Chamaizi

Chamaizi is a unique Minoan archaeological site in eastern Crete featuring the only known oval-shaped building from the Middle Minoan period, dating to approximately the 20th century BC. Situated on the conical hilltop of Souvloto Mouri, 11 km from Sitia, it was first excavated in 1903 by Stephanos Xanthoudides and again in 1971 by Costis Davaras, who discovered a second northwest entrance. The building centers around a cistern connected by a stone-slab-covered conduit system that collected rainwater, as the hilltop lacks wells. Below the oval structure lie Early Minoan building foundations, and finds include a movable hearth suggesting domestic occupation, though scholars debate whether it served as a villa, shrine, or dwelling.