The LM II-IIIA2 Kingdom of Knossos as reflected by its Linear B Archives

After having been at the centre of dispute for half a century, the chronology of the Knossos tablets seems no longer a major point of contention. This paper first examines whether this lack of interest reflects the fact that all scholars now acknowledge one or the other chronology or whether it testifies to the acceptance of failure and the recognition that an unambiguous answer can no longer be obtained. It next covers what we know about the archaeological contexts of the Knossos tablets and reconsiders their diachronic importance. An effort is made to connect the different architectural phases of the palace with individual Linear B deposits and to detect changes in the ways administrative practices were carried out during these different moments. Concentrating on the Room of the Chariot Tablets and the Northern Entrance Passage deposits primarily, a hypothetical reconstruction of the kingdom of Knossos during the consecutive moments of the Late Minoan II-IIIA period is proposed. We also suggest that Late Minoan IIIA2 was the period during which the palace of Knossos exercised its strongest influence on the mainland