Minoan villa of Achladia

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Geography: The ancient Minoan excavation site is 3 kilometers northeast of the Achladia village, south of Sitia. From the hill on which the houses stand, there is a view of the valley which drains into the Bay of Sitia, as well as the shoreline of the Ornon Mountains' northeast spur.

Archaeology: Achladia was first excavated in 1939 by Nicolas Platon. He conducted subsequent excavations here in 1952 and 1959. The site is a large building with an area of 270 square meters referred to as House A and a smaller building nearby called House B. Two other Minoan buildings were also found nearby, but were only partially excavated. House A overlooks the entire bay of Siteia. There is some dispute about the period of use - Nicolas Platon believed that it was built during MMIII, but Lefteris Platon believes there is enough evidence to support the presence of a light well and polythyra (pier-and-door partition), both Late Minoan architectural features. If this is true, then the building would have been constructed during LMIB. Nearby are a LMIIIB tholos tomb at Platyskinos and a LMIII potter's kiln...