3400 Years Old Tomb

Once the found items were brushed off and studied properly, the experts recognized it immediately. Their speculation was correct, it was a tomb that was indeed sealed during Minoan times over 3400 years ago and had remained hidden all this time. 

Surprising Discovery

This discovery was surprising for multiple reasons. The first reason being, they have been searching for more artifacts from the Minoan dynasty and there were not enough artifacts found in all these years. So historians and archaeologists have not been able to study a lot about their time. 

Rare Finding

The second reason being, it was found in a part of Crete where Minoan findings were especially rare. Most evidence of the Minoan civilization that was found by archaeologists was in the lowlands, not the mountainous part of Ierapetra where this tomb was unearthed. 

Untouched Treasure


Given that this tomb was hidden from everyone for so many years, the artifacts were in marvelous condition. Everything was intact and researches had an absolute blast finding this untouched treasure, a 3400 years old tomb.

The Bronze Age

At the bottom of the hole, there was an eight-foot-deep and four-foot-wide tomb with two separate areas that had been carved into the stone. It had two rectangle boxes on either ends, north, and south, that dated back to the bronze age and as far as experts knew, were used by the Minoans. But what was inside them was still a mystery.

Opening The Boxes

Even though the boxes looked like wooden chests, they were made of clay instead. These artifacts were called larnakes, larnax as singular. They were used for storing human remains, either in the form of ashes or body. They were so small that the bodies will not fit inside unless put in a crouching position.  These were delicately decorated with ancient drawings of sea creatures, religious ceremonies, hunting patterns, etc.