Chania - 1 Katre street - 2009

Chania - 1 Katre street. Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki (ΚΕ’ EPKA) reports that archaeological investigations commenced in a plot in 1 Katre Street on Kastelli hill of the town of Chania (Fig. 1).

During the fourth excavation research, four new trenches were opened, all at the N part of the plot:  ΙΔ and ΙΕ northern of trench ΙΒ and western of Η, as well as trenches ΙΣΤ and ΙΖ eastern of Δ (Fig. 2). In the area of 1 Katre Street, part of a yard of the LM IIIB period has been discovered a few years earlier, at the SW edge of the hill, whose limits are yet to be found (Fig. 18). This find has generated scientific interest after the discovery of scattered human bones on top of the floor of the yard, with a placement identical to that of the animal bones which were also found in the same space. To this discovery the following evidence were added in 2009:

1. The collapsed large worked stones, the column base and the few wall-painting fragments at the NW part of the excavated area (Fig. 3) led to the hypothesis that a building existed at the W edge of the plot. The concentrations of burnt, broken or destroyed tiles that came to light during 2009 at the W and NW edge of the extended area (Fig. 4,5) indeed suggest that outside of the N limits of the excavated plot, the remains of a large building expand.  It is believed that we are near the W entrance of the palatial complex of Kydonia, as this would look like during the Mycenaean period.  The excavation under the adjacent modern road at the NW will provide more evidence.

2. The recent investigation at the NW part of the plot brought to light part of a Linear B tablet (Fig. 21), where the male name wa- ra-pi-si-jo is written – a similar name is mentioned in a tablet from Mycenae and Pylos. This, along with another small Linear A tablet fragment and a clay disc which came to light in the upper disturbed deposits, as well as the abundant Neopalatial archival material of the excavation of 1973, underline the importance of the area during the Neopalatial and Mycenaean times. 

3. Among the most interesting finds is part of a rectangular structure (Fig. 6) whose external surface is covered in wall-paintings and is potentially an altar, not only in terms of construction but also due to the fact that along its south side and on top of the burnt floor (Fig. 7) at least five pairs of ibex horns were discovered as well as four vessels, characteristic examples of “the Kydonia workshop” (Fig. 8). Similar structures are depicted on the sarcophagus of Agia Triada. The dating of the vessels to the 1^st half of the 13^th c. BC assists in the dating of the episode that took place in this yard and was followed by a major disaster.

4. The yard extends to the E with floors 17 and 25 at the east trenches of the excavation, without any resemblance to the W side with the bone concentrations. A hasty repair was detected in trench ΙΣΤ. It is obvious that this is an extended outdoor space, part of which was carefully overlaid in order to be suitable for specific activities. 

Although the excavation has not been completed, it should be noted that the aforementioned evidence lead to the assumption that in this part of Kastelli sacrifices have taken place, following certain rituals. The uniqueness of this part of the Minoan settlement is enhanced by the evidence that was later discovered in the same area. According to the results of the 2007-2009 excavations, the largest part of this area remained an outdoor space until the Early Archaic period. 

Regarding the LM IIIC period, new evidence came to light during the excavation of 2009. It seems that the large stone pile at the N edge of the excavation which is surrounded by hastily worked stones (directly to the N of the excavated part of the LM IIIB yard) belongs to this period. The earthen floor 34 W of the stone pile corresponds to this period as well (Fig. 9). The rest of the excavated area was not built during the LM IIIC period. The next human intervention to the area is noted during the 8^th and the beginning of the 7^th c. BC (Late Geometric I and II phase), with the construction of wall 21, the initial wall 10 and of the successive earthen floors 18 and 31, at the N edge of the plot and towards the W of the aforementioned stone pile, which were found during 2009. 

A rectangular structure in the same area is related to the finds mentioned above; it was found at the W of the stone pile, and was partially destroyed by pit K. Another similar rectangular structure (Α-Δ), was discovered in the NW edge of the area, near the first one.  These may be related to the S entrance of a rectangular building dating to the beginning of the 7^th c. BC (Late Geometric ΙΙ period). A well in the N of the interior of the building might have belonged to this building phase, and has significantly disturbed the older layers.

The N area started being built during the Early Archaic and Archaic period. Walls 10 (b phase) and 11 are dated to this period and to these correspond the earthen floor 27 and a column base, found in 2009. Towards the S wall 27/28 to which the earthen floors 32 and 33 correspond, was discovered. The previously discovered walls 23 and 24 at the E edge of the excavation, as well as wall 13 at the W and the centre of the excavation, which is related to deposits (mainly of pottery) in the area, are associated with the aforementioned structures.  Walls 26 and 20 as well as floors 29 and 30, E of wall 10, are dated to the Hellenistic period. The finds of 2009 are related to the previously discovered remains of walls  2, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 and floors 11, 21, 22, 23 at the rest of the excavated area.  

In trenches ΙΣΤ and ΙΖ the continuation of the elongated wall 9 which is dated to the Early Roman period was found. The floor 28 (trench ΙΖ) as well as the previously unearthed walls 3 and 1 and floors 20 and 7 are related to wall 9. Walls 8, 19 and the floor 4, as well as the plaster floor 19 are dated to the Imperial years (Fig. 10). 

[Entry created by K. Christakis and translated by C. Koureta]