On a low hill (h. 40 m.) by the sea lies an important Minoan settlement. It had a large harbour and was the centre of an area bordered by Chamaizi on the west, Praisos on the south, and Analoukas on the east. Despite the evidence for habitation in the last phase of the Neolithic period (3500 B.C.), the first settlement is dated to the Early Minoan II period (2600-2300 B.C.). It continued to be inhabited until 1450 B.C., when it was destroyed, along with the other Minoan centres. A short reoccupation occurred during the Late Minoan III period (1400-1300 B.C.). The settlement flourished in the Old Palace period (2000-1650 B.C.), when the central building of palatial character was built on the top of the hill; it reached a peak, however, in the New Palace period (2000-1450 B.C.) when many alterations of the buildings took place. In the 12th-13th centuries A.D. the top of the hill was occupied by a cemetery, of which 32 graves have been excavated.