The domed tomb of


Maleme Domed Tomb
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The Late Minoan vaulted tomb of Maleme is located very close to the German military cemetery and the historical airport of Maleme, at hill Kafkala which is full of olive groves, overlooking the North Cretan Sea. The tomb was already been looted since the early 20th century and was badly damaged by a bomb during the Battle of Crete, when its roof collapsed. In 1966 the archaeologist Kostas Tzavaras excavated the building.

The tomb, as it seems today, impresses with its large size and the very long entrance corridor that is 13 meters long to the entrance gate. The entrance gate is the most impressive part of the whole construction and has a height of 3 meters and a width of 1.60 meters. But what literally causes awe is the huge carved limestone rock that has been used as a lintel and is clearly much larger than any other building material in the tomb. A road leads to the area, which at some point has a sign that leads to the tomb through a short path between the olives that surround the whole area.

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Additional Info

  • Location: Chania Prefecture
  • Type: Tombs
  • Accessibility: Paved road

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