Maleme

A Late Minoan tholos tomb from the Late Bronze Age (c. 1450-1200 BC) is located on Kafkala hill near the village of Maleme in western Crete. The corbelled vault structure measures 8.15 m in diameter and 2.95 m in height, accessed via a 13 m entrance passage (dromos) with a doorway 3 m high and 1.60 m wide, capped by a massive poros-stone lintel. Accidentally discovered in the early 20th century and looted, the tomb was further damaged by bombing during World War II. Systematic excavation by archaeologist Kostas Davaras in 1966 recovered bronze tools, pottery, and sealstones of bronze and agate.