Story By: William McGee, Sub-Editor:  Lee Bullen, Agency: Newsflash

Recent excavations at an Ancient Greek ruin first unearthed in 1982 has revealed the site was an important religious sanctuary.

A dig was carried out at the Minoan palace on the Zominthos plateau in the foothills of Mount Ida on the island of Crete this summer.

It revealed that the original structure may have reached three stories in height and date back to 2000 BC or possibly even earlier. The dig also showed that the building boasted ramps, a series of apartments, and religious altars.

One of the most significant finds was that of a burnt wooden object surrounded by approximately 90 thin gold flakes, which may have been a gold-plated wooden statuette.

A ritual pestle and a seal featuring an animal, and traces of a sanctuary dating to 1900 BC, complete with fragments of figurines of humans and animals, have also been unearthed.

A figurine of a female recovered from the site has been dubbed the “Lady of Zominthos”.

Archaeologists also uncovered various rooms with flagstone floors, a sophisticated drainage and sewage system, a seal bearing a flower image dating to 2000 BC, and numerous items of pottery.

The site is significant because of its large size, its high build quality, and its high altitude. The site is believed to have been abandoned following a significant earthquake around 1600 BC.

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