Galatas Palace

The Galatas Palace is a Minoan archaeological site in Heraklion, Crete, Greece about 30 kilometers southeast of the city of Heraklion discovered in the early 1990s [1]. Built on an older Protopalatial settlement dating to the MM IB (c. 1925–1875 BC) period, a Minoan palace was constructed in the early Neopalatial Period, during the Early MM IIIA period (c. 1750 BC) [1]. The east wing is the best-preserved part of the structure, while the West and South wings were found to be extensively damaged [1]. Galatas was discovered in 1992 when illegal excavations revealed the existence of several buildings associated with the Minoans [1]. Excavation of the 4000 square meter palace has unearthed a large, paved central courtyard oriented north and south, that measured 16 meters by 32 meters [1]. The site was occupied beginning in the Early Minoan I (c. 3100–2650 BC) period based on pottery traces [1].