Ancient Eleftherna

Eleftherna has been declared an archaeological site and zoned into areas. Not only the findings are very interesting, but also it is in harmony with the cultural and natural environment.
You will find here a small botanic garden with all the plants of Crete, providing information about their healing properties from ancient times until today.

In the settlement of Orthi Petra has been located a large necropolis, which is Eleftherna’s most important site with lots of findings such as warrior tombs with 480 jars, guns and a ditch where soldiers died fighting.

In 2010 archaeologists made one of the most important discoveries of the ancient times; they found a 700 BC tomb that hasn’t been sacked. The tomb was a huge lying vase sealed with an 800 kg stone. In the vase, there were found bones of a young man and a woman, probably a brother and a sister. They were covered with gold coverage made with 3,000 gold leaf pieces of various shapes!