Margarites Village

Many craftsmen still use age-old traditional techniques and skills, whether for small pieces of pottery or the large storage jars used on the island in the Minoan period, as evidences by the large jars found in all Minoan palaces.

 The craftsmen, each of whom has a particular specialization, supervise the entire production process from the right choice of clay, the sifting and moistening of the soil, the gradual formation of the large jars on the wheel, their decoration in typical patterns, and finally, their firing in special kilns.
In the past, since these jars were not easy to transport, it was the craftsmen themselves who moved around.
Groups of potters (from Margarites and Thrapsano in the Heraklion Prefecture) traveled around the villages, took orders and set up their workshops and kilns wherever there was a demand.