The discovery of an unusual archaeological site on a hilltop close to the new airport being constructed at Kastelli, in the Regional Unit of Heraklion, has attracted media attention around the world, with press reports describing it as “threatening to disrupt” the airport’s construction. The find was announced following a visit to Crete by the minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, during which she visited the site and also took part in a seminar at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion on combating the effects of climate change on cultural heritage.
While the planners will be forced to find a new site for the airport’s air traffic control radar, the discovery could ultimately benefit the new airport, as the following report suggests, by becoming a cultural symbol for the area. The full text of the Cultural ministry’s press release is as follows.
“Exploratory excavations taking place at the top of Papoura hill, at a height of 494 metres, north-west of the settlement of Kastelli and the airport which is under construction, have revealed a monumental architectural ensemble, circular in form and unique in Minoan archaeology, with a diameter of 48 m and covering an area of some 1800 sq m. It is situated at the highest point of the hill, in a section which had been expropriated for the installation of Monitoring Systems (radar) for the new airport.
“The monumental construction consists of 8 concentric masonry rings, with an average thickness of 1.4 m and an estimated recovered height of 1.7 m, built at different levels. The rings form in the centre a circular building (zone A) 15 m in diameter and of corbelled construction, the interior of which (9 m in diameter) is divided into 4 quadrants. Zone A is surrounded by a second main zone (zone B, of maximum width 6.9 m), in which radial walls vertically intersect the rings of the lower levels, forming smaller spaces. As the excavation proceeds, an almost labyrinthine layout is being revealed, as the spaces communicate with one another via narrow openings. In the south-west and north-west sectors, two possible main entrances to the central zones have been discovered.
“The main period of use seems to have been between 2000 and 1700 BC, i.e. it was probably founded a little before or at the beginning of the Protopalatial period (MMI-II), while the presence of Neopalatial ceramics in the destruction layer shows that the use of the monument continued during the period of the new palaces.
“In order to assess the find and to plan the continuation of the construction work on the airport, a wide-ranging discussion was held at the construction site and an inspection at the hill, with the participation of all the parties involved, under the Culture minister Lina Mendoni and the deputy minister for Infrastructure and Transport Nikos Tachiaos.
“During the discussion, Lina Mendoni made it quite clear that the excavation work on the find must continue, so that the excavations can be interpreted, and obviously that it must be preserved given its uniqueness. Clearly, the construction work on the airport must continue, she emphasised, but also the find must be protected. Therefore it will be necessary to find another site for the radar installation. The two ministers agreed that in the immediate future the Civil Aviation Authority will conduct a new study on the position of the radar and submit it to the Culture ministry.
“In a statement at the end of her site visit, the Culture Minister said:
‘This is a unique find of exceptional interest. There are solutions for the completion of the archaeological investigation and for the complete protection of the monument. We have exceptionally good cooperation with the ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the responsible minister Nikos Tachiaos.
‘We had a wide-ranging discussion with all involved parties present – the Ephorate of Antiquities for Heraklion and the relevant Directorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and Restoration of Ancient Monuments on the ministry of Culture’s side, and the relevant services of the ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Civil Aviation and the contractor – and we carried out a joint inspection of the archaeological site.
‘All of us have as our priority the protection of the monument, of this unique discovery. We all understand the significance and value of Cultural Heritage. We all appreciate the developmental significance of the project which is under way at Kastelli. Work on the new airport can proceed and the antiquities can be protected, as it should be.’
The press release continues:
“Since the exploratory excavation is still in progress, it is not possible at present to determine the original shape and the total height of the construction. The roof of the central zone, as indicated by the corbelled system of construction, was probably either conical or domed. The two zones A and B formed by the topmost rings seem to constitute the main focus of activities. The quantity and type of finds, along with the presence of large quantities of animal bones, do not so far indicate continual domestic use, but possibly periodic use for ceremonial activities involving the consumption of food and wine and possibly offerings.
“This is the first monument of this type which has been discovered and excavated in Crete. The size, the architecture and the articulation as well as the meticulous construction presuppose an important project, specialist knowledge and a strong central management which organised its construction. What is certain is that it was some kind of communal building – a landmark for the wider Pediada region. The fact that the construction is monumental and conspicuous possibly indicates the importance of the site and also the breadth of the population which it would have served.
“The plan of the monument and the arrangement of the zones and spaces as uncovered to date, as well as the whole structure, have no exact parallel with other buildings of the same period in Crete, although the layout is not unknown to us from architectural complexes of the early Bronze Age in the Near East. A parallel could perhaps be drawn with the elliptical MM [2100-1700 BC] building at Hamezi [Lasithi] and with the so-called ‘circular proto-Hellenic cyclopean building of Tiryns [Peloponnese]’. Similarities of construction can also be observed with the so-called vaulted tombs of southern Crete, in which the central space was of corbelled construction, while the construction as a whole recalls early-Helladic and later tumuli of mainland Greece, or later circular sanctuaries such as Thesmophoria.
“The completion of the excavation is judged necessary so as to elucidate the character of the monument and its relationships with the domestic and religious centres of the the same period in the Pediada area. The monumental scale of the construction, as well as the fact that nothing like it has been excavated before, will make it a landmark for the new Heraklion Airport.
“The exploratory archaeological excavations for the construction of the new Heraklion International Airport at Kastelli in the municipality of Minoa Pediada, and for the roads connecting it with the main highway network of the Heraklion area, are being carried out by the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion under a cooperation agreement between the ministry of Culture and the ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, with the aim of rescuing any finds. More than 35 archaeological sites have been investigated to date, and handed over for the continuation of the construction work, within this legal framework.”
Seminar on protecting cultural heritage
While in Heraklion the Culture minister also addressed a seminar held at the Archaeological Museum, where she was welcomed by the mayor of Heraklion Alexis Kalokairinos and the Regional Governor of Crete Stavros Arnautakis. The seminar – “Cultural Heritage School 3” – was devoted to the theme of protecting cultural heritage sites from the effects of climate change. Sponsored by the ministry of Culture, the US Embassy in Athens and the International Council of Museums (ICOM) in Greece, the seminar brought together delegates from Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan and Malta. Participants were also given guided visits to the Historical Museum of Crete, the Natural History Museum of Crete and the archaeological site of Knossos.
Addressing the seminar jointly with the Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Athens Maria Olson, the minister said: “According to the scientific data, anthropogenic climate change is already happening, is developing rapidly and is exposing humanity to multiple and increasing environmental dangers. At the same time it is threatening, directly and indirectly, in the short and long terms, material and immaterial cultural heritage and in general the wider cultural environment and the cultural landscape.”
Noting that the seminar was the third in a series, similar events having previously been held in Athens and Thessaloniki, the minister said:
“This time, apart from colleagues from Crete and the Greek islands, we are very pleased to welcome delegates from four other countries: Cyprus, which also honoured us at the previous meeting, as well as – for the first time – Turkey, Jordan and Malta. All these countries, like Greece, possess an exceptionally rich cultural heritage and, at the same time, are already experiencing the effects of climate change with increased intensity. Consequently, we have to face common challenges in combating which we can derive the utmost benefit from the exchange of know-how and experience….
“The aims of the current series of seminars are in full alignment with the founding principles and aspirations of UNESCO, as well as those of the Council of Europe, which are expressed in the European Convention on Human Rights, in regard to assuring the right of future generations to retain equal and unimpeded access to the communal good of the common global cultural heritage.
“It is a right which presupposes that the current generation passes on to the coming generations a heritage protected from degradation and decay resulting from risks and threats, both natural and man-made, which include those created by the effects of climate change.”
(Haniotika Nea, crete.gov.gr, digitalculture.gov.gr)