CHANIA - 2009

Chania, M. Andreadaki-Vlazaki (ΚΕ’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports.

Kastelli Hill. At 1 Katré Street at the southwest edge of the hill, an extensive Late Minoan IIIB courtyard contained scattered human and animal bones usually deposited under small piles of stone. The northern area held the greater concentration of bone. Parts of animals were placed on a bed of small stones with another layer of stones above them, with no signs of burning. However, a building collapsed next to the bone layer was burnt (with masses of burnt mud-brick). Initial archaeobotanical results show high concentrations of grain with olives, pulses and figs. Tests beneath the courtyard revealed another Late Minoan IIIB surface also with bone deposited on it. Concentrations of large cut stones, burnt mud-brick and an in situ column base indicate the proximity of an important building. Other finds include a rectangular structure covered in painted plaster and at least five pairs of agrimi horns. The area remained an open space until the Archaic period. At the end of the eighth and beginning of the seventh century, an extensive layer of burnt pithos fragments plus other large pots and stones occupied the surface. Numerous burnt wheat grains were collected.

Buildings of the Late Classical/Hellenistic city were found at the junction of Manousogiannakidou and Kalisperidon Streets and at 5 Anapauseos Street. Sections of the western outskirts of the ancient city – including a cobbled alley, an open area with an oven, brazier and well, and a workshop area – were uncovered at 21-25 Partheniou Kelaidi Street, in a part of the city where burials and workshops had previously been identified.