Megaron of Nirou Chani

The Minoan Megaron at Nirou Chani, excavated in 1918 by Stephanos Xanthoudides, is a luxurious two-storey house built of large ashlar blocks, with walls strengthened by timber frames and covered in plaster and marble slabs. It features a paved courtyard, a shrine, storerooms for agricultural products, a staircase, and rooms with benches. A number of votive bowls were found, containing remnants of volcanic pumice from the Thera/Santorini eruption, deposited beneath a shrine. Rodney Castleden suggests this was a re-foundation or re-inauguration deposit after the building was repaired. Changes in the building’s fabric indicate a shift in function: originally a unified structure, it was later subdivided into separate living and working units, following earthquake destruction dated to the end of Late Minoan I A. The site was fenced and restored in 1960 under Nikolaos Platon.