Palaikastro: Chiona-East Beach - 2022

Theotokis Theodoulou (Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities), Chryssa Sofianou (Ephorate of Antiquities of Lasithi),m Carl Knappett (Toronto) and Andrew Shapland (Oxford) report on the second year of a three-year synergasia between the Ephorate of Antiquities of Lasithi, the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, and the BSA.

The team investigated both the Chiona promontory, which forms the southern breakwater of Chiona beach, and the coastline just to its southeast, East Beach
(Bodalaki; Fig. 1). Trenches were dug in two adjacent zones on the promontory (Zones 1 and 2), and two on East Beach (Zones 3 and 4). Trench location was guided by visible wall remains – some of which are subject to coastal erosion (Fig. 2). 


The promontory remains were noted by Bosanquet (1901/02: 306), describing a large house ‘built of huge undressed limestone blocks’. Below a Hellenistic building, remains of an LMIII construction with steps indicating an entrance were discovered in Zone 1. A deposit of LMIB ogival and conical cups was also uncovered, indicating Neopalatial occupation in this area too. 

Below the Hellenistic levels of Zone 2, two LMIII storerooms containing collapsed levels, including an intact floor deposit and an upper storey, were excavated. Both the basement and upper storey had numerous large storage jars and other finds (Fig. 3). The lower floor deposit, comprising 0.3–0.5m of silted soil, included a large lead vessel and a stone lamp. As well as the many pithoi and jars, some smaller jugs, a basket-handled pyxis, a champagne cup, and other cups and bowls point to collapsed shelving. There was also a remarkable number of large lumps of pumice – several in the fill and at least two inside storagevessels. To the east, a room containing a deposit of LMIB cups and a doorway with an ashlar jamb was revealed (Fig. 4). Stratigraphic tests were conducted, too, revealing successive layers of material dating to LMIB, LMIA, MMIII, and MMII. This showed that some walls date to MMIII and all of the deposits continued up to the walls, demonstrating that they were exposed during these periods. Further study and micromorphology reports on these tests might cast new light on the debate concerning a possible tsunami associated with the Thera eruption.

Turning to East Beach, the team opened trenches in two zones. Zone 3 was placed between the beach road and the cliff to investigate the ‘rectangular building’ identified in the 1980s survey (MacGillivray et al. 1984). The outer walls of this LMII building (in its last phase) were identified. In Zone 4 (Fig. 5), two buildings were identified, with a street between. Building 1 revealed evidence of occupation in LMIII, with a substantial fill deposit, as well as both the Neopalatial and Protopalatial periods. A foundation deposit in a wall here consisted of a miniature pyxis with tortoiseshell ripple decoration (Fig. 6), providing dating evidence for construction in MMIII. An interesting feature in the LMI occupation was a seemingly in situ stela or baetyl, perhaps associated with a square block that was lying against it. The Protopalatial levels were below the building’s walls, and so may belong to an earlier structure.

Cleaning along the beach revealed the heavily eroded deposits of Building 2. There is limited evidence that the building was remodelled in LMIII, having been constructed in the Neopalatial period. Some underwater survey was also conducted, carrying on from that carried out last year. Due to strong winds, the team only managed to to study areas at depths between 6m and 15m in the bays of Chiona and Kouremenos, with few archaeological finds. The area between Itanos and
Maridati was also investigated; in this wider area, there were finds of pottery, a possible anchor, and building material. Dives in the area south of Cavo Plako were successful in observing fragments of Classical and Roman amphorae, Byzantine anchors, and a more recent anchor type (probably British admiralty) – pointing to the use of the location as an anchorage. This last discovery is of particular interest, showing the use of the area for safe anchorage in the difficult waters of east Crete even in periods when there was minimal nearby habitation.