A palace center of ancient Kydonia was discovered during the recent excavations of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania, according to the head of the systematic excavations on Kastelli Hill of Chania and honorary General Director of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, Maria Vlazaki.
In her letter detailing the results of the excavation work, Ms. Vlazaki states:
"The old city of Chania has the great privilege of living, breathing and moving on the ruins of many cultures with strong traces and can be called one of the oldest cities in Europe, whose life began as early as the 4th millennium BC. The city has lived since the 4th millennium BC. The very modern settlement, which is the great obstacle to the unveiling of its past, is at the same time the charm of this city, which is marked everywhere, in its subsoil, its soil and its air, by the ancient aura.
This year's excavations by 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 city of Chania, confirmed our recently expressed views that with the systematic exploration of the hill and especially in the area of Katre Street, the palatial center and part of the palace complex of Chania and Kydonia from the Minoan and Cretan-Mycenaean periods are gradually being uncovered.
Our hypothesis, already made in the 1980s when the famous "Seal of the Despot" (Master Impression) came to light, that it depicts the palatial center of Chania, located on the hill of Kastelli and being seen from the sea, has now been confirmed.
The research of 2022 revealed two more wooden column bases, which in some way represent the double colonnade of the great hypostyle room - hall of the 14th and 13th centuries BC, which is gradually coming to light as the excavations progress. Also this year we have uncovered more layers of the calcareous gravel floor, due to the effect of the fault that runs through the excavation and that was formed during the earthquake in the 13th century.
The dimensions of the hypostyle room have already reached 18m (N-S) and 10.30m (E-W), without its boundaries being identified so far, except on the north side, where frescoed openings to important rooms were discovered growing up the hill. Moreover, in contact with the north wall, at a point between the two colonnades where the wall painting is interrupted, there seems to have been a wooden piece of furniture (a seat?) on a stone slab on the floor.
Serious evidence leads to the hypothesis that there may have been a third colonnade to the east, which further emphasizes the importance of the site. The gradual exposure of the site is a strong argument that the southern part of the Mycenaean palace of Kydonia is located at this point of the hill. This is supported by the fact that this very site was chosen to receive the atonement offerings of the numerous animal and human sacrifices after the earthquake.
For 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 also made of calcareous gravel, but it had a lower thickness and a different texture and technique than that of the 14th century.
As for the younger years, e.g., late 8th and early 7th century (post geometric period I and II ), the site was also open and paved on a large area, partly with sherds of pitho and large vessels with strong fire marks, probably related to a collective activity, perhaps craft.
An excellent clay head of a female deity was also found in these years, a rare find in Kydonia, as well as a corroded and indistinct bronze head, possibly corresponding to the first one.
In the early Archaic period (second half of the 7th/early 6th century B.C.), a significant complex was built in the area, associated with public gatherings and events, as indicated by the large quantity of black isolated cups, as well as the considerable number of anklets, clay flywheels, and weaving stones that come to light each year.
Deep cracks in the clay soils of Late Geometric and Early Archaic times indicate great seismic activity.
The traces of settlement from the classical period are mainly limited to deposits and minimal building elements, if we exclude the construction of the wall of the acropolis of classical Kydonia in the 4th century. For example, 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, which is 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 care, but most of the images are very sharp. So far, coins from at least 13 cities are known: Kydonia ("Pseudo-Aeginetan"), Aptera, Polyrinia, Falasarna, Eleftherna, Raukos, Tylissos, Knossos, Gortyna, Phaistos, Lyttos, Praisos and Itanos. Perhaps it is a case of private hoarding, that is, the accumulation of wealth from island-wide activities and the hiding of a substantial amount due to hardship.
A very brief investigation in the Lionaki - Vlamaki plot at the intersection of Canevaro and Skordilon roads yielded more pottery that helps to complement the luxurious clay vessels from the early days of the foundation of the Mycenaean palace (before the mid-14th century BC) that had come to light in large quantities in 2021.
The movable finds include a clay tablet with a Linear A ideogram engraved on its apartment surface, depicting a warrior with a shield, and five seal impressions on its edge depicting two Buchanans. Similar panels exist in the Linear A' archive in Katre Street and are certainly related to a specific person and specific products traded in the Minoan palace of the 15th century. e.g.
Also this year, professors Emm. Manoutsoglou (geologist) and Vlasis Koumousis (civil engineer) offered their valuable help in the excavations. Constant is the collaboration of archaeobotanist Dr. Anagia Sarpakis who, with the assistance of archeologists Eleanna Stathakis, Marilena Pantelakis and tour guide Stavros Stavroulakis, examined the archaeobotanical material of the excavation.
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 at this stage and showed that the inhabitants of Kydonia in the second half of the 14th and 13th centuries had a mixture of local and "immigrant" genetic variation from the mainland Greece. The girl who was sacrificed also belongs to this population.
Analyzes of the ancient human genomes were conducted 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 provide fascinating information about social organization in the Aegean Bronze Age, as recently announced.
At Kydonia, procedures are also being prepared for authorizing the analysis of a substantial number of charcoal samples from the destruction layer of the Mycenaean palace complex in order to participate in an international research program aimed at tree species identification, tree dating, and radiodating.
The 2022 excavation, funded by the Institute of Aegean Prehistory and supported at the same time by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania and volunteers, was attended by Ms. Eftychia Protopapadakis, archeologist of the Ephorate and main collaborator, archeology student Elena Karalekas and archeologists Iro Tsirintoulakis and Eleanna Stathakis.
The master craftsmen were Dionysis Alyfantis, Nektarios Babounakis and Yiannis Bitsakis, whose exceptional skills and years of experience played a crucial role in solving questions and problems. The restorer Alexia Grammatikaki takes care of the conservation of the ceramics and the coins, and the architects Irini Vlazakis and Anna Tsitonakis work on the electronic recording of the excavation and the processing of the plans.
