Zominthos

A significant and rare discovery has emerged from this year's excavation at the Minoan Palace of Archanes on Crete.

Archaeologist Dr Efi Sapouna-Sakellaraki has continued her research to complete the understanding of the three-story building, which, along with Knossos, played a crucial role in the development of Minoan civilization.

The archives area of the palace of Zominthos on the plateau of Mount Psiloritis on Crete were discovered at the sprawling site during this year's excavation season, the Ministry of Culture said on Thursday.

Archaeologists working on the small Zominthos plateau in the foothills of Mount Psiloritis on Crete discovered a tablet inscribed in Linear A - a writing system used by the ancient Minoans from around 1800 to 1450 BCE - in what was once an archive of a building complex, during this season's excavations. The tablet was used for accounting purposes.

[Culture Ministry via ANA-MPA]

The Minoan palace of Zominthos was a complex with three-story buildings grounded in the rock at 1,200 meters above sea level. As early as 2000 BC, worshippers started placing offerings in clefts in the rock, such as "egg cups" - simple cup-shaped vases with a disc-like base - both painted and plain.

Archaeologists at the Bronze Age palace complex of Zominthos on the island of Crete said in their annual report for this year that excavations of the site have yielded new insights into religious practices during the Minoan era. More specifically, archaeologists said the natural rock upon which the complex was built had served as an outdoor area of worship from around 2000 BC.

Impressive results have been reported in excavations at the Zominthos site on Mt. Ida (Psiloritis), the highest (1,200 meters) in altitude Minoan-era settlement on Crete — the cradle of the specific Bronze Era Aegean civilization.