Phaestos

Pottery deposits indicate that the site was inhabited in the Neolithic era around 4000 BC, when the first settlers established themselves on the slopes of Kastri Hill. The first palace was built around 2000 BC and then destroyed by the earthquake that levelled many Minoan palaces. The ruins were covered with a layer of lime and debris, which formed the base of a new palace that was begun around 1700 BC. It, too, was destroyed in the catastrophe that befell the island in 1450 BC.

In the intervening centuries Phaestos was the political and administrative centre of the Mesara Plain. Ancient texts refer to the palace's importance and note that it minted its own coins. Although Phaestos continued to be inhabited in later centuries, it fell into decline as Gortyna rose in importance. Under the Dorians, Phaestos headed a battling league of cities that included Matala and Polyrrinia in western Crete. Phaestos was defeated by Gortyna in the 2nd century BC. Excavation of the site began in 1900 by Professor Federico Halbherr of the Italian School of Archaeology, which continues the excavation work. In contrast to Knossos, Phaestos has yielded few frescoes; it seems the palace walls were mostly covered with a layer of white gypsum. There has been no reconstruction of these ruins. The difficulty of visualising the structure of the palace is further compounded by the fact that the site includes remains of the Old Palace and the New Palace.