Architecture Minoenne a Malia. Les Batiments Principaux Du Quartier Mu (A, B, D, E) (Minoen Moyen II)

Quartier Mu of Malia is an exceptional architectural ensemble of the time of the First Minoan Palaces. Excavations brought to light the remains of a group of adjacent but independent buildings, remarkably well preserved by the violent fire that caused their destruction. They provide precious information, often provoking admiration, not only about the materials and building techniques, or the arrangement of the various architectural components - walls, openings, floors, staircases, columns, pillars, cornices, light wells - but also about the layout, communication and function of the individual rooms inside these units. The remaining built structures, e.g. platforms or benches, and the mobile finds collected help to identify the function of some spaces. What seems to distinguish however the most important rooms is not so much their large dimensions but their internal decoration - imprinted lines in the stucco that form rectangular panels, three-columned partitions, mouldings. These elements attest to the aesthetic preoccupations of the Minoan builders as well as to those of the Quartier Mu inhabitants. Based on the results of their analysis, the authors propose to "translate" the two-dimensional building plans into a series of three-dimensional restitutions: those of the basement, the ground floor and the first floor are quite well ascertained, those of the upper levels (second floor, roofs) are more hypothetical. This sixth and last volume of the publication of Quartier Mu, dedicated to the architectural study, stresses the significance of this exceptional group of buildings in the history of Minoan architecture, the evolution of the town of Malia, and the Minoan history as a whole.