Agios Konstantinos - Armeni
Length: 15 km
Estimated time: 5 hours
Suggested period: January - December
Difficulty: None - relatively difficult in winter in the river-bed of Kalonikiti
Armenoi
The village of Armenoi is 11 km far from Rethymno. It is located in the valley of Armenokampos at the foot of Vrisinas Mountain. The area was first inhabited by Armenian soldiers who came with Nikiforos Fokas to liberate Crete (961 AD). In the past, the villagers’ main occupation was the collection of acorns, which were used for tannery. Near the dorp, there is an oak forest with a late Minoan cemetery (13th-12th century BC). Nowadays, due to the short distance from the town Rethymno, the village of Armenoi is an important rural and commercial center. The late Minoan Cemetery of Armenoi (13th-12th century BC) is located at Prinokefala site, on the crossroad towards “Somatas” dorp.
Systematic excavations began in 1969 and brought more than 200 sculpted vaulted tombs to light, with the aim of revealing the rest of the relevant town as well. The tombs are vaulted, sculpted on the smooth natural rocks, they have an east-to-west direction and have an oblong sculpted corridor that leads inside them. Only one of the revealed tombs is built and vaulted. Inside, it had pottery items, weapons, beads and a periapt with an inscription written in linear A. This archaeological site is open to visitors.
Sources:
Municipality of Rethymno
Committee for Touristic Promotion of Rethymno
