Cape Samonion Archaeological Project (CaSAP) - From Sand and Salt: A Sanctuary at the Edge of Water
Name of applicant
Sanne Hoffmann
Title
Director
Institution
The Danish Institute at Athens
Amount
DKK 6,890,000
Year
2025
Type of grant
Semper Ardens: Accelerate
What?
The Cape Samonion Archaeological Project (CaSAP) explores an ancient, wave-lapped sanctuary on the remote northeastern coast of Crete. This project combines land and underwater archaeology to – for the first time – investigate and identify this unique shoreline temple, and to explore how it shaped and reflected religious, social, and territorial life in ancient Greece.
Why?
CaSAP seeks to uncover how ancient Greeks drew on both nature and mythology to make meaning at sacred sites, and to reveal how religion, landscape, and identity intertwined along the Mediterranean shores. To do so, CaSAP will at the same time be advancing innovative methodological and technological approaches to explore complex archaeological environments where land and sea converge.
How?
CaSAP pioneers new interdisciplinary approaches in an innovative mix of land and underwater surveys, excavations, and digital documentation. Through advanced technologies like 3D modeling and GIS, CaSAP will reconstruct the sites landscape and use, and develop new theoretical and methodological models to understand shoreline environments, sealevel rise and the broader role of Greek coastal cults.