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"","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Kyle Mahoney and Rachel McCleery (2012-05-28 to 2012-06-15)","Nezi Field 2012 by Kyle Mahoney and Rachel McCleery (2012-05-28 to 2012-06-15)","Kyle Mahoney and Rachel McCleery; Nezi Field Excavations Final Report; 1015.20 to 1005.80 N, 264.30 to 277 E; May 28-June 15, 2012; ; This is the final report on the third session of excavation (May 28-June 15) in 2012 in the northeast area of Nezi field.  Guy Sanders (director) and Heather Graybehl (field director) supervised.  The pink excavation team consisted of Kyle Mahoney and Rachel McCleery (recorders), Panos Kakouros (pickman), Vasillis Kollias (shovelman), and Vangelis ___ (barrowman). Our area was bounded to the north by the scarp of H. Robinson’s 1960s excavations at 1015.20 N, to the east by the previous excavations at ca. 277 E, to the southeast by an arbitrary scarp established during session 1 of 2012 at 1009.50 N, to the southwest by the southernmost extent of C848 (ca. 1005.80 N), and to the west by wall 540 (264.30 E). The area was previously excavated this season by Andrew Connor and Simon Oswald in April and Larkin Kennedy, Jonida Martini, and Rachel McCleery in May. ; ; Late Antique/Late Roman (5th-6th c. AD); ; Two Late Antique walls (746 and 851) are currently the earliest remains visible in our area of excavation.  Wall 746 runs north-south from North of Nezi wall 5334 in the north before disappearing into the south scarp created by excavations this season at 1009.50 N.  It appears to be preserved only at or just above the foundation level; there are no regular courses below the large stones which appear on its uppermost surface mixed with smaller stones, tiles, and cement.  Wall 851 runs to the east from wall 746, bisecting the area south of wall 5334 into what should be two interior spaces in the far northeast and southeast corners of our area.  Currently only the uppermost surface of wall 851 is visible, so we cannot say much more about its construction style or preservation.   A possible floor surface (unexcavated and unnumbered) here, laid against wall 851 to the north and wall 746 to the west, was covered by context 852 which dated to the Late Roman period (npd).  This deposit forms our terminus ante quem for the possible floor and therefore the construction and use of the building.  We are unable to say much else about this area of the trench since these contexts are truncated to the east by previous excavations and to the south by the south scarp established during session 1 of 2012.; ; The east-west wall 941 also appears to be Late Antique from the presence of 5th c. amphoras (photo 2012-601, Lot 2012-43) which were placed in what is either a niche or a small robbed-out section of the wall (photo 2012-605).  Unfortunately, we were unable to excavate wall 941 entirely before the end of the season, but we believe the wall continues east and turns to the south several meters before reaching north-south wall 746.  The corner is not visible at the moment, but a large stone against the south scarp may be part of this south return.  Another possible north-south wall visible in the scarp of pit C193 and on the surface at the bottom of context 951 (Late Roman, 5th npd) intersects with the south face of 941 west of our hypothetical corner and may continue to the north; too little of it has been exposed to assign it a structure number, but it appears on the final bottom plan for our area between 269.80 and 270.40 E.; ; A robbing trench or abandoned foundation trench ran south from wall 941, roughly in line with several boulders visible in the southeast scarp of a later pit (pit C480).  The upper layers of this trench were filled (956) with material from the 7th century (npd), including a great deal of structural debris (marble revetment, tile, etc.)  In the scarp of a later pit (C848), this trench appears to descend to a depth of well over a meter from the elevation at which it was discovered.; ; Wall 807 appears to be Late Antique as well from its large, squared stones and cemented construction.  It may have been built in phases, since we have not traced cement in its lower courses.  Unfortunately, what we interpreted as the foundation trench of the upper, cemented phase (context 915) was dug together with a pit which cut the foundation trench, and the Middle Byzantine pottery date for 915 probably represents the contents of this pit rather than the date of the upper phase of the wall.; ; Two floors, fully (S913) or partially (S961) exposed but unexcavated this season, can also be dated to the Late Antique period on the basis of the fills found immediately above them.  We believe that these floors may be different phases of flooring from the same structure, since we have no evidence of a wall running north-south between them.  If this is so, then the earliest floor we exposed (S961) had a hearth built of fragments of tile (S960, unexcavated) against wall 807, which served as the south wall of the room.  Numerous iron nails (36 in a single context) were found on or just above this floor in a layer of tile dating to the early 7th c. (929, Lot 2012-47), suggesting that the roof beams had collapsed.  S961, unexcavated, should be equivalent to either S936 to the west of wall 540, removed by team blue, or to the unexcavated floor beneath it.  It will be necessary to remove wall 540, which cut the layers above the floor, before the entire preserved extent of the floor will be visible.  To the north, the floor seems to have been cut by a wall from North of Nezi.; ; If the later pebble floor extended this far west, we have little evidence of it.  The pebble floor itself (S913), however, is poorly preserved.  It lies above the elevation of S961, which may continue underneath it; the relationship between the two floors has been obscured, however, by the cut of a later Byzantine pit (C784).  Pebble floor S913 also lies above what is very possibly another wall, unexcavated (and not assigned a number since its status as a wall is in doubt), visible in the north scarp between 269.50 and 270.20 E.  The floor was broken up at some point and used as fill throughout our area (pieces of it have appeared in contexts 837, 865, 879, 890, and 951), then covered by 6th-7th century fills (905, 901=Lot 2012-51, 899, 896=Lot 2012-50, 836=Lot 2012-31).; ; In summary, we have more than enough Late Antique walls in our area – some with associated floors – to constitute two separate buildings and possibly three; further excavation is needed to clarify the relationships between these walls and the surrounding spaces.; ; Early Byzantine (610-802 AD); ; North-south wall 866, west of wall 746 and roughly parallel to it, was constructed from randomly coursed, smaller stones and tiles without cement.  It should date to the Early Byzantine period or earlier, since a number of 7th-8th century fills were laid directly against its east face (the west face remains unexcavated).; ; We surmise that an Early Byzantine structure in the eastern half of the trench, probably associated with wall 866, collapsed in this period, covering over a red earthen layer (unexcavated) throughout the area between wall 866 in the west and wall 746 in the east.  866 is the lowest level excavated in this portion of the trench, and represents a section of a semicircular area (truncated by the south baulk) with loose soil and tile that lay within a depression in the red layer.  As G. Sanders noted, this may represent not simply roof collapse, but scavenging of unbroken roof tiles for reuse, with the broken pieces left discarded and heaped in a pile with other debris.  Above it were a series of late 7th-early 8th century fills with large quantities of tile (877 and 879), capped with a very distinctive sloping pink layer (879) that we interpret as degraded mud brick which eroded over the tiles following a partial roof collapse.   This sloping pink layer was in turn covered by another 8th to early 9th century layer with tile (865, which also contained a single sherd of petalware) which either represents a further collapse of the unidentified structure or a leveling fill.  Additional leveling fill dating to the 8th-9th century (853, eastern portion of 849, 846, 837) brought much of this area to the approximate level of the uppermost preserved course of wall 746.  The upper levels of this fill contained interesting cookware in two distinct micaceous fabrics and rim shapes (concave thickened rims in silver mica,  flaring tapered rims in gold mica), as well as handmade beakers.  All contexts from this area (837, 846, 849, 853, 865, 877, 879, 886) have been saved for mending as Lot 2012-45.; At around this time as well (8th-9th c.), an erosional deposit (850) with very few remains of material culture covered over Late Antique wall 851.; ; Middle Byzantine (802-1058 AD); ; Near the end of the 11th c. at the earliest, a later pit or robbing trench, the fill of which was excavated along with the fill of the foundation trench for the upper courses of wall 807 (context 915), cut the foundation trench for 807.  This cut seems to run underneath the SW corner of the upper courses of wall 807, but its extent is unclear as it was incompletely excavated (since stratigraphically out of order).   ; ; Layers of leveling fill dating to the 10th century (946, 942, 835, 831=Lot 2012-44, 782, 748, 741=Lot 2012-7) were laid between wall 941 and the remains of the pebbled floor to the north (S913), extending across almost our entire area from east to west.  The 6th-7th c. fills above the pebbled floor were covered by 10th-11th c. material as well (688).  This leveling activity may have been necessary after the collapse of any Early Byzantine structures in the area, filling the uneven areas between the Late Antique wall 941 to the south and the remains of the building with the pebble floor in the north.; ; Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD); ; Only one Late Byzantine deposit was excavated during session 3 in our area: the foundation trench (921, cut 924) of north-south wall 540, providing an 11th c. terminus post quem for its construction. The walls remaining in the southwest corner of the trench should date to the Late Byzantine period or later as well, based on the last contexts excavated around them.  For this time period, consult the final report for session 2.; Frankish (1210-1458 AD); ; There is a series of Frankish pits in the area (cuts 847, 867, and 848; possibly cut 430), all of which are dug into and slightly undercutting earlier walls.  G. Sanders has suggested that some of these served as cheaper substitutes for pithoi, since some of the stones from these walls were left in place to close over the mouth of the pit. Frankish pit C867, cut into wall 866, is a good example.  Its fill (856=Lot 2012-49) dates to 1270 +/- 10 A.D.  and contained a number of joining fragments of glazed pottery, as well as coin 2012-92 (4th c. AD), pieces of wall plaster painted red, small fragments of bronze, and some unusual glass. ; ; Context 890 (fineware only saved as Lot 2012-48) represents additional excavation of C848, also identified as a Frankish pit, inside the former apse-like structure formed by walls 313, 334/616, and 538/539.  In addition to pottery, it contained wall plaster, glass, iron, and a fragment of a bone handle with incised decoration.; ; Future Excavation:; ; Frankish pit C848 remains only partially excavated, but is far too deep at the moment to be pursued further.  Excavation here (context 890, late 13th to early 14th c.) was stopped at an arbitrary level due to the depth of the pit compared to surrounding contexts.  There is at present no danger of contamination, though some of the soil along its sides appears to be splitting, on the verge of slumping into the pit.; ; Apart from pit C848, the most recent material left in our area should date to the Late Byzantine period or earlier in the southwest portion of our trench (south of wall 807, west of walls 616 and 334).  This is an area which contained a number of 11th-12th c. fills when last excavated in session 2 of 2012.  We have not explored this area since to determine whether or not all of these Middle to Late Byzantine fills have been removed.; ; Immediately south of wall 807 and beneath the possible Middle to Late Byzantine fills in that area, we partially excavated a cut of unknown extent and function while attempting to dig out the foundation trench of the cemented upper courses of wall 807 (in context 815).  The continuation of this cut should be isolated and further explored after the contexts above it have been removed.; ; Wall 807 appears to have been robbed out at some date given the difference in elevation between its cemented upper courses and the stones visible at the bottom of C430. We were unable to identify a robbing trench for it during this season, however, since we discovered wall 941 and related contexts in our first pass across the soil at a higher elevation to the south of 807. ; ; Much work needs to be done to clarify the relationships between wall 807, wall 941, the pebble floor to the north (S913), and three potential north-south walls (wall 866, the possible wall south of wall 941, and the possible wall visible in the north scarp west of wall 866 between 269.50 and 270.20 E). A small portion of tile-filled deposit, which should be equivalent to 879/886, was left to the south of wall 866, obscuring both the south end of 866 and the relationship between the upper courses of wall 941 and the large boulders visible south and east of wall 866 at a lower elevation.; ; The relationship between pebble floor S913 and the clay floor S961 to the west at a lower elevation also needs to be explored, keeping in mind that S913 is laid on at least one of our possible north-south walls. ; ; Finally, the arbitrary southern baulk east of C193 at 1009.50 N should be removed in order to pursue the south continuation of wall 746 and the possible floor associated with it on the wall’s eastern side.  This would also give us an opportunity to further investigate the interesting cookware in the gold and silver micaceous fabrics which appeared with a single sherd of petalware in context 865.","","Corinth","Final Report 2012 Session 3: Team Pink","Report","",""
"","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by George, Charles Valente, Rossana (2012-06-26 to 2012-06-27)","Nezi Field 2012 by George, Charles; Valente, Rossana (2012-06-26 to 2012-06-27)","Charles George, Rossana Valente; Nezi Field Excavations; N: 1015.90 N, S: 1006.90 N, E: 264.20 E, W: 255.50 E; 28 May – 22 June, 2012; ; This is a final summary of the third season of excavation (28th May – 22th June) in 2012 in the northwest area of Nezi field. Guy Sanders (director) and Heather Graybehl (field director) supervised. The blue excavation team consisted of Charles George and Rossana Valente (recorders), Athanasios Sakellariou (pickman), Athanasios Notis (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (shovelman), and Pavlos Sennes (barrowman).; Excavation began in the area bounded by the Giambouranis house (NB 252, NB 262, 1015.90 N) to the north, Wall 540 to the east (264.20 E), Wall 366 to the south (1006.90 N), and the balk of Nezi field (255.50 E) to the west. The lack of preserved architecture, except the partially preserved Wall 747, led us initially to interpret our area as exterior space associated with the Byzantine room to the south, bounded by Wall 366 and Robbing Trench 497 to the north (1006.00 N), Wall 365 to the south (1002.10 N), Wall 332 to the east (262.07 E) and Wall 306 to the west (258.01 E). The goal of this session was to further explore the Byzantine habitation layers found during earlier excavations in the area (2008 and 2009, sessions 1st and 2nd 2012), with the hope of better understanding the use of space in this area during Frankish and Byzantine times and also of reaching Late Roman material by the end of the season.; ; Late Antique (5th-7th AD); ; We have reached Late Antique contexts in the northeast of the area which are overlaid by Wall 540, dated to the late 11th c. For this reason, we cannot see the eastern ends of the contexts, and we suggest close cooperation and contact with the Pink Team’s excavations of the area east of the wall.; We have identified a mid 6th- early 7th c. AD floor (S 936, removed as 957), which seems to continue under wall 540, and we argue that it is equal to a floor in the Pink Area (S941). This context contained two fifth century nummi (coin no.  2012-159, 160), with five fifth century nummi (coin no. 2012- 162-166, 169) also found in what we interpret as the continuation of the floor to the north (959), and two fifth century nummi (coin no. 2012-161, 164 ) found in a suggested floor surface below S 936 (958). The excavation of the floor has revealed another possible floor, which itself was laid over another possible floor surface. This may suggest that we have a stratification of floors indicating several successive habitations during the Late Antique period. The section of the floor called 959 seems to be laid on an E-W wall (S 918), therefore dating the wall earlier. It is unclear when and under what circumstances the wall later was robbed out. However, further excavation in the area and removal of wall 540 should elucidate the relationship. ; ; Above floor S 936 is a tile destruction layer (934), which is likely equal to the tile destruction layer across wall 540 on the Pink Team’s tile destruction layer 929. The elevation of Pink 929 is roughly equivalent to that of Blue 934 and part of Blue 931, a leveling fill directly above the destruction layer. As supporting evidence for this relationship is an AFRS form 99, which has joining fragments both in Blue 931 and Pink 929.; ; Vast quantities of sherds of Late Antique pottery have been found in the fill of a Late Byzantine lime pit (the eastern part of pit is 878 and western part is 917), an ovular Byzantine pit (888), and adjacent cleaning contexts and leveling fills (895, 906, 907, 908). Also, a Late Antique glass bottle (MF 2012-50) and jar (MF 2012-51) have been found in the lime pit (917). While we have interpreted these all as redepositions, the large size of the glass sherds and the size and density of the pottery suggest that the Late Antique material in these fills does not show signs of frequent redeposition.; ; Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD); ; The most important feature identified as Late Byzantine is the western portion of wall called 747, which dates to the late 11th c. The excavation of the fill to the east of western wall 747 has revealed a finished surface to the wall and an apparent end to the foundation beneath the wall. We think that in this space East of Western wall 747 there was an entrance. As the Western and eastern portions of wall called 747 are on the same axis, despite the gap and differences in construction, we maintain that they are contemporaneous and of the same structure. We still hope to determine whether there was an interior space north or south of the wall. North of 747 may have been exterior as suggested by the massive pit there (C 870, fill 844 and 868, W-E 258.43-261.89, S-N 1011.63-1014.56), which we have identified as a bothros, since it contains a mix of pottery ranging from the Geometric Period to the late 11th c.; ; Western Wall 747 seems to be surrounded by several leveling fills that are also dated to the Late Byzantine period. These leveling fills are both north (854, 855, 857, 858, 859, 863, 868, 869, 875, 876, 925, and 927) and south (897 and 904) of Wall 747. These leveling fills characterized by a yellowish brown soil, are poorly sorted, and there are not many material inclusions. Small quantities of pottery are found across these contexts. These small contexts are overlaid in several areas by various lenses of leveling fill, often consisting of harder-packed and different colored soil, but the pottery dates from all of these contexts suggest that they are all part of a relatively contemporaneous leveling of the area. None of these contexts has a precise date for the Late Byzantine period; we can relate this context to the Late Byzantine leveling activity of this area mainly by stratigraphic relationships. In the middle Byzantine dumped fill of a robbing trench along the W Scarp (950), we have found a likely-Christian clay bread mold (MF 2012-47). These fills seem bounded by Wall 747 in the south but extend as far as the Northern Balk.; ; We have found a lime pit (C 882, W-E 257.54-260.87 S-N 1008.88-1010.10, filled by 878 and 917) directly south of Western Wall 747. All the preserved sides of this pit are covered with lime. It is possible that the walls of this cut were intentionally covered with lime, for building purposes. For example, the lime pit may have been used for the construction of walls 747 and/or 540, which both also seem to date to the late 11th c. In a later action, this cut was filled by a dumped fill (878 and 917). The filling of this cut, dated to the late 11th c, is a secondary deposition of large quantities of Late Antique pottery (5th – 6th C). Excavation of the oven (S 910) and the area between the oven and the pit will elucidate the issue and will provide confirmation as to the western boundary of the pit, which is not yet certain.; ; Last but not least in importance is pit 888 (W-E 262.21-263.10, N-S 1009.06-1007.06). Partially excavated during session 1 (888=680), this pit seems to be a bothros. Its dumped fill, dated to the 11th C, seems to be a secondary deposition of much earlier material including large quantities of Late Antique (5th – 6th C)  pottery, Late Antique coins (2012 22-29, 105-126), and a 2nd-3rd c. incised intaglio (MF 2012-33). ; ; Frankish (1210-1458 AD); ; During the Frankish period E - W Wall 747 was partially robbed out. As noted during session 2, certain fills (833, 744) excavated in the robbing trench for this wall were distinguished both in materials excavated and soil composition, and should be considered the first robbing episode of this structure. ; S of this robbing trench, we excavated a Frankish pit dated by the pottery to 1270 (C 926 filled by 883, 884, 885, 887, 889, W-E 261.88-264.03, S-N 1010.35-1008.90). The pit was particularly rich in finds, including luxurious items such as gilded bone bands (MF 2012-43, 45), incised bone knife handles (MF 2012-48), and gilded bronze flower-shaped clamps (MF 2012-53A, 53B, 54, 55) as well as stone- and metal- working tools such as a lead cupellation bowl (MF 2012-38) and an iron chisel (MF 2012-40). Also found was a pecten shell used by pilgrims travelling on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela (MF 2012-34).; ; Below the pit, we came on the head of a well, a cistern, or a manhole (S 902 W-E 262.23-262.71, S-N 1009.55-1010.05). The structure is lined with plaster, and goes down 2.35 m, without any visible fill except for a small accumulation of debris, much of which is from our excavation of proximate contexts. The hole seems to have been intentionally closed with blocks. That it is a manhole is suggested by the slightly ovular shape of the hole, but it appears to be self-contained in all horizontal directions, which makes it more likely that it was a cistern or a well. That it is a well is suggested by the nearly intact water jug that was found at the bottom of pit 889, just centimeters away from the hole. Further excavation is needed to ; Another Frankish pit (C 871, filled by 860, W-E 255.51-256.95, S-N 1011.92-1013.63) was excavated during the second quarter of the 13th C, as its dumped fill suggests. This pit, located next to the W scarp of the excavation area has been interpreted as a bothros. Interestingly, the N side of the pit scarp is full of tile. A few large, unworked stones (possibly mined bedrock) are visible at the bottom on the E side. ; These pits may have been created for the purpose of storage. Generally Frankish pits were made along walls, as the surface of the wall offered an easy ready-made boundary for the pit. Our Frankish pits C 871 and C 926 correspond to this interpretation as do two Frankish pits excavated by the Pink Team (C 847, C 867).; ; Early Modern (1831-1945); ; Context 880 is the only context that has been dated to the Early Modern period, specifically Turkish II. We have interpreted the Turkish finds as contamination from the robbing trench for wall 747 (759), and therefore we interpret the context as a disturbance of the Frankish pit (C 926).; ; Recommendations; ; We recommend to future excavators the following:; ; 1.    Take down Wall 540. We are now certain that the Late Antique floors in the northeast of our area (S 936, 939, and those stratigraphically below) continue under the wall and into the Pink area (see above). The excavation and dating of the wall would remove an obstacle to excavating in the area and would be helpful for dating in the area. Lastly, there are many walls in the Blue (S 747 and S 918) and Pink areas that misalign by as few as 0.10-0.30 m, and the excavation of the wall would help in seeing more clearly whether they are related and how.; ; 2.    Excavate oven S 910 and the surrounding contexts in order to determine the relationship between the oven and the Byzantine lime pit to the east (C 882). ; ; 3.    Excavate floors S 911 and S 912 to discern their dates as well as the relationship between the two floors and between the floors and the surrounding area; ; 4.    Take down the contexts east of 949 and then proceed to finish its excavation. Digging in this area is important for understanding the boundary between the Late Antique material to the east and the 11th c. lenses of fill 844 to the west.; We hope that in the future, interior and exterior areas will be able to be identified, and that the Late Antique levels, now appearing in the NW, will become apparent throughout the area.","","Corinth","2012 Session 3 Team Blue Final Summary","Report","",""
"","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2013 by Kyle Jazwa Hilary Lehmann (2013-04-29 to 2013-05-17)","Nezi Field 2013 by Kyle Jazwa; Hilary Lehmann (2013-04-29 to 2013-05-17)","Nezi 2013 Season; Session 2 Final Report; Kyle Jazwa; Hilary Lehmann; N 1011.50-1017.49; E 259.60-269.70; 23 May 2013; ; This is the final report for the second session of excavation at Nezi, 2013. Guy Sanders (director) and Rossana Valente (field director) supervised. The excavation team of this session consisted of Kyle Jazwa and Hilary Lehmann (recorders), Panos Kakouros and Tasos Tsogas (pickmen), and Vassilis Kollias (shovelman). Our excavation area encompassed the area between walls 1007, 918, 945 and pit 870 in the first half of the session (hereafter referred to as “South Section”). During the third week, our efforts focused on the quadrant north of 918 and west of W5218 (bounded by the Turkish building) (hereafter referred to as “Northwestern Quadrant”). Our excavation goals are to elucidate the stratigraphy of these areas and the function of the architectural features. With this, we hoped to find uncontaminated habitation levels that would help us to determine the chronology of human interaction in this area.  ; ; Previous excavation in this area was undertaken predominantly by Session 1, Mohammed Bhatti and Dan Diffendale, and some contexts by Session 1, Jana Mokrisova and Katherine Harrington. During Session 1, a series of surfaces, cut and fills were uncovered that can be dated from the Late Roman (4th-6th c. CE) to the Byzantine period (8th-12th c. CE). The state of the trench at the beginning of Session 2 included a possible cut (filled by context 1009) in the SE, the partial exposure of the top surface of walls 1007 and 866, and pit 870. The eastern half of the trench was relatively level though not homogenous. The western half retained the mortar foundation of a hearth 1065, a lower level under 1078, an ashy surface under 1083 and a slightly raised area under 1084. In the Northwestern Quadrant, there was heavy disturbance by 1960s and 1970s excavation, the results and details of which are not preserved. Session one fully revealed the tile drain 1026 and a series of partial surfaces and uneven contexts under 1050, 1060, and 1061.; ; Because of the nature of the depositional material and the heavy pitting and dumping, we were unable to identify discrete chronological phases in this section. Significantly, there was not a single continuous or uncontaminated surface. Instead, our excavation revealed a series of dump fills of destruction and non-destruction debris and several pits and robbing trenches. Due to the notable absence of distinct chronological phases, we will present our material in relative chronological order. The South Section and the Northwestern Quadrant are separated by architectural feature W918 and we, therefore, cannot to discern the precise relationship between the contexts in each area. For this reason, we will present each material separately. Furthermore, excavation of the South Section was begun with a clear distinction in soil and contexts between the east and western side. Thus, the exact relative chronology between the two sides cannot be determined, despite appearing to be roughly contemporary (Late Roman). As a result, we will present each “side” with a separate subsection.   ; ; South Section – April 29-May 10 (259.80; 269.70 E | 1011.50; 1014.30 N); ; East Side; The earliest deposit excavated in the East Side is 1100. Although we originally believed 1101 cut the fill of 1100, excavation of 1101 revealed the deposit associated with context 1100 continuing under 1101. 1100 was a tile-rich and clayey deposit. It contained a dense mix of pottery, fragments of painted plaster, early roman lamps, pebble pavement and some bronze and iron. The mixed content of the deposit suggests 1100 was a dump fill. 1101 was dumped in the western portion of the fill. This context is relatively better sorted than 1100. It has fewer cobbles and tiles and is more compact and light than 1101. Despite the ostensibly different quality of soil, the ceramics found within the context point to a similar approximate 1st c. CE date as 1101. In spite of this low ceramic date (we must stress that neither context provides a precise date), these two contexts must date to the fifth c CE date because they partially overly C1106-1108 – three layers firmly dated to the Late Roman period. The appearance of Early Bronze burnished pottery and other earlier sherds, suggest a thorough mixing of the deposit.; ; Immediately superimposed over 1100 and 1101 was a dump fill, context 1099. This fill was a dark reddish brown color and very loose. It contained a moderate amount of pebbles, small cobbles and other finds. The finds are very mixed and include assorted painted plasters, iron nails, glass fragments, a lamp and a fragment of a terracotta animal figurine (as MF 10733). Further suggestive of a mixed debris deposit, the pottery was very mixed (Neolithic? bowl, Geometric skyphos) and contained little to no joins. ; ; There were three cuts into the deposit of 1099. C1098 initially appeared to be the foundation trench for wall 1007. Upon completion of the excavation of the fill of this cut (1097), it became apparent that the wall continued beneath the soil. 1097 was a dark and clayey soil with a few fragments of wall plaster, a terracotta draped female figurine, pebbles and tiles. The pottery consists of a varied collection of Roman and pre-Roman sherds; there is nothing of significance to provide a fixed date of the context, but stratigraphically it can be dated to the fifth c CE. C1096 and C1094 were two roughly rectangular cuts appx. 15 cm deep in the N portion of 1099. Too little pottery was recovered to provide any information relevant to the dating of the cuts. In the fill of 1094 (1093) was a large piece of wall plaster and a terracotta figurine with a high hair-bun (similar to MF 9001?). The fill of 1096 (1095) contained only two pre-Roman sherds. 1096 was roughly round in shape and was similar to a secondary depression in the SW corner of 1094 (and approximately level with each other). It was originally hypothesized that these were possible post holes. However, the shallow depth of the cut (ca. 15 cm) mitigates against this.; ; Immediately overlying context 1099 is deposit 1092, a relatively homogenous deposit of firm yellowish brown soil. In it were found plenty of plaster, ceramics, bones, carbonized wood, several iron nail fragments, worked obsidian and flint, and a figurine with a right hand preserved. Above 1092 were two distinct dump fills, 1091 and 1090. 1091 was a dense and dark tile and cobble filled area with sigillata and arretine pottery. Accompanying the pottery are nine pieces of iron, two pieces of glass slag, a fragment of a terracotta figurine of a child cradled in a disembodied arm (similar to MF-4106) and a black glaze lamp. 1090 was lighter and looser than 1091 and appears to have been deposited after 1090. Despite the soil difference relative to 1091, the inclusions within the fill are relatively similar. This includes several pieces of iron, glass, pebble flooring, wall plaster and a dark reddish-glazed lamp with raised cross-and-dot circle pattern (similar to Broneer XIX) (L2013-3). The pottery contains a Late Roman combed ware amphora with a wavy comb pattern.  This provides a terminus post quem for the deposit. Because neither deposit 1090 or 1091 can be precisely dated, they must be dated stratigraphically. Overlying 1092, they must post-date the Late Roman period - fifth c CE.; ; Immediately to the W of wall 1007, a hard rectangular surface was excavated. This context, 1088, contained a compact yellowish brown fill. Initially, we thought this context might be a pit, but it turned out to be a relatively shallow dump fill over 1092. There was relatively little pottery recovered.; ; In addition to the excavation area outlined in the first paragraph, a small context on top of the south portion of 1007 and between walls 1007 and 866 was excavated, 1089. This was done to reveal the southern extent of 1007. This fill appears to be mixed with some iron and plaster. The pottery was non-distinct and unable to provide a firm date. Of note, however, was the base of an Attic-type black gloss skyphos inscribed on the foot (C2013-10) and a lead “star” with a hole in the center. Through the excavation of this area, we could determine that W1007 was robbed in the south. This robbing was replaced by an E-W wall of small cobbles (W845), faced by slightly larger stones.; ; West Side; The earliest deposit excavated on the western part of our area (1111) was a dump fill consisting of dark, sandy soil filled with substantial pieces of tile and plaster, as well as other assorted debris such as charcoal, glass, iron, and part of a terra cotta figurine. At about the same time as this deposit, a smaller dump fill, deposit 1112, was deposited slightly to the west, which contained far fewer inclusions and consisted of a siltier soil than that of 1111. Beneath these two deposits, the entire area bounded by Pit 870 and Walls 945, 918, and 1007 was covered with a dense layer of dark-yellowish clayey soil which was, however, too irregular to be classified as a surface.; Into this layer was cut a pit, C1110, which contained deposit 1109. The pit was bounded to the south by Wall 945 and had a sheer vertical face to the East with more sloping faces to the north and west. Its dimensions were 1.7 x 1.4 x .86 m. and its depth was 0.65 m. The bottom of the pit sloped downwards to the south with a 0.20 m. difference between its highest and lowest points. Before this pit was filled, about 6-8 courses of Wall 945 were revealed: although this was not visible before the pit was originally cut, the wall is built up of alternating levels of roughly ashlar stones and tile leveling courses. The construction of the pit also revealed the NE corner of Wall 945—its finished face suggests that the wall may continue to the South. The SW wall of the pit cut through a surface of packed clayey soil, about 0.54 m. from the surface. Perhaps this surface represents a habitation level.; ; The fill of this pit consisted of dark red soil with a high percentage of tile, brick, and mortar inclusions, probably refuse from the destruction of a nearby architectural feature. Providing a terminus post quem for the fill is a coin of Constantius (337-361 c CE; 2013-168) and the pottery which yielded many interesting example of Late Roman (mid fifth c. CE) ceramics, including an LR C bowl, a type 77 Niederbieber, a bowl as Hesperia 2005 1-32 and a LR bowl as Hesperia 2005 242. The highest proportion of plaster inclusions was located in the deeper parts of the pit. The east face of the pit showed that this area was repeatedly spread with debris containing tile, pebbles, and other such inclusions. And this behavior continued: the interaction of people with this environment during the periods we are focusing on seem to have primarily consisted of depositing fill after fill of debris into this area. ; ; At some time after pit 1110 was filled, a series of discrete but related deposits were laid on top of it: these are deposits 1106, 1107, and 1108. The earliest of these is 1108, which is a small, shallow deposit just north of Wall 945 and west of deposit 1101. The chronological relationship between deposits 1108 and 1101 is unclear. Deposit 1108 consisted of dark, silty earth; although it had somewhat fewer ceramic and tile inclusions than other deposits at the same elevation, it did contain a great number of fragments of marble revetment in purple and white. Perhaps contemporary with deposit 1108, although the relative chronology is not understood exactly, is deposit 1107, a slightly larger context 0.5 meters to the west of 1108. The soil of this deposit is the same as that of 1108, but the types of items included in this fill are quite different. Notably, this deposit included several pieces of glass, including one waster which suggests that glass may have been manufactured nearby. A terracotta sima, decorated with a spiral pattern and painted red, was deposited with this context, as well as one coin possibly of Valentinian (337-361 CE; 2013-166).; ; After the deposition of 1107 and 1108, a darker, a debris layer was placed between and partially above them—this is deposit 1106. In this context was deposited a large amount of pottery, some nails, plaster, and glass, and, again, several pieces of marble revetment. One interesting item placed in this context is a fragment of a terracotta figurine of a person holding a baby (MF2013-11). A coin of Constantius II (346-350 CE) was also placed in this deposit (2013-165). ; ; To the west of deposits 1106-1108 and probably contemporaneous with them is a large deposit of debris, 1105. This deposit was bounded by pit 870 to the west (its chronological relationship to the pit is unknown) and by Walls 918 and 945 to the north and south. The soil in this area is much redder than that found in deposits 1106-1108 and resembles more closely the soil of deposit 1109, the fill of pit 1110. Deposit 1105 is very large and rich: there was a large number of ceramic and tile inclusions and a great quantity of glass fragments placed in this context. The pottery can be dated roughly to the fifth c. CE based on several fragments of Late Roman type 1 and 2 amphoras, As in the neighboring deposits, there is a good deal of painted wall plaster and marble revetment in this context, as well as a large (0.515 x 0.29 x 0.11 m) piece of pebble pavement. Also placed in this deposit were two loom weights, several iron nails, and 6 coins (2013-157, 159-164) all with a late fourth c CE date. These coins include a coin of Valentinian (388-392 CE; 2013-164) and a Constantius with Victory (337-361 CE; 2013-157). A good amount of plant matter was deposited in this context, including burned seeds and wood. The deposit overall is characterized by its ashiness in addition to the redness of its soil, which may be composed of disintegrated mudbrick.; ; Beneath 1106-1108 and to the east of 1105 is context 1103, which is made up of loose, yellowish, silty soil and debris similar to that found in 1105. A large quantity of pottery was placed in this layer, including a corrugated basin that joins a fragment in 1107, an Agora M234 amphora, an eastern Aegean cookpot as Hesperia 2005, 2-34.  In addition, there were several pieces of marble revetment and pebble pavement, a fair amount of glass, a loom weight, painted plaster, and iron nails. Also present in this deposit were three large pieces of plaster flooring and the base of a marble vessel. Only one coin (2013-155) was deposited in this context; interestingly, it was placed at the far western edge of the area, directly contiguous to the outline of deposit 1105. This coin has a head of an emperor on the obverse and with the legend VOTMULT on the reverse, a typical late fourth c CE design. Despite the similarities between 1103 and 1105, however, they should be considered as discrete because the ash that is found throughout 1105 is not present in 1103. The context, however, should be considered another dump fill similar to 1106-1108, due to the join with 1107 and the variegated mix of architectural elements.; ; On top of context 1105 and to the north was placed deposit 1104, a small and extremely ashy layer. ; Very few ceramics or other small items were included in this deposit, although one coin was placed among the debris (2013-156). However, a significant amount of charred plant matter is present in the context. Although both 1105 and 1104 contained a high percentage of ash, the evidence shows that neither was itself a destruction layer. To the south of 1104, a yellowish, silty deposit was placed on top of 1105. This deposit, 1102, contained some mid-fifth CE pottery, several pieces of glass, iron nails, a coin of emperor Arcadius ca. 383-392 CE (2013-151) and some wall plaster. On top of 1102, hearth 1065 was built, a structure associated with the surface 1093.; ; The final report of the 2013 session 1 Pink Team suggested that beneath 1083 and the adjacent dump fill 1084 a real destruction layer might be found. However, despite the presence of a great deal of ash in deposits 1104 and 1105, this destruction layer has not yet been identified. ; ; Northwest Quadrant – May 13-17 (259.60; 268.00 E | 1014.80; 1017.50 N); ; This area was brought to a roughly even level by Session 1 excavations, with a few raised contexts in the eastern portion. The northern portion of this area was heavily pitted and disturbed by the 1960/1970s excavation. In the west, a ca. 0.5 m wide extension protruded north on which a tile drain was built (1026; the cut for the drain is 1119, and it is filled with 1118). The leveling fill under this trench contained early Roman pottery of the 3rd-4th c CE date, thus providing a terminus post quem. Of note is the extremely dense concentration of painted wall plaster found herein. The debris from the destruction of a wall (or several) was clearly used for the fill of this leveling area. This extension still remains and is not fully excavated. Immediately to the west is a much later robbing trench.; ; The earliest deposit in this section is wall 1123. This wall was discovered at the bottom of robbing trench C1122. This wall is comprised of squared limestone blocks in ashlar masonry and appears to proceed under wall 918. A few blocks of this wall are found in pit 870: it appears that the corner of the wall is revealed, turning east. Directly under wall 918, a second course is preserved. We did not full excavate this wall or its foundation trench, so it is impossible to provide a firm date for this wall as of yet.  ; ; Wall 918 was constructed sometime thereafter (likely much later, in the Roman period). The foundation of the wall was revealed in the robbing trenches of C1122 and C1127 and is comprised of a heavy tile and ceramic inclusions. Wall 1123 was likely still above the surface at the time of the construction of wall 918. We know this because the walls of C1117 slope upwards to wall 918 and to the hypothetical face of wall 1123 and the hypothetical wall that was robbed in C1127. The robbing trench is equal in dimension and orientated the same way as C1122. Sometime thereafter, C1117 was filled with contexts 1115-1116 (1116 was a martyr left to make sure 1115 would not be contaminated from the accumulation in the 1960/1970s excavation pit immediately to the north).  1115 is a compact, clayey layer rife with pottery, metal fragments, several shards of glass, wall plaster and three coins. Although two of the three coins are illegible (2013-173; 2013-174), 2013-175 was a particularly well preserved silver coin of Mark Antony (ca. 32-31 BC). The coin has a galley steered by Victory on the obverse and three legionary standards (including the Aquila) with LEG II indicated on the reverse. The pottery in the fill suggests a 4th c CE date with several sherds of African Red Slip pottery and a Niederbieber. Two distinct strata were then superimposed on top of this: 1114 and 1113. Although there is a discernible soil change between these three layers, the nature of the finds is consistent between them.; ; The eastern portion of the quadrant is also covered by 1160/1161, but its deposition history cannot be defined in relation to the western portion with precision because C1127 separates it from the tile drain and C1117. However, the eastern portion under 1160/1161 (context 1129) is cut by C1127. Thus, we can say that the deposition of these layers pre-dates the cut and robbing of the hypothetical ashlar wall in C1127. ; ; 1135 represents the earliest level in the eastern portion of the northwest quadrant. It is a surface that was partially exposed and partially uncovered by the excavation of 1129-1134. Overlying 1135, 1133 and 1134 are possible pieces of earthen floor with flattened pottery (1133 has a broken amphora on surface) and some small pebbles. Although the deposit contains pottery suggestive of an early Roman 1-2nd c CE date, the contexts were so small that no precise date can be assigned to these floors. Similarly, 1132 was a raised triangular fill with a small assortment of Roman sherds overlaying the western portion of 1135. Because 1132 was such a small context, no diagnostic finds were able to help provide a date for the layer. A narrow trench along wall W5218 (similar and shape in form to C1098) cuts both 1132 and 1135 (and thus necessarily postdates both deposits). The fill of this (1130), is dated to Middle-Late Roman based on the pottery, including a Late Roman bowl (after Hesperia 2005, 243) and a late fourth c CE coin of Constantius (2013-182). 1133 and 134 were overlain by 1129, a dump fill of an imprecisely-dated Late Roman period. The layer contains fragments of marble revetment, a late second c. CE coin of Commodus (2013-181) and a fragment of a marble column.  ; ; Under 1060/1061, but necessarily postdating 1129 and 1113, are the cuts 1122 and 1127.  Although the relationship between the cuts cannot be precisely ascertained, it is likely that they were robbing trenches of two parallel ashlar walls. As stated explained above, these cuts postdate C1117. Because the foundation trench for W918 was not found within the cuts and because C1117’s wall of soil slopes up the face of W918 (and C1117 predates C1122 and C1127), wall 918 must necessarily have been in place at the time of the robbing of the two ashlar walls. The fill of these trenches appear to be of the mid-fifth c CE date. 1121 (fill of C1122) has one 11th c. CE sherd, but this is likely a contamination from the 1960/1970s excavations. Additional 5th c. CE pottery includes a Late Roman bowl, stewpot and a Niederbieber. The inclusions of the fill are rather heterogeneous and include a loomweight with a GLYK stamp (cf. Corinth XII no. 1153), a late 6th c. BCE loomweight (profile IV), much marble revetment, bronze, and an early coin. 1123-1125 were the fills of 1127 and is similarly heterogenous. It is filled mostly with pottery (mid fifth c CE), tile, and architectural revetments.; ; Conclusions and Future Study; ; Our excavations this session failed to produce any discernible or continuous floors or architectural features. Instead, we excavated a series of Late Roman dump fills and pits. Because of this, there is a distinct lack of evidence for definite habitation phases in the area. With the rampant pitting and looting of the area, however, we were able to catch a glimpse at the underlying layers via the profile of C1127 and pits 1110 and 870. Within both, we could see no distinct floor levels. For at least a meter in each instance, the deposition appears to be dump fill after dump fill. The only possible exception can be found in the pits south of W918 (C870 and C1110). In both pits, we were able to distinguish flat lying pebble flooring set in concrete. At some point, it was suggested that this might indicate a possible floor level that seals off pre-Roman material in the area. We took the elevation of both floor fragments, however, and there was a 14 cm discrepancy between the two pieces of flooring. Either there was a strong slope to the floor or the appearance of the two pieces of pebble flooring is merely coincidence.; ; Because of the dearth of clear floor levels or other habitation surfaces in the area, it might be wise to continue future excavations in the area to the east of wall 1007. Perhaps with luck, this area may yield distinct phasings or surfaces. In our immediate excavation area, however, one could test the possibility of the pebble floor ca. 0.5 m under the current excavation level. If such a surface does exist, it would provide a very useful starting point with which to examine early Roman and Hellenistic habitation in this area with it effectively sealing off these earlier layers from much of the later contamination and fills.","","Corinth","Sesssion 2, Nezi Field, Final Report","Report","",""
"","","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2013 by Mohammed Bhatti and Daniel P. Diffendale (2013-05-09 to 2013-05-10)","Nezi Field 2013 by Mohammed Bhatti and Daniel P. Diffendale (2013-05-09 to 2013-05-10)","Mohammed Bhatti and Daniel P. Diffendale; Team Pink, Session 1; Nezi Field Excavations Final Report; N 1006 – 1018.00; E 261.01 – 271.28; 1–25 April 2013; ; This is a final summary of the first season of excavation (1-25 April) in 2013 in the northeast area of Nezi field. Guy Sanders (director) and Rossana Valente (field director) supervised.The Pink excavation team consisted of Mohammed Bhatti and Daniel P. Diffendale (recorders), Panos and Tasos Kakouros (pickmen), Vassilis Kollias (shovelman), and Tasos Tsogas (barrowman).The area is bounded to the north by the scarp of H. Robinson’s 1960s excavations, to the east by the excavation scarp immediately east of Wall 866, to the south by Cuts C193 and C848, more or less, and to the west by the varying eastward extent of the Blue team’s area of operation. ; The area of excavation was effectively bisected along an east-west axis comprising Wall 945, Wall 807, and the robbing trench Cut 995. Of the contexts excavated this session, the areas north and south of this axis were physically related only by Deposit 978 (to the south) overlying Deposit 994, which filled Cut 995, which in turn cut Deposit 1003 (to the north). To the north, Wall 918, Wall 1033, and, until its removal, Wall 992, all acted as another east-west axis separating the deposits to north and south. For the purposes of this report, the contexts south of Wall 945-Wall 807-Cut 995 will be referred to as comprising the South Area; contexts north of Walls 918-992-1033 as the North Area, and contexts between the two axes as the Central Area. ; The east-west walls are the most prominent positive features in the area, and are constant points of reference; less easy to understand are the mostly negative traces of north-south features, for instance the fill of 1050, laid above an irregular N-S cut (no context number), possibly related to the NE-SW cut 1082; or the robbing of a N-S wall represented by the fill of 1009. ; ; Precontextual material, ca. 9th c. BCE – 3rd c. CE;     No contexts excavated this session can be dated before the Middle to Late Roman period. However, earlier human activity in the area is suggestively documented by the contents of later fills. Scattered Geometric sherds (in contexts 978, 1056, 1076, 1084, 1085) suggest the presence of Iron Age burials somewhere below. A pebble pavement clearly must have existed nearby in the Classical or Hellenistic period, later broken up, fragments of which made their way into many of the later fills (998, 1003, 1009, 1015, 1050, 1076, 1081, 1083, 1084), but which were most thickly concentrated in 1085. Of Roman date must be the numerous pieces of marble revetment of many colors and sizes, fragments of which also made their way into the majority of fills excavated in this area during this session. This marble revetment, coupled with octagonal marble or schisty limestone pavers (1009 and 1085) and chunks of preparation “brown layer” mortar for a hydraulic installation (1085), suggests that there may have been a bath facility in the neighborhood. If there were a water source capable of supplying such a bath, it perhaps could also have supplied a pre-Roman bath that was paved with pebbles. Other finds indicative of earlier Roman buildings include mostly white marble tesserae and small chunks of painted wall plaster, both found in numerous deposits. ; ; ; Late Roman, ca. 4th / 5th c. CE;     Possibly the earliest context known so far is deposit 1000, in the South Area, with ceramic materials no later than the 3rd/4th c. CE. It is probable, however, that this is simply earlier material redeposited, perhaps in the 5th, 6th, or even 7th-8th centuries; only further excavation can say for certain.;     The earliest visible structures existing are probably the parallel E-W walls 918 (to the north, with the in situ column base) and 945 (to the south), although they cannot yet be directly dated. At some time during or after the 4th c. CE, in the Central Area, a fill consisting of destruction debris (tiles, carbon, nails, slag) was dumped between them (Deposit 1084, date: ceramics); this debris was laid in part against the north face of Wall 945. Beneath 1084, but thus far unexcavated, what may be a real destruction layer is waiting to be understood; perhaps the material deposited in 1084 came from that destruction. 1084 may have been laid as a leveling fill for a floor or working surface above (1083), which was probably put into use in the 5th c. (pottery). Someone dropped an old coin of Constantius II or Julian II (coin 2013-100: 355-361 CE) onto this surface, and there was also a notable amount of glass. Associated with the surface of 1083, and dated by it stratigraphically, was hearth 1065, paved with flat slabs of non-local schist and ringed with tile. This was a substantial construction measuring some 0.90 x 0.80 m, and set against the then still-standing upper courses of Wall 945.; The surface of 1083 was analogous in composition, elevation, and date (5th c. pottery) to that of Floor 1060/1061 immediately to the north of Wall 918 in the North Area, and they likely saw contemporaneous use; deposited in both were sherds of Niederbieber 77 amphorae as well as of Eastern Aegean micaceous cooking ware—though these are not uncommon finds for the area. Floor 1060 was laid against the ‘stylobate’ of Wall 918; this part of the wall was probably still standing when 1060 was in use. The people using Floor 1060 saw the need to burn something, perhaps for cooking, and hence they constructed the small Hearth 1059 (5th c. stratigraphically) within it, close to the presumably still-standing line of Wall 918, partially demarcating the hearth with tiles (ca. 0.3 m diameter). ;     However, Hearth 1059 may not have been in use for long; the packed surface of deposit 1056 was laid directly above Floor 1060, probably also in the 5th c. (pottery), and this sealed over the hearth. Three coins were dropped onto this surface, including an old one of Constantius II (coin 2013-72: 346-361 CE; coins 2013-68 and 76 illegible). At some later point, perhaps already in the 5th c., a pit was cut into the surface of 1056 (no context number) and then filled (1048, 5th c. stratigraphically). However, the nature of this pit can hardly be comprehended, given its likely severe truncation by the Robinson excavations. Above the pit fill and the surface of 1056 was constructed the earthen Floor 1044/1045, probably still against the not-yet-robbed-out Wall 918. A clear pale green glass tubular ring goblet foot with knop stem deposited in the fill of Floor 1044/1045 dates to the mid 5th c. or later, while a coin of Leo I (coin 2013-59: 457-474 CE) was dropped on the floor surface. ; Whatever happened in the North Area after the 5th c. will remain a mystery, since the overlying strata have been removed by the Robinson excavations—unknown unknowns. As for known unknowns, the nature of deposit 1050 is something of a mystery, especially its relationship with Wall 992. ; ; ; Late Roman, ca. 5th/6th c. CE;     A meter or two to the southeast, in the Central Area, and still in the 5th or maybe the 6th c., a large amount of mixed fill was deposited between Walls 1033, 945, and 1007; this was deposit 1085 (dated by pottery). Within the deposit there seem to have been diverse sources of fill; in its southwest extent the sediment was blackish and especially dense with fragments of marble revetment and over fifty large cobble- to small boulder-size fragments of pebble-mortar pavement. Further east, it included several cobble-sized pieces of iron slag, perhaps deposited after use as road-metal nearby. Significant numbers of fragments of glass slag in the deposit suggest a workshop in the vicinity. A notable inclusion was a fragment of a Hellenistic or Roman terracotta figurine of Baubo (MF-2013-8). At the time that 1085 was deposited, there was probably a N-S wall to its south, against which it was deposited; east of the wall was a section of pavement. This wall and pavement would later be robbed out (context 1009), sometime between the end of the 5th and the early 7th cs. (see further below). It seems that this wall would have made a narrow (ca. 1 m wide) N-S passageway with Wall 1007 to its east, and the passageway was paved. Maybe there was a staircase here, which started going up to the south between walls 1009 and 1007, turned east between the south end of wall 1007 and the wall robbed out by 995, and returned north between walls 1007 and 866. This is only speculation.; Sometime thereafter an irregular NNE-SSW trench, 1082, was cut through the Central Area between Wall 945 to the south, and probably Wall 918 to the north, though its northern extent was later truncated by Cut 1032. The trench of 1082 was cut through deposits dating to the 5th/6th cs. (1083, 1085, maybe 1076) and filled by material dating to the 5th/6th cs. (1081), indicating that it, too, should be dated within those centuries. The narrow width and odd orientation of the cut make it unlikely to have been for robbing out a wall; perhaps it was cut for the purpose of robbing out a drain. Whoever did the robbing left a single piece of whatever they were robbing behind, a squared stone block ca. 0.20 x 0.35 m, at the bottom of Cut 1082, and which shares its orientation. If this stone did form part of a drain, there is no indication of how it worked—no mortar, cement, or the like; maybe the robbers were after lead pipes? The line of cut 1082 is picked up north of Wall 918 by the irregular cut at the bottom of context 1050. To the south, there are tiles laid in Wall 945 where Cut 1082 meets it, although otherwise the wall seems to be constructed solely of stone. Perhaps these tiles were laid to replace the putative robbed-out drain. Cut 1082 was filled with debris (marble, schist, plaster, pebble pavement) sometime in or after the 5th/6th cs. (context 1081, no precise date: pottery), probably soon after the robbing of the drain. ; After the filling of cut 1082, just to its east and partially overlaying it, and above 1085, the destruction-debris fill of 1076 was deposited, not before the 2nd half of the 5th c. (dated by a clear greenish glass tubular goblet foot). This fill must also have lain against the wall/pavement of 1009, but maybe not for long, as the latest material in the fill of 1009 also dated to the late 5th c. The robbing activity represented by 1009 could have happened at any time until the early 7th c. deposition of 1003 above it, however. ; The relationship between the robbing trenches of 1009 and 995 makes for a vexing question. It seems likely that 995 was used to rob out the upper courses of the eastward extension of Wall 945, although this cannot yet be answered definitively. Wall 945 should predate all contexts known thus far. The contents of 994, the fill of trench 995, suggest that the latter was cut in the late 7th or early 8th c. However, this trench apparently bisects the N-S line of the robbing trench of 1009: the southward continuation of 1009 seems to be visible in the south scarp of 995; 1009 seemingly dates sometime between the construction of wall 945 and its robbing out by 995. Perhaps two walls intersected, and the robbers of the N-S 1009 left the E-W 945 alone? It is to be hoped that future excavation south of Cut 995 will clarify this vexing nexus. ; In the South Area, the latest datable material in the dump fills of 996 and 998 date to the mid 6th c., but they could well have been redeposited as part of later leveling activity.; ; Late Roman, 6th /7th c. CE;     The late 6th to early 7th centuries CE witnessed much human activity in the way of movement of fill and construction of floors. The upper courses of Walls 918 and 945, which now survive only as foundations or robbing trenches, were probably still standing and in use during this period. Not much can be said about this period in the South Area, however, without further excavation.;     In the Central Area, fills 1067 and 1062 were deposited as leveling fills during the late 6th century (dated by pottery and stratigraphy, respectively), on which the floor surface of 1036/1038 was laid shortly thereafter, traced for an area of ca. 1.5 x 3 m. Still within the ambit of the late 6th century (dated stratigraphically), Pit 1032 was cut through the surface of 1036/1038 and then filled in with old rubbish (deposit 1029), including marble, plaster, part of an andesite millstone, glass, and earlier ceramics. Soon after the pit was filled, Floor 961/1022 was laid over it in an area roughly 3 x 3 m square, extending further east than the traced limits of 1036/1038. The builders of Floor 961/1022 were presumably also responsible for constructing Hearth 960/1021/1025, at the southern extent of the floor, against the still-standing upper courses of Wall 945. They used the end of a single large tile, W. 0.46 m, Th. 0.03 m, broken into six fragments, to line the edge of their hearth; these tiles showed evidence of burning on their inner faces. At least one olive and one grape pit were charred in this hearth, and an Archaic or Classical miniature terracotta quadruped was deposited here as well, though it is archaeologically impossible to say whether this was intentional; the figurine was probably already broken when deposited. Unfortunately, the people who used Floor 961/1022 were careful with their money; only a single illegible minimus (coin 2013-46) ended up in this context. ;     The years after 600 CE were a time of destruction. The roof that sheltered Floor 961/1022 collapsed, possibly due to fire, resulting in deposit 1003. This is dated to the first half of the 7th century by pottery, which included stewpots, Palestinian, Gaza, and Late Roman Amphorae 1 and 2.The entire context has been saved as Lot 2013-001. This context is the eastward extension of deposit 929 excavated in 2012, but ceased along an arbitrary N-S line; 929 was saved as Lot 2012-47. Other things in the deposit included vessel and window glass and iron nails, but only a single piece of marble revetment, in stark contrast to the dump fills in the area that include dozens of marble fragments. ; ; Late Roman, 7th / 8th c. CE;     After the building comprising the Central Area lost its roof, it also lost its north and south walls. The robbing trench 1027 was cut to remove the upper courses of Wall 918, and then filled in (deposit 1015; dated stratigraphically to the early 7th c. or later). Who could have done such a thing? Two or possibly three Vandal coins were found in the fill (coins 2013-42, 43, 44), but admittedly they would have had to be rather late Vandals. To the south, the eastward extension of Wall 945 was robbed out resulting in Cut 995; the cut was topped up with fill (context 994) of the late 7th / early 8th c. (dated by pottery).  Deposit 994 included earlier material, like so many deposits, but some terracotta sima fragments and a sherd of stamped Samian ware (C-2013-9) were unusual. ; It will be crucial for future excavation to investigate the narrow dark deposit exposed by context 1050 along the N edge of Wall 918/1033, to see whether this is a foundation trench for that wall, a robbing trench for that wall, or something else entirely. Unfortunately, the brief pedestaling of Wall 992 and Cut 1027 have made an already complex area almost impossible to make sense of, in particular the precise stratigraphic relationship between the North Area and the Central Area.; No material from the construction of Wall 992, or from contexts excavated directly beneath it, need postdate the 5th c.; however, the narrow strip of sediment excavated as Deposit 1035 should be the same fill as that excavated immediately to the N as 990 and to the S as 991; 991 should date to the late 6th / early 7th c. (pottery), hence, Wall 992 should date to this time or later.; It is in the late 7th /early 8th century that we can begin to say something about the South Area, but it is not a very interesting something. A large amount of fill was dumped (contexts 978, 970, 979, 976) in the area south of the line of Wall 945, none of it containing material datable later than the 5th c. CE, but stratigraphically later than the late 7th/early 8th c. fill of 995. Some interesting earlier material was included in these fills, such as the Roman votive terracotta theater mask (MF-2013-1), part of a terracotta lion’s head spout, and antefix fragment, all from 978. A fragment of the ubiquitous pebble pavement is visible in the soil exposed by 978. At some point during the exposed life of 978, someone burned something on it and left behind the ash (deposit 979) as well as an illegible coin (2013-4).; ; Byzantine, 8th – 12th c.;     Still in the South Area, deposits 964, 965, 968, and 973 were laid down in the Early Byzantine period, as attested by the limited presence of Early Byzantine pottery. These appear to have been fills, although it is possible they served as surfaces. In the Middle Byzantine period, Wall 807 was built on the foundations of the robbed out Wall 945, as attested by the fill of the foundation trench 1008 (dated by pottery to Middle Byzantine). In the Late Byzantine period, during the early 12th c., some wall robbing was carried out in the area of Wall 918, as attested by context 1014. This may have been connected with the construction of Wall 540 on a N-S line across the area, also dated to the early 12th c. stratigraphically. ; ; Modern;     In the late 19th c., a pit was dug for an orange tree (context 791, dug in 2012); this cut through the western end of the contexts excavated this session in the North Area. In the 1960s, Henry S. Robinson conducted excavations in the Nezi field; these excavations cut through the northern extent of the contexts excavated this session (2013-I) in the North Area, making necessary some cleaning of the area (cleaning context 1042). ; Suggestions for Future Excavations; There are two possible future alternatives. The first would be to bring the Southern area down to the 5th-6th century levels already exposed in the Central area. Alternatively, and more immediately promising would be to excavate the Central area to the levels exposed to the West, such as context 1080. A potential destruction layer was exposed in the NW corner of context 1084, which may prove to be as fruitful as Context 1080. Moreover, open questions remaining that could be cleared by future excavations include: the potential relationship between Cut 1082 and irregular NS scarp exposed by Context 1085; the relationship of the cut exposed by context 1009 with its southward continuation South of cut 995; the relationship of Walls 1007 and 866 with the fills to the west.","","Corinth","2013 Session 1, Team Pink, Final Summary","Report","",""