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"Corinth Excavations 2010 Session II; North of Nezi Room A; We, Cameron Pearson and Lincoln Nemetz Carlson, continued the excavation in the area north of Nezi opened by Rob Nichols and Martin Wells in the first excavation session of 2010. During the first week of the second session of the 2010 Corinth excavation season, May 4 – May 7 we excavated primarily in the northwest room of the Byzantine house—the ‘well room’ (6288)—bounded by walls 54, 5631, 6426, 10086, 10081, 10087, 55 and 6333 (E. 273.95-283.00; N. 1026.9-1034.78). Generally, current excavation in this area continues the work carried out during the 1960s by Henry Robinson (director) and William Berg III (supervisor).  Our objectives were to continue the work of the previous session and expose the drain structure 6727 in order to see if there was any evidence of a Roman north-south road in the area.; The following is a summary and interpretation of the first part of the second session of excavations. The director was Guy Sanders, the field director was Marty Wells, the pickmen were Thanasis Notis and Panos Stamatis, the shovelman and barrowman Sotiris Raftopoulos, and the dry sieve was operated by Iannis Senis ; Late Roman/Early Byzantine (300-801 CE); These layers are concentrated primarily in the center of the room in and around drain (structure 6827). In the Late Roman period, a sewer drain (structure 6827) was in existence, which has been dated to the late 4rd- 5th c. B.C.E. on pottery (6931, 6939, 6943) found between it and the cut for the drain (6737). It is oriented NW-SE, under the phases of the later Byzantine room and continued under wall 10086 to the east. It is unclear if it continued to the west. It is possible that it connected to the north-south drain associated with the Roman road east of room. The drain consisted of a combination of building materials: worked fieldstones, marble pavers and a collection of weathered and/or badly carved architectural members: two geison blocks, three half-columns cut lengthwise, and two unfluted (so far as is visible) cylindrical blocks, one with an offset empolium.  At some point the drain went out of use, and an extensive fill of re-deposited 8th c. material (6788) was deposited over it, followed by subsequent Middle Byzantine activity 6686 and 6682 in later periods.; Excavation west of the built part of the sewer revealed that there were no more covering slabs despite the walls of the drain curving southwest. The cylindrical rough-hewn block (not a column) with the offset empolium to the south was fully uncovered along with a badly carved half column and some worked fieldstones to the north.  They all lined the drain. It is unclear whether this part of the drain was ever covered or if it was robbed out at some point. One of the half columns was revealed lying near the bottom of the drain (cf.6867).; Based on the contexts (6931, 6939, 6943), between the drain (6827) and the cut (6737) the date of the drain’s construction is 4th-5th c. AD. It is unclear which roads or other drains it was connected to but it is likely linked with the unexcavated sewer next to the Roman road just above it to the east. It then goes out of use in the middle 6th -7th c. The top layer (6856) of the small mound that formed the western end of where the covering slabs had lain over the drain dates to the 7th c. but it could have fallen in from above as the slabs were not sealed by any means (the drain continued to the west but with no covering slabs). The rest of the fill  (6854, 6860, 6861), which was clearly from the wash inside the covered portion of dates to the middle of the 6th c.; One explanation for the different layers and types of soil inside the area where the drain was covered is that it was plugged up some time in the 7th c. The small mound toward the west of the covered area would have been created by the blocking. The half column found during the removal of the bottom fill (6867) for the drain (6827) could have served this purpose. The covering slabs to the west and any evidence of the dark silt (6854, 6861) not found outside of where the drain was covered (6832) would have been removed during this stopping up operation. The problem with this explanation is that there is no clear evidence that the soil (6867) at the bottom of the covered eastern section of the drain is earlier than the fill that hypothetically would have been used to fill up the western part (6832). Furthermore, in order for the stopping up theory to be validated, there would have be a good explanation as to why a century or two after its construction such trouble would be taken to plug it up.; A second idea is that the drain simply went out of use. However, this explanation has to account for why the soil in the covered portion of the drain contained layers of dark silt and wetter soil (6854, 6860, 6861), which were not found outside to the west (6832).  If it clogged up on its own there should be traces of this silt to the west as well. It is possible that the silt was removed while the covering slabs to the west were robbed out, perhaps in connection with the building of wall 6421 or its repair.; A third solution would have the drain simply never containing covering slabs to the west. James Herbst has suggested that there would have been a need for such drains to funnel out water before it flooded the forum to the south but it is doubtful that the drain would have been able to function without covering slabs. ; Of important note is that during a cleanup defining the edge of one of the Frankish piers (6841), a piece of Roman sculpture, most likely from a relief, was found. It consists of the right side of the face (S 2010).  ;  Conclusion; We have dated the drains (6827) construction (4th-5th c.) and the end of its use (7th c.) Notably, we did not find evidence for a Roman north-south road in or around the drain. It remains to be explained why the drain was built at such a late date. It if is associated with the road’s construction to the east it should be early (ca. 1st c.). For a clearer picture of why and for what purpose the drain was built at this time, comparanda from other Roman drains in Corinth will need to be studied. ; ; ; ; Corinth Excavations 2010 Room B; North of Nezi; We, Cameron Pearson and Lincoln Nemetz Carlson, continued the excavation in the area north of Nezi opened by Sarah Lima, Mark Hammond, and Kiersten Spongberg in session II 2009.  ; During the second week of the second session of the 2010 Corinth excavation season, May 10 – May 19 we excavated primarily in what we are calling Room B (the second room we dug this session which was called the East Room by the previous excavators) south of the courtyard in the Byzantine house— Bounded by walls 5403  to the south, 6300, 6027,  (threshold) 6285 to the east, 5483 to the west, and to the north 6267,  (threshold) 5671, and (foundation) 6245. Our objectives were to continue the work of the previous session and to search for any trace of a North-South Roman road. ; The following is a summary and interpretation of the second part of the second session of excavations. The director was Guy Sanders, the field director was Marty Wells, the pickmen were Thanasis Notis and Panos Stamatis, the shovelman and barrowman Sotiris Raftopoulos, and the dry sieve was operated by Iannis Senis.; Hellenistic 3rd Century; A series of ash pits were found in the southwest (6901, 6906, 6917) and one in the north (6924). All of these dated to the Hellenistic period with one late Roman contaminant in 6906 and three in 6926. Despite the contaminants, which probably entered these ash contexts because we mistakenly dug them before later contexts or due to overdigging, it seems most likely that in the Hellenistic period the whole area covered by Room B was an ash dump for some sort of industry. ; Late Roman 3rd C.; A large cut, as of yet undated, appears to run east-west through the center of the room. It could have been for a Roman wall along the south side of the east-west road. There is evidence for this cut in the rooms to the east and west of Room B. A small wall bit, most likely a foundation, (6968) might be what is left of the robbing out of this Roman east-west wall. The pottery on top of this wall bit (6968) dates to the 3rd c. AD (6966). Another possible small foundation for a wall (6937) runs north-south under wall 5403. The relationship between these two hypothetical wall foundations is unclear as they have not been excavated. We are also unsure if the tile dump 6916 is a structure at all (whether a furnace or another wall foundation?).  However, we can postulate that sometime from the 6th-8th c., the Roman wall was robbed out and filled with deposits 6967, and possibly 6982 and 6888 as well. Another problem left for future excavation is the relationship if any of wall 6933 to wall 6120. We had originally thought that wall 6120 was associated with paving stones 6190, which reached the wall. But since the Hellenistic ash is visible just below wall 6120 it is possible that this wall is earlier than the paving stones which are associated with threshold 5285 to the east, which the previous excavators had concluded was earlier than threshold 6261 on the north side of the room but has no precise date.   ; Conclusions; In Room B we hypothesize that a Hellenistic ash layer was probably cut for a wall of an east-west Roman road.  We exposed the cut which should be explored by the next team.  They should begin at the north west of the cut and try to decide what the relationship is between the cut and walls 6968 and 6933. We could not see evidence for the cut continuing on the area just east of wall 6933. There was a clear greenish layer passing form the western to the northern scarp of 6967, implying that the cut does not continue between walls 6933 and 6968. However, the paving stones at the bottom of fill 6967 appear to end at the northern edge of the cut, indicating that it does indeed continue along the lines of wall 6968 to the west. Other questions to answer are what is 6915. Is it a structure of a dump? Also it could be that wall foundations 6937 and 6968 formed a corner where the north south road met. What is their relationship?  ; Room C ; ; In the third week of Session II, we turned out attention to the room directly to the South of Room B, referred to here as “Room C.”  Room C was last investigated by Anne Feltovich, Catherine Persona and Emily Rush during the 2008 season. Room C, referred to as Room E by Feltovich, Person and Rush during the 2008 excavation, is bounded by walls 5403 to the north (formerly W 32), Wall 5435 to the west (formerly W 22), Wall 5435 to the South (formerly W 23) and 5346 to the east.  ; We were interested in looking into the relationship between the Room B and Room C, which appeared to be terraced above Room B, and for looking of signs of the N-S Roman road that may have ran through both rooms.  ; During the 2008 session, the previous excavators established that the wall dividing the room, Wall 5446, was the first wall in the room and the other walls in the room were built in this order.; ; a) Wall 5446 ; b) Wall 5403; c) Wall 5435; d) Wall 5434; e) Wall 5346.; Early on in the excavation, we discovered a wall (Wall 7001) running parallel with 5446 to the west of 5446.  Wall 7001 also seems to have been cut by the foundation trench for wall 5403 and thus is one of the earliest features of the room.  At this time, however, it is hard to say whether wall 7001 predates, postdates or is contemporary with wall 5446.  Two overlying early Roman Contexts (6997 and 7003) deposited between Walls 7001 and 6997 would seem to indicate that both walls predate the 2nd century AD.  Walls 7001 and 5446 also seem to be aligned with Structure 6916 (the furnace or tile dump) and Wall 6937 in Room B, but this might be coincidental.  Further investigation of Structure 6916 is recommended in order to establish its relationship, if any, to Wall 7001.; ; It seems that during the late 1st/early 2nd century AD, the area between Walls 7001 and 5446 and the area to the east of Wall 5446 (between 5446 and wall 5346) were filled with leveling deposits (6997/7031 and 7010/7021) which brought the surface of the room to the current extant height of the two walls (7001 and 5446).  At the present time, however, we do not have enough information to understand the intentions behind this action.; ; In the late 3rd/early 4th century AD, a pit (Cut 7020) was cut into the 1st/early 2nd century deposit (7010/7021) up against and to the east of Wall 5446 and a large amount of charcoal and ash was deposited (Deposit 7019).  The top of this pit of charcoal was cut by the construction of another pit above it during the 6th century AD (Cut 5380).  Fill to the west of wall 5435 (7003)  dates to the same period (3rd/early 4th century AD) as the charcoal and ash deposit, though it is unclear if the two deposits are related.  ; ; Excavations and cleaning also revealed a partial Greek inscription on the southern face of a block in Wall 5446.  Although we were able to make out and transcribe a couple of letters (as documented on Structure 5446 Context Sheet), the fragmentary nature of the inscription inhibits any further conclusions as to the nature of the writing.","Nezi Field 2010 by Cameron Pearson and Lincoln Nemetz Carlson (2010-05-27 to 2010-05-28)","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Cameron Pearson and Lincoln Nemetz Carlson (2010-05-27 to 2010-05-28)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","2010 Session II Blue Final Report: Well Room (A), Room south of Courtyard (B), and Room South of the Byzantine House ( C )","Corinth","","","","","","","Report"
"North of Nezi (Green) Report 2010 Session III: Charlotte Maxwell-Jones; ; The following summarizes results of excavations during the third session of the 2010 season at Corinth in four areas north of Nezi Field in the area previously excavated in the 1960s under the direction of H.S. Robinson.  The room immediately northeast of the courtyard was the primary area of excavation and small architecture removal operations were carried out on two partition walls forming the east and southern borders of the courtyard, as well as on two threshold blocks east of the courtyard.; ; Excavation in these areas was supervised by Guy Sanders (director) and Scott Gallimore (field director).  Our pickman was Athanasios Sakellariou, our shovelmen Panos Stamatis and Pavilos Senis, and our barrowman and sieveman Vangelis Kollias.; ; The primary area of excavation, the room northeast of the courtyard, was bounded on the north by wall 7040, on the south by walls 5741 and 7038, on the east by the large pit from the 1960?s excavations, and on the west by wall 7039.  This pit was an irregular circle that left unexcavated material to its northwest and north.  The western and northern borders of the pit formed the eastern and northeastern boundaries of our excavation area, though the room originally extended farther east.  The coordinates of the excavated area are the following: North-1039.84, South-1036.05, East-275.28, West-271.06.; ; In excavating the room northeast of the courtyard, we left a martyr around stone feature 7092 which was later removed.  This is why many contexts were dug at separate times and have multiple numbers.; ; When we excavated the lowest contexts in this room, the excavation conditions became difficult due to a system of tunnels that extended under the trench, beginning at the bottom of the 1960s excavation pit.  These were probably animal burrows, and we found plastic and other modern materials in them.  We excavated carefully and did not have any contaminated ceramics, but were unable to collect and sieve all of the soil from the lowermost units due to the possibility of contamination.; ; Summary of Room NE of the Courtyard; ; All areas excavated in this space are Middle Byzantine, mostly 11th century, with only two small deposits from the 12th and 13th centuries.; ; The earliest architectural element in this space is the east-west wall 7040, which forms the northern boundary of this space.  Several fills and features were deposited in the area northeast of the courtyard when wall 7040 was the only known architectural boundary.  First, fill 7272 was laid down in the southwest, probably as a leveling fill.  Then fill 7269 was deposited in the northwest.  During this action, ceramic and tile feature 7270 was laid in this fill.  In the far northwest, abutting wall 7040, a small pit, 7268, was dug and filled with deposit 7267, likely a pit for dumped material of some sort.  Above these leveling fills and pits an earthen floor was laid, 7231/7262.  Whatever activity occurred in this area resulted in the incorporation of thin laminae of ash into this floor.  This floor was only found in the portion of the area west of wall 7200, though it is likely that floor contiguous with this was also in the eastern portion of the room and was either cut through at a later date or, if it sloped to the east, it remains unexcavated.; ; After these deposits and floors had been laid, earthen floor 7262/7231 was cut by the foundation trench for N-S wall 7200.  This foundation trench, 7199/7221/7224/7266, was relatively straight in the east and irregular in the northwest, possibly following the outlines of earlier pits whose original deposits no longer remain.  After the construction of wall 7200, fill 7198/7265/7220/7223 was placed in the trench.  This wall likely contained a threshold, approximately 1.80 meters in width, whose upper blocks were robbed, thus preventing us from ascertaining its original elevation.  After this wall was built, a thin lamina of charcoal filled soil, 7258, was laid over the foundation trench fill in the west at the same elevation as floor 7231/7262, which continued to be used as a floor after the space was divided by wall 7200.; ; After the construction of wall 7200, there are two distinct areas of occupation, though their complete architectural boundaries are unknown.  In the west, a small area is bounded by 7040 on the north and 7200 on the east.  The western border for this area was likely the easternmost N-S wall in the room north of the courtyard.  The eastern boundary likely led via a stone threshold to the second area.  This area is bounded by wall 7040 on the north and 7200 on the west.  I will first discuss the eastern area.; ; In the eastern area, the earliest deposit visible is the unexcavated red fill.  This was cut by the foundation trench for wall 7200 as well as by two distinct pits in the south that remain unexcavated.  This was also cut by pit 7278, which was filled by a deposit of building debris, 7277, then covered with a thin layering deposit, 7282.  It is likely that there were several layers of fill and flooring over this area that were cut down significantly upon the construction of wall 7200, but no deposits predating wall 7200 have been excavated in this eastern area and because of the large number of pits over the area of wall 7200, it is unclear which floors were in use while the threshold was standing, but it is likely that floor 7274 was among them.  All direct relationships between this wall and material east of it were lost due to these pits and robbing trenches.; ; The threshold blocks and wall blocks south of the threshold were robbed out by cut 7212, a shallow pit that cut floor 7274 as well as the foundation trench, which was then filled with deposit 7211.  This was then cut on its southeastern edge by pits 7219 and 7215, which were filled with deposits 7218 and 7214, respectively.  Deposit 7214 was cut by 7210, the foundation trench for wall 7038, which was then filled with deposit 7209.  Laid on top of deposit 7214 is a thin lamina of floor, 7213, which was likely deposited after the construction of wall 7038, which bounded the eastern portion of this area on the south.  From this point on, the eastern area has both northern and southern architectural boundaries.; ; Above floor 7213 are two more floor lamina, 7208 and 7206, floor laminae that are preserved only in small patches in the southeasternmost portion of this area.  These were cut in the far south by a small pit, 7130, filled by deposit 7129, whose purpose is unclear.; ; To the north of floor 7213 is a large area of reddish flooring, 7274.  It is probable that floors 7213, 7208, and 7206 once extended over this entire floor, which extends north to wall 7040 and as far east as wall 7254, of which so little remains that its chronology is unclear.  Floor 7274 was truncated on the west by robbing trench 7212.  Floor laminae 7213, 2708, 7206, and whatever deposits that were contiguous with then were cut by a large pit, 7205, which was then filled with a very thick layer of pebble flooring, 7202/7273 that extended west as far as the northernmost section of wall 7200.  Placed into this pebble flooring was an E-W wall, 7093, which abuts wall 7254.  This pebble floor extended west as far the line of the robbing trench/foundation trench of wall 7200.  It was in all likelihood in use while this wall was standing and this is the last deposit in the eastern area before wall 7200 is robbed and the architectural boundaries change.; ; In the western area, after the construction of wall 7200, fill 7229 was laid down, probably as a leveling fill, though it is possible that it was used as a surface.  This is the only fill laid down during this architectural phase, and it is unclear why there is so much more activity in the eastern area.; ; After the dismantling of wall 7200, Fill 7194/7252 was laid down.  This is a thick fill that was cut by a large pit, first 7189, which contained three deposits, 7192, 7191, and 7188.  This was probably a dumped deposit of construction material, including cobbles and roof tiles.  Cut into this fill is the first foundation trench for wall 7039, a N-S wall that forms the western boundary of the room northeast of the courtyard.  Shortly after this first phase, represented by cut 7133 and fill 7131, another foundation trench is dug, likely to make minor changes or repairs on this wall.  This trench, 7064/7070 is filled with deposit 7065/7021; ; After this pit, an earthen floor was laid down over the entire area, 7181/7251, which was contiguous with a rectilinear section of flooring in the north consisting of closely packed broken tiles abutting wall 7040.  Also contiguous with these flooring layers is floor 7173, another earth floor section made of slightly different soil. A posthole, 7246, and its fill, 7245, present in the northwest section of flooring point to the possibility of makeshift structures.  At the time this floor was laid, the known architectural boundaries are wall 7040 in the north, wall 7038 in the southeast, and wall 7039 in the west. Wall 7093, also an E-W wall, was built directly south of wall 7040, though its purpose is unclear.  The area west of wall 7093 was disturbed by two pit/robbing trench activities, pits 7135 and 7090, filled with deposits 7134 and 7090, respectively.; ; After this earthen floor is deposited, wall 5741 was built, forming the southern border of this room.  This is an E-W wall directly west of 7038.  It was laid in trench 7178, then abutted by trench fill 7177.; ; The earthen floor layers, 7180/7251/7183/7173 were covered in small patches of reflooring and leveling fills throughout the room.  Laminae 7174, and 7168 were laid in the southwest portion of the room and lamina 7167 was placed in the center of the room. Fill 7244 was laid in the northwestern corner and fill 7172 was laid in the northeast.  In the northeastern area of the room, on the edge of the large pit from the 1960s excavations, a series of fills are present.  The truncation from the large pit makes the nature of these fills unclear, but they are deposited over the large earthen floor deposit.  These are fills 7167, 7157, 7142, and 7110. These flooring layers/leveling fills were disturbed by several pits after their use phase.  Pit 7248 was dug in the northwest corner, which was then filled with a dumped deposit, 7247.  Pit 7243 then cut this pit and was filled with deposit 7241.  Pit 7147, almost 2 meters in diameter, was dug in the south, abutting walls 5741 and 7038.; ; After pit 7147 was filled with a dumped, bone rich deposit, 7146, earthen floor 7143 was laid in this room.  Filling the entire room, this was cut by pit 7118, which was then filled with deposit 7115.  Several leveling fills/surface laminae were deposited above this floor.  7139/7240 was laid down on the western side of the room, 7119 was laid down in the northern side, and 7121 was deposited in the southeast.  When these fills had been laid down, a stone structure, 7092, was constructed in the northwest corner of the room.  This required a partial dismantling of wall 7040 and was bonded with this wall, and its purpose is unclear.  It is possible that it is a bin of some sort.  When this had been installed, a large mixed fill, 7111, was laid down over most of the room.  This was a mixture of ashy and clayey soils, and it is possible that it represents the remnants of some sort of industrial activity.  We found significant amounts of slag and black ash, and while it is unlikely that industrial activities occurred in this room, they probably occurred nearby.  Substantial amounts of ash were found in the room directly north of this, also excavated in 2010. Deposit 7111 was not present in the 0.80 m south of wall 7040 because this area was excavated in the 1960?s.  At elevations higher than deposit 7119, there are no deposits in this northern area of the room.; ; Deposit 7111 was cut by 7109, as mall pit filled entirely with soft black ash, 7108.  Deposited onto fill 7111 and covering pit 7109 were several patches of floor laminae/leveling fill, 7104, 7102, 7101, and 7100.  It is possible that all of these patches as well as fill 7111 were used as surfaces, but if so, it was not for long enough to make them compacted.; ; Fill 7105 was deposited in the southeastern area of the trench.  Almost 40 centimeters thick, it is likely that this fill covered a significantly larger area, but was truncated by both the 1960s excavations to the east and a later cut to the north and west.  It is unclear how far east it originally extended, but above deposit 7111 and its leveling fills, there appears to be a difference in activity and use of space between the eastern and western portions of the room.  While there is a very thick fill in the east, there are several nice floor laminae in the west, 7098 and 7097.  The relationship between these areas was completely truncated by a large cut, 7083, and filled with a large, debris filled leveling deposit, 7075.  This brought the room to a level surface, but it is unclear why such a cut and deposit were necessary.  Above this large dumped fill, a leveling fill/floor laminae, 7057, was deposited.  At this point, wall 5741 was rebuilt or repaired, which required the digging of a foundation trench, 7053, and trench fill, 7054.; ; Above this is the only deposit containing Frankish material, 7049.  The stone structure, 7092, contained some late 13th century ceramics, but it is likely that the continued use of this structure, and not its date of construction, are the cause of this late pottery.; ; Summary of Architectural Removals; ; Wall 5649, a small rubble built partition wall east of the courtyard, directly east of the drain, was removed, revealing a well-constructed wall, 7141.  Only the top of this structure has been revealed.; ; Wall 5784, a rubble built partition wall along the south of the courtyard was removed, revealing  a surface that appears to run onto the courtyard, so no further excavation was conducted in this area.; ; Threshold 10114, which had been pedestaled in the area east of the room NE of the courtyard, was removed, and the soil and threshold below this, 7284, were also removed, in part due to the precarious nature of their position.; ; Conclusions; ; The deposits excavated this season from the room northeast of the courtyard represent activities and occupation during the 11th century and the early 12th century.  The 1960s excavations removed the deposits later than this, and those earlier remain unexcavated.; ; Given the thick fill evident in the scarps and visible throughout the entirety of the room at the close of excavation, it is likely that there was abandonment between the late Roman period and the Middle Byzantine occupation.  The thick fill is probably a leveling and construction fill prior to reoccupation.; ; The area of the room northeast of the courtyard was used intensely as a dump from the time of its reoccupation onwards.  It was also near to an area of industrial activity, and there was probably some overflow of work into this area.  If the nature of the stone feature 7092 were known, it could clarify our understanding of the later use of this room.","Nezi Field 2010 by Charlotte Maxwell-Jones (2010-05-31 to 2010-06-18)","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Charlotte Maxwell-Jones (2010-05-31 to 2010-06-18)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Green Session III, Room NE of Courtyard, North of Nezi","Corinth","","","","","","","Report"
"Yellow Third Session Report (Johanna Best); 2010; ; North of Nezi; ; ; Introduction; ; The following summarizes the results of excavation in the area directly north of the Byzantine House excavated in 1961, in the space bounded by north-south wall 5677 on the west (261.83E), east-west wall 5562 on the south (1040.23N), and north-south wall 5431 on the east (276.78E).  The northern boundary of the area under investigation is delineated by the scarp of the excavations and backfill from the excavations in the area to the south of the South Stoa by Oscar Broneer in the 1930s, and the subsequent excavations in the 1960s.  In the 2008 excavations, the northern boundary seems to have been placed at approximately 1044.50N, though the excavation team continued excavation up to 1045.70N.  The 2008 team acknowledged that the stratigraphy in this area was often difficult to understand, and so a primary goal of this season was to determine the true northern edge of the trench.; ; The excavation of this area was supervised by Dr. G.D.R. Sanders (director) and Scott Gallimore (field supervisor).  The yellow team consisted of Panos Kakouros (pick man), Vassilis Kollias (wheelbarrow man), and Agamemnon Karvouniaris (sieve man).  Johanna Best was the recorder for the third session, from 31 May  –  18 June, 2010.  This area was excavated in the second session of 2010 by Johanna Best and Kelcy Sagstetter, and in the first session of 2010 by Jessica Paga. This area was  excavated in 2008 by Thanos Webb, Amit Shilo, Christina Kolb, and Sarah Lima.; ; Our primary objectives in excavating this area include defining the relationship of this area to the Byzantine House to the south, clarifying the possible connections and relationships between this trench and the area south of the South Stoa, and understanding what was backfill from previous excavations in the 1930s and 1960s and what were unexcavated strata. The excavations of session 1, 2010 have led us to believe that this area was primarily an exterior space during parts of the Middle and Late Byzantine periods. The many large pits, ashy layers in the middle and eastern end of the trench, and the possible external floor surfaces caused us to hypothesize that this may have been an industrial area, a theory that I hoped to test in this third session. The work in session 3 has concentrated on the central and eastern sections of the trench; this session, the western limit has been defined by robbing trench 5802, the northern boundary is the scarp created in the 1930s, the eastern boundary is wall 5431, and the southern boundary is wall 5562/7040.  The western section of the trench remains at the level of excavation achieved at the end of session 1, as excavation there would require the removal of the 10-11th century marble tile floor (5710).; ; In each area of the trench, I will briefly summarize the results of the previous sessions of 2010, as well as presenting the results of session 3.; ; ; ; Western section: ; ; The western section is the area bounded by wall 5677 on the west, wall 5562 on the south, robbing trench 5802 on the east, and the northern scarp.; ; In session 1, Jessica Paga hypothesized that a 10th century concrete subfloor and marble tile floor (5710) was laid alongside wall 5677.  The function of this floor and its possible relationship to the Byzantine House to the south are yet unknown.  Following the abandonment of the marble floor’s use phase, several layers of fill accumulated across the surface.  Paga believed that this fill may represent a possible period of abandonment or disuse during the end of the Middle Byzantine and early Late Byzantine period.  At some point in the 11th – 12th century, this fill was overlaid with an external floor surface (6696 and 6698), which was subsequently cut in the 12th century by a built pithos (5504) and a bothros (5629).  At the end of the 12th century, a robbing trench (5802/7204) also cut the external floor surface (and possibly the marble tile floor).  In the 3rd ¼ of the 13th century, a Frankish rubble wall (5678) was installed, cutting both the external floor surface as well as the earlier marble floor.; ; In session 2, excavation did not take place in this area, but we hypothesized that the western and central sections of the trench (at least the area west of 269E and east of wall 5677) may have been united as one external floor surface in the mid-11th century.  As noted above, this large external floor surface (made up of 6912, 6696 and 6698) was cut in the 12th century by a bothros (5629) and a built pithos (5504) in the western section, and pit 6840/6891 in the central section.; ; No further excavations took place in the western section in session 3.; ; ; Central section:; ; The central section of this trench is delineated by robbing trench 5802/7204 to the west, the scarp to the north, walls 6789 and 6987 to the south, and wall 5562/7040 to the south.  ; ; In session 1, Paga noted that wall 6821 was surrounded by various 11th century deposits, including an ash deposit (6814), potentially related to the ash deposits further to the east.  As noted in the section above, the large external floor surface was cut in the 12th century by pits 6840 and 6891 and Frankish pit 5758.  The connection between these areas and the Byzantine House to the south was unclear, as the Byzantine House at this point was covered and filled with backfill.  She did note general evidence of industrial activity in the section, which became even more apparent in session 2.; ; In session 2, we were interested in exploring the industrial activity in this central section.  A pit filled with ash (6929) was revealed to the east of pit 6840 and north of wall 6821.  The fill of this pit dates from the 11th century, and includes a large circular stone block, believed to be a portion of a column drum.  The working hypothesis for the construction of the pit is as follows: pit 6929 was dug and filled in with layers of ash and dirt around a large stone in the 11th century.  At some point in the late 11th century, wall 6821 was constructed to the south of this pit and also a tile stack (7017) was built adjacent to it, upon which burning activities took place.  It is possible that 7017 is only a portion of a larger tile stack, which extended from the north end of wall 6821 to the edge of the pit.  We speculate that the ash in the pit came from this source, and that when the robbing of 6821 (robbing trench 6927) took place, the majority of this tile structure was also removed.  To the north of the pit, structure 7125 (possibly a continuation of wall 6821 to the north) had been both built and robbed out in the 11th century by robbing trench 7122.  ; ; In session 3, a clearly stratified sequence of soils has clarified some of the questions about dating for the central portion of the trench .  A roof tile collapse (7094/7193), located between walls 6821 and 6789, sealed  a floor surface that originally extended continuously between walls 7138, 6789, 7150, and 6821 and was leveled upon the laying down of fills 7281 and 7296.  The presence of large fragments of roof tile, many of them joining, suggests that the surface was at least partially covered by a shed roof in this area.  The pottery of the collapse dates to 11th century.  Between the collapse and the floor were found three coins, one of which dates to the reign of Romanus I (931-944 AD).  The continuous floor surface (7196), which dates to the late 11th century, had built upon it walls 6789, 6987, 6821 and 7125, (giving them all a terminus post quem of the late 11th century).  When the latter two walls were robbed out in the late 11th century, robbing trenches disturbed this continuous floor (robbing trenches 6927 and 7122 respectively).  The presence of the roof tile collapse suggests a change in function of this space at the end of 11th century to an interior space, at least in this central area.  The presence of collapse also supports Paga’s theory that there was some form of abandonment in the 11th century.  ; ; Excavation of the area just north of wall 5562/7040 has revealed an earlier iteration of this wall, 7150.  This wall, which must date to the 11th century or later, is abutted by 6821, and was – in part – covered by structure 6820.  The function of 6820 remains unknown, but it may have been used as a small storage area or bin.  Another wall, 7138 was revealed just to the north of pit 6840.  This wall had been robbed out by robbing trench 7153 sometime in or before the late 11th century.  It is unclear how far wall 7138 continued to the south, as it seems to have been truncated by pit 6840.  Interestingly, there seems to be another large unified surface (7216/7190) in the 11th century in the area between 270E and robbing trench 5802/7204.  Perhaps this served as an external floor surface, constructed at the same time the internal surface to the east (7196).  This external surface was cut by the robbing trench for wall 7138 (cut 7153).  ; ; The working hypothesis for this section is that in the late 11th century, a series of leveling fills (7281, 7296 and perhaps also 7222, 7227, and 7230) created a level surface for internal floor 7196 and external surface 7216/7190.  A series of walls were constructed at this time, including 7150, 6821, 6789, 6987, 7138, and 7125.  Later 7176 cut the external floor structure, and the floor surface suffered the collapse of its tile roof.  ;     ; As mentioned above, excavations in this area have had difficulty understanding the nature of the northern baulk.  Cleaning context 7235 was excavated to make the edge more clear; we have defined the area where the earlier excavations took place, and other areas further to the south where we believe contamination to be likely.  ; ; ; Eastern section: ; ; The eastern section of this trench is delineated by walls 6789 and 6987 to the west, the scarp to the north, wall 7040 to the south, and wall 5431 to the east.  ; ; In session 1, Paga dismantled Frankish wall 5430, which was built on top of wall 5431.  Although there was clear use of the area in the Frankish period, the precise function in this period is unknown.  Prior to the Frankish occupation of this section, Paga discovered several periods of Middle and Late Byzantine use, as represented by several deposits of fill on top of an ashy layer of soil (6747).  This 12th century ashy layer covered, and thereby post-dates, three walls: wall 6764, wall 6765, and wall 6775 (the latter two of which were removed in session 3).  Paga also uncovered feature 6807, an arrangement of tiles, set horizontally into a bed of yellow clay, all of which was covered by an accumulation of nearly pure ash, which she interpreted as a Byzantine hearth or an area for industrial dumping.  Paga also dug a 12th century rectangular pit (6760), created by the intersections of walls 5431, 6764, 6765, and 6775.  Within the loose and soft fill (6759, 6770), Paga discovered several cook pots, one 12th century white ware plain bowl, and large quantities of bone (including part of a human skull).  She thought that it is possible that the area was a disposal pit, and that walls 6765 and 6775 were built specifically to create this pit.  ; ; In session 2, we removed structure 6807 and found several layers of ash fill underneath.   Although we saw signs of burning in fill 6942 under the tile structure 6807, the quantity of ash in this area is probably best explained through dumping activity.  The source of the production of this much ash is yet unknown, but we speculate that there may have been industrial activity in the Byzantine House or in the area of the South Stoa (where a probable kiln site has been discovered).  Several contexts to the south of this structure were full of soft soil with more inclusions (bone, tile, and ceramics), and large stones, which probably indicates 11th century dump fill.  We were not able to dig the entirety of several contexts because they went too deep, and so were saved for excavation in session 3.  We hypothesized that the area between walls 6789, 6764, and 5431 was filled with dumping or leveling fills in the 11th century.  Wall 6765 must have been both built and partially robbed in the 12th century as it rests on fills 6962 and 5759 (dated late 11th century and mid-12th centuries respectively) and under fill 6747, which was dated to the 12th century.  We speculated that selective robbing on the northeast and southwest portions of 6747 was the cause for the creation of what appears to be an S-shaped wall.  ; ; Session 3 excavations in this section began with the demolition of wall 6765 (late 11th century).  Upon excavation we revealed another structure underneath this (7280), which we believe to be the earlier iteration of wall 6765, which seemed to separate the fills 6962 and 5759, disproving the theory from the previous session that the fill was the same.  Following this, excavation of earlier uncompleted contexts 6770, 6977 and 6962 were completed in contexts 7253, 7257, and 7261 respectively.   Demolition of wall 6775 and further exploration of 7280 continued.  A positive reconstruction of activity in this area suggests that wall 7280 was built, and then robbed out partially in robbing trench 7264.  Following this, the rectangular bin (cut 7256) was dug out and filled in with 7253.  Wall 6765 was built atop of wall 7280, and wall 6775 was built perpendicular to wall 6765 along the north edge of the bin, which continued to be filled in with context 7253.    This area then became an area for dumping ash and other materials from some form of industry nearby, as hypothesized above.; ; Conclusion:  ; ; In conclusion, the Middle and Late Byzantine period in this area is primarily identifiable by means of the various 11th century floor surfaces (both internal and external), the number of pits dug in the area, and the evidence of industrial activity.  The area’s small spaces, the presence of ashy deposits, and external floor surfaces suggest an industrial use.    Although there is not any direct access between this area and the Byzantine House in this period, it is clear that both spaces were actively in use at the same time, possibly by a single group of inhabitants.  ; ; Suggestions for further excavation:; ; 1)    Excavation of the marble tile floor (5710) and further excavation of built pithos 5504 could provide evidence of activity in the western part of the trench.; 2)    Removal of structure 7820 might allow a better understanding of this western section, and also the nature of this structure.; 3)    Excavation of the entire area down to the late Roman/early Byzantine transition to provide unity with other areas of excavation in the Byzantine House and to see if this area was also abandoned in the 6th or 7th century AD.","Nezi Field 2010 by Johanna Best (2010-05-31 to 2010-06-18)","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Johanna Best (2010-05-31 to 2010-06-18)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Yellow Session Three Final Report","Corinth","","","","","","","Report"
"W. Flint Dibble; Mark F. Piskorowski; Corinth Excavations; North of Nezi; 01.06.2010 to 21.06.2010; Blue Session 3; ; We, Flint Dibble and Mark Piskorowski, excavated North of Nezi between June 1  and June 21, focusing on the area directly North of Nezi Field: the eastern portion of Room E (N: 1016.40-1020.60; E: 279.20-282.10) and the eastern half of Room F, “the pithos room” (N: 1015.70-1020.50; E: 273.10-276.90). Previous excavation had taken place in these areas in 2008 (Nathan T. Arrington and Andrew W. Sweet), 2007 (Ioannis Sapountzis), and in 1961. The director was Guy Sanders, supervisor Scott Gallimore, pickmen Panos Kakouros and Athanasios Notis, shovelman Sotiris Raftopoulos, and sieve operator Giannis Oikonomou.; ; Our goals were to explore the Roman and Hellenistic phases in order to understand the earlier history of the N. of Nezi area.; ; Room E:; ; Hellenistic Period (7290, 7291, 7293, 7294, 7295, 7299, 7300, 7303, 7304) ; The earliest identified activity in the area of Room E is a cut (7294) through an unexcavated and unnumbered context for the construction of cellar 7301.  The elevation at the top of this cut (85.11) suggests that the area had been terraced previously since Hellenistic layers in rooms to the North occurred at much lower elevations. Deposit 7299, filling cellar 7301, provides a solid terminus ante quem for this activity of 300-290 BCE.  Cellar 7301 represents two bonded walls, one running N-S (truncated later by a well marked by cut 7260) and one running E-W continuing under wall 7304.  Cellar 7301 is faced on the south and east edges and unfaced on the north and west edges, suggesting it was intended as a retaining wall, probably functioning as a cellar.  A foundation trench (7291) cut through the same unnumbered context as 7294 for the construction of the E-W running wall 7300, the northern border of Room E.  The fill of this trench (7290) also dated to the early 3rd century BCE suggesting contemporary construction activity for cellar 7301 and wall 7300. Wall 7300 continued further to the West past structure 5035.; ; At some unspecified point in time the top 0.25 m of cellar 7301 were truncated in order to construct the N-S running wall 7304, lying at the eastern border of Room E.  Wall 7304 appears to overlie yet an earlier phase of this wall, which was left unexcavated and unnumbered but seems to be evident in the excavation of deposit 7259 in the Early Roman well.  No foundation trench was discovered for wall 7304 but it is abutted by deposit 7299, which provides a terminus ante quem for this construction.  ; ; The area between structure 7301 and wall 7304 was filled by a large deposit (7299) of vessels, which are complete or nearly complete when mended, dating mainly to the 4th and early 3rd centuries BCE.  Above fill 7299 were two dumped fills (7293 and 7295).  Fill 7295, dated to the late 4th and early 3rd centuries BCE, was mainly a rubble and tile deposit that included stones and tiles similar to those found in N-S running wall 7303, which directly overlay wall 7304.  This suggests that wall 7303, for which no foundation trench was found, was also constructed in the Hellenistic period.; ; Early Roman Period (5343, 7236, 7237, 7259, 7260, 7275, 7276, 7279); Some construction activity seems to have taken place in this area in the Early Roman period. The dates are not precise from the few excavated diagnostic sherds (ranging from 1st BCE-2nd CE).  Some fill layers (in the North: 7279 cut by 7276 filled by 7275; in the South: 7283) were deposited over the Hellenistic phase of the room. ; ; Two construction activities took place sometime after the above fills were deposited.  Context 7260 was cut through the above deposits (7275 and 7283) and the unnumbered, presumably Hellenistic contexts. This pit was oval-shaped and large (long diameter: 1.90; short diameter: 1.60) and truncated cellar 7301.  Its fill (7259) was dated to the Early Roman period (1st CE/early 2nd CE).  Excavation of this pit was halted due to time after 0.94 meters.  Mostly likely, 7260 was cut for a large well that continued deeper.  A foundation trench (7237) for wall 5343 also cut through fill 7283.  The fill of this trench (7236) had an Early Roman not precise date.  Wall 5343 ran E-W and formed the southern boundary of Room E (unexcavated below, so it is unknown if there’s an earlier phase). ; ; Middle Roman Period (7226, 7228, 7238); In the Middle Roman period some fills were deposited in Room E (7226, 7228, 7238).  In particular, fills 7228 and 7238 were very rich in pottery and were perhaps contemporaneous, representing differential dumping.  Both of these fills contained similar sherds, and were in very similar sandy sediment. The depth of these deposits (7228: 0.24 m; 7238: 0.24 m) suggests the fills were deposited for leveling the area. ; ; Eastern Half of Room F (“The Pithos Room”); ; Early Roman Period (7106, 7112, 7113, 7114, 7117, 7126, 7127, 7132, 7145, 7155, 7162, 7163, 7164, 7179, 7181, 7182, 7184, 7185, 7197, 7207, 7249, 7250); Context 7207 is the only deposit dating to the Hellenistic period in this area.  The sediment was not sieved and was quite similar in consistency to deposit 7197, both representing redeposited mudbrick (the decision was made to start a new arbitrary context after a day of excavating 7197).  Therefore deposit 7207 probably dates to the Early Roman Period.  Since deposit 7207 abuts and provides a rough terminus ante quem for wall 7250, it is also likely that this wall phase has an Early Roman date.  This is supported by the fact that wall 7250 and the phase overlying it (7249) were constructed with identical stones and technique.; ; Wall 7250, an E-W running wall marking the Southern border of Room F, represents the earliest construction in the Eastern Half of Room F and it directly lay under wall 7249.  Two small segments running N-S were bonded directly to 7250 at both the Eastern boundary (0.75 m long) underlying wall 7145 and the Western boundary (0.35 m long) underlying wall 5345.  This suggests that the space of this room was defined from this early phase.; ; Several thick fill layers of redeposited mudbrick and construction material were then deposited in the area (7207, 0.40 m thick; 7197, 0.36 m thick; and 7182, 0.22 m thick). Perhaps this activity should be interpreted as the terracing of this area. The foundation trench (7185 filled by 7184) for the N-S running wall 7145, overlying wall 7250, marking the Western border of this room was cut into deposit 7182. Two postholes (7179 and 7181) were also cut into 7182, suggesting the top of 7182 was a beaten earth floor. Above 7182 lay clay floors 7155 then 7132. ; ; An L-shaped foundation trench was cut (7127=7164, filled by 7126=7163) into clay floor 7132 for the E-W wall 7249 bonded with the North-South wall 5345 (marking the Eastern edge of the area), both of which overlay wall 7250. While wall 7249 primarily re-used material from wall 7250, both wall 7249 and especially wall 5345 included several large orthostates marking fairly monumental construction for the area. The construction of wall 7249 truncated wall 7145 to the South. It is evident that the robbing trench B5113 in Room F, West of wall 7145 robbed out a portion of wall 7249 and/or wall 7250, suggesting that this wall extended further West. ; ; After this construction, fill 7117 leveled the area and deposit 7114 marked a new clay floor with posthole 7113 (filled by 7112) in a similar location in the room to the earlier posthole cut 7179. Above this the hard beaten earth surface 7106 lay.; ; Late Roman (5450, 7042, 7046, 7047, 7050, 7051, 7055, 7058, 7062, 7066, 7068, 7069, 7076, 7078, 7079, 7080, 7095, 7149, 7103, 7107, 7140, 7144); There are three major construction activities that took place in this period.  At some point in the fourth century, four large rectangular pits (7069, 7078, 7107, and 7144) were cut around three sides of an earlier floor layer (7106).  Due to their arrangement and size, it is likely that these pits were used for storage vessels.  ; ; Later, all three of the above pits were filled in with a series of fills.  Deposit 7068 was the fill for pit 7069; deposits 7076 and 7149 for pit 7078; deposits 7066, 7096, 7099, 7103, and 7140 for pit 7144 and 7107.  In the latter two cases, the different fills were likely deposited at approximately the same time because they share similar sediments and inclusions.  Above the three filled pits a surface of compacted earth (7062) was set down over most of the room.  A pit (7050), which likely held a storage vessel, cut context 7062 suggesting that it was used as a floor surface.; ; Above this floor surface, two leveling fills were added in the West (7055) and in the North-East (7046).  These deposits helped to give the room a slight slope to the north, upon which a concrete floor was constructed.  This concrete floor was one of the latest feature in Room F, other than walls, that was left from the 2007 excavations.  The other feature remaining from previous excavations was a pithos (Pithos 6) in the North-West corner of Room F E-half.  This pithos, and the deposit around it B5118, which we left martyred, are probably later than the concrete floor.  Even so, it is likely that the concrete floor was used in some agricultural process (eg. Olive or grape pressing).  The products of this pressing, then, would have flowed into and/or been stored in the pithos or a similar container in the same place space.; ; The foundation trench 7080 for wall 5450, originally excavated in 2007 (B5140), was continued in this session.  The dates provided this session suggested a 2nd century CE date; however, B5140 dated to the Late Roman period.  Wall 5450 runs E-W and marks the Northern boundary of this room, perhaps closing the space to the North for the first time (although the martyrs left for the pithos and step into the room during the excavation of 7182, 7197, and 7207 prevents 100% confidence).; ; Byzantine Period (5335, 7136, 7137); Coin 2010-126 dating to 1152 – ca. 1260 CE was found during the excavation of context 7106.  It is clearly intrusive, since 7106 and everything above was clearly Roman in date.  Its location along the southern E-W wall at the interface between phases 7249 and 5335 suggests this coin provides an excellent terminus post quem for the construction of wall 5335. ; ; NB 238 Bothros 4, originally excavated in the 1961 season, was also continued (cut 7136 and fill 7137). Although fill 7137 dated to the Roman period, the date of this bothros, determined at he time of its original excavation, is the late 13th century AD.; ; Suggestions for Future Excavation; ; Room F, east half was backfilled and does not allow any opportunity for further excavation. Most likely what is left in this room was terracing fill. However, Room E, East of structure 5035 will probably provide more Hellenistic contexts. Cellar 7301 suggests the presence of more early architecture. Although, it should be noted that cut 7294 was rather ephemeral, created out of necessity for the construction of cellar 7301, so there might be an early Roman context left. ; ; In Room E, to the West of structure 5035, excavation would answer some important questions.  Notably wall 5345 is on a different alignment than 7250/7249/5335/5334. Excavation within here would answer some important questions concerning the relationship between Room F and Room E in the Hellenistic through Roman periods.  Interestingly, it appears as if the two areas were terraced in different periods (Room E, East of 5035 in the Hellenistic period and Room F, Eastern half in the Early Roman period).  Therefore, excavation between structures 5035 and 5345 would answer questions left unanswered by the current excavations.","Nezi Field 2010 by W. Flint Dibble; Mark F. Piskorowski (2010-06-01 to 2010-06-21)","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by W. Flint Dibble Mark F. Piskorowski (2010-06-01 to 2010-06-21)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Blue Session III; area North of courtyard house","Corinth","","","","","","","Report"
"Andrew Connor, Simon Oswald; ; Team Pink; ; Final Report for April, 2012 ; Session 1, 2012 American School Corinth Excavations; Nezi Field, NE Region. N 1013-1014 S 1007.5-1009.5 E 276.0 W 264.5;     ; ; This report summarizes the results of excavations in the NE area of the Nezi Field region, in a space defined to the west by N-S wall 540 (E 264.5), to the southeast by the local coordinate N 1009.5 and the southwest by a line running more or less directly east from wall 366, to the east by the scarp edge (ca. E 276.0), and to the north by the scarp of the excavations in the North of Nezi region (ca. 1014-1013, W-E). ;     The excavation of this area was under the direction of Dr. G.D.R. Sanders, Director of Excavations, Corinth, and the assistant field director was Ms. Heather Graybehl. Our pickmen were the brothers Panos and Tasos Kakouros, our shovelman and co-sieve operator was Vasillis Kollias, and our wheelbarrow man and co-sieve operator was Memos Karvouniaris. Andrew Connor and Simon Oswald were recorders for the April session. This area was last excavated in 2008 by Joey Lillywhite, Joel Rygorsky, Martin Wells, Matthew Wells, Alexis Bellis, and Christina Gieske. Their conclusions make clear that by the end of the 2008 season they believed that they had reached Byzantine and Frankish levels and that there had been little or no activity in the Venetian and Ottoman periods. Our findings are in direct contrast to theirs in this respect.;     Our primary objectives in excavating this area were to complete excavation of the Frankish contexts in this area, to explore the Byzantine activity in this area, and to understand what changes might have accompanied the replacement of Byzantine authority with the new Frankish government in Corinth. In the course of our excavation, we worked primarily in a roughly rectangular area running from wall 540 to the eastern scarp, divided into north and south sections by wall 420. ; ; Late Antique;     Beneath our earliest dated context (#717, a large fill), we discovered a cemented wall (746) that appears to belong to the Late Antique period and stratigraphically, predates fill 717 (8-9th centuries). Wall 746 was probably constructed as part of a building project more fully preserved in the North of Nezi region. Cleaning of the scarp in this area uncovered a number of Hellenistic and Roman sherds, which may be linked to Late Antique activity in this area. This will be tested during a later session, with excavation of this wall and its surrounding contexts. ; ; Byzantine;      In the 8th or 9th centuries, a deep fill (717=735) was laid down over wall 746. Due to the large stones found during excavation, it is possible that 717=735 preserves the upper courses of this wall in the form of a fall after the larger, more finished lower blocks were robbed out. This hypothesis might be tested by excavation of the wall and its foundation trench. In any case, if 746 represents a wall of a major structure, following its ruin there is a shift in land use in our area, as we move into what would appear to be an exterior out-of-doors space right through the remainder of the upper levels. Following the deposition of 717=735, a small rough wall (731) was constructed. It appears to have fallen into disuse soon after, when it was cut by 741, but final conclusions must await excavation of the wall and its surrounding context. ;      By the 10th century, a dark grayish, mixed fill (741=688) was laid down across the center of our area, running from E-W. This context can be dated both by coins and pottery to this period, and filled a small cut or gully moving from the SW-NE.  This may in fact continue to the SW at a lower level than two pits (704 and 709 – see below), which cut its upper courses. This hypothesis can be tested upon further excavation.;      Two deep pits (709 and 704) were sunk in the southern part of our area in the late 11th or early 12th centuries. Atop them was a shallow pit (665). These pits contained much re-deposited pottery, and would appear to represent dumped debris from digging in the surrounding area.; In the center of our area, a short un-coursed stone structure (694) was built in the mid-12th century, running north-south for 1.7 meters. The purpose of this structure is problematic – it may have been a wall which continued to the south, but had its course completely obliterated by later interference, or it may represent some sort of a bench feature. No clues were furnished to assist in solving this mystery.  In any case its period of use ended at the latest by 1260, when a Frankish pit deposit (691) bored through its western courses. Beginning with the construction of structure 694 the area immediately surrounding it was used as a dumping ground for debris and rubbish. Multiple contexts of tiles, stones, and pottery were excavated that are dated to the Late Byzantine period (682, 689, 693, 696, 698, 699). We may speculate that this is a continuation of the land use in this area from the 10th c. onwards, as already demonstrated above with 704, 709, and 688=741.; One further act in this period may be briefly discussed. An outer apse or buffer (676) was added to wall 539, another apse-like shape. The reason for this is unclear, as is the status of both of these walls as apses. They may rather represent the closing off of the two adjacent vertical walls (538) connecting to either end of each apse. Furthermore, it may turn out that outer apse 676 is in fact part of the same building project as 539 and this structure division thereby arbitrary.; ; Frankish; The Frankish period has few clear contexts that have not been disturbed by Venetian/Ottoman/Modern layers. The most important is deposit 691, mentioned above, which was a circular fill of a pit and is filled with a midden of sorts - charcoal, bones, pieces of pottery, and an especially large concentration of seashells. It is hoped that our soil sample will reveal specifically what a 13th century diet might consist of. Shortly after this a large leveling course (663) was laid down over 691 and the northern zone of our area – in other words the area specifically littered with 12th c. debris deposits and we may hazard a guess that the motivation was to level out this uneven and rough surface along with the foundations of structure 694.; ; Venetian; The Venetian period obviously saw a major reworking of our area which disturbed much of the Frankish material. As such, many of our Frankish finds were found in Venetian contexts. A major N-S running fill dissected our area through the middle (651=667) and probably continued to the north and the south, but was lost to us due to the northern scarp and pit 193 respectively. Around this time (or later) pit 193 was sunk in the southern end of our area, and the ceramic evidence used by previous excavators to assign it to the Frankish period perhaps instead represent a redeposition of debris from the pit construction. Above deposit 651=667 we uncovered a short E-W running wall of rough field stones (673), the majority of which has apparently been lost due to later interference. Its purpose must remain shrouded in the dark depths of time. The northern extent of our area was then covered with a grand leveling fill (655) in order to iron out the underlying perturbations. ; ; Ottoman II; Contra the 2008 findings, wall 420 must now be dated to the second Ottoman period based upon both stratigraphy (cf. 637 and 656) and pottery found within the wall itself. It represents some sort of dividing wall that dissected our area into northern and southern zones, although its poor quality and haphazardly curving course makes its identification as an exterior dividing wall the most likely.; ; Modern; Contra the 2008 finding, pit 430 must now postdate the construction of wall 420, given that it cuts this Ottoman structure. Fill 634 most likely represents backfill or slump over an area previously excavated in 1936 or 1961. Deposit 738 underlay 717=735 stratigraphically, but also formed part of our eastern scarp and thereby prey to contamination from other layers. Within was found a petulant iron spoon, likely dating at earliest to the Early Modern Period. Context 738 thereby dates stratigraphically to at latest the 9th century.; ; Conclusions; The tantalizing emergence of wall 746 hints at presence of a major structure lower down in our area. However, the general conclusion based upon the complicated and multifarious layers that we excavated is that from the Byzantine period onwards this area was monopolized for external land use. Several rough unrelated haphazard walls suggest the occasional organization of this space, but for the most part it would appear to have formed a happy dumping ground for unwanted material emanating from the surrounding structures in Nezi Fields. Although a relatively small area, these results are suggestive. They indicate that the area outside of the former Roman Forum was not densely populated enough to exclude areas of non-building from the Byzantine period onwards. Furthermore, there is some 1000 years of (non-)use in this space, indicating some sort of negative continuity. ; Further excavations of this area should concentrate on establishing the relationship and function of apse walls 539 and 676, namely whether they are part of the same wall and whether they postdate or are part of the same construction project as the vertical walls (538) running off them.  The removal of context 644 should allow better understanding both of the apse and of wall 540, helping to define the relationship of our area with the built-up areas to the west. Wall 731 should be removed and its construction date clarified. Finally, wall 746 should have its date accurately assessed and its function clarified.","Nezi Field 2012 by Andrew Connor and Simon Oswald (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Andrew Connor and Simon Oswald (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Excavations in NE Area of Nezi Field by Team Pink, Session 1, 2012","Corinth","","","","","","","Report"
"The room bounded by wall 366 and robbing trench 497 to the north (1006.00 N), wall 365 to the south (1002.10 N), and walls 332 to the east (262.07 E) and wall 306 to the west (258.01 E) was excavated between April 5 and April 20, 2012. This room is located approximately 10 meters south of the so-called Turkish House. Its earliest phases predate the 11th c CE when two walls (366 and 306) were built as part of a larger, unknown structure. Activity in the room continued through to the early modern period, when the north portion of wall 306 and the west portion of wall 366 were robbed out (497), and in the 18th century a bothros was placed in the middle of the room. In the intervening 700 years, layers of dumped fill were used to level out the space during the late 11th – early 12th c., and subsequently walls 332 and 365 were constructed to create the current space. This area was excavated under the supervision of Angele Rosenberg-Dimitracopoulou and Larkin Kennedy. We worked with a crew of workmen including Thanasis Notis (pickman, foreman), Vangelis Kollias (wheelbarrow man, screener), Thanos Kioseloglou (shovelman, replacement pickman), and occasionally Tasos Kakouros filled in for Thanasis Notis as pickman as well.; ; Pre-11th c CE; ; Wall 366 at 1007.00N, which extends from 260.40E to 262.20E, and wall 306 at 258E, which extends from 1004.78N to 1002.58N, were constructed prior to the 11th c CE. Wall 366 consists of fairly regular courses of large, squared blocks separated by tile. These courses continue unchanged throughout the visible elevations of the wall, and extend below the elevation reached at the end of session 1. Wall 306 is slightly smaller and is similarly constructed of fairly regular courses of large, squared blocks. ; ; Byzantine period; ; During the Byzantine period, this area was leveled out through the deposition of successive layers of dump fill. Three layers of dump fill (718 Lot 2012-16, 716, 713) were thrown in along the northern wall 366 during the 11th c CE. In the early 12th c CE, another layer of fill (711) was tossed into the room’s northern portion. These deposits included the disposal of glass and ceramic vessels, a glass bracelet, bone needles and pins, iron slag, nails, ceramic tile, faunal material, charcoal, and plaster. In context 718 were also disposed two bronze bracelets (MF 2012-10, 2012-12), one with a hook and eye closure and one composed of wire flattened at one end and wrapped around the wire body to form a ring for closure, as well as a shell bead, possibly made of mother of pearl, and incised with a starburst pattern (MF 2012-2).; ; These earlier deposits form a bowl allowing later fills to spill down in successive lenses away from walls 306 and 366. Later dump fills (711, 708, 690 Lot 2012-14, 685, 683 Lot 2012-15, 681, 677, 670, 660 Lot 2012-13, 650, 646 Pottery Lot 2012-13 Bone Lot 2012-2, 645) were successively laid around the room, probably also during the early 12th c CE. These deposits similarly included the disposal of glass and ceramic vessels, a waster, a bone awl and a pin, a stone tessera, a millstone fragment, an iron implement, iron nails, slag, and bloom, bronze, plaster, ceramic tile, faunal material, architectural revetment, mainly of marble but also of terracotta, and charcoal. A stamped amphora handle was kept from context 685, though not inventoried. Of note were coin 2012-13 (931-944 CE) and coin 2012-18 (969-1030 CE) from context 646, coin 2012-35 (976-1030 CE) and coin 2012-36 (945-950 CE) from context 690, and a bronze bracelet with a hook clasp (MF 2012-3) which was also retrieved from context 690.; ; In the southwestern corner of context 690, spreading to the east from wall 306, a cluster of large faunal bones (mainly bovid) was accompanied by large fragments of stewpots. This and other subtle differences in the dumping activity were explored with soil samples taken from contexts 646 and 690. Although clear changes in soil indicate that these fills are the result of years of dumping activity and not a single deposit, it is not possible to archaeologically distinguish between these events and the finds do not reveal a more precise chronology either. Few ceramic sherds joined, and none between contexts, indicating a large number of individual pots were represented, rather than many fragments representing a few vessels as would be expected in a primary deposit. These successive fills therefore appear to represent individual loads of dirt that should ultimately be considered part of the same protracted depositional event which leveled the area.; ; Later in the 12th c CE a drain (426) extending from 1011.75N/259.26E to 1004.97N/260.30E was cut into the early 12th c CE fill. Slabs of stone lined the walls of the drain and its floor was made of packed soil. The drain may continue south into the adjoining room, although this needs to be further explored. It also extends north into the Blue team’s area, where it appears to cut through wall 366. In previous excavation seasons, fill for the drain has been dated on the basis of the pottery to the 11th century, though it has also been considered to date to at least the Frankish period on the basis of stratigraphy (590, 591). The portion of the drain south of wall 366 still preserved coverstones, while that north of the wall only retained a few coverstones and displayed other signs that the northern portion of the drain had been exposed outside for a period of time prior to being covered by later depositional events. Stones from the drain’s walls were robbed out (between approximately 1007.00 N and 1006.00) as part of the robbing activity (c 497) that also makes determination of the exact relationship between drain 426 and wall 366 problematic, as stones were also removed from the northern portion of wall 306 and the portion of wall 366 close to where wall 366 and drain 426 would have met in antiquity. This robbing has been dated to the early modern period on the basis of its stratigraphic relationship with robbing trench 596.; ; Still later in the 12th c CE, wall 332, which extends from 1006.37N/262.38E to 999.90N/262.07E was built in order to create a smaller, interior space. This wall is constructed of roughly squared blocks with some tile demarcating the irregular courses. It rests on a foundation of spherical boulders that begin at elevation 86.35 at the north end and elevation 86.72 at the south end, and extend down to a depth of 86.23. These non-corbelled courses bell out wider than the finished wall face. At the time the wall was built, a foundation trench 654 was dug into the surrounding deposits of leveling fill. This trench contained the disposal of glass and ceramic vessels, a glass tube, bronze, marble, and iron. As the material contained in this trench dates to roughly the same time period as the deposits it is laid against, however, this foundation trench can be considered to have been filled by the same material as that which was dug up in order to provide a trench for wall 332’s foundation courses, and not by extraneous material. ; ; Even later in the 12th c CE, wall 365, extending from 1002.58N/257.89E to 1002.44N/261.99E, was constructed in order to subdivide this room and create two smaller interior spaces in place of one larger interior space. This wall was possibly constructed on top of drain 426, though the boulders partially exposed at elevation 86.70 require further attention in order to better understand this relationship, and whether these boulders can indeed be considered as part of the southern extend of the drain. In wall 365, large, roughly squared blocks rest on a foundation made up of a single course of rounded boulders extending to a maximum depth of 86.67. Threshold 664, consisting of a break in wall 365, joined this room to the room to the south and contained an iron needle (MF 2012-8) as well as an iron nail and body sherds from a glass vessel. Coin 2012-14 from the Late Byzantine period (1070-1075 CE) was found just below the two large stones preserved in the south-most portion of threshold 664. Threshold 536, made up of a single layer of crushed tile, provided access to the room from the east. This threshold was laid on the edge of existing stone courses of wall 332 and bridged the gap between this wall and wall 365. To the west of threshold 536, there was a concentration of carbon and bone with some sherds from glass vessels which could be associated with this doorway (641). An iron bloom was also saved from context 641, though not inventoried. A flotation sample was taken from both of these contexts as they could represent deposition associated with the use of the doorways, and which could be compared at a later date with the contents of flotation samples taken elsewhere in the room. ; ; Early Modern; ; In the 18th c CE, a bothros (346/671) was dug into the middle of room, cutting through all of the earlier leveling fill. It stretches from 1005.06N to 1003.84 N and 259.79E to 261.38 E. Four large, tabular stones capped the bothros on its northern side (346) to a depth of 86.81. Under the capstones, the interior of the bothros was lined with regular courses of rounded boulders until an elevation of 85.35 m (671). Under the stone courses is a thick white clay foundation layer which was not excavated. When it was dug, the bothros cut through the drain 426. Built into the regular courses of the structure was a large amount of tile that appears to have used glass slag as a temper. A sample was saved for further testing, as it may indicate the presence of glass making in the vicinity. A Byzantine coin (coin 48) from Thessalonika (1143-1180) was also built into the bothros wall (671). After the stone courses end at 85.35, the bothros belled out into a cavity wider at the bottom than at its mouth, and continued to an elevation of 83.90 m. It appeared to Thanasis Notis (the team’s pickman) that the bothros terminated at this point. ; ; When it went out of use, the bothros (346/671) was filled with a deposit taken from elsewhere around the site which contains a cohesive collection of Frankish material dating to the first half of the 13th c CE (726, 733, 739, 743) including glass and ceramic vessels, iron nails, iron slag and an antler. In addition to the relatively high volume of cooking and tableware, a significant concentration of faunal and fish bone and charcoal were included in the deposit. Two Byzantine coins were also included in the deposit, coin 2012-50 (1112- 1137 CE) and coin 2012-52 (1143- 1180 CE), a bronze token (originally assigned coin no. 2012-46), and two illegible coins (coin 2012-44 and 2012-49). This deposit appears, therefore, to be a secondary deposit of Frankish material that was thrown into the bothros, possibly when it was no longer necessary for storage. ; Sometime after the filling of the bothros, a pit (c431) was dug into it, cutting through both the southern end of the structure to a depth of 86.30. It stretches from 1004.35 N to 1002.43 N and 259.71E to 261.70E. It was filled with Frankish material (336 and 338) similar to that filling the bothros 671/346 (726, 733, 739, 743).; ; Further excavation is necessary to address four remaining questions. First, further excavation is necessary within bothros 346/671 in order to ensure that it does terminate. Thanasis Notis suggested that it might continue laterally to the north rather than down. Next, investigation of the room to the south would indicate whether drain 426 does in fact continue. Threshold 536 could also be removed in order to better determine the association of walls 332 and 365. Finally, more soil should be removed from within the room in order to determine a more precise chronology for walls 306 and 366.","Nezi Field 2012 by Larkin Kennedy, Angele Rosenberg-Dimitracopoulou (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Larkin Kennedy, Angele Rosenberg-Dimitracopoulou (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Excavations of Nezi Field, SW area, Session 1 2012","Corinth","","","","","","","Report"
"Rachel McCleery/Sarah Miller; Nezi Field Excavations; N: 1015.90 N, S: 1006.90 N, E: 264.20 E, W: 255.50 E; April 3-20, 2012; ; This is a summary of the first session of excavation (April 3-20) in 2012 in the northwest area of Nezi field. Guy Sanders (director) and Heather Graybehl (field director) supervised.  The blue excavation team consisted of Rachel McCleery and Sarah Miller (recorders), Athanasios Sakellariou (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 baulk of Nezi field (255.50 E) to the west.  The lack of preserved architecture led us to interpret our area as exterior space associated with the Byzantine house to the south.  The goal of this season is to further explore the Byzantine habitation layers found during earlier excavations in the area (2008 and 2009), with the hope of reaching Late Roman material by the end of the season.; ; Middle Byzantine (802-1058 AD); ; An area to the northwest (724) was covered with broken and redeposited tile mixed with pottery, possibly as leveling fill for an exterior courtyard. A lens of ashy fill (722) was laid on top. ; ; The leveling fill here may have been associated with the construction or use phase of an E-W wall (747) to the south (between 1010.10 and 1010.20 N).  The relationship of this wall to the context immediately to the E (745) is unclear, as it has been only partially excavated. Given the high concentrations of tile in 745, some of which were lying horizontally near the nicely-faced E end of 747, a tile surface may also have been laid next to wall 747 at the level of the topmost preserved stone, either as paving or as a threshold. This wall, or its continuation (after a doorway, if the eastern face we exposed is the western doorjamb) along the same E-W line, may have intersected with pier 573 at the pier’s southern end, and continued east to wall 540.; Additional leveling activity took place in the southeast, 2 to 5 meters west of wall 540, where a shallow pit was filled with Middle Byzantine material (668, 678).  ; ; Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD); ; This previously open area was closed off to the S by the construction of another E-W wall (366).  The shallow Middle Byzantine pit discussed above was cut by the foundation trench (C687) for this wall, and the foundation trench was filled with cultural material of the 11th to mid-12th c. (684 = lot 2012-03).; Later in the period, the inhabitants dug a pit (C686) which intruded on this foundation trench and its fill. The pit (C686) was filled with successive layers of dumped debris, not all of which have yet been excavated.  A sandy, pebbly matrix, partially excavated in context 680 by mistake, represents the earliest lens of fill observed, and contained at least three 2nd c. AD coins (2012-23, 2012-26, 2012-28), one 4th c. coin (2012-27), and four illegible coins.  The lowest excavated layer of fill (680) contained large quantities of redeposited late Roman pottery (late 3rd to early 4th) along with material from the second half of the 11th c., which may represent dumped fill from construction activity elsewhere.  An upper layer of fill (642 = lot 2012-02, 657) with a greater concentration of bone and more variety in its pottery, was then laid on 680 in the early 12th c.  This may represent construction debris combined with some habitation debris, given the greater quantities of bone recovered.; ; In the mid-12th c., this pit (C686) was edged on its northeast side with white clay (638), ca. 20-30 cm in width, which may once have formed a containing barrier separating the contents of the pit from a yellow clay surface (unexcavated) to the north.  For later activity in this area of the trench, see 2009 contexts (esp. 447, 449, 454- 456, 465-467, 476-481).; ; Further along wall 366 to the west, an additional extensive deposit (692, 697, 734) leveled the area between walls 366 and 747, covering a sloping red clay emanating from the area of the well (742, unexcavated) to the east and wall 366 to the south.  ; ; Around the same time, an earlier wall running N-S from the area of well 742 (possibly cut by well 742 and continuing south beyond it as seen in stones visible in the north side of the bottom of foundation trench C687) was robbed out and the trench filled with cultural material (728) dating from the late 11th to early 12th c.  The area to the east (730) and west (724) of this robbing trench was covered in additional leveling fill, but the chronological relationship between the N-S robbing trench and the leveling fill is unclear.  All three deposits (724, 728, and 730) were superficially identical.  The N-S robbing trench was distinguished from the other two contexts only by cuts through the deposits which lay beneath 724.  We posit that the early 12th c. material in 724 came from the portion in the area of the robbing trench, since the robbing trench itself (728) was dated to the late 11th/early 12th c., the fill to its east (730) was dated to the 11th c., and 724 was overlaid in the west by contexts 722 (ashy semicircle discussed above) and 727 (a patch of reddish soil), both of which dated to the 11th c.  The relationship of this N-S robbing trench to the E-W wall 747 below is unclear, though their comparative elevations would lead us to believe that the robbed out N-S wall was both later and shorter-lived than wall 747.  ; ; After the N-S robbing trench was filled in, a reddish pebbly deposit (707) was laid over its northern end.  Several layers of similar fill (661, 636, 461, 460) followed in the same location, possibly to provide a well-drained, hard-wearing surface in a high-traffic outdoor area.  At some point these pebbly deposits were cut by drain 426, but successive excavations of the fill of the drain north of wall 366 (462, 469, 588-591, 635) and more of the fill around it (458, 460, 461, 464, 468, 469, 476, 482, 569, 588, 589, 624) failed to provide conclusive information about its date (due in part to robbing of the stones of the drain to the south).; ; To the north and east of pier 573, a soft brown deposit (706) was laid on a harder, orangey surface (unexcavated), possibly forming the substructure for a series of floors in this area.   This was in turn covered by a darker soil (701) which was laid against pier 573 and extended east to wall 540.; ; Frankish (1210-1458 AD); ; 13th c. pottery (744) appeared immediately above the remains of wall 747 in the western half of the trench, possibly representing fill from an episode of robbing.  An orangey Frankish surface (576) extended east from pier 573 to wall 540.  It was bordered in the S by the eastern portion of wall 747, which therefore was still in use in the Frankish period.  A reused block with a cutting for a doorjamb (574) was placed against wall 540 above this orangey floor.  This suggests that the similar buttressing block to the south (653) may have been added at this time, covering the 12th c. white and yellow clays noted above.  We wildly speculate that the reused doorjamb block was taken from an opening for a door in wall 747, west of pier 573, leading north into an outdoor area with a pebbly surface.  This pebbly surface would have been provided with a light roof, as can be imagined from the presence of at least two postholes north of the wall (one discovered in 2009 in context 460, and one visible just W of the middle of pier 573).; ; Early Modern (1831-1945 AD); ; In the early modern period, a second robbing trench was dug and filled (740) along the western half of wall 747, cutting the earlier trench from the Frankish robbing episode. This second robbing trench is truncated by the west baulk of Nezi field at 255.50 E, and ends in the east at ca. 257 E.  The cut for this trench had tapered sides and a blunt bottom.  The north side of the cut sloped up to the north at approximately a thirty degree angle (see 631) while the south side sloped up to the south at approximately a forty degree angle.  The steeply sloping, semicircular cut in the sloping red clay layer southeast of this cut and at a higher elevation (furthest eastern extent: ca. 258.05 E, 1009.50 N) may be the remains of the robbing trench cut at a higher level, sloping down from southeast to northwest.; ; Another early modern robbing trench in the eastern side of the trench removed the eastern continuation of wall 747.  This trench extended from wall 540 (ca. 264.05 E) at least as far as the southwest end of pier 573 (ca. 260.30 E) extending to ca. 1010 N.  This modern robbing trench remains unexcavated at the end of this session, but we have dated it based on the small quantities of Early Modern pottery found in contexts 669 and 672 (lot 2012-04) immediately above. During this period, if not earlier, some of the stones in drain 426 were also robbed out.; ; Finally, a foundation trench was cut for the S wall of the Giambouranis house (719), with Early Modern fill in its upper layer.  The removal of this fill revealed a number of unexcavated contexts, the date of which remains to be determined.  This wall seems to have been earlier than wall 243, whose foundation trench (C272) has cut or truncated many of the contexts in this area.; ; For next session:; ; Excavation in this area so far has been aimed at uncovering G. Sanders’ “pleasing pink” deposits (red clay thought to date to the Late Roman period).  With this goal in mind, we recommend that further excavation should begin with the following:; 1)    Removal of the early modern robbing trench east and south of pier 573 (see context 672).; 2)    Excavation of the post hole discovered at the bottom of 707, west of pier 573.  While it is unlikely that diagnostic material will be found at the bottom of such a small context, one can always hope.; 3)    Removal of the sandy/pebbly deposit left in C686 (see context 680).  We recommend careful 100% sieving, since this is likely the context which produced 8 coins in 2 buckets of soil.; 4)    Removing the block of soil left to the south of C566, where the arc of a column is visible in the scarp along with a number of boulders and cobbles.; 5)    Completion of the context begun as 745 (E of wall 747) in order to clarify architectural features and phasing in this area.; 6)    Excavation around well 742 to clarify the relationship between the well and the surrounding contexts.  The well itself cannot be excavated at present since its fill begins 2.96 m below the deposit covering its mouth.  We do not recommend stepping on or through it, nor do we recommend excavating more than 0.50 m (at most) immediately to its east, since the well is deeply undercut in that direction beginning at ~1.30 m below the present top of the well.; ; Further notes:; We have not fully excavated the fill (684) of the foundation trench (687) for wall 366, since it becomes too deep and narrow north of the wall’s preserved western extent.  The pit fill excavated as 680 may continue as well; a large handle sherd was visible at its bottom near wall 366 on 26 April 2012.  We also have not fully excavated context 745, which was closed at the end of the last day of excavations prior to reaching the bottom of the context.; There are three major questions raised by this session’s excavations which should be resolved by further work in this area: ; 1)    What is the relationship of wall 747 to the N-S robbing trench (728), well 742, and the black deposit (745) immediately to the E of the preserved portion of the wall?; 2)    How is well 472 related to other activity in this area?; 3)    Does the softer soil excavated in 703 (mid-12th c.) continue beneath the harder surface exposed by 701, or is it a different (but similar) soil beneath?  If it is the same, why does the harder surface above it stop ca. 0.60 m from wall 540, and why is context 706 (which is laid on the harder surface) dated to the early 12th c.?","Nezi Field 2012 by Rachel McCleery/Sarah Miller (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Rachel McCleerySarah Miller (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Excavations in Nezi Field, NW area, Session 1 2012","Corinth","","","","","","","Report"
"Jonida Martini, Larkin Kennedy, and Rachel McCleery; Team Pink Report for May, 2012 season; Session 2, 2012 American School Corinth Excavations (April 30-May 19, 2012 for final report); Nezi Field, NE Region; E 264 to 275, N 1006 to 1014; ;     Excavations were conducted in the NE area of the Nezi Field region, to the east of N-S wall 540 (E 264.5) and to the north of pit 191 (north of N1006) in the southwest and north of pit 193 (north of N1008.5) in the southeast. The northern edge of this area is bounded by the scarp edge left by previous excavations in the North of Nezi region (south of ca. N1014). ; ;     The excavation of this area was under the direction of Dr. G.D.R. Sanders, Director of Excavations, Corinth, and the assistant field director was Ms. Heather Graybehl. Our pickmen were the brothers Panos and Tasos Kakouros; our shovelman and sieve operator was Vasillis Kollias. Jonida Martini and Larkin Kennedy were recorders for the first half of the May session. Jonida Martini and Rachel McCleery were recorders for the second half of the May session. This area was last excavated in April of 2012 by Simon Oswald and Andrew Connor.; ; Late Antique;     ; In the previous session, a cemented N-S wall (746) was unearthed near the eastern extent of this area at easting 274.5. This wall was considered to have been in use earlier than the 8th to 9th c. AD, as its construction used large, roughly worked bedrock and limestone blocks and cement. It was out of use by the 8th – 9th centuries AC, as fill dating to that time period covers over the wall. In the western half of our area, traces of an E-W wall at 1011 northing (807) appear to be in the same cement block masonry style of wall 746 and therefore have been preliminarily dated to Late Antiquity as well. This designation is preliminary, however, as only the very top course of each wall has been exposed for a little more than a meter. It is possible that wall 807 meets up with wall 746, forming an enclosed area in the late antique period south of the North of Nezi area, and helping to section off a small room in the far northeast of the Nezi field (north of 1013N and east of 274E).;     ; Throughout the excavation area, a wide stretch of reddish material has been exposed which contains large amounts of tile and amphorae sherds which preliminarily date it to the Roman period.  A small triangular section of this material lies pedestaled above much of the rest of the trench, and its upper layer (836) has been dated to the Late Roman period (late 5th – early 6th).  The rest remains unexcavated.  As it overlays these late antique walls (807), it is probably late Roman in origin, though a definite date will need to be assigned after excavation. Fill 812 appears to be a portion of this reddish material that was preemptively excavated near the northwest corner of the trench between wall 807 and the late antique walls in North of Nezi.)  Wall 807 was presumably out of use by the 10th to 11th c., since it was immediately overlaid by context 805 (10th-11th c. npd). ; ; Byzantine; ;     In the Early Byzantine period (8th-9th c. AC), a large fill (837, 846) was deposited west of and partially over the remains of the Late Antique wall (746).  ; This fill contained interesting cookware in a micaceous fabric, as well as handmade beakers.; ; Later in the Byzantine period (10th century AC), mixed fill was laid down E-W across the extent of this area in a long, rough depression. This fill (previously excavated as context 741, and also comprising contexts 749, 782, and 835) is contained in a long trench that cut directly off of the wall that may have been used for drainage. This depression could also have functioned as a road which was robbed out prior to the 10th century, as a few flattened boulders which could have been used originally to pave the road were found in an apsidal structure immediately to the south of the trench. Shallow deposits of leveling fill south of this trench dating to the 11th century (778, 779) could have been related to the use of this road. Probably also during this time period, contexts 788 and 799 filled a pit next to wall 540.;     ; Walls 313, 334, and 335 may have been built to the south of the 741/748/782/835 trench at this point or earlier, but since they have not been fully excavated, their construction date is unclear.  Wall 616 (also not fully excavated) was later added to the north end of wall 334.  The plan of this originally rectangular room was further altered by the addition of an apse-shaped structure (538, 539) added to its northern end in the 11th century AC connecting walls 313 and 616/334 (removed as context 773). This apsidal structure had no stone courses, though rounded, smaller cobbles were generally found on the west and larger, roughly hewn boulders mixed with the rounded cobbles on the east. This division in the size of the boulders piled in the apse shape appears to have led previous investigators to assign two context numbers (538 and 539) to the structure, though there does not appear to have been any other difference in the fill. Against the northern end of wall 313, more rounded boulders were loosely piled in order to round the western edge of this apsidal structure (removed as context 801). These cobbles and boulders could have been placed around cut 848 as it was being dug sometime either during the Late Byzantine or Frankish period as they resemble a rock pile or a series of rock piles more than a formal wall. An outer apse or buffer (676) surrounding this structure could have provided a finished façade for the internal rubble. This apse-shape may served as a curb surrounding and containing the series of dumped fills found in and around it (785, 786, 787, 789, 790), which would fit with G. Sanders’ observation about the casual, dumped appearance of the stones in the apse.;     ; To the north of the apse, a large pit (C784) was filled with a series of dumped deposits.  The chronology here is somewhat confused and will require further investigation; at the moment, however, pit C784 appears to be a Late Byzantine (or possibly very early Frankish) construction.  The pottery from much of its fill (752, 753, 754, 756, and 758) was contaminated by the contents of a later Frankish pit (C847) which was dug together with them accidentally; but contexts 764, 765, 810, and 812 should represent the uncontaminated fills of pit C784.  C784 contained secondary fills (752, 753, 754, 756, 758, 764, 765, and 810, and 812) with a number of broken pots, bones, tile, glass shards, a ceramic waster, marble fragments, and iron slag. 752 contained coin 58 (1030-1042 AC) and 764 contained coin 64 (post-335 AC). 754 contained a cylindrical glass bead (MF 2012-16), while a lion muzzle from a marble sima (A 2012-1) was recovered from context 765.  C784 cut the northern portion of 770 and ashy fill 783, a shallow ashy lens under 770.  C784 may still be Late Byzantine despite the Frankish pottery date of 770, because context 770 was a cleaning which extended across the entirety of the trench from north to south, east of wall 540.  The removal of the fill within pit C784 had left a baulk (to the north of what would later be identified as wall 807) very similar to the baulk to the south that had been created by the partial removal of context 218.  The apparent similarity of the two areas led to the northern portion of 770 being excavated together with the Frankish material to the south.; ; Frankish;     ; In the northernmost portion of our excavation area, a number of contexts were excavated that had been affected by their proximity to the scarp.  They had slumped slightly down the hill so that portions of later contexts near the scarp had collapsed to the same elevation as the early contexts further south of the scarp. Contexts 750 and 751 accordingly contain pottery the majority of which dates to the Frankish period, but which is highly disturbed. Each also contains many glass fragments and other rubble as well as significant amounts of Late Roman pottery. 750 also contained an imitation African lamp handle and 751 contained coin 2012-57 (1287-1308 AC).  ;     ; Around the end of the 13th/beginning of the 14th c., pit C848 inside the apsidal structure was filled (contexts 792, 793, 796, 820, and 821). Coin 2012-70 (1060? AC) was discovered in 793, as well as a wealth of fine pottery and cook pots which securely date these contexts. This pit extends further below the lowest depth excavated, and should be investigated further to determine the date of the lowest fill and thus a more definite construction date for the pit.;     During the Frankish period, pit C847 was dug to the north of the apsidal structure through the remnants of Byzantine pit C784 as well as through the stub of a Byzantine wall (694).  Contexts 761 and 763, which filled pit C847, contained coin 2012-62 (4th c. AC) as well as iron debris, an iron knife missing its handle and some glass along with pottery.  (The upper levels of fill in this Frankish pit C847 were mistakenly excavated with the fill of the larger Byzantine pit C784, thus contaminating the pottery dates for 752, 753, 754, 756, and 758.  The Frankish pit can be clearly distinguished from C784 in photos 2012-213, 2012-215, and 2012-216.); ; An area of fill was laid down in the southwest part of the trench just east of wall 540.  This context (the southern portion of 770) was equivalent to context 218 which had been incompletely excavated at the end of the 2007 season, leaving a baulk of the same soil east of wall 540.  This had been assigned context number 644 by the 2012 session 1 excavators, but was not excavated until session 2, when it was lumped in with additional material to the north.;     Yet another Frankish pit (430) was dug just to the southwest of C847. This pit was not completely excavated in the 2008 season, and in the shallow remnants of this pit (803 and 804) we found very little pottery but one gold gilded tessera (MF 2012-20) that is comparable to a similar one found in the Nezi area in a previous year. This pit was also lined with lime. In the bottom of the pit were visible two more of the large blocks from wall 807.","Nezi Field 2012 by Larkin Kennedy, Jonida Martini, and Rachel McCleery (2012-04-30 to 2012-05-19)","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Larkin Kennedy, Jonida Martini, and Rachel McCleery (2012-04-30 to 2012-05-19)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Final Report 2012 Session 2: Team Pink","Corinth","","","","","","","Report"