The palace of Galatàs was discovered by the postgraduate student Nikos Panagiotakis in the mid 1980’s. There followed an excavation in winter 1992 and the following years (1993-1994). In the words of the excavator: “Large –clay- discs and the relevant food utensils point to the fact that the Minoans of Galatàs had developed techniques for the administration of meals, a kind of typical serving... It was a place of holding formal dinners. This conclusion can be safely reached both by the efficacy of the installations and, mainly, by the iconography of the mansion at Pylos, which is the most extensively preserved Mycenaean palace. In fact, depictions of couples of revelers accompanied by a musical instrument have been found here. The comparison with the Hellenistic Prytaneum at Lato, a town in Eastern Crete, where the best preserved Prytanemum was found, brings to light unexpected, due to the great time lapses between them, similarities.” (Rethymniotakis, 1999, Cretans, the Sea-Fearers). Who knows if there were symposiums held in Minoan times...
