Almirida Early Christian Basilica 
Very close to the main beach of Almirida, province Apokoronas, province, we meet the three-aisled early Christian basilica of the second half of the 6th century revealed by the archaeologists Manolis Borboudakis and Michalis Andrianakis during 1974-1989. The church belonged to the architectural type of the three-aisled wooden-roofed basilica with a transverse aisle and a T-shaped narthex. The lower slab of the Holy Table is preserved in the sanctuary and the base of the octagonal pulpit in the main room.
The spaces of the sanctuary, the central aisle, the narthex and the atrium were covered by a high quality mosaic floor surrounded by a frame with seric wheels and separated by strips, with repeating themes in width. They are dominated by crosses, intersecting circles and semicircles, peacocks, fire turbines and fish. Next to the pulpit is a cross the upper antenna of which creates the letter P.
On the lateral antennae of the cross there are the letters A and Ω, while ivy shoots come out of two vessels. The two side aisles are covered with porcelain slabs. Tombs with many vessels have been found under the slabs of the southern aisle. To the east of the temple there is the cemetery, while between the temple and the sea are found the foundations of buildings of the old city, which was apparently destroyed during the pirate raids of the 7th century.
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Additional Info
- Location: Chania Prefecture
- Type: Church
- Accessibility: Bus services, Paved road
- Peak Period: Byzantine Era (395 AD-820AD)
