Life is beautiful and I am happy to live and enjoy such amazing colours and atmosphere in unique Crete.
Vathypetro lies some 5km south of Archanes Village at the foot of the southern end of Mount Jouktas and was probably on the Minoan route from Knossos to the Messara plain in the south of the island.
The site was excavated by S. Marinatos from 1949-53 and again in 1955-6. Since he intended to locate a local museum on the site the remains were reconstructed and modified, making it difficult for archaeologists to piece together the original structure of the buildings on the site.
The Vathypetro complex was constructed around 1580 BCE at the beginning of the Late Minoan IA period and badly damaged around 1550 BCE, perhaps by an earthquake. The south sector of the building, which includes a wine press, was rebuilt as a farmhouse and industrial center after the 1550 BCE destruction and was finally destroyed around 1470 BCE.
The Vathypetro complex is not an isolated, independent structure as it forms part of a small settlement stretching over three hills. Unfortunately, vineyard cultivation has destroyed the remains immediately surrounding the site. However, it is likely that the complex was the most important building on the site since this is the only place where ashlar masonry is to be found in the area.
According to Driessen and Sakellarakis, there are in fact two buildings on the site which lie east and west of a narrow corridor. Both buildings are orientated north-south which led Marinatos to believe that the building was planned as a palace.
Sinclair Hood has suggested that it might have been the summer residence of the King of Archanes. (Summer residences for Minoan kings have been suggested at various sites, including Agia Triada for the King of Phaistos and Archanes itself for the King of Knossos, though the idea seems to have gone out of fashion recently). However, Vathypetro may well have simply been a manor with its own domestic shrines.
The site is open all year round and the entrance is free. For visitors to Archanes it is well worth the five-kilometer drive just to see the indoor wine press alone, and of course the spectacular views of the Juktas mountain and the view to the south.
