Archaeological and excavation programme of Ancient Eleutherna, Crete
Ancient Eleutherna, capital city of Crete at the dawn of Greek civilization, inhabited continuously from the 3rd millennium BCE to the Byzantine period, has been excavated by Professor N. Chr. Stambolides for the last 30 years. This large-scale systematic excavation involves and trains associates and students, archaeologists, anthropologists, architects and palaeobotanists from the University of Crete and other Greek universities, as well as from numerous European countries and the USA, among others. Importantly, the findings of the Orthi Petra necropolis, especially those of the funerary pyres, verify the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Excavated objects of clay, stone, bronze, iron, silver, gold, glass, ivory and faience reveal relationships – direct or indirect – between Eleutherna and other cities in Crete, Attica, the Peloponnese, the Aegean islands, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Phoenicia, the Syrian coast and Egypt. With the findings of the noble priestesses’ built tomb, the excavation of Eleutherna was placed in the Top 10 of Archaeology for 2009-2010, while an archaeological park is being created in this area of outstanding natural beauty, with shelters, paths, seating and the first archaeological site museum on Crete.
Grant given:
2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
