Editing Minoan civilization (section)

===Major settlements===

[[File:Knossos - North Portico 02.jpg|thumb|250px|The Palace of [[Knossos]], the largest Minoan palace]]

* [[Knossos]] – the largest<ref name="Thera and the Aegean World III">{{cite web|url=http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/economysociety/theislesofcretetheminoanthalassocracyrevisited|title=Thera and the Aegean World III|access-date=2009-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425083244/http://www.therafoundation.org/articles/economysociety/theislesofcretetheminoanthalassocracyrevisited|archive-date=2010-04-25}}</ref> Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete. Knossos had an estimated population of 1,300 to 2,000 in 2500{{nbsp}}BC, 18,000 in 2000{{nbsp}}BC, 20,000 to 100,000 in 1600{{nbsp}}BC and 30,000 in 1360{{nbsp}}BC.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l6rRTWv8zY0C&pg=PT48|title=The Knossos Labyrinth|isbn=9781134967858|last1=Castleden|first1=Rodney|date=2012-10-12|publisher=Routledge }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g8eIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA68|title=Minoan Life in Bronze Age Crete|isbn=9781134880645|last1=Castleden|first1=Rodney|year=2002|publisher=Routledge }}</ref>
* [[Phaistos]] – the second-largest<ref name="Thera and the Aegean World III"/> palatial building on the island, excavated by the Italian school shortly after Knossos
* [[Hagia Triada]] – town and administrative center near Phaistos which has yielded the largest number of [[Linear A]] tablets.
* [[Kommos (Crete)|Kommos]] – harbour town serving Phaistos and Hagia Triada, with civic buildings mirroring palatial architecture
* [[Malia (archaeological site)|Malia]] – the subject of French excavations, a palatial center which provides a look into the proto-palatial period
* [[Kato Zakros]] – sea-side palatial site excavated by Greek archaeologists in the far east of the island, also known as "Zakro" in archaeological literature
* [[Galatas Palace|Galatas]] – confirmed as a palatial site during the early 1990s
*[[Kydonia]] (modern [[Chania]]), the only palatial site in West Crete
* [[Gournia]] – town site excavated in the first quarter of the 20th century
* [[Myrtos Pyrgos|Pyrgos]] – early Minoan site in southern Crete
* [[Vasiliki, Lasithi|Vasiliki]] – early eastern Minoan site which gives its name to distinctive ceramic ware
* [[Fournou Korifi|Fournou Korfi]] – southern site
* [[Pseira]] – island town with ritual sites
* [[Mount Juktas]] – the greatest Minoan peak sanctuary, associated with the palace of Knossos<ref>Donald W. Jones (1999) Peak Sanctuaries and Sacred Caves in Minoan Crete {{ISBN|91-7081-153-9}}</ref>
* [[Arkalochori]] – site of the [[Arkalochori Axe]]
* [[Karfi]] – refuge site, one of the last Minoan sites
* [[Akrotiri (prehistoric city)|Akrotiri]] – settlement on the island of [[Santorini]] (Thera), near the site of the [[Thera Eruption]]
* [[Zominthos]] – mountainous city in the northern foothills of [[Mount Ida (Crete)|Mount Ida]]

[[File:Ship procession fresc, Akrotiri, 17th c BC, PMTh, 226371.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=Colorful, detailed fresco with people and animals|Detail of [[Minoan painting]], from [[Akrotiri (prehistoric city)|Akrotiri]], the ''Ship Procession'']]