Evans did a bunch of reconstruction while excavating and many frescos were removed and replaced with more complete restored/replicas. The palace was 4 or 5 storeys tall, supported by large wooden columns.
A partially restored replica of the entrance's fresco:
Knossos had lots of wood columns and beams (Cypress) holding it up and, theoretically, providing some flexbility in case of earthquakes. Unfortunately, each room had one or more candles or torches and these fell during the earthquake and set the palace on fire.
It is believed that the major eruption of Santorini's volcano in about 1450 BC led to the collapse of the Minoan civilization. While they had rebuilt after several previous earthquakes, they didn't bounce back from this one.
Knossos was the mythical home of the Minotaur, which lived in the Labrynth. "Labrynth" is derived from "Labrys", the double-headed axe. Labrys represented the King's political and religious power. It was engraved on of the walls at Knossos.
It is currently believed that the palace itself was the Labrynth from the myth. It was an enormous complex (especially for that time) and it had many twisting halls and rooms, making it confusing to navigate.
We tried to go to the Iraklio archeological museum, but it closed at 3pm and we didn't arrive until 15:05. It turns out that most Greek museums and sites close at 14:30 or 15:00. We decided to keep that in mind...
