GREECE CRETE LASITHI VASILIKE

On a low hill near the modern village of Vasilike, at the northern end of the isthmus of Ierapetra, lies this interesting archaeological site. It is only some 300m from the main road that connects Ierapetra with the Gulf of Mirabello. In spite of this and some very impressive architectural remains, the site is never crowded - usually you are the only visitor. There is an unattended guardian's hut and a fence around the site, but usually the gate is open.

Like nearby Gournia, Vasilike commands a strategic position at the isthmus, a major trading route already in Minoan times. It also benefits from the fertile plains around. The first houses were built here in the Early Minoan II period (2600-2300 BC). There were three major destructions (in Early Minoan IIA, Early Minoan IIB and Middle Minoan IIB) in the long history of the site, but each time buildings were re-erected and the settlement continued to be in use until Late Minoan IA and possibly later.

Above: The poorly preserved Early Minoan IIA building at the northwestern corner of the site.

The site was first excavated by R. B. Seager in 1903-1906, followed in 1953 by N. Platon. A more thorough investigation was begun by A.A. Zoïs in 1970-82, continued since 1990.

Practically all architectural remains of the Early Minoan period on the site were attributed by R. B. Seager to a single, huge building complex - the "House on the Hilltop" (photos below) - with different wings arranged around a paved court. This would have been a predecessor of the Minoan palaces (Knossos, Phaistos, Malia, Zakros) in the Middle and Late Minoan periods. However, the work by Zoïs made clear that the remains belong to separate buildings datable to slightly different periods within the EM IIB phase.

Above: A stone vessel closely resembling those at Gournia, and a feature that might be a cistern. - Below left: an upright standing stone near the southeast corner of the site may be an Early Minoan "gaming table" (kernos).