Sphakia Zone A: Coasts and Coastal Plains

Several locations along the coast of Sphakia show clearly the effects of the great uplift of the Late Roman period (4th-6thC AD), a single seismic event which raised much of W Crete by some 3 - 4 metres. The effect was particularly dramatic at Loutro, where the uplift made the shallower western harbour unusable; the deeper eastern harbour has remained in use. The largest coastal plain in Sphakia is the Frangokastello Plain, much of which was definitely cultivated in the Graeco-Roman period, as also in the more recent past.