Gournia, Bronze Age archaeological site in Ierapetra, Greece.

Gournia is a Minoan town on a low hill about 11 km southeast of Agios Nikolaos, with stone house foundations, three paved streets that descend by steps, and a central complex called the palace. The visible walls, mostly preserved to hip height, form eight quarters labelled A–H.

Gournia was first settled around 2700 BC and remained continuously occupied until about 1450 BC. The visible walls date from 1700–1450 BC, when the town covered 1.68 hectares with about 64 houses and a 500-metre cobbled street network. It was destroyed in Late Minoan IB, like Zakros and Hagia Triada; the cause at Gournia is unknown. Mycenaeans reoccupied the site in Late Minoan III and built a megaron.

People here worked as craftspeople, producing tools, weapons, and pottery for trade and daily use. This skilled production made the settlement an important economic center in eastern Crete.

Access involves stairs and paths that wind over uneven terrain across the hillside. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes and bring sun protection, as there is little shade and the ground is rocky and uneven throughout.

Harriet Boyd-Hawes began digging at Gournia on 20 May 1901, the day after farmer George Perakis led her to the hill. Over the 1901, 1903 and 1904 seasons she uncovered about sixty houses, paved streets and the central complex she called the palace, without reconstructing the ruins as Arthur Evans did at Knossos.