How it began
The palaces of Minoan Crete, at Knossos, Phaistos, Mallia and Zakros, were built with running water and drains. A 2013 study in the journal Water states that the first evidence of aqueducts, cisterns, piped distribution and sewerage and drainage systems comes from the Minoan era. The best preserved terracotta pipes are at Knossos, from early in the middle Minoan period, and most good examples come from the area around it in north-central Crete, where the technique may have been introduced.
How it works
Water reached Knossos first from the spring of Mavrokolymbos, about 500 meters away, and later from the Juctas area about 10 kilometers off. Some of it ran in closed terracotta pipes under pressure, crossing a dip by descending and then rising again, an application of the principle of communicating vessels. Under the living quarters a stone sewer plastered with mortar, about 79 by 38 centimeters in section, ran in one large loop and discharged downhill to the east. It took rainwater from the roofs and waste from the toilets.
What changed first
The sewers at Knossos, with their branches, run for more than 150 meters. They were large enough for a man to enter for cleaning, manholes were provided for that purpose, and openings at intervals gave ventilation. Some palaces had toilets that were flushed by pouring water into a conduit, and waste from the room known as the Queen's toilet left through the main drain. The best preserved toilet of this kind is at Akrotiri on Thera, of about 1550 BCE.
What lasted
Arthur Evans described the sewerage of Knossos, with a plan, in his publication of the palace between 1921 and 1935. Engineers who study the remains note how closely they follow principles used in modern hydraulic work. One practice has never stopped: collecting rainwater in cisterns, a Minoan technique, is still used today in rural areas of Crete. The authors of the 2013 study suggest the large sewers may even lie behind the legend of the labyrinth.
