A rare and significant discovery emerged from the latest excavation at the Minoan Palace in Archanes. Under the supervision of Dr. Effie Sapouna-Sakellaraki, the team unearthed the Sacred Gate with four altars and stone platform extensions outside the main entrance, a feature never before found at a Minoan site.
This year’s work also unearthed new elements beyond a previously found double axe base. A pyramid-shaped base was discovered on the platform, with remnants suggesting a possible third base on the west wing. Dr. Efi Sapouna-Sakellarakis returned to continue the substantial work started in the 1960s by her mentor Giannis Sakellarakis, focusing on clarifying certain architectural features. The results have revealed fascinating insights.
In the southern section of this year’s excavation, a courtyard south of the entrance with four altars was explored, revealing a 96-square-meter space. The eastern side exposed layers of large fallen stones. This layer contained few artefacts, with ceramics from more recent times alongside Mycenaean and minimal pre-palatial pieces.
Beneath the disrupted layer in the southernmost reach lay a Mycenaean destruction layer, where fire had ravaged parts of the Minoan palace. Despite extensive damage, some Mycenaean cups and minimal Minoan artefacts, such as stone vessel fragments and pieces of rock crystal, were retrieved. The discovery of a Sacred Gate system at the entrance, accompanied by the altars and stone structures of the podium, reflects the site’s religious significance.
S. Charitonidis explored the notion of Mycenaean sacred gates in 1960. Yet later studies have debated these claims, with examples of classic-era shrines dedicated to deities like Artemis. In Crete, the deity Eileithyia Prothyraia is noted for protecting such spaces.
An intriguing find included a stone base with altars beneath the large stones south of the entrance. This base collapsed from an upper floor amidst burnt wood remains and four unique bronze objects, presumed to have connected to a wooden statue, suggesting a room on the upper level had a sacred role.
The palace’s northern section revealed multi-story spaces with luxurious rooms connected by corridors and doors with gleaming gypsum doorframes and schist floors. In situ, decorative plaster bands typical to the palace were found alongside remnants of frescoed plaster with preserved blue and red hues. The westernmost section exposed part of a doorway, maintaining its lintel and post base, crafted from bright gypsum.
Sir Arthur Evans was the first to report on Archanes due to significant finds, now housed in the Ashmolean Museum, likely from the Minoan cemetery on the nearby hill of Fourni. Giannis and Efi Sakellarakis later excavated this site, unveiling five tholos tombs and numerous burial sites from Mycenaean times.
Evans also observed large wall surfaces in the town and excavated part of a circular aqueduct near the palace, searching for what was then believed to be Knossos’s “summer palace.” Others, like Marinatos and Platon, adopted this idea.
Giannis Sakellarakis’s mapping of these findings identified the palace’s core, yielding numerous architectural and luxurious mobile finds. The palace archive and theatre space were also nearby (referenced in their publications “Archanes: A new insight into Minoan Crete,” Volumes I & II, Athens, 1997).
The 2024 excavation in Archanes was conducted by the Archaeological Society at Athens, directed by Dr. Efi Sapouna-Sakellarakis, with archaeologists Dr. Polina Sapouna-Ellis, Dimitris Kokkinakos (MA), and Persephone Xylouri forming the professional team.
