A walk in the beautiful, man-made small wood next to one of the most important archaeological sites in Crete would be a very good idea. Fourni is on a hill full of pine trees and cypresses. In order to find it, you should follow the road signs in Kato Archanes. The gorge of Knossos is next to it.

The Fourni small forest is ideal for hiking and mountain biking.

If you get tired, you can rest in the small rock theatre and enjoy the magnificent view from Ano Archanes to the Dia Island. The biggest cemetery of the Aegean Sea from the Pre-Historical era is a few meters after the wood.

Minoan Fourni cemetery

The biggest cemetery in the Aegean Sea is in the man-made Fourni small wood, near the Kato Archanes settlement of the Archanes-Asterousia municipality and exists from the Pre-Minoan era (2400-2200 B.C.) .

Many constructions, most of them Minoan graves and objects of a high archaeological importance were found by the excavations that started from 1964 and continue until today.

The most important finding is the discovery of the queen’s sarcophagus. Remains of an ox and a horse sacrifice and valuable jewelry were also found in that grave.

The ancient objects found in Fourni are in the Archaeological Museum of Heraclion and the Archanes Museum.

Based on the different styles of the graves, the archaeologists came to the conclusion that the cemetery was in use for over 1000 years. Based also on the different objects found in the graves, they believe that there was a contact between the Minoans and the residents of Cyclades, Egypt and the East.

The Fourni archaeological site can be visited only in the summer and after contacting with its guard.