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While Malia is best known for its Minoan (bronze age) palace, it was first occupied much earlier—during the neolithic period

It is located near the modern town, east of Heraklion, on the north coast of Crete
One of the earliest agricultural and settled communities on the island, part of the broader neolithic expansion into the Aegean

Dwellings likely consisted of simple, mud-brick or stone houses with thatched roofs

Early inhabitants practiced farming (grains, legumes), animal husbandry (sheep, goats, pigs), fishing, and gathering wild plants

Hand-made and low-fired pottery, evolving into more decorative forms with red or dark burnished surfaces, different treatments and higher, or more constant temperatures

Tools were made from stone, obsidian (from nearby Melos), and bone

Neolithic layers are not fully excavated due to later Minoan construction, traces are found beneath and around the Minoan palace
Pottery shards, stone tools, evidence of hearths and food processing were found

Neolithic Malia mark the spread of farming communities across the island from mainland Greece, Anatolia and beyond.

Bibliography: “Malia” (https://www.ancient-greece.org/archaeology/malia.html). http://www.ancient-greece.org

Malia palace (http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2385) – Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports