The layout of the cemetery seems to have been carefully pre-planned. All the tombs are rock-chiselled chamber tombs with a “dromos”, with the exception of the built “tholos tomb” no. 200.

Unworked stones and pyramidal or slab stelae were erected over the tombs as markers. They were all family tombs, containing multiple burials, either placed directly on the floor or inside larnakes. The grave offerings – pottery, weapons, tools and jewellery – provide us with useful information on the art, the religion and the social organization of that period.

In 1969, two pupils gave the Archaeological Museum of Rethymnon two vases they had found at a site called Prinokephalo, in the community of Armenoi. Investigation of the area proved the existence of an extensive Late Minoan cemetery. Since then, the site has been systematically excavated, and more than 220 tombs have been brought to light.