Drainage System


Remnants of a drainage channel and underground clay pipes show that the Minoans had developed a sophisticated water-supply and sewage system.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Magazine of the Giant Pithoi

0.01 MILES

Covered storerooms in the east wing hold giant clay jars decorated with ornamental relief that once held oil, wine and other staples. They were…

2. Hall of the Double Axes

0.01 MILES

The Hall of the Double Axes is a spacious double room, possibly where the ruler both slept and carried out court duties. It takes its name from the double…

3. Grand Staircase

0.01 MILES

The impressive grand staircase leads down to the royal apartments.

4. Queen’s Bathroom & WC

0.02 MILES

Next to the queen's bedroom, but barely visible through glass, the ruler's wife's 'bathroom' may have had a clay bathtub and a primitive type of water…

5. Queen’s Megaron

0.02 MILES

Archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans believed that this pretty space in the residential eastern wing, with its painted pillars and playful dolphin fresco on the…

6. Central Court

0.02 MILES

At the heart of the palace, the Central Court was hemmed in by high walls during Minoan times. Rooms facing the western side of the courtyard had official…

7. Charging Bull Fresco

0.03 MILES

This famous fresco adorns Sir Arthur Evans’ restored elevated, colonnaded west bastion of the north entrance of the palace.

8. Throne Room

0.03 MILES

Behind an antechamber, this beautifully proportioned room is separated by a pillar from a sunken basin that may have been used for purification rituals…