Achaeans at Khania, Western Crete

The Greek Archaeological Committee UK Annual Lecture 2014 with Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki (Director General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture and Sport, Athens)

Kydonia, according to Diodorus Siculus, was one of the three cities founded by Minos in Crete. Modern Khania has been identified by most scholars as the site of both Minoan and Classical Kydonia. Systematic excavations have identified the low Kastelli hill, dominating the natural harbour and the fertile plain beyond it, as the site of Prepalatial (3500-1900 B.C.) Minoan Kydonia. In the Neopalatial period (17- 16th B.C.), there is evidence of intensive building activity in Kydonia, which developed into a major Minoan centre, similar to those in central Crete, but it too was destroyed by fire in 1450 B.C.

In the years that followed, the Mycenaean presence becomes increasingly evident and by the ‘Final Palatial’ or Mycenaean period (1375-1200 B.C.) Kydonia developed into a palatial centre, integral part of the Mycenaean world. Situated closer to the Mycenean centres of the Peloponnese and mainland Greece, Kydonia developed into an important trading centre. The high quality ceramic products of the “Kydonian workshop” are found not only in Mainland Greece and the Cyclades, but also in Cyprus, Canaan, Syria, Egypt, Italy and Sardinia, testifying to the existence of an extensive trade network along established sea-routes. Furthermore, the discovery of four Linear B tablets, indicate the adoption of a new language – proto-Greek – in Western Crete, just as at Knossos.

South and SE of the settlement, the Creto-mycenaean necropolis with its rich finds and unusual tombs such as pit-caves and graves of noble warriors, dated to the LM II and IIIA1 (c.1450-1390 B.C.), testify to the presence of the Achaeans at Khania.

A geological fault-line in this area may have been the cause of powerful earthquakes which struck Kydonia repeatedly. Propitiation of chthonic deities to avert further disaster is the initial interpretation for an unusual discovery of the early LM IIIB period (early 13th c. B.C.) near the area of the west entrance of the palatial building. In an external courtyard, scattered concentrations of slaughtered animal bones but also those of a young woman, were discovered in situ without traces of burning and under piles of stones.

After 1200 BC, a period of upheaval, Khania was abandoned, although some evidence provided by the necropolis implies uninterrupted but limited occupation on the hill by the sea.

Dr Maria Andreadaki-Vlazaki was appointed General Director of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture and Sports in 2011. Having joined the Archaeological Service in 1975, she was appointed Director of the Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in Western Crete in 1990, servin guntil 2010. Between 2001 and 2003 she was also Director of the Archaeological Museum and the Ephorate of Herakleion. Her doctoral thesis, completed at the Clermont-Ferrand University in France, was on the city of Khania (Kydonia) during the Minoan and Geometric period. Her interests include Crete during the Minoan and Geometric period with emphasis on the regions of Khania and Rethymnon, where she has excavated extensively. She has published widely and edited a large number of publications. She has participated as a speaker in numerous conferences both in Greece and internationally. She has also curated exhibitions of archaeological focus abroad. As General Director of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, Dr Andreadaki-Vlazaki places special emphasis on the preservation, conservation and promotion of Greece’s archaeological wealth and its cultural heritage, as well as on issues related to the repatriation of antiquities from abroad. She is President of the National Advisory Committee of the Hague Convention on the protection of cultural artifacts, and member of the Hellenic National Committee of UNESCO, the Special Advisory Committee of the Parthenon Marbles and the National Committee for the Intangible Cultural Heritage.