The area known as Kastelli Hill in the old city of Chania has been inhabited almost uninterruptedly since Minoan times. It was the centre of the ancient Minoan city of Kydonia and was later selected by the Romans as the site of an acropolis. Archaeological excavations started in the period 1964-1969 and have continued intermittently since then, with the participation of Swedish and Danish archaeologists (Wikipedia). The most recent phases of exploration have been carried out under Dr Maria Andreadi-Vlazaki supported by the Chania Ephorate of Antiquities and have proved a rich source of archaeological finds. Excavations carried out in the autumn of 2023 produced a hoard of 37 gold and silver coins depicting Alexander the Great, as well as the first evidence of human sacrifice in Minoan history. (Greekreporter.com)
The most recent phase, focussed on a site in Katré Street, was carried out in the autumn of 2024, and an account of the work by Dr Vlazaki has now been published in Haniotika Nea, with supporting photographs. The following is an edited version of her report.
An ancient loggia
Generally speaking, the excavations on Kastelli hill are considered the most difficult of their kind. The numerous and very dense successive layers of ancient habitation – from as far back as the 4th millennium BC – amongst the buildings of the Old City of Chania mean that research has to proceed slowly, at the same time encountering a multitude of contemporary problems within the dense urban fabric. Moreover the presence at the excavation in Katré Street of an active seismic cleft which has left strong imprints of its activity over the centuries, multiplies the difficulties, having created unique strata with inclinations of up to 80 per cent, which only very experienced technicians can deal with.
Despite all that, every year the continuation of the excavatory research rewards the city with new data which are added to the centuries-long history of one of the most ancient cities of Europe. Explorations on the Katré 1 site in 2024 finally revealed the substantive proof that the [previously discovered] very large hypostyle hall for gatherings and ceremonies was a kind of loggia. At the eastern end of the hall, which was investigated in 2024, the pebble and lime floor (tarazza) suddenly stops without any trace of a wall and an earthen floor continues outside the pillared space (fig. 1).
In the northern and western part of the hypostyle hall the walls, constructed of very large stone slabs, squared off and finished, as well as monolithic stone blocks, presuppose that there was at least a second floor. The northern wall with its openings is frescoed and turns at a right angle for a short distance to the east (fig. 2). Many fallen stone slabs and blocks from the western wall, which is outside the limits of the excavation, have been found (figs. 3 and 4). These wall slabs were used in the immediately succeeding Late Minoan IIIC years (1200 – 1150 BC) for a defensive structure at the northern end of the excavation.
Thus the hypostyle hall-loggia as found in front of these monumental structures undoubtedly had a ceremonial function and served for the reception of the public entering the palace. Traversed as it was by the active seismic cleft with its catastrophic effects and the sensational image which this created, it was clearly the most suitable spot for carrying out major sacrifices of animals and virgin youth during the Mycenaean years, the sole proven instance of virgin sacrifice in the history of Mycenaean archaeology (the Minoan human sacrifice at Archanes is older and dates from the 17th century BC).
Clay labels – indisputable evidence
A very important and rare find which comes from the destruction of the palace complex around 1250 BC (Late Minoan period III B1), although it was found higher up in a layer from the 7th century BC, is of particular significance for the excavation of the palace complex on Kastelli Hill. A clay label inscribed with three signs in Minoan B script (fig. 5), it is a modest but especially revealing and indisputable document for the recognition of Kydonia as an important palace centre during the Creto-Mycenaean period (1400-1200 BC).
The inscription refers to the mountain town of western Crete o-du-ru-we or o-du-ru-wo (Odrys or Othrys) and to sheep. On the back there are deep impressions from the woven basket it was attached to while still soft, so as to accompany it and indicate its contents from palace documents relating to the town in question (fig. 6). Inscribed clay labels are invariably connected to the archives of a palace and always refer to the name of a town. Similar inscribed clay labels have hitherto been found only in the palaces of Knossos and Pylos and specifically in their archive rooms. Now the Creto-Mycenaean palace of Kydonia is added to that list.
The Chania label is a strong indication that we are already within the palace complex of the final palace period (1350-1250 BC), and its valuable archives must be somewhere nearby, as we had in any case hypothesised from the beginning with the discovery of two more panels in Linear B, two in Linear A and an inscribed clay disk (figs. 7-8). This is also reinforced by the fact that the Katré 1 excavation is almost opposite Katré 10, where an archive written in Linear A has been discovered.
Habitation in the ruins of the fire of 1450 BC
Also noteworthy is the fact that in 2024 a clear layer of Late Minoan II habitation (1450-1400 BC), with characteristic ceramics, was found in a section outside the hypostyle hall (fig. 9). It is a confirmation that during these years, immediately after the great catastrophe of around 1450 BC, people repaired the ruins and used them for habitation, while all cooking and work activities were carried out in the open. The ceramic finds show that the local Kydonia workshop made considerable use of white clay and there was close contact with Central Crete and the Peloponnese.
Metallurgical furnace of the Geometric era
Dated to the Late Geometric II period (1st half of the 7th century in the Chania area) is a small metallurgical furnace, which is most probably evidence of iron-working, to judge by the many pieces of iron slag collected from around it (fig. 10). The excavated area, at the south-west end of Kastelli Hill, during the Geometric years was open-air and was used for workshop activities, as shown by the intense burns, the many hearths and stone tools.
Another major earthquake
A very important finding from the most recent excavation was the location of another major earthquake which took place in Kydonia at the end of the 6th/beginning of the 5th century BC. Specifically in trench 7, which is inside the cleft, characteristic signs of the intensity of this earthquake are the impressive imprints of the cracks in the earth and the total destruction of the ancient wall at the south-east end of the trench, with the stratified dispersal of its stones on different levels and a pronounced slope from south to north (fig. 11).
Up till now, in the Katré 1 excavation site, traces have been identified of four major earthquakes: in the middle of the 13th century BC, at the beginning of the 6th century BC, at the end of the 6th/beginning of the 5th century BC, and in 356 AD the “monster” earthquake of over 8 Richter magnitude.
In relation to this last earthquake, a section of a late Roman floor was discovered this year which had been demolished and simultaneously upended almost vertically, while the corresponding wall, to the west of it, had cracked, moved to the west and sunk at its southern end (figs. 12-13).
The no. 1 site in Katré street is unique in archaeological science since it is a reference point for human sacrifice in the Mycenaean period. At the same time it is a reference point for palaioseismology since it is traversed by an active seismic fault and preserves in situ powerful traces of multiple major earthquakes. According to the geologists of the Technical University of Crete, with whom we collaborate, it is an excellent school for their geology students.
Personnel and collaborators of the excavation
The 2024 excavation was funded by the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP) and was supported by the Chania Ephorate of Antiquities and by volunteers. Representating the Ephorate and principal collaborator of the excavation was Eftychia Protopapadaki, assisted by chief technician Manolis Tstitsiridis.
Taking part in the research were the archaeologist Iro Tsiridoulaki, archaeology graduates Elena Vasilopoulou, Dimitris Karatzanis, Katerina Xenaki and George Tillotson and archaeology student Vasilis Haronitis. Chief technicians were Giannis Bitsakis and Dionysis Alyfantis and conservation specialist Alexia Grammatikaki. And during 2024, professors Emm. Manoutsoglou and Noni Maravelaki of the Technical University of Crete gave valuable assistance to the excavation….
Also collaborating in the programme are the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland and the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, with teams headed by Professor Tomasz Wazny and Dr Anastasia Christopoulou respectively, as well as Drs Jennifer Moody (USA), Anna Elzanowska (Poland) and Yasemin Özarslan (Turkey). There is also an important programme of study of the ancient avifauna from the excavations on the hill which is being coordinated by Professor Beatrice Demarchi of the University of Turin.
International interest and risks
Dr Vlazaki gave a lecture on the palace centre of Creto-Mycenaean Kydonia and the human sacrifice ceremony during a special session of INSTAP at the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, which took place in Philadelphia from 2nd-5th January 2025. She ends her report with a plea for local organisations and residents of Chania to join forces in fending off the threat of the transformation of the emblematic Divisional Headquarters building at the summit of the hill into a hotel, which has been the subject of much local opposition, and which it is feared would hinder the chances of further archaeological finds in the area.
(Haniotika Nea, 05/02/25)