Minoan Palatial Centres
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How it came to be
Minoan civilisation flourished on Crete and across the eastern Mediterranean from 2800 to 1100 BC. The property groups six palatial sites, Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros, Zominthos and Kydonia, dating from 1900 to 1100 BC. The hill at Knossos had been settled since around 7000 BC.
The first palaces rose around 1900 BC at Knossos, Phaistos and Malia; they were destroyed around 1700 BC, probably by earthquakes, and rebuilt on a larger scale. With labyrinthine plans, central courts, storerooms and water systems, they were administrative, economic and religious centres that used Cretan hieroglyphs and Linear A. A wave of destruction around 1470 BC ended every palace except Knossos, which was rebuilt under a Mycenaean Greek elite and kept records in Linear B.
Knossos burned around 1370 BC and afterwards saw only partial use. Modern excavation began with Minos Kalokairinos in 1878. UNESCO inscribed the palatial centres in 2025.
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