The Minoan palace of Zakros

The palace of Zakros is the fourth largest in Minoan Crete. It was located in an important strategic point, in a secured bay, and was a center of trade exchanges with the countries of the East, on the eastern side of the Mediterranean, as can be seen from the finds (elephant tusks, faience, copper, etc.). Although it is the smallest of the four Minoan palaces of Crete, it is the only one that was found untouched, revealing some of the most important finds of the Minoan civilization.

It was the archaeological hoe of Nicolas Plato that revealed this strategically important palace. The first indications of possible ancient remains in the area are found in the book of the English admiral Th. Spratt “Travels in Crete” (1865) who mentions that he saw ruins in the area, while the Italian archaeologists F. Halbherr and L. Mariani and the Englishman A. Evans did small-scale test surveys in the area (late 19th century).