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Excavations have been carried out since 1976 by the American School of Classical Studies, led by Joseph Shaw. The Minoan settlement of Kommos lies 5 kilometres south-west of Ayia Triada and six kilometres south-west of Phaistos. The settlement is situated on a small hill next to the beach at the end of the Messara plain near the village of Pitsidia. It is most likely that the harbour served the palace of Phaistos. This is borne out by the discovery of a variety of imported pottery, especially from the Late Minoan I-IIIB period. It is possible that Kommos was linked to Phaistos by a paved road.
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The town was founded in MM I, and grew rapidly until MM III. It is possible that the town was destroyed by an earthquake and abandoned. Middle Minoan houses have been discovered in levels below the Late Minoan houses on the hilltop.
In LM I the town was rebuilt . On the top of the hillside the houses are densely packed while at the bottom of the hill there is a monumental building with very large pieces of ashlar masonry. Building and rebuilding continued at the bottom of the hill throughout Late Minoan II and Late Minoan III.
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Interestingly, the site remained occupied beyond the end of the Minoan period. Building continued on the site through the Protogeometric and Geometric periods, when two temples were built. In classical and Roman times a third temple was built over the second temple, altars were added in a court which can still be seen today and other buildings were erected.
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The site is not open to the public but the whole of the lower part and much of the middle part of the site can be seen from the road which passes the site on its way down to the beach. It is also possible to see the whole site if you walk around the outer fencing. During the summer, if the excavators are working in nearby Pitsidia, it is possible to borrow the keys to the site and a guide book and take a closer look. Just ask locals for the excavation offices and they will direct you.