The archaeological site of Monastiraki in Amari

The archaeological site of Monastiraki occupies the top and slopes of a low hill in the valley of Amari, between Mount Idi and Mount Kedros. During World War II, the site was excavated by German officers/archaeologists. The first systematic excavation begun in 1980 by the Emeritus Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of  Heraklion, Dr Athanasia Kanta. In 1982-1984, a Greek-Italian archaeological mission led by the Emeritus Director of Antiquities of the Ministry of Culture, Dr Yannis Tzedakis, and the Professor of the University of Naples, Federico II, Louis Godart, carried out an excavation. The excavation was continued by the Emeritus Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion, Dr Athanasia Kanta.

The long-term systematic excavation has revealed an extensive settlement of the Protopalatial period, dating back to the MMI-MMIIB period (c. 2000-1700 B.C.), with all the characteristics of a palatial center of the period, such as monumental architecture, urban organization, archives of sealings, extensive workshops and storerooms, official dwelling quarters, places of worship and collective assembly.

To date, three (3)  building complexes have been excavated at Monastiraki.

The Southern complex was first excavated by a Greek-Italian expedition. It consists of several rooms. The First Archive of sealings was found in a room, accessible through a ramp, next to the southern entrance of the complex. A road system was also discovered. An important find in this complex is a clay model of a shrine.

The Eastern complex contained ninety (90) rooms. The ground floor housed storerooms, workshops and places of worship, while the first floor contained living quarters and administrative areas. To the north of the Eastern complex, open spaces and kitchens have been uncovered. The Second sealing Archive, consisting of more than nine hundred (900) sealings, was found in two rooms on the first floor. A ramp road leading to the top of the hill and intersecting with other roads in a north-south orientation has been traced in the Eastern complex.

The Western complex was first excavated by German archaeologists, officers in World War II and then by the Emeritus Director of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion, Dr. Athanasia Kanta. The excavations revealed a monumental building with megalithic facade with recesses, a ritual area with a pillar in the center and an entrance with stone pilasters. A Third Archive of sealings was found in the Western complex. Large terraces and two courtyards were discovered to the north and the south of this complex.

A Central Courtyard was located on the large rectangular plateau at the top of the hill. Courtyards are typical feature of the Minoan Palaces. It was accessed from the south-west and north-east. From the Central Courtyard, a corridor led to Kokkinos Charakas, the rock that roughly dominates the center of the site. There are traces of a stepped entrance at the root of the rock, while an important shrine complex has been excavated on its eastern side.

The final destruction of the settlement came from an earthquake and fire at the end of the Protopalatial period (MMIIB) ca.1700 BC.

Bibliography

Kanta, A., & Tzigounaki, A. (1996). La Bureaucratie palatiale: La naissance et Evolution d’ Un System de Pouvoir en Egee. Atti e Memorie Del Secondo Congresso Di Micenologia.  Incunabula Graeca, Vol. XCVIII, 2, Roma.

Godart, L., Kanta, A., & Tzigounaki, A. (2000). Les scellés de Monastiraki. Minoisch-Mykenische Glyptik: Stil, Ikonographie, Funktion. In Pini, I. (eds), V.  Internationales Siegel-Symposium Marburg, 23-25 September 1999, Berlin, pp. 95-96.

Kanta, A., & Tzigounaki, A. (2001). The Character of the Minoan Goddess. New Evidence From the Area of Amari. In Potnia, Deities and Religion in the Aegean Bronze Age. Proceedings of the 8th International Aegean Conference, Göteborg, Göteborg University, Aegaeum, Vol. 22, pp. 12-15.

Kanta, A., & Tzigounaki, A. (2001). Clay model of a two- storey shrine. In  Α.Karetsou, M. Andreadaki- Vlazaki and N. Papadakis (eds), Crete – Egypt. Three Thousand Years of Cultural Links. Herakleion- Cairo, pp. 63- 64.

Kanta, A., & Marazzi, M. (2006). Monastiraki I: Monastiraki, a palatial Minoan center in the valley of Amari. Napoli- Heraklion.

Kanta, A. (2008). A Minoan Palace on the slopes of Mount Ida. CEM Università Degli Studi Suor Orsola Banincasa. Un Palazzo Minoico Alle Falde Del Monte Ida. Studio Preliminare Di Un Parco Archeologico a Monastiraki Nella Valle Di Amari–Creta. Napoli.

Kanta, A. (2012). Monastiraki ΙΙΑ: Monastiraki, Excavations of a Minoan Palatial Centre in the Amari Valley. The Archive Building and Associated Finds. Heraklion.

Kanta, A., & Marazzi, M. (2013). Monastiraki III: Studies of the Protopalatial Architectural Remains in Monastiraki (Amari Valley). The East Quarter of Monastiraki (Mon. East). Napoli- Heraklion.