Achladia
Encyclopedia
Achladia is the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan
villa on eastern Crete
.
. From the hill on which the houses stand, there is a view of the valley which drains into the Bay of Sitia, as well as the shoreline of the Ornon
mountains' northeast spur.
. He conducted subsequent excavations here in 1952 and 1959.
The site is a large building with an area of 270 square meters referred to as House A and a smaller building nearby called House B. Two other Minoan buildings were also found nearby, but were only partially excavated. House A overlooks the entire bay of Siteia.
There is some dispute about the period of use - Nicolas Platon believed that it was built during MMIII
, but Lefteris Platon believes there is enough evidence to support the presence of a light well and polythyra (pier-and-door partition), both Late Minoan architectural features. If this is true, then the building would have been constructed during LMIB
. Nearby are a LMIIIB
tholos tomb at Platyskinos and a LMIII
potter's kiln, which may add further contextual evidence for the site's Late Minoan chronology.
Finds excavated from Achladia are at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum and Archaeological Museum of Sitia.
in the kitchen (Room Delta) and a stone slab box in Room Gamma containing an agrimi rhyton
.
Evidence indicates that the Achladia buildings were destroyed in a violent earthquake.
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
villa on eastern Crete
Ancient Crete
The term Ancient Crete refers to the civilization that existed on the island of Crete, just south of Greece, in the Mediterranean Sea. From around 3000–1100 B.C., inhabitants known as Minoans controlled the island of Crete and ruled the island autonomously...
.
Geography
The ancient Minoan excavation site is 3 kilometers northeast of the Achladia village, south of SitiaSitia
Sitia refers both to the port town, with 8,900 inhabitants and to the municipality with 19,209 inhabitants in Lasithi, Crete . It lies to the east of Agios Nikolaos and to the northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia port is on the Sea of Crete, which is a part of the Aegean Sea and is one of the economic...
. From the hill on which the houses stand, there is a view of the valley which drains into the Bay of Sitia, as well as the shoreline of the Ornon
Ornon
Ornon is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France....
mountains' northeast spur.
Archaeology
Achladia was first excavated in 1939 by Nicolas PlatonNikolaos Platon
Nikolaos Platon was a renowned Greek archaeologist. He discovered the Minoan palace of Zakros on Crete.He put forward one of the two systems of relative chronology used by archaeologists for Minoan history...
. He conducted subsequent excavations here in 1952 and 1959.
The site is a large building with an area of 270 square meters referred to as House A and a smaller building nearby called House B. Two other Minoan buildings were also found nearby, but were only partially excavated. House A overlooks the entire bay of Siteia.
There is some dispute about the period of use - Nicolas Platon believed that it was built during MMIII
Minoan pottery
Minoan pottery is more than a useful tool for dating the mute Minoan civilization. Its restless sequence of rapidly maturing artistic styles reveal something of Minoan patrons' pleasure in novelty while they assist archaeologists to assign relative dates to the strata of their sites...
, but Lefteris Platon believes there is enough evidence to support the presence of a light well and polythyra (pier-and-door partition), both Late Minoan architectural features. If this is true, then the building would have been constructed during LMIB
Minoan pottery
Minoan pottery is more than a useful tool for dating the mute Minoan civilization. Its restless sequence of rapidly maturing artistic styles reveal something of Minoan patrons' pleasure in novelty while they assist archaeologists to assign relative dates to the strata of their sites...
. Nearby are a LMIIIB
Minoan pottery
Minoan pottery is more than a useful tool for dating the mute Minoan civilization. Its restless sequence of rapidly maturing artistic styles reveal something of Minoan patrons' pleasure in novelty while they assist archaeologists to assign relative dates to the strata of their sites...
tholos tomb at Platyskinos and a LMIII
Minoan pottery
Minoan pottery is more than a useful tool for dating the mute Minoan civilization. Its restless sequence of rapidly maturing artistic styles reveal something of Minoan patrons' pleasure in novelty while they assist archaeologists to assign relative dates to the strata of their sites...
potter's kiln, which may add further contextual evidence for the site's Late Minoan chronology.
Finds excavated from Achladia are at the Heraklion Archaeological Museum and Archaeological Museum of Sitia.
House A
House A consists of 12 excavated ground-floor rooms, and there is no evidence of an upper floor. Of particular note at the site are the pier-and-door partition connecting Rooms Beta and Gamma, a quern-stoneQuern-stone
Quern-stones are stone tools for hand grinding a wide variety of materials. They were used in pairs. The lower, stationary, stone is called a quern, whilst the upper, mobile, stone is called a handstone...
in the kitchen (Room Delta) and a stone slab box in Room Gamma containing an agrimi rhyton
Rhyton
A rhyton is a container from which fluids were intended to be drunk, or else poured in some ceremony such as libation. Rhytons were very common in ancient Persia, where they were called takuk...
.
Evidence indicates that the Achladia buildings were destroyed in a violent earthquake.
External links
- http://www.uk.digiserve.com/mentor/minoan/achladia.htm