the talk will be held at Badminton School, Peace Memorial Hall, where refreshments will be available from 6:30pm. Mythical Knossos was the location of the palace of King Minos and the Labyrinth where the Minotaur was imprisoned. After over a century of excavation at the site, archaeologists now regard it as the centre of the Bronze Age Minoan civilisation, the home of the earliest farmers in Europe and a thriving Greek and Roman city. This talk will trace the history of exploration of Knossos, beginning with the early travellers searching for the mythical Labyrinth and ending with more recent discoveries, which include human sacrifice. It will pay particular attention to the excavations of Sir Arthur Evans, whose archive at the Ashmolean is the single most important resource for understanding the site of Knossos. The talk will coincide with the Ashmolean’s 2023 ‘Labyrinth’ exhibition. Please sign up via the following Eventbrite link if you are interested in attending this event. Questions can be emailed to Barbara Bell bmbellmini@aol.com, but all attendees must register via Eventbrite for tickets:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/609824660977 Tickets are free for Bristol CA members and students, and £5 for everyone else (payable at the door). You can sign up for multiple tickets under one Eventbrite registration, but please be accurate in terms of numbers so that we can cater accordingly. Thank you, and we hope to see many of you there!