1. Excavations at Sissi, 2009 and 2010
Introduction
p. 23-32
Texte intégral
1. Introduction and acknowledgements
1During the summers of 2009 and 2010, the Sissi project conducted its third and fourth seasons of excavations on the Kefali or Bouffos hill (Sissi-Vrachasi-Mirabello-Lassithi) in eastern Crete. In 2009, the excavations lasted from July 6th to August 14th, while in 2010 the excavations ran from June 15th to July 24th with restoration by N. Nikakis continuing throughout the autumn and winter. As before (Sissi I), the excavations at Sissi were carried out by the Universities of Louvain and Leuven, under the auspices of the Belgian School at Athens. We are especially grateful for the support and advice of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in particular Mrs. Villy Apostolakou and Vasso Zografaki of the 24th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities at Agios Nikolaos. Lina Manousogiannaki represented the Greek Archaeological Service during both campaigns. P. Iossif of the Belgian School at Athens provided valuable administrative assistance.
2The 2009 campaign was financed thanks to the generous aid from the Institute for Aegean Prehistory, the Université Catholique de Louvain (FSR), the Fonds National de Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO), the Community of Vrachasi as well as by a Prize given by the Compagnie du Bois Sauvage. Financial support during 2010 came from the Institute for Aegean Prehistory, the Belgian School at Athens, the Fonds National de Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), the Université Catholique de Louvain, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (START), the Cultural Association of Sissi, the Loterie Nationale and the Ministère de la Région wallonne. We especially thank Couderé Geoservices (Mrs M. Couderé, M. F. Rahier) for the loan of a Trimble VX which greatly facilitated topographical work. Additional financial support was also provided by the Tim F. Cunningham family, the Henry and Belle Davis Foundation, Mr. Maurice Conrard, Mr. G. Markakis and a series of other private sponsors to whom we are very grateful. INSTAPEC provided valuable aid and services and we thank its director, T. Brogan. We also thank Dr. B. Molloy of the Irish School and the Priniatikos Pyrgos project for their proposal to share a storage area in Agios Nikolaos, which, through the services of V. Klontza, is now serving to store our finds. The Director of the French School, D. Mulliez, and the Studies Director, A. Müller, are thanked for putting the workrooms at Malia at our disposal during the two field work campaigns. For help with the demining, I especially like to thank the Greek Embassy in Brussels (ambassador H.E. Platon Hatzimichalis, first counsellor Mrs. Eleni Michalopoulou), Prof. Chrysoula Paliadeli (Member of the European Parliament), and the Belgian Embassy in Athens (ambassador H.E. Pierre Vaesen).
3The present report was published thanks to an aid of CEMA and INCAL (Institut des Civilisations, Arts et Lettres) at the UCL. Nicolas Kress again put the texts into InDesign.
4Area supervisors during 2009-2010 were Prof. I. Schoep (KULeuven) for Zone 1, F. Carpentier (KULeuven) for Zone 2, F. Gaignerot-Driessen (Paris IV) for Zone 3, Dr. Q. Letesson (UCL-FNRS) for Zone 4, Dr. M. Devolder (UCL-FNRS) for Zone 5 and Dr. S. Jusseret (UCL-FNRS) for Zones 6 and 7. Dr. C. Langohr (UCL-FNRS) was in charge of the apothiki, assisted in both seasons by F. Liard (UCL) and in 2010 by I. Kritikopoulos (U. Toronto). Draughtsperson during both campaigns was H. Joris (U. Hasselt), assisted in 2010 by C. Kolb (U. Cincinatti). P. Hacıgüzeller (UCL-WBI) directed topography and GIS, whereas N. Kress (UCL) took care of field measurements in all zones apart from zone 1 where this work was done by P. Baulain (Paris IV). Photography (including cane photography) was largely the work of L. Manousogiannaki (helped by N. Kress) and G. McGuire (2010) whereas aerial photography in 2010 was again done by C. Gaston (Paris). INSTAPEC photographer Chr. Papanikoloupoulos again took care of object photography. Site artist was R. McGuire (2010). H. Fiasse was computer specialist in 2009. The anthropological team directed by Dr. I. Crevecoeur (2009, now CNRS, U. Bordeaux) comprised Dr. A. Schmitt (CRNS, U. Marseilles, 2009-2010), Dr. A. Civetta (2010), C. Dalberra (2010) as well as A. Gilon (UCL, U. Bordeaux, 2009-2010). The environmental team directed by Dr. V. Isaakidou (U. Sheffield, fauna) further comprised A. Livarda (U. Oxford, palaeobotany), R. Veropoulidou (U. Saloniki, shell) and C. Tsoraki (U. Sheffield, stone tools). They were assisted by L. Polain (UCL, 2009-2010), P. Baulain (Paris IV, 2009-2010), C. Di Giovanni (Paris-ASAS, 2009), V. Vanderlinden (ULB, 2009) and M. Haynes (Paris Sciences Po, 2010). Dr. T. Carter (McMaster, 2009) studied the obsidian tools and A. Summers the loomweights of the 2008-2009 campaigns. Object conservation during both seasons was the work of A. Nikakis whereas N. Nikakis took care of site conservation (see below, chapter 10).
5Other students and specialists who participated were: A. Aertssen (U. Antwerp, 2009-2010), M. Athanasiadou (U. Marburg, 2010), A. Avramuth (U. Vienna, 2009), C. Bailly (UCL, 2010), R. Ballis (U. Athens, 2010), V. Bouat (Paris, 2009-2010), N. Calliauw (KULeuven, 2010), T. Claeys (UCL, 2009-2010), M. Daeppen (U. Lauzanne, 2010), J. Danckers (KULeuven, 2010), T. Darocszi (U. Heidelberg, 2009), B. Decraene (UCL, 2009), P. Georghiade (U. Toronto, 2010), T. Gomrée (U. Lyon, 2009-2010), M. Guterres (KULeuven, 2009), J. Hamacher (UCL, 2010), M. Hanquart (UCL, 2009), B. Lambrechts (KULeuven, 2009-2010), S. Lannoie (UCL, 2009), J. Lorang (UCL, 2009-2010), S. Lozano-Rubio (Madrid Complutense, 2010), D. Lauzier (U. Laval, 2010), R. Martin (U. Toronto, 2010), G. McGuire (Vrachasi, 2010), J. Monnaie (McMaster, 2010), C. Oliveira (Kenyon College, 2009-2010), M. Pietrovito (U. Vienna, 2010), L. Raecht (Trinity College, 2009), R. Roggen (KULeuven, 2010), S. Rooms (KULeuven, 2010), N. Rouvroy (UCL, 2009-2010), K. Sougiadaki (U. Ioannina, 2010), E. Stevens (Bryn Mawr, 2010), A. Synodinos (U. Athens, 2010), E. Thompson (U. Toronto, 2010), R. Vandam (KULeuven, 2009), K. Vanliefferinge (U. Ghent, 2010), L. Verhulst (KULeuven, 2009-2010) and M. Zoumaki (U. Ioannina, 2010).
6Our team of Cretan workers included G. Metaxarakis (2009, 2010), J. Milidakis (2009, 2010), M. Vrachnakis (2010), J. Milathianakis (2009, 2010), M. Tzannakis (2009, 2010) and K. Jacobson (2009, 2010). C. Mamaloukos provided cars and other services.
7As before, we received many visitors during the excavations, who we thank for their advice and support: H.E. the Belgian Ambassador to Athens and Mrs. Pierre Vaesen, Baron and Baroness Philippe and Marion Lambert, State Minister and Viscount Etienne Davignon, State Minister Antoinette Spaak, Prof. D. Haggis, Prof. A. Farnoux and the Dreros team, Profs J. and M. Shaw, Dr. J.A. MacGillivray, Dr. C. Macdonald, Prof. B. Koehl, Prof. and Mrs H. Matthäus, Prof. D. Panagiotopoulos, S. Beckman, Dr. S. Müller and the Malia survey team, Prof. M. Pomadere, the Prof. J.-C. Poursat family, Prof. G. Cadogan, E. Oddo, Prof. J. Rutter, Prof. V. Watrous and the Gournia excavation team, Prof. J. Papadatos, Prof. M. Xanthopoulou, I. Venieri (Ministry of Culture), E.-E. Toubakari (Conservation Department), Prof. C.J. Knappett, Dr. B. Molloy, the ASCS summer tour and a series of local visitors, students and enlightened tourists (see ‘visitors’ on www.sarpedon.be). We also briefly appeared in the ‘Finding Atlantis’ documentary of the National Geographic Channel.
2. Demining operations
8We were aware that, because of its strategic qualities, Italian forces had used the Kefali hill as a look-out post during World War II. The hill may even have formed the frontier between the Italians and the Germans on Crete1. Traces of now destroyed gun posts still exist especially on the northeast point of Kremasma, the flat plateau west of the Kefali. When the Italians were ousted by the Germans, they left some of their weaponry behind. In earlier campaigns occasional hand grenade fragments and bullet casings were encountered, especially on top of the hill, in zones 3 and 4. The discovery of a life mortar grenade in zone 6 during the 2009 campaign halted all work in this zone (see Chapter 7). After its removal, it was decided to invite a specialised section (TENX) of the Hellenic army to demine the hill before the 2010 campaign. This work was done by two teams directed by logachos N. Reppas in April-May 2010 and was partly financed by the Belgian School at Athens and partly by the Greek Ministry of Defence thanks to the intervention of the Greek Embassy in Brussels and the Belgian Embassy in Athens for which we are very grateful. Apart from a few more fragments of shrapnel, barbed wire, a mess kit and several dozen bullet casings2, no other ammunition was found so that the hill was declared safe for further work (figs 1.1-2).
3. History of Occupation on the Kefali at Sissi (figs 1.3-1.4)
9During the last two seasons, considerable progress has been made in the different zones where work started in 2007. Detailed reports follow in this volume but some of the results may be highlighted. This is, of course, a preliminary assessment which will need correction once the material is properly studied.
3.1. Prepalatial
10As mentioned before (Sissi I: 24), an EM I-II settlement may have existed immediately to the northeast of the Kefali site, in Kharkoma Bay, with submerged walls seen by British explorers Hood, Warren and Cadogan in the 60s and confirmed by the archaeological service and local informants but this has now entirely disappeared. Tests during the recent construction of a villa on the hill east of the Kefali did not yield any architectural remains. The pottery collected in the 60s remains unstudied but it is likely that the earliest burial structures on the north slope of the Kefali, especially Burial Structure 1.11-1.12 (see Chapter 3), which date to EM IIA, were contemporary to this Kharkoma Bay settlement. There are only a few EM IIA (Sissi I: fig. 1.9) and perhaps EM IIB sherds (from Zone 5) from the Kefali itself, hence real settlement on the hill may only have started in EM III/MM IA. Some of the stray finds from the top of the hill include stone axes (fig. 1.5) (which may be Prepalatial if not earlier) and fragments of stone vases (Sissi I: fig. 6.19).
11At a more advanced stage of the Prepalatial period, in EM III/MMIA, the cemetery seems to be extending and more house tombs are built. In general, it may be remarked that in contrast to some other contemporary funerary sites such as those in the Messara, Archanes, Mochlos or Petras, the tombs at Sissi have very little objects and no valuables at all. It is also obvious that the pottery encountered in the tombs is of less good quality than the contemporary sherds found in the settlement. If this is not a result of taphonomic processes (seeping through seawater, for example), it may either suggest that the tombs thus far excavated belong to a part of the population with a lower status or that the pottery encountered in the tombs was especially produced for funerary practices.
12Redeposited sherds of this phase have also been found in the east part of Building CD (Zone 4, cf. chapter 5.2) and in early levels throughout Building E (Zone 5, cf. chapter 6) and it is possible that one or more structures already existed on top of the hill, on the spot where the main building would be located in later periods. The nature of this occupation remains unclear, however.
3.2. Protopalatial
13The cemetery stayed in use during the entire MM II period but whereas some bodies seem to have been deposited within existing or even newly constructed burial buildings during MM IIA, most of the MM IIB depositions happened within pithoi and were often inserted within earlier structures which may no longer have been roofed (cf. chapter 3). Outside the ancient tombs, however, several MM II deposits have been cleared, illustrating activities that seem to be related to the funerary domain.
14MM II or Protopalatial occupation has been increasingly attested on top of the hill. Apart from a redeposited fire destruction deposit in Zone 2 (Building BB, Sissi I: 107), MM IIB destruction deposits were identified in several places beneath Building CD (cf. chapter 5). Mostly these were not fire destruction deposits in contrast to those at Malia which seems to have suffered seriously at the end of MM IIB. The nature of this occupation still needs to be clarified but it would perhaps present a good origin for the fine column base found in Zone 5 (Sissi I: 146, fig. 7.11). From tests during 2010, it appears that the MM II occupation on the hill may have been more extensive than that of later periods, with well-preserved remains on the flat terrace to the north of Building CD (cf. chapter 5 – Zone 8). During this phase, there may also have been settlement at the southwest foot of the hill (cf. chapter 7) and on the northeast tip of Kremasma, the flat hill west of the Kefali.
3.3. Neopalatial
15During MM III or early in LM IA, a megalithic wall – surely in part defensive – was added to the southwest side of the hill (cf. chapter 7 for the excavation and fig. 8.2 for the pottery) but the cemetery seems to have been abandoned and there are as yet no clear traces of occupation on the hill till, it appears, a slightly more advanced stage of LM IA. Then, one or more new buildings seem to have been constructed on top of the hill (Zone 3-4; also Zone 6) and different buildings, interpreted as workshops, on the middle terrace to the northwest (Buildings BA-BB-BC, see chapter 4). By this stage, the megalithic wall seems already to have been given up. The nature of the Neopalatial occupation on top of the hill remains unclear but the presence of foundation deposits may be noted (Sissi I: fig. 6.26-6.27). Moreover, an extensive cup deposit (cf. chapter 6 and, for the pottery, chapter 8 – annex) found in the open area immediately to the south of where the main Neopalatial building may have been located, suggests communal consumption. Some of the outer walls of Building CD (fig. 1.6) may actually date to this period and several rooms, or parts of these, may belong to Neopalatial constructions. There was also a paved road with a drain along the southeast façade during this phase.
16The massive deposits of LM IA pottery encountered in several places in Zone 2 (especially Building BC) but also as fill in Building CD, suggest a destruction during this phase. Afterwards, occupation continued at a smaller scale on the middle terrace, with some spaces already being abandoned. A deposit of pumice associated with a triton shell fragment found in Building BC may tentatively suggest a link with the Santorini eruption, as do perhaps the two intramural burials of children found in this building (cf. chapter 4). Stratified pumice layers exist also in the immediate vicinity of the Buffo hill. During 2010 we found traces of a fire destruction that can perhaps be dated to LM IB (cup rhyta) in room 2.12 of Building BC but also in a test within the east façade of Building CD. Afterwards, occupation seems to have stopped on the middle terrace.
3.4. Final Palatial
17Quite a number of LM II-IIIA1 sherds have been identified, especially from open area 5.10 immediately south of Building CD and from the scarp, cut by road works, to the south of the hill, but thus far they cannot be associated with architectural remains.
3.5. Postpalatial
18The top of the hill, zones 3, 4 and 5, carries what may have been the most important building(s) on the site. As suggested by the preliminary pottery studies (cf. chapter 8) by C. Langohr, we may well be able to help in the ceramic definition of successive key moments of Late Minoan history since mature LM IIIA2 (Zones 5-6), late LM IIIA/early IIIB (Zone 5) and mature LM IIIB (Zones 3-4) deposits seem to be preserved. As far as we can tell, the major reoccupation of the hilltop started in LM IIIA2 (if not before), which is also suggested by a potential bathroom bowl foundation deposit (fig. 5.24, cf. chapter 5.3) found beneath the west façade in its northern extension. Judging from the primary deposit found in open area 5.10 (fig. 8.12), at least part of the building (rooms 4.15-4.18) may have suffered a destruction which seems to be contemporary to the major destruction of the palace at Knossos. The building complex excavated as Zone 6 (Building F) may have been abandoned at the same time.
19The entire west part of the summit of the hill is constructed upon during LM IIIA2-B but at the moment we are still uncertain whether we are dealing with entirely independent buildings to the south and north of an open area (5.10) or a large, single complex with different wings. I would opt for this second possibility in view of the presence of larger rooms with column or pillar bases in the north wing and their absence from the south wing. The same open area 5.10 was used to install pits during LM IIIA-B and some ritual use is not excluded. During LM IIIA2-B1, the two wings may have been complimentary but the south wing (Zone 5 – Building E) suffered a destruction partly by fire early in LM IIIB and was given up whereas the north wing (Zones 3-4 – Building CD) continued until its destruction in the advanced LM IIIB period. Building CD underwent several architectural modifications (blocked doorways) before its final destruction but at present we cannot yet state when these actually happened – in LM I already, at the time of the LM IIIA2 destruction, or later, early in LM IIIB or shortly before the final destruction. The spaces thus far cleared in Zone 5 are related to storage and domestic industries, those in Zone 3-4 add representation and cult.
20During the mature LM IIIB phase, the main access to Building CD seems to have been from a court-like area via a very large threshold into hall 3.1. Retained on its east side by the earlier, Neopalatial façade, the court-like area formed a space of approximately 100 m². A large block located more or less opposite the threshold to hall 3.1 could have been a support for a porch. The hall itself (as discussed by F. Gaignerot, chapter 5.2) is provided with two fine column bases and is of very large size. It could have held at least 40 people seated on wooden benches around its walls (fig. 1.8). Surprisingly, all original accesses apart from the main entrance to this hall were blocked before the final destruction.
21The general plan of the area here shows some surprising resemblances with the somewhat later building complex (LM IIIC) on the Kefala at Vasiliki. In fact, the coupling of two halls with double supports and a shrine as seen at Vasiliki seems already to be announced by the remains at Sissi where we have also found a double pillar hall (4.11) more to the south of the columnar hall and a shrine (3.8) in between the two spaces. The nature of the final destruction is still enigmatic: it may be observed that, despite the shallowness of the earth cover, the state of the conservation of the archaeological remains is surprisingly good and many floor deposits are intact, suggesting that the end came suddenly. Earthquake is probably the most likely reason but it does not explain why the site was abandoned for good. Perhaps voluntary destruction on enemy approach also remains a possibility. For now there are no traces of any later occupation till Italian soldiers used the hill as a gun post during World War II.
22As a postscript, I may briefly return to the toponym Sissi (cf. Sissi I: 23). Prof. V. La Rosa (pers. com. 27.11.2010) suggests a connection between the name and Francis of Assisi, an Italian Saint (+1226), founder of the Franciscan Order. The same order was responsible for the foundation in the 13th c. of the nearby monastery of Fraro near Latsida. It may be reminded that the first mention of Sisi (sic) is in a document of 1391 and concerns the church of Ag. Ioannis.
4. Conclusions
23The Kefali site at Sissi was never a very large settlement: although habitation may have extended beyond the hill during the Protopalatial period, this gradually retracted first to the hill (Neopalatial), then to the summit only and ultimately to the northern part of the summit of the hill. Several features in the material culture of Sissi show a great resemblance with Malia. Still, preliminary studies of its pottery assemblages show that a few of the vase types are different from the usual vessels encountered in contemporary contexts at Malia. This may illustrate at least some independence. Moreover, the architecture of the LM IIIA-B occupation seems of superior quality and more monumental than that at Malia. Preliminary pottery studies suggest a slightly later date for its destruction (advanced rather than early LM IIIB). Is it possible that the site, after having been subordinate to Malia throughout the Early, Middle and Late Minoan I periods, eventually outshined its previous superior and became the prime site of the area during the mature LM IIIB phase? If this is so, its strategic location and easy defense may have been the reason.
Bibliographie
5. References
▪ Sissi I = J. Driessen et al., Excavations at Sissi. Preliminary Report on the 2007-2008 Campaigns (Aegis 1), Presses Universitaires de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, 2009.
Notes de bas de page
Auteur
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