Gournia is a Minoan palace complex, that was first permanently inhabited during the Early Minoan periods (2650-2100 B.C.E) and was occupied until the Late Minoan period (1700-1470 B.C.E.).

In search of a Bronze Age excavation site, a research group from the University of Pennsylvania followed a farmer's tip. Minoan pottery was found during the first test excavation in 1901. The part of the city visible today was excavated by 1904. In the same year, Early Minoan tombs were discovered just 200 meters away.

The settlement is grouped around a manor house/palace with a spacious courtyard. Three paved streets leading down from the hill via steps and a ring road are clearly visible. Individual, definable quarters can be identified as residential or workshop quarters, or as part of the "princely court." Eight different quarters have been excavated so far.

Around 1450 BC Gournia, like the Minoan palace complexes, was destroyed and abandoned for 50 years. Few traces of subsequent Minoan and Mycenaean settlement remain. Around 1200 BC Gournia was finally destroyed and abandoned.