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33-448: Until 2017 Palaikastro shared Itanos with Karydi , Zakros , and Mitato (Μητάτο). The latter was located on an altiplano to the west. It had 6 villages, including Mitato ("hut"), named after an ancient stone shepherd's mitato of interest to visitors. However, subsequently the population on the plain diminished to the point where Mitato village had no permanent residents. Consequently, by Presidential Decree No. 70/207, on recommendation of

66-528: A Morning Star with the disc of the sun. He interprets that the smaller object is a symbol for the goddess as the queen of the underworld and as the stars of the night. In combination with the crescent, the cross is then an Evening Star. In 2013, five scientists published a paper in the Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry journal, in which they described the 85 by 85 millimetres (3.3 in × 3.3 in) sun-like form on Plate Α as

99-472: A casting mould for manufacturing a spoked disc, which was used in the Minoan times of the 15th century BC as a sun dial , for establishing the geographical latitude and for predicting solar and lunar eclipses. The straight gashes beside the sun shape they interpret as moulds for two pins and a compasses or tweezers -like object, to be used in conjunction with it. They claimed to be able to predict eclipses even in

132-607: A relief on the Hagia Triada sarcophagus . In 1941, Luisa Banti classified both female figurines as variations of the type "goddess with raised hands", similar to the terracotta figurines found in Knossos , Gazi , Karphi and other places in Crete, which belong to the Late Minoan III phase . Stylianos Alexiou endorsed in 1958 the dating as belonging to Late Minoan III, but he noted

165-420: A time, but without supporting troops in the region are doomed to fall. Itanos to the north had been similarly abandoned centuries earlier. The promontory is partly in the water. Its long dimension along the water is 423.83 m (463.51 yd). Its short dimension is 286.65 m (313.48 yd). It is flanked by Kouremenos beach on the north and Chiona beach on the south. The Minoan settlement at Rousolakkos

198-619: A view for some distance around. Whether or not the fort replaced an earlier one is unknown. By the time the Venetians abandoned it, the use of cannon had nullified most of its defensive value, as the bombardment of the Parthenon at Athens by Turkish ships had demonstrated. The Parthenon had been considered a secure location to store gunpowder. The Turks were not interested in occupying Kastri, and in general, fixed positions today are an easy target for persistent bombardment. They may hold out heroically for

231-496: Is a later name.) The major speculation is that it was named Itanos, and the Greeks who settled later adopted the pre-existing name of its territory. The modern name of the Minoan city is Roussolakkos , "red pit," named after a preceding quarry of red clay, and the ancient Greek city Itanos is now Erimoupolis. The Minoan settlement may have been called Utana (cf. Linear B U-ta-ni-yo [KN E 749]), but there are no Linear B tablets from

264-528: Is difficult these days because of the substantial overfishing in the Mediterranean Sea . Tourism is an important source of supplementary income and is likely to remain so. It is a historic site. Already in Minoan times the region was a centre of trade. The port of Itanos , today several meters below sea level, is mentioned in ancient times. The very extensive Minoan commercial settlement Roussolakkos close to

297-418: Is located behind Chiona beach. The coordinates of the promontory are 35°12′10″N 26°16′33″E  /  35.20270°N 26.27578°E  / 35.20270; 26.27578 , which are not to be confused with another, much smaller promontory at the south end of Chiona beach. The center of Palaikastro is about 2 km (1.2 mi) due west from there. To obtain such a name as "old fort," Palaikastro at

330-558: Is not a Greek word, whatever it should turn out to be; consequently it is more likely that the peninsula already had the name. Although no Minoan city has been found under Itanos, the entire area was discovered in the Itanos Archaeological Survey to have supported Minoan sites. The nearest large Minoan center was in Palaikastro, where a Minoan city has been discovered and excavated. There is no evidence of its name. (Palaikastro

363-420: The Minoan culture , and a trident are shown on the rear. A small piece of the lower edge of the mould is broken-off. The front of Plate B shows engravings of a couple of double axes, dissimilar in size with teethed edges. The double axe or labrys was a cultural, almost certainly religious, symbol of the Minoan culture, often used for votive offerings , as were goddess figures with uplifted hands. The rear of

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396-560: The Minoan period as casting moulds for plaques with figures and symbols. These include female figures with raised arms, labrys double axes (Λάβρυες, labryes ) and opium poppy flowers or capsules , two double axes with indented edges, the Horns of Consecration symbol, and a sun-like disc with complex markings, which has been claimed by some researchers to be for making objects to use in astronomical predictions of solar and lunar eclipses . They were found in 1899 near Palaikastro in

429-572: The Chiona beach, excavated by English archaeologists, clearly shows that the region was one of the most important commercial centres of the Minoan culture in the extreme east of the island of Crete. The Minoan Moulds of Palaikastro were discovered in October 1899 by a farmer 150 metres (160 yd) northeast of the town of Palaikastro. The Palaikastro Kouros is a carved figure of a youth that was recovered in fragments between 1987 and 1990. Mount Petsofas above

462-555: The Middle Ages, when Crete was ruled by the Republic of Venice . Flat land is totally absent from the promontory, but around the top ridge the Venetians constructed a walled and turreted fort. In the centuries after the Venetians left much of the stone was re-used by the population. Sections of battlements and houses remain. The fort was built before the age of cannon. It had been a defensible location in steep terrain and rough ground, with

495-538: The Minister of the Interior, and approval by Sitia and Palaikastro, K. Mitato was phased out and its settlements were turned over to Palaikastro, which had been collecting the population, and providing the services, anyway. At the coast of the town is a 65 m (213 ft) high precipitous promontory called Kastri (Latin castrum, "fort"), which received its name and gave it to the settlement below, Palaikastro ("old fort") in

528-517: The Rock of Gibraltar. Even if the population attempted to build housing up the cliffs, as is true of some Greek coastal towns, there would be a rockfall problem. There is no sign that this problem was ever addressed there. On the seaward side, the high cliffs with beating waves would have made use of the promontory as a port impossible. The promontory is not a hill, and no one ever settled on it or built up its treacherous slopes. No refugees could live for long in

561-424: The area and there is no evidence that this Linear B name extended as far east as Lasithi. J. Bennet ruled out the possibility that any Linear B tablets found at Knossos referred directly to classical Itanos. A beach north of Itanos Beach was named Erimoupolis as though there had been a polis. The name, however, means "deserted city. Archaeological investigation discovered a rather large ancient city sprawling over

594-410: The base of an ivory object, of the Knossos board game , with the geared object on the mould of Palaikastro. On page 514 he shows drawings of the objects left and right of the female figurine of Plate Α, however, not very precisely. Evans refers to the isosceles cross being used in many cultures as the most simple representation of a star, and concludes that the geared object is a combination of

627-424: The citadel, due to lack of water, food, and space. It would have been easily isolated. It undoubtedly had value as a lookout and early warning station. The local community of Palaikastro comprises several settlements (oikismoi). The main economic activity of the approximately 1100 inhabitants continues to be agriculture. Olives and grape vines are cultivated and a few fishermen remain. Commercial fishing however

660-414: The classical period, the time of its inscriptions, it was founded in the 7th or 8th century BC and lasted until its abandonment in the 7th or 8th century, well before modern times. At its height its territory was approximately equal to Itanos municipal unit. Whether the promontory was named after the city or the city after the promontory is not known for certain. It is generally agreed, however, that Itanos

693-454: The crescent-shaped moon symbol are surrounded by 28 dots, an indication hinting at the Saros cycle with 28 lunar eclipses in 18 years. This is approximately 30 millimetres (1.2 in) long and 62 millimetres (2.4 in) high. They interpret the spoked disc on the other side of the female figurine, which is associated with Titaness Rhea , as a portable analog calculator , which

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726-467: The differences in the gesture , as the female figurines hold something in their hands. In 2016, based on a stylistic and iconographic assessment, the casting moulds were dated as being older by Jan G. Velsink , who dates them as belonging to the Middle Minoan phases MM II or III. The two moulds were discovered in October 1899 by a farmer from Karydi 150 m (490 ft) northeast of

759-564: The eastern part of Crete , and are now in the Herakleion Archeological Museum in Crete. Stefanos Xanthoudidis , who published the find in 1900 described the two moulds, which were made from relatively soft and brittle schist as Plate Α and Plate Β. His plaster casts, which are also reproduced on the right hand side, are mirror images of the original moulds. Both moulds are 225 mm (8.9 in) wide, 100 mm (3.9 in) high and 20 mm (0.8 in) thick, while

792-563: The hills next to the beaches. Scientific studies showed that Itanos Beach was a sedimented harbor. There was no longer a question of the location of Itanos. [REDACTED] Media related to Itanos municipal unit at Wikimedia Commons This Crete location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Minoan Moulds of Palaikastro The Minoan Moulds of Palaikastro ( Greek : Μήτρες του Παλαιοκάστρου Σητείας , romanized :  Mitres tou Palaiokastrou Sitias ) are two double-sided pieces of schist , formed in

825-516: The modern era with some accuracy, when using it. Similar comments have been made by Minas Tsikritsis in April 2011 in public. He described together with Efstratios Theodosiou the smaller round image to the right of the female figure as a Minoan cosmology model with the planetary system above the Flat Earth , in which the cross that symbolises the sun is surrounded by 18 dots and those including

858-616: The plate shows a female figure with raised arms holding two double axes. A small piece of the lower edge of the mould is broken-off as well. Both plates are exhibited side by side in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum . The visitors can only see their front sides. The captions in the museum say that they stem from 1370 to 1200 BCE. Very interesting objects are shown on the front of Plate Α, as recognised by Arthur Evans , who described them in his book The Palace of Minos at Knossos in 1921. On pages 478 and 479, he compares

891-514: The time must have been close to the promontory, in the Bronze Age, most likely at Rousolakkos. There is some evidence that the Minoans moved around the base, leaving remains even on the light slopes leading up to the promontory. It is incorrect to say, however, that anyone ever "inhabited" or "moved to" some sort of "hill" there. The promontory, though fortifiable to some extent, is no more habitable than

924-529: The town has the ruins of a Minoan peak sanctuary . Itanos Itanos ( Greek : Ίτανος ) is a municipal unit (demotike enoteta) of the municipality (demos) Siteia in the Lasithi regional unit, eastern Crete , Greece . A former municipality itself, it was included in Siteia as part of the 2011 local government reform. The municipal unit has an area of 197.406 km (76.219 sq mi). The population

957-538: The village of Palaikastro. The Gendarmerie sent the finds to the then Cretan capital Chania , where they were assessed and kept by the archeologist and historian Stefanos Xanthoudidis . He recognised the importance of ancient craftsmanship and delivered the moulds to the museum in Heraklion which had been set up in 1883. Xanthoudidis described the objects in March 1900 in an article ("Ancient moulds from Sitia in Crete") in

990-426: The width of the plaster casts is 230 mm (9.1 in). The front of Plate Α shows a large disc with rectangular spokes and a serrated edge (which some are keen to interpret as "geared"), a female figure with raised arms, who holds flowers in her hands and a small disc with a cross in the centre on top of a bell-shaped and horizontally striped base, above a crescent . Double horns, the ' Horns of Consecration ' of

1023-475: Was 2,014 in 2021. The seat of the municipality was in Palaikastro , but now all municipal units are administered from the municipal seat, Siteia. Until 2017 Itanos comprised four local communities (topika koinoteta): Palaikastro , Karydi , Zakros , and Mitato (Μητάτο). Subsequently by Presidential Decree No. 70/207, on recommendation of the Minister of the Interior, and approval by Sitia and Palaikastro, Mitato

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1056-463: Was abolished, due to its seriously declining population (being a few mountain communities) and its settlements were turned over to Palaikastro. Unlike most Greek demes (municipalities) Itanos did not have a modern city or town to serve as a namesake to the deme. There was a promontory named Itanos, the base of Cape Sidero , and Itanos Beach on its east side. There had been in fact an ancient city named Itanos . A Doric Greek -speaking city, at least in

1089-502: Was created 1400 years before the Antikythera mechanism . Chronological dating of the moulds is difficult, because the precise original location of the find and its surroundings are not known. Stratigraphy or the assessment of age-equivalent stratigraphic markers are, therefore, not applicable. In 1927, Martin P. Nilsson compared the style of the female figurine of Plate Α with those on various Minoan- Mycenaean gold rings and

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