Gournia stands on a low hill near the Gulf of Mirabello in eastern Crete, preserving one of the clearest town plans from the Minoan world. Narrow paved lanes, stairways, compact houses, workshops and a small palace-like centre allow visitors to understand an urban community rather than only an elite ceremonial complex. Archaeologist Harriet Boyd Hawes led the excavations from 1901 to 1904, an important chapter in both Cretan archaeology and the history of women directing major fieldwork.
The settlement developed over a long period and flourished during the Middle and early Late Bronze Age. Much of the visible town was destroyed around the middle of the fifteenth century BC, though later activity continued. “Minoan” is the modern archaeological term for Bronze Age Crete; the inhabitants’ own political identity and the ancient name of Gournia are unknown.