Amnissos is located about 7 kilometres east of Heraklion by the sea at the foot of Palaoichora hill. A small Minoan town existed in the area and nearby there is the Eileithyia cave which was used for cult rituals during Minoan times.

The villa, which was excavated by Marinatos, is popularly known as the House of the Lilies because the walls of the upper floor had been decorated with frescos of red and white lilies. These had fallen from the upper storey at the time of the destruction. Among the other plants illustrated in the frescoes were mint, iris and papyrus.

The villa had ten rooms and two floors As well as a paved court, the rooms included a hall with polythyra, a kitchen area, a bathroom and a shrine. It was probably built at the beginning of LM IA and there were two building phases at the site. The final destruction, probably by fire, seems to have taken place within the LM IA period. The first architectural phase ended with damage caused by an earthquake which necessitated rebuilding activity. The building of the second phase was not as impressive as the original building. For example rubble was used to build walls instead of the original ashlar masonry. There may also have been some change in use of the rooms on the site as well. The Lustral Basin may have ceased to function around this time. Almost nothing was found on the site when it was excavated.

Paved central room with polythrya behind	The paved central room
The Lustral Basin	The polythyra with the Minoan Hall behind
Small rooms in south east corner	Site of original staircase
The north west corner	The villa seen from the west side