Palace-like complex of Monastiraki

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Monastiraki archaeological site

The palatial complex of Monastiraki refers to an archaeological excavation site northeast of the village of Monastiraki in the Amari Basin on the Greek island of Crete . He was in the period from 1900 to 1700 BC. Used in the Minoan old palace period . After being destroyed by fire as a result of an earthquake at the end of Period MM II , the palatial site was not rebuilt. Only in SM III C in the 12th century BC Parts of the 300,000 m² complex were repopulated.

location

Monastiraki ( Greek Μοναστηράκι ) is located in the municipality of Syvritos (Σύβριτος) of the municipality of Amari (Αμάρι). The village is 4.2 kilometers southeast of the municipality of Agia Fotini (Αγία Φωτεινή) and 23 kilometers southeast of Rethymno , the capital of the Rethymno regional district , to which the municipality of Amari belongs. The natural location in the center of the Amari basin was certainly important for the foundation of the Minoan site. The fertile, hilly valley stretches from northwest to southeast between the mountain ranges of the Psiloritis (Ψηλορείτης; in ancient times Ida ) in the northeast and the Kedros (Όρος Κέδρος) in the southwest. The Amari Basin is irrigated by the small river Platy (Πλατύ), which flows northeast of Monastiraki and flows into the Libyan Sea , part of the Mediterranean , at Agia Galini . The excavation site is around the hill Kokkinos Charakas (Κόκκινος Χάρακας) between the Platy and Monastiraki, about 200 meters from the village in the southwest, and can be reached from there via an unpaved road.

Excavations

The first excavations in Monastiraki took place after the German occupation of Crete during the Second World War . They were based on the records of British archaeologist and Vice Consul John Pendlebury , who was killed by German paratroopers on May 22, 1941 while the island was being captured . The excavations were carried out in 1942 under the direction of Ernst Kirsten for the German Archaeological Institute . The German excavations were limited to the northwestern find area.

Southeast excavation area

From 1980 the Institute of Archeology and Art History of the University of Crete under the direction of Athanasia Kanta began with systematic excavations. From 1982 to 1984, the University of Naples participated in the excavations. The Italian activities were limited to the northern and northwestern excavation area, while the Greek excavators uncovered a large area in the southeast in addition to the northwestern and western areas. The south-eastern excavation area is now covered to protect it from the elements. The last major excavation campaign took place in 1999. Since 2006 the Centro Euromediterraneo per i Beni Culturali (CEM) and the Greek Ministry of Culture have been working on the establishment of an “integrated archaeological park” at the Monastiraki archaeological site.

Since the core area of ​​the Minoan complex was destroyed around 1700 BC. BC was not built over again, valuable information about the corresponding epoch of the Minoan culture could be obtained here. The excavation sites of Knossos and Phaistos show similar horizons of destruction at the same time, but these have been blurred by subsequent repopulation. In Monastiraki, two-story buildings were built on strong walls. Storage rooms with pithoi and three seal archives were found in them. The remains of the contents of the pithoi found and large amounts of animal bones give insights into the economy and nutrition of the people of the Old Palace period. Wax residues, traces of vegetables and an indication of winemaking with the addition of roasted oak were found in three-legged kettles. Rasp vessels were used to produce oils found in connection with cult implements. Beverage residues come from a type of beer as well as wine, honeydew mead and brandy, the latter possibly distilled in pithoi containing charred grapes. The finds, including provincial Kamares-style ceramics and hundreds of clay seals , indicate a relationship with Phaistos. Among the finds is a clay model of an altar.

The discovery of large storage facilities, clay seal archives and miniature models of cult shrines indicate that an economic, administrative and religious center existed near Monastiraki in the Middle Minoan period. The planned floor plan with the discovered sewer system is evidence of a strong central power. C. Michael Hogan suggests that the Monastiraki complex was a branch of Phaistos, which the Messara site founded in the Middle Minoan period in order to develop natural resources in the Amari Basin. Athanasia Kanta also sees Monastiraki as a dependency of Phaistos.

literature

  • Athanasia Kanta, Massimiliano Marazzi (ed.): Monastiraki I. Missione Monastiraki: Campagne 2002/2004. ( Quaderni della ricerca scientifica. Series beni culturali 4) Herder, Rome 2007.
  • Centro Interistituzionale Euromediterraneo per i Beni Culturali (Ed.): A minoan palace on the slopes of Mount Ida . A preliminary study for the creation of an archaeological park in the Valley of Amari - Crete. Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa, Naples 2008 ( PDF file [accessed April 21, 2013]).
  • Serena di Tonto, Alessandra Ferraro, Silvia Festuccia, Germana Pecoraro: Il palazzo minoico di Monastiraki a Creta . Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa, Naples 2013 ( PDF file [accessed April 21, 2013]).
  • Athanasia Kanta: Monastiraki IIA: The Archive Building and Associated Finds. Heraklion 2012. ISBN 978-960-93-3673-4 Contents .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Athanasia Kanta: The Palatial Center at Monastiraki, Amari, Crete. (No longer available online.) Www.minoanseminar.gr, archived from the original on December 13, 2015 ; accessed on April 21, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.minoanseminar.gr
  2. ↑ a b Monastiraki (The archaeological site). www.interkriti.org, accessed on April 21, 2013 (English).
  3. ↑ Monastiraki. www.digiserve.com, March 20, 2013, accessed April 21, 2013 (English).
  4. ↑ Δήμος Αμαρίου - Ιστορία. Amari Parish (www.amari.gov.gr), 2011, accessed April 29, 2013 (Greek).
  5. ↑ Monastiraki minoan settlement archaeological site in south Crete. www.webcrete.net, accessed on April 21, 2013 (English).
  6. ↑ Ernst Kirsten, Kimon Grundmann: The excavation on the Charakeshöhe near Monastiraki. In: Friedrich Matz (Ed.): Research on Crete 1942. de Gruyter, Berlin 1951, pp. 25–71.
  7. ↑ a b Valorizzazione del sito archeologico di Monastiraki, Valle di Amari (Creta). Scheme dei Lavori. (No longer available online.) Www.centroeuromediterraneo.org, January 21, 2010, p. 5 , formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 21, 2013 (Italian, PDF file, 1913.56 KB).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.centroeuromediterraneo.org  
  8. ^ Eti Bonn-Muller: Voyage to Crete: Monastiraki . In: Archeology Magazine . Archaeological Institute of America , 2012 ( online [accessed April 21, 2013]).
  9. ^ The "Monastiraki" project in the valley of Amari (Crete). (No longer available online.) Www.centroeuromediterraneo.org, 2010, formerly in the original ; accessed on April 21, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.centroeuromediterraneo.org  
  10. ↑ Tobias Mühlenbruch: Comments on the context-related function of Minoan pottery. Heidelberg University, August 16, 2012, pp. 1–3 , accessed on April 28, 2013 (PDF file, 37.04 KB).
  11. ^ Antonis Vasilakis: Crete . Mystis, Iraklio 2008, ISBN 978-960-6655-30-2 , Monastiraki, p. 257 .
  12. ^ Lambert Schneider : Crete . 5000 years of art and culture: Minoan palaces, Byzantine chapels and Venetian city complexes. DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2006, ISBN 978-3-7701-3801-2 , Ancient settlements and Byzantine village churches in the Amari Valley, p. 196 ( online [accessed April 21, 2013]).
  13. ↑ C. Michael Hogan: Phaistos Fieldnotes. The Modern Antiquarian (themodernantiquarian.com), December 29, 2007, accessed April 21, 2013 .

Web links

Commons : Monastiraki  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 35 ° 13 ′ 49.5 ″  N , 24 ° 40 ′ 16.5 ″  E