Arhanes Village Crete: History
Arhanes Village Crete: Ancient Years
The town of Archanes has been built in the area of an important Minoan settlement. Archaeological excavations that have been going on until this day prove that during the Minoan Times the town was a prosperous Minoan City and the center of many other cities of the area. It is worth mentioning that the part of the three-storey Palace complex of the 16th century B.C. revealed by the excavations in the town, is a token of magnificent construction skills, superior to the Palaces of Mallia, Festos and Zakros.
Other archaeological sights are the Cemetary in Fourni and the Mansion in Vathipetro. The Cemetary in Fourni, northwest of Archanes, is the biggest prehistoric cemetary in the Aegean Sea and having been used for over a thousand years (2400 B.C.- 1200 B.C.) it hosts a large number of buildings of all architectural types known, including five vaulted tombs.
The Mansion in Vathipetro is a Minoan Villa located in Piso Livadia, 4 km south of Archanes. A winepress, an olive press, a pottery workshop and a ceramic furnace were found there during the excavations.
The important archaeological findings from the surrounding area of Archanes (Vathipetro, Fourni, Anemospilia), and the town itself, are now in the Archaeological Museum, a restored building in the traditional town of Archanes. The archaeological collection that was created in 1993 was an initiative of the archaeologists John and Efi Sakellarakis.
Arhanes: Recent History
The role of Archanes during the recent history of the island of Crete was equally important. The town of Archanes played a coordinative and organizational role, contributing decisively to the Cretan Revolts in 1866 and 1897, and faced the Turkish attacks bravely.
During World War II and, more specifically, during the period of the Battle of Crete, the Administration Center of the Greek Forces was settled in Archanes and, later on, during the German Occupation the first espionage echelon in Crete was organized in Archanes.
