Deep fissures in the Late Geometric and Early Archaic earthen floors indicate extensive seismic activity
A palatial center of ancient Kydonia was revealed in the recent excavation of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania, according to the research of the Director of Systematic Excavations at Kastelli Hill of Chania and Honorary General Director of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, Maria Vlazaki.
Mrs. Vlazaki in her letter with the results of the excavation findings states in detail:
“The Old Town of Chania has the heavy privilege of living, breathing and moving on the ruins of many cultures with strong imprints and being able to be characterized as one of the oldest cities in Europe with life already since the 4th millennium BC. The very modern habitation that constitutes the great obstacle to the revelation of its past is at the same time the charm of this city, marked by the ancient aura everywhere, in its subsoil, its soil and its air.
This year’s excavation of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania under the direction of the undersigned Dr. Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki, which took place during the months of October and November on Kastelli Hill in the Old Town of Chania confirmed our recently expressed views that with the systematic research on the hill, and specifically in the area of Katre Street, the palatial center and part of the palace complex of Chania and Kydonia of the Minoan and Creto-Mycenaean times is gradually revealed.
Our hypothesis, already in the 1980s, when the famous “Seal of the Despot” (Master Impression) came to light, that this depicts the palatial center of Chania, as viewed from the sea on the hill of Kastelli, has now been strengthened .
During the research of 2022, two more wooden column bases came to light which to some extent complete the double colonnade of the large hypostyle room – hall of the 14th and 13th centuries. BC, which emerges gradually with the progress of the excavation. Once again, this year, we uncovered other undulations of its gravel-lime floor as a result of the action of the fault that runs through the excavation, during the 13th century earthquake. e.g.
Serious indications lead to the hypothesis that there may have been a third colonnade to the east, which emphasizes the importance of the site even more. The gradual revelation of the specific area constitutes a very strong argument for locating, at this point on the hill, the southern part of the Mycenaean palace of Kydonia. This is supported by the fact that this very spot was chosen to receive the expiatory victims of the numerous animal sacrifices and human sacrifices that followed the earthquake.
In relation to the earlier neo-palatial period (16th-15th centuries BC), the 2022 survey provided important evidence: the floor in front of the paved corridor uncovered in 2018 was cleared, which was also found to be of gravel lime but with minimum thickness and of a different texture and technique than that of the 14th BC, which indicates the existence of an open space at this point.
As for the younger years, at the end of the 8th and the beginning of the 7th c. e.g. (post-Geometric I and II periods), the site was also open and paved over a large area, in places, with sherds of pitho and large vessels with strong traces of fires, which are probably related to collective activity, perhaps craft.
In the early Archaic times (second half of the 7th/early 6th century BC), an important complex was established in the area, associated with public gatherings and events, as is hinted at by the large volume of black, isolated cups, as well as the a considerable number of anklets, clay flywheels and agnyths that comes to light every year.
Deep fissures in the earthen floors of Late Geometric and Early Archaic times indicate great seismic activity.
The traces of habitation from the classical times are mainly limited to deposits and minimal building elements, if one excludes the construction of the wall of the acropolis of classical Kydonia during the 4th century. e.g. In a deposit with a lot of pottery from the archaic period and some from the classical period, a treasure of 33 silver coins, mainly from the 4th century, came to light. e.g. (most are staters), a great find, extremely rare and especially interesting, as it is a collection of coins from many Cretan cities with thriving coin productions.
The coins are in a stage of cleaning and maintenance but in most the illustrations are very sharp. So far, coins of at least 13 cities are recognized: Kydonia (“pseudo-Aeginetan”), Aptera, Polyrnia, Falasarna, Eleftherna, Raukou, Tylissou, Knossos, Gortyna, Phaistos, Lyttos, Praisos and Itanos. Perhaps this is private hoarding which means accumulating wealth from island-wide activities and hiding a significant amount due to an emergency.
A very short investigation in the Lionaki – Vlamaki plot at the junction of Canevaros and Skordila streets yielded other pottery, which helps to complement the luxurious clay vessels of the beginnings of the foundation of the Mycenaean palace (before the middle of the 14th century BC) , which had come to light in 2021 to a large extent.
Among the movable finds are a clay tablet with an ideogram of Linear A engraved on the flat surface, which depicts a warrior with a shield, and five seal impressions on its periphery with the representation of two Buchanans. Similar tablets exist in the Linear A’Graphics archive of Katre Street and are certainly related to a specific person and specific products that were traded in the Minoan palace of the 15th century. e.g.
Again this year professors Emm. Manoutsoglou (geologist) and Vlasis Koumousis (civil engineer) offered their valuable help in the excavation.
Constant is the collaboration of the archaeobotanist Dr. Anagia Sarpakis, who studied the archaeobotanical material of the excavation with the assistance of the archaeologists Eleanna Stathakis, Marilena Pantelakis and the tour guide Stavros Stavroulakis.
The analyzes for aDNA testing of the skeletal material of the young woman from the “Katre 1” excavation as well as individuals from Kydonia tombs of the same period were completed in this phase and demonstrated that during the second half of the 14th and 13th centuries. the inhabitants of Kydonia show a mixture of local and “incoming” genetic variation from mainland Greece. The girl who was sacrificed also belongs to this population.
The analyzes of ancient human genomes were carried out in the laboratories of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany by Irini Skourtaniotis and Philipp Stockhammer, along with osteological material from other areas of Crete and the Peloponnese. These analyzes reveal fascinating information about social organization in the Aegean Bronze Age, as recently announced.
In Kydonia, procedures are also being prepared for the approval of analyzes of a significant number of charcoal samples from the destruction layer of the Mycenaean palace complex, in order to join an international research program with the aim of identifying the species of tree, tree dating and radio dating.
In the 2022 excavation, which was financed by the Institute of Aegean Prehistory and at the same time supported by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania and volunteers, Ms. Eftychia Protopapadakis, archaeologist of the Ephorate and main collaborator, the archeology student Elena Karalekas and the archaeologists Iro Tsirintoulakis and Eleanna participated Stathakis.
The master craftsmen were Dionysis Alyfantis, Nektarios Babunakis and Yiannis Bitsakis, whose exceptional skill and many years of experience played a decisive role in solving questions and problems. The conservator Alexia Grammatikaki is working on the conservation of the ceramics and the coins, and the architects Irini Vlazakis and Anna Tsitonakis are working on the electronic recording of the excavation and the processing of the plans.
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