Malia (also Mallia) is a Minoan and Mycenaean archaeological site located on the northern coast of Crete in the Heraklion area. It is about 35 kilometers east of the ancient site of Knossos and 40 kilometers east of the modern city of Heraklion. The site lies about 3 kilometers east and inland from the modern village of Malia. It was occupied from the middle 3rd millennium BC until about 1250 BC. During the Late Minoan I period (1700 - 1470 BC) it had the third largest Minoan palace, destroyed at the end of the Late Minoan IB period. The other palaces are at Hagia Triada, Knossos, Phaistos, Zakros, and Gournia. It has been excavated for over a century by the French School of Athens and inscriptions of the undeciphered scripts Cretan hieroglyphs, Linear A, and the deciphered script Linear B have been found there.
History +Minoan chronologyTimespanPeriod 3100–2650BC EM I Prepalatial 2650–2200BC EM II 2200–2100BC EM III 2100–1925BC MM IA 1925–1875BC MM IB Protopalatial 1875–1750BC MM II 1750–1700BC MM III Neopalatial 1700–1625BC LM IA 1625–1470BC LM IB 1470–1420BC LM II Postpalatial 1420–1330BC LM IIIA 1330–1200BC LM IIIB 1200–1075BC LM IIIC The first signs of occupation at Malia, in the form of pottery, occurred in the Early Minoan IIA period (mid-3rd millennium BC). The first firmly dated structures were built in the Early Minoan IIB period. This town was of modest size and was destroyed by fire at the end of EM IIIB. After a time of near or total abandonment occupation resumed minimally in the Protopalatian Middle Minoan IA period. By the Middle Minoan IIB period the town had grown and a sizable mudbrick palace had been constructed. Archaeological finds from the level, including Anatolian obsidian, demonstrate widespread trade was in progress.Carter, Tristan, and Vassilis Kilikoglou, "From reactor to royalty? Aegean and Anatolian obsidians from Quartier Mu, Malia (Crete)", Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 20.1, pp. 115-143, 2007
At c. 1700 BC, at the end of the Middle Minoan period, several areas of the town were destroyed. The palace was reconstructed in LM IA and then destroyed by the end of LM IB (c. 1450) and the town is abandoned.Poursat, Jean-Claude, "Malia: Palace, State, City", British School at Athens Studies, vol. 18, pp. 259–267, 2010
By c. 1450 BC the Mycenaeans have appeared at Malia, along with Linear B, and the town is revitalized. The town was again destroyed, by fire c. 1370 BC. The town was rebuilt and became prosperous, only to be destroyed c. 1250 BC.Driessen, J. & A. Farnoux, "Mycenaeans at Malia?", Aegean Archaeology 1, pp. 54-64, 1994
A geological investigation found evidence of a modest tsunami, thought to be from the Thera eruption, with a "radiocarbon range of 1744–1544 BC for the secure pre-tsunami context and an interval 1509–1430 BC for the post-event layer".
In 2025, the site was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Archaeology
The site lies about 1200 meters from the coast and 20 meters about the level of the sea, separated from the sea by a marshy area which appears to have maintained that character since Minoan times. There is no harbor.Lespez, L., et al., "Late-Middle-Holocene palaeo-environmental evolution and coastline changes of Malia (Crete)", The Mediterranean World Environment and History, Elsevier, pp. 439-452, 2003
From 1919 to 1922 the site was explored by Joseph Hazzidakis, the Ephor of Ancient Monuments of Crete, focusing on the Chrysolakkos Building. Finds there included the "honeybees pendant" (Malia Pendant).Nelson, E. Charles, Georgios Mavrofridis, and Ioannis TI Anagnostopoulos, "Natural history of a Bronze Age jewel found in Crete: The Malia pendant", The Antiquaries Journal 101, pp. 67-78, 2021 In 1922 a French School of Athens team led by Fernand Chapouthier began excavations at Malia, continuing until 1936.Chapouthier, Fernand, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia: premier rapport (1922-1924)", vol. 5, P. Geuthner, 1928F. Chapouthier and R. Joly, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia. Deuxième rapport : exploration du palais (1925-1926)", Études Crétoises, IV, 1936F. Chapouthier and P. Demargne, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia. Troisième rapport : exploration du palais, bordures orientale et septentrionale (1927, 1928, 1931 et 1932)", Études Crétoises, VI, 1942Chapouthier, F., P. Demargne, and A. Dessenne, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia IV: Exploration du palais. Bordure méridionale et recherches complémentaires (1929–1935 et 1946–1960)", ÉtCrét 12, Paris: P. Geuthner, 1962 Work resumed in 1964 under Oliver Pelon and continued until 2012. Pelon, Olivier, et al., "Malia", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 110.2, pp. 813-822, 1986 Pelon, Olivier, "Malia", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 123.2, pp. 468-481, 1999 Caloi, Ilaria, and Roxane Dubois, "On some late Prepalatial pricket lamps in White‑on‑Dark Ware from beneath the North Wing of the Malia Palace", Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 145.2, pp. 577-597, 2022 Work resumed under the direction of Maud Devolder in 2014 with a focus on publication and restoration.Devolder, Maud, "Éléments Structurels En Bois Dans Un Palais de l'âge Du Bronze Crétois. Le Cas de La Cour Nord Du Palais de Malia", Pallas, no. 110, pp. 133–50, 2019Devolder, Maud, "The Functions of Masons' Marks in the Bronze Age Palace at Malia (Crete)", American Journal of Archaeology 122.3, pp. 343-365, 2018 In the Late Minoan IB layer an inlay was found with a representation of an Egyptian sphinx, thought to be in the style of the 18th dynasty.Michaelidis, Prokopios, "Ägyptische Sphinx aus Malia", Praehistorische Zeitschrift, vol. 70, no. 1, pp. 90-95, 1995
Excavation areas in Malia consist of the palace and a number of "town" areas.
Palace - The existing Neopalatial palace, constructed of ashlar sandstone and mudbrick, is built on the pre-existing Protopalatial palace that was destroyed in the mudbrick Middle Minoan IIB period and incorporates some of its structures.Devolder, Maud, "Reconstructing the First Palace at Malia (1900-1700 BC)", Report for the Michael Ventris Award (2016), No. UCL-Université Catholique de Louvain, 2016 Devolder, Maud, and Marta Lorenzon, "Minoan Master Builders?. A Diachronic Study of Mudbrick Architecture in the Bronze Age Palace at Malia (Crete)", Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 143.1, pp. 63-123, 2019 The palace is built around three courts, Central, North, and Northwest and measured about 80 meters (roughly east-east) by 100 meters (roughly north–south). Town - The most prominent town area is Quartier Mu (also known as the Seals Workshop) which lies 200 meters to the northwest of the palace. It dates to MM II and consists of Building A, Building B, and house-workshops.Poursat, Jean-Claude, and Darcque, Pascal, "Rapports sur les travaux de l'École française en 1989. Malia: Sondages autour du Quartier Mu", in Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 114, pp. 908–912, 1990Poursat, Jean-Claude, "Artisans Minoens: Les maisons-ateliers du Quartier Mu. Fouilles exécutées à Malia. Le Quartier Mu III", (Études Crétoises 32), Paris, 1996 Two hoards of metal tools were found. Hoard A contained a metal drill, knife-razor, saw, axe-adze, and two stone axes while Hoard B contained a metal double axe, adze, punch, drill, and some lithic tools.Poutsat J.-C., "Outils de charpentiers et de menuisiers du quartier Mu de Malia (Crète)," in De l'Indus aux Balkans. Recueil à la mémoire de Jean Deshayes, Paris, pp.119–125, 1985 Another town are is Quartier Nu, dating to LM III, located north of the "Atelier de Sceaux" and north-west of the palace. It consists of three wings around a court and had two architectural phases.Driessen, Jan, and Hubert Fiasse, "'Burning Down the House': Defining the Household of Quartier Nu at Malia Using Gis", Hesperia Supplements, vol. 44, pp. 285–96, 2011Driessen, J., H. Fiasse, M. Devolder, P. Hacıμuzκρρκr & Q. Letesson, "Recherches spatiales au Quartier Nu à Malia (MR III)", Creta Antica, pp. 93-110, 2008 There are also the lesser known Quartier Delta and Quartier Pi.Pomadère, Maia, and Gaëlle Hilbert, "Le Bois Dans l'architecture Domestique de l'âge Du Bronze à Malia (Crète): Les Exemples Des Quartiers Delta et Pi", Pallas, no. 110, pp. 113–32, 2019
Chryssolakkos/Chrysolakkos - A 30 meter by 39 meter structure, constructed of ashlar blocks and consisting of many small rooms. Its function is unclear though it is often referred to as a necropolis. Its date is also controversial though usually considered to be Middle Minoan IIB. The famous Malia Pendant was found there. Excavated by Demargne, finds included a kernos (speculated to be a libation table) with two rings of cup holders. The outer ring had 29 small and 1 large depressions while the inner ring had 12 small and 1 large depression.Pierre Demargne, "Fouilles exécutées à Mallia. Explorations de Nécropoles (1921-1933)", Études Crétoises, τ. VII.Ι, Paris, 1945Demargne, P., "Culte funéraire et foyer domestique", BCH 56, pp. 60-88, 1932Müller Celka, Sylvie, "L'ensemble architectural de Chrysolakkos à Malia: une mise à jour", Von Kreta nach Kuba. Gedenkschrift zu Ehren des Berliner Archäologen Veit Stürmer, hrsg. v. Kathrin Müller, Birgit Schiller, pp. 163-180, 2018
Many of the finds from Malia are held at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
Epigraphy
Roundels are clay disks, sealed on the edges, found at Minoan sites. They are thought to have acted as receipts. About 78% of roundels are inscribed, typically with a single Linear A character. Five roundels have been found at Malia. One roundel bore 4 characters in 2 lines on the obverse and the 2 characters and numbers on the reverse. One bore a single character on the obverse. The remaining 3 bore only seals. Weingarten, Judith, and Éric Hallager, "The Five Roundels from Malia, with a note on two new Minoan Genii", Bulletin de correspondance hellénique 117.1, pp. 1-18, 1993 Six Linear A tablets have also been found at Malia. Salgarella, Ester, "Drawing lines: The palaeography of Linear A and Linear B", Kadmos, vol. 58, no. 1–2, pp. 61–92, 2019
At Malia Cretan Hieroglyphic inscriptions have found in the MM IIB Quartier Mu, the MM IIIB Quartier Nu, and the MM IIIB "Depothieroglyphique" in the palace.Jean-Pierre Olivier, Jean-Claude Poursat, "Un nouveau document hiéroglyphique de Mallia", Kadmos, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 16-19, 1971Brice, William C., "Notes on the Cretan Hieroglyphic Script" Kadmos, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 93-104, 1991Weingarten, Judith, "Sealing studies in the Middle Bronze Age, III: the Minoan hieroglyphic deposits at Mallia and Knossos", Sceaux minoens et mycéniens: IVe symposium international, 10–12 septembre 1992, Clermont-Ferrand. by Walter Müller, pp. 285-310, 1995 A stray jar handle fragment with two Cretan Hieroglyphic characters was also found.Schoep, Ilse, "A new Cretan hieroglyphic inscription from Malia (MA/V Yb 03)", Kadmos, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 78-81, 1995
Several Linear B inscribed stirrup jars have been found including four in the LM IIIA2B (Mycenae) dated level.Driessen, Jan, Alexandre Farnoux, and Charlotte Langohr, "Two more Linear B inscribed stirrup jars from Malia", Festschrift for Wolf-Dietrich Niemeier for the celebration of his 65th birthday, Bonn: Habelt Verlag GmbH, pp. 59-74, 2014
Malia altar stone In the 1930s a blue limestone slab with a cuplike cavity was found by a local near Malia. It bore sixteen glyphs, apparently Cretan Hieroglyphs, a very rare example of Cretan Hieroglyphs carved on stone (vs clay or on sealstones). It is listed as item number 328