Tilisos Traditional Cache

Tilisos

Excavations were begun at Tylissos in the early  20th century by Joseph Chatzidakis, a pioneer in Minoan archaeology. Three residental complexes were excavated, the so-called Houses A, B, and C, whose main parts are dated to the Neopalatial period (1700-1450 BC). These buildings had two storeys, hewn stonework on their facades, and their architecture shared elements displayed by the large Minoan vilas and palaces. Their interiors were luxurious, as shown by fragments of frescoes discovered in excavations. A miniature fresco done in the same style as the well-known wall painting of the crowd from Knossos is a characteristic, though fragmentary example. The city's wealth and importance are also highlighted by the finds, especially the tablets written in Linear A, the form of writing used in Crete during the Neopalatial period, as well as inscribed objects. In addition, the discovery of three enormous bronze cauldrons as well as a bronze ingot used in the manufacture of bronzes show that there were metalworking shops in the city. The discovery of various luxury items such as bronze figurines of worshippers, an obsidian rhyton, seal stones and other finds give us the impression of a city with a high standard of living. The buildings were destroyed in the major destructions that struck Minoan Crete around 1450 BC. However, there is evidence to suggest that life continued in Tylissos during the following centuries. The large circular water cistern dating to the Late Minoan Ill period (1400-1200 BC) is especially important. Around 1200-1000 BC many settements and cemeteries in Crete were abandoned and new settlements were founded at inaccessible and remote sites. Tylissos, however, was an exception, since habitation continued and it appears that a religious center developed there, whose use is traceable in the 10th, 9th, and 8th c. BC. A large altar, inscriptional testimony and finds show the city's continuity in later times. 

*source: information given at the archeological site.

VISITING HOURS of Tylisos’s archaeological area

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