It is the most completely preserved Minoan town on Crete, with one grand house/palace and central court , but largely consisting of one-roomed two-storey houses, of which only the ground-floor walls survive. Many walls, stairs and roads are good preserved. The small palace, or better center, is located on a hill.

It was build in the post palace age and has only about 1/10 the size of the palace of Knossos. Like other Minoan palaces it was destroyed about 1450 b.Chr., but rebuilt later. Many of the houses contained tools and materials to be used by craftsmen but were left behind. Many founds you can see in the museum of Heraklion.