An initial excavation was undertaken in 1915 by the Greek archaeologist J. Hatzidakis, who identified in the ruins a Minoan palace similar to the one at Knossos.

He invited the French School at Athens to carry on the research, which was done from 1922 onwards, under the direction of J. Charbonneaux and then F. Chapouthier, who completed the uncovering of the building in 1930. Investigations and additional surveys were carried out there until 1992.

From 1930 the necropolises and the town’s residential areas (designated by letters of the Greek alphabet) were explored by the FSA’s French and foreign members.

A systematic survey of the plain around the town was carried out in 1989.