Malia. The Dessenne Building

Devolder, Maud [UCL]

During cleaning operations of the southern limit of the West Court of the Palace at Malia in 1960, under the aegis of the French school at Athens, André Dessenne excavated the north-eastern corner of a large, well-built Protopalatial complex. Situated alongside the south-western limit of the plateau on which the palace is built, the architectural remains were composed of about 30 spaces, mostly rooms of small dimensions. Several of the rooms situated in the north-easternmost part of the building were provided with raised sandstone platforms coated with plaster and evacuation channels for the liquid that spilled from storage vases, many of which were found and left in situ by the excavator. Because of such discovery, the structure was soon referred to as ‘Magasins Sud’, ‘Magasins du Sud-Ouest’ or ‘Magasins Dessenne’. The large number of pithoi discovered and the location of the architectural remains quickly suggested these Protopalatial “magazines” may have been used for the storage of commodities consumed in the nearby Palace.