Archaeologists have presented the preliminary results of the ongoing excavation on Papoura Hill on Greece’s largest island of Crete, where a unique Minoan Labyrinth was discovered in 2024.

The site was discovered during work for the installation of radar systems for the new Heraklion airport.

According to Danae Kontopodi of the Heraklion Ephorate of Antiquities, the excavation has revealed a rare, monumental circular structure, impressive for its size, early date, and unique architectural design.

The President of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, Costas Paschalidis, described Papoura as “one of the most important archaeological finds of the 21st century for the prehistoric Aegean.”

With a diameter of 48-50 meters, this circular, labyrinthine building has no known parallel in prehistoric Crete or the wider Aegean region. Its design is reminiscent of the circular residential or funerary buildings found in the early Bronze Age in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Oman, as well as the circular enclosures of Neolithic and prehistoric Europe.

Architectural details of Minoan labyrinth on Crete, Greece

The excavated circular building has a preserved height of 2.85 meters (9.35 feet) and covers an area of 1,800 square meters (19,375 square feet). The monument on Crete, Greece features a complex Minoan labyrinth of seven overlapping stone-built rings preserved at different elevations and organized into two main zones of occupation and use: Zone A and Zone B.

Zone A (The Central Core):
The center of the monument forms a circular space defined by two contiguous rings built with a corbelled vaulting technique, resulting in an inner diameter of 9.30 meters (30.5 feet). Access to this central space is provided by a monumental entrance on the west side. Inside, four walls are found in a cross-shaped arrangement, forming four similarly sized rooms that communicate through openings at the center of the cross. The central core was likely covered by a vaulted roof.

Zone B (The Peripheral Ring):
Surrounding the central core is Zone B, composed of smaller, radially arranged peripheral rooms. These rooms were accessed via a circular paved corridor, which may have originally been an open outdoor space during the monument’s initial phase of use. In a later period, additional spaces were created within this corridor by installing partition walls of cruder construction.

Two main entrances lead into the interior of the monument, located on the southwest and northeast sides. A conceptual straight line connecting these entrances converges on the center of the cruciform core.

Zone C (The Exterior Base):
The outer area, Zone C, is formed by tiered rings that surround the base of the monument, resembling a crepis (base) or a circular “ziggurat,” and an external polygonal enclosure.

Construction and date

All the walls of the monument were constructed from unworked mountain stones, quarried from an identified site on the northwest slope of the hill, using mud made from the local clay-rich soil as a binding material.

The structure’s meticulous, sturdy, and intricate construction suggests significant labor, specialized experience, mathematical or even astronomical knowledge, and a central administration that organized the project.

Based on current data, the structure is tentatively dated between 3000–1700 BC, with successive construction phases. The continuous maintenance, including wall repairs, buttressing, and additions around the central dome over centuries, indicates that the monument served as a central reference point for the inhabitants of the area.

Function and interpretation

The architectonic structure, combined with the finds, suggests this was not a simple, permanent settlement but rather a site for periodic, pan-community, and likely ritualistic activity.

The large stone heap (lithosoros) on the summit was initially interpreted by archaeologist N. Panagiotakis as a phryktoria (watchtower/beacon), part of a wider communication network. However, the current excavation has not yet yielded the evidence.

The finds within the building primarily consist of pottery found in all areas of Zone B and the four rooms of Zone A. These are mainly vessels for food preparation and consumption, and fewer storage vessels. Also recovered were lamps, a significant number of miniature vessels (like jugs and tumbler cups), a ceremonial bird-shaped vessel, stone tools, two pendant beads, and marine shells (tritons).

The Papoura circular building is unique in its kind, both for its complex architectural composition and its early dating. It attests to the technical and cultural sophistication of the budding Minoan civilization, long before the construction of the intricate Minoan palaces.

Its construction during the Pre-palatial period might be linked to the presence of powerful clans or local rulers who, perhaps for reasons of social prestige or community cohesion, engaged in the erection of imposing monuments for collective communal feasts and activities. These activities appear to have continued systematically throughout the entire Protopalatial period, only ending at the dawn of the Neopalatial period with the expansion of Knossos’ power.

The presence of Archaic-period pottery (7th–6th century B.C.), also associated with feasting practices, suggests the likely persistence of this ancestral collective memory even into historical times.

The excavation is ongoing, and the conclusions may change. However, the structure remains one of the most significant finds in Minoan archaeology. Its eventual interpretation will reshape our knowledge of the birth and organization of the Minoan civilization before the great palaces.

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