The reduction in the size of the city in Roman times does not necessarily mean its decline. The same can be observed in Knossos, even though it had become a flourishing Roman colony. The ruins of a large Roman building with mosaic floors, discovered on the top of the hill to the north of the Archaeological Museum, may belong to a public building or a house facing a street in the urban fabric of the Roman city, which has left few traces due to continuous habitation. The large Corinthian capital, which was incorporated into the double-arched construction of the early Byzantine tower of Bentenaki, must have come from a Roman building of imposing dimensions. An accidental find is part of a marble amphitheatre on a plot on the coastal Sofokli Venizelou Avenue. Marble inscribed Roman columns, now in the epigraphic collection of the Heraklion Museum, were also found on a neighbouring plot. There are also reports of the discovery of Roman architectural elements on the site of the Municipal Hall on Androgeo str., north of the Basilica of St Mark. Finally, Roman capitals have been reused in the Byzantine cistern under the square of St Titus.
From the western necropolis, burials have so far been unearthed along the 25th Avgoustou av., with rich grave goods such as clay and glass vessels, lamps, relief trays, figurines, bronze coins and a funerary relief of the 3rd century AD with inscription. Burials have also been found outside the western part of the ancient fortification. Within the ancient city, architectural sculptures in second or third use and large deposits of pottery, in particular amphorae, have been unearthed. The large number of amphorae is an indication that the port of Herakleion was used by the Romans for the export of products, especially wine, from the hinterland under the control of Knossos. The trade relations between Knossos and Campania are well known. The dominance of Knossos over its commercial seaport during this period is indirectly attested by an inscription of the 1st century AD which was discovered at the site of ‘Bedevi Kamara’, next to the Knossos av. which today connects Knossos with the centre of Herakleion, and mentions the repair of the road which belonged to Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus on the initiative of the local proconsul. Such a cobbled road leading from Fortezza to Herakleion was recently unearthed during a rescue excavation in Mesampelies, about 500 metres west of Knossos Avenue.