The palace of Festos and the Grand Staircase

From the Upper West Court a splendid staircase leads to the theatre area with its eight rows of seats, each 22 metres long and the Lower West Court. On the north side of the theatre there is a retaining wall for the Upper Court and below this, the tiered seats overlooking the Lower West Court. The court is traversed diagonally by a raised causeway. On the east side of the causeway (beyond the site precincts) are six circular pits. These are thought to have been for grain storage similar to those in Malia and Knossos.