Arthur Evans

Sir Arthur John Evans (8 July 1851 – 11 July 1941) was an English archaeologist and pioneer in the study of Aegean civilization in the Bronze Age. He is most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete. Evans continued Heinrich Schliemann's concept of a Mycenaean civilization, but found that he needed to distinguish another civilization, the Minoan, from the structures and artifacts found there and throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Evans was also the first to define Cretan scripts Linear A and Linear B, as well as an earlier pictographic writing. Although not a professional statesman or soldier, and probably never a paid agent of the government, he nevertheless negotiated or played a role in negotiating unofficially with foreign powers in the Balkans and Middle East. He was, on request of the revolutionary organizations of the peoples of the Balkans, a significant player in the formation of the nation of Yugoslavia.