The Fortification Walls of Phaistos: Some Preliminary Considerations

The present contribution aims to provide only an overview of the state of knowledge about the fortications of Phaistos, from Minto’s investigations in 1909 to the more recent ones by the Phaistos Project between 2009 and 2017. The latter, while they leave several issues open, which only further studies and excavations may solve, have yielded a preliminary reconstruction of the perimeter of the city and, thus, of its extension. To reach this result, we employed a variety of research methods, from geomorphological investigations to aerial photographic interpretation (both photographs from the last century and orthophotos from recent drone ights), archaeological surveys (including some thematic ones), non-destructive geophysical testing (georadar, geomagnetic and geoelectric), and some well-aimed stratigraphic sondages. Cross-correlation with other data – particularly those relative to funerary clusters, mostly derived from the literature – have allowed further considerations to be made. Investigations on the hill of Christos Effendi – the acropolis of the city in the historical period – have revealed what may be a more elaborate fortication system than previously thought (there was probably a diateichisma here). The present article dwells on the location of the Monastery of St. George in Phalandra, significantly built at a nodal point with respect to the walled circuit and the road system. The area of Agia Photini is also discussed, hypothesizing the presence here of a fortication wall, a periurban road, and a Hellenistic cemetery outside of the walls.