Odigitria is the archaeological site of an ancient

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

religious complex, which includes two

tholos tomb A beehive tomb, also known as a tholos tomb (plural tholoi; from , ''tholotoi táphoi'', "domed tomb(s)"), is a burial structure characterized by its false dome created by corbelling, the superposition of successively smaller rings of mudb ...

s located near the modern Odigitria Monastery in the

Asterousia Asterousia () is a former municipality in the Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Archanes-Asterousia, of which it is a municipal unit. The munici ...

mountains of southern

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. The tombs are dated from

Early Minoan I The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

to Middle Minoan IA and were excavated in 1979 by N. Dimopoulou and in 1980 by Antonis Vasilakis. They were in use for more than 1,000 years. Artifacts found include

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

amulets An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a pers ...

, necklaces, gold

diadems ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, ''Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gro ...

, stone blades, stone vases, pots and a gold bracelet.

References

* Swindale, Ian "Odigitri

Retrieved 21 May 2006

External links

* http://www.minoancrete.com/odiyitria.htm Heraklion (regional unit) Minoan sites in Crete Ancient cemeteries in Greece {{AncientGreece-archaeology-stub it:Odigitria