Professor Yannis Sakellarakis discovered the site in 1982, during his first day of excavations at the nearby Ideon Andron Cave by Psiloritis mountain, close to Anogia Village, when a shepherd told him about his pastures and sheep in an area called “Zominthos.”

Intrigued by the pre-Hellenic place-name, he began small-scale excavations the following year, which revealed the Central Building that is now believed to have dominated one of the main Minoan routes up to Mount Ida, today called Psiloritis. Zominthos may have been used as a rest stop for visitors making their way from Knossos to the Ideon Cave, the great sanctuary cave near the peak of Ida, as is mentioned in Plato’s Laws (book I, 625B): “I dare say that you will not be unwilling to give an account of your government and laws; on our way we can pass the time pleasantly in and about them, for I am told that the distance from Knossos to the cave and the temple of Zeus is considerable; and doubtless there are shady places under the lofty trees, which will protect us from this scorching sun.”

Zominthos seems to have been occupied beginning the 17th century B.C., with an extensive settlement and a monumental Central Building that covers an area of 1,600 square meters (17,000 square feet). Beneath the Central Building, which was gradually developed from the 17th century onward, the remains of several earlier structures have been identified. Because of the severe climate conditions on the mountaintop—including snow during the winter months—the site may not have been used throughout the entire year, but rather as a seasonal habitat. During the summer months, people likely moved their flocks of sheep here, to higher altitudes, while exploiting natural resources, such as minerals, herbs, and pharmaceutical plants. These products, along with woolen textiles and olives, were the goods most commonly exported from Minoan Crete to Egypt and the Middle East.

The Central Building is extremely well preserved and some of its walls still stand at a height of 2.2 meters (7.2 feet). However, creating the foundation of such a huge building at this altitude is quite a complicated issue. Its unlikely location and size, as well as its careful construction, indicate the existence of a central authority that intended to control the region’s resources, including its flocks and pastures. Zominthos may therefore be considered a well-organized administrative complex—built on a strategic spot for the control of the area—that fully adapted to the inhospitable Cretan mountains. Its location on the ancient route to Psiloritis and the wealth of pottery found at the site indicate that it was likely also a religious and crafts center.

The accounting archives in the Linear B script from the palace at Knossos—about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Zominthos—record thousands of sheep along with shepherds’ names. However, the location of the land where these sheep were grazing has always been a mystery. Zominthos and the neighboring regions have very prosperous pastures, so it could be that the sheep recorded in the Knossos tablets were mainly concentrated here at Zominthos. The Central Building’s importance is confirmed by its asymmetrical facades and orientation to the cardinal points, which are well-known characteristics of Minoan palaces. Zominthos was destroyed by an earthquake around 1600 B.C., which resulted in a fire that devastated the vast majority of building’s structure. But various finds from the Central Building indicate that the site continued to be used in Mycenaean, Archaic, Hellenistic, and Roman times.

After a gap of 17 years, archaeological work at the site of Zominthos resumed in the summer of 2005. Although only the ground floor is visible today, archaeological evidence suggests that the Central Building had at least two floors built of large blocks of local stone, some coated with white plaster and decorated with frescoes. Only 10 of at least 45 rooms of the ground floor have been partly or fully explored up to now, and the results can be summarized as follows: The rooms contained pottery, masses of animal bones, numerous fragments of carbonized wood, and several small artifacts. The vast majority of the pottery includes conical cups, cooking pots, and pithoi. Also, several ceramic water conduits have been found, probably indicating a central drainage system. In the western part of the Central Building, a complex consisting of at least two workshops was discovered.

Zominthos Zominthos

• Map
• Beaches
• Villages
• Gorges
• Sites
• Other

Vathi Beach, South Crete - Mesara. Beaches on Crete

Tripiti in Lentas, South Central Crete

Tsoutsouros Beach, South Heraklion

Chrisostomos Beach, Kali Limenes, South Central Crete

Kalamaki Beach, South Crete - Mesara. Beaches on Crete

Katarti Beach Asterousia, South Crete, Heraklion

Korakas Beach by Rethimno, south Crete

Ostria Beach by Lendas, South Central Crete

Agios Nikitas Beach by Tsoutsouros - Asterousia, South Crete

Plakias Beach by Rethimno, south Crete

Keratokambos Beach by South Crete, Heraklion

Agios Ioannis Beach and Village in South Crete

Schinaria beach Rethimno, South Central Crete

Agios Georgios beach - Agia Galini Rethimno

Mikro Amoudaki or Klisidi beach in Plakias Rethimno

Timbaki, Messara South Central Crete

Tylissos or Tilisos in Heraklion, Central Crete

Moires or Mires, south Crete. Messara

Arkalochori in Heraklion, Central Crete

Adelianos Kambos, Rethimno, Central Crete

Adele village, Rethimno, Central Crete

Kalamaki coastal village by South Crete - Mesara

Stalis or Stalida by Malia in Heraklion, Central Crete

Bali Village and Beach, Rethimno, Central Crete

Chersonisos in Heraklion, Central Crete

Malia in Heraklion, Central Crete

Kokini Hani village in Heraklion, Central Crete

Matala, south Crete. Holidays in Crete

Anogia or Anogeia, Rethimno, Central Crete

Archanes in Heraklion, Central Crete

Karteros or Astrakiano gorge in Heraklion Crete

Preveli Gorge in Rethimno, South Crete

Ambelos and Rosa Gorge in Gonies

Kissano Gorge in Rethimno, Central Crete

Agios Fanourios gorge in Venerato

Kavoussi Gorge in Keratokambos

Agiofarago in south Crete Matala - Lendas area

Tripiti gorge in Lentas south Crete. Lendas area

The gorge of Platania, Psiloritis mountain

Agios Vasilios gorge in Rethimno

Kourtaliotiko Gorge in Plakias, south Crete

Arvi Gorge in south Crete Heraklion

Petres Gorge in Rethimno

Selinari gorge in Heraklion Crete

The gorge of Vorizia

STEGA: The Archaeology of Houses and Households in Ancient Crete

The Rimondi Fountain, Rethimno

Ancient Inatos, Tsoutsouros

Malia minoan Palace archaeological site in Central Crete

Phestos or Phaistos-Festos archaeological site in Crete

Apodoulou minoan settlement archaeological site in south Crete

Levin: Ancient Lentas, South Crete

Juchtas Psili Korfi archaeological site in Archanes on Crete, Heraklion

Palace in Tourkogeitonia, Archanes

The Fortress of Monopari, Rethimno, Crete

Kommos archaeological site in Pitsidia, South Crete Matala

Knossos: The Palace

The Hermitages of Agios Efthimios and of Agios Methodios in Zaros - Nivritos

Gortys – A City for the Ages

Mansion of Niros in Gouves, archaeological site

Yacht Charter in West and East Crete

The Climate of Crete

Family Hotels Union of Makri Gialos

WebCrete.Net, Your Online Travel Guide

Central Crete and Heraklion attractions

Minoans Warlike? Ancient Crete Civilization Not As Peaceful As Once Thought, Archaeologist Says

Culture Events in Rethimno Prefecture

Earliest Sample of Minoan Hieroglyphics Found in Western Crete

Junipers plants - trees in Crete - Greece

The Holocaust of Kedros mountain area

Rethymno: Agia Fotini Beach

Kazani - Raki distillation. Popular tradition of Crete

Chania Prefecture

Souda and History

History: Rethymno prefecture-West Crete