In the village Monastiraki, which is located in the valley of Amari, at a distance of 38 km from Rethymnon, a building complex has been discovered, which must have been built in around 2000 B.C. and destroyed by a violent disaster, an earthquake or a fire in around 1700 B.C.

The building complex includes storerooms, worship rooms and two archives rooms with a large number of clay seals. It is believed to have been a palace. The excavation was started by the German Archaeological Institute during World War II and continued since 1980 by the University of Crete.