"Type","dc-publisher","dc-description","Redirect","Chronology","Name","dc-date","UserLevel","dc-subject","dc-creator","dc-title","Icon","Id","Collection"
"Report","","Room 8 [N: 1088.00 N, S: 1077.00 N, E: 129.00 E, W: 121.00 E]; Room 7 [N: 1086.30 N, S: 1078.20 N, E: 123.90 E, W: 119.40 E]; Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio; Session III; ; Introduction:; This is the final report for the third session of excavations in the 2015 season for Rooms 8 and 7, Unit II,  in the area of Temple E SE. Room 8 was first excavated in 1995 (NB 877: 73–198; NB 845: 33–75) and then between 23rd and 25th of April 2014 by Rous and Worsham. Work was briefly resumed between the 19th and the 21st of May 2015 by Tanaka and Rodríguez-Álvarez and carried out by Rodríguez-Álvarez in June 2015. Room 7 was first excavated in 1992 by Schmalz (NB854) and briefly explored in 1994 (NB 864). Excavation was resumed between the 5th of May and the 29th of June in 2014 by Burr and Rogers and continued by Rodríguez-Álvarez between the 16th and the 19th of June 2015.  Dr. Guy Sanders (Director) and Larkin Kennedy (Field Director) supervised. Emilio Rodríguez-Álvarez recorded. Kostas Arberoris excavated and Thanassis Notis and Vassilis Kollias sieved. ; ; Goals of excavation:; The excavation of this area had two main aims: first, to explore the use of the area through time, before and after the space was defined as Room 8 by the erection of Wall 154 (1085.91–1086.65N, 124.04–126.17E) and the abutting Wall 166 (1086.27–1087.30N, 126.20–130.82E) at the north, Wall 720 (1081.10-1079.20N, 128.55-127.50E) and 830 (1084.10-1081.10N, 128.30-126.70E) at the east, Wall 156 (1077.50–1078.97N, 123.58–128.40E) at the south and Wall 157 (1078.37–1085.05N, 122.55–124.63E) at the west. Secondly, to assess the correlation between Room 8 and some of the finds made by Smotherman and Brannelly in Room 9 during the previous session, specially the pit (Context 733/717/726/747, N. 1083.88; S. 1079.99; E. 130.80; W. 127.50) sectioned by Wall 830, which seemed to extend into Room 8. When the excavations in room 8 revealed a second pit shared by Rooms 8 and 7, the correlation of finds with the material recovered by Burr and Rogers in 2014 and the relationship between the pit (Cut 842 1081.65-1078.40N, 127.80-123.90E) and Wall 157 (1078.37-1085.05N, 124.63-122.55E) became the third aim of the session. Finally, it is intended to backfill the area and to prepare it for visitors once the area has been fully studied.; Frankish Period (AD 1210-1450); Mid 13th century:; The first signs of activity in Room 8 are associated to the erection and ultimate dismantlement of Wall 850, a limestone structure made with roughly squared blocks and bounded with a mixture of mud and lime (1085.80-1081.40N, 125.55-123.30E). This structure was found in the NW quadrant of Room 8, not aligned, joined or abutted with any of the other walls of the room. A white clay surface was excavated in association to this wall (870 1086.10-1084.20N, 126.60-124.10E) and dated by the pottery finds to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Its characteristics are reminiscent of those of the so-called Frankish floor located and excavated in several locations of the Frankish area. ; Context 845, the deposit that covered the wall, was dated to the 4th quarter of the 13th century, but we know the wall was carefully dismantled before 1270±10 CE, since the digging of Cut 842 truncated the south section of the structure and this event was dated to this date. No traces of blocks belonging to the wall or any other sign of collapse have been found on the contexts laid up against both sides of the wall. These contexts make up a large number of small deposits, with almost no compaction of the soil, scarce artifacts and clustered dates. Most of them have been dated to the mid 13th century. Contexts 862 and 864, located in the lowest part of the stratigraphic sequence, have been dated to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Based on this evidence, I concluded that around the central years of the 13th century this wall is erected. Then, around 1270 CE the area is backfilled and leveled with small throws of soil which are accumulated on both sides and, finally, top of the wall (Context 845).; C. 1270 CE:; The next traces of anthropic action in the area are defined by two large pits that were excavated and filled in the last quarter of the 13th century. These pits were later truncated by the walls that defined Rooms 7, 8 and 9. Cut 823 (1083.80- 1080.80N, 127.50- 126.45E, depth: 0.62) is the west side in room 8 of a large pit also excavated in Room 9 (as Cut 733). The filling of the pit removed in Room 8 (Contexts 806, 813, 815, 819 and 821) was dated by pottery to the 4th quarter of the 13th century, and lotted with the material recovered in Room 9 (Contexts 717, 726 and 747) as Lot 2015-04. Context 806 included a cubic bone die with numbers drilled and painted in black (MF- 2015-57).; A second pit, Cut 842 (1081.65- 1078.40N, 127.80- 123.90E, depth: 0.47), was located on the South section of Room 8 and extending to the west into Room 7. This pit was also truncated by a structure (Wall 157), the part located in Room 7 already excavated by Burr and Rogers in 2014. The filling of this pit (Contexts 825 and 839) was dated by pottery to 1270±10 CE; Context 274 (1078.20-1081.30 N, 121.85-123.25 E, cf. Burr and Rogers, 2014) was dated to the late 3rd quarter of the 13th century. However, the  earliest fill in the west portion of this pit, Context 887, was excavated this year and dated by pottery to the 4th quarter of the 13th century, providing further evidence for the equivalence of the pit cut to the east and west of Wall 157 (Cut 889=842; 1081.70- 1078.50N, 123.80- 121.40E).  ; 4th quarter of the 13th century:; In the last decades of the 13th century the space north of the church gets delimited by a series of walls defining what is now labelled as Room 7, Room 8 and Room 9. Room 8 is separated from Room 7 by Wall 157 (124.63-122.55E/1078.37-1085.05N; Wall 13 NB 877), from the corridor north of the church by Wall 156 (128.40-123.58E/1077.50-1078.97N; Wall 16 NB 877 and 845) and from Room 9 by two structures, Wall 720 (1081.30-1079.20N, 128.55-127.50E) and Wall 830 (1084.10-1081.30N, 128.30-126.80E). ; The data obtained from the excavation and subsequent study of the two pits described in the previous section, as well as the chronologies established for these structures by Rous and Worsham on one hand, and Burr and Rogers on the other, have been used to establish a sequence of construction for these structures. The first wall erected in the area in this period was Wall 156, since Walls 157 and 720 abut rather than join with it. This structure was dated by Rous and Worsham, (Context 184), to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Bennett, in 2015, dated the wall to the last years of the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, but based solely on a lens of soil left unexcavated in 2014 on the corridor between the church and Room 8 by Swalec and Wilson (see also NB 864). The pit shared by Room 7 and Room 8 was truncated completely on its southern edge by the erection of Wall 156, with the exception of a small portion of the edge preserved in the southeast corner of the room as Context 855, and dated by pottery to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. If we also consider the date provided for the fill of the pit is 1270±10 CE (Context 825 and 839), we obtain a TPQ for the erection of the wall of very late 3rd or early 4th quarter of the 13th century.; The structure that divides Room 7 and Room 8, Wall 157, was built against 156. This wall 157 also divides Cut 842=889, the pit located between Room 8 and Room 9, in two different sections. The fill of the cut excavated in Room 7 was dated by Burr and Rogers to the late 3rd quarter of the 13th century (Context 274) and this session to the 4th quarter of the 13th century (Context 887); the fill of the pit in Room 8, as indicated above, to 1270±10 CE. A possible bench (cf. Context 175, Rous and Worsham 2014) laid along Wall 157 was likewise dated to the late 13th century. ; Room 8 is separated from Room 9 on the east by two structures, Wall 720 and Wall 830. These two structures were first recorded together as Wall 155 in 2014 by Rous and Worsham, based on the records for Wall 18 (NB 877, 845). In May 2015 the record of Wall 155 was duplicated by Smotherman and Brannelly as Wall 720, still comprising in its extension the structures I define here as Wall 720 and 830. In June 2015 it was discovered that this single structure was in fact two different walls abutting. The study of previous documentation of the structure pointed out the duplicity of this record. Since a new nomenclature was needed, it was decided to keep the duplicated record of 720 for the south section of the wall and assign 830 to the north. Thus, Wall 155 is in fact Wall 830 plus Wall 720 (as recorded by Rodríguez-Álvarez), and the original record for Wall 720 (as recorded by Smotherman and Brannelly) equates Wall 155 but it is now obsolete. ; Coming back to the analysis of the area, former Wall 155 was dated by Rous and Worsham based on the stratigraphic relationship with two possible foundation trenches (Context 176 and 177) to the late 13th or early 14th century. The excavations of this season showed that its south section (now Wall 720), also truncated Cut 842 on the east edge, preserving only part of it in Context 855 (as explained above in relation to the dating of Wall 156). Further work in June revealed that a second wall, 830, was constructed on the north end of Wall 720. Traces of what appears to be plaster were spotted on the surface where 830 abuts 720. Wall 720 truncated Cut 842=889 on its east edge, and can be dated to a time after 1270±10 and the construction of Wall 156 on which is abutted. Finally, Wall 830 divides the pit between Room 8 and Room 9 (Cut 823=733), and can be dated to at least the 4th quarter of the 13th century and after the erection of Wall 720.  ; The erection of these walls defined the space of Room 8. Former excavation in the area revealed a series of deposits that have been interpreted as the use surface of this room. The so-called ""Frankish floor"" (NB 877 and 845, see NB 845 p. 53), also excavated as Context 140 and the earlier surface excavated in Context 168 seem all to have been laid against the wall. These deposits were dated to the 14th century. These surfaces rest on two deposits, Context 786 and 796, which have been interpreted as garbage piles that were levelled in the area as sub-floor of for these use surfaces. The date provided by the pottery is the 4th quarter of the 13th century. Two bone cubic dice with numbers drilled and painted in black (MF-2015-24 and MF-2015-25) were recovered from this garbage context. A lead seal (MF-2015-56) was recovered from Context 844 (now equated to 786).; ; Conclusion: ; The succession of structures, spaces and use in the area took place in a relatively short period of time. The presence of the garbage pits in the space later occupied by Room 7, 8 and 9 led different excavators in the past to interpret the space as an open air garbage dump. The discovery, however, of Wall 850 opens the possibility that this open area was a transitional phase between two different construction phases in the area: the first carefully dismantled before 1270±10 CE and the second one carried out in the last quarter of the 13th century. ; With regard to the first phase of construction, Wall 850 and the possible clay floor associated to it (Context 870) are the only evidence, and more work is needed to assess the extension both in time and space of this structure. The presence of pits truncated by walls was already noted by previous excavators in the area (e.g. Rous and Worsham, Burr and Rogers, Smotherman and Brannelly) and led them to conclude that the area was an open space where garbage was deposited. The analysis of the materials recovered from the pit deposits (Lot 2015-04: 806, 819, 821; Lot 2015-38: 825; Lot 2015-37: 839) and the leveled garbage deposits (Lot 2015-22: 786, 796) clearly indicate that the disposal of refuse is taking place in the area. One pattern observed in this behavior is that alongside the pottery and animal bones, those deposits interpreted as garbage layers are characterized by a high presence of coins (17 in Context 786, 3 in 796, 5 in Context 806, 7 in Context 825). These coins, however, are never contemporary to the date provided by the pottery finds for the deposit, with all legible coins belonging to the Byzantine period, often to different issues of Manuel I (1143-1180). Coins contemporary to the Frankish dates of these contexts tend to appear in isolation and associated with leveling fills (e.g. Coin 2015-584, a CORINTVM issue of William Villehardouin found in Context 858, a leveling fill associated with Wall 850). Coinage of the Byzantine period seems to have lost any monetary value during the Frankish period, and it is in consequence discarded as a worthless object with the rest of the refuse produced in the area. These garbage deposits were also characterized by an abundant presence of iron remains, mostly square and round shaft nails, and small fragments of glass. Shards of prunted beakers, similar to MF-1992-38 and MF-2009-29, are especially abundant in these deposits. In conclusion, the study of Cut 823/733 and Cut 842/889 reinforces the interpretation of former excavators of the area being used as an open air garbage dump. But if the chronology of the area exposed in this summary is correct, that would mean that the church was already functioning while the space was working as a dump area. The discovery of Wall 850 not only indicates the presence of a former constructive phase but also clarifies the interpretation of the role of the pits and the leveling of the garbage in the area. The  dismantlement of Wall 850 and the rapid succession of deposits in Room 7 and Room 8 might belong to a sequence of events in which the former structure is torn down to leave space for the rooms defined by Wall 156, 157 and 720. In the brief interim of construction garbage was disposed in this area north of the church, but just for a brief period of time, as the homogeneity of the fills of the pits (Contexts 825-839 and Contexts 806-819-821), seem to indicate. ; ;  Recommendations for Future Excavation:; - Continue with the excavation of Room 7 and Room 8, in order to reach the deposits corresponding to the 2nd quarter of the 13th century, in order to explore into more detail the early phase of construction in the area related to Wall 850.; - Analyse the sequence of construction of the walls shared by Rooms 7, 8 and 9, in order to assess whether the lack of joins among these walls is the product of an extended lapse in their construction or the result of the building techniques of the period. The relative chronology offered in this report is based on dates provided by artefacts and the visible relationships among the structures. Further excavation in the area and, especially, a detailed study of masonry styles and techniques in the Frankish period could corroborate or invalidate the present interpretation.","","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth Report: Temple E Southeast excavations. Unit 2, Rooms 8 and 7.","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","Corinth"
"Report","","Charles George, Rossana Valente; Nezi Field Excavations; N: 1015.90 N, S: 1006.90 N, E: 264.20 E, W: 255.50 E; 28 May – 22 June, 2012; ; This is a final summary of the third season of excavation (28th May – 22th June) in 2012 in the northwest area of Nezi field. Guy Sanders (director) and Heather Graybehl (field director) supervised. The blue excavation team consisted of Charles George and Rossana Valente (recorders), Athanasios Sakellariou (pickman), Athanasios Notis (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (shovelman), and Pavlos Sennes (barrowman).; Excavation began in the area bounded by the Giambouranis house (NB 252, NB 262, 1015.90 N) to the north, Wall 540 to the east (264.20 E), Wall 366 to the south (1006.90 N), and the balk of Nezi field (255.50 E) to the west. The lack of preserved architecture, except the partially preserved Wall 747, led us initially to interpret our area as exterior space associated with the Byzantine room to the south, bounded by Wall 366 and Robbing Trench 497 to the north (1006.00 N), Wall 365 to the south (1002.10 N), Wall 332 to the east (262.07 E) and Wall 306 to the west (258.01 E). The goal of this session was to further explore the Byzantine habitation layers found during earlier excavations in the area (2008 and 2009, sessions 1st and 2nd 2012), with the hope of better understanding the use of space in this area during Frankish and Byzantine times and also of reaching Late Roman material by the end of the season.; ; Late Antique (5th-7th AD); ; We have reached Late Antique contexts in the northeast of the area which are overlaid by Wall 540, dated to the late 11th c. For this reason, we cannot see the eastern ends of the contexts, and we suggest close cooperation and contact with the Pink Team’s excavations of the area east of the wall.; We have identified a mid 6th- early 7th c. AD floor (S 936, removed as 957), which seems to continue under wall 540, and we argue that it is equal to a floor in the Pink Area (S941). This context contained two fifth century nummi (coin no.  2012-159, 160), with five fifth century nummi (coin no. 2012- 162-166, 169) also found in what we interpret as the continuation of the floor to the north (959), and two fifth century nummi (coin no. 2012-161, 164 ) found in a suggested floor surface below S 936 (958). The excavation of the floor has revealed another possible floor, which itself was laid over another possible floor surface. This may suggest that we have a stratification of floors indicating several successive habitations during the Late Antique period. The section of the floor called 959 seems to be laid on an E-W wall (S 918), therefore dating the wall earlier. It is unclear when and under what circumstances the wall later was robbed out. However, further excavation in the area and removal of wall 540 should elucidate the relationship. ; ; Above floor S 936 is a tile destruction layer (934), which is likely equal to the tile destruction layer across wall 540 on the Pink Team’s tile destruction layer 929. The elevation of Pink 929 is roughly equivalent to that of Blue 934 and part of Blue 931, a leveling fill directly above the destruction layer. As supporting evidence for this relationship is an AFRS form 99, which has joining fragments both in Blue 931 and Pink 929.; ; Vast quantities of sherds of Late Antique pottery have been found in the fill of a Late Byzantine lime pit (the eastern part of pit is 878 and western part is 917), an ovular Byzantine pit (888), and adjacent cleaning contexts and leveling fills (895, 906, 907, 908). Also, a Late Antique glass bottle (MF 2012-50) and jar (MF 2012-51) have been found in the lime pit (917). While we have interpreted these all as redepositions, the large size of the glass sherds and the size and density of the pottery suggest that the Late Antique material in these fills does not show signs of frequent redeposition.; ; Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD); ; The most important feature identified as Late Byzantine is the western portion of wall called 747, which dates to the late 11th c. The excavation of the fill to the east of western wall 747 has revealed a finished surface to the wall and an apparent end to the foundation beneath the wall. We think that in this space East of Western wall 747 there was an entrance. As the Western and eastern portions of wall called 747 are on the same axis, despite the gap and differences in construction, we maintain that they are contemporaneous and of the same structure. We still hope to determine whether there was an interior space north or south of the wall. North of 747 may have been exterior as suggested by the massive pit there (C 870, fill 844 and 868, W-E 258.43-261.89, S-N 1011.63-1014.56), which we have identified as a bothros, since it contains a mix of pottery ranging from the Geometric Period to the late 11th c.; ; Western Wall 747 seems to be surrounded by several leveling fills that are also dated to the Late Byzantine period. These leveling fills are both north (854, 855, 857, 858, 859, 863, 868, 869, 875, 876, 925, and 927) and south (897 and 904) of Wall 747. These leveling fills characterized by a yellowish brown soil, are poorly sorted, and there are not many material inclusions. Small quantities of pottery are found across these contexts. These small contexts are overlaid in several areas by various lenses of leveling fill, often consisting of harder-packed and different colored soil, but the pottery dates from all of these contexts suggest that they are all part of a relatively contemporaneous leveling of the area. None of these contexts has a precise date for the Late Byzantine period; we can relate this context to the Late Byzantine leveling activity of this area mainly by stratigraphic relationships. In the middle Byzantine dumped fill of a robbing trench along the W Scarp (950), we have found a likely-Christian clay bread mold (MF 2012-47). These fills seem bounded by Wall 747 in the south but extend as far as the Northern Balk.; ; We have found a lime pit (C 882, W-E 257.54-260.87 S-N 1008.88-1010.10, filled by 878 and 917) directly south of Western Wall 747. All the preserved sides of this pit are covered with lime. It is possible that the walls of this cut were intentionally covered with lime, for building purposes. For example, the lime pit may have been used for the construction of walls 747 and/or 540, which both also seem to date to the late 11th c. In a later action, this cut was filled by a dumped fill (878 and 917). The filling of this cut, dated to the late 11th c, is a secondary deposition of large quantities of Late Antique pottery (5th – 6th C). Excavation of the oven (S 910) and the area between the oven and the pit will elucidate the issue and will provide confirmation as to the western boundary of the pit, which is not yet certain.; ; Last but not least in importance is pit 888 (W-E 262.21-263.10, N-S 1009.06-1007.06). Partially excavated during session 1 (888=680), this pit seems to be a bothros. Its dumped fill, dated to the 11th C, seems to be a secondary deposition of much earlier material including large quantities of Late Antique (5th – 6th C)  pottery, Late Antique coins (2012 22-29, 105-126), and a 2nd-3rd c. incised intaglio (MF 2012-33). ; ; Frankish (1210-1458 AD); ; During the Frankish period E - W Wall 747 was partially robbed out. As noted during session 2, certain fills (833, 744) excavated in the robbing trench for this wall were distinguished both in materials excavated and soil composition, and should be considered the first robbing episode of this structure. ; S of this robbing trench, we excavated a Frankish pit dated by the pottery to 1270 (C 926 filled by 883, 884, 885, 887, 889, W-E 261.88-264.03, S-N 1010.35-1008.90). The pit was particularly rich in finds, including luxurious items such as gilded bone bands (MF 2012-43, 45), incised bone knife handles (MF 2012-48), and gilded bronze flower-shaped clamps (MF 2012-53A, 53B, 54, 55) as well as stone- and metal- working tools such as a lead cupellation bowl (MF 2012-38) and an iron chisel (MF 2012-40). Also found was a pecten shell used by pilgrims travelling on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela (MF 2012-34).; ; Below the pit, we came on the head of a well, a cistern, or a manhole (S 902 W-E 262.23-262.71, S-N 1009.55-1010.05). The structure is lined with plaster, and goes down 2.35 m, without any visible fill except for a small accumulation of debris, much of which is from our excavation of proximate contexts. The hole seems to have been intentionally closed with blocks. That it is a manhole is suggested by the slightly ovular shape of the hole, but it appears to be self-contained in all horizontal directions, which makes it more likely that it was a cistern or a well. That it is a well is suggested by the nearly intact water jug that was found at the bottom of pit 889, just centimeters away from the hole. Further excavation is needed to ; Another Frankish pit (C 871, filled by 860, W-E 255.51-256.95, S-N 1011.92-1013.63) was excavated during the second quarter of the 13th C, as its dumped fill suggests. This pit, located next to the W scarp of the excavation area has been interpreted as a bothros. Interestingly, the N side of the pit scarp is full of tile. A few large, unworked stones (possibly mined bedrock) are visible at the bottom on the E side. ; These pits may have been created for the purpose of storage. Generally Frankish pits were made along walls, as the surface of the wall offered an easy ready-made boundary for the pit. Our Frankish pits C 871 and C 926 correspond to this interpretation as do two Frankish pits excavated by the Pink Team (C 847, C 867).; ; Early Modern (1831-1945); ; Context 880 is the only context that has been dated to the Early Modern period, specifically Turkish II. We have interpreted the Turkish finds as contamination from the robbing trench for wall 747 (759), and therefore we interpret the context as a disturbance of the Frankish pit (C 926).; ; Recommendations; ; We recommend to future excavators the following:; ; 1.    Take down Wall 540. We are now certain that the Late Antique floors in the northeast of our area (S 936, 939, and those stratigraphically below) continue under the wall and into the Pink area (see above). The excavation and dating of the wall would remove an obstacle to excavating in the area and would be helpful for dating in the area. Lastly, there are many walls in the Blue (S 747 and S 918) and Pink areas that misalign by as few as 0.10-0.30 m, and the excavation of the wall would help in seeing more clearly whether they are related and how.; ; 2.    Excavate oven S 910 and the surrounding contexts in order to determine the relationship between the oven and the Byzantine lime pit to the east (C 882). ; ; 3.    Excavate floors S 911 and S 912 to discern their dates as well as the relationship between the two floors and between the floors and the surrounding area; ; 4.    Take down the contexts east of 949 and then proceed to finish its excavation. Digging in this area is important for understanding the boundary between the Late Antique material to the east and the 11th c. lenses of fill 844 to the west.; We hope that in the future, interior and exterior areas will be able to be identified, and that the Late Antique levels, now appearing in the NW, will become apparent throughout the area.","","","Nezi Field 2012 by George, Charles; Valente, Rossana (2012-06-26 to 2012-06-27)","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","2012 Session 3 Team Blue Final Summary","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by George, Charles Valente, Rossana (2012-06-26 to 2012-06-27)","Corinth"
"Report","","Wesley Bennett; Session I; Temple E Southeast Excavations; 1075-1078.5 N, 121.5-129.5 E; 21-28.04.2015; ; This is the end-of-session summary of the first session of excavations in 2015 in the Corridor North of the Church (hereafter, “Corridor”). The Corridor was excavated from the 21st to the 28th of April by Wesley Bennett (Area Supervisor), Thanassis Notis (pick-man), Kostas Arberoris (pick-man/shovel-man), and Marios Vathis (shovel-man/barrow-man), as part of Session I. This same area was excavated previously by two different groups during the 2014 season: Jennifer Swalec and Emily Wilson during Session 3, and Dylan Rodgers and Maggie Burr during Session 2. Before the 2014 season, the Corridor was excavated in 1993 under Charles K. Williams II (NB 863).; ; The southern boundary of the Corridor is formed wholly by the northern wall of the church (Wall 20: 1074.5-1076.1 N, 122.06-130.1 E) and its associated robbing trench (NB 835, pp. 35-44, 65-66; 1074.3-1076.1 N, 122.00-130.30 E), while its northern boundary is formed in part by the southern wall of Unit 2, Room 8 (Wall 156: 1077.5-1079.3 N, 123.5-129.7 E, NB 864, pp. 43-44). The latter wall (Wall 156) encloses only the eastern two-thirds of the Corridor before turning the corner to the north and changing into Wall 157, which forms the eastern side of Unit 2, Room 7. At the junction of this corner, Wall 156 continues slightly westwards to form a stub wall. During the middle of excavations this season, we decided to establish an arbitrary line at 1078 N in order to define better the northern boundary of the trench vis-à-vis Unit 2, Room 7. An artificial line also delineated the eastern boundary of the trench (1076.12-1078.50 N, 129.00-129.60 E), while Wall 59 (1076.00-1077.40 N, 120.90-121.78 E), extended to the south by another artificial line to Wall 20, defined the western boundary.; ; As in years past, excavation in the Corridor was undertaken in an effort to understand better the use of the space, as well as the phasing and dating of the church and surrounding complex.; ; ; Frankish (AD 1210-1458); ; The earliest level reached this session is primarily an unexcavated hard surface that covers the majority of the trench. In its earliest phase, a relatively open space was present along the north wall of the church (Wall 20). This surface (unexcavated as of the close of Session I) consists of pebble- and cobble-sized stones, tile, and brick, all of which are flattened within the soil matrix, suggesting that the surface had been left exposed long enough for it to become well-trod or simply stamped down before more fill was dumped into the area. ; ; The exterior of the church was covered with a cement point during the mid-13th century, as dated by pottery and coins in the fill directly underlying the surface represented by this pointing (Context 640). The floor associated with this pointing either was never recognized during excavation or was completely deconstructed before several fills raised the ground surface level substantially.; ; From the excavations in previous years, we have gathered that there were essentially two main phases of use in the Corridor. In the earlier phase, the space that would eventually become the Corridor had not yet been enclosed by Wall 156, the southern wall of Room 8. Instead, this area seems to have been a well-trod outdoor space used for the dumping of construction and dining refuse and the burial of deceased persons, especially immediately adjacent to the northern wall of the church (Graves 2014-09 and 2014-11; cf. Swalec and Wilson, pp. 1-3). The date at which Wall 156 was built and thus formed the Corridor as we see it now is problematic. Swalec and Wilson discovered a foundation trench that ran along the entirety of the wall (and around the stub wall extension). In their final report, they mention that this foundation trench was not fully excavated; the workman removed only the top lens of the fill of the trench (Swalec and Wilson, pp. 3). No continuation of this trench could be found this year, however, suggesting that they had indeed removed it all. If this is the case, the pottery from the excavated lens, dating to the middle-to-third-quarter of the 13th century, should date the construction of Wall 156. Since this year we excavated primarily several fills at a level underneath the bottom of the wall dating to the mid-13th century, we favor a late date in this range, perhaps in the late third quarter of the 13th century for the construction of Wall 156 and the formation of the Corridor. After its construction, the Corridor served as a passageway linking two specific spaces: Unit 2, Room 7, and the Paved Court to the east of the church nave. Nevertheless, the space continued to be used intermittently as a site for burial (Grave 2014-08) and the dumping of refuse to raise and level out the ground surface.; ; A series of fills dating by pottery primarily to the mid-13th century (Contexts 598, 606, 610, 613, 616, 618, 619, 622, 626, 629, 632, 637) overlies the level of this pointing, indicating that the floor level of the Corridor was risen deliberately and relatively quickly. In the western half of the trench, a large amount of faunal remains (notably cattle, pig, goat, sheep, dog, oysters) was dumped, coinciding with a great deal of charcoal. Either the space was used for food preparation or the fill represents the refuse of dining that was subsequently dumped and possibly burned as trash. The eastern half of the trench produced much less of both, and so seems to have had a different origin. It is altogether possible that these two very different types of fills were being deposited in the Corridor space at the same time, and commingled in the middle. Aside from faunal remains and pottery, these fills often contained a variety of construction material (fragmentary tile, brick, lime mortar, and iron nails), which attests to building activity in the area. Coins (2015-22, -24, -26, -28-42, -44) were found frequently and generally confirm the dates derived from the pottery. Along with a chance find (MF 2014-04), a glass weight depicting a lion with upturned tail facing stage left, the coins are a testament to the economic activity happening in the area.; ; Once deposited, these fills in total raised the level of the trench surface more than 30 cm. in some places. The top surfaces of some of these fills, like the unexcavated surface mentioned above, seem to have been left exposed at least long enough for the inclusions within the fill matrix to become flattened by trampling upon the surface.  Given that the ground surface was raised so high in such a short period of time, however, it is likely that none of these fills was exposed for any substantial period of time. Rodgers and Burr seem to be of the same opinion of the upper fills also (cf. Rodgers and Burr, pp. 5). Instead, it seems to us that a conscious decision to raise the ground surface level was made at some point in the middle of the 13th century, and in order to accomplish this, several fills were dumped into the Corridor space and intermittently trampled to flatten, level, and compact, the soils before more fills were deposited above them. ; ; It is tempting to connect this great filling and levelling event with the development of the complex north of the church during the latter half of the 13th century, including the formation of the Corridor itself, but until the phasing of the complex to the north of the church is better understood, such a connection should remain mere conjecture. It is also possible that the filling event both raised and leveled the surface in preparation for paving the Corridor. Though dating is uncertain, possibly during the 14th century a small court, paved with rough, square limestone blocks, existed to the east of the church nave. A similar paving block lies just to the east of the Corridor trench, perhaps indicating that the paved surface of the court to the east of the church originally ran around the northeastern corner of the nave and into the Corridor as well (cf. NB 829 B.29, pp. 53-6; Rodgers and Burr, pp. 5). In 2014, Rodgers and Burr thought that they discovered the final levelling events (Contexts 313, 300, 321) in preparation for the paving of the Corridor, but perhaps it took a greater amount of effort and soil to raise and level the surface than they initially thought.; ; Grave 2015-01, which was truncated by the later Grave 2014-09, was cut into one such mid-13th c. fill (Cut Context 609). This cist grave (Contexts 604, 605; Cut 609; Bone Lot 2015-1; 1075.65-1076.35 N, 125.00-126.50 E) was missing the skull and pelvis among other bones due to the installation of Grave 2014-09. Though sex could not be determined due to fragmentation, enough skeletal material was preserved to indicate that the body was outstretched, supine, from west-northwest to east-southeast along the north wall of the church, with the (missing) head at the west and the feet at the east. Both arms were crossed over the chest, and the fingers were tucked around the body. No finds were discovered directly associated with the deceased. The pottery in the grave fill dates the cut to the mid-13th century, as was the fill into which the grave was cut, again suggesting that these fill deposits were never left exposed for long. While a fragmentary crochet hook was found in the fill of the grave cut with the deceased, its association as a grave offering is suspect, especially since the sex of the individual could not be determined. Perhaps it belonged instead to the woman who occupied Grave 2014-09. In any case, the crochet hook attests to weaving activity somewhere in the vicinity.; ; ; Conclusion; ; Although we did not get down far enough, and thus failed, to meet the primary objective of the session, i.e. to find the foundation trench of Wall 20, the northern wall of the church nave, in order to date the church itself, we learned a great deal about how the Corridor space developed throughout the mid-13th century. Several different fills raised and leveled the ground significantly in the middle of the 13th century, perhaps in preparation for the development of the complex north of the church. We were able to date a floor of the Corridor fairly securely to the mid-13th century, and we were able to give a more precise date of the construction of Wall 156, and thus the formation of the Corridor (late third quarter of the 13th century). We also gathered significant amounts of faunal remains that should certainly be studied by specialists in the future to gain insight into the dining activities of the people who resided in the area. ; ; ; Recommendations for Future Excavation:; ; 1. Continue excavation in the Corridor to find the foundation trench for wall 20.; ; 2. Excavate in the space between the Corridor and Unit 2, Room 7, to gain better insight into how the two spaces related to one another throughout time.","","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","2015 Session I Excavations: Corridor North of the Church in Unit 2","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","Corinth"
"Report","","Maggie Beeler, Morgan Condell; Session 1; Temple E, Southeast Excavations; N-S 1074.64-1071.50; E-W 126.00-122.70; April 2014; ; This is the final summary of the first session of excavation in 2014 in the Temple E, Southeast excavations at Corinth. Guy Sanders (Director) and Jody Cundy (Field Director) supervised. The area supervisors consisted of Maggie Beeler and Morgan Condell (recorders), and the workmen were ThanasisNotis (foreman and pickman), Tasos Tsongas (pickman), Angela Stamati (shovelwoman and barrowwoman), MariosVathis (barrowman), and PanosRonzokos (shovelman). ; ; The excavation area was the NW quadrant of the church nave in the complex known as Unit 2.  This was previously excavated during the 1990 field season (NB 831, NB 835). The excavation area was bounded to the north by the north wall of the church (Structure 20, N-S 1075.11-1074.52, E-W 129.51-122.06) and its robbing trench, and to the west by the narthex cross wall (Structure 21, N-S 1074.44-1067.99, E-W 123.52-121.98) and the later threshold (Structure 22, N-S 1072.09-1070.55, E-W 123.31-122.25) built into it. The northwest pier base (Structure 23, N-S 1073.63-1072.29, E-W 125.25-124.03) also fell within the excavation area. Because the excavation area was sectioned in order to facilitate future micromorphological analysis within the church, the eastern (E 126.0) and southern (N 1070.50) boundaries were established to align with the grid. ; ; The goal of this session was to locate the earlier floor of the church, since the raised threshold in the narthex cross wall was a later addition associated with a later floor, in order to gain a better understanding of the use phases of the church and when it went out of use.; ; Frankish Period (1210-1458 A.D.); ; The earliest phase of activity is represented by two graves cut into a fill that has yet to be excavated.  Grave 2014-06 (Cut 137, N-S 1073.85-1072.58, E-W 125.95-125.22, filled by Context 129), which abuts the eastern face of the NW pier base (Structure 23), was an oval pit grave (L 1.27, W 0.73, Depth 0.61m), which contained the skeleton of a single primary adult inhumation.  Skeleton 136 (Bone Lot 2014-06) was in extended supine position with both arms crossed over the abdomen, with its head to the N end of the grave facing S, head and shoulders propped up with a stone and earthen fill.  Material from the fill of the grave included a fragment of a Protomaiolica Slipped Painted plate and a fragment of a Metallic Ware Unslipped pitcher, both of Frankish date.  Four coinswere found, three of which are quite early.  2014-49 and 2014-53 are Greek, and 2014-54 is Roman Imperial.  The fourth coin (2014-57) is illegible.  Other material from the fill included a number of fragments of clear glass, including one with applied threads.  These finds suggest a terminus post quem for the fill of the grave in the Frankish period.; ; Grave 2014-03 (Cut 126, N-S 1072.68-1070.59, E-W 125.75-125.00, filled by Context 112) was a oval pit grave (L 2.09, W 0.75, Depth 0.74 )located in the southeastern portion of the excavation are.  It contained the skeleton of a single primary adult inhumation. Skeleton 127 (Bone Lot 2014-03) was in extended supine position with both arms crossed over the abdomen, with its head to the N end of the grave facing S, head and shoulders propped up with a deposit of earth and tile.  Pottery from the fill of the grave included a fragment of a Glaze Painted I Slipped pitcher and several White Ware sherds, all of Byzantine date.  Two coins were found, one of which was illegible (2014-45) and the other is a Byzantine coin of Leo VI (date:886-912 A.D.) (2014-37).  Though the pottery and coin dates suggest a terminus post quem in the Byzantine period, we suspect that this grave belongs to a later period, as it cut into the same fill and at the same elevation as Grave 2014-06, which has a terminus post quem in the Frankish period.  This may be further supported by fragments of a clear glass goblet with ring foot and two clear colored glass fragments, one with applied thread and one with applied prunt from a prunted beaker, which were found in the fill and suggest a Frankish date.; ; These two graves were overlaid by a shallow fill extending over the eastern portion of the excavation area, including the eastern half of the NW pier base (Context 105, N-S 1074.68-1070.59, E-W 125.98-124.46).  The pottery from this fill included a sherd of a plain White Ware plate, a fragment of a Slipped Plain Glazed bowl, both of Frankish date.  A coin was also found (2014-33), however it is a Roman Imperial coin from the House of Constantine Dynasty, and therefore is not diagnostic for the context.  Fragments of glass were also recovered from the fill, including 2 fragments of clear colorless glass with applied threads.  The material from the fill suggests a terminus post quem in the Frankish period.; ; Another grave was found in the southwest portion of the excavation area along the narthex crosswall, just east of the later threshold (Structure 22).  Grave 2014-04 is cut into an as yet unexcavated fill.  It is unclear whether Grave 2014-04 is cut into the same fill cut into by Graves 2014-03 and 2014-06, since an as yet unexcavated baulk lies between them, which was created when we further sectioned the excavation area.  Grave 2014-04 (Cut 188, N-S 1072.21-1070.45, W 123.20, filled by Context 99) is a subrectangular pit grave (dimensions to be determined), which contained the skeleton of a primary adult inhumation (Skeleton 121, Bone Lot 2014-04), with a secondary deposit of disarticulated human remains (Bone Lot 2014-12) including many long bones and four skulls (three were excavated and assigned Bone Lots 2014-07,08,09) overlaying its lower legs.  Skeleton 121was in extended supine position with both arms crossed over the abdomen, with its head to the N end of the grave facing S-SW, head and shoulders propped up with tiles and earth, with a tile positioned vertically along the eastern side of the skull.  Skeleton 121 appears to be complete, except for the feet, which were disturbed when this grave was truncated by Grave 1990-41A-C to the south.  The grave was not fully excavated due to heavy rain at the end of Session I, such that the bottom and eastern extent have yet to be determined.  The top of the skull of a small child was exposed in the NW of the grave, and may represent another burial or further disarticulated remains.  Material from the fill of the grave included one fragment of a Sgrafitto IV bowl, as well as the base of a Green Glazed Painted bowl (with joining fragments in Context 52, C 2014 6).  Part of a gold and pearl earring (MF 2014 3) was found near the left leg of Skeleton 121.  Two coins were found in the fill, one of Byzantine date (2014-58).  The other (2014-68) is a coin of Charles I or II Anjou (1278-1289 A.D) minted at Clarenza,.  Several fragments of glass were also found in this fill, including one with applied threads.  The material from the fill of the grave suggests a terminus post quem in the Frankish period.  The grave was overlaid by a shallow fill (Context 83, N-S 1072.34-1070.64, E-W 124.08-123.23) that ran east of the narthex crosswall, extending south from the rubble feature abutting Wall 21, which remains to be explored in future excavation.  An overturned undecorated marble column capital was embedded in this fill, and may have served as a marker for the grave.  This fill also contained one fragment of a Metallic Ware Unslipped pitcher, and two sherds of Glaze Painted IV slipped ware, as well as several fragments of clear glass, one with embedded thread, one with applied thread, and several fragments that may have belonged to a lamp (cf. MF 1992-36).  This material suggests a terminus post quem in the Frankish period for this fill.; ; Turkish I Period (1458-1680 A.D.); ; The entire excavation area was overlaid by a deposit of differentiated lenses of fill (Contexts 25, 52, 61, 67, 69, 70, 74, 77, 81), which we believe to be part of the same activity.  This fill is dated to the Turkish I period by a sherd of Posgrafitto ware(early 16th c.) found in Context 52.  Other material that was common to all of these differentiated lenses included fragments of clear glass, and a large concentration of Frankish pottery.; ; This fill underlies the remains of a cement bedding for a later floor (Context 47, N-S 1072.81-1071.78, E-W 126.01-125.10), portions of which we found in situ in the eastern portion of the excavation area.   This cement bedding would have been laid on a tile leveling fill, represented by Contexts 14 & 49 (N-S 1072.82-1070.99, E-W 125.74-124.74).  This preserved cement floor bedding was exposed during the 1990 field season, and extended discontinuously across the church, particularly to the E and S.; ; Evidence for a decorative floor is represented by numerous fragments of Cosmati style floor and marble architectural elements (Lot 2014-001).  These include cemented fragments of gray and white marble along with black and red cut stones found within multiple contexts, including the fill of all three graves as well as the fills above them (Contexts 83, 99, 112, 129, 52, 105).  We hope that further excavation will clarify the relationship between these Cosmati floor fragments and the preserved cement floor bedding (Context 47).; ; The Turkish I fill was also cut by two pits along the N boundary of our excavation area, abutting the exposed scarp of the robbing trench of Wall 20.  The cut for the pit in the NW corner (Cut 44, N-S 1075.42-1073.96, E-W 124.09-123.25, filled by Context 32) was difficult to determine because it was highly disturbed.  This is due in part to erosion from long exposure, but also due to previous excavation in this area (NB 835, Basket 53, pp.97-98), which identified but did not fully excavate a grave pit of which this may be a part.Material from the fill of the pit included disarticulated human bone and evidence for heavy bioturbation, as well as fragments of glass, painted plaster, and a small amount of pottery including a fragment of a Late Sgrafitto Slipped Style VII bowl and a Slipped Plain Glazed bowl, as well as Roman and Pre-Roman material.; ; The second pit, located further E along the scarp of the robbing trench (Cut 45, N-S 1074.65-1074.26, E-W 125.48-124.35, filled by Context 28), may also have been associated with burial activity, given the high frequency of disarticulated human remains.  It appears to have been truncated and disturbed by the robbing of Wall 20.  Material from the fill of the pit included a coin (2014-43) which was illegible.  The pottery included a fragment of a Slipped Plain Glazed bowland a Neolithic burnished bowlsherd.  Other material included several fragments of clear glass, and one shoulder fragment of an early 4th c A.D. lamp with a black painted vine scroll design.; ; Due to the poor preservation of the cement floor bedding, it is unclear whether these pits predate it, or cut into the later floor surface.; ; Recommendations for Future Work in this Area:; ; 1.    Determine extent of Cut 188, and complete the excavation of Grave 2014-04.; 2.    Remove the baulk created by sectioning of the excavation areato clarify the relationship of the fill cut by Grave 2014-04 and the fill cut by Graves 2014-03 and 2014-06.; 3.    Two grave cuts run underneath this baulk and were partially revealed by removal of Context 105.  These should be excavated.; 4.    Investigate the NW corner, underneath the upturned column capital to determine whether a burial is located there.; 5.    Determine the nature of the rubble structure running along the Narthex crosswall (Structure 21).; 6.    Continue excavating fill inside of church, with the hopes of clarifying the phases of its use and architectural history.","","","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Maggie Beeler and Morgan T. Condell (2014-04-07 to 2014-04-28)","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Final Summary, Session I (Unit 2, Church Nave)","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Maggie Beeler and Morgan T. Condell (2014-04-07 to 2014-04-28)","Corinth"
"Report","","Excavation Summary; During the third training session of the 2007 season, we, J. Matthew Harrington and Theodora Kopestonsky, conducted excavations in the area north of the Nezi field for a total of fourteen days between 21 May 2007 and 8 June 2007.  We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders, James Herbst, Alicia Carter, and Sarah James, with three workmen each day: Panos Kakouros (pickman), Kostas Arboris (shoveller), and Takis ??? (barrowman).  Initially, our area of excavation covered approximately 51 square meters, located at 272.8 to 266.2 E and 1014.4 to 1022.6 N.  This area is located north of W19 and its robbing trench (NB228), south of the north wall of Room F (NB228), east of the west wall of Room F (NB228), and west of W22 and its foundation trench (NB228).  This area is divided along an east-west axis by W38 (NB228), and there were large depressions remaining from the 1961 excavations of Bothros 6 (NB228) and Bothros 7 (NB228).  The descriptions of earlier excavations in this area are to be found in notebook 228 and in Nezi north B5001 to B5082.  Prior to the second excavation session, cleaning passes were taken over the entire area (B5002, B5003).  The global objective of our excavations in this area was to determine the phasing and dating of the walls and features revealed during the 1961 excavations, with a view toward the future unification of this area with the new excavations immediately to the south.  We excavated using the open area system as opposed to the trench system in use in the 1961 excavations.  This is the first year for the change in excavation systems.  On the final day of excavation we moved to an area west of the north-south road (cardo at c. 286E), measuring approximately 14.8 square meters, located at 282.3 to 285.8 E and 1017.5 to 1021.9 N.  The following interpretive summary of the stratigraphy revealed to date will describe the strata in chronological sequence, proceeding from Early Roman activity (in the Room north of Room F,W), through Middle Roman strata associated with the demolition and construction of walls (in Room F), through the Late Roman activity connected to occupation, to the Byzantine occupation, and Frankish wall robbing.  Although several coins were recovered in the course of the excavations, we are awaiting analysis due to the large number of coins recovered. ; ; Early Roman; Excavations of the fill in the Room north of Room F,W (NB228) west of the crosswall revealed strata (B5088, B5090, B5091) dating to the 1st century AC that appear to be leveling fill for the room.  This fill was cut by a sequence of two concentric pits, the earlier (B5085, B5087) and the latter (B5079, B5080) both dating to the 3rd to 4th centuries AC.  To the west to fill was cut by the foundation trench (B5060, B5064) of the west wall of Room F (NB228), also dating to the 3rd to 4th centuries AC.  To this point, a foundation trench has not been detected along the northern side of W38 (NB228).; ; Middle Roman (3rd to 4th AC); Based on its elevation and configuration, the clay floor surface revealed by B5129 and B5132 is likely to date to the beginning of the Middle Roman period.  It is cut by two pits of roughly contemporary date.  One is a shallow, oval pit c. 0.75 by 1.0m with a north-south axis (B5134, B5153, B5154, B5155).  Remnants comprising the majority of an amphora were excavated with a layer of ash (B5154) that may have been contained within the vessel.  This fill will be water sieved.  The other pit, roughly oval and measuring c. 0.90 by 1.0m with an east-west axis, was located beside a threshold at the corner of W19 (NB228) and the west wall of Room F (NB228).  The fill (B5135) contained large amounts of ash and charcoal, and the finds recovered from the pit also showed evidence of burning: painted wall plaster, fine glassware, a Niederbieber type 77 amphora, and a one-half life size marble bust.  The marble bust shows much greater exposure to fire on its right side, indicating that it was exposed to a fire rather than being intentionally burned.  The situation of the pit as well as the contents suggest that the deposit was a calculated act intended as a ritual of as yet undetermined significance.  It is possible that the contents of the pit represent goods and decoration from an elite house destroyed in part or in total by fire and subsequently ritually buried beside a threshold in a new residence constructed in the same general location but on a different plan.; The floor surface was also cut by the foundation trench (B5157) of the west wall of Room F (NB228).  This foundation trench may be relatable to the strata excavated from the foundation trench of the west wall of Room F in the room north of Room F, W (B5060, B5064).  As noted above, the Early Roman fill in the room north of Room F, W was cut by a sequence of two concentric pits, the earlier (B5085, B5087) and the latter (B5079, B5080) both dating to the 3rd to 4th centuries AC.  It is probably that the use period of the clay floor surface was associated with the crosswall at c. 269E; it may also be that both features went out of use contemporaneously.; ; Late Roman; A major spatial reorganization of this area occurred in the Late Roman period around the late 4th to early 5th centuries AC.  The crosswall at c. 269E (associated with the clay floor surface) was robbed out and backfilled with fill dating to the early 5th century AC (B5142, B5146, B5148, B5150, B5151, B5152).  Probably at the same time or nearly so the west wall of Room F (NB228) was constructed at c. 266E.  Part of its foundation trench was excavated as B5157 and dated to the 4th century AC; north of W38 (NB228), the west wall of Room F appears to continue northward, and B5060 and B5064 dug in its foundation trench date the wall to the 3rd to 4th century AC.  The combination of these dates with the sequence of the clay floor surface and its covering strata suggests that the west wall of Room F (NB228) dates post 4th century AC, likely in the early 5th century AC at the time the floor appears to have gone out of use and the crosswall was removed.  At c. 271.5E, a foundation trench was dug for W22 (NB228) and completely filled with strata containing very high percentages of medium cobbles and tile fragments (B5098, B5102, B5103, B5120).  After the construction of the two new walls, a leveling fill (B5129, B5131, B5132, B5139) that dated after the 4th century AC was spread over the extent of the area between W22 (NB228) and the west wall of Room F (NB228).  This fill postdates the construction of W22 (NB228), since its lowest layer (B5139) overlies part of the foundation fill of the wall and extends all the way to the wall.  The situation with the west wall of Room F (NB228) is similar with B5129, in that the fill of B5129 extends to the west wall of Room F  (NB228).   ; ; Middle Byzantine (10th to 12th AC); The 1961 excavations removed most strata of the periods after the 6th century AC from the area of our initial excavations with the exception of fill in the bottom of Bothros 7 (NB228 - excavated in B5028, B5029, B5046, and B5047) and to the north and south of Bothros 7 (NB228) along the line of the robbing trench of the crosswall at c. 269E (B5044, B5094, B5128).  It is likely that the construction of Bothros 7 (NB118) resulted in an area of mixed late Roman and middle Byzantine fill (north of the pit: B5027, B5031, B5032, B5034, B5039, B5041, B5042, B5043, B5044 - and south of the pit: B5121, B5128) over and partially cut into fill of the middle Byzantine period (B5033, B5038) as well as into the post 4th century AC leveling fill in Room F (B5129, B5131).  ; The various strata suggest a date of around the 12th century AC for Bothros 7 (NB228).  Although the original strata of Bothros 6 (NB228) were removed by the 1961 excavations, the relationship of the pit to W22 (NB228) would place the pit certainly after the 5th century AC and more probably in the Byzantine period to allow a reasonable period of use for W22 (NB228).  It is clear that the stones of the upper courses of W22 (NB228) were robbed out between the northern limit of Bothros 6 (NB228) and W19 (NB228), but that the less useful fill of the foundation trench was only removed where it interfered with the need for new construction.;  ; Frankish (mid-13th AC); A distinct change to a darker, more compact fill (B5113) at the bottom of the robbing trench of W19 (NB228) may indicate that a stratum undisturbed by the 1961 excavations was preserved.  This fill dated to the mid 13th century AC.  ; In the second area of our excavations west of the north-south road (cardo at c. 286E), a sequence of strata oriented along a southwest to northeast axis date to the Frankish period as well.  These strata are aligned with a buried conduit connecting the castellum at 284E and 1016N to the well at c. 286.5E and 1022.5N.  The removal of these contexts revealed a well-defined fill stretching from the eastern edge of B5162 under the un-cleared erosion accumulation in the ditch c. 286E.  ; ; Modern (post 1961); A sequence of strata (B5116, B5117, B5119, B5127) that dated to the Late Roman period were removed from Bothros 6 (NB228); however, it is our view that these represent eroded accumulation from the strata to the west (B5131, B5139) and east (B5112, B5114) of the pit.  It was apparent that Bothros 6 (NB228) was dug beyond its proper cutting on the eastern side, since no cutting on the expected line of the pit was present but rather a loose fill resting over the stones of W20 (NB228).  In addition, stones from the wall had fallen into the accumulated strata in the pit.  There were a number of levels of eroded accumulation (B5099, B5100, B5101) in the robbing trench of W19 (NB228) that dated to the middle Byzantine and early Modern periods; it is likely that these strata came from the balk immediately to the south left by the 1961 excavations. ; ; Conclusions and Caveats; Excavation in the room north of Room F, W are several centuries and decimeters further than those to the south of W38 (NB228); it will be necessary to excavated the clay floor surface and its associated fill (under B5132) and the strata east of the robbing trench of the crosswall at 269E (under B5139) prior to a return to the strata under B5191.  The phasing of W38 (NB228) and the crosswall at 269E is of high importance to the configuration of the space. ; It would be useful to continue the excavation of the castellum at 284E and 1016N and its associated conduit by cleaning the area of the ditch at c. 286E and around the castellum and them removing the aligned stratum, which may give a construction date for the hydraulic complex.  To date, the majority of the coins associated with our contexts have not been read; it will be necessary to revisit the dating when that evidence becomes available.","","","Nezi Field 2007 by J. Matthew Harrington and Theodora Kopestonsky (2007-05-21 to 2007-06-08)","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Early Roman to Modern periods in the area north of Nezi field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2007 by J. Matthew Harrington and Theodora Kopestonsky (2007-05-21 to 2007-06-08)","Corinth"
"Report","","FINAL REPORT: EXCAVATIONS OF SOUTH STOA, SHOP 2 REAR, SESSION 1 2016; ; Alexandra Daly and Thalia Parr ; Dates of Excavation: April 5 – April 22; Coordinates: N: 1090.40 N, S: 1085.50 N, E: 351.40 E, W: 345.20 E; ; ; INTRODUCTION; ; This is the final report for the excavation of Shop 2 Rear in the first session of the 2016 season.  Shop 2 Rear is a rear shop room in the South Stoa.  It is bounded by four walls built of large, well-worked ashlar blocks—Walls 459 (coordinates to be taken in Session 2), 462 (N: 1086.10 N, S: 1084.80 N, E: 350.90 E, W: 346.70 E), 464 (N: 1091.10 N, S: 1089.10 N, E: 349.40 E, W: 345.05 E), 465 (N: 1094.75 N, S: 1086.00 N, E: 346.00 E, W: 342.10 E)—and by the robbing trench (Cut 428, N: 1086.70 N, S: 1078.65 N, E: 349.60 E, W: 332.65 E) that spoliated most of the south wall of the stoa.  Shops 1, 3, and 4 were excavated by two other teams at the same time as our excavation of Shop 2 Rear.  Excavation began on April 5th and continued until April 22nd.  Guy Sanders (director) and Danielle Smotherman (field director) supervised.  Our team consisted of Alexandra Daly and Thalia Parr (area supervisors), Thanasis Notis (foreman and pickman), Kostas Arberores (pickman), Vassilis Kollias (barrowman), and Panagiotis Rontzokos (shovelman).; ; Shop 2 Rear was first excavated in 1934 by Oscar Broneer.  In addition to exposing the walls, he excavated the north and west foundation trenches (Cuts 349, 352), as recorded in NB 139 and shown in Broneer 1954 Corinth 1.4 Pl. 6.2 and 7.1.  Modern material throughout the fills of these foundation trenches (Contexts 345, 348) demonstrates that Broneer backfilled them after excavation.  Broneer later excavated the robbing trench (Cut 428) and in doing so widened it and cut into his own backfill of Shop 2 Rear.  We have found no indication in his notebooks and publications that Broneer excavated the east or south foundation trenches, and we believe that their fills have remained undisturbed since the construction of the room, because they yielded only ancient material and were overlaid by ancient contexts.  In the southeast corner of the room Broneer left a Late Roman or Byzantine wall (Wall 288), which was laid over earlier contexts.  ; ; The goals of this session were to remove Broneer’s backfill, to find evidence for the date of the construction of the South Stoa, to investigate layers predating the stoa, and to prepare the stoa for presentation to the public.  ; ; ; PREHISTORIC; ; The earliest layers in our area are a series of deposits containing a mixture of prehistoric pottery, mainly Early Helladic and Late Neolithic, including a ritual vessel leg (C-2016-6 in Context 445), with some Middle Neolithic.  These layers also contained two Cycladic frying pan base fragments (in Contexts 420, 442), some non-local chert, much obsidian, and several pieces of andesite (including a grinder in Context 476), all of which suggest trade or migration.  There were also several stone tools in these layers, including a burnisher MF-2016-7 in Context 415, and an Early Helladic spindle whorl (MF-2016-11 in Context 452).  The current understanding is that most of these layers are colluvium filling a sharp drop in the bedrock, which is represented by Cut 502 and may be an erosion gully.  The amount of pottery in all these colluvial layers, and of bone in Contexts 476 and 477 (the latter containing a cow or bull horn), suggests that they may have washed down from a nearby settlement.; ; Between these colluvial layers, four separate phases of human activity are represented by three thin compacted surfaces (Contexts 388, 442, 500) with prehistoric cultural material trampled into them and by two pits (Cuts 419, 422).  If the majority of the other prehistoric layers are in fact colluvium, then these surfaces would have been formed by brief and probably intensive activity during dry periods, when prehistoric people could have made use of and traversed the area.  ; ; The earliest phase of human activity is represented by a surface (Context 500, preserved in a 2.8m x 1.8m area) dating to EH II and containing much ash, which was probably used as a hardening agent.  An exceptionally high number of snails was present throughout the surface, and one part contained a concentration of carbon.  Context 500, then, appears to have been a surface intentionally created through the use of ash, perhaps for cooking, as evidenced by the snails and carbon.  An anthropogenic (rather than natural) deposition of the snails is supported by the presence of many more snails in an unexcavated bothros immediately below Context 500.; ; After this surface (Context 500) had fallen out of use, several layers of colluvium accumulated above it, forming overlapping ledges of soil within the erosion gully (Cut 502).  During excavation, these ledges appeared to be anthropogenic and were recorded as cuts (Cuts 453, 475, 483), but they are now considered to be the result of water action.; ; Another earthen surface containing a high concentration of bone was formed during EH II (Context 442, preserved in a 1.9m x 1.55m area).  Because this surface lacked evidence for the intentional preparation seen in the earlier floor (the ash in Context 500), we believe it may have been created circumstantially by a single event, such as a feast, which could have generated the bone trampled into it.  A bothros cut into this surface and filled with bone (Cut 430/Context 429) may support this interpretation.  The Neolithic sherds in the fill of this cut would then be the result of backfilling the pit with soil containing Neolithic sherds.; ; Above the earthen surface with bone (Context 442), more colluvium accumulated (Contexts 415, 420, 425) until the end of EH II and into EH III (as indicated by the inclusion of a fine-incised body sherd in Context 425).  Two of these deposits (Contexts 415, 420) filled two pits (Cuts 419, 422) that are the only evidence for human activity during this phase.  Along with Cut 430, these pits run along the southwest corner of the area in a line from east to west, each cutting the one that came before it.  The alignment of these three cuts suggests chronological proximity, but the function of Cuts 419 and 422 seems to have been different from that of Cut 430.  While Cut 430 appears to have been intentionally filled with waste, Cuts 419 and 422 appear to have been filled with colluvium, and thus were standing open.  If so, they may have been storage pits.; ; Above all of this lay more colluvium (Contexts 392, 393, 397, 400, 404, and 413), above which a third surface (Context 388, preserved in a 3.2m x 2.45m area) represents the fourth and final phase of prehistoric human activity, also during EH III.  A chert scraper and two whetstones trampled into this surface, as well as a chert awl just below it in a layer of colluvium (Context 393), suggest that it may have served as a working area.; ; ; HELLENISTIC; ; The only possible testament to Hellenistic activity in the area before the construction of Shop 2 Rear is a pit (Cut 386/Context 384) that contains Hellenistic pottery.  This cut was made before construction of the room began as it was covered by a deposit cut by the south foundation trench (Context 365) and was likely unrelated to the construction because it was not oriented with the room.; ; The earliest layers that may be associated with the construction of the South Stoa are Hellenistic deposits of fill (Contexts 359, 365, 368, and 370), which together covered most of the southeastern half of Shop 2 Rear.  Given the quantity of prehistoric pottery mixed with the Hellenistic (including a fine incised EH III handle fragment C-2016-3 and body sherd C-2016-4 in Context 365), we believe that the builders of the South Stoa excavated this soil from foundation trenches elsewhere and dumped it into the area that later became Shop 2 Rear.  This sequence of events is supported by the fact that all of these layers were cut by the south and east foundation trenches of Shop 2 Rear (Cuts 322, 325).  The area of Shop 2 Rear may have been chosen because the erosion gully had created a natural depression suitable for dumping.  The fill belonging to the pre-construction pit discussed above (Context 384) had a diffuse boundary with one of the Hellenistic deposits of fill (Context 365) and so may have been part of this dumping process.  ; ; The construction of Shop 2 Rear is dated broadly to the Hellenistic period by the fill of the south foundation trench (Cut 325/Contexts 328, 339, 498) and more narrowly to the first quarter of the third century BC by the fill of the east foundation trench (Cuts 322, 496/Contexts 321, 372, 431, 491, 499).  Given the mixture in these fills of Hellenistic pottery with much earlier material, including an Early Helladic spindle whorl (MF-2016-20 in Context 499), the backfill of the east and south foundation trenches, like the Hellenistic deposits cut by the foundation trenches, is most likely the result of digging by the builders of the stoa.  ; ; The south foundation trench must have been constructed before the east, as it was cut by the lowest portion of the east foundation trench (Cut 496, 1.7m x 0.6m).  This lowest portion was an undercutting of the east foundation trench that made it significantly wider than the portion of the trench above, and it may have been meant to accommodate the wider blocks in the southern portion of the fifth course down of the east wall (Wall 459).  Regardless, the stratigraphy of the foundation trenches makes it clear that the south wall was constructed before the east.  The east wall abuts and so must postdate the north wall (Wall 464).  It seems, then, that the north and south (Wall 462) walls were constructed first, followed by the east and west (Wall 465) walls.  This is the most logical order in which to construct the walls of a stoa: first the walls that constitute its length, then those dividing individual rooms.; ; There is some evidence for the use of Shop 2 Rear after its construction.  A small rocky deposit of fill (Context 324) was laid over the fill of the south foundation trench and therefore provides a terminus ante quem for the construction of Room 2 Rear in the second half of the third century BC.  Given its quantity of prehistoric sherds, it was likely not use accumulation but a leveling fill, perhaps needed after the fill of the south foundation trench had sunken as it settled over time.  A shallow circular pit (Cut 319) in a reddish patch of fill (Context 359) in the northeast of the room is more likely to post- rather than pre-date the construction of Shop 2 Rear, as it respected the boundary of the east wall. It may have been a pithos stand.  Its mixture of prehistoric and third century BC pottery suggests that the fill of this pit (Cut 319/Context 318) was backfill after the pit had fallen out of use.; ; ; LATE ROMAN; ; The next phase of activity for which we have evidence in the area of Shop 2 Rear dates to the second quarter of the fifth century AD or later.  A Roman lamp rim in a deposit of fill along the east wall of the room (L-2016-2 in Context 315) provides this date as a terminus post quem for all the other contexts discussed in this section.  ; ; It is clear that some of the Late Roman activity took place while Shop 2 Rear was still in use as a room, because several layers of fill (Contexts 315, 309, 296, Cut 307/Context 319) from this period respect the east and south walls.  Two layers (Contexts 309, 315) covering the foundation trenches contained material over a large chronological range and may have been deposited as leveling fill after the original construction of the room.  After the deposition of these layers, a large pit (Cut 307), which given its depth may have served as a storage pit, was cut into them.  After this pit had fallen out of use, it was filled with soil containing material ranging in date from prehistoric to the third century BC, including two fourth century BC loomweights (MF-2016-1, MF-2016-2 in Context 304), three lead weights (MF-2016-3, MF-2016-4, MF-2016-5 in Context 306), and an iron ring (MF-2016-6 in Context 308). Next, another deposit (Context 296) seems to have served the same purpose as the previous leveling fills (Contexts 315, 309), this time to level off the filling of the storage pit (Cut 307).  The Middle Roman pottery and large amount of carbon in this leveling fill (Context 296) suggest that its soil derives from a destruction layer, perhaps from Alaric’s destruction of Corinth in 396 A.D, which would match the date provided by its pottery.  ; ; Late Roman activity in this area appears to have continued after Shop 2 Rear had fallen out of use, since Wall 288 (N: 1087.70 N, S: 1085.10 N, E: 351.40 E, W: 349.60 E; 1.50m x 2.2m x .71m) and the layers of fill deposited under it (Context 294, which contained the lead weight MF-2016-8, Contexts 291, 290) were laid on top of the south and east walls of the room.  The layers of fill are interpreted as leveling fill for the foundation of the Wall 288, which consisted of rubble and spolia.  One of the spoliated materials was a threshold block with a possibly Byzantine cutting.  This threshold block and the rubble served as the foundation for a spoliated stele base, with part of the stele foot embedded within it, which may be a member of the now lost superstructure of Wall 288. ; ; ; EARLY MODERN; ; We believe that most early modern activity in Shop 2 Rear was related to Broneer’s excavation.  His excavation of the north and west foundation trenches (Cuts 349, 352) has already been discussed above.  Most likely, another part of his activity in this area is a small patch of soil near the north foundation trench, which contained modern material (aluminum and glass, Context 351).  Over most of the interior of the room, Broneer deposited several layers containing modern material (Contexts 354, 313, including a belt buckle MF-2016-18, and 314) as well as a layer of a fine soil with very little material (Context 317).  Panos Kakouros suggested that the fine, material-poor deposit may have been soil that Broneer had sieved (Context 317).  All four of these contexts must have been deposited by Broneer, since they were cut by the robbing trench (Cut 428), which he excavated after Shop 2 Rear.  A thin layer of soil under Structure 311 (Context 312) seems to have accumulated after Broneer’s excavation.  Structure 311 consisted of three toppled column drums, roughly in a line extending from the northeast corner of the room (N: 1090.30 N, S: 1088.80 N, E: 349.00 E, W: 348.20 E).  This structure does not appear in any of Broneer’s photographs of Shop 2 Rear during excavation, so it must have been placed there after his excavation of the room.  ; ; ; CONCLUSION; ; This excavation of Shop 2 Rear successfully removed Broneer’s backfill and clarified the extent of his activity in the room.  After exposing the walls, Broneer appears to have focused on the north and west foundation trenches, neglecting the interior as well as the east and south foundation trenches.  Our dating of the fill of the east foundation trench supports the down-dating of the construction of the South Stoa from the widely accepted date of 338-323 B.C. to the third century B.C. by Sanders, Miura, and Kvapil (2014) and James (forthcoming).  ; The most unexpected and exciting discovery of this excavation is the long series of undisturbed Early Helladic layers beneath Shop 2 Rear.  This area seems to have been used sporadically during EH II and EH III for short-term, intensive activities such as food preparation.   The accumulation of colluvium indicates that water action would periodically have made the space unusable.  The great amount of cultural material within the layers of colluvium suggests that a settlement might have been located nearby.  An analysis of water action in the surrounding area may indicate the source of this material.; ; ; FUTURE GOALS; ; •    Excavate the redeposited bedrock in the northwestern half of Shop 2 Rear to find any other evidence of ancient activity and to clarify the relationship between Broneer’s activity and this deposit.; •    Continue excavation of the foundation trenches to find the bottom of the foundations and any further dating evidence for the construction of the South Stoa.; •    Through further excavation and Panagiotis Karkanas’ analysis of the microstratigraphy, clarify the formation and nature of the prehistoric layers (anthropogenic and natural) in the southeast portion of Shop 2 Rear.; •    Process the soil samples taken from various parts of the trench.  For the later deposits, we hope that this will clarify whether the carbon present in the soil is the result of cooking, destruction, or some other process.  For the prehistoric deposits, we hope that this will shed light on aspects of diet and animal use in the Early Helladic period at Corinth.; ; ; Coins; ; 2016-5, 2016-7, 2016-8, 2016-9, 2016-11, 2016-12, 2016-13, 2016-14, 2016-15, 2016-16, 2016-17, 2016-18, 2016-19, 2016-22; ; ; Inventoried objects; ; C-2016-3, C-2016-4, C-2016-6; L-2016-2; MF-2016-1, MF-2016-2, MF-2016-3, MF-2016-4, MF-2016-5, MF-2016-6, MF-2016-7, MF-2016-8, MF-2016-11, MF-2016-18, MF-2016-20","","","South Stoa 2016 by Alexandra Daly & Thalia Parr (2016-04-05 to 2016-04-22)","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Forum | South Stoa","","EXCAVATIONS OF SOUTH STOA, SHOP 2 REAR","","Corinth:Report:South Stoa 2016 by Alexandra Daly amp Thalia Parr (2016-04-05 to 2016-04-22)","Corinth"
"Report","","An Jiang, Catharine Judson; 2016 Corinth Session I; South Stoa Excavation, Shop 1 Rear ; Coordinates: N: 1092.3, S: 1084.7, E: 355.9, W: 349.6     ; Excavation Dates: April 5-21, 2016; ; Introduction; This is the final report of the first session of the Corinth excavation for 2016 in Shop 1 Rear in the South Stoa. Guy Sanders (director), James Herbst (architect) and Danielle Smotherman (field director) supervised. An Jiang and Catharine Judson (area supervisors) recorded. The workmen were Panos Kakouros (pickman) and Marios Vathis (shovelman and sieve), Vassiles Kollias and Giannes Oikonomopoulos (wheelbarrow). Photogrammetry has been carried out for every context of the room since April 11, 2016. ; ; In Shop 1 Rear, the area of excavation was bounded by the four walls of the room: Wall 457 to the east (N 1106.511; S 1086.5; E 356.4; W 348.667), Wall 458 to the south (Greek phase; N 1086.379; S 1084.15; E 355.829; W 351.808), Wall 459 to the west (to be measured in Session II), and Wall 461 (N 1092.747; S 1090.634; E 353.638; W 349.193) to the north. The coordinates of the interior space of the room are: NE corner E: 353.85, N: 1092.3; NW corner, E: 349.6, N: 1090.8; SW corner, E: 351.8, N: 1084.7; SE corner, E: 355.9, N: 1086.5. ; ; The goals of the excavation in this room are to determine the chronology of the activities in the room during the use of the Stoa (where these levels are preserved); to investigate the pre-Stoa activities in this area; and to prepare the area for consolidation, conservation, and presentation to the public. The dates during which we excavated are: April 5-21, 2016.; ; Shop 1 Rear was previously excavated by Oscar Broneer in the 1930s and 1940s. The bulk of excavation was carried out in March of 1934 (Corinth NB 139). Broneer began by removing “fill and rough masonry” across the entire area. On March 3, he records removing rubble foundations (c.70 cm thick) from this specific room. These walls may have been Byzantine in date, based on vague references to the general area in the notebook during this part of March. On March 20, Broneer excavated a trench along the entire length of the west wall between crosswalls Wall 371 to the south and Wall 461 to the north. This trench is identified both by the old excavation photos (Corinth 1.IV, pls.6.2, 7.1 and 27) and by the modern material we found in the fills along the western wall (Contexts 298 and 310). In this area, Broneer reports finding “little except some Early Helladic and Neolithic potsherds and a few Greek sherds” (p.116). On March 21, he reports that the fill close to the west wall goes deep below floor level, and that this produced primarily Early Helladic and Neolithic pottery. This may refer to the very deep sounding that we excavated as Cut 301/Context 298. Broneer also excavated in the SE corner of the room on March 21, and along the east wall on March 22, reporting Neolithic fill, Neolithic and Classical sherds, and several coins (late Classical/Hellenistic [Corinth P/T?], 1 coin of Demetrios Poliorketes, 1 coin of Manuel I). The coin of Manuel I came from the level of the toichobate (NB 139, p.122), and possibly indicates the level of Byzantine occupation in this area that was cleared away by Broneer. The trench dug along the eastern and southern walls was probably an excavation of the foundation trenches. Broneer revisited this area in 1946, but appears to have done little but cleaning in this room, based on his description of work in the notebook (Corinth NB194).; ; Prehistoric; Late Neolithic and Early Helladic pottery is present in contexts across the center and southern part of the room, typically mixed with later (generally Hellenistic) pottery. There is an especially high concentration of prehistoric pottery found in layered fills in the central area of the room (especially contexts 424, 438, and 436). The presence of this pottery and associated finds (e.g. obsidian and chert blades, EH spindle whorl [MF-2016-17]) indicates the presence of prehistoric activity in this area of the site. This is also confirmed by the presence of prehistoric levels in the space of Shop 2 Rear immediately to the east. None of the contents of these deposits are in their primary (prehistoric) context, however: all deposits with prehistoric pottery also contain later material and are indicative of later activities in the area rather than prehistoric ones. The mostly likely scenario is that, during the construction of the Stoa, foundation trenches were dug into prehistoric levels and the resulting soil was immediately redeposited as a fill level in the room’s interior with little time for Hellenistic ceramic contamination (especially Contexts 424, 436, and 438). Other contexts (e.g. Context 411) also contain prehistoric material but in lower concentrations, and are more likely the result of later filling and leveling operations within the space after the initial construction of the Stoa walls and the fill event represented by the almost pure prehistoric contexts.; ; Based on the appearance of the section in the scarp of Cut 301 compared to contexts in Shop 2 Rear, and the depth that Broneer dug to against Wall 459, it is likely that Broneer (like the builders of the Stoa) cut into prehistoric activity levels. The Neolithic and Early Helladic pottery that he mentions in both the western part of the room and in the southeast corner probably represent the spread of prehistoric activity levels across the space as well as the redeposition caused by Hellenistic construction. A matte-painted terracotta figurine in the museum comes from his excavations along the east wall (MF 13360). ; ; The pottery demonstrates that prehistoric occupation of the area ran from at least Late Neolithic through Early Helladic II. LN matte-painted and grey burnished ware, and EH red and black slipped wares are the most representative pottery types for the deposits in question. Characteristic shapes include LN fruitstands (cf. C-2016-8, C-2016-10), a LN ritual vessel (C-2016-11), a LN shoulder bowl (C-2016-9), EH bowls with incurved rims, and EH sauceboats. ; ; Classical; There are some traces of Classical activities in the room. Two deposits of fill (Contexts 456 and 478), located in the southern area of the room, date to the 4th and 5th centuries BC respectively, based on pottery. It is currently unclear what sort of activity these deposits represent, as there are no preserved surfaces dating to this period in this part of the room. One whole vessel containing traces of blue pigment was excavated in Context 456 (C-2016-5), but was resting on stones within a fill level rather than on a surface.; ; The exact type of activity in the Classical period in this room is difficult to establish, because we currently have too few excavated contexts that can be securely associated with this period. Context 478 and the associated Cut 497 may indicate the location of any stratified Classical activity in the area of the room, but the pottery from 478 is heavily prehistoric and likely represents redeposited prehistoric fill. Broneer probably also excavated part of this same deposit next to the Wall 457, as he mentions a mixture of Neolithic and Classical pottery from this specific area. His trench cuts through the deposit and exposes it in cross-section. ; ; Based on the quantities of Classical pottery present in other excavated contexts across the room, this period does not appear to form a major phase of occupation in this area. ;  ; Hellenistic; Pre-Stoa phases of activity in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries are most likely represented by a possible floor (or at least well-consolidated surface), removed as Context 449. This context dates to the 4th century BC. Its connection with the 4th century fill Context 456 in the southern part of the room is unknown, as the two deposits are spatially separated and different in appearance and formation. Two pits were dug into Context 449, and probably were meant to hold pithoi (Cuts 389 and 382). These pits were dug into the top of the surface, and therefore are likely contemporary with this 4th century surface.  ; ; The construction of the Stoa, currently dated to c.280 BC by Sarah James' 2015 excavations, is marked in the interior of the room by the redeposition of fills (Contexts 424, 436, and 438) in the center of the room (discussed above in the Prehistoric section). Their redeposition in the large cut through the consolidated surface (Context 449) suggests that this surface was highly disturbed during/by this construction project. The remainder of this surface and the pits cut into it in the northern part of the newly formed room were not covered over as part of the Stoa construction, however, and may have remained in use for some time. The pithoi in pits 389 and 382 may have been removed in conjunction with the Stoa construction. Pit 407 was also dug into the surface (Context 449) during the first half of the 3rd century BC and may mark the point at which it went out of use as a surface. Additional leveling fills were added across the southern part of the room sometime in the 3rd century BC (Contexts 411 and 398). Context 398 sealed the contents of Pit 407 (Context 403) and therefore indicates that there were multiple phases of leveling and remodeling within the room, most likely associated with the construction of the Stoa. ; ; Shortly after the construction of the Stoa, Wall 371 (L 2.5 m, W 0.50 m; N 1087.0, S 1085.8, E 353.7, W 351.3) was constructed in order to subdivide the interior space of the room. This wall was constructed in two successive, but closely dated, phases, sometime in the later 3rd century BC (post-275 BC, Context 374). This represents a restructuring of the use of the space. Probably linked with this is the gradual infilling of the two pits next to the northern wall, which had been left open after the construction of the Stoa and the probable removal of their pithoi. Context 383 (the western pit) was filled in by the late 3rd century BC, and Context 376 was filled in by the early 2nd century BC, based on the pottery (Context 376 is dated primarily on the basis of C-2016-7, a bowl with outturned rim). The coins from both pits corroborate but do not narrow this dating, as they provide a terminus post quem of the mid- to late-3rd century BC for both contexts (Context 383: 2016-78 [Ptolemy II, 285-246 BC], Coin 2016-85 [Argos, 352-228 BC], Coin 2016-86 [Argos, 352-228 BC]; Context 376: Coin 2016-63 [Argos 350-228 BC], 2016-64 [Demetrios Poliorketes, 306-283 BC], 2016-67 [Corinth P/T Group VIII, 287-252 BC]). In addition to large numbers of coins, the pits contain high concentrations of pottery and other small finds, including metal fragments (MF-2016-19: bronze handle), lamp fragments, roof tiles, ostrich egg shell (cf. MF 3957, ostrich egg shell from Broneer’s excavations against east wall), bronze rings, and pebble cement fragments. These two pits were covered and closed with a layer of fill covering the NE corner (Contexts 367, 390). The pottery from this fill event provides a terminus post quem date of the late 3rd century BC, but the fill layer was likely laid down sometime in the early 2nd century BC, based on the contents of Context 376. This fill also contains a high concentration of coins, including a Classical coin from Cleonai (2016-50, 471-421 BC), a late Classical/Hellenistic coin from Argos (2016-56, 400-200 BC), and several Corinthian P/T Type VII coins (2016-88, 2016-89, 2016-90, 2016-92: 303-287 BC). ; ; Roman; There is limited evidence for the Early Roman modification of the Stoa in this space. Pit 361 and its associated fill 364 date to the 1st century BC and are sealed by Context 360, dating to the Late Hellenistic or Early Roman period. This pit likely represents a change in function of the space, and is the first dateable act of deposition after the early 2nd century BC that we can reconstruct in the room. A thin deposit of fill (Context 346) also dates to the Early Roman period, and lies across the entire area of the room. This represents a further modification of the space after the closing of Pit 361. The date of this context is based on the pottery, but this deposit also contains 16 coins mainly dated to the earlier Hellenistic period (2016-44 [Thasos, 300-200 BC], 2016-33 [Demetrios Poliorketes, 306-283], 2016-38 [Antigonos Gonatas, 277-239 BC], 2016-36 [Lokris, 338-300 BC], several Corinthian P/T). There is one much later coin in this context, however (Coin 2016-39, Late Roman minimus), which may either pull down the date of the context dramatically or be later contamination. This level is the latest stratified deposit across the majority of the room.; ; Middle Roman activity in the room is only represented by Cut 334 and associated fills (especially Contexts 332 and 337) in the NE corner. This may be a rubbish pit associated with some construction event in the area, as many of the small finds in these contexts are broken building materials (tiles, marble revetment, cement, plastered blocks, wall plaster fragments, pebble cement flooring). The squared shape of the cutting may indicate that this originally had some other function than for trash dumping, however. ; ; We speculate that the later Roman use levels of the room were removed in the post-Roman period (Broneer mentions Byzantine walls in this area) or during early excavations without any comment in the notebook, and all that remained were traces of various filling operations from Roman construction.; ; Modern; The latest activity in the interior of the room is modern backfilling and trampled fills. Cuts 301 and 316, and Contexts 287, 297, 298, and 310 represent Broneer’s activities, including both excavation and backfilling. The bottom of this modern excavation and backfilling has not been clearly identified in the area of Context 298, since we stopped digging along the west wall after the first week of the session. One of Broneer’s goals in this area was presumably to expose the entire eastern profile of Wall 459 in the area of Context 298. This deposit exposed four courses of the wall, with at least one more likely still buried, as known from the excavations in Shop 2 Rear. In addition, the construction of the stone patch (Context 326) in the NE corner of the room also probably belongs to this period because of the modern material found in it. All excavation in the area took place in the 1930s and 1940s. The terminus post quem for the backfilling of the western soundings in the room is provided by coin 2016-6, a 1954 drachma. In all areas of modern excavation, a number of modern glass, metal and plastic objects were found, including a complete modern medicinal bottle (MF-2016-16).; ; Conclusion; The excavation activities of this session have raised more questions about ancient activities in the room than they have answered. The primary problem that is raised by the types of contexts in Shop 1 Rear so far excavated is that there are no clearly identified floor levels, and therefore no clear idea of activities within the room during different use phases. Most of the deposits represent fill events rather than occupation phases. Various construction phases also severely disrupted earlier levels and therefore caused a high degree of fragmentation of deposits within the space of the room. Nonetheless, we are able to link at least some of the contexts with the construction of the Stoa and therefore can mark chronological points of change to the space (pre-Stoa, Stoa construction, mid- to-late 3rd century restructuring, Early Roman, Middle Roman), even if their function is not always clear. ; ; Future goals; 1. To determine the spatial boundaries and nature of prehistoric occupation in this space, and how it relates to similar deposits in Shop 2 Rear.; 2. To investigate the type of activities in the room in the Classical period (occupation, redeposited fill, etc.).; 3. To determine the date of the construction of the Stoa walls and how this construction relates stratigraphically to other phases of occupation (e.g. relationship with prehistoric levels, Classical levels, Roman levels).; ; ; Appendix; List of Inventoried Objects:; C-2016-2 Corinthian A Stamped Amphora Handle (context 346); C-2016-5 [pottery with blue pigment] (official name TBD) (context 456); C-2016-7 Bowl with Outturned Rim (context 376); C-2016-8 Late Neolithic Fruitstand (context 411); C-2016-9 Late Neolithic Shoulder Bowl (context 478); C-2016-10 Late Neolithic Fruitstand (context 411); C-2016-11 Late Neolithic Vessel: Leg (context 411); MF-2016-9 Bronze and Iron Boss (context 390); MF-2016-12 Bronze Stylus (context 360); MF-2016-14 Conical Loomweight Type X (context 411); MF-2016-15 Conical Loomweight Type IX-X (context 367); MF-2016-16 Modern Glass Medicinal Bottle (context 287); MF-2016-17 Early Helladic Spindle Whorl (context 424); MF-2016-19 Bronze Vessel: Handle (context 383); ; List of Coins (64 in total):; 2016-2 (context 284) Byzantine (Manuel I?); 2016-6 (context 287) Modern 1954; 2016-21 (context 298) Possibly Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-23 (context 320) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-24 (context 320) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-25 (context 330) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-26 (context 330) Antigonos Gonatas (277-239 B.C.); 2016-27 (context 337) (not a coin); 2016-28 (context 337) Greek, illegible; 2016-29 (context 337) Argos (c.350-228 B.C.); 2016-30 (context 337) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-31 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-32 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-33 (context 346) Demetrius Poliorketes (306-283 B.C.); 2016-34 (context 346) Epidauros; 2016-35 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-36 (context 346) Lokris (c.338-300 B.C.); 2016-37 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-38 (context 346) Antigonos Gonatas (277-239 B.C.); 2016-39 (context 346) Roman minimus (5th – 6th A.D.); 2016-40 (context 346) Greek, illegible; 2016-41 (context 346) Greek (Macedonian king?); 2016-42 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-44 (context 346) Thasos (c.300-200 B.C.); 2016-45 (context 346) Greek, illegible; 2016-46 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-47 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-48 (context 364) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-49 (context 364) Greek, illegible; 2016-50 (context 367) Cleonai (c.371-321 B.C.); 2016-51 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-52 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-53 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-54 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-56 (context 367) Argos (c.400-200 B.C.); 2016-57 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-63 (context 376) Argos (c.350-228 B.C.); 2016-64 (context 376) Demetrius Poliorketes (306-283 B.C.); 2016-65 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-66 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-67 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VIII (c.287-252 B.C.); 2016-68 (context 376) (not a coin); 2016-70 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-71 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-72 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-74 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-78 (context 383) Ptolemy II Euergetes (285-246 B.C.) golden coin; 2016-79 (context 383) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-80 (context 383) (not a coin); 2016-81 (context 383) Megara (c.307-293 B.C.); 2016-82 (context 383) Greek, illegible; 2016-83 (context 383) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-84 (context 383) Greek, unclear; 2016-85 (context 383) Argos (c.352-228 B.C.); 2016-86 (context 383) Argos (c.352-228 B.C.); 2016-87 (context 383) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-88 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-89 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-90 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-91 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-92 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-93 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-98 (context 398) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-118 (context 449) illegible; ; List of Contexts (51 in total):; 284 Cleaning of dark soil near west wall; 287 Removal of pebbly matrix in western half of room; 297 Dark soil SE corner of cut exposed by 284; 298 Dark soil next to west wall of room; 301 Cut of 298 into 310; 310 Red Soil in NW + SW corners of room; 316 Cut filled by 310; 320 Clay across northern center of room; 326 Patch of stones in NE corner of room; 330 Dark stony soil in NE corner; 332 Red stony soil in NE corner; 333 Cut filled by 330; 334 Cut filled by 332; 337 Cobbles filling cut 334 under deposits 330 + 332; 342 Fill cut into clay surface in room center; 344 Cut filled by 342; 346 Clayey layer in center of room; 360 Clay patch next to southern crosswall; 361 Cut filled by 360 + 364; 364 Fill of cut 361 below deposit 360; 367 Clay patch next to N wall; 371 Late crosswall in S of room—top course; 374 Foundation course of structure 371; 376 Fill of pit abutting N wall; 382 Cut filled by 376; 383 Pit abutting N wall; 389 Cut filled by 383; 390 Clayey patch between Broneer and square cutting in east of room; 394 Soil under western block of wall 371; 396 Small pebbly patch next to N wall; 398 Pebbly matrix in S of room center; 403 Small bothros; 407 Cut filled by 403; 411 Pebbly layer S center of room; 421 Cut filled by 396; 424 Pebbly matrix in center of room; 427 Patch of wash on E Broneer scarp; 436 Small clay patch; 438 Cobbly layer in center of room; 449 Clay deposit in N center of room; 456 Clayey deposit in S of room; 457 N-S wall/ E wall of Shop 1 (Greek); 458 E-W wall/ S wall of Shop 1 (Greek); 460 E-W wall/ N wall of Shop 1 front; 461 E-W wall/ N wall of Shop 1 Rear; 468 N-S wall / E wall of Shop 1 (Roman); 469 E-W wall/ S wall of Shop 1 Rear (Roman); 478 Layer of black soil below 456; 493 Cut filled to S by 411, 424, 438; 494 Cut filled to N by 424, 438; 497 Cut filled by 478","","","South Stoa east 2016 by An Jiang and Catharine Judson (2016-04-05 to 2016-04-21)","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Forum | South Stoa east","","South Stoa Shop I Rear","","Corinth:Report:South Stoa east 2016 by An Jiang and Catharine Judson (2016-04-05 to 2016-04-21)","Corinth"
"Report","","Katherine Harrington, Jana Mokrišová; Team Blue, Session 1; Nezi Field Excavations; N: 1017.20 N, S: 1006.90 N, E: 263.50 E, W: 255.50 E; 1-25 April, 2013; ; This is the final summary of the first session of excavation in 2013 in the northwest area of Nezi field. Guy Sanders (director) and Rossana Valente (field director) supervised. The blue excavation team consisted of Katherine Harrington and Jana Mokrišová (recorders), Athanasios Notis (foreman and pickman), Athanasios Sakellariou (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (barrowman), and Panayiotis Rontzokos (shovelman). ;     ; The excavation area was initially bounded by the Giambouranis House (also referred to as the Turkish house; NB 252, NB 262, 1015.90N) to the north, Wall 540 (264.20 E) to the east, Wall 366 (1006.90 N) to the south and the baulk of Nezi field (255.50 E) to the west. However, the northern boundary was extended in course of the excavation by the discovery of N-S drain to the northernmost point of the drain (1017.20 N), and after the removal of the wall 540 the eastern boundary was moved to 263.50 E.; ; The goal of this session was to remove final traces of Byzantine occupation in the excavation area and to further explore the Late Antique levels with the hopes of better understanding the Late Roman/ Late Antique occupational activities in the area. In addition, we also re-examined the sequence of Middle and Late Byzantine walls in the area. ; ; Late Antique (5th-7th century CE); ; We reached the Late Antique levels in most of the excavation area, except possibly any remaining fill in Cut 1040 (N-S 1016.46-1014.59, E-W 259.47-258.59), a robbing trench running N-S next to the eastern wall of the Turkish house, which may continue deeper. Additionally, we believe that there might be an extension of this robbing trench on the south side of Cut 870 in an area that was not investigated during this session (under Context 927). ; ; An ovoid hearth, with a schist and tile bottom, was revealed in the southeastern part of the excavation area (N-S 1012.49-1011.56, E-W 262.46-261.57), but was subsequently excavated by Mohammed Bhatti and Daniel Diffendale. The fill within the hearth contained a single illegible coin (no. 2013-144), a possible minimus dated to the 5th-6th century CE, and Late Roman coarse wares. ; ; The most significant Late Roman activity in the excavation area is the series of tile destruction fills dumped in the western side of the excavation area (immediately west of Cut 870). The earliest and the largest fill, Deposit 1080 (N-S 1015.83-1011.22, E-W 258.48-255.73), yielded a large amount of broken tile, charcoal, as well as over 200 kg of pottery and a significant amount of glass, metal, and animal bone. This is clearly a dump consisting of a large amount of cooking wares, storage vessels (e.g. amphorae), as well as glass tableware, which seems to be an assemblage of a wealthy household or households. Special objects include three bone plaques with incised concentric circles, possibly belonging to a single wooden box (MF-2013-6a-c), an iron buckle (MF-2013-4), a bronze tack (MF-2013-5), and several rare forms of African Red Slip Ware (C-2013-3, C-2013-4). Most of the 56 coins found in this layer were illegible. Some coins, however, provide a useful terminus post quem for the dating of this layer. One such coin, 2013-128, might date to after the 491 CE reform of Anastasius due to the possible presence of denomination mark. Similarly, Coin 2013-139 may also bear a denomination mark. However, the identification of these coins is tentative due to their poor preservation and will need to be verified by Orestes Zevros.  Several other 5th century CE coins (nos. 2013-91, 2013-96, 2013-113) and an interesting possibly counterfeit coin of “barbaric style” dating to 383-402 CE (no. 2013-123) were also found in the context. Ceramic evidence was more useful in dating this context. Most of the pottery from dates to late 5th century CE. However, the context has very few early 5th century sherds, and the lamps and African Red Slip forms present in the context suggest a slightly later date of 500-525 CE. ; ; Above the tile fill in the southern part of this area, two parallel curvilinear walls (S1068 and S1069), 0.45 m apart, rested on a deposit containing much dissolved mudbrick (Context 1073; N-S 1013.60-1011.79, E-W 257.53-255.71). The inner Wall 1068 was made of two courses of limestone cobbles (with the second course represented by only one stone) and a reused marble fragment (A-2013-1), while the outer Wall 1069 had only one preserved course. One section of both walls was covered with a localized concentration of mudbrick, clay, and stone (Context 1047). We originally identified this concentration as a structure, but later we concluded that it was probably a dump of building material or a dense filling between the two walls. The walls run into the western scarp, and unfortunately not enough was preserved to determine their function.   ; ; Above the northern side of the large destruction Context1080, there was another dense fill, Context 1058 (N-S 1015.65-1013.46, E-W 258.47-255.65), which was relatively tile-free, but contained a large amount of coarse and cooking pottery, many of which had joins. While this is not as clearly a destruction level since it did not contain much tile or other building material, there is no clear use-surface above or below it, and the presence of large pieces of charcoal and the joins in the pottery suggests that this may also have been a dumped destruction fill. Some rare pottery types and lamps from this context were saved, including a lamp from the workshop of Chionis (L-2013-1) dated to the late 5th/early 6th century CE, which seems to correspond well with the date based on the remaining pottery. ; ; The fill of Context 1046 (N-S 1015.80-1013.35, E-W 255.60-257.91), yet another layer rich in tile, ceramic, and bone, was smaller in extent and thinner than Context1080, but it included a similar range of materials. The pottery forms seem to be later and are dated to the second half 6th century CE. Similarly, the glass from this deposit contained a number of tubular ring goblet feet, which were introduced in the second half of the 5th century CE and were made with new technology. These were absent from Deposit 1080, which contained only vertical stemmed goblet feet. Thus, here we have two different types of technology represented in two separate deposits. According to Athenian Agora XXXIV, however, the two types may slightly overlap chronologically. Therefore, these two deposits may either represent two chronologically separate events, or may reflect the presence of two separate, but contemporary, households who both dumped material in the same area. Significant other finds include a large ovoid marble fragment, which may be a finial or part of a balustrade. ; ; The interpretation of the nature of the activities in this area is made difficult by the presence of large pit Cut 870 in the middle of the excavation area as well as the presence of the Turkish house to the north and the western baulk of the excavation area, all of which truncated the dumped fills. Given that the pottery dates for each of the three layers described above, it is difficult to determine whether these dumps are related to a single destructive event in the wider neighborhood or represent a series of independent events. One possibility may be that this area lay behind a N-S wall which once filled Cut 1040, which we believe to be a robbing trench. Thus, this may have been a convenient exterior dumping ground used over time. Another possibility may be that a large destructive event, such as the earthquake of 522, afflicted the area causing several households to dump their debris in one single area as a part of a general clean-up project. However, at this point we are reluctant to connect these deposits to a single historical event without further study of the pottery from these levels. Above these dumped fills were a series of leveling fills, which may have been laid down in order to reuse the area for new purposes at the end of the Late Roman period. ; ; The remaining Late Roman activity was located in the northwestern part of the excavation area. A well preserved section of a drain, Structure 1026 (N-S 1017.17- 1014.96, E-W 260.14- 259.75), ran N-S at the northern edge of the excavation area and was parallel to the robbing trench 1040. It appears to have been truncated by the building of Wall 918. The drain dates before the middle of the 6th century CE, based on stratigraphy, but since the structure itself and the fill it rests upon were not yet excavated, this date remains preliminary. The drain may have been connected to the well—excavated in the 1960s—located just north of it, immediately to the east of the Turkish house and may have been part of the drainage system of structure related to the wall we theorize filled Cut 1040. ; ; The latest Late Antique activity in the area is present in thin deposits preserved below Wall 540 on the east side of the excavation area. The wall, which dates to the early 12th century, was left pedestalled during the 2012 season (top H. 86.56m, bottom H. 85.98m). Excavation continued on both sides of the wall, and after its removal we were able to correlate this season’s deposits to some of those excavated in 2012. ; ; The pedestal below Wall 540 was preserved in three sections, interrupted by two robbing trenches, Cut 980 and Deposit 985. We excavated the two northern sections and Daniel Diffendale and Mohammed Bhatti excavated the southern section. Each of the two northern sections of the baulk below the wall contained two tile destruction levels, separated by a layer of leveling fill. This clear sequence allowed us to find equivalent layers of the baulk across the robbing trench of Wall 918/992 (filled by Contexts 975 and 985), which separated our two sections of the baulk. ; ; The lowest layers of the pedestal were excavated as Deposits 990 and 991 (990 N-S 1016.20-1014.64, E-W264.68-263.66; 991: N-S 1014.62-1011.63, E-W 264.59-263.76) and correspond to Structure 936 (dated to mid 6th- early 7th century CE), a compact floor surface excavated in 2012. They also relate to Deposit 1035, excavated by Bhatti and Diffendale. Given the narrowness of the pedestal, we cannot add much to the interpretation of this surface at this point. The possibility of further succession of floors below this level was suggested by George and Valente in 2012 report, but was explored by Bhatti and Diffendale during this season. ; ; The earliest tile destruction layer, Contexts 989 and 984, are equal to Contexts 934 and 929 excavated in 2012, due to their roughly equivalent elevations and presence of tile. This allows us to confirm that this tile destruction layer ran under the wall, as theorized by Valente and George in 2012. Our tile layer must have been part of a larger dump of tile, possibly resulting from the clean-up of a destroyed building elsewhere, or—as theorized in 2012—from the collapse of a roof. We were not able to equate the other layers of the pedestal (including the later tile layer) to levels excavated in the previous season, unfortunately. This may be due to a disturbance from the foundation trench of the wall or other activity in the area after the Wall 540 was built, which preserved the later tile layer under the wall, but removed it to the east and west. The layer intervening between the two tile dumps and the later tile dump itself date to the late 6th/early 7th century CE, while the top-most level of the baulk (Contexts 974 and 986) dates to the 7th century CE. ; ; ; Middle to Late Byzantine (802-1210 CE); ; During the mid-10th to late 11th centuries CE, there was a very large pit in the middle of the excavation area (Cut 870, N-S 1014.56-1011.63, E-W 261.89-258.43), which was previously identified as a bothros by George and Valente in 2012. This pit seems to have been filled over a period of time, with the cut and first preserved fill (Context 1002) dated to the late 10th-early 11th centuries and the latest fill (Context 844, excavated in 2012) dated to the late 11th century. This extremely large and deep cut may have functioned as a disposal bothros during this period. The bothros seems to have been filled by the time that the Late Byzantine walls in the area were built, so we are currently unable to associate it with any architecture. However, it must have existed in an exterior space at its time of use.; ; There seems to have been a flurry of building activity in this area during the late 11th and early 12th centuries. Wall 747/1087 seems to have been erected first, in the late 11th-early 12th centuries (1087: N-S 1010.81-101.11 E-W 258.29-255.75; 747: N-S 1010.80-1010.40, E-W 264.15-263.30).  During the 2012 season, the foundation trench (Cut 809) for Wall 1087 was partially excavated, but we removed the final layer of fill within the cut during this season, as Context 1086 (N-S 1011.38-1010.62, E-W 258.24-255.68), and we also exposed further foundations of the wall during cleaning. We are uncertain what space was defined by this wall in its earliest phase, but during a later phase in the early 12th century, it appears to have been abutted by the slightly later N-S Wall 540. Therefore, it seems that the space to the west of Wall 540 was divided into a northern and a southern section by Wall 747/1087. However, we cannot be certain whether these spaces were interior or exterior and we do not yet have evidence of any further walls defining the space.; ; Wall 540 (N-S 1015.20-1007.26, E-W 264.76-263.68), which consisted of two faces of roughly worked small boulders with cobbles and rubble in the interior, was removed during this season, allowing us to clarify its relationship with several other walls in the area. We are now certain that two E-W walls in the area, Wall 918/992  (N-S 1015.10-1014.57, E-W 266.12-259.56) and Wall 945 (N-S 1011.69-1010.89, E-W 264.50-260.95), were out of use by the time that Wall 540 was built, because Wall 540 was constructed over the robbing trenches of each of these walls. Perhaps these walls were removed in preparation for the building of Wall 540 or as part of a larger rebuilding project in the area. ; ; Recommendations for the future:; 1.    Excavate any remaining fill in Cut 1040 and investigate the possibility that this robbing trench continued on the south side of Cut 870. This would shed light on our theory that the wall which once filled this cut was related to the dumping ground to its west. ; 2.    Continue investigating the area bounded by Walls 992 and 945 to the east of Cut 870 in order to continue exploring the Late Roman levels. Special attention should be paid to any evidence of dumped destruction fills. ; 3.    Remove Drain 1026 and the fill below it to clarify the date of the drain. ; 4.    Consider excavating part of Wall 747/1087 for chronological purposes. ; 5.    Clean the bottom of Cut 870 to better understand the material exposed at its bottom and take closing levels, which we were unable to do during this session.","","","Nezi Field 2013 by Katherine Harrington, Jana Mokrišová (2013-05-09 to 2007-05-24)","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","2013 Session 1, TeamBlue, Final Summary","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2013 by Katherine Harrington, Jana Mokrišová (2013-05-09 to 2007-05-24)","Corinth"