August 20, 2025
The excavation of the Minoan palace at Archanes, under the direction of Dr. Efi Sapouna Sakellaraki, continued successfully in 2025 in the southernmost excavated part of the palace so far.
This year’s excavation gave us some interesting information. It was found that the southern oblique wall that was uncovered last year has two rows and continues in the eastern section of the area (Fig.1). The construction of this wall has both aesthetic and technical reasons. The north façade (Fig.2) is very well made with big porolith slabs visible from the Main Courtyard. The south façade (Fig.3) was less detailed and made of several smaller stones. This side was not visible and the main purpose it served was to support the area behind the wall and protect the courtyard from any landslides.
Extensive soil disturbance and chronological disruption of the layers were observed. Indicative of the disruption is the discovery in the same layer of some parts of egg-cups, parts of Mycenaean kylices (Fig.4), some sherds from Minoan pottery, parts of a Hellenistic black-glazed trefoil oinochoe with plastic heads on the handle (Fig.5-6) and a plastic head of a woman’s figure which would have been attached to a vessel (Fig.7-8).
Underneath that disrupted layer it was revealed a Mycenaean layer that has been destroyed by fire, which is in accordance with the excavation data of last year’s period in the area of the oblique wall.
Of particular interest is the fact that the Zominthos Palace (Fig.9), is included, among the other important Minoan palaces (like Knossos and Phaistos), in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Monuments.
