Gournia

Gournia is a Minoan town and palace complex in Lasithi, eastern Crete, often called the "Pompeii of Crete" for its exceptional preservation. It flourished from roughly 1550-1450 BC, was destroyed by an earthquake around 1450 BC, and finally abandoned about 1200 BC. First excavated by American archaeologist Harriet Boyd-Hawes (1901-1904), the site revealed about 50 houses, a cobbled street system, a central court, a small hilltop palace, and a snake goddess temple. Gournia served as a regional trade hub with overseas connections to the Aegean and Near East, and as the palatial administrative center of the Mirabello region.