The excavation of the early Minoan settlement at Trypeti, South Crete, in the years 1986-1988, adds much to our knowledge of the earliest period of the Minoan civilization.
This Early Minoan village is divided into two sections by a wide, central roadway. Thirty-six rooms and areas dating from the EMM and EMIII-MM IA period have already been discovered. The settlement is located on the top of a rocky hill, 135 m. high, which is called “Adami Korphali” and lies 800 m. from the seashore. The stone-built room walls have been preserved up to the height of 2 metres. All rooms display a square ground plan. Stonebuilt pillars used to support the roof of the larger rooms, while benches were built against the walls of some central rooms. Lots of animal bones, sea shells and carbonized seeds give evidence about the diet habits of the inhabitants. Hundreds of vases, stone and bronze tools, many obsidian blades, some clay and stone beads and a single clay seal were found in the seven houses of the settlement, excavated so far. A tholos tomb, dating from the same period as the village, has also been located at a near by site called Kalokambos and excavated.
