Ancient Town
Near the palace, a Minoan paved roadway is leading to a crypt. The steps at the end gave access to meeting rooms, still furnished with benches, which were probably part of the Prytaneion, where the magistrates met. It is flanked by storerooms. Other buildings used for religious purposes and houses (ground floor and basement often well preserved) have been discovered on the outskirts of town. The Krysolakos (''gold pit'') necropolis, which contained the famous bee pendant now in the Herakleion Museum, is thought to have been a royal graveyard.
|
Approach to the plateau by the north slope
The road from Limáni Hersoníssou winds its way up the slope offering spectacular views down over the Avdoú Valley. At the entrance to Potamiés stands a tiny church in the Venetian Gothic style; the interior is decorated with 14C frescoes. The little 9C monastery of Kardiotíssa (before the village of Kerá) also contains well-preserved 14C frescoes and a holy door (c 1500), forming part of the iconostasis. At the highest point there is a row of corn mills, one of which is still operating.
|
Ancient Town
Near the palace, a Minoan paved roadway is leading to a crypt. The steps at the end gave access to meeting rooms, still furnished with benches, which were probably part of the Prytaneion, where the magistrates met. It is flanked by storerooms. Other buildings used for religious purposes and houses (ground floor and basement often well preserved) have been discovered on the outskirts of town. The Krysolakos (''gold pit'') necropolis, which contained the famous bee pendant now in the Herakleion Museum, is thought to have been a royal graveyard.
|
Approach to the plateau by the north slope
The road from Limáni Hersoníssou winds its way up the slope offering spectacular views down over the Avdoú Valley. At the entrance to Potamiés stands a tiny church in the Venetian Gothic style; the interior is decorated with 14C frescoes. The little 9C monastery of Kardiotíssa (before the village of Kerá) also contains well-preserved 14C frescoes and a holy door (c 1500), forming part of the iconostasis. At the highest point there is a row of corn mills, one of which is still operating.
|