Elpida Hadjidaki-Marder

Archaeological work

Beginning in 1986, Elpida Hadjidaki and her crew began exploring Phalasarna, an ancient harbor town. Phalasarna may have participated in piracy in the Hellenistic period. Hadjidaki excavated multiple towers, fortification walls, commercial buildings, quays, a slipway and a cistern in the town, finding shards of amphorae, weapons, and pottery. Phalasarna was a heavily fortified, independent town which minted its own coins.

Hadjidaki searched for and explored a Minoan wreck off Pseira starting in 2003. A trading ship sank near the shore between 1725 and 1700 BCE. While the wooden ship itself hasn't been preserved, Hadjidaki and her team found a number of other artifacts: amphorae for transport of liquids, jugs, cooking equipment, cups, and fishing weights.

Publications

Monographs The Classical and Hellenistic Harbor at Phalasarna: A Pirate's Port? (1988) The Minoan Shipwreck at Pseira, Crete (2021)

Book chapters Crete beyond the Palaces (2004) - Chapter 4: "A Possible Minoan Harbor on South Crete" Digital Cultural Heritage (2019) - "Quasi–Mixed Reality in Digital Cultural Heritage. Combining 3D Reconstructions with Real Structures on Location—The Case of Ancient Phalasarna" with Gunnar Liestøl In the Footsteps of Honor Frost. The life and legacy of a pioneer in maritime archaeology (2019) - "Three Decades of Adventures with Honor Frost in Crete"

Articles The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Exploration (1985) American Journal of Archaeology (1988) Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (1990) Bulletin de correspondance hellénique (1996)