Koumasa

Koumasa is a Minoan archaeological site in southern Crete, best known for its large prepalatial cemetery. It is located between the villages of Loukia and Koumasa, at the southern edge of the Mesara Plain and near the foothills of the Asterousia Mountains. The site was first excavated by Stephanos Xanthoudides between 1904 and 1906, followed by a second campaign in 1991–1992 by Alexandra Karetsou and Athanasia Kanta. Since 2012, systematic excavations and digital mapping by Heidelberg University under the direction of Prof. Diamantis Panagiotopoulos have revealed new architectural remains, domestic areas, and burial layers that shed light on settlement organization, funerary practices, and cross-cultural artistic influences during the Early Bronze Age.

Koumasa includes both a Prepalatial cemetery and an associated settlement extending across the saddle of the Korakies hill. The site contains large rectangular buildings, storage areas and terraced slopes that indicate long-term occupation and organized settlement planning. The tholos tombs are built with dry-stone masonry and rock-cut foundations, and some show evidence of plastered and painted surfaces.