Ancient ruins discovered in Crete use a system of water-powered gateways to help protect monuments to the gods

 

In the summer of 2002, a team from the Iraklion Archaeological Museum began another search for ruins at Hania. Based on historical accounts, they believed a large concentration of ruins exists somewhere along the western edge of Crete.

Hoping to capitalize on recent mudslides in the area, the group hit pay dirt when they discovered an exterior wall of a structure that was not on any archeological maps of the area. "We basically just stumbled upon it," said Rick Grayson, a volunteer with the project.

Careful excavation revealed a series of passageways and inner chambers. With the discovery of Greek letters on the inside of the structure, the building turned out not to be Minoan as originally anticipated.

"Carbon dating of broken pottery near the entrance of the structure confirmed that this was probably built after the Minoan civilization had been in decline. But that was just the first of many surprises," said Dr. Jacinda Hadzidakis, leader of the archeological team and great-granddaughter of one of the museum's founders, in a recent interview.

At first, the archeologists were confused as to why thick tiles inside the structure had simply been laid loosely and unevenly over the base of the floor. Upon removing the tiles, archeologists discovered channels, small tunnels, and larger open areas in the base of the structure. After pondering this strange departure from typical architecture for the period, a fascinating hypothesis was made: could the tiles have been made to be suspended in water?

To test the theory, some parts of the structure had to be carefully restored before the base would be able to retain water without damaging the foundation. When all of the necessary repairs were finished, the volume of water poured into the floor of the structure far exceeded the apparent capacity of the base. The large open areas in the floor, some of which extended several meters below ground level, became a series of connected reservoirs that held a sizeable amount of water.

Sure enough, the tiles, each with a Greek character carved into the center, floated atop the water in the floor. This still didn't answer one fundamental question, however: why build such a complicated structure which completely departed from all known Greek architecture?

The Greeks built aqueducts and other infrastructure to transport and store water, but nothing this complex was on record. Water was and still is plentiful in the region, so underground storage wells would have been unnecessary. In fact, Greeks were not known to store any form of liquid in this particular way.

The answer came when Dr. Hadzidakis stepped out on the first few tiles suspended atop the water. Without warning, a series of gateways rose out of the floor, closing off the entryway to the temple. "It was pretty frightening for a few moments there," recalls Grayson. "The gateways continued to open and close, seemingly at random, and we could hear Jaci calling out for help from inside."

Panicked, the team quickly debated whether they should destroy part of such an amazing structure to rescue their colleague. Luckily, just as they were about the begin tearing down the outer wall, the gateways lowered, and their colleague stepped out of the structure.

"The tiles," Dr. Hadzidakis explained, "are labeled with various symbols, and those control the system of gateways. Luckily, I figured out which tiles I could step on to get out of there. This was probably a system to keep out everyone but the priests and assistants to the temple."

Dr. Hadzidakis discovered an altar to Dionysus, a very important god to the Greeks, upon further trips inside the structure, which was apparently a secret temple. "Dionysus wasn’t too popular among aristocracy at first, which may explain why this structure was so far off the beaten path, and why it was made to keep out unwanted guests. This really is a fascinating discovery for the museum."

The water-powered gateway mechanism continues to be investigated on site, while several other artifacts have been removed for further study. Below is a map of the structure with the layout of the tiles and location of the altar. Dr. Hadzidakis also provided the actions of the gateways based on stepping from one tile to the next. Can you determine how to get to the altar and then back out again?