At midday on Sunday (23rd October), dozens of locals were given a guided tour of the archaeological site at Falassarna where excavations have been under way for the past two months, led by the archaeologist Elpida Hatzidaki. The main find was a temple dating from the 4th century BC.
The works were carried out under difficult conditions since, as Ms Hatzidaki told the Haniotika Nea, “we had to construct a footpath leading to the site and to dig very carefully, since there is a large rock above and we were in danger from falling stones. We wanted to have this tour for the local community who live in the neighbourhood and I want them to know the area’s history, to contribute to the work and to protect it. They need to be proud of the antiquities which we have found here.”
When the dig began, the site was filled with rocks, which were broken up with crowbars. Two large rocks are still there and if it’s decided that they need to be moved, Ms Hatzidaki said that they would ask for help from the army.
A 4th century temple
The temple which was found was dedicated to the goddess Demeter and is estimated to have been built after 330 BC, i.e. in the years following the rule of Alexander the Great.
“The temple we found is unique because of its situation,” the archaeologist told Haniotika Nea. “I discussed it with fellow archaeologists and they told me that there is no other monument like it in Crete. It is a temple in the Doric style, with two columns, capitals, metopes, a portal and pediment. It was 8 metres high, 5 metres wide and 5 metres deep.
“The floor was covered in stone slabs and it was there that the ancients left their offerings to the gods. My colleague Mr Milidakis, found 5 containers in which the ancients had placed their sacred objects. These were chiefly idols, water pots, lamps and weapons, in fact we found 30 water pots.
“Why water pots? Because Demeter was the goddess not only of agriculture but of the force which water has in our lives. That is why there were water pots,” the archaeologist said, emphasising that many finds were dedicated to the goddess, with one of them bearing the inscription “akestoi damatiri”, or Akestoes dedicated to the goddess Demeter (Damatiri was the Doric name for Demeter).
Ms Hatzidaki will shortly have a meeting with the Culture Minister Lina Medoni at which she will put in a request for the reconstruction of the 4th century BC temple, since the basic components have been found and numbered and are ready to be reassembled, while the missing parts will be cut from the old, abandoned quarry nearby.
At the Archaeological Museum of Kissamos
More than 500 objects were found at the site, which are destined to be displayed at the Archaeological Museum of Kissamos. Ms Hatzidaki said that a wealthy shipowner has undertaken to fund the display cases where the finds will be shown. The archaeologist showed drawings of many of the items and, asked if there were any signs of looting, she said that here had been in the past and also more recently, and on her vists she had occasionally seen finds hidden in cracks in the rocks, which she had collected.
Before the 4th century
Giving further information about the area before the 4th century BC, Ms Hatzidaki said that there was a cave at the site of the excavations. “The goddess was worshipped inside the cave. That must have been before 650 BC. I don’t know exactly, as we have not yet excavated the lower levels.
“At some point the cave collapsed. During the 6th century a temple was built, from which we found a single stone, nothing more. The temple was demolished by an earthquake, another temple was built to replace it and that too was demolished in the 5th century, and we have the temple from the 4th century which we have now found,” the archaeologist said.
Dozens of local inhabitants attended the presentation along with teachers, antiquities enthusiasts, archbishop Amphilochios, the MP Vassilis Digalakis and the mayor of Kissamos Giorgos Mylonakis, who stressed that the municipality intends to help with promoting the archaeological finds in whatever way it can.
From an article in the Haniotika Nea, 24th October 2022