In the summers of 2019 and 2020, Josho Brouwers and Arianna Sacco travelled around the island of Crete, visiting various archaeological sites and museums. Here’s an overview of all the articles that were written based on their travels. Enjoy!

A Minoan harbour town
The ancient site of Kommos in Crete
On the southern coast of Crete, a little north of Matala, lies Kommos, the site of a Minoan harbour town. While not open to the public, you can get a good sense of the site from behind the fences.

An ancient, sacred place
The Melidoni Cave near Rethymno, Crete
Located about 30 km east of Rethymno is Gerontospilios (“Old Cave”), more commonly referred to in English as the Melidoni Cave, an underground site of great historical significance.

Carved into rock
The so-called “caves” (tombs) at Matala
Located on the southern coast of Crete, Matala is a modern beach-side resort with a history that stretches back to ancient times. The only visible remains of the distant past are the artificial caves near the beach.

The birthplace of Zeus?
The Psychro Cave in Crete
High in the Dicte mountain range along the Lasithi Plateau in Crete is the Psychro Cave, which may have been the place where, according to myth, the great god Zeus was raised.

Set in stone
The law code of Gortyn
One of the longest extant ancient Greek inscriptions is found in Gortyn, an ancient city in Crete. The text was inscribed in the fifth century BC, but some scholars purport that parts of it are reflective of an earlier era.

The city on the mountain
Exploring ancient Lato
The remains of the ancient city of Lato in Crete are well worth visiting. This archaeological site, located in the mountains, features the remains of houses, public buildings, and public spaces.

Armed riders from Crete
Reliefs from the temple at Prinias
The collection of the archaeological museum of Iraklion includes reliefs of armed horsemen from the temple unearthed at Prinias, one of the oldest stone temples in Greece.

Wandering through ancient streets
The Minoan town of Gournia
No archaeological site in Crete gives you a better idea of what it must have been like to live in a Minoan town than Gournia, located on the Isthmus of Ierepetra.

Blades from Malia
Status symbols of the Minoan elite?
Finds from the Minoan settlement at Malia include a number of beautiful swords and daggers, now in the Archaeological Museum of Iraklion.

With a view to the sea
The Minoan palace at Malia
We explore the archaeological site of Malia in Crete, located close to the sea. Here, remains of a “palace” have been unearthed, as well as parts of the surrounding Minoan town.