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Archaeologists are perplexed by a large, square, 4, 000-year-old stone building that has been discovered on a Cretan hill and threatens to obstruct a significant aircraft task on the Greek tourist island.
Greece’s Culture Ministry said Tuesday that the composition is a “unique and exceedingly interesting get” from Crete’s Minoan culture, famous for its beautiful palaces, extravagant art and mysterious writing system. Resembling a large car wheel from below, the ruins of the labyrinthine, 1, 800- rectangular- meter ( 19, 000- square- foot ) building came to light during a subsequent dig by archaeologists.
The location was designated for a detector place to serve the needs of a new aircraft that is being constructed close to Kastelli. Set to open in 2027, it’s projected to remove Greece’s second- biggest aircraft at Heraklion, and designed to handle up to 18 million vacationers yearly.
What purpose did the hill construction serve, according to archaeologists? It’s still under construction and has no known Minoan analogies. Therefore, authorities for the time being speculating that it could have been used for a tradition or religious purpose.
Ringed by eight stepped stone walls up to 1.7 meters ( 5.6 feet ) high, the inner structure was split into smaller, interconnecting spaces and may have had a shallow conical roof.
The ministry’s statement said it did n’t appear to have been a dwelling, and the finds from inside it included a large quantity of animal bones.
” It may have been occasionally used for perhaps ritual rites involving consumption of food, wine, and possibly products”, the statement said.
Its size, structural layout, and watchful construction required “required tremendous labor, professional know-how, and a solid core administration,” it said, adding that it was undoubtedly some sort of communal building that stood out in the entire area.
Culture Minister Lina Mendoni, an scientist, pledged that the find may be preserved while a different area would be sought for the sensor place.
” We all understand the value and importance of cultural heritage … as well as the growth potential” of the new airport project, she said. The airport can continue operating while still granting the antiquries the protection they deserve.
The ministry said the building was mainly used between 2, 000 and 1, 700 B. C. E., and was founded around the time Crete’s first palaces were being built— including at Knossos and Phaistos.
It claimed that some of its characteristics were comparable to burial mounds in other parts of Greece and early Minoan beehive tombs with stepped conical roofs.
Greece’s rich cultural heritage , often results in , conflicts of interest during construction projects.
An entire hilltop fortified settlement from the third millennium B.C.E. was excavated and then destroyed during construction work for Athens International Airport at the end of the last century.
According to the ministry, work on the new Kastelli airport and its road connections has so far identified at least another 35 archaeological sites.
