CHANIA, CEMETERY OF KYDONIA - 2001

Chania, cemetery of Kydonia. M. Andreadaki-Vlazaki and V. Niniou-Kindeli (ΚΕ’ ΕΠΚΑ) report on excavations west of the Nomarchiako Megaro.

On Renieri Street (Chaniotaki property), a number of Late Classical and Hellenistic tile graves, pit graves, and a double cist, were discovered. Most were oriented south-north, with the head to the south. One pit grave, cut into bedrock, was coated with lime plaster and had a headrest of unworked stone: it contained two bodies, two fourth-century lekythoi and two misfired figurines. The stone-slab walls of the double cist grave were also coated in lime plaster. The western of the cists contained a fourth-century unguentarium, two pins, a bronze strip, a clay bead, and bronze rings and nails probably from a wooden pyxis. The eastern cist contained an iron strigil and a wreath of bronze leaves, myrtle flowers painted blue and gold, faience rosettes and painted yellow fruit. Various trenches lay close to the graves: one had two pyres containing pottery and figurine fragments. To the north and in contact with this trench, another pyre contained burnt pots and figurine fragments.

On the neighbouring Rovlia property (also on Renieri Street) was a nine-chambered grave of a late fourth-century type known from Alexandria, Cyrenaica and Cyprus. It was oriented north-south, with a steeply sloping dromos, the fill of which was disturbed. The entrances of chambers 2, 4, and 5 had been walled up. Hellenistic burials were preserved in 4 and 5: 4 contained the body of an adult male accompanied by a strigil and four unguentaria, while 5 contained a woman accompanied by 2 unguentaria, earrings, a necklace of gilded clay, a bronze mirror, a bone object and a silver danake. The fill and floors of the other chambers contained human bone, animal bone and numerous objects, such as clay and glass vessels, lamps, figurines, coins, strigils, and jewellery. The fill of chamber 3 gave the impression that bones had been deliberately collected in the Roman period. In front of chamber 2 was an extensive area of burnt soil associated with a rectangular stone construction. The grave was built in the Early Hellenistic period, used through the Roman period with disturbance to the original burials, and was looted in the Christian period.

On the Mathioulaki property on Chatzidaki Street, was another multi-chamber grave constructed in the Hellenistic period and reused in Roman times. Oriented northwest-southeast, its main entrance was at the north and it had six chambers arranged on either side of a central corridor with a seventh at the end opposite the entrance. The chambers on the west side had benches on which grave goods were placed, while in the benchless eastern chambers goods were concentrated at the entrance. In some chambers, Hellenistic burials were pushed aside to make way for burials of the first and second centuries AD, while others contained only Roman burials. Most offerings were Roman pots. The fewer Hellenistic finds included lamps, figurines, glass vessels, coins, iron strigils, and eggshells. The corridor contained small pots and lamps: at its south end were bones and signs of burning.

Two fourth-century cist graves were found on the Papadimitraki property on Giaboudaki Street, one of which contained two burials in situ. A tile grave, a cist grave and a rock-cut grave with two cists were found on the Manousaka property on Vamvaka Street, all oriented north-south. Finally, a cist grave was found on the Chatzidaki property on Igoumenou Gabriel Street.