Crete has a lot of archaeological destinations. You can manage your trip by planning your private tour or by checking our excursions containing archaeological visits.
Knossos palace
The name Knossos was formerly latinized as Cnossus or Cnossos and occasionally Knossus, Gnossus, or Gnossos but is now almost always written Knossos.
Settled as early as the Neolithic period, the name Knossos survives from ancient Greek references to the major city of Crete. The palace of Knossos eventually became the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace was abandoned at some unknown time at the end of the Late Bronze Age, c. 1380–1100 BC the reason is unknown, but one of the many disasters that befell the palace is generally put forward.
In the First Palace Period (around 2000 BC), the urban area reached a size of as many as 18,000 people. Knossos is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe’s oldest city
Phaistos palace
Phaistos also transliterated as Phaestos, Festos and Latin Phaestus, is a Bronze Age archaeological site at modern Faistos, a municipality in south central Crete. Ancient Phaistos was located about 5.6 km east of the Mediterranean Sea and 62 km south of Heraklion, the second largest city of Minoan Crete. The name Phaistos survives from ancient Greek references to a city in Crete of that name at or near the current ruins.
The name is substantiated by the coins of the classical city. They display motifs such as Europa sitting on a bull, Talos with wings, Heracles without beard and being crowned, and Zeus in the form of a naked youth sitting on a tree. On either the obverse or the reverse the name of the city, or its abbreviation, is inscribed, such as ΦΑΙΣ or ΦΑΙΣΤΙ, for Phaistos or Phaistios (“Phaistian” adjective) written either right-to-left or left-to-right. These few dozen coins were acquired by collectors from uncontrolled contexts. They give no information on the location of Phaistos.
Palace of Malia
The palace of Malia, dating from the Middle Bronze Age, was destroyed by an earthquake during the Late Bronze Age Knossos and other sites were also destroyed at that time. The palace was later rebuilt toward the end of the Late Bronze Age. Most of the ruins visible today date from this second period of construction. The palace features a giant central courtyard, 48m x 23m in size. On the south side are two sets of steps leading upwards and a maze of tiny rooms. Also here is a strange carved stone called a kernos stone, which looks like a millstone with a cup attached to the side of it. On the north side of the courtyard were storage rooms with giant earthenware pithos jars, up to two metres tall. These were used for holding grain, olive oil and other liquids; the floor of these rooms has a complex drainage system for carrying away spilled liquids.
The palace of Malia was discovered in 1915 by Joseph Hadzidakis, a Greek archaeologist. It was fully excavated from 1922 onwards by the French School at Athens in collaboration with Greek scholars. In 1921 the French School of Athens was invited to continue its work, where under the direction of Jean Charbonneaux 1930 Central Court was exposed. After the First World War, the excavations were continued under the direction of Fernand Chapouthier and Pierre Demargne and they uncovered the palace, and dug the surrounding residential neighborhood. Only after the 2nd World War in the 50s Micheline and Henri van Effenterre made the excavations at the “Crypt” and “Agora”, Andre Dessene and Olivier Pelon on Quartier E, and Jean-Claude PourSat (from 1965) on important “Quartier Mu “. 1981, Pascal and Claude Darcque Bourrain further investigated the NO corner of the palace. The soundings in the years 1981 and 1982, conducted by Olivier Pelon have brought new insights into the precursors of the palace. Since 1988, the excavations of Alexandre Farnoux and Jan Driessen have been continued.
The Palace of Malia has a floor area of 7,500 m2 and is oriented as all Minoan palaces to NS. With regard to design and equipment, it is smaller and more modest (rustic) compared to Knossos and Phaestos.
Archaeological site of Roman Gortyna
This important city was next to Cnossus in importance and splendour; in early times these two great towns had entered into a league which enabled them to reduce the whole of Crete under their power; in after-times when dissensions arose among them, they were engaged in continual hostilities. It was originally of very considerable size, since Strabo reckons its circuit at 50 stadia; but when he wrote it was very much diminished. He adds that Ptolemy Philopator had begun to enclose it with fresh walls; but the work was not carried on for more than 8 stadia. In the Peloponnesian War, Gortyna seems to have had relations with Athens. In 201 BC, Philopoemen, who had been invited over by the inhabitants, assumed the command of the forces of Gortyna. In 197 BC, five hundred of the Gortynians, under their commander, Cydas, which seems to have been a common name at Gortyna, joined Quinctius Flamininus in Thessaly.
Gortyna stood on a plain watered by the river Lethaeus, and at a distance of 90 stadia from the Libyan Sea, on which were situated its two harbours, Lebena and Metallum, and is mentioned by numerous ancient writers — Pliny the Elder, the author of the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, Ptolemy and Hierocles, who commenced his tour of the island with this place. In the neighbourhood of Gortyna, the fountain of Sauros is said to have been surrounded by poplars which bore fruits and on the banks of the Lethaeus was another famous spring, which the naturalists said was shaded by a plane-tree, which retained its foliage through the winter, and which the people believed to have covered the marriage-bed of Europa and the metamorphosed Zeus.
The site of Gortyna is at modern Gortyn, where extensive ruins of the ancient town remain. It is a major archaeological site in Crete.
Zakros palace
Zakros is a site on the eastern coast of the island of Crete, Greece, containing ruins from the Minoan civilization. The site is often known to archaeologists as Zakro or Kato Zakro. It is believed to have been one of the four main administrative centers of the Minoans and its protected harbor and strategic location made it an important commercial hub for trade to the east. Flinders Petrie related Zakro with Tjeker of the Sea Peoples.
The town was dominated by the Palace of Zakro, originally built around 1900 BC, rebuilt around 1600 BC, and destroyed around 1450 BC along with the other major centers of Minoan civilization. Extensive ruins of the palace remain, and are a popular tourist destination.
Phourni
Phourni is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan cemetery in Crete, established in 2400 BC and lasted until 1200 BC. Phourni is Greek for “furnace, oven” and the name of the hill on which the cemetery is located. Phourni is located at 70100 Epano Archanes, Heraklion, Greece—located on a hill in north-central Crete. Phourni can be seen from Mount Juktas. It is a small hill situated northwest of Archanes, between Archanes and Kato Archanes. Phourni is reachable from a signed scenic path that starts at Archanes. It was crucial for Minoan burials as many successful ones happened at this site. The burials consistently and proactively engaged the community of the Minoans. The largest cemetery in the Archanes area was discovered in 1957 and excavated for 25 years by Yiannis Sakellarakis, beginning in 1965. The 6600 sq m cemetery includes 26 funerary buildings of varying shapes and sizes. The necropolis of Phourni is of primary importance, both for the duration of its use and for the variety of its funerary monuments. All the pottery and much of the skeletal material was collected, unlike many other pre-palatial tombs. The cemetery was founded in the Ancient Minoan IIA, and continued to be used until the end of the Bronze Age. The occupation reached its peak during the Middle Minoan AI, just before the palaces of Knossos and Malia appeared. The proximity of Archanes to the important religious centres of Mount Juktas probably contributed to the prominence of the site.
Article & photos source: https://en.wikipedia.org/