On a hillslope, at the location “Tis tripas t’ armi”, at a distance of 1 km northwest of the village Fylaki, an important vaulted tomb of the Late Minoan period III (14th – 13th century B.C.) was excavated in 1981.

A long and narrow downhill “dromos” leads to a square chamber on which a pyramid-shaped roof is based. The tomb is chiselled on limestone and its chamber is made of elaborate limestone blocks. The “dromos” is also chiselled on the natural rock. Some stones of the roof of the “tholos” are missing, as the tomb had been looted from there at an unknown time. At that time or later the barrier of the entrance was also destroyed.

The exact number of graves is not known, although remains of bones were found scattered everywhere. The bones of at least one adult and one child have been identified. Fire traces along with burnt cattle bones indicate that an animal had been sacrificed at the site. Inside the tomb many important funerary gifts were found.

(Authors: Vanna Niniou, Angeliki Tsingou, Archaeologists)