Not many of the thousands of visitors who throng the beaches of Falasarna – ranked the World’s 21st Best Beach and Europe’s 6th by Tripadvisor in 2023 – may be aware that it also houses an ancient site of considerable significance. A city with fortified harbour existed in ancient times, with an important temple dedicated to the goddess Demeter. The remains of the site can still be seen at the northern end of the bay, where archaeologists have found evidence of occupation as far back as the Later Neolithic Period (3500 BC).

The following article by archaeologist Elpida Hatzidaki, published in the Haniotika Nea of 29^th July and on its website, itemises some of the significant finds which have resulted from the ongoing excavations of the ancient site.

Excavations are to continue this year at the ancient site of Falasarna, and will be carried out on the temple of the goddess Demeter during the month of August. The main aim of the excavations is the preservation of any votive objects found, and the study and restoration of the architectural remains of the Temple of Demeter on the Acropolis of Falasarna with its rocky outcrops, and the historical past of five and half thousand years.

The temple of Demeter (fig 1)

The inner shrine of the temple was discovered in 2022, built on the saddle of the holy rock of the acropolis of the ancient city state. This first excavation brought to light the fact that the goddess was already being worshipped in the early 7th century BC, originally in a natural cave where ample water flowed from the adjacent mountain. At some point the cave collapsed and it was on its ruins that the temple of Dimitra was founded in the 5th century BC. The reservoirs dried up and were used as ceremonial repositories

Various votive objects have been extracted, dating from the ancient and classical period. They consist chiefly of earthenware heads of Demeter with a polos crown, veiled figurines, miniature hydria with decoration, and silver and bronze jewellery (figs. 2, 3). The name of the ancient goddess Demeter was found inscribed in Doric dialect on dozens of ceremonial votive objects.

Of interest is the number of eastern-style figurines in the form of women with a high polos crown and daidalic hairstyle which are dated to the early 7th century BC (fig. 4). We estimate that they are derived from the earlier daidalic figurines in Crete, while the possibility is being examined of a connection with the Phoenician mother-goddess Astarte, as is also evidenced by other relics of monuments and movable finds of Phoenician origin at the Falasarna site.

In the summers of 2023 and 2024 the excavations were expanded around the spring on the holy rock, discovering natural trenches which were used as places for offerings. Apart from the daidalic figurines, there were found intact figurines of birds, turtles and piglets, oil lamps and other objects, which led to the conclusion that Thesmophorian festivals were celebrated here in honour of Demeter and Persephone (figs 5 and 6).

In August 2024 ten sections of dimensions 5 x 5 m were excavated down to the natural rock, revealing neolithic layers for the first time. Altogether in 2024 more than 500 ceremonial objects were excavated and 200 building stones, a fact which adds to the importance of the site and and its deeply historic past.

The latest element to emerge is that the lower layers of the sections revealed, on top of the natural rock, handmade ceramics, grinding stones, complex tools made of flint, obsidian and quartz, polished stone axes and bone objects dating from the Later Neolithic period (3500 BC) (fig 7), as well as a few ceramics from the Minoan period. These finds attest to the presence of a prehistoric culture of the neolithic and Minoan periods, as is moreover indicated by the pre-Hellenic name of Falasarna.

We believe that this earlier phase is connected with the use of the site when it was still dispersed among caves, on the remains of which the city with its monumental temples was later fortified, underlining the strategic importance for thousands of years of the whole of the Kastri (Kutri) peninsula.

Fortified gateway (fig. 8)
Simultaneously work was under way on the majestic fortified gateway to the harbour, with its massive quadrilateral structures and its decorative peritenia bands. The gateway in its surviving phase has been dated to the 2nd century BC, but it was built on the ruins of an older structure from the 5th century BC or even earlier. The abundance of roof tiles which have been excavated confirm that the monument was roofed with Corinthian tiles.

Tower 2 (figs 9, 10)
Tower 2, one of the harbour’s five defensive towers, had been excavated extensively during the 1990s but further work had had to await suitable funding, given that the abundance of collapsed architectural elements required the use of lifting gear. The opportunity arose in 2023, with the generous sponsorship of the AEGEAS foundation of Athanasios and Marina Martinos. A series of fallen blocks were uncovered (fig. 9) which belonged to the upper structure of Tower 2.

The fact that the foundations of the harbour’s five towers are all at the same height confirms that the surviving phase of the harbour installations was built during the same period in the 4th century BC to the same architectural specifications, as was reported by the contemporary geographer known as Pseudo-Skylax.

The works were supervised by the Chania Ephorate of Antiquities through their representative and a participant in the excavations Dr M. Milidakis, and chief technician K. Mountakis, under the direction of the author of this article Elpida Hatzidaki.

Elpida Hatzidaki is director of Excavations at Ancient Falasarna and former director of the Ephorate of Marine Antiquities. All photos from the original article as published in Haniotika Nea, 29/07/25.
An account of the history and archaeology of ancient Falasarna, which gives context to the discoveries described in this article, can be found on Wikipedia, here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falasarna.