Chania - 1 Katre Street - 2013

Chania - 1 Katre Street. Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki (ΚΕ’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports on discoveries made that shed significant light on ancient Kydonia.

During excavations in 2012, the skull of a young girl had been found in front of wall 10 among animal skulls and other scatter bones (Fig. 1 and 2). In 2013, excavation proceeded under the wall. As this is an external wall that delimits the archaic structure from the N, the wall was not removed entirely, but investigations underneath the rest of the bone deposit was located extending to the N. The stratigraphy consisted of a single thick layer, on contrast to the fineness of the soil elsewhere in the room. The wall was photographed and laser scanned (Fig. 3); some bones were found broken by the weight of overlying stones (Fig. 4,5).

Part of a clay plaque was found with Linear A writing on it (Fig. 6), dating to LMIIIB. To date, excavations at this site have brought to light part of a Linear B inscription and sections of two Linear A inscriptions.

Excavation clarified that the bone deposit was placed on the floor, made of pebble mortar (tarazza). It is thought that after the deposit was made, a powerful earthquake destroyed the surrounding structure.