Knossos
Neolithic period

Knossos was settled around 7000 BC during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, making it the oldest known settlement in Crete. The initial settlement was a hamlet of 25–50 people who lived in wattle and daub huts, kept animals, grew crops, and, in the event of tragedy, buried their children under the floor. Remains from this period are concentrated in the area which would later become the central court of the palace, suggesting continuity in ritual activity.

In the Early Neolithic (6000–5000 BC), a village of 200–600 persons occupied most of the area of the later palace and the slopes to the north and west. Residents lived in one- or two-room square houses of mud-brick walls set on socles of stone, either field stone or recycled stone artifacts. The inner walls were lined with mud-plaster. The roofs were flat, composed of mud over branches. The residents dug hearths at various locations in the center of the main room. This village had an unusual feature: one house under the West Court contained eight rooms and covered 50 m (540 sq ft). The walls were at right angles. The door was centered. Large stones were used for support under points of greater stress. The fact that distinct sleeping cubicles for individuals was not the custom suggests storage units of some sort.

The settlement of the Middle Neolithic (5000–4000 BC), housed 500–1000 people in more substantial and presumably more family-private homes. Construction was the same, except the windows and doors were timbered, a fixed, raised hearth occupied the center of the main room, and pilasters and other raised features (cabinets, beds) occupied the perimeter. Under the palace was the Great House, a 100 m (1,100 sq ft) area stone house divided into five rooms with meter-thick walls suggesting a second story was present. The presence of the house, which is unlikely to have been a private residence like the others, suggests a communal or public use; i.e., it may have been the predecessor of a palace. In the Late or Final Neolithic (two different but overlapping classification systems, around 4000–3000 BC), the population increased dramatically.
combination:repeat_prompt