Archaeological News Roundup: Byzantine amphora found & Excavations at Palace of Odysseus to Resume

Byzantine amphora found by swimmer at Cretan beach 

An ancient amphora was found by a man swimming at a hotel beach in the village of Kokkini Hani, Heraklion, Crete. The man immediately informed the central port authorities of Heraklion and the amphora was transferred to the Department of Underwater Archaeology of Crete. Experts say that the amphora was from the Byzantine period, probably dating to between the 12th and 13th centuries.

Excavations at Palace of Odysseus to resume in Ithaca

“The Prime Minister has assured us that the excavations at the Palace of Odysseus will resume,” the mayor of Ithaca, Dionysis Stanitsas, announced in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency. The mayor expected that the prime minister’s visit will benefit the island. “We had a meeting and discussed the problems that need to be solved over the next period,” he said and added: “We discussed the issue of excavations in Ithaca where the palace of Odysseus was located.”Stanitsas stressed, “that the University of Ioannina carried out excavations until 2009. Then they stopped. The Prime Minister assured us that he would help the Ministry of Culture with extraordinary funding to continue the excavations.”