In a lush green valley at a small distance from Herakleion and Knossos lies Archanes, an ideal site through which to comprehend minoan civilization. Parts of the splendid palace and preserved amongst the houses of the modern town, while at neighbouring Phourni one can visit the site of the impressive cemetery complex. A little further up, at Anemospilia, excavations revealed sensational evidence of a human sacrifice. The archaeologists John and Efi Sakellarakis here record the excavations they have conducted at Archanes, for which they were awarded by the Academy of Athens in 1983.