Minoan Crete (Life in Ancient Lands Series)

New York: Putnam., 1967 Book. Fine. Hardcover. 1st.US Ed... "Though it was one of the greatest and most distinct of ancient civilizations, practically nothing was known of Minoan Crete until the present century. It is, in a sense, the complete creation of the archaeologist s spade and the scholar"s detective imagination. Their detailed investigations have revealed a rich culture with such brilliance, luxury, oddity and gaiety that it has invited comparison with Paris at its peak, and this despite the fact that its few written records are little more than duty rosters and lists of quartermasters and tax-collectors. Yet Crete, like all civilizations, seemed to possess its own inherent seeds of destruction. H. E. L. Mellersh weaves a fascinating story of the flowering of the Minoan people, a story not in isolation-for the Minoans were of the Bronze Age and a Mediterranean people. A distinctive feature of the book are the superb illustrations-16 pages of plates in full colour, and 76 black and white illustrations fully integrated with the text. " 143p. plates some col) illus.index (bookplate of previous owner).