Petsofas

Petsofas is a Minoan peak sanctuary in eastern Crete, overlooking the palatial site of Palaikastro (Roussolakos). First excavated by John Myres in 1903, it was the earliest peak sanctuary to be identified and investigated. Active from the Middle Minoan I period (c. 2000-1800 BC) through the Neopalatial period, the open-air enclosure yielded thousands of clay votive figurines depicting worshippers, sacrificial animals, and human limbs thought to represent requests for divine healing. Uniquely among peak sanctuaries, Petsofas produced clay figurines of weasels and tortoises, along with serpentine offering tables bearing Linear A inscriptions.