Greek-Swedish Excavations
at the Agia Aikaterini Square
Kastelli, Khania 1970-1987
& 2001, [2 Vol. Set]
Results of the Excavations Under the Direction
of Yannis Tzedakis & Carl-Gustaf Styrenius

Edited By Erik Hallager & Birgitta Hallager
December 2003
Paul Astroms Forlag
ISBN: 91-7916-045-X
346 pages, Illustrated, 8 ½" x 12"
$275.00 Hardcover


This volume is the third in a series of seven presenting the results of the Greek-Swedish Excavations in the Agia Aikaterini Square close to the harbor of the modern town of Khania, western Crete. The excavations were under the direction of Dr. Yannis Tzedakis and Professor Carl-Gustaf Styrenius and were conducted during the years 1970-1987 and 2001. At the end of the LM IIIB:1 period the site of Kastelli, Khania, was destroyed by a conflagration and immediately rebuilt.

In connection with the rebuilding, a well-known pattern was noted: parts of the destroyed buildings were cleared of their destruction debris and re-used, while new constructions were also erected, especially in the northern part of the excavated area. Some parts of the settlement, however, were as far as we can judge, allowed to lie in ruins during the LM IIIB:2 period. The period displayed remains of two building complexes with at least 11 rooms/spaces and open courtyards and two extensive rubbish areas. Furthermore a few but major architectural changes appear to have taken place during this period. All excavated units within the LM IIIB:2 settlement are dealt with in some detail, according to their stratigraphic positions, after which follow the analyses of the architecture, the pottery and the different kinds of small finds.

The volume ends with four appendices concerning statistics, intra mural burials, clay analyses of Grey Ware and finally analyses of some painted, plaster fragments from the excavation in the entire Bronze Age. The analyses show that, although faint signs of decline in architecture and administration compared with the previous period may perhaps be noted, the importance of the settlement in relation to the surrounding world was still at its height. This is shown, among other things, by the many imports from abroad and the exports of the products of the Local Kydonian Workshop to other parts of the Mediterranean region, and the continued production of inscribed stirrup jars.

Archaeology
Acta Instituti Atheniensis Regni Sueciae, Series in 4°, XLVII:III:1

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