Excavations at Zominthos

Excavation, geomagnetic survey and aerial photography

12.10.2013

Grant to Efi Sapouna-Sakellaraki in the memory of archaeologist Yannis Sakellarakis, for a fourth year, for excavations at Zominthos, Crete. The grant was used to cover the costs of continuing the excavation, maintaining the walls and murals and carrying out a geomagnetic survey and aerial photography.

An important archaeological site, Zominthos was a flourishing Minoan settlement (1900-1400 BC) on the Psiloritis Mountain. It was on the sacred route from the palace of Knossos to the Cave of Zeus. It was first discovered by the archaeologist Yannis Sakellariakis and his wife  Efi Sapouna-Sakellaraki, who had embarked on a systematic excavation at the Cave of Zeus.

The project became part of a 5-year programme of scientific research under the auspices of the Archaeological Society and the Institute of Classical Archaeology of the University of Heidelberg, with active help from the Municipality of Anogeia.

The excavation staff at Zominthos comprised specialists from various countries (Greece, Germany, Hungary, Britain) specialised in different fields. Archaeologists, land surveyors, paleogeographers, archaeobotanists and archaeozoologists collaborated in a comprehensive archaeological, environmental and geological study of Zominthos which provided a full picture of Minoan nature in the region.