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The Minoan Palace of Phaistos in Crete |
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The ancient Minoan city of Phaestos (Faistos) is located a few kilometres east of Tymbaki. Phaestos was Crete's second most important palace after Knossos. The Palace of Malia, east of Hersonissos in eastern Crete, came in the third place. The first palace was built around 2000 BC. It was destroyed by an earthquake about 1700 BC. Later it was rebuilt, but it was again destroyed by an earthquake around 1600 BC.
The entrance to the Minoan Palace of Phaistos.
 View of the Minoan Palace of Phaistos.
If you are interested in the Minoan culture, you will like Phaestos.
The excavation area is large and the setting is stunning. Unlike Knossos,
the ruins of Phaestos are not reconstructed. To understand the importance
of Phaestos you have to join a guided tour, if you explore the site on
your own you will leave from there with more questions than answers.
Open daily from 08:00 to 20:00.
Above Phaistos lies a cafe with beautiful view. |
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The celebrated Phaestos Disc was found in the Palace of Phaestos in 1908 by the Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier. The disc is about 15 cm in diameter and it is made of fired clay. It has been dated to the middle or the end of the second millennium BC. The disc is covered on both sides with a spiral of hieroglyphic characters. Still, no one knows why or where the disc was manufactured. The disc is one of the most famous archaeological mysteries. The reason why the disc is considered as a mystery is that no one has managed to decipher the signs on the disc. Many have tried to solve the mystery, both amateur and professional archaeologists, but no one has succeeded.
Me and my t-shirt with the Phaistos disc.
When I looked for pictures in my huge picture archive from Greece, I couldn't find any pictures of the Phaistos disc, and I thought that was strange. We have been to the archaeological museum in Heraklion and have seen the disc there, but apparently without photographing it. There are lots of pictures online that you could use, but I don't work that way because I'm very careful about copyright.
The Phaistos Disc can be seen in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion.
Today, when we went for a walk in our beautiful city, I asked
Camilla if she remembered if we had taken pictures at the Phaistos disc,
but she didn't. Since it was a bit chilly, I wore a hooded jacket. After
a while the sun appeared and it got warmer, and then I took off the hooded
jacket. Then Camilla exclaimed: What the duck! You're wearing a
t-shirt with the Phaistos disc on it! And I had, not knowing that I chose
that particular t-shirt this morning. So now I have a picture that I can
use on Kalispera. :-)
Many of the things found in Phaistos and Knossos are in the Archeological Museum of Heraklion.
There are those who consider that the disc is a fake, or even
a joke. The disc is on display at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
Perhaps you can solve the mystery? The Minoan settlement of Agia Triada is located about 4 kilometres west of Phaistos. |
WHAT YOU MUST NOT MISS IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN MINOAN CULTURE |
