Ancient Zominthos is located 7km south of Anogeia, at an altitude of 1187m, on the road to Nida Plateau. It is an important archaeological site of the Minoan civilization discovered relatively late in 1982 by archaeologists Yannis Sakellarakis and Efi Sapouna-Sakellarakis. Its discovery was a fortunate accident! While late Yannis Sakellarakis was excavating at Idaion Andron, he heard the name “Zominthos” from a local shepherd referring to an ancient location. When the archaeologist visited the site, he realized that it was a Minoan palace. He and his wife started excavations in 1983 and continued until 1990. Excavations started again in 2004 and continue to date. They have brought to light a huge 2-3 storey-mansion, consisting of about 80 rooms. The walls, built with local stone, were plastered with clay, and decorated with frescoes. Excavations also revealed numerous everyday objects, jewellery, clay artefacts, etc. The building, dating back to the neo-palatial
period (1600 BC), is said to have been destroyed in 1400 BC, probably by an earthquake. Zominthos, a rare case of a Minoan, mountain settlement, was an important economic and religious centre of those times. It controlled the trade of agricultural, livestock and timber products from Mt. Psiloritis, while, at the same time, it was also an important stopover along the sacred route connecting Knossos with Idaion Andron.