Alexandre Farnoux Alexandre Farnoux Alexandre Farnoux is a French historian, a specialist on the Minoan civilisation and Delos. Alexandre Farnoux studied at the French School at Athens, he became director of this institute in September 2011. He is professor of Greek archaeology at Paris-Sorbonne University and also teaches Greek history at the University of Strasbourg. He conducts research in Crete on the Minoan civilisation and is director of the excavation of a residential quarter in the Minoan city of Mallia. An overview of the archaeological discoveries made in Knossos, Crete, from the beginning of the 20th century, especially by the British archaeologist
Minoan civilization millennium BC at Malia. Although it was formerly believed that the foundation of the first palaces was synchronous and dated to the Middle Minoan period (around 2000 BC, the date of the first palace at Knossos), scholars now think that the palaces were built over a longer period in response to local developments. The main older palaces are Knossos, Malia and Phaistos. Elements of the Middle Minoan palaces (at Knossos, Phaistos and Malia, for example) have precedents in Early Minoan construction styles. These include an indented western court and special treatment of the western façade. One example is the House