Trial KV (1969), A Middle Minoan Building at Knossos

The excavation to be described below was an emergency undertaking and no more than a test in size and purpose. The finds, though by no means spectacular, were considerable in number and, being mostly contemporary, deserve publication despite the provisional nature of the excavation. A villager planting tomatoes at Knossos brought to light a mass of plain pottery in the field of Michaelis Phrondarakis, situated in plot no. 2173 on the Greek Economic Survey (1950) Plan of the village; the locality is called Sochara and lies on the rising ground above the village coffee-shops, almost due west of the Palace. The discovery was reported to the Greek Archaeological Service which, after a little digging, collected much pottery and some plaster objects. Considering the site deserved fuller investigation, the Ephor, Dr. St. Alexiou, invited the School to carry out this work as a matter of urgency.