17 June 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Big, Round, 4,000-Year-Old Stone Building Discovered on a Cretan Hilltop

During excavations for an airport on Greece’s largest island of Crete, a large circular monument dating back 4000 years was unearthed.

A statement released by the Greek Ministry of Culture on Tuesday said the structure was a “unique and extremely interesting find”.

Resembling a huge car wheel from above, the ruins of the labyrinthine, 1,800-square-meter (19,000-square-foot) building came to light during a recent dig by archaeologists.

The circular monument structure dates back to the Bronze Age Minoan Civilization. It was a civilization that developed on the island of Crete during the Bronze Age and lasted from 3000 BC to 1450 BC. The Minoans were a highly advanced society in seafaring, trade, and the arts. The civilization was named after the mythological king Minos.

The ministry said the building was mainly used between 2000-1700 B.C, and was founded around the time Crete’s first palaces were being built — including at Knossos and Phaistos.

It said some of its features were comparable with early Minoan beehive tombs that were surmounted by stepped conical roofs and burial mounds in other parts of Greece.

It is still unknown to archaeologists what the hilltop structure was used for. It has no known Minoan parallels and is currently being excavated. For the time being, experts surmise that it might have served a ceremonial or religious purpose. The ministry’s statement said it didn’t appear to have been a dwelling, and the finds from inside it included a large quantity of animal bones.

The ministry’s statement said, “It may have been periodically used for possibly ritual ceremonies involving consumption of food, wine, and perhaps offerings.”

The inner structure, which may have had a shallow conical roof, was divided into smaller, interconnecting spaces and surrounded by eight stepped stone walls that rose to a height of 1.7 meters (5.6 feet).

“Its size, architectural layout, and careful construction required considerable labor, specialized know-how, and a robust central administration,” the statement said, adding it was certainly some kind of communal building that stood out in the entire area.

The site was earmarked for a radar station to serve a new airport under construction near the town of Kastelli. Greece’s rich cultural heritage often results in conflicts of interest during construction projects.

However, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, pledged that the find would be preserved while a different location would be sought for the radar station.

Greek Ministry of Culture

Cover Photo: Ministry of Culture via InTime News

Related Articles

Love and hate in ancient times: Exploring Magical Texts

6 February 2024

6 February 2024

Love and hate are universal emotions that have persisted throughout human history. Ancient civilizations developed their own distinct methods of...

Hiker found a place of holy worship at an altitude of 2,590 meters in the Swiss Alps

15 March 2023

15 March 2023

A trekking enthusiast stumbled upon an ancient Roman coin buried in rubble in a remote area high in the Alps...

Name of Iranian city identified on 1800-year-old Sassanid clay seal

9 April 2024

9 April 2024

In a stunning archaeological find, the name “Shiraz” was identified on a clay sealing from the Sassanid era written in...

The remains of a very uncommon’ dinosaur species have been discovered in Brazil

20 November 2021

20 November 2021

Researchers have uncovered the remains of a toothless, two-legged dinosaur species that lived 70 million years ago in Brazil, calling...

Archaeologists deciphered the Sabaean inscription on a clay jar finds link between King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

3 April 2023

3 April 2023

Archaeologists deciphered a partially preserved inscription that was found on the neck of a large jar dated back to the...

A woman who had brain surgery 9500 years ago will be brought revived

12 September 2021

12 September 2021

A “revival” effort is underway on a woman’s skull unearthed in 1989 during archaeological digs at the Aşıklı Mound in...

Archaeologists may have found the lost 2,000-year-old ancient city of Bassania in Albania

19 June 2022

19 June 2022

Polish archaeologists may have discovered the 2,000-year-old lost city of Bassania in Albania. The remains of two large ancient stone...

9,200-year-old Noongar habitation discovered at Augusta archaeological dig site

28 July 2021

28 July 2021

An archaeological dig in Augusta, in West Australia‘s South West, has uncovered evidence of Noongar habitation dating back an estimated...

Ancient Funerary Stones Looted from Yemen Will Be Exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum

14 September 2023

14 September 2023

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has signed a historic agreement with the Yemeni government to temporarily keep and display...

Ancient coins surface with Lake Iznik’s withdrawal in Türkiye

2 May 2023

2 May 2023

With the withdrawal of Lake Iznik in the northwest of Türkiye, the ancient coins found at the bottom of the...

A 1,700-year-old trident discovered in Assos ancient city in Türkiye

10 October 2023

10 October 2023

An iron trident, believed to be used for fishing, dating to the 3rd or 4th century A.D. has been discovered...

Centuries-old burials discovered near Antandros Ancient City in Turkey

10 January 2022

10 January 2022

Ancient tombs were discovered during a foundation excavation at a building site near the ancient city of Antandros, which is...

Researchers decipher enigmatic ancient ‘Unknown Kushan Script’

13 July 2023

13 July 2023

A research team at the University of Cologne’s Department of Linguistics deciphered a writing system belonging to the Kushan Empire,...

Seven Roman altars multicolored in the Great Northern Museum

12 November 2021

12 November 2021

We know that the ancient world is now very colorful. But these colors weren’t just limited to robes and other...

Largest Headhunting Massacre of Women and Children in Neolithic China

12 November 2023

12 November 2023

A new study discovers that ancient headless skeletons discovered in mass graves in China are the remains of victims who...