Chamaizi is an ancient archaeological site in eastern

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

with the only known oval-shaped building of the

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

period. Below this building is evidence of

Early Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...

building foundations.

Archaeology

Chamaizi was first excavated in 1903 by Stephanos Xanthoudides, and again in 1971 by Costis Davaras. The MMIA building centers around a cistern. The cistern likely collected water from rainfall, as the hilltop on which the building is situated, Souvloto Mouri ''pointed hill'', has no wells or springs. Finds excavated from Chamaizi are at the Agios Nikolaos, Crete Museum and the

Heraklion Archaeological Museum The Heraklion Archaeological Museum is a museum located in Heraklion on Crete. It is one of the greatest museums in Greece and the best in the world for Minoan art, as it contains by far the most important and complete collection of artefacts ...

Gallery

Σουβλωτό Μουρί, Χαμέζι 0709.jpg, The hill Souvloto Mouri, on top of which is the minoan house Μινωική οικία Χαμαιζίου 0703.jpg, The exterior wall of the house Μινωική οικία Χαμαιζίου 0704.jpg, The rooms of the house

References

* Myers, J.W., Myers, E.E. and Cadogan, G. "Chamaizi" ''The Aerial Atlas of Ancient Crete''

External links

* http://www.minoancrete.com/chamaizi.htm Minoan sites in Crete Populated places in ancient Greece {{europe-archaeology-stub