RETHYMNON - 2010

Rethymnon, Old Town. K. Giapitsoglou (28th EBA) reviews the results of rescue excavation in the old town.

At the Neratze Tzami/Odeon, excavation in 2007–2008 revealed parts of the south and west wings of the Augustinian monastery. Pottery (mostly glazed) (Fig. 1) and bronze coins indicated that the complex was occupied between the early 15th and the late 18th century AD.

Investigation of a two-roomed, domed structure at the junction of P. Koronaiou and Smyrnis Streets in 2007-2008 revealed the apse of the church attributed to Ag. Sophia in Venetian sources, plus associated graves. A mihrab was built when the church was transformed into the mosque of Yahya Ibraim.

Excavation at a church on Nikiforou Phoka Street (tentatively attributed to Ag. Paraskevi) showed that it was used for worship from the 16th century to the Turkish occupation, when it became a workshop and store.

Excavation within the church of Ag. Frangiskos (2003–2005) revealed successive layers of closely packed tombs, a unique arrangement in the Venetian record and one which probably relates to the Ottoman siege of the town (which fell in 1646).

Repaving of the square of the Unknown Soldier in 2008 revealed the remains of the Gate of Ag. Varvara, part of the city’s land walls which were demolished at the beginning of the 20th century.

The church of the Ag. Apostoloi, on Kastrinogiannaki Street, was revealed in its entirety in 2009-2010 (the south wall and part of the apse had previously been visible, preserved to a height of 2.5m). This two-aisled church was established in the late 15th or early 16th century AD, and is mentioned as an Orthodox building in the 17th-century sources. Several building phases are observed. The two aisles are joined via three arches supported on orthogonal columns and one half-column on the west wall. The original entrance was in the west part of the north wall, with light coming from at least one window in the south wall. Inside the church were three cist tombs containing co-mingled burials: these must have been visible above the plaster floor. In Ottoman times the building was divided into two. The crudely made walls of a structure (of as yet uncertain function) are preserved in the east part of the church. The remaining area was probably used for storage, with modifications to the church structure including the opening of a window in the south wall: this use is indicated by a large pithos inserted into the north tomb (1) (Fig. 2).

Excavation inside the Didymo Ktirio in 2010 revealed an earlier house with at least five-rooms, which was largely founded on bedrock. It was built of fieldstones covered in a light coloured plaster inside and out, and had at least one entrance on the south side (the threshold of which is preserved). A small channel ran under the floor of the central room. The building, which extends further to the east and north, beyond the area of the Didymo Ktirio, was in use in the later 16th century to judge from the small number of sherds (including ceramica berettina) and bronze coins recovered. An Early Byzantine coin found on the bedrock is the only indication of activity in this period yet found in Rethymnon. Following the destruction of the building (the cause of which is unknown), the Didymo Ktirio (likely used for storage) was built on the same site probably early in the 17th century.