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"","Corinth","Frankish to Modern Strata in the Southern End of Nezi Field","EXCAVATION SUMMARY; ; Six weeks ago, on April 10, 2007, we, Lydia Herring, Josh Langseth, and Kris Lorenzo, opened an excavation area at the extreme north of the Nezi field under the supervision of Guy Sanders, James Herbst, and Alicia Carter.  Nezi field is an orchard south of the area excavated by H. Robinson in the 1960s, which is itself south of the South Stoa in the Forum.  We worked with a crew of workmen including Kleomenis Didaskalou (pickman), Billy Papanikolaou (pickman), Andreas Oikonomou (pickman), Vassilis Kollias (shovel/barrowman), Iannis Oikonomou (shovel/barrowman), Andreas Didaskalou (shovel/barrowman), Vangelis Kollias (shovel/barrowman), Sotiris Raftopoulos (shovel/barrowman), and Thanasis Notis, the foreman.; ; The original area of excavation covered ca. 160 m² between 263E to 279E and 1002N to 1008N (minimum) / 1013.85N (maximum).  The northern edge of the excavation area is an escarpment left by the excavations of 1936 and 1961, and thus irregular.  On Wednesday, April 18, 2007, we extended the excavation area in order to find the limit of an orange-clay and stone feature at the southern boundary of the excavation area.  The addition covers 266E to 271E and 1002N to 1001N, thus bringing the total excavation area to ca. 165 m².  ; ; Our objective was to investigate Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine remains and connect them to what was excavated in the area called Agora SW section E (NB 227, 228, and 237) and Agora SW section J (NB 254, 262, 267, 294) in 1961, along with the exploratory trench dug by Amyx and Morgan in 1936 at the southern extreme of the Giambourani field (the field just north of the Nezi field).  This essay will describe the activity in our area in chronological order based upon our interpretation of the stratigraphy.; ; FRANKISH (1210-1458 CE); ; The earliest contexts in our excavation area are two walls whose top courses have just been uncovered.  The first, revealed with B65, B115, B117, B131, B137 (the fill of a possible robbing trench), and B139, runs north-south, and is preserved between 1003N and 1006N.  At its southern terminus, there are two flat squared blocks, each of which has a pivot hole, and have been tentatively identified as a threshold.  The closest date for the wall so far, based on the pottery date for the fill (B115) covering the wall, is the Frankish period.  The second wall, revealed with B129 and B138, also runs north-south, between 1003N and 1007N, but forms a corner with a wall running east-west between 268E and 269.80E.  The closest date for this wall so far is the date of a coin (2007-189) in the fill coving the wall (B129), issued by William Villehardouin between 1246 and 1267 CE.  The two walls appear to be parallel—their southern extents are only approximately 20 cm different—so we hypothesize that they are from the same structure.  It is possible that these walls may be earlier than the Frankish period, but only continuing excavation will determine their date of construction.; ; Above the second wall, the next activities in our excavation area are represented by a stone and clay feature (B26=B86, B88, B90, B123) which may be an oven or furnace, and an associated series of clay floors (B94, B99, B100, B102=B105=B106=B108, B110, B113=B118, B119, B120, B121, B122, B124) laid down over time in the third quarter of the 13th century CE and before the early 14th century CE.  This chronology is based on a reading of the pottery and coins in significant contexts that pre- and post-date the clay floors (B129, B86).  The hypothesis that the stone and clay feature is an oven is supported by the absence of bone inside it, the high percentage of cookware among the pottery recovered from the clay floors, its shape and construction, the burnt stones of the flooring (B90), and the ash outside the oven on one of the clay floors (B100=B102=B105=B106=B108).; ; Before the construction of either the oven or the floors, however, the ground was leveled to prepare the area (B125, B126, B129) in the late 13th century CE, sometime after 1246–1267; this date is based on pottery in a deposit underneath the leveling fill (B128) and the presence in the fill (B129) of a coin issued by William Villehardouin (2007-189).  The first layer of flooring (B122), which was well-preserved, was then laid and the wall of the oven (B123) built on a clay bedding (B124).  The wall is comprised of two lengths (E-W: 96 x 35 cm; N-S: 152 x 35 cm) that meet at a right angle.  Only one course of squared limestone blocks over a layer of tiles is preserved.  ; ; A poorly preserved second layer of clay floors (B110, B113=B118=B119, B120, B121) soon followed, prior to a third, again well-preserved, layer of floor (B100=B102=B105=B106=B108).  After the construction of this third phase of flooring, the area inside the oven was leveled (B89, B92, B93) for the oven’s floor which was constructed with stone packing and clay (B90), and several layers of clay were deposited in the oven (B26=B86, B88).  It is possible that the clay is one single thick deposit that eroded from the walls of the oven after it went of out of use.  We know that the floor of the oven was constructed after the third phase of flooring because the third phase is cut by the leveling for the floor of the oven.  Since the wall of the oven itself predates the third phase of clay floors – this third phase was built up around the wall - it is likely that there was also an earlier floor in the oven, most likely associated with the first phase of clay floor (B122).  The removal of the original flooring and clay in the oven may be related to a deposit of black ash over the third phase of clay floors (B100 et al.).; ; There is also a rubbish pit cut into this third phase of floors (cut = B76).  This pit is oval-shaped, with a maximum diameter of 1.20 m and minimum diameter of 0.90 m.  The density of inclusions, especially cookware and coarse pottery sherds, supports the suggestion that this is a rubbish pit.  The clay floor (B100=B102=B105=B106=B108) is also disturbed by a large stony pile of rubble (B77) that reinforces the interpretation that the oven and floors are situated in a space that is unenclosed by walls.  We found no evidence of either walls or robbing trenches around the clay floors.; ; The primary indicator of roofing over the area is a destruction collapse in the form of a concentrated scatter of roof tiles (B51=B58=B59) that do not extend beyond the rectilinear extent of the clay floors.  This tile scatter also contains worked marble fragments.  The deposit of scattered tiles contains pottery dating to ca. 1260-1280, but the collapse must date to the early 14th century CE because the tiles postdate the deposits in the clay oven, the latest of which contained a coin (2007-113) of Isabelle Villehardouin dating between 1297 and 1301 CE.; ; Other early 14th century CE Frankish activities are the creation of a possible irrigation canal and the robbing out of an earlier wall.  The possible irrigation canal, to the east of the oven and clay floors, takes the form of a roughly north-west/south-east trench (cut=B70) with two east-west subsidiary trenches.  All three trenches are linear, with parallel sides, and the main canal was filled with large amounts of pottery and intact bone after it went out of use.  The presence of an irrigation canal would suggest that the eastern portion of the excavation area is outdoor space and that the levels of fill in this area (B45, B47, B48, B60, B63, B66, B69, B84=B85, B98, B101, B104, B111) were for agricultural or horticultural purposes.  This is in contrast to the western half of the excavation area, where the architectural contexts are located (note: there is also dumping or leveling fill [agricultural?] in this western area: B56, B95, B103, B109, B115=B130, B116=B143, B135, B136, B139). ; ; The robbing trench (cut = B54) removed the top of a wall projecting from the northern scarp into the area excavated in 1961.  At the bottom of this trench are the remains of the wall constructed with stones and tiles, running roughly north-south.  The wall appears to bound a space demarcated by the roof tiles and floor surface visible—though as yet unexcavated—in the northern escarpment because the roof tiles end at the eastern face of the wall.; ; [Addendum 6/14/07: It is now believed that B129 and B131 in fact date to the Ottoman II period and thus some of the Frankish material discussed in this summary has been re-evaluated.  It is now thought that the oven and its associated floors all date to the Turkish period because of their stratigraphic relationship to B129. Some of the fills (B129 and B131) that covered the N-S walls mentioned at the beginning of the Frankish section of this summary also must be associated with Turkish activity in the area. For additional details, see the relevant baskets and the summary by Angela Ziskowski and Lina Kokkinou.]  ; ; ; OTTOMAN II (1715-1831 CE); ; We have uncovered a series of lenses of fill, and, based on the make-up of these contexts, some appear to be dumped, perhaps for leveling purposes (B28, B42, B53, B55, B65=B78=B80, B79, B87, B114).  A large pit or well cuts these deposits (B36, B37, B39, B41, B43, B46; 1008.08N to 1005.96N, and 268.40E to 266.40E).  This pit contained three lenses of fill with pottery dating to the second Ottoman period.  This pit also cuts the Frankish destruction debris discussed above.  We have temporarily ceased excavating this pit because it is 1.41 m deep and difficult for the workmen to climb in and out of; excavation will resume once the surrounding deposits have been excavated to a more manageable height.  The date of the construction of this pit (or well) is clear because it cuts deposits of the Ottoman II period (B65, B49), so the pit had to have been both dug and then mostly filled in during the Ottoman II period.; ; It is interesting to note that the Ottoman II deposits are located solely in the western and northern portions of the excavation area.  This perhaps suggests that they are all associated with a structure or structures outside the excavation area.; ; EARLY MODERN (1831-1949 CE); ; In the Early Modern period, a property boundary wall (B64, B67, B73), running roughly E-W, was constructed.  Within our excavation area, the wall is 16.28 m long, 0.57 m wide, and preserved to a maximum height of 0.55 m above ground.  Its maximum northing is 1011.70N, and its minimum northing is approx. 1009.20N, where it joins the northern scarp of the excavation area.  This wall continues past our excavation area both east and west, but is not preserved to the same height from 275.80 E to beyond the eastern edge of our excavation area, where it has collapsed (B72), thus revealing the north scarp to the eye.  It is constructed of field stones arranged in random courses with mud as a bonding agent.  This wall was presumably excavated in part by Amyx and Morgan in 1936 (NB 153, 154).   It cuts an Early Modern deposit (B40), and has a pottery date of the 19th – early 20th century CE. ; ; The Early Modern activity in the excavation area is agricultural in nature and consists primarily of two layers of plow zone.  The first, B2=B24, lies above a series of plow furrows (B22) in the southern portion of the excavation area and has an average depth of 0.5 m. ; ; At the bottom of the first layer of plow zone, plow furrows were defined which cut into the soil below (furrows = B22).  The furrows vary in length and width and run from the eastern extreme of the excavation area to the western extreme.  They first appear approximately one meter south of the E-W boundary wall.  The plow furrows cut into the walls and uppermost clay deposit of the Frankish oven.; ; The second layer of plowzone (B23=B27=B30=B33=B34=B50=B58=B62), into which the plow furrows were cut, has an average depth of 21 cm.  Perhaps the difference in depth between the first and second plowzones reflects a change in plowing technology.; ; The layers of soil (B14, B38, B44, B57, B61) below the second layer of plow zone (B23 et al.)—perhaps some form of ground leveling—also show signs of Early Modern human activity in the eastern half of the excavation area in the form of an ash pit (B44), probably from a fire.  The top of the pit (discussed above; cut = B71) to the west, which dates to the second Ottoman period, was topped of with one layer of fill (B36) in the Early Modern period, probably to correct for the settling in of the rest of the fill below).; ; Also associated with Early Modern agricultural activities is a linear pile of stones (B4).  This layer abuts the south face of the E-W boundary wall and is most likely a pile of field cobbles which farmers cleared from the field.  These cobbles predate the later phases of fencing (see below for B16, B17) between Nezi field and Giambourani field. ; ; MODERN (post-1950 CE); ; Along both sides of the E-W wall in the Modern period are several fill deposits.  The uppermost fill on the north side of the wall (B3) contains worked marble fragments that may be the result of dumping from the 1936 excavation, or also (in this case) from the later 1960’s excavations under Robinson in sections E and J, north of the Nezi field.  South of the E-W wall are two fill deposits (B5, B14) that may perhaps be the result of terracing for agricultural activity.  However, the uppermost fill (B5) also included marble fragments, some of which were worked.  Because similar fragments also occur in the fill north of the E-W wall (B3)—which, along with B5, also directly borders Amyx and Morgan’s 1936 excavation trench in what was later called section E—we hypothesize that this fill is most likely fill dumped by the 1936 excavators.  Worked marble fragments have been found at this level of elevation only in these two contexts in the area along the north scarp.; ; South of the E-W wall, in the Modern orchard, a series of tree pits and irrigation trenches were cut into the most recent plow zone (B2 = B24).  The irrigation trenches (B18 = B32, B19) comprise two linear cuts running north-south up to the south-west side of individual tree pits, but not joining it (B18 ran up to B7 (cut = B10), B19 ran up to B11 (cut = B15).  Each trench contained a black plastic irrigation hose.  The irrigation trenches continue south out of the excavation area, and probably are connected with other tree pits within the presently growing orange orchard south of the excavation area.  They also cut into the uppermost clay deposit and walls of the Frankish oven.; ; The five tree pits in the excavation area are arranged in three north-south rows, ca. five meters apart.  Each of the tree pits (B6 [cut = B9], B7 [cut = B10], B8 [cut = B12], B11 [cut = B15], B21 [cut = B25]) contained an orange tree and root system, all of which the workmen cleared; the workman, most of whom have extensive agricultural experience, estimate the age of the trees to be no more than forty years old.  Each pit cuts into the surface cut by plow furrows (furrows = B22) and the soil into which the furrows were cut (B23=B27=B30=B33=B34=B50).; ; Tree pit B6 (cut = B9) contained very dark black specially fertilized soil with small white polystyrene inclusions and small areas of yellowish white clay.  Both the specially fertilized soil and yellowish white clay would have been part of a mix of soil and other matter that surrounded the orange sapling when it was put in the pit. The clay and the polystyrene most likely functioned to retain moisture for the sapling.; ; The latest activity in our excavation area is the construction of two phases of cement foundations used to anchor a series of posts supporting chain-link fencing.  This fencing runs along the northern boundary of Nezi field.  Both phases of cement foundations were cemented in part onto the E-W wall (ca. 1011.70N).  Parts of the wall were removed to lay the cement foundations after the wall had gone out of use.; ; The first phase (B17) is a series of small, whitish gray cement foundations.  The second phase of fencing (B16) is comprised of a series of noticeably larger concrete slabs spaced at regular intervals.  We know this phase is later because the metal posts were still intact as a functional fence at the beginning of the 2007 excavation season.; ; CONCLUSION; ; The past six weeks of excavation in Nezi field have produced a stratigraphic sequence and grouping of associated finds to indicate four phases of activity—Modern, Early Modern, Ottoman II, and Frankish.; ; In the Frankish period, there is a distinction between indoor and outdoor space, as seen in the existence of built structures, including what we interpret as an oven, in the western half of the excavation area and agricultural activity in the eastern half.; ; In the Ottoman II period, there is leveling, perhaps for agricultural activity, and the creation of a possible pit or well.; ; In the Early Modern period, there is more agricultural activity (plowing) and the creation of a new division of property, at least since the Frankish period (the boundary wall at the north of Nezi field cuts through the middle of single Frankish deposits).; ; In the Modern period, there is a different type of agricultural activity—the planting of an orchard rather than plow zone—but also archaeological activity at the northern extreme of the excavation area.; ; There remain a number of questions that we hope will be addressed in future excavation:; ; --Are the squared blocks in the southern scarp, between 269E and 271E, part of a wall?  Are they associated with the structure enclosed by the two north-south walls currently being excavated?  ; ; --Does the large cut stone block revealed in the western scarp of the robbing trench (cut = B54) in the northern third of the excavation area indicate the presence of a wall running perpendicular to the wall at the bottom of the robbing trench (B54)?  ; ; --What is the Ottoman II pit (cut = B71) that we have not finished excavating, a pit or a well?; ; --The removal of several contexts (B40, B56, B116=B143, B135, B136) in the northern quarter of the excavation area has revealed a deposit of clay with a flat-bottomed linear depression and a flat surface cut by the Early Modern boundary wall’s construction trench (cut = B73).  Is this clay deposit indoor space or outdoor space?  Is the flat-bottomed linear depression the bedding for a wall similar to the clay oven’s (cf. B124)?; ; --Is the tile scatter revealed under B135 and B136—its northern edge was always visible in the north escarpment—a destruction horizon?  What is its full extent and relationship, if any, to the wall at the bottom of the northern robbing trench (cut=B54)?     ;   ; --Since we have begun to uncover several contexts that suggest the presence of interior space, in addition to numerous exterior contexts, what is the sequence of changes in outside vs. inside space in Nezi field?; ; And finally, one brief observation and a caveat.  Several baskets (B86, B105, B129) in closely-dated contexts within our excavation area have had their pottery dates raised significantly by coins found in the deposits—this is unusual for archaeology at Corinth.  And the caveat: a portion of a number of deposits—primarily the clay floors and their related contexts—was set aside for water sieving, which has not yet been performed.  The data provided may alter some of our pottery readings and interpretation of the activities associated with the floors.","Nezi Field 2007 by Lydia Herring, Josh Langseth, Kris Lorenzo (2007-04-09 to 2007-05-18)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2007 by Lydia Herring, Josh Langseth, Kris Lorenzo (2007-04-09 to 2007-05-18)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Pre-Early Modern to Modern Strata in the Southern End of Nezi Field","INTRODUCTION; ; In the past three weeks, we, Lydia Herring, Josh Langseth, and Kris Lorenzo, opened an area at the extreme north of the Nezi field under the supervision of Director of Excavation Guy Sanders and Site Supervisor Alicia Carter.  Nezi field is an orchard south of the area excavated by Henry S. Robinson in the 1960s south of the South Stoa in the Forum.  We worked with a crew of workmen including Kleomenis Didaskalou (pickman), Billy Papanikolaou (pickman), Andreas Oikonomou (pickman), Vassilis Kollias (shovelman), Iannis Oikonomou (shovelman), Andreas Didaskalou (barrowman), Vangelis Kollias (barrowman), Sotiris Raftopoulos (barrowman), and Thanasis Notis, the foreman. The original area we began to excavate on April 10, 2007 covered ca. 162 square meters located 263 E to 279 E and 1002 N to 1008 N (minimum) / 1013.85 N (maximum).  The northern edge of the excavation area is an escarpment left by the excavations of 1936 and 1961, and thus irregular. On Wednesday, April 18, we extended the excavation area to the south in order to find the limit of an orange clay feature at the southern boundary of the excavation area.  The addition covers 266 E to 271 E and 1002 N to 1001 N. The current excavation area thus covers ca. 167 square meters.  ; ; Our objective is to investigate Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine remains and connect them to what was excavated in Agora SW section E (NB 227, 228, and 237) and section J (NB 254, 262, 267, 294) in 1961, along with the exploratory trench dug by Amyx and Morgan in 1936 at the southern extreme of the Giambourani field (the field just north of the Nezi field).; ; The entire excavation area is divided into two unequal parts by a wall running roughly E-W, which we are continuing to uncover. Within our excavation area, the wall is 16.28 m long, 0.57 m in width, and preserved to a maximum height of 0.55 m above ground.  Its maximum northing is 1011.70 N, and the minimum northing is approx. 1009.20 N, where it joins the northern scarp of the excavation area.  This wall continues past our excavation area both east and west, but is not preserved to the same height from 275.80 E to beyond the eastern edge of our excavation area, where it has collapsed, thus revealing the north scarp to the eye in this area.  It is constructed of field stones arranged in random courses with mud as a bonding agent.  This wall was presumably excavated in part by Amyx and Morgan in 1936 (NB 153, 154). ; ; This essay will describe the activity in our area in chronological order based upon our interpretation of the stratigraphy.  So far, our read pottery, coins, and small finds provide a date of Early Modern for most of our deposits.  This date coincides well with our interpretation of formation of the excavation area.; ; PRE-EARLY MODERN; ; The earliest activities in our excavation area are represented by an area of destruction debris consisting of densely-packed roof tile fragments lying horizontally on a clay surface (B51=B58=B59).  These tiles extend from 267.60 E to 271 E, and 1006.90 N to the southern edge of the excavation area, and may extend beyond it.  The tile scatter also contained worked marble fragments.  The tiles are scattered in a concentrated area, with their north and east extents noticeably rectilinear.  This deposit is dated by pottery to the Frankish period, ca. 1260-1280 CE.  South of this tile scatter is an orange clay feature (as yet unexcavated) surrounded on its north and northeast sides by stone blocks, on the very edge of which some of the tiles rest.  This feature (1004 N to 1001.53 N and 268.95 E to 267 E) contains orange clay, white clay, and gray clay. ; ; Based upon the presence of a tile scatter, fragments of worked stone, clay of three different colors, and worked blocks bordering the aforementioned clay, we have formulated three hypotheses: that the extant evidence indicates the destroyed remains of some sort of enclosure associated with 1) a hearth, 2) a potting installation, or 3) a floor(s).; ; This area of destruction debris is cut by a large pit or well (B36, B37, B39, B41, B43, B46; 1008.08 N to 1005.96, and 268.40 E to 266.40 E).  Five of the six lenses of fill of this pit or well are dated by pottery to the second Ottoman period (AD 1715 -1831) and may represent a filling in of this feature at that time.  IT is possible that this activity may be related to the large and well-built Ottoman house (the Giambourani House) previously excavated less that 10m to the NW of Nezi field.  The uppermost lens of fill (B36) in this pit or well contained Early Modern pottery and we suggest that this deposit may have been dumped into the pit in the Early Modern period to level out the surface of the ground in this area of the field as the settling of earlier dumped fills may have created a depression in the ground over time. We have temporarily ceased excavating this pit because it is 1.41 m deep and difficult for the workmen to climb in and out of; excavation will resume once the surrounding deposits have been excavated to a more manageable depth.; ; North of this area of destruction a robbing trench (B52/B54) has been excavated at 1011.5 – 1014N/264 – 264.85E.  This robbing trench was dug to partially rob a N-S running wall that continues into the previously excavated area to the north of Nezi field, thus linking the two areas.  Pottery from the fill of the robbing trench dates to the Frankish period, ca. AD 1300.  But further excavation is needed to establish a more reliable date based on the relations between the robbing trench and other deposits and features in the area.  Specifically, we want to know the relationship between the robbing trench and the E-W wall that may (or may not) cut it at ca. 1011.5N/264.5E.  We also want to excavate more of the deposits cut by the robbing trench to establish a more secure date.; ; EARLY MODERN; ; The Early Modern activity in the excavation area is agricultural in nature, consisting primarily of two phases of plowing and planting in the southern half of the excavation area.  The earlier phase was excavated with B23=B27=B30=B33=B34=B50=B57=B62 which overlay the entire excavation area.  The mixed nature of this soil and its lack of association with any built structures suggest to us that this is plow zone.  Several deposits excavated immediately under this zone also contained Early Modern pottery (B14, B36, B38, B44, B57=B61).  Based on their location at the northern down-slope end of the field and their relative depths, we suggest that these deposits were purposefully laid down to level the field for the planting of crops in this first phase of Early Modern agricultural activity.; ; The later phase of plowing was excavated with B2=B24, which overlay distinct plow furrows (the cuts of which were recorded with B22).  The furrows vary in length and width and run from the eastern extreme of the excavation area to the western extreme.  They first appear approximately one meter south of the E-W wall.; ; Associated with later phase of Early Modern agricultural activities is a linear pile of stones excavated with B4 (1009.70 N to 1010.90 N, and 264.70 to 272.66 E in its extremes).  This layer abuts the south face of the E-W wall and we suggest that it is a pile of field cobbles which farmers cleared from the field in the course of their agricultural activity to the south.  Since these cobbles predate the later phases of fencing (see below for B16, B17) between Nezi field and Giambourani field, we hypothesize that there was an earlier fence or field boundary, which B17 replaced, but has left no discernable trace.; ; Also associated with the later phase of Early Modern activity in Nezi field is a small pit (fill of this pit = B44) of dumped material including ash, sherds, cobbles and boulders.  ; ; MODERN; ; South of the E-W wall, a series of tree pits and irrigation trenches were cut into the second phase of Early Modern plow zone.  The irrigation trenches (B18 = B32, B19) comprise two linear cuts running north-south up to the south-west side of individual tree pits but not joining a specific tree pit (B18 ran up to B7/B10, B19 ran up to B11/B15).  Each trench contained a black plastic irrigation hose.  The irrigation trenches continue south out of the excavation area, and probably are connected with other tree pits within the existing orange orchard south of the excavation area.; ; The five tree pits in the excavation area are arranged in three north-south rows, ca. five meters apart.  Each of the tree pits (B6/B9, B7/B10, B8/B12, B11/B15, B21/B25) contained an orange tree and root system, all of which the workmen cleared; the workmen, most of whom have extensive agricultural experience, estimate the age of the trees to be no more than forty years old.  Each pit cuts the surface cut by plow furrows (furrows = B22) and the soil which the furrows cut (B23=B27=B30=B33=B34=B50).; ; Tree pit B6/B9 contained very dark black specially fertilized soil with small white polystyrene inclusions and small areas of yellowish white clay.  Both the specially fertilized soil and yellowish white clay would have been part of a mix of soil and other matter that surrounded the orange sapling when it was put in the pit. The clay and the polystyrene most likely functioned to retain moisture for the sapling.; ; Along both sides of the E-W wall are several fill deposits.  The uppermost on the north side of the wall (B3) contains worked marble fragments that may be the result of dumping from the 1936 excavation, or also (in this case) the later 1960’s excavations under H. Robinson in sections E and J (see NB228), north of the Nezi field.  South of the E-W wall are two fill deposits (B5, B14) that may perhaps be the result of terracing for agricultural activity.  However, the uppermost fill (B5) also included marble fragments, some of which were worked.  Because similar fragments also occur in the fill north of the E-W wall (B3)—which, along with B5, also directly borders Amyx and Morgan’s 1936 excavation trench in what was later called section E by Schmiel in 1961 (NB228)—we hypothesize that this fill is most likely fill dumped by the 1936 excavators.  Worked marble fragments have been found only in these two contexts in the area along the north scarp.; ; These fill deposits are cut by the latest activity in our excavation area: the construction of two phases of cement foundations used to anchor a series of posts supporting chain-link fencing.  This fencing runs along the northern boundary of Nezi field.  Both phases of fence foundations were partly cemented onto the E-W wall at ca. 1011.70 N and destroyed this wall in these places.  ; ; The earlier phase of fencing survives as a series of small, whitish gray cement foundations (B17).  The second phase of fencing survives as a series of noticeably larger concrete slabs spaced at regular intervals (B16).  We know this phase is later because the metal posts were still intact as a functional fence at the beginning of excavation.  It is possible that these two phases of fencing were built at the times of the two previous excavation campaigns in this area of the archaeological site, one in 1936 and one in 1961.; ; CONCLUSION; ; The first three weeks of excavation in Nezi field have produced a stratigraphic sequence and grouping of associated finds to indicate a solidly Modern and Early Modern date for the vast majority of our excavated contexts.  The possibly earlier contexts consist of the pit (B36, B37, B39, B41, B43, B46), the tile scatter, and the orange-clay feature.  We hope that further excavation will refine our chronology.  We will continue our notebook research on the previously excavated area north of Nezi field in order to understand better the relationship between that area and the stratigraphy of Nezi field, particularly in the area north of the E-W wall.  Based on the remains of an enclosure in the SW corner of the excavation area and the robbing trench with its associated wall projecting out of the north scarp, we are hopeful of fulfilling our goal of investigating Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine remains and connecting them to previously excavated sections E and J.","Nezi Field 2007 by Lydia Herring, Josh Langseth, Kris Lorenzo (2007-04-09 to 2007-04-27)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2007 by Lydia Herring, Josh Langseth, Kris Lorenzo (2007-04-09 to 2007-04-27)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Middle Roman to Middle Byzantine Contexts in the Area North of Nezi Field","INTRODUCTION; ; For three weeks, I, Heidi Broome-Raines, worked in the area designated “North of Nezi,” conducting cleaning operations and new excavation.  The baskets for which I am responsible are B 5001-5082.  This area is located between 282.7 E to the east and 266.2 E to the west; 1023.2 N to the north and 1016.1 N to the south; it is immediately north of the “Nezi Field.”  My team consisted of myself as trenchmaster, Panagiotis Kakouros as pickman, Konstantinos Arberoris as shovelman, and Dimitris Papaioannou as barrowman and dry sieve operator.  Alicia Carter was my supervisor.  The excavations were directed by Dr. G.D.R. Sanders.  ; ; The objectives of our work in this area were to clean the area, to clarify the situation as left by the 1961 excavators (see NB228); to create a relative (and, as much as possible, absolute) chronology for the walls and features; and to eliminate the possibility of Late Medieval levels in the area.; ; The area was partially excavated in 1961, but the records (NB 228) left by the excavators are paltry and difficult to associate with the state of the area when we began working here.  We have reused some of their terminology in order to simplify the differentiation of rooms, walls, and features, and I have added only descriptive names, pending further excavation and interpretation in later years.; ; Work began in “Room E,” (1021.2 – 1016.38 N, 278.16 – 282.63 E) so designated by the 1961 excavators, where we concentrated on a pit in the northwest corner of the room, and a drain feature running along the west side of the room from north to south.  We were testing for the presence of medieval material in this room.  With the same objective, we then moved to neighboring Room F, which is a large rectangular area nominally divided by the “potatostone wall” and a large pit, “Bothros 6.”  We started in the east half of the room, excavating stratographically an area which had been left as if it were a wall by the previous excavators.  Then we shifted our focus to the west half of Room F (to which I refer here as FW, located at 1015.3 – 1020 N, 266.53 – 271.13 E), where completed the excavation of a large pit, “Bothros 7,” which had been partially excavated in 1961, and nearby deposits.  When our contexts seemed to continue under the north wall of Room F, we removed the last phase of the wall and continued excavating under and on the north side of it, in an area I refer to (in the notebooks) as “the room north of Room F, west half,” but in this report, NFW (1020 – 1023 N, 266.2 – 271 E).; ; Excavation in these areas was complicated by the 1961 excavations, both because the recording of those excavations does not shed much light on the work done at that time, and because the techniques used are not compatible with ours (such as a deep wall-chasing trench in NFW); we were rewarded by the appearance in a small area of sixty coins, the majority of Imperial Roman date (fourth to sixth centuries AC) but also including a remarkably well-preserved Trajanic dupondius which has been added to the Corinth Study Collection.  I have been able to phase a number of the walls, as well as to establish a relative chronology for the excavated area.  ; ; MIDDLE ROMAN; ; In Room E, there is at least one (although possibly two) Middle Roman phases.  The installation of the drain feature (B 5008 – 5010, 5014, 5035; at 1016.34 – 1021.51 N, 278.21 – 279.25 E) has been dated based on pottery and small finds to the second half of the third century AC.  Although we did not excavate outside the room itself, I believe that doing so would show that the drain leads either to the well south of the room and practically in line with the drain, or the large street sewer that lies under the sidewalk of the north/south road only a few meters east of Room E.  Associating this drain with one of those features is a possible objective for future excavation in the area south of Room E.  ; ; The drain is cut by a rubbish pit, measuring 1.07m on its longest axis, and containing mostly cookware fragments but no bones (B 5004 – 5005, 5012; at 1019.69 – 1020.56 N, 279.19 – 280.13 E); the drain is also cut by a section of the north wall of the room, which, although not securely dated based on its own pottery, is cut by the pit.  Therefore, the north wall was built after the drain but before the pit.  I cannot assign the date of the wall securely either to the Middle or Late Roman period, however.; ; To the west of Room E, the destruction context in NFW (B 5069, 5082) has been dated on pottery evidence to the Middle Roman period. It underlies several other contexts which were also dated to later years of the Middle Roman period. This context appears to continue under the north wall of FW, which suggests to me that further excavation in the northern end of FW, in line with this destruction context, will reveal the extent of this destruction to the south.  At present, based on a very small area, it is difficult to speculate about the destruction that caused a fall of rooftiles (all broken but in large pieces), burned mudbrick, charred potsherds, and carbon jumbled together and strewn across the surface of the east-central area of NFW.  ; ; The crosswall which runs north/south through NFW forms a boundary to the west for the destruction context.  Although this is not a decisive interpretation, it seems likely that the crosswall predates the destruction that caused the rooftile fall, because while soil from the west half of the room continues over the crosswall where it has been destroyed, the destruction context stops abruptly at the east face of the crosswall.  If the crosswall had already been destroyed when the destruction took place, or if they were contemporaneous, I would expect some of the destruction context to be present over the destroyed part of the wall.  Since I did not find any, I am tentatively giving a relative chronology of the events:  the crosswall was built before the Middle Roman destruction in the east half of NFW; followed by that destruction; followed by the demolition of the crosswall and the deposition of the soil in the west half of the room which continues over the destroyed wall (B 5078).  The wall is in situ and I did not find any foundation trenches for it, so it has produced no datable material to compare with the Middle Roman pottery in the destruction level.  ; ; LATE ROMAN; A substantial clay layer (B 5011, 5013) in Room E has been dated on pottery and coins to the second half of the sixth century, AC.  Although this layer could be a floor, the fact that it pools in one corner and stretches “fingers” into the room suggests to me that it is rather an accumulation of clay building material which has decomposed and settled.  ; ; In the east half of Room F (“FE,” at 1016.14 – 1020.29 N, 271.71 – 277.67 E), we limited our activity to excavating stratographically a wall-shaped area left in situ by the 1961 excavators.  In a series of baskets (B 5015 – 5026) we removed successive layers:  all except the cleaning basket were Late Roman.  The lowermost datable stratum (B 5022) was dated to the middle of the sixth century AC.  ; ; Our goal in excavating this area, in addition to establishing the stratigraphy in the only place where it has survived at such high elevations, was to phase three walls in the area:  the north wall of FE, the east wall of Room F, and the west wall of Room E.  The north wall of FE appeared under seven layers of deposited soils.  The east wall of Room F runs over and postdates the north wall of Room F.  However, none of this wall masonry has been dated securely.  I was not able to establish a chronological relationship between the west wall of Room E and the other two walls.; ; The north wall of FW has been shown to have at least three phases.  The first of these phases, discussed above, involves the blocks associated with the Middle Roman or earlier crosswall which runs perpendicular to this wall and is included within it; the second, and now Late Roman, is the greater part of the wall itself, which appears to have been built up on either side of the block of the crosswall.  This block juts out to the north several centimeters further than the rest of the north wall of Room F, suggesting that it was not part of the construction of the wall, but rather was already there.  Further supporting this is the fact that the destruction context runs under the second phase of the wall but stops short at the crosswall.  The wall has been interrupted at the very east end of FW, in a way which suggests a doorway.  The third and final phase of this wall is the filling in of the doorway with blocks and rubble (B 5051), in a markedly lesser quality of construction, which I have not left in situ.  This phase also belongs to the Late Roman period.; ; The foundation trench (B 5060, 5061) for the west wall of FW has also been dated to Late Roman by a coin dating securely to 367-375 AC.  It appears to have been built after the north wall of FW, but further excavation should clarify this hypothesis.; ; The potatostone wall, which is only preserved in the north quarter of Room F, serving as the dividing line between the east and west halves, may belong to this period.  A large orthostate block is visible in the matrix of this wall, but in line with the north wall of Room FW.  Because it is the only such block visible in the wall, and because of its position, I have related the two as follows:  the orthostate block remained in place from the second phase of the N wall of Room F (see above) and was built up to on both sides in the form of the potatostone wall.  I have not excavated the pit called “Bothros 6,” and cannot make any statement about the relationship between the two; but it should be noted that the potatostone wall breaks off just at the north extent of the pit.  ; ; MIDDLE BYZANTINE; Bothros 7, the large pit which had already been partially excavated in part in 1961, has been convincingly dated on pottery to the Middle Byzantine period, which can perhaps be dated as specifically as 1080 – 1100 AC.; ; No material culture excavated in any of my eighty-two contexts can be dated later than Middle Byzantine.; ; CONCLUSION; ; The excavation of North of Nezi has raised several new questions:  What was the extent of the Middle Roman destruction context in NFW?  Further excavation would also be repaid by clarifying the relationship between the walls and pits.  The next logical step would be to remove the potatostone wall, which we have identified as significantly later in date than the surrounding contexts.  I would suggest excavation of Bothros 6 and of the pit into which the large pithos is sunk, as well as the clay floor in FE.  Eventually it should be possible to identify uses for the area at periods as late as Late Roman.; ; We have settled several questions as well.  Any levels later than Middle Byzantine have been removed by the 1961 excavators, and we should not expect to find anything dating to later periods anywhere in the excavated areas.  However, Bothros 6 and the robbing trench at the southern extremity of FW may yet reveal medieval levels.; ; Further study of the finds, perhaps in combination with additional excavation in the area, may reveal the significance of the large concentration of Late Roman coins in NFW.  When the samples I collected have been water sieved, there may be additional information about use of space and structure, especially in areas with a great deal of ash and other evidence of burning.  The perimeter of the excavation can still be widened, perhaps not to the north, but with assuredly better stratigraphy immediately to the south in Nezi Field, currently excavated down to Frankish levels, should excavation in that area continue down to elevations like my own.  Widening the excavated area would contribute to our understanding of the history of occupation and function of the space, which at present is limited by our narrow perimeter.","Nezi Field 2007 by Heidi Broome-Raines (2007-04-30 to 2007-05-18)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2007 by Heidi Broome-Raines (2007-04-30 to 2007-05-18)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Early Roman to Middle Byzantine Strata in area of Room F, North of Nezi field","INTRODUCTION; For three weeks Ioannis Sapountzis worked in the area designated “North of Nezi,” conducting cleaning operations and new excavation. The area where cleaning and excavation took place is located between E 278.30 to the east and E 271.60 to the west, N 1015.32 to the south and N 1022.90 to the north, and it is to the immediate north of the area known as “Nezi field.”  Ioannis Sapountzis was the trenchmaster, Athanasios Magourakis the pickman, Panagiotis Stamatis the shovel man and Christos Bolevas the barrowman and sieve operator.  Alica Carter was the supervisor and G. D. R. Sanders the director of the excavations.; ; The objectives of the work in the above said area were to initially clarify the situation as it was left by the 1961 excavations and then proceed into the investigation of the various structures and features that exist, in order to provide a better chronology for them, but also to be able to place them within the space around them.; ; The area was partially excavated in 1961.  Besides that only one cleaning basket (B 5002) was excavated in the above mentioned area by Heidi Broome-Raines in the second training session of 2007.  Therefore for the most part the area has remained untouched since 1961. Some of the terminology that was applied in the 1961 archaeological record, mainly the names of walls and other features, was reused by I. Sapountzis.; ; Excavation and cleaning started in the room that is located to the north of room F, E half (E 271.70-E 276.50, N 1020.70-N 1022.30).  Wall 24 (NB 228) (E 271.60-E 274.5, N 1022.30-N 1022.90) that formed the northern wall of this room was removed. Two phases of wall 23 (NB 228) (E 271.15-E 276.60, N 1020.15-N 1020.90), which formed the southern wall for the above said room were also removed?. Then excavation and cleaning proceeded into room F, E half (E 271.60-E 276.75, N 1015.80-N 1020.35). Part of the foundation trench for a pithos (E 273.25-E 274.20, N 1019.15-N 1020.05) that was initially excavated in the 1961 season was dug. The extension of wall 20 (NB 228) (E 272.05-E 273.45, N 1015.80-N 1018.12) was also excavated.  Finally wall 21 (NB 228) (E 277.60-E 278.50, N 1016.12-N 1021.45), which connects wall 19 (NB 228) and cuts through the probable extension of wall 23 (NB 228) was also removed.; ; EARLY ROMAN; The only early Roman contexts were excavated in B5109 and B5110.  They were dated based on pottery.  Both of them were located in the room north of room F, E half, and they were interrupted on the E by wall 21 (NB 228), and B5110 was interrupted in the S by wall 23 (NB 228).  Upon excavating them, B5110 revealed a layer which contained ashes in its matrix, and which was later on linked with room F, E half, in B5141.  Since B5141 had a middle Roman date, it is most likely that B5109 and B5110 were reused fill of some kind, probably as a subflooring for the room to the north of room F, E half.; ; MIDDLE ROMAN ; Against the east face of wall 22 (NB 228) in the room to the north of room F, east half, a foundation trench was excavated (B5106).  The date on this foundation trench was based on the pottery.  However the excavation of B5106 should be considered incomplete since due to the narrowness of the trench the pickman was forced to stop.  Also in the same room, another cut was excavated (B5105) against the N side of wall 23 (NB 228).  It was initially thought that B5105 was a foundation trench for an earlier phase of wall 23 (NB 228), however the excavating crew was unable to trace its full extent to the east and the west, and therefore it is possible that this is simply some pit.  The only other middle Roman context (B 5107) excavated in the room to the north of room F, east half, was a deposit lying on top of an early Roman context (B5109 and B5110) which subsequently was positioned on top of a late Roman context (B 5140).  Therefore B5107 is considered to be out of order stratigraphically, and is most likely reused fill as part of subflooring.; ; In room F, east half, part of the foundation trench for the large pithos was excavated (B5118).  To the N it bordered with an earlier phase of wall 23 (NB 228) and to the W with wall 20 (NB228).  The bottom of B5118 does not represent the end of the foundation trench for the pithos. It was simply decided to stop this basket at this point because excavating any deeper could cause the already cracked pithos to collapse and thus endanger the working crew.  This is however an important context since it potentially dates the placement of this pithos within the room.  The dating of this context was based on pottery and on a middle Roman coin, 2007-398.; ; A possible robbing trench for the upper courses of wall 20 (NB 228) was excavated by B’s 5123, 5144 and 5145.  It is thought that wall 20 (NB 228) could have been robbed out of its upper courses in order to create a leveling area for a floor within room F, east half.  The dating of this hypothetical robbing trench is based on pottery and a coin of Valentinian I or Valeus (Coin 2007-396).; ; The latest phase of wall 23 (NB 228) which separates room F, east half, and the room to its immediate north, was removed (B5156, B5136).  The wall consisted of large and medium sized worked stones, field stones, large cobbles, a marble fragment (either part of a fountain or a perrirhanterion), and a fragment of a lintel block.  To its east wall 23 (NB 228) is cutting through a north to south wall (E 276.60-E 277.40, N1016.05-N 1020.40), and to its west it is cut by wall 22 (NB228). Upon the removal of the latest phase of wall 23 (NB 228), what potentially could be another phase was noted on its east side and it was subsequently removed by B5137.  Both phases of wall 23 (NB 228) mentioned here were dated to the middle Roman period based on pottery.  ; ; The second phase (B5137) noted above is a bit problematic, since it is of the same construction technique with the previous phase, removed in B’s 5156 and 5136, but below it instead of another phase of wall 23 (NB 228) there was leveled ground.  This area below B5137 is believed to belong to a foundation trench for a third phase of wall 23 (NB 228).  This foundation trench was excavated in B5141 and it is located in the south side of wall 23 (NB 228) within room F, east half.  To its west it is bordered by the foundation trench of the pithos (B5118) and to the east by the wall which connects wall 23 (NB 228) with wall 19 (NB228) (E 276.60-E 277.40, N1016.05-N 1020.40).  It is very possible that the foundation trench for wall 23 (NB228) and the foundation trench for the pithos (B5118) are the same context, since they share similar matrices and have the same dates based on pottery.  The foundation trench for wall 23 (NB 228) has not been fully excavated since a change in the matrix of the soil was noted, and it was therefore required to change the basket. However, due to time constraints, the rest of the foundation trench has remained unexcavated.  The foundation trench for wall 23 (NB228) is dated based on pottery.; ; LATE ROMAN; In the room to the north of room F, east half, that is bordered by wall 23 (NB 228) on its south side, wall 22 (NB 228) on its west side, wall 24 (NB 228) on its north side, and the probable continuation of wall 21 (NB 228) on its east side, a significant amount of coins was recovered, 119 in total.  The majority are of a late Roman date with some that belong to the middle Roman period.  They were mostly concentrated on the east half of the room.  B5092 had the largest concentration, 62 in total, all of which were of a late Roman date (Coin 2007-254 is just one example).  B5092 together with B5093, B5089 and B5086 revealed a large deposit of roof tile fragments which spread from wall 22 (NB 228) to ca. 0.75 to the west of wall 21 (NB228).  This deposit was excavated as B5096 and it also contained 48 coins, the majority of which belonged to the late Roman period.  This tile layer is believed to be a leveling course for a floor and not an actual destruction layer. The reasoning behind this is the following.  The roof tile fragments were all very small pieces, ca. 0.05 by 0.12, and normally when a roof collapses there are some larger pieces which survive, and in this deposit there were none.  Not all of the tile fragments were lying flat on the ground, which means that they were dumped in this room instead of collapsing from the roof.  Together with the roof tile fragments there was a large number of medium sized cobbles, which do not seem to belong to any of the construction techniques of the surrounding walls.  The date of all of the above baskets, with the exception of B5093, is late Roman, and this is based on pottery and the majority of the coins recovered from this area.; ; Wall 21 (NB 228) which is interrupted on its south end by wall 19 (NB228), and on its north end appears to be cutting through an extension of wall 23 (NB228) only to fall apart at ca. 0.90 of that, was removed in B5126. The decision was made upon noting that the wall was sitting on earth, and therefore following a stratigraphic sequence it made sense to remove it.  Wall 21 (NB228) was constructed of large orthostate blocks, spaced in between with smaller worked stones, field stones, and mud.  This construction technique can be seen elsewhere in the “N of Nezi” area.  It measured 5.33 in length, 0.65 in width, and had a maximum preserved height of 1.15.  Wall 21 probably formed the west wall of what is referred to as room E (NB 228).  A large number of coins (33) were retrieved from the dirt that formed the bonding material for the wall and from the floor on which wall 21 was placed (14 coins from B5130).  The majority of the coins are of a late Roman date (such as 2007-411), with some middle Roman ones (such as 2007-433).  Wall 21 (NB228) was dated as late Roman based on pottery and coins.  The floor on which the wall was resting (B5130) was also dated as late Roman based on pottery and coins.; ; MIDDLE BYZANTINE; After excavating B 5089 in the room to the north of room F, E half (E 271.70-E 276.50, N 1020.70-N 1022.30) it was noted that a layer which contained numerous tile fragments was continuing underneath wall 24 (NB 228).  It was therefore decided to remove wall 24 before excavating the tile layer.  Wall 24 (B 5093) was constructed with a mix of worked and field stones, all of which were average sized. It was randomly coursed and its faces had a mix of fair faced and rough faced stones.  It measured 2.95 in length, 0.65 on its maximum preserved width, and 0.35 at its maximum preserved height. To the W it was interrupted by wall 22 (NB 228) and to the E it was destroyed.  If it were to continue to the E it would probably merge with wall 21 (NB 228).  On its N side due to excavation work that took place in 1961 another wall (E 271.65-E 275.00, N1022.80-N 1023.40) could be detected on which wall 24 was partially positioned atop.  Upon the removal of wall 24 the upper course of this lower wall was exposed.  Wall 24 was partially incorporated in this upper course, but it also lay on the leveling layer created by the roof tile fragments.  Wall 24 is dated to the 11th century AD on the basis of the pottery that was retrieved from its matrix.  It is very possible that wall 24 together with wall 22 and the upper most phase of wall 23 (NB 228) created a room.  What is important to note is that out of these three walls only wall 24 was resting partially on the roof tile layer, and therefore wall 22 and the upper phase of wall 23 could be earlier than wall 24.; ; B5133 is the only other context with a middle Byzantine date.  B5133 is thought to be a foundation trench for the west end of wall 28 (NB 228) (E 277.00-E 278.30, N1022.30-N 1022.75).  The bottom of B5133 does not represent the bottom of the foundation trench, but excavation had to be stopped because it was becoming too narrow for the pickman to proceed.  Since this area has not been excavated since 1961 it is very likely that this is a contaminated deposit, therefore the middle Byzantine date is not a certain one, and middle Roman is another suggestion made by the director.; ; CONCLUSIONS; Some of the features excavated during this final session remain incomplete, and will therefore be part of the problems to be solved by future excavators.  In the room to the north of room F, east half, there is an unfinished foundation trench excavated in B5106.  This is the foundation trench for the west face of wall 22 (NB 228), and it was stopped because it was too constricted for the pickman to work.  So far the material from there has placed it in the middle Roman period. Completing the excavation of this foundation trench could provide a date of construction for wall 22 (NB 228).  ; ; Another unfinished foundation trench is in the area that is formed by wall 28 (NB 228) to its north, the probable continuation of wall 23 (NB 228) to the east, and wall 21(NB228) to the west.  In this area the foundation trench for the south face of wall 28 was partially excavated.  Completing the excavation of this trench could provide some useful dates for the construction of wall 28 and the structure that it creates to its immediate north.; ; In room F, east half, the foundation trench for the placement of the large pithos was also partially excavated.  Until this point it provided with a middle Roman date for the placement of the pithos, but excavating it in its entirety is crucial in order to get a precise date for the use of this pithos.  This is very important, since it was noted in the beginning of the session by the director that this pithos could potentially date to the 5th century BC, and thus if it is in use during the middle Roman period, then it is possible to get very useful information about the use and reuse of pithoi in antiquity.; ; Finally the foundation trench of the south face of wall 23 (NB 228) was partially excavated and provided a middle Roman date.  Since it is bordering with the foundation trench for the bordering of the pithos, and they share the same dates, it will be important to excavate this context since it can provide useful information regarding the pithos and its relation to wall 23 (NB228).; ; Excavating below the floor on which the tile layer was lying on in the room to the north of room F, east half, is crucial in order to further investigate the existence, or not, of middle and late Roman coins.  The concentration of such coins within a very limited space is very interesting, and further study of them in combination with other material culture, and the surrounding architecture could provide some useful information about activity in the N of Nezi area during these periods.","Nezi Field 2007 by Ioannis Sapountzis (2007-05-18 to 2007-06-07)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2007 by Ioannis Sapountzis (2007-05-18 to 2007-06-07)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Early Roman to Modern periods in the area north of Nezi field","Excavation Summary; During the third training session of the 2007 season, we, J. Matthew Harrington and Theodora Kopestonsky, conducted excavations in the area north of the Nezi field for a total of fourteen days between 21 May 2007 and 8 June 2007.  We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders, James Herbst, Alicia Carter, and Sarah James, with three workmen each day: Panos Kakouros (pickman), Kostas Arboris (shoveller), and Takis ??? (barrowman).  Initially, our area of excavation covered approximately 51 square meters, located at 272.8 to 266.2 E and 1014.4 to 1022.6 N.  This area is located north of W19 and its robbing trench (NB228), south of the north wall of Room F (NB228), east of the west wall of Room F (NB228), and west of W22 and its foundation trench (NB228).  This area is divided along an east-west axis by W38 (NB228), and there were large depressions remaining from the 1961 excavations of Bothros 6 (NB228) and Bothros 7 (NB228).  The descriptions of earlier excavations in this area are to be found in notebook 228 and in Nezi north B5001 to B5082.  Prior to the second excavation session, cleaning passes were taken over the entire area (B5002, B5003).  The global objective of our excavations in this area was to determine the phasing and dating of the walls and features revealed during the 1961 excavations, with a view toward the future unification of this area with the new excavations immediately to the south.  We excavated using the open area system as opposed to the trench system in use in the 1961 excavations.  This is the first year for the change in excavation systems.  On the final day of excavation we moved to an area west of the north-south road (cardo at c. 286E), measuring approximately 14.8 square meters, located at 282.3 to 285.8 E and 1017.5 to 1021.9 N.  The following interpretive summary of the stratigraphy revealed to date will describe the strata in chronological sequence, proceeding from Early Roman activity (in the Room north of Room F,W), through Middle Roman strata associated with the demolition and construction of walls (in Room F), through the Late Roman activity connected to occupation, to the Byzantine occupation, and Frankish wall robbing.  Although several coins were recovered in the course of the excavations, we are awaiting analysis due to the large number of coins recovered. ; ; Early Roman; Excavations of the fill in the Room north of Room F,W (NB228) west of the crosswall revealed strata (B5088, B5090, B5091) dating to the 1st century AC that appear to be leveling fill for the room.  This fill was cut by a sequence of two concentric pits, the earlier (B5085, B5087) and the latter (B5079, B5080) both dating to the 3rd to 4th centuries AC.  To the west to fill was cut by the foundation trench (B5060, B5064) of the west wall of Room F (NB228), also dating to the 3rd to 4th centuries AC.  To this point, a foundation trench has not been detected along the northern side of W38 (NB228).; ; Middle Roman (3rd to 4th AC); Based on its elevation and configuration, the clay floor surface revealed by B5129 and B5132 is likely to date to the beginning of the Middle Roman period.  It is cut by two pits of roughly contemporary date.  One is a shallow, oval pit c. 0.75 by 1.0m with a north-south axis (B5134, B5153, B5154, B5155).  Remnants comprising the majority of an amphora were excavated with a layer of ash (B5154) that may have been contained within the vessel.  This fill will be water sieved.  The other pit, roughly oval and measuring c. 0.90 by 1.0m with an east-west axis, was located beside a threshold at the corner of W19 (NB228) and the west wall of Room F (NB228).  The fill (B5135) contained large amounts of ash and charcoal, and the finds recovered from the pit also showed evidence of burning: painted wall plaster, fine glassware, a Niederbieber type 77 amphora, and a one-half life size marble bust.  The marble bust shows much greater exposure to fire on its right side, indicating that it was exposed to a fire rather than being intentionally burned.  The situation of the pit as well as the contents suggest that the deposit was a calculated act intended as a ritual of as yet undetermined significance.  It is possible that the contents of the pit represent goods and decoration from an elite house destroyed in part or in total by fire and subsequently ritually buried beside a threshold in a new residence constructed in the same general location but on a different plan.; The floor surface was also cut by the foundation trench (B5157) of the west wall of Room F (NB228).  This foundation trench may be relatable to the strata excavated from the foundation trench of the west wall of Room F in the room north of Room F, W (B5060, B5064).  As noted above, the Early Roman fill in the room north of Room F, W was cut by a sequence of two concentric pits, the earlier (B5085, B5087) and the latter (B5079, B5080) both dating to the 3rd to 4th centuries AC.  It is probably that the use period of the clay floor surface was associated with the crosswall at c. 269E; it may also be that both features went out of use contemporaneously.; ; Late Roman; A major spatial reorganization of this area occurred in the Late Roman period around the late 4th to early 5th centuries AC.  The crosswall at c. 269E (associated with the clay floor surface) was robbed out and backfilled with fill dating to the early 5th century AC (B5142, B5146, B5148, B5150, B5151, B5152).  Probably at the same time or nearly so the west wall of Room F (NB228) was constructed at c. 266E.  Part of its foundation trench was excavated as B5157 and dated to the 4th century AC; north of W38 (NB228), the west wall of Room F appears to continue northward, and B5060 and B5064 dug in its foundation trench date the wall to the 3rd to 4th century AC.  The combination of these dates with the sequence of the clay floor surface and its covering strata suggests that the west wall of Room F (NB228) dates post 4th century AC, likely in the early 5th century AC at the time the floor appears to have gone out of use and the crosswall was removed.  At c. 271.5E, a foundation trench was dug for W22 (NB228) and completely filled with strata containing very high percentages of medium cobbles and tile fragments (B5098, B5102, B5103, B5120).  After the construction of the two new walls, a leveling fill (B5129, B5131, B5132, B5139) that dated after the 4th century AC was spread over the extent of the area between W22 (NB228) and the west wall of Room F (NB228).  This fill postdates the construction of W22 (NB228), since its lowest layer (B5139) overlies part of the foundation fill of the wall and extends all the way to the wall.  The situation with the west wall of Room F (NB228) is similar with B5129, in that the fill of B5129 extends to the west wall of Room F  (NB228).   ; ; Middle Byzantine (10th to 12th AC); The 1961 excavations removed most strata of the periods after the 6th century AC from the area of our initial excavations with the exception of fill in the bottom of Bothros 7 (NB228 - excavated in B5028, B5029, B5046, and B5047) and to the north and south of Bothros 7 (NB228) along the line of the robbing trench of the crosswall at c. 269E (B5044, B5094, B5128).  It is likely that the construction of Bothros 7 (NB118) resulted in an area of mixed late Roman and middle Byzantine fill (north of the pit: B5027, B5031, B5032, B5034, B5039, B5041, B5042, B5043, B5044 - and south of the pit: B5121, B5128) over and partially cut into fill of the middle Byzantine period (B5033, B5038) as well as into the post 4th century AC leveling fill in Room F (B5129, B5131).  ; The various strata suggest a date of around the 12th century AC for Bothros 7 (NB228).  Although the original strata of Bothros 6 (NB228) were removed by the 1961 excavations, the relationship of the pit to W22 (NB228) would place the pit certainly after the 5th century AC and more probably in the Byzantine period to allow a reasonable period of use for W22 (NB228).  It is clear that the stones of the upper courses of W22 (NB228) were robbed out between the northern limit of Bothros 6 (NB228) and W19 (NB228), but that the less useful fill of the foundation trench was only removed where it interfered with the need for new construction.;  ; Frankish (mid-13th AC); A distinct change to a darker, more compact fill (B5113) at the bottom of the robbing trench of W19 (NB228) may indicate that a stratum undisturbed by the 1961 excavations was preserved.  This fill dated to the mid 13th century AC.  ; In the second area of our excavations west of the north-south road (cardo at c. 286E), a sequence of strata oriented along a southwest to northeast axis date to the Frankish period as well.  These strata are aligned with a buried conduit connecting the castellum at 284E and 1016N to the well at c. 286.5E and 1022.5N.  The removal of these contexts revealed a well-defined fill stretching from the eastern edge of B5162 under the un-cleared erosion accumulation in the ditch c. 286E.  ; ; Modern (post 1961); A sequence of strata (B5116, B5117, B5119, B5127) that dated to the Late Roman period were removed from Bothros 6 (NB228); however, it is our view that these represent eroded accumulation from the strata to the west (B5131, B5139) and east (B5112, B5114) of the pit.  It was apparent that Bothros 6 (NB228) was dug beyond its proper cutting on the eastern side, since no cutting on the expected line of the pit was present but rather a loose fill resting over the stones of W20 (NB228).  In addition, stones from the wall had fallen into the accumulated strata in the pit.  There were a number of levels of eroded accumulation (B5099, B5100, B5101) in the robbing trench of W19 (NB228) that dated to the middle Byzantine and early Modern periods; it is likely that these strata came from the balk immediately to the south left by the 1961 excavations. ; ; Conclusions and Caveats; Excavation in the room north of Room F, W are several centuries and decimeters further than those to the south of W38 (NB228); it will be necessary to excavated the clay floor surface and its associated fill (under B5132) and the strata east of the robbing trench of the crosswall at 269E (under B5139) prior to a return to the strata under B5191.  The phasing of W38 (NB228) and the crosswall at 269E is of high importance to the configuration of the space. ; It would be useful to continue the excavation of the castellum at 284E and 1016N and its associated conduit by cleaning the area of the ditch at c. 286E and around the castellum and them removing the aligned stratum, which may give a construction date for the hydraulic complex.  To date, the majority of the coins associated with our contexts have not been read; it will be necessary to revisit the dating when that evidence becomes available.","Nezi Field 2007 by J. Matthew Harrington and Theodora Kopestonsky (2007-05-21 to 2007-06-08)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2007 by J. Matthew Harrington and Theodora Kopestonsky (2007-05-21 to 2007-06-08)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Byzantine to Early Modern period in the southern end of Nezi Field","EXCAVATION SUMMARY; We, Angela Ziskowski and Lina Kokkinou, from May 21 to June 9 2007 continued the excavation in the northern edge of the Nezi field, in the same excavation area opened by Lydia Herring, Josh Langseth, and Kris Lorenzo in the previous Corinth excavation sessions of 2007. We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders, Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst, James Herbst, and Alicia Carter. We excavated with workmen Kleomenis Didaskalou, Vasilis Papanikolaou, (pick men), Vasilis Kollias, Iannis Oikonomou (shovel men), Andreas Oikonomou, and Vangelis Kollias (barrowmen). ; Our purpose was to continue the survey of the previous sessions, which extended as early as the Frankish strata, and to form a better opinion about the Frankish activities in the Nezi field and begin exploring earlier (Byzantine) activities in the area. Nevertheless during our work we also discovered traces of Early Modern activities.; ; ; BYZANTINE (610 to 1210 AD); We did not have enough time to work adequately with the Byzantine strata. We dug only a few baskets dated in Byzantine period and therefore it is too soon to form a final opinion about the Byzantine activities at the Nezi area.  However, it appears that a substantial grey, ashy layer (at least 6 meters in diameter) of Early or Middle Byzantine material will be exposed in 2008 which could very well represent some sort of industrial area (heavy burning) and would explain the large number of nails and iron lumps which were being excavated in this area this season. Nevertheless, on the basis of the evidence so far there was some activity in the Byzantine era in the southernmost part of the excavation area (1001.00N – ca 1006.00N) between ca 266.5 E and 274.00 E (B149, B161, B207, B215, B219, B 225, and 226). It is difficult to interpret B149 and B161 because they seem to extend further to the south of the limits of the excavation, and need to be evaluated in following sessions.  B226, a small oval depression seems to be directly above the substantial grey ashy layer which will be exposed in the 2008 excavation season which will most likely date to the Early (610-802 AD) or Middle Byzantine (802-1058 AD) periods.  B219, which is part of the fill of the foundation trench for the N-S wall at 269E, though small and incomplete, probably dates the construction of the N-S wall at 269E in the Middle Byzantine period on the basis of the pottery evidence. This wall was exposed in the previous sessions with B129 and B131 and was considered Frankish due to a coin of W. Villehardouin that was discovered in the fill covering the wall (B129). The presence of this coin can be explained by the use of this earlier wall by the Franks.  During the Late Byzantine period (1059-1210 AD) a small part of this wall that maybe included a threshold, was robbed (B207, B215). ; In addition, this N-S wall continued and was connected to an apsidal structure (that may have been added later based on limited exposure of the construction features) in the north (at 1008.60 N).  We excavated both the wall of this structure and the area within it.  While layers directly above the apse dated to the Late Byzantine or Byzantine NPD (B 176, 179, 213, 214), the construction of the apse clearly dates to the Middle Byzantine (B 206, 216, 217, and 222).  The upper layer of soil within the apse dated to the Frankish period (B 204), but the lower levels varied from Frankish to Middle Byzantine (B 208 and 209).  I suspect the reason for this is twofold; first, the lower levels of the interior of the building (I hesitate to call them floors since they were not level nor was there a deposit of material on them) are truly Byzantine and secondly, the area within the apse was partially excavated before wall itself which could have contaminated some of the material inside the structure.  ; Layers (B 218, 220, and 221) from the western edge of the apse and the western N-S wall (running along 266.00 E) of this building were dated to the Frankish period and will be dealt with in that section.; ; ; FRANKISH (1210-1458 AD); A significant amount of our work was dedicated in the area between N-S wall at 266E (revealed with B 65, B115, B117, B131, B137, and B139) and N-S wall at 269E (revealed with B129 and B138), and in the area West of the N-S wall at 266E. ; Courses of the western wall (running along 266.00 E) of this building were exposed in the north beyond the E-W crosswall (1006.00 to 1007.00 N) (B 218 and 220).  Moreover, it seems that the crosswall extended further to the west and under the western balk of the excavation (B 221) and may have been the northernmost point of the original structure.  However, the construction of the apse dates to the Byzantine period while most of the two N-S walls were exposed in Frankish levels.  Thus we are excavating a lower, earlier level of the apse (giving it an earlier date), it may be part of an earlier building onto which the later Frankish building levels were set, or it may simply be explained by the fact that the ground slopes downward from south to north.  ; Regarding the area between the N-S wall at 269E and the N-S wall at 266E, it became evident that at least in the Frankish period, the area was used as a room and that it was covered by a roof. As stated above, the N-S wall at 269E must have been constructed in Middle Byzantine period (802-1058 AD). There is no evidence yet about the use of the room in the Byzantine period (excluding the apse area which may be a separate structure), because we did not excavate below the Frankish strata in this area. This wall continued to be used by the Frankish population as the east wall of a roofed room. The west wall of the room was N-S wall at 266E.  The roof of the room suffered probably multiple destructions around the middle of the 13th century AD (B184, B210). We were able to trace the red floor of the room below the destruction in some areas of the room.; After the destruction of the room (B184, cut = B 191) a pit or well was created in the central West area of the room. This pit/well was used as a rubbish area for bones, tiles, stones etc. The digging of the pit/well was not completed in this session and its date is not secure (Frankish or Ottoman). ; It is very possible that the area west of the N-S wall at 266E and its threshold is also a room, because with B196 we discovered part of a wall and its robbing trench that runs in the N-S direction and is almost parallel to N-S wall at 266E. This wall stands immediately to the east of the western limit of the excavation at 263E. The hypothesis that the area between the two walls is a room is supported by the discovery of a small area of red soil, possibly a floor immediately to the west of the threshold of N-S wall at 266E. For definite conclusions about the activity in this area we have to extend the excavation area further to the west and also to study carefully the area to the north, where B141 and B142 were done.; A small partial roof destruction limited to the southeast of the threshold of N-S wall at 266E and dated to the first half of the 13th century AD can either belong to a roof of the area west of N-S wall at 266E, or to a roof of the room east of N-S wall earlier that that of B184. This small part of the roof could have slipped and fallen from the roof of a room  west of N-S wall at 266E in the area east of N-S wall at 266 E, then unroofed. It could also have fallen vertically down from a roof covering a room east of N-S wall at 266E.; East and north of the structure discussed extensive layers of fill were excavated exposing very few features.  These baskets of fill extended from 265.00 to 279.00 E and 1001.00 to 1013.82 N (B 172, 181, 200, 202, and 212).  In the southeastern corner of the excavation (274.00 to 279.00 E and 1002.00 to 1006.00 N) there were a number of layers that were clearly clay surfaces (B 165, 167, 175, and 185).  These layers consisted of a hard, packed clay on whose surface many finds laid.  Earlier in the season, channels (B 68) were exposed running across this space and it was suggested that these may have been irrigation channels.  However, it is now believed that it was not garden fill deposited in this area.  In addition, a small pit (B 183 and cut 186) was cut into these clay surfaces.  The material of this pit was dated to the second half of the 13th century, the same date as the clay surfaces.  Moreover, the relatively straight edges of the north (discussed below) and west edges of these surfaces suggest that they may have been at the edge of a building, if not necessarily inside.  ; In addition, a possible robbing trench was cut into the northern edge of these clay surfaces (B 173 and cut 182).  With the flat, clay surfaces jutting against this trench’s southern edge, it very well may represent the robbing of an E-W wall.  This trench (B 182) is also cut by another trench (B 111) which runs N-S.  Further consideration and excavation will be necessary to understand this area.; Even further to the north of this trench, we removed a martyr between a pit-like area (B 104) and a small wall (B 170).  We then removed the small cobble wall (B 199), dated to the second half of the 13th century, which was collapsing off the north edge of the Nezi excavations.  ; Throughout the central area of the excavations (269.00 to 274.00 E and 1001.00 to 1011 N) we removed a thick layer of soil that can be best described as silty (B 188, 223, and 227).  This soil contained little pottery (in comparison to other areas of fill here) and many bones.  Since there is a depression in the Nezi field at this point, it is reasonable to suppose that this soil was washed into place by rain or flooding.  Below it we were exposing a black/grey ashy layer which will be excavated at the beginning of the 2008 excavation season.  ; Above this silty soil, we removed one small clay patch (B 224) that jutted against the N-S wall which runs along 269.00 N.  In addition, two pits were cut through these levels.  The first (B 151 and cut 187) (at 271.00 to 272.00 E and 1002.00 to 1002.50 N) was exposed by B 140.  The second (cut B 193) was a substantial pit (270.00 to 271.80 E and 1007.00 to 1009.30 N) exposed by B 145 (the layer directly above B 188).  This pit (B 147, 148, 150, 153, 159, 160, and 163 = martyr) was dumped with fill that varied substantially in date although the latest material was dated to the Frankish period.  We stopped digging at B 160 after determining that it has cuttings into the bedrock for a well and that to continue any deeper would be dangerous and logistically difficult at present.  ; ; EARLY MODERN (1831-1949); This session’s survey did not add much to the evidence we had from the previous sessions about the Early Modern activities in the Nezi field (a property boundary wall, an ash pit, agricultural activity). In the Early Modern period part of N-S wall at 264E, which was revealed in B52 and B54, was robbed, as the pottery found in the robbing trench of the wall confirms (B 197, B 198, B 201).  In addition, a layer of soil (B 180) over a portion of this wall, which was left at higher level and not robbed as parts both south and north of it, suggesting it may be a different wall crossing this one) also dated to the early Modern period.; ; ; CONCLUSIONS; We have begun to uncover layers of Byzantine material in the Nezi excavations.  It appears that the lower levels of the walls and the interior fill of the only building exposed all belong to this period.  Moreover, the final days of excavation exposed a grey, ashy layer over a large area of the field which will almost certainly date to the Byzantine period once it is excavated next season.; The majority of the excavations carried out during this session were securely dated to Frankish contexts.  During this period we see a space being actively used in the southwest corner of the excavations, which may or may not be an interior room but further investigation will be required to determine this.  Also, human activity is visible within the structure.  At some point in the 13th century there are multiple destructions, after which a large pit is cut into the floor of the interior of the building.  ; Outside of this building, one finds several hard, clay surfaces in the southeastern corner of Nezi field.  These surfaces exposed finds laying flat upon them.  The trench cut to the north of them and the fact that the western edge of them is relatively straight suggests that they may indeed be floors of some sort.  In addition, the whole Nezi area north and east of the building seems to have been primarily covered in layers of fill under which a large silty layer had washed through the area.  This silty area seems to be dividing the Frankish and Byzantine deposits suggesting a possible period in which it was not used.  The numbers of iron nails and large iron lumps found throughout this area and the large ashy deposit made visible by the removal of this silty soil all suggest, in my opinion, that we are coming onto an exterior space used heavily for industrial purposes.  ; Several additional cuts (which may represent robbing trenches for walls) and deep pits make up the only other features in this area.  The large number of pits also suggests that this was an outdoor area.  ; Finally, the only significant evidence for the early Modern period in this session’s excavation include a number of layers which were removed from a robbed out wall that was exposed in the northwestern corner of the excavation.  I suspect that the wall itself dates to the Frankish period and it was robbed out during the Early Modern period.","Nezi Field 2007 by Lina Kokkinou and Angela Ziskowski (2007-05-21 to 2007-06-09)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2007 by Lina Kokkinou and Angela Ziskowski (2007-05-21 to 2007-06-09)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Western Suite of Rooms in the 1961 Byzantine House, Late Byzantine and Frankish Levels","During the second and third sessions of the 2008 season at Corinth, a contingent of Team Green excavated to the W of a 1960s-excavated courtyard within the greater area of North of Nezi. The area of excavation initially consisted of a rectangular space, roughly 6.0 x 9.0 m, bounded by four walls and subdivided by two smaller walls. The coordinates for this space fell between 1030 and1039 N, and 260 and 266 E on the Nezi gridding system. During the last week, the excavated area was expanded as far as 267 E.  The work team consisted of Billy Papanikolao (pickman), Vasilis Kollias (barrow man between 10.05.08 and 06.06.08), and Andreas Oikonomou (barrow man between 06.06.08 and 06.12.08). Alicia Carter and Guy Sanders oversaw the excavations.  ; ; History of Excavation; ; Corinth notebooks relate the extent of 1960s excavation activity in this area, which the excavators referred to as the western limits of the “1961 house.” Charles Williams (NB 253 from 1963) describes the northern and western walls bounding the space, noting that their deepest foundations appear to be Late Roman (Wall nos. 3 and 4, descriptions pp. 23, 26-27, and 29; drawn on pp. 10, 23, 16, 129). Williams also described uncovering the top of an E-W running wall that he called “Wall 6.” The foundations of a wall just to the N of Wall 6 were already visible to Williams when he was excavating, and that was given the name “Wall 5.” He excavated a deep deposit consisting of ash, carbon, mudbrick, plaster, and tiles on edge in the narrow space between the two walls, and speculated that this might represent foundations for a staircase. 2008 excavations around Walls 5 and 6 demonstrated that Wall 5, although truncated, continues eastward, and that the foundations of Wall 6 probably cut a surface much higher than where they rested when we began excavating. These observations make it more likely that the walls represent different phases of dividing the room(s) west of the courtyard, rather than a staircase. ; ; Each of the previously mentioned walls has been given a new number during the course of the 2008 excavations. The concordances between these numbers are: ; ; Wall 3, also given a 1960s number of Wall 58 (E-W wall bounding rooms to N, continues eastward from W limit at roughly 259 E) = Wall 5562; Wall 4 (N-S wall bounding rooms to W, runs from ca. 1039 to 1029 N = Wall 5724; Wall 5 (E-W wall abutting E facing section of Wall 5724, truncated to E) = Foundations: 5604, Wall Superstructure: 5603/5638; Wall 6 (E-W wall ostensibly bonding with Wall 5724, robbed out to E) = Wall 5725; ; The 1960s excavations were also responsible for the excavation of two pits within this space. One lay to the S of Wall 5725, and may have been discovered while excavators were attempting to locate the wall’s lowest limits. The other was located in the very SW corner of the area excavated in 2008, near the junction of Wall 5724 and the E-W wall running across the S limit of the room. This southern E-W wall does not appear to have a structure number corresponding to 1960s or 2008 excavations. This pit was excavated to the level of 84.80, which marks the top of a large cornerstone for an Ottoman building to the W. The construction of the Ottoman wall truncated part of Wall 5724. It is likely that 1960s excavators stopped when they reached the hard cornerstone and did not continue excavating within that space. ; ; 1960s excavations also identified a robbing trench for a large N-S running wall forming an eastern boundary between the courtyard to the E and its associated western room(s). That wall was labeled Wall 71; in 2008, the robbed wall was also given a number of 5473. The first top plan of this area for 2008 demonstrates the location and shape of each of the features described above, along with their elevations. ; ; The phasing of the walls begins with Wall 5562 and Wall 5724 which are demonstrably the earliest based on the depths of their foundations. Wall 5724 also has spatial and stratigraphic relationships with two other E-W walls to the W and N of the courtyard: Wall 5603/5638 (foundations = 5604), and Wall 5725. Wall 5725 appears to bond with Wall 5724 in multiple construction phases, making them contemporary. On the other hand, Wall 5603/5638 is a later reuse of a later foundation event, of which the upper limits do not survive. The robbing trench of Wall 5725 also has a relationship with the robbing trench of Wall 5473. Since the robbing trench of the E-W wall 5725 lies beneath the robbing trench of the N-S wall 5473, we surmise that Wall 5725 must have been robbed well before Wall 5473 was installed. ; ; Late Byzantine; ; Late Byzantine levels were excavated beneath Frankish fill just to the west of the junction between Wall 5562 and Wall 5473, and in the foundation trenches for Walls 5725 and 5724. These levels began at an elevation of approximately 84.85-84.99 to the S (fill 5768), and at an elevation of 84.75 to the N (top of foundation trench fill 5727, fill 5830).; ; The earliest features excavated during this season were the foundation trenches for N-S wall 5724 and E-W wall 5725. Because the walls appear to bond both at upper and lower levels, we expected to find a similar date for both foundation trenches. This proved to be the case, since the foundation trench cuts for Wall 5725 and Wall 5724 cut fill levels with dates in the first half of the 12th century (fills 5727 and 5768, respectively). Within the foundation trench of Wall 5724, a nearly complete jug and two-handled storage jar were recovered, possibly as an intentional foundation deposit within fill 5686. Unfortunately, the overlying levels 5547 and 5509 yielded pottery dating to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, so the resolution of when the walls were definitively constructed remains rather coarse, within the range of early 12th-late 13th century.  ; ; When lower levels of Walls 5724 and 5725 were revealed during the excavation of the foundation trenches, it became apparent that each one has at least two phases of construction. The excavation of fill 5770 within the foundation trench for Wall 5724 revealed a change in soil strata that corresponded with a visible difference in the appearance of the wall coursing. If the foundation trench fill 5770 represents fill of a second lower foundation trench, then the earlier building event can be dated by a coin to 969-1030 or later. Further excavation is necessary to establish whether the lower level reached in the excavation of fill 5770 actually represents a foundation trench, since it would clearly cut a lower surface than the plastered surface exposed to the E of Wall 5724 at the end of excavations.; ; There also appears to be a robbing event that is Late Byzantine in date. The N-S oriented Robbing Trench 5791 runs from just S of the E-W Wall 5562 to a point where it meets with the robbed out section of E-W Wall 5725, at ca. 1035 N by 265 E. It underlies levels dated to the 12th century (5786), as well as one level dating to the 14th century (5586). The terminus post quem for its construction is context 5830, which dates based on coinage to 1140-1170. The rough terminus post quem from the fills yields dates in the early 12th century (fills 5790, 5840, and 5844). Although it cannot be definitively demonstrated that this robbing event took place during the 12th century as opposed to the 14th century, the dates from the fills seem to point primarily in that direction. The question of whether this is actually a robbing trench also remains open for discussion. The trench is thin, approximately 0.50 m wide, and runs alongside and over a series of small cobbles and tiles set into a line—possibly part of the unrobbed wall. This does appear to be somewhat unusual as a robbing event, though, since it seems more likely that they would have exposed the whole of the top of the wall. Further exploration to the E of the robbing trench as it exists now could be desirable for confirming or disproving the line that we have identified; it may instead represent a continuation of a debris surface that was exposed by Jody Cundy and Megan Thompsen their excavations in the room to the N of the 1960s courtyard. If we have identified a Late Byzantine robbing event of a N-S wall, then a shape emerges of a long rectangular room, bordered by Walls 5562, 5724, a robbed out N-S wall of cobble-tile construction (evidenced by Robbing Trench 5791), and probably also E-W cross wall 5725, which bonds with Wall 5724. The question of how the N room would have been accessed remains in question. ; ; It appears that this area once rested on a higher level than the open space to the E, since we have a difference of elevations at which use surfaces occur. In the courtyard to the E, there is a pebbled surface that appears to be truncated by some kind of division, since the pebbled surface does not occur within the area to the W. Instead, we have identified Late Byzantine foundation trenches cut into a level of Byzantine fill stratified above a plastered floor surface- the only surface that we definitively identified during the course of our excavations in this area. Note: this surface was not excavated in the 2008 season.; ; ; Frankish; ; Frankish periods are well represented to the W of the courtyard. Contexts with Frankish pottery occur between elevations from 85.62 (fill 5581) to ca. 84.55 to the N (contexts 5581, 5583, 5837, 5644), and relatively consistently between 84.95 (fills 5667, 5646; 5509 overlies and is still higher) and 84.55 to the S (fill 5744).; ; During this period, it appears that Wall 5725 was still in place, dividing the room into two halves. The N-S running wall that was robbed during the Late Byzantine period (Robbing Trench 5791) may or may not have been replaced at this time, which would leave the room open to the E. The date of the construction of Wall 5473 remains in question, but it probably would have replaced the earlier robbed wall. ; ; In the southern of the two western rooms, two pits were excavated. Pit cut 5767 was created at least as late as the mid 12th century (cutting fill 5768), and was filled in at least as late as the 2nd quarter of the 13th century (filled by 5754). It is SW in orientation, irregular in shape, and appears to have been truncated by the NE cornerstone of the Ottoman house to the W. Pit cut 5723 was excavated and filled in by the mid 13th century. It underlies fill 5667, which gives a terminus ante quem of mid-13th century for its filling; but the surface which the pit cuts (i.e., the plastered floor surface) has not yet been excavated, and refine the dating of this feature. Although these pits have been included in the summary of the Frankish period, it is possible that both of them are actually Late Byzantine in date. A great many features depend on their relationship with the white plastered floor surface, unexcavated as of 13.06.08. ; ; It would appear that during the 13th century, significant leveling activity took place in the room to the N of wall 5725. Several strata consisting of reddish brown fill with tiles were excavated from the area (contexts 5500, 5503, 5513, and 5494). These contexts lay at similar elevations, and reflect a late filling event that may have been associated with a change in function for the room. ; ; A pit was cut into these dumped fills (pit cut = 5498), and it then underwent subsequent filling activity that consisted of the dumping of various strata of debris and construction material inside of the pit (contexts 5516, 5497, 5491, 5481). Additionally, a stratum with a hard, white plaster consistency was deposited within the pit and spread across the majority of the room toward the E (contexts 5499, 5512, and 5537). All of these contexts have been dated to the last quarter of the 13th century and may represent a single filling event, utilizing different kinds of material.  Much later, perhaps as late as the 18th century, pit cut 5498 appears to have been utilized in the construction of a small wall spur (#5478), as a depression for setting the stones. ; ; Pit cut 5717 lay beneath the bottom boundary of 5498, making it the earlier of the two cuts; but the fact that it is filled by two Late 13th century fills must place its terminus of use not long before the construction of 5498. Since the surface that it cuts has not yet been excavated, it is impossible to say how long it has been in use. The fact that a pit was cut twice into the same location in spite of significant filling events suggests that it could be an important feature for establishing how this area functioned during the Frankish period. Three levels of mixed fill lay between the two cuts (5723, 5727, and 5744), one of which contained a gold ring of Roman date. The pit cut also truncates a small E-W wall spur (Wall #5875), which bonds with the highest courses of Wall 5724. This structure only continues for approximately 1.0 m, and its original extent may be revealed by further excavation, since we had not identified its bottom course as of the end of the 2008 season.; ; Fill 5723 also partially covered the Wall Foundations 5604, which lay beneath Wall 5603/5638. However, it is thought by the director that the foundations 5604 were originally cut into a much higher, later stratum. If they do actually underlie fill 5723, then their terminus ante quem is 1260 +/- 10. The cobble fill was also ostensibly overlain by cleaning pass 5547, which yielded pottery of the 3rd quarter of the 13th c. Even if we successfully determine the date of the foundations, it is nearly impossible to say what the date is for Wall 5603/5638, since there is no matrix of soil around the stones and their construction is definitely different from the cobbles of Wall 5604.; If these walls are Frankish, then their truncation must also be explained, as well as their function in a room where there was already an E-W dividing wall ( Wall 5725) in place. ; ;  A well was constructed in the N room during the second half of the 13th century. Unfortunately, the boundary for the top of the well cut was diffuse, making it difficult to definitively establish the time after which it was constructed. Although the director has speculated about a later level for the cut, I propose that the well was dug into fill deposit 5513, which has been dated to the 13th century. We know that the well was out of use and filled in by the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, since it is overlain by dumped fill 5512. Only a single layer of fill was excavated from the well, but there is more remaining if further excavation of that area makes further access practicable. ; ; In the S room, we uncovered what appeared to be a robbing trench for a N-S wall (Cut 5859). This robbing trench is oriented slightly differently from robbing trench 5791 in the N room, which dates to an earlier period. From the stratum that trench 5859 cuts (fill 5744), we know that it was created after the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Overlying contexts 5735 and 5801 establish a terminus ante quem of 4th quarter of the 13th century for the robbing event. The trench is rather irregularly shaped and its limits were diffuse when we were first attempting to identify its path. In particular, we were puzzled by the fact that the trench did not appear to continue southward further than 1.5 m. If a wall did exist along that line, it does not appear to have been an extensive one. We are continuing to explore the potential boundaries of this wall to the S of cut 5859 (e.g., context 5870), and the possibility exists that its limits may be different from what we have currently identified. ; ; Dividing wall 5725 was also robbed (cut 5546) after the 3rd quarter of the 13th century and before the 4th quarter of the 13th century, if it is safe to assume that the trench was filled around the same time that it was cut. The wall was robbed to the E of where it intersected with both of the two aforementioned robbing trenches (5791 and 5859). The result was a truncation of the remaining exposed E-W running wall section, which remained in place between ca. 261-264.50 E. Therefore, the area to the W of the courtyard would have remained partially divided between N and S after the robbing. The robbing trench 5546 underlies the bottom of the robbing trench for Wall 5473, which presumably also means that the foundation event for Wall 5473 postdates the robbing of wall 5725. It remains in question to what extent these western room(s) were divided from the courtyard during the second half of the 13th century.  ;  ; Yet another robbing pit (cut 5719) was created to the E of Wall 5725 during the last quarter of the 13th century, probably for the purpose of robbing the lowest stones of the wall. It truncates robbing trenches 5791, 5546, and 5859, making it the latest of all four robbing events. There still remains some of this context to be excavated, since the boundary of the cut was diffuse where it overlay the wall 5725, and it was uncertain which strata belonged with the robbing event 5546 and which belonged with the later robbing pit (5719).; ; To the S, we explored the martyr of robbing trench 5893 (i.e., the robbing event of wall 5473). Our goal in examining the line of Wall 5493 was to determine where its W limits lay, so that we might be able to definitively determine whether or not there was ever a full length N-S predecessor further to the W that could have truncated wall 5725. While exploring the robbing trench fill, we also uncovered a foundation trench (#5894) for a later wall spur installation that cut into it. Since we know that the terminus post quem for the robbing event was 4th quarter of the 13th century at least (based on the fact that it overlies the robbing trench 5546 for E-W wall 5725), we also know that the foundation of the small wall spur must postdate that period. ; ; Conclusion; ; Excavation within the area to the W of the 1960s-excavated courtyard revealed Late Byzantine and Frankish construction events that indicate a consistent division of the space into N and S rooms. What remains unclear is whether those rooms were entirely separate and divided from each other, or whether access was readily available between them. According to the data set that we currently possess, it seems most feasible that Wall 5725 existed as a continuous E-W wall during the 12th century, dividing an area consisting of Wall 5562 to the N, Wall 5724 to the W, and another E-W wall to the S. There may or may not also have been a small N-S wall dividing the room to the N from the courtyard and the S room that was removed at this time, depending on how the evidence for robbing trench 5791 is interpreted; if it is regarded as a continuation of the tile deposit visible to the E, then that entire N area should be regarded as a continuous unit stretching from E-W. ; ; These walls may also have Middle Byzantine predecessors, but that question cannot be answered without further excavation below currently exposed levels. The presence of Middle Byzantine pottery within foundation trench fill pairing with a different kind of wall construction along similar lines (Wall 5724, fill 5770) suggests that this is at least a possibility. ; ; The Frankish period seems to have divided the courtyard space from the western space by robbing out Wall 5725 and installing a N-S running wall - possibly one that lay where putative robbing trench 5859 is located. The presence of a new N-S wall would explain the truncation of the E-W wall and the high elevation of Frankish fills within the W rooms. However, we have yet to locate an extensive N-S wall (or robbing event thereof) that would have functioned in this capacity.; ; ; ; ; I. Lotting registry; ; contexts saved: ; # 5481: fill of pit cut 5498, subpacking of wall 5478 (Frankish, 1300 +/- 10); # 5491: fill of pit cut 5498, subpacking of wall 5478 (Frankish, 1270-1280); # 5497: fill of pit cut 5498, subpacking of wall 5478  (Frankish, late 13th century); # 5499: Plaster pit lining (Frankish, 1280 +/- 10); # 5500: Stratum cut by pit 5498 (fourth quarter of the 13th); # 5547:  Fill between walls 5604/5603/5638 and wall 5725 (third quarter of the 13th); ; partial saves: ; # 5503: stratum cut by pit 5498 (fourth quarter of the 13th, needs final weights and counts); # 5512: plaster fill (third quarter of the 13th, needs final weights and counts); # 5516: clayey pit fill (c. 1300, needs final weights and counts); # 5667: fill cut by pit 5723 (mid 13th, needs final weights and counts); # 5675: fill of pit 5723 (mid 13th, needs final weights and counts); # 5686: fill of foundation trench 5718 for wall 5724 (early 12th, 1120 +/- 10); # 5703: fill of robbing cut 5719 (fourth quarter of the 13th, mini lot with 5708, frankish and loomweight held); # 5708: fill of robbing cut 5719 (fourth quarter of the 13th, mini lot with 5703); # 5735: dumped fill to W of 1960s excavated courtyard (fourth quarter of the 13th, needs final weights and counts); #5754:  stony fill within pit cut 5667 (second quarter of the 13th); (# 5778: soft fill within robbing trench 5791 (third quarter of the 13th, glaze ware held for lotting with 5798); # 5798: fill within robbing trench 5859 (fourth quarter of the 13th, saved for lotting with 5778); # 5870: fill to W of 1960s excavated courtyard (late 13th); # 5604: fill within cobble wall foundations; ; saved for mending: ; # 5558: fill covering and filling well 5806 (Frankish, mid-13th c.); ; ; II. Lotting groups for relevant features (saved contexts bolded) ; ; Pit cut 5498; 4th quarter of the 13th c., out of use by 1300; TPQs for construction: cuts 5503 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); 5513 (13th c., pottery); 5500 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); TPQs for filling events: 5516 (1300, pottery), 5499 (1280 +/- 10, pottery), 5497 (late 13th, NPD, pottery), 5491 (1270-1289), 5481 (1300 +/- 10, pottery); TAQs: overlying contexts unknown.; ; Pit cut 5717; 4th quarter of the 13th century; TAQ/TPQ: Underlies and is filled by 5627 (late, 13th, pottery); TPQ for filling: Filled by 5644 (late 13th, pottery); TPQ: cuts same reddish brown tiled surface as robbing trench 5491; TAQ: definitely overlain by 5503 (4th quarter of the 13th, pottery); ; Cut 5806 for well 5876 ; Constructed and filled by the 4th quarter of the 13th century; TPQ for construction: G.S. feels that level of cut unknown, so no definitive TPQ; ; TAQ for filling: out of use by 3rd quarter of the 13th century, because overlain by 5512 (=5499) (3rd quarter of the 13th c., pottery) and 5537 (2nd half of the 13th c., NPD, pottery);; TPQ for filling: Top fill and covering head: 5558 (mid 13th c., pottery), if cuts 5513, TPQ date is 13th century.; ; Robbing pit 5719 (E of Wall 5725); excavated and filled in the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TPQ for filling: Filled by 5703 (=5708), 4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery; ; TPQs for construction of trench: Robbing trench for 5725 is truncated by 5719;;  Robbing trench 5791 is truncated by 5719; 5719 cuts 5735 (4th quarter of the 13th); 5719 cuts 5746 (Frankish, 3rd quarter of the 13th c.); 5719 cuts 5837 (3rd quarter of the 13th c.); ; S. Robbing trench 5859; Excavated and filled in by the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TAQs for filling: 5744 overlies (3rd quarter of the 13th, pottery), 5735 overlies (4th quarter of the 13th, pottery), 5801 overlies (Frankish, 2nd half of the 13th century); cut by robbing pit cut 5719 (4th quarter of the 13th c., TAQ); TPQs for filling: Fill 5798 (Frankish, 4th quarter of the 13th century), 5808 (Frankish, 3rd quarter to mid 13th c.), 5812 (2nd quarter of the 13th, strat. relationship), 5816 (Late Byzantine, Late 11th), 5822 (Late Byzantine, early 11th/early 12th), 5858 (2nd quarter of the 13th, strat. Relationship); TPQs for construction: 5746 (3rd quarter of the 13th century, pottery), Plastered surface; or, if it cuts 5667, mid 13th, pottery; ; Cobble wall foundations 5604; Need to know level of top of cut to know TPQ; cobble fill overlain by 5547 (3rd quarter of the 13th c., rough TPQ); ; Pit cut 5723; excavated and filled in by the mid 13th c. ; TPQ for construction: Cuts plastered surface; TAQ for construction: Underlies 5667 (mid 13th c., pottery) ; TPQ for filling of pit: 5675 (mid 13th c., pottery); ; N. Robbing trench 5791 (N-S); 1140-1170 or later; TAQs for filling: 5786 overlies to W (Late Byzantine, 12th century), 5586 overlies to E (14th c.? or later); TPQs for construction of trench: cuts same level cut by well, same level cut by pit 5717; it’s a flat reddish brown tiled surface.; TPQs for filling:  5778 (3rd quarter of the 13th), 5790 (12th c., NPD), 5840 (Late Byzantine, 1090-1110), 5844 (Late Byzantine, 12th century); ; Pit cut 5767 (the SW corner pit); Constructed 1150+, filled in by 1250.; TAQ for filling: Contexts overlying cut unknown, filled at least as late as the mid 13th.; TPQs for construction: fill 5668 (mid 12th c., pottery) is cut by 5767; TPQ for filling: filled by 5754 (2nd quarter of the 13th century, pottery); ; III. Phasing of features based on pottery dates and stratigraphic relationships; ; Post-Frankish; Corner of Ottoman house (top of cut unknown); Corner of Ottoman house (top of cut unknown); E-W wall spur 5478: 18th century? No foundation for upper part of wall spur; ; E-W wall 5603/5638: Probable reuse of foundations 5604, so impossible to date; ; Foundations of 5604: need to know level of top of cut to know TPQ; cobble fill overlain by 5547 (3rd quarter of the 13th c., rough TPQ); ; ; Frankish; Foundation trench # 5894 for wall spur E of 5473: 4th quarter of the 13th century or later, strat. relationship; TPQ for filling event: fill 5892 (Late 13th, strat. relationship); TPQ for construction: cuts robbing trench 5893 (filled in by 3rd quarter of the 13th c. or later, pottery); ; Robbing trench # 5893 for wall 5473: 4th quarter of the 13th c. or later, pottery; ; TPQ for filling event: fill 5510, fill 5886 (3rd quarter of 13th), fill 5770 (Late 13th); TAQ for filling event: foundation trench 5894 cuts robbing trench 5893; TPQ: overlies cut 5446, which dates to the 4th quarter of the 13th century.; ; Robbing trench # 5546 for wall 5725: Excavated and filled in by the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TAQ for filling: 5837 (3rd quarter of the 13th, stratigraphic relationship); Underlies robbing trench for wall 5473 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); TPQs for filling: Filled after 5852 (Frankish, 3rd quarter of the 13th century); ; Pit cut 5717: 4th quarter of the 13th century; TAQ/TPQ: Underlies and is filled by 5627 (late, 13th, pottery); definitely overlain by 5503 (4th quarter of the 13th, pottery); TPQ for filling: Filled by 5644 (late 13th, pottery); TPQ for construction: cuts same reddish brown tiled surface as robbing trench 5491; ; Pit cut 5498: 4th quarter of the 13th c., out of use by 1300; TPQs for construction: cuts 5503 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); 5513 (13th c., pottery); 5500 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); TPQs for filling events: 5516 (1300, pottery), 5499 (1280 +/- 10, pottery), 5497 (late 13th, NPD, pottery), 5491 (1270-1289), 5481 (1300 +/- 10, pottery); TAQs: 5516 (1300, pottery), 5494 (1275-1300, pottery); ; Robbing pit 5719 (E of Wall 5725): excavated and filled in the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TPQ for filling: Filled by 5703 (=5708), 4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery; ; TPQs for construction of trench: Robbing trench for 5725 is truncated by 5719;;  Robbing trench 5791 is truncated by 5719; 5719 cuts 5735 (4th quarter of the 13th); 5719 cuts 5746 (Frankish, 3rd quarter of the 13th c.); ; We underdug this context and there is still some martyr remaining. ; ; S. Robbing trench # 5859 for N-S wall: Excavated and filled in by the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TAQs for filling: 5744 overlies (3rd quarter of the 13th, pottery), 5735 overlies (4th quarter of the 13th, pottery), 5801 overlies (Frankish, 2nd half of the 13th century), cut by robbing pit cut 5719 (4th quarter of the 13th c.); TPQs for filling: Fill 5798 (Frankish, 4th quarter of the 13th century), 5808 (Frankish, 3rd quarter to mid 13th c.), 5812 (2nd quarter of the 13th c., stratigraphic relationship), 5816 (Late Byzantine, Late 11th), 5822 (Late Byzantine, early 11th/early 12th); TPQs for construction: 5746 (3rd quarter of the 13th century, pottery), cuts plastered surface.; ; Cut for well 5806: constructed and filled by the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TPQ for construction: G.S. feels that level of cut unknown; I suggest that it cut level 5513 (13th century); TAQ for filling: out of use by 3rd quarter of the 13th century, because overlain by 5512 (3rd quarter of the 13th c., pottery) and 5537 (2nd half of the 13th c., NPD, pottery);; TPQ for filling: Top fill 5558 also covers head (mid 13th c., pottery); ; Pit cut 5767 (the SW corner pit): mid 13th; TAQ for filling: Contexts overlying cut unknown, filled at least as late as the mid 13th; if 5509 overlies, then the TAQ is the 3rd quarter of the 13th c.; TPQs for construction: 5668 (mid 12th c., pottery) is cut by 5767; TPQ for filling: filled by 5754 (2nd quarter of the 13th century, pottery); ; Pit cut 5723: excavated and filled in by the mid 13th c. ; TPQ for construction: Cuts plastered surface; TAQ for construction: Underlies 5667 (mid 13th c., pottery) ; TPQ for filling of pit: 5675 (mid 13th c., pottery); ; Late Byzantine; ; N. Robbing trench 5791 (N-S): 1140-1170 or later.; TAQs for filling: 5786 overlies to W (Late Byzantine, 12th century), 5586 overlies to E (14th c.? or later); TPQs for construction of trench: cuts same level cut by well, same level cut by pit 5717; it’s a flat reddish brown tiled surface, cuts 5830 (1140-1170); TPQs for filling: 5778 (3rd quarter of the 13th), 5790, 5840 (Late Byzantine, 1090-1110), 5844 (Late Byzantine, 12th century); ; N foundation trench, Wall 5725 (cut #5721): 1st half of the 12th century; TPQs: cuts 5727 (early 12th, NPD, pottery); TPQ for filling: 5727 (early 12th, NPD, pottery); 5711 (Late Byzantine, late 11th); TAQ for filling: 5547 (3rd quarter of the 13th c.); There are other fill levels to be excavated, but they may relate to an earlier phase of wall. ; Wall 5725 bonds with Wall 5724.; ; S foundation trench, Wall 5725 (cut # 5720): 1st half of the 12th century; TPQs for construction: Cuts (at least) 5768 (mid 12th c., pottery); ; TPQ for fillingFilled by 5680 (12th c., NPD, pottery); possibly we missed a 2nd layer of fill. ; TAQ for filling: to the best of our knowledge, overlain by 5509 (3rd quarter of the 12th c., pottery); Wall 5725 bonds with 5724.; ; Foundation trench, wall 5724 (cut # 5718): 1st half of the 12th century; TPQs: At least cuts 5768 (mid 12th c., pottery); TPQ; TPQs for filling: 5686 (1120 +/- 10 or early 12th, pottery); lower fill 5770 (969-1030, coin; late 10th/early 11th, pottery) may relate to an earlier construction event.; TAQS: to our knowledge, overlain by 5509 (3rd quarter of the 12th century, pottery); Wall 5725 bonds with 5724.","Nezi Field 2008 by Sarah Lima (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Sarah Lima (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Area North of the 1961 Byzantine House, Frankish through Modern levels","The following is a summary of excavations of Frankish and Late Byzantine levels by the Green team in North of Nezi in the 2008 season.  Our area lies directly N of the courtyard of the Byzantine house.  The excavation area is defined in the north by a scarp created during 20th century excavations of the south Stoa (1046.50 N), in the south by EW running wall 5562 (NB 230 wall 58-G; 1039.10 N), in the E by NS running wall 5430 (NB230 wall 77; 276. 50 E), and in the W by a NS running scarp (260.00 E) created by earlier excavations (see NB 253 p. 141).  ; ; In the first session from April 7th to April 23th, Amit Shilo and Thanos Webb oversaw the excavation of an area defined to the north by 1044.50 N, to the south by 1038.75 N, to the east by 264.50 E, and to the west by 260.00 E.  In the second session from  May 15th to 23rd, Christina Kolb, Sarah Lima (for the first week), and Thanos Webb oversaw the excavation of an area defined in the north by 1044.50 N, in the south by 1039.00, in the east by 276.50 E, and in the west by 261.50 E.  In the third session from May 26th to June 13th, Thanos Webb oversaw the excavation of an area defined in the north by 1046.50 N, in the south by 1038.75 N, in the east by 268.60 E, and in the west by 260.00 E.  We worked under the supervision of excavation director Guy Sanders, assistant field director Alicia Carter.  We excavated with Thanasis Sakellariou as pickman and Kostas Arberoris as shovelman and barrowman.  ;      Our main objective at the start of the excavation season was to get a better understanding of the interface between our area and the Byzantine courtyard immediately to the south. An EW running wall (5562) was the southern limit of our area and the northern limit of the room N of the courtyard of the 1961 Byzantine house (the excavation of the courtyard was summarized by Jody Cundy and Megan Thomsen, as well as Sarah Lima).  A secondary objective was to determine whether our area was interior or exterior space.  In order to accomplish these objectives and maintain the open area excavation methodology, we sought to remove all the trench martyrs left by previous excavations.  In practice this meant we were constantly moving to the top of next martyr in order to stratigraphically bring these later deposits down to the earlier phases exposed in the 1960’s. Interpretation of our area was often tricky. In some cases, using the 1960’s excavation notebooks proved helpful in explaining the presence of remaining martyrs and scarps.  In most instances, however, we were unable to connect the information recorded in old notebooks with what we saw in the field.  The 1961 notebooks that relate to our area are 230 and 235 and they were kept by Steven Lattimore.  The 1963 notebook that relates to our area is 253 kept by Charles K. Williams. This summary will be presented in two sections beginning with the area excavated west of wall 5677 and followed by the area east of wall 5677.; ; Area W of wall 5677 (Agora SW-H, NB253, Room 2E, p.23ff.); In this area we excavated this season a robbing trench, a sequence of floor levels with an associated hearth and dry storage pithos.  This area is bounded to the E by wall 5677 (NB253 1-H), that is composed of random courses of rough-hewn blocks and tile with punctuated with rectangular orthostates.  To the N is wall 5842 (NB253 2-H) which appears to abut wall 5677 to the E and continues westward outside of our excavation area.  To the S is the EW wall 5562 (NB253 3-H and NB230 58-G) that is abutted by the NS wall 5677 and continues eastward to roughly 270 E, where it meets the NS wall 38-G. The N-S running martyr he created is the western most extent of our area (260.00 E).; C.K. Williams first excavated this area in 1963 (NB 253), revealing three floor levels and a storage pithos (Corinth photos v. 18, page 42; neg, 63.9.24).  The half exposed pithos was still in situ when we started excavating.  The edges of stepped floors left by Williams had eroded over the past 45 years into a slumped mound.  Excavation this season began with the removal of the fill of a robbing trench in wall 5677 (fill 5181;cut 5195).  It appears to be the robbing of only one block from this wall.  Then a series of fills into which the robbing trench was cut were excavated on the W side of the wall (5219, 5223, 5225, 5227).  The removal of these fills revealed floor 5229, which corresponds with Williams’ floor 1 (NB253 p.129).   Floor 5229 appears to be associated with both wall 5677 and wall 5842. Floor 5229 and floor 1 both show signs of extensive burning (NB 253,p. 28).  We reserved a sample for flotation from context 5229 to recover any potential carbonized botanicals.  Beneath floor 5229 is another floor 5234. It is likely that context 5234 is the same as Williams floor #2 (NB 253 p.129). Floor 5234 also abuts both wall 5677 and 5842.  The pithos that abuts wall 5842 appears to still be in use when floor 2 (5234) is laid down.   The removal of floor 5234 revealed another floor 5841 through which a hearth pit (5838; 5839; 5849) was cut.  There was another floor beneath 5841, deposit 5860 in which the pithos was sunk (cut 5851; 5850).  Beneath this floor were several lenses of fill (5872, 5879, 5885).  Deposit 5885 was dumped fill consisting of large cobbles and fragmented roof tiles.  Within the deposit’s matrix in the southeastern corner where walls 5677 and 5678 meet, a cache of over 50 iron objects was discovered.  The iron objects include: large nails, bent and broken iron strips, broken and folded over knives, and one object with a series of small holes which we are unable to determine its function.  Most significant perhaps are the multiple examples of door-lock hardware.  Cover plates with keyholes, square boxes which would hold the locking mechanism along with a keyhole, and hinges in various stages of completion.   This marks the end of excavation in this area this season, although deposit 5885 remains unfinished.  Further excavation in this area might reveal the foundation trenches for walls 5677, 5842 and 5562 and clarify the function of the installation 5888.; ; Area E of wall 5677; ; Like the area W of wall 5677, the area E of the wall is bounded to the S by the EW wall 5562.  The boundary to the N is an excavation scarp at 1046.50 N, and to the E by the NS wall 5430 at 277.00 E.   The area appears to belong to a building adjacent to the 1961 Byzantine house. Excavation in this area this season revealed several robbing trenches and large pits, a roof-tile-built pithos and several floors. The latest features in this area are two NS walls, or perhaps foundations for walls, that overlie the earlier contexts.  Permission to dismantle wall 5430 and 5394 has been requested.  We excavated two sequential floors that abutted wall 5677 (5172=5186, 5189=5202). They date to the Frankish period.  Cutting these floors was a deep, Frankish pit (5169) that destroyed part of a Late Byzantine roof tile-pithos (Corinth Photographs v. 18: page 36, neg. 61. 27. 5.).  The roof tile pithos (5504) was then backfilled in the Frankish period.  A few modern sherds contaminated the first layer of fill (5165) and subsequent fill levels (5167 and 5496) were dated to the Frankish period.  The last Frankish fill (5496) within the pithos contained three complete dog skeletons.  Underlying the Frankish fills within the roof tile-built pithos was a final Late Byzantine fill (5505).  This fill was not completely excavated because it served as internal support for roof tile-built pithos.  ; Another Frankish pit (5758) was discovered near the scarp of the South Stoa.  Half of the pit had been removed when the South Stoa was excavated.; Frankish EW wall 5678 made of stone-rubble construction and has no bonding material.  Since no foundation trench has been discovered, it is possible that 5678 is the rubble  foundation for a wall rather than the wall itself.  The construction of the 5678 is earlier than the digging of Frankish pit 5169.  Also, 5678 cuts an earlier Byzantine robbing trenches 5714 and 5802.  ; ; Four Byzantine pits dating to the 12th were excavated (5629, 5595, 5776, 5772).  The fill of the pit 5772 produced redeposited 11th century material and is dated by stratigraphy to the 12th century.  Two of the pits 5629 and 5595 were large and similar in size being two meters in diameter and over a meter deep.  Their fills were different;  5595’s fill (5567) was mostly dirt with only 15% inclusions.  In comparison, 5629 had 50% inclusions.  Whereas the fill of 5629 represents what we would expect to find in a refuse pit, pit 5595 appears to have a different use that remains obscure.; The pits 5772 and 5776 distinguish themselves on account of the majority of their fill was made up of ash.  These are interpreted as pits for the disposal of burned material, whether from hearths, cooking or industrial operations.; A roof tile-built pithos (5504) was also discovered.  It appears to have been built while Late Byzantine floors 5528 and 5525 were in use.  Its 12th century fill (5505) was disturbed by the later digging of Frankish pit 5169.; Two Late Byzantine NS robbing trenches (5714 and 5802) were also discovered.  5714 is cut into the rubble and tile fill of 5712.  It abuts NS Byzantine wall 5677 and is cut by EW Frankish wall 5678.  At the base of 5714, two marble floor tiles were found in situ.  The fill over these tiles dates to the Middle Byzatine period (late 10th/11th npd).  These tiles appear to be from the same marble-tile floor as 5710.  Also, it is possible that this marble tile floor appears in the scarp of the cut for the roof tile-built pithos (5504).; A large NS robbing trench (5802) cuts the floor revealed by 5531.  It abuts wall 5562 in the south and is cut by pit 5629 in the north.  This deep and long robbing has four large, cut blocks at its base and what appears to be a Roman cistern on its east-facing side.;  ; The two of the walls in the area have not been phased (NS 5677, and EW 5562).  Foundation trenches have yet to be found in any of the areas excavated thus far.  As for walls NS 5394 and NS 5430, their dates are also contingent on the discovery of foundation trenches.  At the moment, it appears that wall 5562 predates all the walls in our area.","Nezi Field 2008 by Thanos Webb (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Thanos Webb (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","1961 Byzantine House, Courtyard and Surrounding Rooms at Modern through Late Byzantine Levels","The following is a summary of excavations in three areas in North of Nezi: the courtyard of a Byzantine house, the room north of the courtyard, a room south west of the courtyard and a suite of rooms south of the room south west of the courtyard. ; The courtyard of the Byzantine house uncovered in the 1961 season in Agora SW-G by Steven Lattimore (Room 12 NB 230; NB 235) and Agora SW-F by Willam Berg (NB 229) was further excavated all three sessions of 2008.  Excavation of the courtyard was overseen in the first session by Josh Geiske and Laurie Kilker from April 11th to the 23rd, with Cleomenes Didaskalou picking and Vasilis Kollias as barrowman.   In the second session, from May 15th to 23rd,, Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade took over excavation of this area, with Thanasis Notis as pickman and Andreas Oikounomou as barrowman and siever.  In the third session Megan Thomsen replaced Nate Andrade and excavation of the courtyard continued from May 26th to June 13th. The courtyard extends from 1027.85 to 1035.70 N and from 265.20 to 273.5 E. The room North of the courtyard was excavated by Nathaniel Andrade and Jody Cundy in the second session.  It extends from 1035.4 to 1039.4 N and from 265.5 to 270.6 E and was included in Room 12 by Lattimore (NB 230 p.170).  ; The room southwest of the courtyard and rooms south of it were excavated in 1963 as Agora SW-J under the supervision of Daniel Geagan (NB 254; 262).  They were further excavated in the first session of 2008 by Matthew Baumann and Nathaniel Andrade, working with Thanasis Notis as pickman,, Vasilis (Bill) Papanikolao as shovelman and Andreas Oikonomou as barrowman.  Excavation in this area continued in the second session with Jody Cundy replacing Matthew Baumann. The area extends from 1020.00 to 1030.50 N and from 262.00 to 266.00 E.; The goal of excavation in these areas is to clarify the relationships between the various walls in North of Nezi, in particular their phasing, and to isolate the walls and spaces of the Byzantine house for later consolidation and presentation to the public.; This report will be divided both thematically and chronologically. ; ; COURTYARD OF THE 1961 BYZANTINE HOUSE:; Post-Byzantine:; The post-Byzantine levels of the courtyard were excavated by Steven Lattimore in 1961 (NB 230; 235).  Though it is not profitable to summarize all the levels previously excavated here, the features and deposit that have direct bearing on those excavated this season will be briefly discussed.  A marble wellhead, capping the built well 61-9  (NB 230 well #2), was identified on the 15th of May, 1961 at an elevation of 86.85 (NB 230 p.103, 151, 159-60, 170, 176, 180, 193-4, 196; NB 235 p. 16, 27-8, 33-44; neg. 61-6-17; 61-6-19; 61-6-20, photo log 18, p.30) .  The well-head was subsequently removed on  May 27th, 1961 (NB 230, p.167).  Lattimore’s excavation of the fill of well 61-9 (renamed structure context 5864) produced Turkish material, including a coin (61-507).  He interpreted the resting surface of the well-head as a Turkish courtyard (strosis 85.246, NB 230 p. 170).  While it is clear that well #2 was in use in the Turkish period, the date of the construction of the earliest phase of well 61-9 (5864), and the tunnels and vaulted chamber associated with it are earlier. Lattimore detected and excavated the fill of a circular cut around well 5864 (61-9), which produced mid-thirteenth century material lotted as 827 (NB 230 p.176). ; Excavation in 2008 began with the removal of two segments of a pi-shaped terracotta drain (structure 5213) and the vertical stones that lined the exterior of the drain wall. According to the excavation notes of William Berg (NB 229, p.192), the drain, which extended from 1034.16 to 1034.72 N and 271.66 to 272.84 E, with a top elevation of 85.16 and bottom 85.01, was associated with well 61-19 (5864).  The terracotta segments are individually 0.58m in length, 0.26 in width and 0.12 in height.  Though not evident at the onset of the 2008 season, the Travlos plan of the area (1963) shows the course of the drain extending eastward beyond the north-south rubble foundations (wall 5649) to a length equal to its westward extent. A photograph of the newly exposed drain confirms this (61-15-4, vol.18 p.25) and shows the drain overlying the rubble foundations 5649. The foundations for the terracotta drain were removed as contexts 5780 and 5847.  Although no pottery was collected from the removal of the drain segments and the excavation of the foundations produced no precisely datable sherds, the association between the terracotta drain and wall 5649 indicates that the drain was the latest feature in the courtyard left from the 1961 excavation campaigns.  ; Wall 5649 is the rubble foundations of a NS wall with three blocks from the first course preserved at a top elevation of  (@@) and bottom of (@@), extending from 1033.75 to 1035.75 N and 273.31 to 274.20 E.  Wall 5649 abuts the earlier EW wall 5741 (NB 230 wall 59) to the north and the NS wall 34 (NB 229) to the south.  Wall 5649 is interpreted as a blocking off of the entrance corridor to the courtyard from the East.  Permission to dismantle wall 5649 is awaited and it is expected that Frankish or later material will be recovered from that operation.  ; In the first session, a martyr left from the 1961 excavation campaign was excavated. It extended northward from wall 61 (structures 5883 and 5882) from 1030.68 to 1035.19 N and 271.25 to 273.53 E.  The preservation of this strip of unexcavated layers is likely due to the later wall 57 (NB 230, p.166), which overlaid them.  Lattimore established the leveling point GG at 85.515 on a stone in this wall (NB 230, p.166).  William Berg describes the excavation west of wall 34 (NB 229, p.156), he encountered a hard surface at 84.46 and changed baskets to continue down to a clay surface at 84.06 and then to earlier levels (NB 229, p.167).  From this it can be conjectured that the martyr was produced as a result of the pedestalling of wall 57-G and the preservation of leveling point GG.  This can be clearly seen in a post-season photograph of sections F and G (61-27-2, vol.18 p. 35).  Wall 57-G, however was not present at the opening of the 2008 season.  Excavation of the martyr began with a cleaning pass (5191, top elevation 85.25), and concluded with deposit 5264 (bottom elevation 84.91).  Of the thirteen contexts excavated in the martyr (...), the combination of root action and the truncation of the deposits made interpretation of the layers problematic.  Although these deposit produced mostly 12th century pottery, they are likely best understood as part of Lattimore’s strosis 85.246 (NB 230 p.164; 173), which produced the coins 61-794, -795, -795, and was lotted as 1961-827.  Strosis 85.246, was assigned a Frankish date.; Likely contemporary with the rubble wall 5649 that closes off the East entrance to the Byzantine courtyard are two pier rubble foundations identified by Lattimore as part of the EW wall 61.  The West pier foundations (structure 5784) have a top elevation of 85.14 and bottom of 84.59 and occupy the space from 1030.13 to 1030.72 N and 271.49 to 272.19 E. The pier foundations 5784 abut the eastern edge of the north wall of the staircase 5783 (NB 230 61).  The east pier foundations abut wall 34 (NB 229).  They are comparable in terms of elevation and dimensions with the west ones (5784).  Extending between these pier foundations and overlying them was a rubble wall, interpreted by Lattimore as part of wall 61-G, but it has eroded away since it was exposed in 1961.; Further enclosure of the Byzantine courtyard in the Frankish (or later) period is evidenced by the EW rubble wall 5508 (NB 230 wall 61).  Wall 5508 has a top elevation of 85.13 and bottom elevation of 84.80 and extends from 1030.20 to 1030.85 N and 265.85 to 269.65 E, and is composed of two random courses of rough-hewn blocks in reuse and fieldstone. Like the pier foundations 5784, wall 5508 abuts the north wall of the staircase 5783.  Permission to dismantle wall 5508 is awaited and, like wall 5649, expected to produce Frankish or later material.  ; Lattimore uncovered the remaining blocks of a NS wall 71 (renamed 5473) and the fill of the robbing trench for the rest of the wall (NB 235 p.19).   Wall 5473 (NB 235 71) has a top elevation of 85.73 and bottom elevation of 84.72 and extends from 1038.90 to 1037.56 N and 266.10 to 265.31 E. The robbing trench extends from 1037.56 to 1027.90 N and 265.55 to 266.70 E.   The robbing trench, which produced Frankish material, also lotted as 837, is clearly visible in a 1961 post-season photograph (61-26-6, vol 18, p.36).  More of the fill of this robbing trench was detected in the stretch south of wall 5508 (wall 61-G) and was excavated as deposit 5510 with a top elevation of 84.86 and bottom elevation of 84.67.  Consistent with lot 837, it produced Frankish material and was lotted as 2008-52.  It is imagined that wall 71 (5473) formed the west boundary of the level identified as strosis 85.246 by Lattimore.; Just west of well 61-9 (5864) is another EW wall (5443) of unknown function.  It extends from 1033.63 to 1032.95 N and 265.68 to 267.01 E.  Wall 5443, composed one large ashlar block in reuse and random coursed fieldstone, has a top elevation of 85.03 and bottom elevation of 84.57.  It seem that the fill of the foundation trench for wall 5443 was partially excavated in the 1961 campaign, and although no reference to the wall or this trench has been recovered from the excavation notes, the cut of the trench is discernable in the 1961 post-season photograph 61-27-4 (vol. 18, p.36).  The fill of the foundation trench was further excavated as deposit contexts 5550 and 5824 this season.  Though the highest level at which the cut was made for the construction of this wall is unknown, it was at least as high as the fill over highest of a series of pebble surfaces associated with the late Byzantine phase of the courtyard (5298, el. 84.99), to be discused below. The fill of the robbing trench for wall 71 presumably overlaid the western portion of wall 5443 and the foundation trench associated with it or truncated both.  Excavation of the fill of the foundation trench for wall 5443 revealed that this wall is built on top of an earlier structure (wall 5906) that also will be discussed below.;     In the portion of the courtyard that extends southward from the later curtain wall 5508, further enclosure of the space is evidenced by the NS wall 5360.  It extended from 1027.91 to 1030.29 N and 263.94 to 265.59 E with a top elevation of 85.26 and bottom elevation of 84.92.  Wall 5360, which consisted of a single course of rough hewn stones abutted the earlier EW wall 5411 to the S and EW wall @@ to the N.  The dismantling of wall 5360 produced Frankish pottery, lotted as 2008-51 including a Brundisi  proto-majolica bowl with a blue chevron pattern. The fill of an EW robbing trench 5506, that extends from @@ to @@ and produced Frankish material, demarcates the southern extent of the courtyard of the Byzantine house.  Of the Frankish levels associated with wall 5508 and 5360, only a single soft lens abutting wall @@, context 5527 (lot 2008-53) remained at the onset of the 2008 excavations. William Berg reports the excavation of hard fill in the area enclosed by wall 5360 (NB 229 wall 39), 5508 (61-G) to wall 34-F (NB 229, p.190) as basket 18 of the 8th of June (lot 61-680).  The removal of basket 18 revealed a surface at an elevation of 84.97 that is associated with a series of stairs rising from W to E.  ; ; Late Byzantine:; The late Byzantine courtyard of the 1961 house extends from the EW walls 5463 and 5741 in the N to walls 5411 and 5519 at it southern limit, from a NS wall indicated by the robbing trench @@ at the western edge, presumably to wall 34-F as the eastern boundary forming a regular rectangle.  The intrusion of later features, such as well 5864 and walls 5508, 5649 and 5543, discussed above as well as earlier excavation, in particular the removal of the deposits that abutted wall 34-F in the SE corner of the courtyard, complicate an understanding of the relationships between the deposits in the courtyard.  Nevertheless, it is possible to suggest the following:  the courtyard is characterized by succession of layers of pebbly and tile cobbled surfaces with evidence of leveling repairs, suggesting continuous use throughout the 12th century.  In this summary, I hope to be able to relate the various surface deposits to one another, to the features of the courtyard (wall 4442, wall 5906 and the EW drain 5863) and to points of communication with the adjacent rooms of the house (thresholds 5462, 5463 and @@)..; It is possible to phase the features associated with the courtyard of the 1961 Byzantine house in the following chronological sequence:; 1.    Walls 5463 and 5741, together with the threshold 586 are the earliest features; 2.    The courtyard installation (possible staircase foundations) wall 5906; 3.    Associated with the same stratum:; a.    The N wall of the staircase 5783; b.    The EW stone-lined drain ; 4.    Threshold with step 5462; 5.    Wall 5442; 6.    Wall 5443; It is worth noting, however, that the sequence of surfaces and repairs in the courtyard of the 1961 Byzantine house reflects continuous use over a period of about 100 years from the 11th through Early 12th centuries according to the pottery dates.; The primary characteristic of the deposits in the courtyard is the superimposition of surfaces.  On the basis of the sequence of floors, it can be said that the latest preserved surface in the courtyard was composed of flat lying roof tile fragments and cobbles excavated in 2 parts: surface 5300 is the segment N of  the EW wall 5508 (61-G) and surface 5630 (lot 2008-70).  Beneath the surface 5300=5630, was another tile-cobbled surface.  The portion N of wall 5508 (61-G) was excavated as deposit 5324 while the portion South of the wall remains to be excavated next season when wall 5508 is dismantled.  The tily surface 5324 transitioned gradually to a hard packed dirt surface excavated as deposit 5327.  Beneath the tile and cobble surface 5324 was a series of shallow lenses and pebbly patches intended to level depressions in the courtyard surface coordinated between deposits 5679 and 5685 (5633; 5634; 5635; 5657; 5661; 5664; 5668; 5669; 5672; 5674; 5665 lotted as 2008-69).;     In the NW corner of the courtyard where the robbing trenches 5549 and @@ intersect, a lens of dumped construction debris 5398 appears to coordinate with the leveling patches under the tile and cobble floor 5324.  Under this lens of debris was the pebble surface 5564 (top elevation 84.84).  It abutted wall 5463 and was cut through by the trench for robbing portions of that same wall (robbing trench fill 5545 and 5852; cut 5549).  The pebble surface 5564 also preserved some cement (5560), which lay on it, presumably residue from the mixing of this material for a construction project. ; Beneath the pebbly surface 4464 was another patched pebbly floor (patch 5565, pebbly surface 5566) and beneath it two more hard packed surfaces..  Because of the cut around well 61-9 (5864) and the cut of the foundation trench for wall 5543, the pebbly surfaces 5564 and 5566 and the dirt surfaces 5616 and 5618 are truncated and their relationship with the deposits on the E side of well 61-9 (5864) must be reconstructed. ; Preserved under pedestal of the terracotta and stone-lined drain (5213) in the NE corner of the courtyard was another sequence of pebble surfaces that continue under the NS rubble foundation (5649 ), 5291, 5293, 5641, 5645 and 5656.  These likely continued northward to meet the north wall of the courtyard 5741 (NB 230 wall 59) but were truncated by excavations in the 1960’s.   Due to comparable elevations and sequence of layers, the surfaces W of the cut for well 61-9 (5864) are imagined to represent the same stratigraphic sequence as those W of the well. ; The sequence of patched pebble surfaces in the NW and NE corners of the courtyard seem to be replicated in the area just N of wall the EW wall 5508.  The sloping surface 5679, surface 5683 (lotted as 2008-67), pebble patch and surfaces 5726, 5730 and 5757.  The foundation trench for the NS wall 5442 cut through a lens of fill 5728, overlying 5730 and abutting 5726.  The NS wall 5442 extends from 1031.83 to 1033.56 N and 267.09 to 267.66 E with a top elevation of 84.95 and bottom elevation of 84.43. The random courses of roughly hewn limestone blocks and a spoliated marble molding abut the EW wall 5443 to the N, forming a corner.  Like wall 5443, wall 5442 appears to be built on an earlier structure.  The function of the walls 5442 and 5443 is not clear.; The pebble surface 5291(?), pebbly surface 5697 and packed dirt surface 5651are cut by an EW trench that extends from under wall 5649 up to the cut around well 61-9 (5864).  This trench appears to mark the clearing out of an earlier EW drain with built stone walls (5863) that follows the same course as the later terracotta drain (5213).  The fill of the drain-clearing trench, deposits 5288, 5289, 5646 and 5908, was lotted as 2008-58. ; Deposit 5697, likely contemporary with the pebble surface 5656, is the resting surface of a limestone step associated with a threshold 5462 in wall 59-G (between wall 5463 and 5741).  The surface 5697 was overlain by 5696, which continued underneath the blocks of the threshold 5462 (1034.93 to 1035.72 N and 268.68 to 270.19 E; top el. 85.08 and bottom el. threshold 84.87, step 84.63).  The raising of the threshold and addition of the step likely marks the raising of the floor in the room N of the courtyard.  The threshold 5462, removed on May 29th, and the coordinated surfaces  (5697, 5656, 5651) appear to be contemporary. ; Under the pebbly surfaces 5697 and 5656 was another uniform surface extending between the drain-clearing trench (cut 5673) and wall 59-G (wall 5741 and threshold 5865), (deposits 5737, 5742 and 5800). Into this surfaces a large pit filled with ash and construction debris was cut (cut context 5702: 1034.08 to 1035.59 N; 268.89 to 272.42 E, top el. 84.72 bottom el. 84.04).  The differentiated fills of the pit, deposits 5699, 5704, 5705 and 5716, were lotted as 2008-59.  ; With the removal of the surface 5751, a series of lenses and patches (5690, 5691, 5692, 5694, 5709, 5748, 5756) and the martyr 5771, a rather continuous surface extending from the N wall of the staircase 5883 the line of the EW drain 5863 was revealed.  The material produced from the excavation of this surface, coordinated between deposits 5773 and 5764, was lotted as 2008-66. ; The excavation of the surface coordinated between 5773 and 5764 revealed an earlier pebbly surface 5803.  Through the surface 5803 S of the drain and 5799 (and perhaps 5797), a shallow linear cut was made outside the N and S line of the built stone drain (cut context 5781, 1033.31 to 1034.10 N, 269.85 to 271.91 E, top el. 84.65, bottom el. 84.56).  This cut appears to be intended for the laying of cover-slabs for the drain that were subsequently robbed out.   The foundation trench for the N wall of the staircase 5783 (NB 230 wall 61-G) was also cut through surface 5803.  The fill of the foundation trench 5795, lotted as 2008-65, was only partially excavated this season; it remains unexcavated where it continues under the rubble pier foundations 5782 and the pedestalled wall 5508. The build courses of limestone blocks and tile stringers that make up N wall of the staircase 5783, first exposed by Lattimore on Date (NB 230 p. wall 61-G) extend from 1030.08 to 1030.68 N and 269.77 to 271.52 E with a top elevation of 85.23 and bottom elevation of 84.39.  The foundation trench fill 5795 was slightly over-dug, revealing an earlier EW wall on top of which wall 5783 is built.  These blocks are also visible in the bottom of a rectangular pit E of the staircase (1029.00 to 1030.25 N and 270.60 to 271.25 E, top el.84.41, bottom el. 84.25) excavated as deposit 5518.  The pit fill 5518 abutted the N wall of the staircase 5783 to the N, the NS wall 38-F (NB 229 p.188) to the E, the rubble packing of the staircase to the W, and the unexcavated layers into which the pit cut 5521 was made to the S.  Excavation of the pit fill 5518, lotted as 2008-55, produced an iron adze (MF-2008-6), an iron ladle (MF-2008-3) and scalloped door plaque with keyhole and latch cuttings (MF- 2008-4).  ; The tops of the stones forming the walls of the drain 5863 (1032.83 to 1034.68 N and 269.35 and 273.60 E top el.84.60 bottom el.84.31) are flush with the surfaces 5823, 5836 and the unexcavated deposit beneath 5799.  Because no cut was discernable outside the line of the stones that line the drain, it is imagined that the walls of the drain 5863 were built directly against the walls of trench cut for its construction.  The drain 5863 appears to continue under wall 5649 into the eastern entrance corridor and the western extent is truncated by cut around well 61-9 (5864) with which the drain does not communicate.  The fill of the drain was excavated as deposits 5592 and 5651.;      The removal of the surface 5902, coordinate with the surfaces 5900 in the NW corner of the courtyard, revealed the foundation trench fill 5905 for the EW wall 5906 on top of which wall 5443 was built.  Both wall 5906, which extends from 1032.91 to 1033.53 N and 265.36 to 267.01 E  (top el. 84.61; bottom el. 84.23), and its foundation trench are truncated to the west by the robbing trench for the NS wall that form the W boundary of the courtyard (cut 5859).  Wall 5906 appears to be part of a courtyard installation of unknown function, perhaps the foundations for a staircase. Another pebble and packed earth surface 5956, 5857 and 5851, picked out with patches 5817, 5819, 5833 and the shallow ash filled pit 5829, was revealed by the removal of the surfaces 5803 and 5815 south of the line of the drain.  A patch of cement (deposit 5827) that is likely residue for cement mixing in the courtyard for a construction project in the house was also revealed.  The surface in the NE part of the courtyard excavated as deposits 5900 and 5902 likely corresponds to the surfaces S of the line of the drain excavated as deposits 5803 and 5815, which in are contemporary with the superimposed surfaces 5823 and 5961 in the NE.  The excavation of the surface 5823 produced a bronze ring with incised decoration (MF-2008-23).; The removal of the surface 5868 in the NW corner of the courtyard revealed the foundation trench fill 5873 running along the south face of wall 5741 (59-G). Wall 5741, also revealed by Lattimore (NB 230 p.178) and built of courses of roughly hewn blocks with tile stringers and half a spoliated column drum, extends from 1035.41 to 1036.52 N and 270.08 to 275.80 E  (top el. 85.16, bottom el. 84.12).  Excavation of the fill of the foundation trench 5873, revealed that wall 5741 incorporates and is built onto the earlier NS wall 38-G (NB 230 p.95), which forms the E wall of the room N of the courtyard, and with which wall 5741 forms a corner.  The gap between wall 5463 and 5741 represents the doorway that allows for communication between the area of the courtyard and the room N of the courtyard. It is punctuated by a block with a doorjamb cutting, structure 5865.  The surface 5868 is likely contemporary with the surface 5909 in the NE corner of the courtyard as the removal of this surface revealed the fill if the foundation trench that runs along the south face of wall 5463 and the trench for the robbing out of part of that wall (5549).  This foundation trench remains unexcavated.  Wall 5463 extends from 1034.95 to 1035.81 N and 265.58 to 268.81 E (top el. 85.16; bottom el. 84.15.  The eastern portion of wall 5463 was revealed by Lattimore on May 12th, 1961 (NB 230 p.95) and the western portion was revealed by the removal of the fill of the robbing trench 5545 and 5852.  The EW robbing trench 5549, filled by 5546 and 5852, truncates the earlier NS robbing trench 5859. ; The surface 5909 in the NW corner of the courtyard, coordinated with the surfaces 5868 in the NE and the pebble surfaces south of the drain 5851, 5856 and 5857 (lotted as 2008-61) likely represent the first phase of the use of this area as a courtyard associated with the EW wall 5463 and 5471 and the threshold 5865.  The removal of these surfaces mark the end of the pebbly surfaces appropriate to an outdoor area and reveal the foundation trench for the earliest wall associated with the floors above.; ; ROOM NORTH OF THE COURTYARD:; Directly N of the courtyard and in communication with it through two successive thresholds is a room bounded to the N by the EW wall 5562 (58-G NB 230), to the E by the NS wall 38-G (NB 230) to the S by the EW wall 5463 and 5741. The W boundary of the room is likely wall 5473 (71-G NB 230) in the Frankish period that is later largely robbed out (NB 235 p.19).  It is possible that before the construction of wall 5473 (71-G) the room extended westward all the way to the NS wall 5724 (260.12 to 261.59 E), though a NS robbing trench 5830 (264.66 and 265.42 E) presents another candidate for the western boundary of the room.  This season the room was excavated between the NS robbing trench 5830 and wall 38-G running W to E and wall 5562 (58-G) and the N face of 5463 running N to S, except a few deposit that communicate with the courtyard to the S via a threshold. Lattimore reports ceasing excavation in Room 12, which includes both the Byzantine courtyard and the room N of the courtyard at the strosis 84.765 (NB 235 p. 178).  Excavation in this room began with the removal of what appeared to be a wheelbarrow ramp from the excavation in the 60’s abutting wall 5473 and wall 5562 (deposits 5459, 5461 and 5465).; The later of the two thresholds between wall 5463 and 4741 (5462), which overlaid the latest deposits in the room, was removed and subsequently revealed an earlier threshold (5865).  A series of floors and leveling fills (5569, 5570, 5571, 5572, 5585 and 5587) were removed.   The excavation of 5572 and 5585 revealed a small area of tile cobbling where wall 5473 (71-G) abuts wall 5562 (58-G).  The tiles can be seen to continue westward underneath wall 5473 (71-G). Both deposits 5585 and 5587 were martyred during excavation. to prevent contamination from the scarp to the west.  These martyrs remain to be excavated at a later date. The removal of the fill 5587 revealed a chunky layer of broken tile and marble as well as cobbles, because this deposit runs underneath the tile floor along wall 5562, excavation of this fill is delayed until wall 5473 (71-G) can be removed. ; The removal of the fills and floors of higher elevation in the west part of the room was followed by the excavation of a trench along the N face of wall 5463 (fill 55573; cut 5574).  The removal of the fill of this trench revealed second cut at a lower elevation, which appeared to be the foundation trench on the N side of wall 5463 (5910).  The fill of the lower cut was excavated as deposit 5613.  The level at which the cut was made and width of the trench are comparable with the foundation trench on the S side of wall 5741 (5874).   However, the cut seems to end at 267.6 E and does not extend along the length of wall 5463.  Further excavation of the deposits to the west is necessary to clarify the issue. ; A series of small pits and trenches were excavated on both the N and S sides of Wall 5463 (5712, 5721, 5725, 5904, 5898, 5610, 5557).   Their function is unknown.  A larger pit filled with cobbles and boulders that abutted wall 38-G was also isolated and excavated (5583, 5584). ; Two more lenses of fill were excavated in this room 5578 (lotted as 2008-60) and 5800.  Resting on the fill 5800 was a block with three rectangular cuttings, possibly for a small tripod, it was removed as structure 5809 and placed on top of wall 5562 (58-F).; The threshold 5865 consists of a rectangular block with doorjamb cutting set in the gap between the walls 5471 and 5463.  The block rests on a surface that slopes to ward the S into the area of the courtyard.  The courtyard floor 5800, which bridged both spaces also assures communication between the lower courtyard surface and raised floor of the room N of the courtyard.  This like explains the addition of a step in the later threshold (5462).; ; ; ; ; ROOM SW OF THE COURTYARD:; Daniel Geagan conducted excavations in this area (Agora SW-J) in the 1963 season (NB 254; 262).  The room bounded by wall 50-J to the N, wall 51-J (structure 5360) to the E, wall 52-J to the S (structure 5285, 5411; 5866) and truncated by the foundations for Turkish  wall 2-J.  Geagan dicovered a built pithos (pithos #1) in the center of the room (NB262 p.35, 38-9).  The elevation of the mouth was reported as 84.664.  He excavated this room down from 84.91 to a floor level at 84.663 (Fill A; lot 1293; NB 262 p.36) and notes a foundation trench along the N face of wall 52-J (structure 5285, 5411, 5866) but does not excavate it.  In the 2008 season, we removed the backfill in this room, revealing the floor described by Geagan.; ; FRANKISH BASEMENT WITH IRON OBJECTS:; Immediately south of the room SW of the courtyard of the 1961 Byzantine house is an adjacent room bounded to N by wall 52-J (structure 5285, 5411; 5866), to the E by wall 49-J (structure 5284), to the S by wall 23-J (structure 5216). ;  Geagan excavated this room in the 1963 season down to a floor at 84.377.  He left a martyr along the NS wall 5284 (49-J) that wrapped along half the stretch of the EW wall 5411 and it is this martyr and floor that we excavated this season after removing the backfill from the area.  A post-season photograph (63-18-25, vol.19 p.8) shows the extent of Geagan’s excavation of the room.; Excavation of the stratigraphic deposits in this area began with the removal of structure 5285 (1027.33 to 1027.77 N; 263.70 to 264.80 E;  top el.85.18 bottom el. 85.03).  Structure 5285 is the filling-in of a doorway that communicated with the room to the N.  The removal of structure 5285 revealed a plaster floor that covered the threshold block and doorjamb cuttings of the earlier doorway (5415).  The removal of this surface revealed a packed dirt floor (5416), which also covered the doorjamb cuttings.  Beneath the floor 5416 was another floor 5429 that appears to be associated with the threshold (structure 5866).  The structure 5866 consists of a threshold block set in a gap punched through the earlier EW wall 5411.  On either side of the threshold block are rectangular cuttings for the insertion of wooden doorjambs.  These are cut into blocks that belong to the earlier wall 5411.   ; Beneath the floor 5429 were a series of fills (5432, 5441, 5448, 5452, 5453).  This sequence of leveling fills appears to correspond to Geagan’s fill G (lot 1289; coins 63-340, 63-340a; NB 262, p.56 #14 and 19 for notes; NB 254 p.182 for section).  The removal of these fills revealed an ashy floor (5456).  The removal of the ashy floor (5456) and two lenses of leveling fill beneath it (5458, 5460) revealed a layer of fill with many rooftile inclusions.  The broken tiles were reserved during excavation to look for joining fragments, but the mixed tile types and lack of joins indicated that this lens (5472) was re-deposited destruction debris rather than a destruction layer.  The tile layer 5477 appears to correspond to Geagan’s fill G2 (lot 1290; coin 63-351; NB 262, p.67 #3 for notes; NB 254 p.182 for section).  The tile-filled layer was cut through by the foundation trench (cut 5471; fill 5466) for the NS wall 5484. ; Wall 5484 (49-J), which extends from 1023.80 to 1027.20 N and 265.32 to 265.80 E  (top 85.77; bottom 84.31), was uncovered by Geagan on May 29th (NB 262 p.55-55).  Beneath the tily layer was another layer of fill (5477).  The fill 5477 corresponds to Geagan’s fill H (lot 1291; NB 262, p.70 #7 for notes; NB 254 p.182 for section).  The excavation of the fill 5477 produced a glass bead necklace (MF-2008- 18) and revealed a packed dirt floor 5891 (el. 84.35).  This is the same floor (el. 84.377) that Geagan exposed in the SW corner of the room and ceased excavation in 1963 (NB 262 p70).  An iron axe (MF-2008-9), iron spearhead (MF-2008-8), iron sickle (MF-2008- ), a handle and a nearly complete coarse mug (C-2008-7) were found in situ next to three articulated goat vertebrae in the NW corner of the room where the EW wall 5411 is truncated by the Turkish wall 2-J (5217).  The objects were removed as context 5507.  A shallow pit (5890) cut through the floor 5891. The fill was excavated as deposit 5889 and produced a base fragment of a zeuxippus bowl. The removal of the floor 5891 revealed a NS robbing trench, likely associated with a roman wall 62-J (NB 262 p.156 ff.).  The fill of the robbing trench remains unexcavated.  The bottom of the EW wall 5411 (52-J) has not yet been reached, nor has a foundation trench for this wall been isolated along its S face.  Wall 5411 extends from 1027.28 to 1027.89 N and 262.64 to 265.88 E (top el. 85.73).  It is abutted by wall 5284 with which it forms a corner, and truncated to the W by the Turkish wall 2-J (5217).; Wall 5216 (23-J) runs EW from 1023.24 to 1023.88 N and 263.00 to 265.60 E.  It is built against wall 5284 and on to wall 32-F (NB229, p.181), which runs along the same orientation as 5216, and is truncated by the Turkish wall 2-J to the W.  Geagan excavated the foundation trench for wall 5216 on the S side of the wall (lot 1408; NB 262, p.15 #15-16; p.26 #16 for notes; NB 264, p. 182 for section, disturbance V).  ; Because of the elevations of the fill 5477 and floor 5891, which both produces Frankish material, and the lack of a foundation trench on the N side of wall 5216, this space is interpreted as a basement.; ; ROMAN WALLS: ; ; Late Roman; The walls whose foundation trenches we have excavated have been dated to the Late Roman Period.  The foundation trench of 5218 was excavated in two discrete deposits (5221, 5235).  The upper layer was dated by pottery and coinage to the 5th and 6th centuries and the lower one to the 4th. In any case, the deposits from this foundation trench show that Wall 5218 was constructed during the Late Roman Period, no later than the end of the sixth century C.E. This interpretation supplements the previous work done by Heidi Broome-Raines, who gave the trench for the E face of this same wall in the room N of room F,West a Late Roman date based on a coin deposited in it from the late 4th century (context 5060). This coin gives a secure terminus post quem for the trench and wall. The pottery and coin finds from the west side of the wall locate this trench and its wall within the fifth or sixth centuries. Geagan also reports excavating the foundation trench for wall 5218 (wall 22-J NB254, p.146 #16 for notes; p.197 for section; lot 1389), though it appears that he excavated on the portion S of wall 5215 (56-J=38-E). ; ; Middle Roman; The Middle Roman period is represented in our area by the fills bounded by Walls 5216 (NB 254 23-J), 5218 (NB 254 22-J), 5215 (NB254 56-J=38-E), and 5217 (NB254 2-J) and starting securely at 85.47 El. (5248).   None of the these wall abut or bond with one another, however walls 5218 and 5215 are separated by gap that appears to be a doorway emphasized with an orthostate and likely belong to the same phase of use.   There were many contexts below 5248 that were all Middle Roman and seemed to be associated leveling fill (5248, 5266, 5277, 5311, and 5320).  After taking only a thin layer off we started to come down on a large secondary deposit of tile (5311 lotted as 2008-46).  This along with the contexts below it down to 85.02 El. (5320 lotted as 2008-47), where we stopped digging, turned up dates to 300 +/- 25 CE.  This all seems to be part of a leveling fill. ; A pit (Fill 5171, 5183 (lotted as 2008-44), 5351, 5350, 5331; cut 5175) containing material dating to the first half of the fourth century CE was filled along the north face of Wall 5215. The excavation of the pit fill 5331 (lotted as 2008-45) produced a plastic terracotta lamp (L-2008-1), a seated muse figurine fragment (MF-2008-24) and a fragment of a terracotta comic mask.  Beneath the pit fill the foundation trench for wall 5215 was detected and excavated (fill 5352; 5254 cut).  The E edge of the foundation trench for wall 5215 (cut 5354) is formed by an ashlar limestone block.  This block is on the same orientation as Geagan’s NS wall 62-J (NB 262 p.197 for cross-section) exposed on the S side of wall 5215. A similar block is visible in the bottom of the foundation trench for the EW wall 5216.  Both blocks are in alignment with an unexcavated NS robbing trench N of wall 5216.","Nezi Field 2008 by Jody Cundy and Megan Thompsen (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Jody Cundy and Megan Thompsen (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Middle Roman to Modern Contexts in the Area North of Nezi Field, immediately east of the Turkish House","During the first training session of the 2008 season, we conducted excavations for fifteen days between April 7 and April 23, 2008.We worked with Thanasis Notis (pickman), Billy Papanikolao (shovelman), and Andreas Oikonomou (barrowman).  We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders and Alicia Carter.  Initially, our assigned area was approximately 32 square meters, spanning from 1020.00 to 1027.80 N and 262.00E to 266.00E.  Subsequently, it also incorporated the area from 1027.80 to 1030.50N and from 262.00E to 265.00E.  In its total size, our area is located west of the room north of Room F and Walls 5218 and 5284 (these were treated as a single wall by the excavations of the 1960s and of 2007, which called them Wall 39 and the West Wall of the room north of Room F,West respectively). It is east of the foundations of the Turkish House and Wall 5217, the Turkish Wall which is currently under rebuilding as part of a conservation project. It is north of Wall 5215.  Our area was for the most part level, although there was a shallow slope moving from south to north. On its west side it has been severely affected by the 1960s excavation, with some fill and a retaining wall erected along our western scarp (east of the foundations of the Turkish house), and a rock pile thrown together just north of Wall 5285.  Our goal for this area was to clean and discern how our area related to the 1960s excavations and to excavate down to the Middle to Late Roman contexts as part of a greater effort to phase the walls and other features of the entire area south of the South Stoa and north of Nezi Field.  ; ; ; Middle Roman; The Middle Roman period is represented in our area by the fills bounded by Walls 5216, 5218, 5215, and 5217 and starting securely at 85.47 El. (5248).  There were many contexts after this which were all Middle Roman and seemed to be associated leveling fill (5248, 5266, 5277, 5311, and 5320).  After taking only a thin layer off we started to come down on a large secondary deposit of tile (5311).  This along with the contexts below it down to 85.02 El. (5320), where we stopped digging, turned up dates to 300 +/- 25 CE.  This all seems to be part of a leveling fill.  ; ; ; Late Roman; The walls whose foundation trenches we have excavated have been dated to the Late Roman Period.  The foundation trench of 5218 was excavated in two discrete deposits.  The upper layer was dated by pottery and coinage to the 5th and 6th centuries and the lower one to the 4th. In any case, the deposits from this foundation trench show that Wall 5218 was constructed during the Late Roman Period, no later than the end of the sixth century C.E. This interpretation supplements the previous work done by Heidi Broome-Raines, who gave the trench for the east face of this same wall in the room north of room F,West a Late Roman date based on a coin deposited in it from the late 4th century (context 5060). This coin gives a secure terminus post quem for the trench and wall. The pottery and coin finds from the west side of the wall locate this trench and its wall within the fifth or sixth centuries. ;  The foundation trench of Wall 5216 was extremely complicated to excavate, but its deposits most likely indicate a Late Antique construction.  More specifically, the pottery and coinage of three of the four deposits within it date to the Middle or Late Roman periods.  The fourth deposit has almost certainly been contaminated with a Frankish sherd and two Byzantine/early modern sherds, which were collected in Context 5326, where the foundation trench meets the west scarp created in the course of the 1960s excavations of the Turkish House.  In addition to the fact that the contamination can easily be explained, the remaining pottery from this deposit and the secure dating of the other deposits date this trench to the Late Antique period.  Unfortunately, we are still examining whether the 1960s excavations dated the foundation trench of this wall further east of our area, and nothing can be said with certainty until we find information about the lotted pottery from its foundation trench. Yet, we have found an indication of an early Byzantine or Late Roman date based on “associated sherds” in one of the notebooks (Corinth Excavations, Notebook 229, p. 143; the foundation trench is mentioned on pp. 185-6, 190, and the pottery lot is given as 684 within these pages). Also, the foundation trench for Wall 5216 cuts the foundation trench for 5218. Accordingly, while Wall 5216 postdates Wall 5218, it also probably has a Late Antique date.; The sum total of this information indicates that Walls 5216 and 5218 were constructed in Late Antiquity, although with 5218 perhaps being built before 5216.  The lack of a corresponding wall to the west prevents us from arguing that walls 5218, 5216, and 5215 (at the south) were intended to frame a single room.; ; Byzantine; A pit (Contexts 5171 and 5183) containing material dating to the first half of the fourth century CE was filled along the north face of Wall 5215.  It appears that this pit cuts into the foundation trench for Wall 5215, but since we have not excavated the totality of the foundation trench, it is difficult to say for sure.  While the pottery of this pit is dated to the fourth century, its elevation is consistent with that of other Byzantine contexts. The pit was therefore either filled to create a level space before the laying of the clay floor (contexts 5168 and 5170) or we originally misinterpreted this feature and it is actually associated with part of the currently unexcavated foundation trench for Wall 5215.  The shape of the deposit and is elevation indicates that it was in fact a pit and not part of a foundation trench for Wall 5215.  ; As for the clay flooring, neither pottery nor other related finds give a precise date.  A Late Antique or Early Byzantine date is probable since the clay floor deposits are located above our Middle and Late Roman elevations. Although the clay floor represented by Context 5170 did not abut Wall 5218, it was on top of the foundation trench (Context Cut 5236) which dates to the fifth or sixth century, and it is therefore later. The clay floor 5168 did not abut Wall 5284, but only a small gap of 0.05m separated them, and this suggests that floor 5168 is later than Wall 5284.  At this point it seems likely that 5168 is above the foundation trench for Wall 5284 since this foundation trench has yet to be fully identified.;     Otherwise, within the area between Walls 5216, 5217, 5284, and 5285 we excavated a series of fills dated to the Byzantine or Late Byzantine area (Context 5286, 5290, 5292, 5297, 5303, and 5306), but it is currently difficult to know that these deposits are related.  Terracing and leveling are a likely scenario.; ; ; Frankish:; Only the top elevations of our area indicated a Frankish date. Deposit 5205, which was excavated in the areas north of both Walls 5215 and 5216, is datable to the Frankish period.  All the other Frankish material comes from archaeological cleaning or very broad early passes.  Context 5205 went over the top of wall 5216, providing a possible date by which it went out of use.  ; ; Modern:; Excavations conducted in the 1960s just west of our area left visible marks upon the portion of North of Nezi which we excavated. In addition to the rock pile north of Wall 5285, the excavations of the Turkish House to the west created the scarp along the west side of our area, stretching from 1020.5 to 1030N and a retaining wall (5197) for holding dumped fill (5190, 5194) at 1023.60N.  The material that we accumulated from scraping back this scarp and excavating this fill typically dated to the Byzantine or Frankish periods, but it was very likely deposited there during the 1960s excavation.  Even more important, the contamination for one of our deposits (5326) of the foundation trench for the south face 5216 can be attributed to these excavations. This deposit extended to the scarp, and it may explain the Frankish sherd and the two late Byzantine/early modern sherds that appeared among our accumulation of mid-late Roman wares.  ; ; Conclusion; It is clear that major leveling occurred in Late Antiquity in the area south of Wall 5216, and it can be associated roughly with the construction of Wall 5218.  Although this is a tentative hypothesis, we believe that Wall 5216 was built subsequent to Wall 5218, and it divided the area to its south from that to its north, which was increasingly leveled off during the Byzantine period. There are two courses of action that will be useful for the next session of excavation in this area.  The first would be to finish the context assigned as 5320, since this was ended at an arbitrary level.  However, before this can be dug, the possibility that a foundation trench for the north face of Wall 5215 has been identified. It should be explored and possibly dug first.  The other and later option is to excavate the area north of Walls 5216 and 5285 in order to resolve the two following issues: the dating of the foundation trench for the north face of 5216 and the relationship between the area north of Wall 5216 and that north of Wall 5285.  Special precision should be applied in determining and isolating the foundation trench for Wall 5216, even if this means creating a martyr between the wall and the rest of the soil to the north.  The latest soil in the area north of Wall 5216 is a loose layer that runs along the south face of 5285 and into the area north of it.  A coin (2008-72) probably dating to the fourth or fifth century was found while sweeping this loose layer.","Nezi Field 2008 by Matthew J. Baumann and Nathanael J. Andrade (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-23)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Matthew J. Baumann and Nathanael J. Andrade (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-23)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Early, Middle and Late Roman contexts in Rooms E and F and the two rooms north of Rooms E and F","We, Nathan Arrington (NTA) and Drew Sweet (AWS), excavated North of Nezi between April 8, 2008 and April 22, 2008, focusing on the eastern area, in Room E, a “corridor” north of Room E, and a room north of Room F: 271.60-282.00 E, 1016.30-1022.80 N. In this summary, note that there are two wall numbering systems in use, one created in the 1960s that will appear as W followed by a two-digit number, and the numbering system now in use for all of North of Nezi excavation that will appear as a four-digit number. We considered Room E to be east of W21 (i.e. W21 as so termed in late 2007 early 2008, =5345-5347), west of W16 (=5338, 5339, 5342), north of W29 (=5343, 5336, 5337), south of W26 (=5340, 5344). We considered the room north of Room F to be east of W22, west of W21 (=5345-5347), north of W23, and south of an unnumbered wall. The area sometimes referred to as a “north corridor” refers to the space east of W21 (=5345-5347), west of W16 (=5338, 5339, 5342), north of W26 (=5340, 5344), and south of W28 (=5341). The director was Guy Sanders, supervisor Alicia Carter, pickman Panos Kakouros, and wheelbarrow and sieve operator Takis Papaioannou. ; ; ROOM E:; ; Our goals were to remove any material in the area that was later than Late Roman and to work on dating and phasing walls and structures. Wall phasing is presented at the end of this summary in a separate section, partly because so many new numbers were assigned, partly because few specific dates have yet to be assigned to the walls.; ; One of the most important discoveries of the season was a group of nearly-intact vessels deposited in a 4th-cen. AD re-foundation act (part of context 5250). This context and others that we think consisted of re-deposited destruction debris (5278, 5281, 5282) cut the floor revealed in 2007 (5130) which does not yet have a context number. These deposits are dated 4th cen. AD based upon the pottery. (The floor should be excavated in an effort to ascertain a more precise date for the cutting action. It meets wall 5347.) Presumably these fills were redeposited to level the area for new habitation. Significant among the finds were the large amount of glass slag and some ceramic wasters. Amongst this re-deposition activity was the careful placement of four nearly complete vessels into the edge of W21 (=5347). This action cut about 0.10 m. into the wall. Two of the vessels were carefully propped up on the south and north edge of the group (Vessel 1 (C-2008-2) and 5 (C-2008-1), respectively), one was on its side (Vessel 2, no inventory number), and one was smashed in situ (Vessel 3 and 4 (combined as C-2008-3) and then placed with its mouth upward, with some of its sherds used to support Vessel 5. Vessel 5 was inscribed in Greek “DIKAIOS.” What we termed Vessel 4 when we saw it lying in the ground turned out not to be a complete vessel but a large sherd later joined to Vessel 3. ; ; A crescent-shaped cut (5249) cuts these deposits and the floor and is dated on pottery to the 3rd cen. AD – this date must be later based on stratigraphy. The foundation trench (5242) for W26 (=5344) also cut these deposits. The foundation trench is cut by the drain but continues on the other side of the drain (as 5226), and by association with this cut can be dated to the 4th-5th cen. AD. The foundation trench was cut by a pit (5005) of the 4th to mid-5th cen. AD (based on a coin of 393-450 AD). We might then be able to put the foundation trench and the wall more precisely to the 4th to early 5th cen. AD.; ; In Room E we dug underneath a context that was removed in 2007 as a possible clay floor (5013). We found two pits, the smaller one (5182) cut by the larger one (5173), the latter dated to the 5th-6th cen. AD. The smaller pit was only dated on pottery (Early Roman) so is not reliable.; ; Corridor North of Room E; ; This area yielded very little material that could be dated securely. Earlier floor levels may have been removed in previous excavations. Indeed, the fact that the context dug in the west of this area (5287) lay over an earlier wall oriented N-S further suggests that this fill and others in this area may have been leveling fill. Most of it seemed to be middle Roman redeposited destruction debris. Perhaps the tiles and cobbles found in the west (5287) are associated with the same event that was re-deposited to the south in Room E. A small patch of cement (5304) was probably not a floor in situ. The soil throughout this area was very mixed and loose. ; ; Room North of Room F; ; The foundation trench for W23 (cut 5329) dates securely to the 5th cen. AD based upon coins and pottery. The floor (5314) that lay over the foundation trench dates securely to the 5th cen. AD based on pottery and coins in its matrix. Due to possible over-digging in the 1961 excavations, it is not clear yet how this room relates to the corridor to the E or to Room E. However, given the dates of the foundation trench and floor found here and those of the deposits, floor and foundation trench in Room E, they are probably from the same phase.; ; ; Future Work; ; A priority is to excavate the matrix of the floor revealed under 5130 and the sealed floor beneath to secure a date for this area and find out the time lag between the construction and/or use of the floor and the re-foundation activity exhibited by the deposit of the nearly complete vessels.; ; The activity in the northwest of Room E (e.g., 5250) and the construction of the walls needs to be pinpointed. That is, wall phasing and deposition activity needs to be joined. It seems that the northern extension of the floor revealed by 5130 was cut together with the wall to its west (an earlier phase of wall 5347), then the wall was repaired by wall 5347 which filled a gap between walls 5345 and 5346. Complete vessels were put in place as some type of ritual act. Material was then redeposited around the complete vessels. Then the foundation trench was constructed for wall 5344 and wall 5344 itself. However, wall 5346 goes over wall 5344 and is later, so perhaps there are two phases of wall 5346. More excavation to the west of wall 5346 may make this more clear, as could investigation of the 1961 excavation pit to the north of 1961. It would also help tie in the area of the room north of F and room F. ; ; The function of the ashlars in the northwest and the southwest of Room E also remains unclear. It seems that the most southwestern ashlar within foundation trench 5226 does not belong to the foundation of wall 5344 because the foundation trench does not encompass its south side. As for the ashlar in the southwest of Room E, it seems related to the other ashlar extending out of the room to the southwest. It could be another structure, maybe though a threshhold or entrance for the room. ; ; Even though excavation is at a low elevation in the north corridor, it has still not reached anything firmly dateable. Perhaps more digging around the wall that is appearing to the east of 5287 would be fruitful. ; ; Finally, it is possible that the redeposited destruction debris of 5282 is part of a layer in a pit. More investigation to the south of 5282 might clarify the situation. ; ; Samples taken from the small pit (5179), area around the complete vessels (5250 and two from 5282), and from below floor 5314 (5328) should be water sieved and studied. ; ; ; Wall Phasing; ; At the end of the season we assigned context numbers to all of the walls around Room E and on the south of Room F. This task should help excavators refer more accurately to the areas they are digging and should also aid in phasing the walls. Up until this point the designations given in the 1960s had been used. In 2007 these same designations were used, and for most of the first session we used them as well. For context sheets entered into the database on and after April 24, 2008 we used the new wall context numbers. A list of old and new designations follows. Often what was referred to as one wall number actually consisted of different phases that have now received different context numbers.; ; W16: 5338, 5339, and 5342; W19: 5334, 5335; W21: erroneously labeled at the end of 2007 and throughout most of the first session of 2008. W21 was in fact removed in 2007 (5126); it had stood over the drain, to the east of what was referred to in late 2007 and 2008 as W21. This latter has been designated, from south to north, 5345, 5346, and 5347; W26: 5340, 5344; W28: 5341; W29: 5336, 5337, 5343; ; The phasing and dating that follows corrects some mistakes made in 2007, especially regarding the so-called drain structure that was dated much too early. ; ; (1) The latest wall, based on construction technique and its angle, is probably 5341. It does not bond with any of the walls mentioned above. ; ; (2) Walls 5340, 5339, 5338, 5337, 5336, and 5334 all probably belong to the same phase because they share a similar construction technique: dressed limestones (probably reused), medium roughly hewn cobbles or smooth river stones, tiles, and cement with many large pebbles of various colors. 5340 bonds with 5339. ; ; (3) In the south, walls 5336 and 5337 of (2) are over an earlier wall 5343 that also uses concrete as a binder but is of an earlier phase. 5343 does not touch 5345 to the NW. ; ; (4) The so-called drain (5035) is joined with concrete to 5343 and 5344; therefore it must be later. It also cannot be a true drain because there is no outlet. How much earlier it is then (3) is not clear – it could be even earlier than (2). ; ; (5) 5346 abuts but does not bond with 5347. The placement of the cobbles and tiles at the interface suggests that 5346 pre-dates 5347. ; ; (6) 5335 abuts but does not bond with 5345 – but it is very hard to tell at this point. Its place in the phasing of the area is not clear. ; ; (7) 5345 runs N-S along most of the western edge of Room E. It seems to be repaired by 5347 which was carefully placed against 5346 to the north, possibly more specifically against an earlier phase of 5346 (see discussion in Summary). ; ; (8) Below the concrete walls in the north and east of Room E (2) can be discerned a phase consisting of 5342 and 5344. These two walls bond and are generally characterized as long limestone slabs placed over cobbles over tiles. To the west, 5344 goes under 5346. A foundation trench was found for 5344 but not for 5342 dating 300-500 AD (5226 and 5242). ; ; (9) 5344 rests on an even earlier wall phase (currently unnumbered – the top course still not entirely visible) which also appears to the north of 5344 (on the eastern edge of 5287). So far this earlier phase has not appeared under 5342.; ; All the wall relationships are, in numerical order:; 5334: over 5335; 5335: under 5334, does not bond with 5345; 5336: over 5343; 5337: over 5343; 5338: over 5342; 5339: bonds with 5340, over 5342; 5340: bonds with 5339, over 5344; 5341: adjacent to but does not bond to 5342; 5342: bonds with 5344, under 5339 and 5339; adjacent but does not bond to 5341; 5343: under 5336 and 5337, adjacent to the large ashlar in the southeast corner of Room E, does not meet 5345; drain wall 5035 abuts the wall and is attached with concrete and must be later; 5344: bonds with 5342, under 5340 and 5346; drain wall 5035 abuts the wall and is attached with concrete and must be later; on top of an earlier wall phase; 5345: abuts 5347; traces of an upper course bond with 5347 which is probably a repair; does not meet 5343; abuts but does not bond with 5335; 5346: over 5344; abuts but does not bond with 5347; there are possibly two phases to this wall; 5347: abuts but does not bond with 5346; lower course abuts but does not bond with 5345 while fragments of upper course may bond with 5345; ; More excavation is necessary to determine the place of 5355 in the phasing (excavation to the south and especially lower might help), the extent of 5343 to the south, the relationship of 5342 and 5343 to the ashlars in the south of Room E, the nature of the northernmost piece of 5342 (is it truly a continuation of 5342?), and the relationship between 5344, 5346, and 5347, including the possibility that 5346 consists of two phases. ; ; Walls 20, 22, 23, and the unnumbered wall in the North need context numbers and phasing.","Nezi Field 2008 by Nathan T. Arrington and Andrew (Drew) W. Sweet (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-23)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Nathan T. Arrington and Andrew (Drew) W. Sweet (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-23)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Early Modern and Modern contexts in the extension of the Nezi Field excavation","EXCAVATION SUMMARY; ; We, Alexis Belis and Christina Gieske, from April 7-26, 2008, began excavation in the northwest area of Nezi Field that was located west of the 2007 Nezi Field excavations. Our portion of the 2008 excavation area was artificially defined by the southern scarp of the 1960’s H.S. Robinson excavations to the north, the western scarp of the 2007 excavation to the east, and an area bulldozed in preparation for future excavation to the south. The western limit follows the western line of the bulldozed area. The corners of our excavation area are as follows: SW corner - E255.41 and N 1010.10, NW corner - E255.46 and N1014.29, NE corner - E262.97 and N1013.69, and SE corner - E262.82 and N 1010.07. The area south of our excavation area was bulldozed because the 2007 excavations proved that this field had a deep disturbed agricultural stratum. This context was carefully dig by hand in 2007, but at a great cost of time. Therefore, this season, the excavation area was extended in order to find more of the structures uncovered in 2007, and to save time, the agricultural levels were removed by machine. Our portion was not bulldozed because it was known that it contained the continuation of the E-W running Early Modern property boundary wall (excavated to the east with B64 in 2007) and we wanted to record this structure properly before removal. We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders, Alicia Carter, James Herbst, and Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst. We excavated with Panos Stamatis (pick man), Christos Barelas (shovel man), and Sotiris Raftopoulos (barrowman). ; ; Our objective was to reach the level of the 2007 Nezi Field excavations, in order to continue the investigation of Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine remains uncovered there. In the process of excavation to reach these earlier levels, we discovered evidence of Early Modern and Modern activity. The overall goal of the Nezi Field excavations has been to show the relationship of this entire area to the previously excavated area to the north (North of Nezi). ; ; This final report for the first session of the ASCSA Corinth Excavations describes our interpretation of the stratigraphy encountered in our excavation area. At the end of the first session, the level of our area was still slightly higher, about 10cm, than that of the 2007 excavation, and excavation will continued here in the second session.; ; ; EARLY MODERN (1831-1949 AD); ; The earliest feature in this period is a stone built property boundary wall (Structure 243). The wall runs E-W across our excavation area, and it turns a corner in the NE section of our area and then runs N-S for 1.92 meters where it is truncated by previous excavation in the 1960s. A later stone wall (Structure 243) abuts the corner of Structure 243 on the south side. This later wall runs N-S, turns a corner in the SE section of the excavation area, and then continues east for 0.93 meters where it was excavated in the 2007 season as Basket 64. Structure 244 is also a property boundary. Structure 243 divided the stratigraphy of our excavation area, and as a result, the stratigraphic relationships between the north and south side were unable to be determined at this point as we have not excavated to the depth of the bottom of the wall. The north and south portions of the excavation area will be discussed in turn.; ; In the southern portion of the excavation area, the stratigraphy shows evidence of agricultural activity, mostly plowing and clearing of the field for plowing. The lowest layer was a plow zone (Context 240). An exterior surface (Context 239) rested on top of this layer, perhaps associated with a house in this field. Several layers related to agricultural activity (Contexts 233, 232), consisting of dumped stones and pebbles, lay over the plow zone and exterior surface.; ; In the northern portion of the excavation area, the earliest feature is a pit (Context 247), which cuts through a yet unexcavated layer containing lime and pebbles used for cement mixing. Because of the large boulders present in the fill of the pit, it seems possible that the superstructure of the N-S portion of Structure 243 was destroyed and placed in the pit. However, since the first session ended leaving Context 247 unfinished, the exact relation between the creation of the pit and the destruction of the superstructure was unable to be determined. It seems likely that this activity was contemporaneous with the construction of the Giambouranis house located just north of Nezi field because of the unexcavated layer containing construction debris (the lime and pebbles). ; ; Above the pit and unexcavated layer of lime and pebbles was a thin layer of fill (Context 246), most likely related to the use of the Giambouranis house. The two contexts above this thin fill (Contexts 242 and 241) have two potential explanations. Either they consist of debris from the destruction of the Giambouranis house (ca. 1920’s or 1930’s), supported by the presence of roof tile fragments, or they could be dumped material from the previous archaeological excavations to the north (ca. 1930’s), supported by the presence of fragments of worked marble. Context 241 was such a small deposit that it was difficult to determine whether or not it was the same as Context 242. ; ; An additional layer (Context 231 = 236 =B4) of soil overlay Structure 243 on both the north and south side, indicating the final phase of use of this structure as the property boundary. Most likely, this layer was created as a result of agricultural activity. This layer predates the later phases of fencing (Structures 235 and 234) that continue to mark the property boundary of Nezi field.; ; MODERN (Post-1950 AD); ; Two phases of cement foundations (Structures 235 and 234), which were used to anchor a series of posts supporting chain-link fencing, indicated modern activity in this area. This fencing served as a property boundary and roughly followed the line of the previous stone wall (Structure 243). Although our investigation of these fence post foundations uncovered no clear indication of their relative dating, the 2007 excavation findings indicated that the larger foundation slabs (Structure 234 = B16) were later than the small foundations (Structure 235 = B17). Of the foundations excavated in 2007, some of the larger foundations were cemented over the smaller ones. ; ; A tree pit (Context 237, Cut 238) was also revealed during excavation. Due to bulldozer activity south of our excavation area, the pit was truncated to the south. As a result, it is likely that the tree pit was dig at a higher level than the level where we first noticed it. Although in our excavation area it physically lay below layers that dated to the Early Modern period, it seems most probable that it belongs with the modern orchard currently visible in Nezi field.; ; CONCLUSIONS; ; The first session of excavation has shown two phases of activity, Early Modern and Modern. It is clear that in the Early Modern period agricultural activity dominated south of Structure 243 and in the area north of Structure 243, activity associated with the construction, inhabitation, and destruction of the Giambouranis house and possibly archaeological activity. In the Modern period, a different type of agricultural activity existed – orange orchards rather than a plowed field. Throughout both periods, the property boundaries remained consistent, as indicated by the multiple structures following the same line.; ; A few features, mostly likely from the Early Modern Period, were visible at the end of excavation though unexplored. These include a clay water pipe, the layer of lime and pebble for cement mixing north of Structure 243, and a separate patch of soil with lime inclusions south of Structure 243. It is clear that the layer of lime and pebbles post-dates Structure 243 because this layer runs up against the north face of the wall. This layer also overlies the clay water pipe, visible both to the south of Structure 243 and in the north scarp of our excavation area. The clay pipe seems to post-date Structure 243 because in the area where the pipe passes through the wall, the foundations stones have been removed in order to accommodate the installation of the pipe. On the south side of the wall, the soil with lime inclusions appears to be cut by the laying of the pipe, and therefore unassociated with the layer of lime and pebbles north of the Structure 243. The clay water pipe may be a drainage pipe for the Giambouranis house, and the layer of lime and pebbles could be construction debris from the building of the house. Further excavation is needed to ascertain the relationship of these three features.","Nezi Field 2008 by Alexis Belis, Christina Gieske (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-26)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Alexis Belis, Christina Gieske (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-26)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Early Modern through Late Byzantine levels in Nezi Field","We, Joseph Lillywhite, Joel Rygorsky, Matthew Sears and Martin Wells, continued excavation in the entirety of Nezi Field from May 5 – June 13th, 2008.  This report will summarize our own findings, while also incorporating those of Alexis Belis and Christina Gieske, who excavated during Session I of the 2008 season.   The shape of our excavation area was somewhat irregular; its maximum coordinates ranged from 993.98 N to 1015.43 N and from 255.41 E to 279 E.   In the area of the Nezi Field 2007 excavations we resumed excavation where the 2007 team of Lina Kokkinou and Angela Ziskowski left off, the northern edge of which is an irregular escarpment left by the excavations of 1936 and 1961; in the northwestern area of Nezi Field, the northern edge of which is also an irregular escarpment formed by 1960’s excavations, we take up where Alexis Belis and Christina Gieske, who excavated from April 7th-April 26th, 2008, left off; south of where AB and CG excavated, our excavation began at a ground level revealed by a bulldozing operation.  Both of these latter two regions border the first on their eastern edge.  The bulldozing operation in the southwestern portion of Nezi Field was undertaken because the 2007 excavations proved that Nezi field had a deep disturbed agricultural stratum. This context was carefully dug by hand in 2007, but at a great cost of time. Therefore, this season, the excavation area was extended in order to find more of the structures uncovered in 2007, and to save time, the agricultural levels were removed by machine. The northwest area, where AB and CG excavated, was not bulldozed because it was known that it contained the continuation of the E-W running Early Modern property boundary wall (excavated to the east with B64 in 2007) and we wanted to record this structure (wall 243) properly before removal. We worked under the supervision of director Guy Sanders and assistant field director Alicia Carter. We excavated with Panos Stamatis (pick man), Sotiris Raftopoulos (shovel man/barrowman) Kleomenes Didaskalou (pick man), and Vangelis Kollias (shovel man/barrowman).; ; Our objective was to reach the level of the 2007 Nezi Field excavations, in order to continue the investigation of Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine remains uncovered there. In the process of excavation to reach these earlier levels, we discovered evidence of Early Modern and Modern activity. The overall goal of the Nezi Field excavations has been to show the relationship of this entire area to the previously excavated area to the north (North of Nezi). ; ; This final report for the 2008 ASCSA Corinth Excavations in Nezi Field describes our interpretation of the stratigraphy encountered in our excavation area.  ; ; LATE BYZANTINE (1059-1210); The earliest contexts found to date in Nezi field date from the Late Byzantine period.  ; ; Two fills, 408 and 424 are datable by pottery to the Late Byzantine period, specifically to the last quarter of the 12th century CE.  Both of these fills are bounded on the east by wall 332, while 408 is bounded to the south by wall 365, and 424 to the north by wall 366.  On this basis, we tenuously interpret these three walls as having been constructed prior to these fills, making them Late Byzantine or earlier in date.  If subsequent excavation in this area reveals associated floors or foundation trenches, more accurate and precise dating should be pursued.  Context 371, which lay immediately to the west of where 408 was deposited, also was dated by pottery to the 12th century; however, 371 was overlain by a context whose pottery dated to the early Frankish period (401), leading us to the interpretation that both of these fills have been disturbed by a process of natural deposition, and thus are not related to the usage period of these walls.; ; Walls 332, 365, and 366 are part of a series of walls that form two rooms (one bounded by walls 305, 306, 332 and 365, the other bounded by walls 365, 306, 332 and 366).  Based upon the appearance of the walls, it seems that walls 305, 365 and 366 all abut wall 306, which leads us to believe that wall 306 should be no later than contemporary with walls 365 and 366, i.e. wall 306 should be dated no later than Late Byzantine, last quarter of the 12th century CE.  Circumstantially, it also seems appropriate to tentatively date wall 305 as contemporary to walls 306, 365 and 332, since these four walls together form a room.  It should be noted, however, that no contexts have yet been found inside this room that can be dated to the Late Byzantine period.; ; An area that will need further examination is that revealed beneath deposit 325, a tile filled destruction layer that directly overlaid a floor in the SE corner of the excavation.  The floor ran up to wall 316 to the W and 311 to the E.  There are no securely dated deposits of the Late Byz. In this area but for 325 (see below), which may turn out to be Frankish after the floor is excavated.  It is likely, however, that both wall 316 and 325 were constructed in the Byzantine Period.  More excavation is needed.; ; One other context was excavated that was datable by pottery to the Byzantine period.  A pit (cut =386), filled by context 385, was a small pit cut into the silty layer of natural deposition that seems to have lain over all of Nezi field (both the 2007 area of excavation and that which we excavated in 2008).  While its pottery does date to the Byzantine period, we believe this is impossible stratigraphically.  Since the pottery recovered from this pit comprises a total of only four coarseware sherds, we interpret the cutting of this pit as an activity much later than the Byzantine period.  The digging and filling of this pit will be able to be more accurately dated when the surrounding fill it cuts is excavated.; ; FRANKISH (1210-1458 CE); ; A multitude of various contexts seem to indicate that Nezi Field was the site of sustained activity during the Frankish period.; ; One distinct area of Frankish activity can be reconstructed in the southwestern area of Nezi field.  Discussed above was a tentatively dated Late Byzantine room bounded by walls 305, 306, 365 and 332.  Excavation of a later floor partially bounded by the limits of this room, fills underneath this floor, and a trench cut for the partial robbing of wall 305 allow us to speculate on the usage of this area during the Frankish period.  Floor 374, which lay partially directly beneath a layer of silty natural deposit (=301) and partially below a small extent of patchy surface(277) datable to the 13th century AD (npd), was bounded by walls 305 and 306 to the south and west, but overlay walls 332 and 365 to the north.  The pottery associated with floor 374 is datable to the early 13th century CE, perhaps around 1230.  Thus, we interpret this floor as part of an early Frankish partial re-usage of the earlier Late Byzantine room.  The contexts below floor 374, however, are somewhat problematic in their pottery dates.  There was some discussion in the field as to whether this context was truly a floor, however, since it was such a hard surface of relatively uniform clayey matrix with 3 small pits were dug into its surface (350, 353, 356) it seems likely that our interpretation of its being a floor is correct. ; ; Two of the three contexts excavated below floor 374 are consistent with our interpretation of the phasing of this part of the site; fill 387 dates to the second quarter of the 13th century, and the patch of red surface excavated as context 378 has a pottery date of early 13th century.  The other (389), however, has been dated by pottery to anywhere between 1250-1340.  Thus, our pottery here is somehow contaminated, the dating of the pottery needs to be re-evaluated, the construction of the floor needs to be pushed back to after 1250, or our entire interpretation needs to be rethought.  It seems that, when floor 374 was put in, the original northern and eastern boundaries of the room (walls 365 and 332) were built over, thus creating a larger space bounded to the west and south by walls 306 and 305.  The northern and western boundaries of this early Frankish space, however, are indeterminate, since floor 374 was not bounded by any visible structures to the north or west.  Cut into floor 374 were a series of three small pits, all placed just north of wall 305 and running along its bearing E-W.  These pits (352, 354 and 357) were all quite shallow, and their fills (350, 353, 356) gave no precise clues about their purpose.  We tentatively interpret these as small garbage pits cut into floor 374, but their alignment along the line of wall 305 does suggest the possibility that these may have been post holes used in the support of some structure for which we have no other evidence.  Unfortunately, the pottery from two of the three pits was lost during a particularly windy day at the pot sheds, and the third did not contain pottery that gave a definitive date. In the second half of the 13th century, wall 305 was partially robbed out by cut 304.  This cut had two distinct fills, 303 and 381, the first of which is datable by pottery to the third quarter of the 13th century, and the second less precisely to the second half of the 13th century.  Our interpretation, based upon stratigraphy and pottery dates, is that wall 305 was partially robbed out after floor 374 fell out of use.; ; The other room discussed above, bounded by walls 365, 306, 366 and 332, has no Frankish floors.  Above 408 and 424 we found two distinct Frankish fills.  331, which has a pottery date of early fourteenth century (?) overlaid 360, which has a pottery date of second quarter of the 13th century.  Below 360 was uncovered wall 332, the eastern wall of our putative Late Byzantine room; this again points to a discontinuance of usage of this room in the Frankish period.  Also below 331 was fill 368, which was of indeterminate Frankish date.  Cut into fill 368 was pit 431, whose fills (336 = 338) date to the mid thirteenth century.  At the bottom of this pit, we discovered a well or cistern head (346), which had pottery datable the second quarter of the 13th century associated with.  It is unclear to what period this structure 346 should date.  A linear stone feature only partially exposed this season may be a stone built drain that is running roughly N-S up to the mouth of the structure – this may suggest it is a cistern rather than a well.; ; Another area where we see Frankish activity is in the area bounded by wall 313 to the east and 332 to the west.  Fill 394, bounded on either side by these two walls, was the lowest context we removed from this area; its pottery date is Frankish, first half of the 13th century.  Below this fill, we came down onto a reddish clay floor, which ran all the way from wall 313 to wall 332, and further to the northwest in a strip that runs along the eastern edge of wall 332. This floor is truncated in the south by pit 310, so we are unable to know its southern boundary.  Its northern boundary is unclear, as it seems to be disturbed to the north by fill 398 (datable by pottery to the second half of the thirteenth century), although we cannot find a cutting at the interface of the two fills, so we cannot explain the disturbance as another pit.  We believe further excavation in this area will reveal more information about the limits and usage of this space, but it does seem clear that we are dealing with some sort of built space in usa before the middle of the thirteenth century CE.  This unexcavated floor upon which fill 394 sits is thus likely either early Frankish or Late Byzantine, and is bounded by both walls 313 and 332. ; ; Above fill 394, we excavated what we interpreted as a rough surface (358), the pottery date of which was also first half of the 13th century.  Above surface 358, we excavated other Frankish contexts: 340 and 344 were rough surfaces dating to the first quarter of the 13th century, and 348 was a lens of blackish fill, whose date is unfortunately unknown due to an accidental post-excavation contamination of the pottery collected with the context.  Directly overlying surface 340 and surface 358 was context 280, dating to the last quarter of the 13th century and abutting a small semi-circular structure (283).  At the SE corner of 280 a small ash deposit (281) and its underlying debris (284), date to the Late Frankish period. The fill inside the semicircular structure, which was directly to the W of the small ashy deposit but not abutting it, dated to the late 13th century, while the fill beneath it (deposit 288) dated to 1280 +/-10 years.  All of these contexts seem to post-date the usage of wall 332, since surface 358 and fill 348 partially covered wall 332.  In contrast, both surfaces 340 and 350 abutted wall 313, leading us to believe that wall 313 was in use when these surfaces were constructed and used.  The southern boundary of surface 358 was cut by pit 310.  The fill of this pit (308) has a pottery date of second quarter of the thirteenth century.  Pit 310, however, is later, and should post-date the usage of surfaces 358 and 340, since pit 310 also cuts fill 302 (=314), which has a pottery date of the last quarter of the 13th century.  Thus, in this area, we believe we have evidence of Frankish activity (340, 348, 350, 394) from the first half of the 13th century, which included a re-use of wall 313.  The cutting of pit 310 sometime during or after the last quarter of the 13th century may indicate a terminus ante quem for the destruction or abandonment period of this space.; ; Directly south of this area, just west of and over top of wall 316, we discovered more evidence of Frankish activity in Nezi Field.  Of Frankish contexts, we found here only fill or destruction levels, i.e. no contexts directly associated with usage periods.  328 was the earliest context we uncovered here; this fill sat directly on top of courses of stone foundations for two walls, 316 and 305.  The pottery date of 328 is the first half of the 13th century.  On top of this fill, we seem to have encountered destruction debris, which was excavated as contexts 285, 287 and 321.  These contexts were full of tiles and large boulders, which we speculate may have fallen from wall 316 or been dumped here upon the collapse of some other structure(s).  The pottery of this destruction debris dates to the second half of the 13th century.  Context 318 was laid on top of 328, and seems to be a small lens of dumped fill; its pottery date is third quarter of the thirteenth century, and may be related to some sort of post-destruction/abandonment leveling activity.  Context 289 overlaid all of these fills, and is the last deposit of Frankish date in this area; its pottery date is also third quarter of the 13th century.  It is interesting to note that the deposition of 328 on top of the foundations of walls 316 and 305 (pottery date = second half of the 13th century) post-dates the pottery dates of surfaces 340 and 358 to the N (pottery dates = first half of the thirteenth century); perhaps the abrupt truncation of these surfaces, as well as the surface below context 394, is related to the destruction of the superstructures of walls 305 and 316?; ; One of the main goals of excavation in the eastern area of Nezi field (E of robbing trench B54, wall 313, and wall 313) was to remove the overlying contexts of a very large Boney Ashy Layer (BAL).  This deposit is cut by the apsidal structure and underlies much of the Frankish/Late Byzantine deposits in the area.  It was revealed beneath deposits 432, 407, 373, 364, 355, 359, and parts of floor 337 in the northern/central area of Nezi field.  Further excavation is needed to precisely identify the limits of the BAL which will certainly be an excavation priority in 2009. ;  ; Directly E of wall 316 no part of the BAL was uncovered, but there were several areas of Frankish activity.  The most notable are the fills above and around the late Byzantine tile filled destruction debris of 325, which sat atop a floor that extended up to wall 316 at its NE corner, bordered by wall 299, pit cuts 290, and 310 to the N, and the edge of the excavated area to the E and S.   This area also has several natural deposits dating to the Late Byzantine period but their dates are tenuous and could change with further excavation (see above).  ; ; Wall 399, projecting from the eastern edge of excavation, must date to the Frankish period or later, as deposit 375, which dates to the 2nd ¼ of the 13th century, runs beneath it to the S, and possibly the BAL to the N.  Other than the terminus post quem for wall 299, dates for most of the deposits in this part of the site are difficult to fix precisely. The cobble fill of 375 was cut by pit 297 and its fill 292, which dates to the last ¼ of the 13th century or later, as well as pit 293, filled by 291.  Above 375 was a series of fills also dating to the 13th century: 309, 296, and 294.  In this area, however, E of wall 311 several late Byzantine deposits were also uncovered in very close proximity to the Frankish material: deposit 384 also goes beneath wall 299, 380 is bordered by wall 311 to the W and cut by pit 297 to the E, 382 sits directly against the S portion of wall 311, 383 is a small red patch perhaps related to the floor beneath 325, and 388 is an erosional fill that continues into the eastern edge of excavation. Of these Byzantine deposits it is 388 that is best dated, as it had a moderate amount of pottery dating to the 2nd ¼ of the 12th century.  ; ; Just to the S and W of wall 311 deposits continued to be of various dates, with 377 dating to 13th century and 379 abutting it, dating to the 12th.  Deposit 312, which runs into the southern edge of excavation, overlaid deposits 379 (Late Byz.) and 323/322 (Frankish).  The entire area should be clarified when the clay floor revealed beneath 325, 300, and 390 is excavated.  Overall most deposits were small and did not provide much evidence indicating precise dates.  As 375, the largest and most securely dated (2nd ¼ of the 13th century), sat directly above 388, it is likely that all of these small fills and depositional layers date to the Frankish period.  ; ; What does seem clear, however, is that the area E of and abutting wall 316, was disturbed in the Frankish period. The loose rocks of deposit 300, which dates to the early 14th century, were revealed by the bulldozer and sat directly upon the floor mostly revealed beneath 325.  The large context 302/314 overlaid 325 in parts but also ran up to the missing eastern section of wall 316 and dates to the 4th ¼ of the 13th century.  Indeed all contexts abutting the E section of wall 316 date to the Frankish period (307, robbing trench 315/319, 317, 320, 322, and 324) except for 325.; ; A Frankish pit, 286/290 was sunk through both the floor revealed under 325 and the silty fill of 302. The upper fill of this pit (286) should then date no earlier than 302, or the 4th ¼ of the 13th century.   Pit 290 was not completely excavated, however, and its interpretation may change when the bottom layers of fill are examined.  Just to the east of 290 is pit 310 (see above).  Between these two pits (and cut by them) were fills 326 and 327, both dating to the Frankish period.  At the northern edge of 290 parts of a wall are visible running E-W.  This wall had parts of floor 337, inside the apsidal building, running over it.  It seems clear that after the floor beneath 325 was covered in destruction collapse a long period of deposition and natural processes affected the area.  As there is no robbing or foundation trench yet identified for wall 316, the debris and fills over and to the E of the missing eastern half of the wall were most likely deposited after the wall was removed or collapsed.  More excavation is needed to determine this hypothesis.  To the E of wall 311 there are no surfaces and much of the material may have been due to natural processes (esp. 388) or a later leveling operation, perhaps associated with the BAL.  If the Late Byz. Pottery dates of deposits 380 and 382 prove correct then wall 311 must date no later than this, but more excavation is required.; ; Within a room of the apsidal structure bordered to the W by wall 313, the east by wall 334, and the N by wall 335, we excavated a floor (337) and a series of fills S of cut B71 from the 2007 excavations.  Above this floor a few contexts, 329, 330, and 333, must date to the Frankish period, as 337 contained pottery from the 2nd ¼ of the 13th century.  Floor 337 abutted wall 313 to the W, 335 to the N, and 334 to the E.  To the south pit 290 seems to have cut floor 337, as parts of the floor were visible resting atop the E-W wall at the N edge of the cut.  Just beneath floor 337, S of pit B191 (2007 excav.), more of the BAL was revealed along with a reddish layer that may go beneath it.  Wall 334 cuts through the BAL as can be seen in the scarp of robbing trench B216 (2007 excav.).  E of pit B191 and W of wall 334 a series of fills produced a mixture of dates.  Just beneath the floor and over the BAL, fills 359 and 355 yielded a Late Byzantine date for their pottery. However, 339 and 341 abutting them in the NE corner, while containing only late Byzantine pottery, were stratigraphically later than 351, which dated to the 2nd ½ of the 13th century.  Therefore 339 and 341 must be Frankish. The same can be said for 342, which overlies wall 347, but 343 rests against this wall and dates to the Frankish period.  Deposits 345 and 349, furthermore, rest partly over 343, and thereby date to Frankish times.  ; ; All other deposits in this area, 361, 362, 363, 364, 367, 369, 372, and 373 are small and insecure regarding their dates.  Surfaces 361, 363 and 367 may have been misinterpreted in the field as they seem to be part of a series of fills cut into the BAL rather than true surfaces.  Cut 370 was only identifiable when a red matrix was discovered beneath deposit 364 that seems to go beneath the BAL to the S.  The BAL, in addition, seems to be laying within some of this cut, namely, that to the W of the exposed area and beneath deposit 364.  More excavation is needed to clarify these relationships.; ; Between the N edge of the apsidal structure and the baulk left by the 1936 excavations at the extreme N edge of Nezi field, a pit (cut 430), a series of destruction debris layers, possible natural deposits, and floors were excavated around wall 420.  Pit cut 430 was sunk into part of wall 420 and probably dates to the Frankish period, though it has not been completely excavated.  From this pit we removed 9 layers of fill that followed a pattern of a central slumping in the central portion (in this case extending to the southern edge) and a softer lens draping over the harder central cone.  A hard clayey layer was left at a higher elevation when excavation ceased.  The harder central cone slump consisted of contexts, 427, 423, 422, 421 (which was pure clay), and 418.  The softer strata around these included possibly 428, although parts of 427 seemed to overlie it, 419, and 417. The top layer of fill within pit 430 was 416.  To reveal the cut of this pit several layers had to be taken off (412, 414) and around (415) wall 420.  These were of firm to hard compaction and possibly related to the destruction debris to the N as they were composed mainly of clay and degraded mudbrick. They might be the result of weathering of the walls in this area – the building material being washed off the walls and pooling on the surface below.  ; ; Excavation N of wall 420 began with an obvious destruction layer intermingled with clay slumping and erosional deposition from a structure that we were not able to identify.  Above the tile layer 395 several clay fills (391,393) and some erosional debris (392) were removed, all dating to the 2nd ¼ of the 13th century.  395 was bordered to the south by a much disturbed robbing trench, 396, revealed in 2007.  Some of the tiles associated with 295 were visible in the bottom of robbing trench 396.  It was clear that there was a series of overlying phases of destruction.  S of 395, deposit 397 also represents a tile destruction layer that was visible in robbing trench 396, but its pottery dated to the Late Byz. Period.  Deposits in the area that are stratigraphically earlier than 397, however, provide Frankish dates.  These include 399, 400, 404, and 402 (another tile collapse).  The earliest of these, 402, dated from the late 12th to the mid 13th century. Cleaning E and N of wall 420, deposit 403, also yielded a date in the mid 13th century.  Beneath 395 a small patch of soil, 413, at a higher elevation than the Frankish layers around it, dated to the late Byzantine period but with very little pottery.  It will most likely be dated to the Frankish period after further excavations needed to fully decipher this area and its relation to the BAL are carried out.; ; Near the E edge of robbing trench B54 (2007 excav.) and the N limits of Nezi field, what may be either floor surfaces or erosional debris were revealed.  These contexts (425=433) were the same fully rounded pebble mixture with a few boulders projecting above their strosis.  There is no structure associated with the surface so it may be erosional.  Whatever the case, 433/425 dates to the 1st ¼ of the 13th century and so the stratigraphically later fills in the area, 404, 405, 406, 409, and 410 must all be after this date.; ; South of wall 420  deposit 432, which abuts the wall and sits directly on a portion of the BAL, dated to the 2nd ½ of the 13th century.  To the E, N, and overlying parts of 420, deposit 429 was ceramically dated to the 12th century but not precisely datable.  It stands to reason, then, that 429 should be re-dated to after 432 and is therefore Frankish.; The only deposit that cannot be proven Frankish at this time is 407, just NE of the apsidal structure.  This sat directly upon the BAL and will need further investigation before a precise date can be given.  The fact that 375 ran beneath wall 299 in the S edge of the trench, however, that the BAL seems to run up against the N face of 299, and that the cleaning pass of the BAL, 267, yielded a Frankish date, strongly suggests that the BAL is Frankish.  If this is correct 407 would need to be dated to the Frankish period.  More excavation is needed.; ; NATURAL DEPOSIT:  POST-FRANKISH TO EARLY MODERN; ; Above the various Frankish levels uncovered in Nezi field during the 2008 excavation season, we encountered throughout the area thick silty deposits that consistently contained pottery of various time periods.  Our current interpretation of all these contexts is that they are natural deposits created by the erosion of soil from further uphill over the course of hundreds of years.  Implied in this interpretation is that in these areas of Nezi Field, very little non-agricultural activity occurred between the end of the Frankish and beginning of the Early Modern periods.  We dealt with these deposits on an ad hoc basis, not fully realizing with what we were dealing until near the very end of the season.  Some were removed as cleaning contexts (e.g. 264 and 267), while others were excavated more carefully and are entered into to our Harris matrix (=257, 260, 262, 273, 278, 301, 371, 401, 411).  As a consequence of the random nature of these deposits, the pottery dates from context to context can vary widely, e.g. 371 has a pottery date of 12th century CE, 411 of Ottoman II, and 257 of 19th century CE.  ; ; EARLY MODERN; ; In the northern portion of the excavation area, the earliest feature is a pit (Context 248), which cut through a yet unexcavated layer containing lime and pebbles used for cement mixing. Because of the large boulders present in the fill of the pit, it seems possible that the superstructure of the N-S portion of Structure 243 was destroyed and placed in the pit. AB and CG dug one lense of fill in this pit (247), which was early 20th century CE according to its pottery date.  We dug three more lenses of fill in this pit (249, 251 and 252), two of which had pottery dates of Early Modern, and one of which had a pottery date of Frankish.  We discontinued excavation in this pit, in large part because its northern edge had been disturbed during the course of the 1960’s excavations carried on North of Nezi Field.  We were not confident that we were digging in sequence, and we took the decision to delay excavation inside this pit until such time as the contexts surrounding it could be better defined, which did not happen during the 2008 season.  We support the original presumption of AB and CG that it seems likely that this pit was contemporaneous with the construction of the Giambouranis house located just north of Nezi field because of the unexcavated layer containing construction debris (the lime and pebbles). ; ; Sometime after pit 248 was cut a cementy fill layer, represented by contexts 250, 252, 265, and 274 was deposited, the pottery from which dated to the late 19th-early 20th centuries.  This cementy dumped fill layer was found in pit 248 and was also cut by the laying of the E-W wall 243.  Wall 243 is represented chronologically by its cuts, 272 for the E-W portion, and 276 for the N-S return.  The lower fills for the cuts, 268, 269, and 275 (the N return foundations), contained flecks of the cementy fill through which they were dug.  The foundation course, 266, was exposed during the beginning of the 2007 excavations while searching for the foundation trench.  Pottery from the foundation courses of wall 243 dates to the 1st ½ of 19th century, but as this wall cut through the cementy dumped fill it must date to the late 19th/early 20th century.  Sometime after the original construction of wall 243 a S return, 244, was added, but not bonded.  An aerial photograph from 1909 does not show the southern extension and the pottery dates to early modern NPD.  A more precise date is not attainable.; ; A water pipe, 258, cut 261, was punched through wall 243 sometime in the late 19th, early 20th century.  The sections of repair to the superstructure of wall 243, 253 for the superstructure, 254 cementy fill beneath 253, and 255 (concrete directly over water pipe 258), provide this date, as does the packing over the pipe to the S, 256, and the fills for the installation of the pipe (259 and 263).  Notably the silty fill in this area, 257, 260, and 262, through which the pipe was cut, also date to the early modern period (and so too that to the E of 243, deposit 273).  The pipe itself (258) brought water from somewhere S/SE of Nezi to the Giamboranis house, and extended from the N edge of the excavation area to the south as far as wall 306 (see above), which it overlaid for several meters.  North of wall 243 the pipe sat upon the cementy dumped fill (274), which also seemed to have been deposited over the pipe. Clearly the cementy dumped fill was too soft to preserve any sort of cutting.  53 sections of pipe are preserved varying in length from 0.30-0.36m. with a thick layer of lime incrustation inside.  Male ends were generally pointed north except for the portion in the repaired section of 243, where the pipe was deposited at a slightly higher elevation.  ; ; Beneath the cementy dumped fill and just N of wall 243 a small oval pit, cut 271 filled by 270, must predate the wall and the pipe.  Very little pottery in this pit emerged, but what did exist dated to late Frankish (late 13th) times.  The chronological relation of this pit to 248 is unclear at this time and needs further excavation.  ; ; One other area of early modern activity is 279, a small ashy deposit revealed by the bulldozer W of 313.  This patch was too small to suggest any conclusions with confidence.  ; ; CONCLUSIONS; ; While many of the walls uncovered in the 2008 excavation season will most likely prove to be of Late Byzantine or earlier date, there is little evidence of securely dated Pre-Frankish activity in the Nezi field.  In the western half of excavation, what appear to be three small rooms with shared cross-walls yielded a few Late Byzantine deposits but the period of construction or first use phases have not yet been revealed.  These rooms, bounded by N-S wall 306 to the W and 332 to the E, are divided by the E-W walls 366 in the N, 365, and 305 in the S.  On the last day of excavation what may be another wall appeared N of 366 that could prove to be part of the same complex.  Wall 376, which runs W of 306, is in line with wall 305 to the E and may prove to be another room of this structure.  It should be noted, however, that while several pre-Frankish fills were found inside these rooms (371, 408, 424) nothing unearthed conclusively indicated a Byzantine period of use.  ; ; To the E of wall 316 the only possible period of Late Byzantine activity is deposit 325 and the floor revealed beneath it and deposits 300, and 390.  This area may prove to be another Late Byzantine building, bordered by wall 316 to the W, 311 to the E, and the wall visible in the N face of pit cut 290 to the N (the edge of excavations limits our knowledge of any southern delineation.  Indeed north and on top of the wall in pit 290 was floor 337, which dated to the 2nd ¼ of the 13th Century.  Most of the SE area is heavily disturbed and eroded, however, with fills primarily dating to the Frankish period.  More excavation is needed.; ; In the central and north sections of Nezi field activity centered around trying to define the limits and relationships of surrounding contexts to the Boney Ashy Layer (BAL), which is visible inside, to the E, and to the N of the apsidal building.  The BAL may be part of a Frankish leveling operation across most of the E ½ of Nezi field.  A Frankish date is suggested for the BAL by deposit 375, a large fill layer at the SE edge of excavation that could be seen to run beneath the S face of wall 299.  The N face of 299 appears to have the BAL poured up against it.  A cleaning pass probing the limits of the BAL also yielded a Frankish date.  Notably the E wall of the apsidal structure, 334, cuts through the BAL, making everything contextually associated with this structure Frankish.  The floor and fills generally followed this rule, although many deposits beneath floor 337 north and east of pit B191 were small and insignificant, sometimes giving late Byzantine pottery dates.  Stratigraphically, however, this area should date to the Frankish Period.  One exception, which may well prove itself Byzantine, is cut 370, discovered beneath deposit 364, which itself was one of a series of disturbances into the BAL.  More excavation is needed.; ; Pursuing the N limit of the BAL led us to a series of destruction and fill layers N of wall 420.  These all can be tentatively dated to the Frankish Period, although a few small deposits did not have pottery past Late Byzantine.  Much tile and clay destruction collapse was removed near the Northern limits of Nezi field which extended S as far as wall 420.  The pit that removed part of 420, while not fully excavated, will probably prove Frankish as well, though this is by no means certain.  Running against the S face of 420 and sitting in part over the BAL was deposit 432, which dated to the late 13th century.  Although more excavation may show the BAL also present N of 420, a red layer beneath the E portion of 432 seems to go under the BAL, suggesting that perhaps wall 420 is the Northern limit.  Before excavating the BAL more excavation is needed to the N and E of 420, explorations should be carried out in the N room of the apsidal structure, and several patches to the E, left by the 2007 excavations, should be removed.  ; ; Evidence of modern activity came primarily from the NW corner of Nezi field and dates to the end of the 19th/early 20th century.  These included a wall and several pits cut through the silty erosional debris that was mostly removed by bulldozer to the S.  The E-W wall 243 was removed with its bonded N return and later, unbonded, S extension.  This wall 243 was cut through a layer of soft concrete fill (250) that sat above the silty debris and ran into pit 248.  Through this wall was punched a pipe (258) that was preserved running S as far as the possible Byzantine wall 306.  Another pit (271), shallow and with little pottery, was found beneath the concrete fill but the relationship of this pit to the larger 248 requires further excavation.","Nezi Field 2008 by Joseph Lillywhite, Joel Rygorsky, Matthew Sears, Martin Wells (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Joseph Lillywhite, Joel Rygorsky, Matthew Sears, Martin Wells (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Middle to Late Byzantine period in the courtyard of the 1961 House in the area North of Nezi Field","EXCAVATION SUMMARY; We, Josh Gieske and Laurie Kilker, from April 11 to April 23 2008 excavated in the courtyard of the Byzantine house uncovered by the 1961 excavations in Agora SW-G, overseen by Steven Lattimore (notebooks 230 and 235), which is now part of the area currently referred to as “North of Nezi.”  We worked under the supervision of the Corinth director Guy Sanders and assistant field director Alicia Carter. We excavated with workmen Kleomenis Didaskalou (pickman) and Vasilis Kollias (shovelman and barrowman).; Our goals were to first remove the martyr, which was left on the edge of a trench excavated in the southeastern corner of the courtyard (presumably by the 1961 excavators, although we have not been able to find reference to the excavation of this roughly 1.5 m deep trench in the notebooks from that year) and then to explore the floor surfaces of the courtyard under the predominantly Frankish levels removed by the 1961 excavations. We spent approximately one week on each goal. ; The internal space of the courtyard runs from 1035.70 N, 1030.60 S, 266.30 W, 274.10 E, but we excavated only within the following coordinates: for the martyr: 1035.19 N, 1030.68 S, 271.25 W, 273.53 E; for the entire courtyard: 1035.58 N, 1030.61 S, 266.53 W, 272.77 E.; ;  ; FILL OF THE 1961 MARTYR (1100-1200 AD); The martyr was located immediately west and north of an exploration trench presumably excavated in 1961, although we have not been able to find reference to excavations in this area by any of the 1961 excavators.  The martyr surrounded this trench on two sides; the trench is bounded by a wall to the east and a martyr that may have supported a later wall at a higher level (now eroded) to the south. The excavations by Steven Lattimore in Agora SW-G seemed to have as their eastern boundary a later wall, which according to Lattimore’s drawings, rested immediately on top of the martyr we excavated, while the excavations in Agora SW-F by William Berg stop at the eastern and southern walls of the courtyard (i.e., in the rooms with the staircases). Handwritten notes in Lattimore’s final report suggest that excavations may have continued in the courtyard in 1963, but if so, we have not been able to find any notes or reports from these excavations. The martyr then seems to lie under the unlabelled wall, which runs north from wall 61, that was removed by Lattimore. This raised section of the courtyard was probably left around the edge of the deep trench in the southwest corner to prevent the walls of the trench from collapsing. If so, then the trench in the southwest corner was probably excavated at the same time as the rest of the courtyard in 1961. ; Our excavation of the martyr began with the removal of two pi-shaped terracotta drains, which were laying on the northern edge of the martyr. Unfortunately, since the soil around these drains had been eroded practically down to the base of each drain segment, we did not have sufficient material to date the construction of this drain. However, we have observed in several plans of the area south of the South Stoa that the drain appears to have once continued approximately 2 m further east, passing through the short wall that blocks up the entrance corridor of the courtyard, and that its course was lined with stones much like the two we found in situ next to the drain. In fact, the placement of the stones in this wall, blocking the entranceway, seems to have a purposeful gap to allow passage of the drain. It should be noted that stones have been removed from this wall so that the gap is no longer readily apparent. ; Excavation of the martyr itself began with the cleaning pass (5191: El. 85.25), which removed the top layer of soil that had been exposed to the elements for nearly 50 years, and concluded with context 5264, after which we had reached the level of the courtyard in all areas of the martyr (lowest elevation 84.91). Due to the relatively small area covered by the martyr, many of the 13 contexts we excavated are rather difficult to interpret since their eastern and western extents were almost universally unknown. In particular, all contexts in the southern half of the martyr below N 1033.5 could be at most 0.75m wide, thus we can only speak of these in very broad terms. Additionally, within the martyr itself, we found much evidence of root activity that both created false boundaries between contexts and produced tunnels and patches of loamy soil. For example, context 5228 may be entirely the result of plant action. The final stratum of the martyr was an approximately 15cm thick accumulation of debris (contexts 5252 and 5258). This layer was dated by pottery to the early 12th century. ; While the dates assigned to the pottery from the martyr ranged from Middle Byzantine to Late Byzantine, it was only the Late Byzantine pottery which afforded more specific dating by century. It seems likely that the small size of the pottery samples we were able to collect from the martyr was the reason for this lack of precision in dating many of the contexts. However, working from those which were able to be dated precisely, we have decided that most or all of the martyr should be dated to the 12th century and more precisely to the first half of that century. We do not think that the designation of some pottery as Middle Byzantine poses a problem to this conclusion because those contexts dated as Middle Byzantine produced very few sherds, and moreover, the likelihood of contamination of a small, raised section of soil left by an excavation almost 50 years ago is great.; With regard to the two coins associated with the martyr context, the first from 5191 was actually found while the workmen were enthusiastically cleaning the area around the well and was merely associated with 5191 as a convenience. It dates neither the martyr or the courtyard floor because the area around the well was excavated to an area below the general level of the courtyard by Steven Lattimore in 1961. The second coin was found in a mixed fill deposit 5252 and the numismatist was not sure whether or not the object was, in fact, a coin. Thus, the dating of the martyr must depend entirely on the pottery evidence and the notes from the 1961 excavations. ; ; ; BYZANTINE COURTYARD OF THE 1961 HOUSE (1080-1120 AD); After the removal of the martyr and the creation of a more or less uniform surface throughout the courtyard (with the exception of the trench in the southeast corner and the area around the well which were excavated in 1961), the two largest portions of which were dated by pottery to 1100 +/-20 years (context 5324) and 1110 +/-10 years (context 5327). Between them, these two floor surfaces occupied the southern two-thirds of the courtyard. Despite their dissimilar appearance—5324 was a tile and cobble floor while 5327 was a hard-packed, poor-quality pebble floor—that these two floors were in existence simultaneously is suggested by several factors. Beyond the clearly contemporaneous pottery dates, the presence of context 5315, an accumulation of silt from rain water washing loose soil to the lowest spot in the courtyard, which forms a continuous surface between the southern halves of 5324 and 5327 also demands that both floor surfaces existed simultaneously. In addition, the indefinite edges of and the diffuse relationship between the northern halves of 5324 and 5327 suggest the coexistence of the two disparate floor surfaces. Both floors become very similar in compaction and inclusions in their northern halves where 5324 supposedly overlaps 5327, and the difficulty we had determining the separation between the floors may have been due to the fact that they were at one point the same floor. Certainly their elevations support the idea that both contexts belong to a single surface, and it seems only to be their varying appearances that suggests against the idea that they are one and the same floor. Because we found traces of neither floor under the other in their best preserved sections (the western portion of 5324 and the eastern portion of 5327), it seems safe to assume that perhaps neither floor ever covered the full extent of the courtyard and thus each covered only a half of the space. Unfortunately, the excavation trench from the 1961 excavation has removed much of the SE corner of the courtyard so type of floor which existed in that corner cannot be known. ; In the north there was a third floor context (5332) which appeared to be a continuation of the tile and cobble floor to the south, although a much poorer version of it. The date given by the pottery (late 11th - early 12th) is consistent with the date of ca. 1100 given to the other two floors. This northern floor ran up against the north wall of the courtyard, while to the east it was terminated by an area in the NE corner which was excavated to a lower level in 1961. To the south its edge was indefinite, in the same general area where the edges of 5324 and 5327 were also found to be indefinite. Over all these indefinite edges lies context 5309 which was excavated as a mound lying on top of the floor, but may in reality have been the continuation of floor 5324 to the north. The edges of 5309 were also indefinite and there was no clear transition into the parts of three floors (5324, 5327, 5332) which lay beneath it. Unfortunately the pottery from this context was too small to give a precise date, but in light of the likelihood that the contexts to the north and south of 5309 were all part of the same floor, 5309 itself may have belonged to the same floor (and perhaps it was disturbed or simply very uneven in this area). If this is the case, then there is a single, continuous floor surface that covers most of the remaining area of the courtyard. The small patch of good-quality pebble floor (context 5291) may also belong to this floor, as it both abuts and lies immediately on top of the same red layer (part of which was excavated as 5293 and tentatively dated to the late 11th – early 12th century) as 5332.; Of the two remaining areas of the courtyard where this floor surface has yet to be identified, one is a cut (filled by 5288 and 5289) that separates floors sections 5291 and 5327. The other is the NW corner of the courtyard, the area where excavation in the courtyard should be resumed. Here, under remnants of a hard-packed surface with some tiles (context 5298) we made a preliminary exploration of a succession of layers that represent construction activity in the 1961 house. The lowest of these layers appears to be a pebble floor of decent quality, on top of which is a thin layer of plaster thrown down or mixed on the floor for use elsewhere in the house. This secluded NW corner would have been an ideal, out-of-the-way place for such an activity. Above the thin residue of plaster leftover from the remodeling was a softer layer of debris, possibly thrown down purposely on top of the plaster. On top of all these layers were the remnants of a later, poorer quality floor which were removed as context 5298. The relationship of the floors in this corner to those in the rest of the courtyard will only be clear once the NW corner of the courtyard is excavated, but it may be that the same construction project which accounts for the plaster also produced the fill (5288 and 5289) placed in the cut in NE corner mentioned above. Unfortunately, the large area removed around the well in 1961 creates an additional difficult in relating all the different patches of floor in the courtyard.;     Above the potentially uniform floor surface composed primarily of contexts 5325, 5324, 5327, and 5332 with the possible addition of 5291 and 5309, were left very few remains of later levels (apart from the martyr).One of these, a small circular deposit (5296) in the SW corner of the courtyard (loosely dated by a few sherds to the 11th century), we initially thought to be obscuring the course of the N-S rubble wall. However, beneath it we found not the line of the wall but instead the same material as under the adjacent floor 5324, so that either 5296 cuts into 5324 or, more likely, is merely another portion of this somewhat uneven floor surface. The N-S rubble wall in the SW corner should be examined more closely to determine how it relates to these contexts and the courtyard floor. The other later level remaining in the courtyard was a remnant of a tile and cobble floor (5300) placed immediately on top of the one below (i.e. 5324). This second floor, most of which had been removed in 1961, was dated by pottery to the late 11th – early 12th century, so it may simply be an addition to the floor below to create a more level surface. Because 5300 continues under the western half of the south wall of the courtyard (which is later than the eastern half) into the next room to the south, excavation in this room may help clarify the stratigraphy of the courtyard.; One anonymous coin, dated to 969-1030 AD, was found in the excavation of the courtyard (in context 5332), but because such coins tend to remain in circulation for a long time before being deposited, this coin was not used for dating the floor in which it was found. In the same context was found a fragment of a twisted glass bracelet classified as Byzantine in date. The only other find of note from the courtyard was a Geometric bronze pin head, which could have come from a disturbed grave, possibly in the area of the courtyard.; ; ; CONCLUSIONS; All of the contexts we excavated this session appear to belong to a period of less than 100 years. The martyr itself probably represents deposits accumulated sometime in the mid 12th century, while in the courtyard as a whole most if not all of our context are concentrated around the year 1100. Thus, the floor surface created in the courtyard around that date appears to have been in existence for only a generation or two at most, perhaps receiving some repairs or additions where needed, before it was covered over and a new floor was created at a higher level. Some suggestion of this rather dramatic change in floor level can be seen in the entrance from the courtyard into the room to the NW. Here, a step, which very likely corresponds with the courtyard floor we excavated, once led through a 2m wide opening in the north wall of the courtyard into the room beyond. However, at a later phase, probably with the creation of a new floor sometime in the mid to late 12th century, the step must have been covered over and a new threshold created at a higher level from three reused blocks which have rectangular cuttings in the blocks on the ends for door posts. Excavation in the NW corner of the courtyard and in the room to the south of the courtyard should provide additional evidence to help reconstruct this period in the life of the 1961 Byzantine House.","Nezi Field 2008 by Josh Gieske, Laurie Kilker (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-24)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Josh Gieske, Laurie Kilker (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-24)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Rooms South of the 1961 Byzantine House Courtyard, Late Roman through Post-Frankish periods","We, Anne Feltovich (ACF) and Catherine Person (CWP) and Emily Rush (EMR), excavated North of Nezi between May 5, 2008 and June 13, 2008, focusing on bringing three rooms down to Middle to Late Byzantine levels, on phasing their walls, and on finishing the pit begun the previous session in Room E (277.62-278.42E, 1016.30-1020.45N).  The three rooms are: the Room North of the Eastern Half of Room F (271.60-276.50E, 1020.78-1022.83N); the Room Bounded by Walls 5519, 5483, 5484, and 5284 (265.90-270.52E, 1023.57-1027.98N); and the Room Bounded by Walls 5631, 5403, and 5484 (the eastern wall of the room is not known, but the room is cut on the east by later wall 5553).  This last room is cut by a later north-south running wall 5552 and was excavated in two parts: the coordinates for the area north of wall 5552 are 271.12-274.30E, 1026.36-1027.66N; the coordinates for the area south of 5552 are 271.20-274.60E, 1023.40-1025.90N.  Please note that there are two wall numbering systems in use for the walls of this area.  The first was created in the 1960s and will appear as a W followed by a two-digit number.  The second is the current numbering system used in North of Nezi which appears as a four-digit number.  Both numbers will appear on plans for the walls of this area when possible.  The director was Guy Sanders, assistant field director Alicia Carter, pickman Panos Kakouros, and wheelbarrow and sieve operators Takis Papaioannou and Vasilis Kollias.; ; The following summary documents the findings of the 2008 excavation season in the four rooms in which we excavated. Each room will be initially treated individually and the conclusion will related these rooms to each other and the area of N of Nezi excavations as a whole.; ; Room E; Our objective in this room was to finish the pit started this year in session one which contained the four complete vessels (pit fills dug in session one: 5250, 5278, 5281, 5282; dug in session two: fill 5464 and cut 5482). ; ; Room north of the eastern half of Room F (271.60-276.50E, 1020.78-1022.83N): ; ; Excavations in this room began in the last session and were continued by us in this session.  This room was also excavated in 2007. Our intentions were to find the foundation trench for wall 5403, and to understand the phasing of the walls enclosing the room.  In excavating this room we further uncovered an earlier wall in the middle of the room (wall 5446).  The walls of this space have been dated to Middle Byzantine based on the finds from the foundation trench on the northern side of wall 5403 (foundation trench 5818).  The phasing of these walls is as follows: ; 1) Wall 5446; 2) Wall 5403 (its foundation trench cuts wall 5446, and it is built over wall 5446).  Wall 5403 is the same as wall 5484 to the west.; 3) Wall 5435 (its foundation trench cuts that of wall 5403 and is built over wall 5403).; 4) Wall 5434 (its foundation trench cuts wall 5446, and it is built over wall 5446, and it abuts wall 5435).  Wall 5434 is the same wall as Wall 5344 to the east.; 5) Wall 5346 (built over wall 5434) and Wall 5450 (later phase of wall 5434) – the relationship of walls 5346 and 5450 to one another is uncertain because they are not stratigraphically related.; ; Wall 5403 is part of a longer wall at the edge of a terrace which is higher on the southern side than the northern side.  The coins and pottery from the foundation trench on the southern side of wall 5403 (dep. 5397, cut 5402, dep. 5414, dep. 5417, dep. 5419, dep. 5433, cut 5436), date to late 6th century, but coins from the foundation trench on the northern side of the wall (deposit number 5818) date the wall to middle Byzantine (coins 2008-230 and 2008-231 are dated to A.D. 931-944).  All of the levels which we dug in this room cannot be dated more specifically by pottery, and therefore based on stratigraphy, the levels which we excavated are Middle Byzantine or later.  We did not dig down far enough to reach the foundation trench for wall 5446, so we can offer no date other than a relative one of earlier than wall 5403.; ; Room bounded by walls 5284, 5484, 5483, 5519:; When we opened this room is consisted of a raised strip of soil left by the excavation of three bothroi in 1961 (NB229, pg. 180).  Our goal was to excavate the remaining soil stratigraphically to an 11th century level and to phase the walls surrounding the room (5284, 5484, 5483, 5519) and the later wall cutting the room along the west side (foundation 5485 and superstructure 5490).  We did not excavate the narrow strip between wall 5485 and wall 5284 because it was too difficult to reach.  It will be excavated when wall 5485 is removed.  ; In this room the higher levels were contemporary with later wall 5484 as the western boundary.  We dug through a series of leveling fills and came down to a layer of redeposited tiles on top of floor 5606.  This floor is the earliest layer excavated that was in use with wall 5485 and dates to the Frankish period.  The layer immediately below this floor (5834) is another floor which runs under wall 5485 and presumably over to wall 5284; this floor, the latest floor in association with the earlier room bounded on the west by wall 5284, dates to the late Byzantine area.  Therefore, it appears that the earlier room was used until the end of the Byzantine area, then wall 5485 was built at the end of the Byzantine era or beginning of the Frankish era, and the later room was used beginning in the Frankish era. When we reached the level that goes under wall 5485 (floor 5834), we left a martyr along the wall so that future excavations can better understand the stratigraphy and we could avoid contamination.  Wall 5485 should be removed next when permission is granted. Wall 5485 has already been partially removed in the south by the 1960s excavations in order to excavate the ‘bothros’ underneath.; We believe the area of robbing trench 5506 was the doorway for both the Late Byzantine room (bounded on the west by 5284) and the Frankish room (bounded on the west by 5485) and that the robbing trench robbed out one or more threshold blocks. Below floor 5834 we excavated a series of fills and uncovered an earlier floor (not excavated) which appears to have been association with the threshold block robbed out by robbing trench 5506. Excavation to the immediate north of this robbing trench was carried out by Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade, and some of their contexts should be compared to ours.; Phasing of the walls is as follows:; ; 1) Wall 5484.  Wall 5484 is the same wall as 5403 to the east and 5216 to the west.; 2) Wall 5519. Although 5484 and 5519 have not been related stratigraphically we believe that 5484 is the exterior wall and therefore before the interior wall is 5519. ; 3) Wall 5483.  Wall 5483 is built against walls 5484 and 5519.  Although no foundation trenches have yet been found in this room, foundation trench 5779 on the east side of wall 5483 is above the foundation trench for wall 5403=5484 (foundation trench 5818). ; 4) Wall 5485.  Wall 5485 is built on top of wall 5519.; 5) Wall 5490.  Wall 5490 is the superstructure of wall 5485.; ; See summary of Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade for phasing of wall 5484=5216 relative to wall 5284.; ; Room bounded by 5403, 5383, 5631, and 5553; ; This room is cut by later east-west running wall 5552 which cannot be removed until permission is obtained.  North-south running later wall 5553 also cuts the room on the east side; we did not excavate to the east of wall 5553.  We excavated both to the north and to the south of wall 5552, but the levels excavated to the north of the wall were all higher than the levels excavated to the south of wall 5552; both sides of the wall were last excavated in the 1960s.; ; Our goal in this room was to excavate down to the Byzantine level in order to understand more about the possible Byzantine structure bounded on the south by wall 5403=5484=5216.; ; Excavation to the north of wall 5552 suggested that the doorway in wall 5631 was moved at least three times: we phased the four visible thresholds in wall 5631, and robbing trenches 5636 and 5654 appear to be in association with the moving of the door.  A possible fifth and lowest threshold is visible in the northern face of the wall, but has not been phased or given a context number.  Against wall 5631, we excavated a series of four floors.  Excavation started below the bottom of highest threshold (5647), so we do not have the floor contemporary with this phase.  Floors 5632 and 5642 may have been contemporary with the next highest threshold (5670).  Floors 5650 and 5659 were clearly contemporary with the third highest threshold (5648).  We have not excavated down to the level of the lowest threshold yet, but it was partially exposed by robbing trench 5654.  All four floors date to Late Byzantine.  We have not yet found a foundation trench for wall 5631 so this wall cannot be dated.; ; Excavation on the south side of wall 5552 started at a lower elevation than where we stopped on the north side of wall 5552, so although they are the same room cut by later wall 5552, we were unable to stratigraphically link our excavations on both sides of the wall.  On the south side of the wall we excavated two Late Byzantine floors (5707 and 5733) and one Late Byzantine surface (5765), which was cut by a pit containing a whole vessel (pit 5755). Both floors and the surface are contemporary with Late Byzantine wall 5483.  Below surface 5765 we found and excavated the foundation trench for wall 5483 (foundation trench fill 5779).  We continued excavation below that level in what we hypothesize was exterior space before the building of wall 5483.  In this area we excavated one Middle Byzantine surface (5811), which we hypothesize to be exterior because it was created before the building of north-south wall 5483 and because it is rough and uneven compared to an indoor floor.  This exterior surface (5811) was cut by two pits (5804 and 5809).  Underneath surface 5811 we revealed and excavated the foundation trench for wall 5403 (foundation trench 5818), which was built in the Middle Byzantine period (dated by two coins of Constantine VII found in the foundation trench 5818).  This wall was built at the edge of a terrace which was higher on the southern side of the wall (we excavated this area as “Room North of Eastern Half of Room F”). ; ; Conclusion; ; Two of the rooms (room bounded on the south by wall 5484 and room bounded on the south by wall 5403, which is the same wall) appear to be part of the same structure built in the Middle Byzantine period and reused in the Late Byzantine and Frankish period with some new walls being built (specifically, walls 5483 and 5485).  This structure had one long wall (wall 5403=5484=5216) which was built in the Middle Byzantine period.  This wall was certainly a terrace wall and may have also originally been the exterior southern wall for the structure.  We have not yet revealed foundation trenches for walls 5519 and 5631, which are continuations of each other but were probably built separately; we cannot date them, but they appear to be an interior wall of this structure.  Wall 5483, built in the Late Byzantine period, divides two interior rooms of this structure.  Wall 5284 also divided two interior rooms (see records of Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade for phasing).  There is no evidence suggesting that the Room North of the Eastern Half of Room F is part of the same structure, although it shares exterior wall 5403.  This room was first used in the Middle Byzantine period.","Nezi Field 2008 by Anne C. Feltovich, Catherine W. Person and Emily M. Rush (2008-05-05 to 2008-06-14)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Anne C. Feltovich, Catherine W. Person and Emily M. Rush (2008-05-05 to 2008-06-14)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Courtyard of Byzantine house and rooms to north and northwest, Late Roman to Frankish levels","North of Nezi (Green) Report 2009: Scott Gallimore & Will Bruce; ; The following summarizes results of excavations during the first session of 2009 at Corinth in three areas north of Nezi Field in the area previously excavated in the 1960s under the direction of H.S. Robinson: the courtyard of the Byzantine house, the room immediately north of courtyard, and the room immediately northwest of courtyard.; The excavations in all three rooms were supervised by Guy Sanders (director) and Alicia Carter (field director). Our pickman was Athanasios Magourakis, our shovelman Kostas Arberoris, and our barrowman Panos Stamatis who replaced Sotiris Raftopoulos in the first week. The main priority for this session was the room north of the courtyard which is located between E265.30-E270.50, N1035.60-1039.20. This room was excavated in 2008 during the second session by Nathaniel Andrade and Jody Cundy, and had been previously investigated in 1961 by Steven Lattimore as part of Room 12 (NB 230, f.170). It became necessary for us to excavate parts of the courtyard, which is located between E265.20-E273.50, N1027.85-1035.70, in order to reach Byzantine levels within the room north of the courtyard, as deposits and other features in these two spaces are related stratigraphically.; The courtyard was excavated in all three sessions in 2008 and was originally uncovered during the 1961 season (Room 12 NB 230; NB 235; NB 229). After reaching earlier levels (possibly Roman) in the room north of the courtyard, we moved excavation to the room northwest of the courtyard, located between E260.90-E264.60, N1034.85-N1038.75, in order to reach contemporaneous levels. This room was excavated during the second and third sessions of 2008 by Sarah Lima, and also during 1961 by Charles Williams (NB 253, f.10). The goal of this year’s excavation is to expose the walls and features of the Byzantine house for future consolidation and presentation. Our report will be organized chronologically by room.; ; ROOM NORTH OF COURTYARD (March 30-April 8; April 13-14); ; Frankish: ; Most of the Frankish levels of this room had been previously removed and were only encountered at the very beginning of excavation. The first action of this session was an archaeological cleaning, which removed pottery and materials dating to the late 13th century (5911). The only other Frankish features encountered in this room, were three superimposed walls (5473, 5913, & 5914) which were removed according to a permit obtained this year. These three contexts were actually all components of the same wall from different phases: 5473 was the superstructure, with 5913 & 5914 as foundation levels. If any floor levels were associated with these walls, they must have been excavated during the 1960s, since the earliest floor from the 2008 season (5585) is late Byzantine.; ; Middle-Late Byzantine:; Late Byzantine levels were encountered throughout the entire room, the latest being from the 12th century. Twelth century levels extended in both the eastern and western halves of the room. In the western half, following the removal of the Frankish walls, the first 12th century context we encountered was leveling fill 5921. Also removed in this area was a small tile platform (5930), which had been revealed by the 2008 excavation. The majority of the 12th century contexts found in the western half of this room consisted of a series of small leveling fills (5921, 5927, 5931, 5933, 5936, & 5962). A floor surface which may have been associated with these leveling fills was excavated in 2008 as context 5585. ; The northern foundation trench (5960, cut 5961) for wall 5463 was also encountered during excavation; a portion of this feature was also identified in 2008 as context 5573. Beneath some of these leveling fills, context 5963, however, was part of an intact floor surface, which dated to the late 11th - early 12th century. We took samples for flotation from this floor as part of a new vigorous strategy of flotation analysis initiated this year at Corinth. Recovered from this sample was a large quantity of bone, some eggshell, and even fish scales (specialist report not yet compiled).; In the eastern half of the room, 12th century levels included a small pit (5926), several small leveling fills (5939, 5941, 5942, 5944, 5945, 5948, 5955, & 5958), and a threshold block (5865), which was removed. The floor surface with which this threshold could have been associated is context 5800, stretching from the doorway into the courtyard. ; The last 12th century context in this room was a leveling fill (5948) located in the northeast part of the room, the removal of which revealed an intact clay hearth (5975, 5976, cut 5977). The contents of this hearth were also water sieved, but nothing substantial was recovered. The only plausible floor surface, which could be associated with hearth 5975 would be context 5963. This floor was greatly truncated and did not come into contact with the hearth itself, but could conceivably agree stratigraphically.; The majority of the contexts encountered in this room dated to the late 10th –  11th centuries. This seems to indicate that this was a period of intense activity in this room. Many of these contexts were apparently leveling fills (5969, 5970, 5973, 5980, 5981, 6001, 6003, 6009, 6015, & 6026), the most remarkable of which was context 5981, a large assemblage of broken tiles, originally thought to have been evidence of a roof collapse, but later determined to be a substantial leveling fill, since the tile assemblage did not cover the entire floor surface and the tile fragments did not join; the small size of the tile fragments and the fact that none of them were intact led us to believe this did not represent a destruction event.; Two more partially intact floor surfaces (5989 & 6033) were recovered from this area. The first, 5989, covered the entire southern half of the room and consisted of compacted earth. The second, 6033, is believed to have been a construction floor (i.e. a compact floor surface created during a construction phase, on top of which an actual floor was laid), and covered the western half of the room. Numerous small finds, including many nails, were recovered from these two contexts. We also uncovered the western foundation trench (5993, 5994) for wall 5990. Wall 5990 was previously labeled W38, as a part of the plan from the 1960s.; Two robbing trenches were identified near the entrance of the room, in the southeast corner. One (5998, 6000) may represent the removal of a threshold block in the 11th century. The second robbing trench (6011, 6014) is likely evidence of the removal of part of the superstructure of a late-Roman wall running N-S, which is now labeled 6016. Within this robbing trench was stone feature (6020), which contained a fragment of marble sculpture (S2009-1).; More of wall 6016 was revealed when context 6026 & 6093 were removed. The entire course of this wall was left unexcavated, since it predates the chronological focus of this excavation. However, the E-W jog of this wall appears to be a continuation of wall 10111 in the room northwest of the courtyard. The relationship of these two walls will be discussed further in the section below re: Room Northwest of Courtyard.; We expected to find the foundation trench for wall 5562 at the northern limit of this room. With the excavation of context 6093, what appeared to be the foundation was exposed, which indicates that this wall was built without a foundation trench, but was constructed as a terrace. ; ; Early Byzantine-Late Roman:; After reaching 10th century levels in the room north of the courtyard, contemporary with the construction period of the house, and the stated goal of the excavation, the decision was made by Guy Sanders to see whether 8th or 9th century levels existed beneath the 10th century occupational level. This decision was made to try and recover useful pottery assemblages from this period, which is poorly represented at Corinth. After excavating two contexts (6090 & 6093) we determined that the 8th & 9th centuries were absent, and we had reached a late-Roman level. Thus, excavation ceased in this room.; ; COURTYARD OF BYZANTINE HOUSE (April 9-13):; ; We moved excavation into the courtyard, and we excavated some two dozen contexts in this area when it became clear that the exposed surface of the courtyard overlaid one of the deposits (6077) in the room to the north of the courtyard. ; Our excavation of this area shed some light on the construction history in the courtyard. The latest features we encountered were two walls. We removed a small N-S wall (5442), its foundation 6069, and their two foundation trenches (6056 in the east, and 6060 in the south). These walls and their foundation trenches appear to have been constructed during the 13th century. We also removed two leveling fills (6064 & 6067) west of wall 5442, which were likely deposited in the 11th or 12th century. We removed the superstructure of E-W wall 5443, which abutted 5442 and is likely contemporary. Both of these walls were slated for removal in the aforementioned permit. We encountered the foundation (6072) of wall 5443, but we did not remove it because it appeared to be much earlier. The foundation trench for wall 5443 was excavated in 2008 as context 5905 (cut 5907).; We also revealed more of the southern foundation trench (6038, cut 6039) for wall 5463. Part of this context was excavated last season as context 5903. Another significant feature we encountered in the courtyard was a pit (6044) truncated by well 5684, which contained another fill 6050, dated to the 11th century by stratigraphy.; We excavated two leveling fills (6074 & 6077) which may be related to a pebbly surface excavated last year as context 5909. Context 5909 was one of several superimposed pebble surfaces, including contexts 5900 & 5902. This season’s context 6086 appears to be an earlier example of this phenomenon in the courtyard. This pebbly surface was truncated by pit; 6084/6085 cut to contain a small partially intact amphora, originally thought to have been a pitcher. This vessel was carefully excavated and its contents removed for sampling.; When we removed context 6086, which was truncated by wall 6072, wall 5463, and well 5684, we sampled its contents for water-sieving, and the remainder was dry sieved.; ; ROOM NORTHWEST OF THE COURTYARD (April 14-16); ; After completion of excavation in the room north of the courtyard, we shifted our focus to the west to the room northwest of the courtyard. Here we excavated leveling fills, a wall foundation, and fill inside a tile-built pithos, all dating from the Frankish period.; The latest feature in this room was a cobbled wall foundation (6100), the superstructure of which was removed last year as context 5604. Beneath this context was a firmly packed soil surface. ; We performed a cleaning inside a pit excavated last year as context 5644 to determine whether last year’s excavation had reached the bottom of this context. Within pit 5644 was a small fill (6097) and a robbing pit (6103, cut 6106) associated with wall 10111. We continued excavating pit 5644 as context 6115 (cut 6116), and it became clear that this was the fill of a subterranean tile-built pithos with a depth of ca. 1.10 meters. None of the actual structure of the pithos was discovered, but the fill and the cut made its identification certain. A comparandum lies in the room north of this one (context 5504), excavated in 2008. Within the fill of 6115 were found a well-preserved late-Roman Ionic capital, a stone mortar, and a large assemblage of Frankish pottery. As for reconstructing the use life of this pithos, our excavations up to this point can only inform us that the pithos was out of use by the Frankish period. ; Removal of the pithos fill (6115) also gave us insight into the construction history of two walls (10111 & its N-S jog 6130), which predate the construction of the pithos. These two walls extend to at least the full depth of the pithos (El. 84.63. 84.48). A portion of 6130 was uncovered during the removal of 6099 & 6107, but was not identified as a wall until 6115 was excavated. We hypothesized that wall 10111 is a continuation of the E-W wall (yet unnumbered) uncovered in the room north of the courtyard.; Apart from the excavation of pit 6115, the majority of the contexts excavated in this room was several fills from the Frankish period (6107, 6108, 6110) and several fills from the Late Byzantine period (6125, 6128, 6129, 6133, 6134, 6135, & 6137) in the western portion of the room. We did not encounter any floor surfaces, nor were any documented in last year’s excavation. If any such surface did exist at a higher elevation, perhaps it was excavated in the 1960s.; The fill context 6129 which was the final context excavated this session contained substantial amount of whiteware kettles which appear to continue into the deposit below. The date for this deposit based on these kettles (1100 ± 10) provides the best chronological marker for the construction history of the levels excavated in this room which must be Late Byzantine or later. ; ; CONCLUSION; ; All three of the areas excavated by Team Green during the first session are components of the Byzantine house under investigation in the area north of Nezi Field. They represent three independent, but interconnected spaces which appear to have undergone substantial modification during their use. Several late walls removed from each room demonstrate degrees of subdivision of these spaces which occurred in post-Byzantine times. Contemporary levels have not been reached in all three rooms making it difficult to offer any overarching conclusions about the relationships between these spaces, but the fact that several contexts stretch between rooms (eg. 6077 between the courtyard and the north room) suggests that during periods of construction they were not always necessarily treated as isolated areas.; With respect to the room immediately north of the courtyard, there is likely no need for further excavation as the level associated with the construction of the house has been identified and the current revealed surfaces most likely represent Late Roman contexts. The next step for this room should be the consolidation of the features in this space and backfilling it to a level of Byzantine occupation in anticipation of presenting this site to the public. As for the courtyard, this session’s excavations have helped to provide some clarification of the construction history in the north part of this room. The southern half of the courtyard requires more investigation before any excavation can continue in the northern half and this should begin with the removal of walls 10112, 5508, and 5784 in order to better define the boundaries of the courtyard and enable the excavation of the numerous fills and surfaces which are currently visible. In the room immediately to the northwest of the courtyard Late Byzantine levels have been reached and excavation in the next session should continue with the removal of the fills in the north and south parts of this room to attempt to reveal floors and to bring the level of this room down to its original construction. An additional goal of the next session should be to continue excavating in the room immediately west of the courtyard which would provide a clear picture of the history of the entire northwest corner of the Byzantine house.","Nezi Field 2009 by William Bruce, Scott Gallimore (2009-03-30 to 2009-04-16)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by William Bruce, Scott Gallimore (2009-03-30 to 2009-04-16)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","First Session Summary","We, Stella Diakou and Cavan Concannon, from March 30 to April 16th, 2009, began excavation in the northwest area of Nezi Field. The corners of our excavation area are as follows: SW corner - E255.41 and N 996.48, NW corner - E255.40 and N1014.89, NE corner - E263.89 and N1013.85, and SE corner - E263.38 and N 1006.08.  We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders, Alicia Carter, James Herbst, and Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst. We excavated with Panos Stamatis (pick man), Stavros (barrel man), and Sotiris Raftopoulos (shovel man). ; ; In 2008 a large context was defined but only partially removed with context 411.  Our objective was to finish excavating this context (which we did with contexts 434, 436, 439, 440) and unite the stratigraphy of the northwest corner of the Nezi field.  We sought to continue investigation of Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine remains uncovered here, along with early modern activity that disturbed these earlier remains.  The overall goal of the Nezi field excavations has been to show the relationship of this entire area to the area immediately to the north which was excavated in the 1960s under the the direction of H. S. Robinson.; ; Early Modern (1831-1949 CE); ; Throughout our excavation area we excavated a number of agricultural deposits containing 18th and 19th century pottery, mixed with 13th and 14th c. material (contexts 434, 435, 439, 442, 443).  The mixed nature of these deposits, coupled with the fact that they cover most of the area of excavations, suggest that this area was plowed and used for  agricultural purposes during the early modern period.  Added evidence for this conclusion is the removal of an early modern wall in the 2008 excavations, which served to mark the boundary between agricultural fields in the area.; ; Earlier than these agricultural deposits, but still during the early modern period, we have a number of dumped fills to the W of B54 which seem to be the result of intentional human action. This is indicated by the fact that the pottery in these deposits date from the 12th to 14th centuries, yet they are laid on a 19th century deposit (458).  The mixed character of the deposits shows that they were probably dug out sometime in the 19th century and redeposited.; ; We excavated three deposits that we interpreted as dumped stones (447-449). They seem to have been intentionally laid down, perhaps from wall-robbing activity in the area.  There is evidence in the area for the robbing of several walls (366, 332, 306, B54) but we cannot associate these piles with any particular wall-robbing activity.  They may have also been placed here after other digging activity in the 19th century.; ; Another indication of human activity in the early modern period is an ash layer (454 and 455).  This deposit was found sitting on the 19th century deposit (458) that underlay most of the area W of B54.  It consisted of a layer of loose ash that was laid on a hard packed layer of limestone and ash.  This may have been related to cement-making activities in the area.  It has been suggested that ash and burnt limestone from a nearby kiln were thrown here and later contact with water hardened the lower layer (455).; ; The key to our dating of this area was a deposit (458) that was overlaid by several piles of stones and the deposits of 12th-14th century dumped fill.  We realized early on that context 458 was running under much of the area W of the robbing trench (B54) running N-S on the E end of our area (at approximately E264) and so we carefully removed the deposits that overlaid it.  Though we expected a Frankish or Late Byzantine date for context 458, pottery analysis determined that it contained 19th century materials, which forced us to change our understanding of this area.  The extent of the deposit and the number of deposits that were dumped on it suggest that this may have been a usable outdoor surface in the 19th century. ; ; In the course of our excavation of early modern deposits in the northeast part of our area (443, 458) we uncovered a floor which was constructed of hard packed red soil (not yet excavated), which had been partially revealed in 2008 with the removal of 411. This floor was cut at a later point by cut 272. Three stones forming a wall stub on the W side show a clear alignment with the red floor.  There appear to be remains of a pit (not yet excavated) that cuts the red floor and there is also an ashy deposit which may be a hearth where it meets the robbing trench (B54) at the E limit of our area. The floor has not been excavated yet; therefore, we cannot assign to it a definite date. The 19th c. deposits (443, 458) that overlaid the floor can give us a terminus ante quem for its construction. ; ; Frankish (1210-1458 CE); ; The most significant evidence for Frankish activity is the robbing activity (cut 451) at the intersection of walls 366 and 332. The excavation of that area and the dating of the pottery from the deposits that filled the robbing trench (450, 453) showed that walls 366 and 332 were robbed sometime in the 13th-14th centuries. This area was specifically chosen because of the availability of good corner blocks from the walls. The excavation revealed that the walls were not fully robbed down to their foundations; instead we were able to find the continuation of walls underneath the bottom level of the robbing trench. The date of the robbing trench gives us a terminus ante quem for the construction of walls 366 and 322. Further excavation in this area is necessary in order to determine the relationship of this robbing trench with the N-S robbing trench (B54) and the existence and extent of the foundation trenches of these walls. ; ; During the excavation of this Frankish robbing trench we uncovered a white ware jug which has been interpreted as a foundation deposit for wall 332.  The jug was revealed in the scarp of the robbing trench with the removal of context 453, but it is more likely that the jug is associated with the fill of the foundation trench on the W side of wall 332.  This foundation trench has not yet been excavated or revealed.  We expect that the cut for the foundation trench will be revealed with the removal of the reddish floor surface W of wall 332.; ; The deposits (456, 465) that covered structures 477 and 478 (a possible partition wall at the corner of the N-S robbing trench [B54] and wall 366) and floors 480 and 481 may be slightly earlier than the robbing trench (451).  Pottery from these contexts has so far yielded dates in the 12th and 13th centuries.; ; Another area of Frankish activity has been identified near the original intersection of walls 366 and 306 (now both robbed).  Wall 470 is overlaid by deposits that date consistently to the 12th and 13th centuries (469, 473-475), which makes the date for the wall’s construction some time before the end of the 12th century.  Wall 470 is only extant on the E side, where three roughly hewn stones show the outer face of the wall.  The width of the original wall to the W is not known, which makes it difficult to understand its relationship to walls 366 and 306.  ; ; Late Byzantine (1059-1210); ; The earliest activity in our excavation area is dated in the Late Byzantine period. We have fragmentary architectural remains and deposits dating to this period, including drain 426, a pebbled floor just S of cut 272 (roughly E258-260), structures 477 and 478 and their associated floor (480 and 481). The possible connection of this latter floor with the red floor that was uncovered south of the robbing trench (roughly E263/N1006) might lower the construction date for walls 366 and 332.; ; In the course of the 2008 excavation drain 426 was uncovered in approximately the center of the northwest area of the Nezi field. The excavation of contexts 460, 461 and 462 revealed the continuation of the drain toward the north and it showed that the drain postdated the pebble and cement floor just S of cut 272 (roughly E258-60). The excavation of part of the fill of the drain (462) gave us a date in the 10th-11th centuries. If the dating of the drain fill remains consistent in future excavation this will give us a terminus ante quem for the construction of the drain and the pebble and cement floor. Alternatively, the excavation and dating of the floors can give us a terminus post quem for the construction of the drain, since the drain’s construction cut the floors. Our excavation in the area of the drain showed that later on the drain fell into disuse and was partially destroyed and overlaid with 18th c. deposits (463 and 464).; ; Conclusion; ; Our excavations in the Nezi Field revealed a variety of deposits dating from the Early Modern to the Late Byzantine period.  The architectural remains that we uncovered showed evidence of later destruction and robbing.  We uncovered a truncated structure surviving as a patch of pebble and cement flooring with an associated drain in the Late Byzantine period.  We revealed evidence for wall robbing in the Frankish period.  Further, the excavation of a variety of deposits indicates that this area was used as a dumping yard and then as an agricultural area in the Early Modern period.;  ; Finally, with the removal of context 474 at the NE corner of wall 470, our excavation inadvertently stumbled upon a well that we think may be of Byzantine date.  Having removed some large stones from the area (474) we disturbed the soil below enough that our pickman’s foot broke through the surface, discovering the well.  Filled after it went out of use the water moving through the drainage system below probably brought the level of the fill lower over time, leaving a ceiling at the mouth of the well.  The well head is still well below the current excavation surface and so it will need to be excavated later.","Nezi Field 2009 by Stella Diakou and Cavan Concannon (2009-03-30 to 2009-04-16)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Stella Diakou and Cavan Concannon (2009-03-30 to 2009-04-16)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Rooms S of South Courtyard","EXCAVATION SUMMARY; We, Ben Sullivan and Dan Leon, began excavation north of Nezi Field in the area previously excavated in the 1960s under the direction of H.S. Robinson, in the area immediately to the south of the Byzantine Courtyard House on 30 March and finished 16 April. Our objective was to bring two of these rooms (the room bounded by walls [5552] [N], 5553 [E], 5403 [S] and 5483 [W] and the room bounded by walls 5553, 5341, 10085/10078 and 10070/10077) down to Middle and Late Byzantine levels, to clarify the chronology and phasing of the walls in the area and in addition to excavate the baulks left as martyrs by the 1960s excavations on the N and S of foundation 5552 and to the E of wall 5553 in order to establish a stratigraphic relationship between the two rooms and the area N of them.  Working on the assumption that walls 5553 and 5552 cut an earlier, larger Byzantine room bounded by walls 5403, 5483, 5631, and an as yet undetermined wall to the E, our initial objective in this area was to remove walls 5553 and 5552 in order to begin the process of revealing this earlier room.  ; See the summary of Anne Feltovich, Catherine Person, and Emily Rush from the 2008 excavation season for the chronology of the earlier room.; We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders (director of excavation) and Alicia Carter (field supervisor). Our pickman was Panos Kakouros, our wheelbarrow and sieve operators were Takis Papaioannou, Vangelis ?, Kleomenis Didaskalou, and Tasos Kakouros.; The following summary documents the findings of the first Session of the 2009 excavation season in the two rooms which we excavated. We first treat each room individually, then based on these conclusions relate the two rooms to each other and finally relate them to the excavations in the area N of Nezi as a whole. In what follows we refer to the Room Bounded by Walls 5552, 5553, 5403 and 5483 as “the Western Room” and the Room Bounded by Walls 5553, 5341, 10085/10078 and 10070/10077 as “the Eastern Room.”  Please note that Joanna Potenza and Ryan Boehm, who excavated a closely related area, refer to “the Eastern Room” as “the Western Room.”; THE WESTERN ROOM; The latest structure in this area is superstructure 5922, dated by pottery to the Post-Medieval period, though with no precise date.  This superstructure is not associated with any remaining floors, but is built upon wall foundation 5552, which dates to the Frankish period (2nd half of 13th century or later) and is contemporary with wall 5553, the wall with a threshold leading into the Eastern Room.  The Frankish walls cut a series of middle and late Byzantine floors showing a pattern of similar construction methods, namely the use of leveling fill composed of assorted rubbish (broken tiles, ceramics, animal bones, etc.) followed by the imposition of a packed earth surface. This pattern thus seems to indicate that the inhabitants continued following a similar process in the construction of their floors in this area through the middle and late Byzantine periods.   Beneath one of these floors (6035/6088), we discovered a small section of a cross wall on an E-W orientation, cutting the room into an even smaller space than the later foundation 5552.  This cross wall (6025) is dated stratigraphically to the late 11th or early 12th century (or later), and was incorporated into the construction of floor 6035/6088.  An even earlier floor (6123/6124/6127) was cut by the construction of a N-S rubble wall, abutting the south wall of the room (5403).  The purpose of this wall and its usefulness for the contemporary inhabitants is not entirely clear, since no associated floors or contemporary structures have been found.    The same floor (6123/6124/6127) was built upon a surprisingly ashy layer of dumped fill.  The ash seems to be concentrated in an area against the (as yet unnamed) eastern wall of the room and spread out across the leveling fill for the floor, so we suspect that some ashy rubbish was dumped in that area during the leveling phase of construction and raked away to help provide the contemporary inhabitants with an even surface for the construction of their floor.  We have not reached the original floor level in this area.; THE EASTERN ROOM; The northern boundary of this room was formed by threshold 5919 and associated walls 10076/10077.  These contexts (excavated by Joanna Potenza and Ryan Boehm) date to the Frankish period (late 13th century).  The post-and-lintel doorway granting access to the Eastern Room may be contemporary with foundation wall 5552 and its associated superstructure (5922) forming the northern boundary of the Western Room, and as with the Western Room, no contemporary floors or other associated structures survived to the south of its northern boundary.  However, Potenza and Boehm documented a contemporary floor (5920) in the room to the north of the Eastern Room.  Beneath the Frankish threshold and walls was a series of late Byzantine floors cut by the deep foundations of the piers flanking the Frankish threshold. These floors showed a similar construction technique to the ones built in the Western Room, and revealed a pattern of similar construction methods, namely the use of leveling fill composed of assorted rubbish (broken tiles, ceramics, animal bones, etc.) followed by the imposition of a packed earth surface. In terms of human action over time, this pattern thus seems to indicate that the inhabitants followed a similar process in the construction of their floors in this area through the middle and late Byzantine periods. Two robbing trenches dated to the early 12th cut different areas of this room.  Robbing trench 6048 cuts the floors at the northern end of the room, while robbing trench 6012 cuts a lens of soil against the western end of the room.  At the bottom of robbing trench 6012 was a small wall (6027) running N-S and dividing the earlier room.  Though these robbing trenches seem to be contemporary, we were not able to make a stratigraphic connection between the two lenses cut by them. ; CONCLUSIONS; Our two rooms appear to be part of the same structure, built in the middle Byzantine period and in use continuously (or repeatedly) throughout later periods up to the Frankish period, as attested by the wide array of cross walls subdividing the earlier room.  The middle Byzantine building may have been founded upon a Late Antique structure of more or less the same orientation (as evidenced by wall 6120 revealed under foundation 5552).  Walls 5552 and 5553 can now be confidently dated to the Frankish period, mid 13th century or later.  However, the superstructure of foundation 5552 has a pottery date of Post-Medieval NPD (the latest attested usage phase for this structure), which would suggest that the foundation itself and the contemporary wall 5553 are also Post-Medieval, though it is nevertheless possible that the superstructure either was built later or replaced an earlier superstructure.","Nezi Field 2009 by Dan Leon, Ben Sullivan (2009-04-23 to 2009-04-24)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Dan Leon, Ben Sullivan (2009-04-23 to 2009-04-24)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Nezi Session 2, 2009","North of Nezi (Green) Report 2009 Session II: Scott Gallimore & Will Bruce; ; The following summarizes results of excavation during the second session of 2009 at Corinth in three areas north of Nezi Field in the area previously excavated in the 1960s under the direction of H.S. Robinson: the courtyard of the Byzantine house, the room immediately northwest of the courtyard, and the room immediately west of the courtyard. ; ; The excavations in all three areas were supervised by Guy Sanders (director) and Alicia Carter (field director). Our pickman was Athanasios Magourakis; our shovel-man was Panos Stamatis; our wheelbarrow-man was Sotiris Raftopoulos. For two days (April 29-30) Tasos Kakouros took over as our pickman, while Athanasios Magourakis was away. We began by resuming excavation in the room northwest of the courtyard, where we left off at the end of session one. This room is located between E260.90-E264.60; N1034.85-N1038.75. We excavated this room during the first session of 2009 (April 14-16), and it was previously excavated during the second and third sessions of 2008 by Sarah Lima, and in 1961 by Charles Williams (notebook 253). We then moved to the room immediately west of the courtyard, which is located between E261.10-E264.60; N1030.80-1034.90. This room was previously excavated during the second and third sessions of 2008 by Sarah Lima, and in 1961 by Charles Williams (notebook 253). Overlapping stratigraphy compelled us to move excavation into the southern area of the courtyard, which comprised E264.40-E270.50; N1027.90-N1033.40. This area was excavated in all three sessions in 2008, the first session by Josh Geiske and Laurie Kilker, in the second session by Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade, and in the third session by Jody Cundy and Megan Thomsen. This area was identified in 1961 as Room XII and was excavated by Steven Lattimore (notebook 230, 231), and by William Berg (notebook 229). The goal of this year’s excavation is to expose the walls and features of the Byzantine house for future consolidation and presentation. Our report will be organized chronologically by room.; ; ROOM NORTHWEST OF COURTYARD (April 27); Late Byzantine:; An important deposit containing a very unusual number of white-ware kettles was revealed resting on a earth floor in the room NW or the courtyard much like deposit 6129, which overlay it (excavated during Session I). The white-ware kettle deposit was concentrated between E263-264.50; N1037.5-1038.70 and comprised 75-76% of the pottery recovered from this deposit by weight. We determined, based on handles, that there must be a minimum count of 33 vessels. Almost none of these kettles showed any signs of use or burning. We tentatively hypothesized that this deposit represented a newly received shipment (in a box or cabinet?) temporarily stored in this location. The date for deposit 6145, based on the white-ware kettles, can be very accurately estimated at 1100 ±10, which serves as one of our best dating criteria in this area. ; ; The removal of this deposit brought us to the level upon which the white-ware kettles likely stood; however, we decided against excavating this context, as it would have required us to partially dismantle well 5876, a later feature which had been pedestalled. Levels contemporary with the white-ware deposit were also encountered in the southern area of the room. The level of the southern area of the room, based on the pottery recovered from cleaning 6150, made us confident that it was late 11th - early 12th century, and thus roughly contemporary with the northern half. In the south area, several fills of late-Byzantine date (6151, 6153, 6154) had been deposited for an upper floor level, likely excavated in the 1960s since no floor is noted in this area from the 2008 excavations. These fills covered a small semicircular cut (6156), the fill of which (6155) was serving to backfill a tile-built storage pithos. The pithos was truncated by wall 5725. Wall 5725  has not yet been approved for removal by  the Byzantine Ephoria, but an application should be made in the future, since this structure post-dates the contexts to its north. ; ; ROOM WEST OF COURTYARD (April 27-May 4); Frankish:; We moved into this room in hopes of clarifying the construction date of wall 5725 and determine its relationship to the contexts in the room immediately to the north. ; ;  A series of floors and sub-floor leveling fills were excavated in this space. The fills (6159 + cut 6161, 6162) appear to represent levelings for an unidentified floor, perhaps excavated in the 1960s, since no upper floor surface was noted during the 2008 excavations. Revealed by removal of these fills were two isolated patches of floor, one (6163) in the northeast corner, and the other (6165) in the northwest corner. These two patches perhaps represent the same floor surface, but were kept separate in the Harris matrix, since their elevations do not correspond. Associated with this floor were twelve leveling fills: (6167, 6174, 6176, 6179=6182=6185, 6189, 6192, 6203, 6178, 6207, 6214, 6218, & 6236). These floors and fills were laid up against wall 5725 because they overlay its unexcavated foundation trench. Context 6165 was cut by the foundation trench (5720) for wall 5762 in the west. Thus, this floor surface, if the same, postdates wall 5725, but predates wall 5762.The fills raised the level of the room approximately 30 cm., suggesting that, during the Frankish period, it was customary to construct a thick substructure before laying a floor. ; ; The removal of one of these fills (6203) revealed two distinct courses of wall 6228 (previously labeled 50kj in the 1960s records). The top courses (structure 6206) were much more crudely built and had no associated foundation trench. A mid-late 12th century sherd embedded in the soil matrix of upper courses made it clear that it was a later construction and thus we removed it on April 30th. During the 12th century the inhabitants may have added to the height of the wall on account of the rising floor level created by the addition of fills and floors.;  ; The floor level revealed by the removal of all of the aforementioned twelve fills was context 6237. We were able to excavate one fill below this floor (6239), but we ran into difficulty because robbing trench (6350) located immediately east of this room truncated the surface beneath fill 6239 (as yet unexcavated), and thus we had to shift our focus to the southern half of the courtyard. ; ; In a pit in this room, located in the southern part and truncated by the northeast corner of the Ottoman house, we discovered a small extension of the cut and unexcavated fill, which we excavated as context 6214 (cut 6215). This pit was excavated in the 1960s, but we have not yet identified which of the 1960s notebooks refers to it.; ; Magourakis believed he could discern the cut and fill of the the foundation trench of wall 5725 in the east scarp of Bothros 9 (NB 235, p.19), which disturbed most of it. Bothros 9 appears to be of Frankish date, based on Guy Sanders’ examination of the lot pottery (Lot 837). This foundation trench cut should be revealed approximately 0.10 m. below the current surface, so at an elevation around 84.45. ; ; COURTYARD (SOUTHERN PORTION) (May 4-May 15); Frankish:; We began by removing wall 5508, which dates between the late 13th and early 14th centuries and was pedestalled in 2008 as permission to remove it had not yet been received, making it by far the latest feature in this immediate area. The construction of this wall limited access between the courtyard and the space in front of the rooms immediately to the south. The only point of access after the construction of wall 5508 was in the southwest corner of the courtyard. Directly beneath wall 5508 was a tile fill (6243), which we related to the uppermost context in this part of the courtyard excavated in 2008 (5300). These equivalent contexts were likely leveling fills for a courtyard surface which had been excavated in the 1960s. We encountered another fill (6244) directly below the wall, for which we were not able to find an equivalent context from the 2008 excavation. Below these fills were the remains of two separate surfaces composed primarily of tile fragments. The first of these (6246) can be equated to the 2008 context 5324 in the courtyard and 5630 in the area south of wall 5508. The second (6250) was found directly below 6246 and likely equates to 2008 context 5685. A pattern emerged with respect to these numerous fills and surfaces whereby only shallow fills were laid down in between the numerous surfaces constructed in this part of the house. This is demonstrated by the next surfaces encountered, 6253 and 6259=6260=6262, for which the subsurface leveling fills (6265, 6266, 6268) only seemed to raise the surface level by approximately 6 cm. Another contemporary fill, 6280 which consisted primarily of cobbles and boulders corresponding directly to a 2008 context, 5674 was laid on surface 6289. ; ; The removal of the above fills and surfaces succeeded in also identifying the lowest levels of structure 10112 which was abutted on its eastern end by wall 5508. Structure 10112 was a Frankish addition and had the appearance of a large platform and may have served as a bench. Directly beneath structure 10112 was a fill (6281) which may have served to level the existing surface to accommodate the construction of this feature. Removal of fill 6281 revealed a cut (6283) along the southern and western boundaries of where 10112 had laid which had two overlying fills (6282 and 6287) and overall this could have represented some type of drainage feature. 6283 cut into two superimposed pebble courtyard surfaces (6355 and 6356).; ; Structure 10112 also overlay several more surfaces and fills to the south (surfaces 6271, 6293, 6289, 6290, 6295; fills 6304, 6316, 6294, 6298). These surfaces lay upon a series of foundation trenches. The first (6314, cut 6135) was the foundation trench on the northern side of wall 5285. Initially, this caused some confusion, since we believed this wall to be Byzantine. However, with the later excavation of pit 6409, abutting the north side of wall 5285, we found another foundation trench at a lower elevation from the wall’s construction, whereas 6314 proved to be evidence of a later addition. Next we excavated foundation 6322 (cut 6323), which was truncated in the south by foundation trench 6314. 6322 was the western foundation trench for wall 6313. Most of the wall appears to have been robbed out at a later period (robbing trench 5510). However, the discovery of foundation trench 6391 (cut 6392) on the south flank of the standing remains of wall 6313 proved that this wall is an older structure, and that foundation trench 6322, which was originally thought to be for this wall and the robbed portion, was in fact for an extension of the wall to the south. The robbing trench (5510) thus represents the removal of the later extension. ; ; Foundation trench 6322 truncated a small foundation trench (6331, cut 6332) for one of two piers placed at the southwest corner of the courtyard. The pier structure is context 6319. North of this pier is a second pier block (6337) with a contemporary foundation trench (6335, cut 6336). These piers appear to have been made for an entrance into the courtyard, a hypothesis confirmed by the fact that a threshold (6347) was uncovered beneath tile fill 6346, which was associated with an earlier wall and entrance. These features were initially believed to be connected with wall 6375, but this relationship is doubtful because the piers run NW-SE, whereas wall 6375 is exactly N-S.; ; Cut by the foundation trenches of the two piers was a surface (6339) and its leveling fill (6342). A small round posthole (6340, cut 6341) below 6342 was cut into surface 6344 directly north of pier 6319, which may represent the earliest Frankish attempt at a door partition into the courtyard from the southwest. These deposits may represent our earliest Frankish phases, but our pottery does not allow us to firmly determine whether they are early Frankish or Late Byzantine.; ; Late Byzantine:; The surface (6344) cut by the round posthole and a tile fill directly beneath it (6346) may be the latest Byzantine features in this area. They were laid upon the aforementioned threshold (6347), which indicates that the southwest entrance from the Frankish period had a predecessor in the Late Byzantine period. ; ; Also beneath fill 6346, was a series of fill contained within cut 6362: (6349, 6354, 6366, 6367, 6389, 6390). Several of these fills first appeared to be part of robbing trench 6350 for NS wall 6375.  Wall 6375 was revealed by the removal of these fills and, at one point, defined the boundary between the courtyard and the room immediately to the west. The north and south ends of wall 6375 were marked by thresholds 6347 in the south, and 6320 in the north, which was revealed in 2008 by the removal of context 5855. However, it was determined that cut 6362 truncated cut 6350 and that the associated fills were in fact part of the later cut (i.e. 6362). Cut 6362 also truncated two other features in this area. The first was a large bothros located in the western half of the courtyard, south of wall 6072 (fills 6372 & 6376, cut 6377). We have not yet ascertained the function of the bothros, but it seems likely that it is contemporary with the construction of wall 6375. The second, defined by cut 6385, was the foundation trench (6384) for wall 6072 in the western part of the courtyard. This foundation trench can be dated to the first half of the 12th century by stratigraphic relationships. On the north side of wall 6072 there was also a foundation trench identified in 2008 (5905, cut 5907), but it was determined that this was the foundation trench for the upper courses of this wall labeled structure 5443, and dated to the 13th century by stratigraphic relationships. ; ; Investigations of stratigraphic relationships of the contexts in the area directly south of wall 6072 also led us excavate a deep pier foundation, context 6359 (similar to those in rooms to the east and southeast), Excavation of components of this pier had occurred in session one as foundation deposit 6069 for wall 5442. At the bottom of this feature was a cobble fill, which was first believed to be a continuation of one of the fills within cut 6362, but the cobbles were confined to the area of the cut (6061=6055) first defined for foundation 6069. This second foundation (6359) was very deep and terminated at the bottom at what appears to be a Roman wall. Thus, we determined that this feature was a pier foundation, and that the area west of this was roofed at this time, and not part of the open-air courtyard. This hypothesis is supported by 6359’s alignment with wall 6318 to the south, which possibly is another small pier foundation. Its foundation trench (6328, cut 6329) was very deep and could not be fully excavated. It was cut by fill 6399 which was below the fills contained within cut 6362. The stratigraphy, however, suggests that 6359 is later than 6318 and would have been constructed at a time when the occupants of the house wanted to roof part of the courtyard.; ; Abutting wall 6313 and revealed by the fills contained with cut 6362 was another series of fills (6399, 6401, 6395) covering the area south of wall 5508. These fills were relatively deep (ca. 15-25 cm.) and appear to either represent episodes of dumping or leveling fills for surfaces at a higher elevation. Beneath these fills was a large semicircular bothros (6409, cut 6410) abutting the north side of wall 5285. A possible parallel for this bothros can be found on the north side of the courtyard abutting wall 5741, and is a semicircular bothros designated as context 5704 (cut 5702). It was also determined that bothros 6409 truncated a smaller bothros (6418, cut 6419) in almost exactly the same location. This smaller bothros truncated the foundation trench for wall 5285, which demonstrates that the wall was in place at the time these bothroi were dug, and that they likely do not extend into the room in the south, as was originally hypothesized.  ; ; Bothros 6409 also cut into a large reddish fill (6276=6423) which covered much of the area south of wall 5508. Two foundation trenches, however, cut this reddish fill. The first (6275, cut 6272) was located along the southern face of staircase 6296, which itself abuts the southern face of wall 5783. This staircase lay directly upon fill 6276=6423 and thus dates to the late 11th or early 12th century. This feature was pedestalled in order to be able to continue excavation, and will likely not be removed in the future, since it would have to be rebuilt when the house was consolidated for presentation to the public. The second (6301, cut 6302) is the western foundation trench for wall 5783, which appears to be contemporary with the northern foundation (5795, cut 5796) trench for this wall excavated in 2008. Beneath fill 6276=6423 was another fill context, 6429, which was cut into a pebble surface. ; ; CONCLUSION:; All three of the areas excavated by Team Green during the second session are components of the Byzantine house under investigation in the area north of Nezi Field. They represent three independent, but interconnected spaces which appear to have undergone substantial modification during their use. Our excavations this session have clarified many aspects of the construction history in this area of the house. It appears now that the rooms immediately northwest and west of the courtyard were divided during the Byzantine period by wall 5725, and may have originally been one large space. The relationship between the courtyard and the room immediately to the west has also been clarified by the excavation of robbing trench 6350 for wall 6375. When wall 6375 was removed during the Late Byzantine Period (early-mid 12th century) this opened the courtyard to the west and made obsolete threshold 6320. The removal of this wall seems contemporary with the pier foundations 6359 and 6318, which represent a roofing of part of the courtyard, thus diminishing the open-air area of the courtyard. Access to the courtyard was reduced during the late 13th or early 14th century with the construction of wall 5508, which left only an entrance at the southwest as a point of access. ; ; We made substantial progress in linking the southern part of the courtyard with the rest of the courtyard space to the north with the removal of wall 5508. Further excavation will be needed to bring these two areas down to contemporary levels. Excavation will also be needed in the rooms immediately to the west and northwest in order to make contemporary these three areas of the house, in particular the west room, which is still at Frankish levels. It is also important to clarify the relationship of wall 5725 to the construction history of these two rooms and determine whether it should be removed.","Nezi Field 2009 by William Bruce, Scott Gallimore (2009-04-27 to 2009-05-15)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by William Bruce, Scott Gallimore (2009-04-27 to 2009-05-15)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","End of 2nd session, 2009","Dreya Mihaloew, Katie Rask, Marty Wells; ASCSA Corinth Excavations    ; North of Nezi; Session 2: April 27 – May 22, 2009; ; Session 2 excavations were carried out from April 27th to May 15th in the area north of the Nezi Field. The authors focused on the room between walls W55 on the north (N 1034.30), 6267 on the south (N 1026.97), 10086 on the east (E 282.15) and W54 on the west (E 273.95). Excavations in this part of the Byzantine house were previously carried out by William Berg in 1961(NB 229) under the directorship of Henry S. Robinson. In the first session of 2009, the excavations of Joanna Potenza and Ryan Boehm included this area. The 1961 trenches left the northern third of the room uneven and eroded. The central and southern portion of the room had been exposed by Potenza and Boehm down to Frankish and Late Byzantine levels.; Our objective was to continue the efforts of Potenza and Boehm in uncovering the 11th century levels for the purpose of public display. The director was Guy Sanders, the field director Alicia Carter, the pickman Thanasis Notis, the shovelman Tasos Kakouros and the barrowman Vasilis Kollias. The dry sieve was operated primarily by Sula Anastasopoulou, Kollias, Rask, Mihaloew, and Wells.; ; Frankish (1210-1458 C.E.); Excavation suggests that the late-13th century saw a major reorganizing of the space in our area. One of the deposits that points to this activity is the fill inside Well 6288, which had originally been examined on May 13, 1961 (NB 229, p. 109) and designated Well OA-107  (coordinate designation) at that time. Berg excavated it for less than a meter and recorded no finds. He postulated that it belonged to the Turkish period and did not excavate deeper because of its narrowness. Our own investigation began by removing 0.45 m of backfill and debris before excavation. Initially we attempted to determine context changes based on differences in soil composition and inclusions; however, after approximately 2.0 meters of excavation, the Director advised that we should change contexts approximately every 0.30 m. This was our primary method of excavation, but we also changed contexts when stratigraphically necessary.  All the material from the well was dry sieved with 7mm screens (although 3mm screens were used with context 6420 and thereafter); water flotation samples (15 L) were also collected from every context. Twenty contexts were removed in total, but the bottom of the well was not reached nor was the structure (6288) itself excavated.; The material removed from the well indicates three discernible dumping actions dating to the Frankish period, between 1270-1290 C.E. However, the character of these deposits suggests that the well was filled quite quickly, perhaps over a few days. The latest dumping layer (6286, 6291, 6297, 6360, 6361, 6365, 6368) fills the top 2.75 meters of the well. The contexts comprising the layer included a large amount of pottery, bone material, and various smaller finds such as iron nails, glass, and bronze objects. The proceeding (and underlying) dumping action revealed a dramatic decrease in the number of inclusions, with a very small amount of pottery and bone, and a significant increase in the ash and charcoal content of the soil (6369, 6371, 6374, 6378, 6383, 6386). Below and proceeding the ash deposit was another dumping action (6394, 6400, 6405, 6412, 6416, 6420, 6430); this deposit was characterized by soil with a high clay content and very little ash, extremely large amounts of pottery (with a high proportion of fine ware) and a very large amount of animal bone. In addition, we recovered small finds such as iron nails, a bone needle, spindle hooks and whorls, and glass. A total of 11 coins were found in this third deposit during this session.; Personal communication with Thanos Webb, the excavation’s zooarchaeologist, emphasized the distinct nature of the bone material that had been removed from the well. The preservation was very good, with little weathering and the presence of smaller and more fragile elements. There was an abundance of different anatomical elements, representing parts from the entire skeleton (e.g., the third phalanx, otherwise rare in the 2009 season). The surface modification of the bones was also distinctive, with the butchery marks on multiple elements being far more extensive than that on bones from areas outside the well. Finally, the species representation from the well was also conspicuous, ranging from common domesticates to large birds and fish, and with an age distribution ranging from fetal to mature.  Additionally, large amounts of microfaunal remains and fish scales were collected from the dry sieve.  These have yet to be analyzed.; The pottery found in the well dates to a twenty-year span (1270-1290), but the three dumping actions apparent amongst the contexts do not appear to be chronologically separate, despite their stratigraphic relationships. In addition, the presence of complete vessels suggests primary deposition, but the occurrence of incomplete and fragmentary body sherds also indicates the secondary deposition of pottery. This interpretation is probably supported by the bone material. The excellent preservation of delicate and small bones (e.g., of fish, cats, birds), as well of the articulation of some bones, can be indicative of primary deposition; on the other hand, a large amount of weathered and fragmentary bones suggests the secondary deposition of animal remains. The excavation of the well, including the structure, will continue in the third session. At this point there is not enough evidence to reconstruct the exact formation process of the well fills.; The second element of late-13th century reorganization involves the construction of architectural features. Potenza and Boehm removed the cobble foundations of two late 13th century piers framing a threshold on the southern side of the room (east: pier 5967, west: pier 5957). At the time these piers were constructed, two other piers (6148 and 6279), similar in size and plan, were situated approx. 3 m to the north and on axis with the southern pair. Both northern piers appear to have been constructed in the mid-12th century. The eastern pier (10088) and its foundation were in situ at the beginning of this session but have been excavated and removed. The western pier (6279) was robbed out in the second-half of the 13th century. This is apparent from two Frankish-era contexts, a pit (cut 6241, fill 6240) dating to the second half of the 13th century and the robbing trench of the pier (6254) which the pit disturbed, dating to the third-quarter of the 13th century. The removal of the pier foundation was possibly related to the construction of wall 10094, also dated, together with wall 10080, to the late 13th century. If our interpretation is correct, the space of the room was significantly altered in the late 13th century; according to the work of Potenza and Boehm, two N-S walls (10094, 10080) were added that split the original room, a drain (5938) was laid in the 3rd quarter of the century, several leveling fills were deposited, and new walls lined the southern extent of the room. Our excavation dated the removal of the north-western pier to the latter part of the 13th century as well. The filling and closing of the well in the years between 1270 and 1290 could have also been part of the change in use of the room.; ; Byzantine (10th through 12th centuries); As mentioned, the second half of the 12th century saw the construction of the north-eastern (10088/6148) and north-western piers (6279, which may have supported an arch or an upper level. Potenza and Boehm likewise removed leveling fills which they dated to the mid-12th century. Our excavations recovered evidence for the earlier part of the century as well, represented by five fill deposits (6186, 6184, 6180, 6191, 6330) located in the south-eastern part of the room and laid within a long E-W cut (6199); in particular, several lenses of fill contained varied pottery of multiple periods and included large dumps of roof tiles (e.g., 6191: 21.4kg, 6186: 24.9kg). The mixed nature of the pottery deposit suggests that it was removed from another context before deposition in the room. There are at least two phases of 12th century activity: the  fills date to the early part of the century while the construction of the northern piers dates to the latter half. ; The earlier Byzantine levels of the room also suggest a period of extensive activity in 10th/11th centuries. A pebble surface is visible in the north-east portion of the room, south of the 1961 excavation trench and cut by the north-eastern pier foundation (6148). This surface was identified by Potenza and Boehm and left unexcavated. We removed four small deposits that remained on the top of the surface (6205, 6209, 6221, 6223), all dated to the 10th/11th century. The surface is yet to be excavated, and earlier surface phases are evident in the scarp created by the excavation of pier foundation 6148 to the east and the removal of fills inside cut 6224 to the south.; We have hypothesized that the central and southern parts of the room was disturbed by one large pit filled by successive layers of deposits. The 12th century fills discussed above cut into earlier deposits. We investigated a large circular pit (6224) with three fills (6225, 6229, 6334) dating to the 10th/11th centuries. These fills had previously been disturbed by other 10th/11th century activity, in particular the cutting of three probable post holes (6193/6194, 6195/6196, 6197/6198). These 3 post holes likely coordinate with a post hole (6217) to the north at the southern end of wall 10095 – the fill in two of the post holes date to the 10th/11th centuries (6196, 6217), while the other two are roughly dated to the Byzantine (6194) and Medieval (6198) period with no precise date. The post holes may have been meant to hold a light roof of some sort or some other wooden structure; their small size indicates that they could not have been supports for anything of considerable weight. We were unable to determine any relationship between the post holes and other floors and walls.; Our investigation of the stratigraphy in the southern portion of the room concluded with the removal of another lens of fill (6338)  inside a suspected cut with the expectation that the nature and purpose of the cut would become more clear. This deposit was dated to c.1280 on the presence of one body sherd of Protomaiolica. This date is problematic as this material is cut by the pit 6224 and the 10th/11th fill inside (6234). We speculate that there was some contamination of this deposit as the fill was overdug at the western end.  More excavation is necessary in this part of the room to confirm that the 13th century date is a mistake. ; There is another option for this situation. It may be the case that the 13th century date for 6338 is true and that the fill deposits above it, though they contain 10th-12th century pottery, are actually depositional acts of the later 13th century with misleadingly low pottery dates.  This situation will be investigated in the 3rd session.; ; Future work in this area should include:; 1)    the complete excavation of the well and the removal of its structure in keeping with the policy of open area excavation; 2)    the removal of any remaining intrusive deposits in the southern part of the room so as to establish the nature of the large suspected cut ; 3)    investigation of the floor surfaces to the north-east in order to better understand the 10th/11th century activity; 4)    the four structures that were given numbers at the end of Session 2 (6421, 6422, 6424, 6426) should be further analyzed or excavated; establishing their relationship to other walls in the room will facilitate a better understanding of the room’s architectural and use phases.","Nezi Field 2009 by Martin Wells, Katie Rask, Dreya Mihaloew (2009-05-18 to 2009-05-19)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Martin Wells, Katie Rask, Dreya Mihaloew (2009-05-18 to 2009-05-19)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Nezi Session II 2009","Introduction ; ; We, Stella Diakou and Jody Cundy, from April 27 to May 15, continued excavation in the west area of the Nezi field. The corners of our excavation area are as follows: NW corner: 1015N, 255.5E, NE corner: 1014N, 264E, SE corner: 999N, 266E, SW corner: 999N, 2555.5E. We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders, Alicia Carter, James Herbst and Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst. We excavated with Kostas Arberores as pickman, Stavros * as barrowman and Vaggelis Kollias as shovelman. ; ; Most of the agricultural layers below the plough zone were removed during excavation in session I. Our goal in session II was to remove any remains of early modern activity and bring the area down to the occupation layers of the house (wall 305, 306, 365, 366, 332, 313, and 334). The overall goal of the Nezi field excavations is to show the relationship of this area to the excavated area to the North (North of Nezi). ; ; Early Modern (1831-1945 CE); ; During session II we excavated only one early modern deposit. We excavated a refuse pit (cut 486), located south of the Giambouranis’ house, which contained early modern mixed with redeposited earlier material. The pit was truncated at a later point by the construction of a 19th century boundary wall (cut 272). It is possible, based on the proximity of the pit-cut 486 with the Giambouranis’ house, together with the general activity of the Giambouranis’ that the pit was actually opened by them. The excavation of the pit fits well with the excavation of the early modern deposits during session I.; ; Frankish (1210-1458 CE); ; In the northwest corner of our excavation area we exposed a collapsed circular built well (structure 495). The fill of the well below the lowest preserved course of roughly hewn limestone blocks has not been excavated. The upper most fill (492) of the cut for the construction of the well (cut 493) produced 14th c. material whereas the second lens (494) contained tumbled blocks from the built well along with 13th c. material indicating a collapse of the upper courses of the well and a possible date for its destruction in the 13th century. ; ; In the southwest corner of the excavation area, west of wall 306, a destruction lens of collapsed rooftiles was exposed in session I. This destruction layer was disturbed with the opening of a pit (cut 501). It is possible that this pit represents an effort to sink a well that was abandoned when they hit bedrock. The excavation of the pit fill (499, 500) produced late 13th c. material. This gives us a putative terminus ante quem for the destruction of the room west of wall 306 and north of wall 376. From the pit fill (500) we uncovered a bronze earring with copper wire decoration (MF 2009-09). ; ; Also postdating the use phase of the house is the robbing out of the northwestern corner of the house formed by the intersection of walls 306 and 366 (robbing trench cut 497). The homogenous nature of the fill of the L-shaped cut indicates that both walls were robbed out in the same event. The robbing trench fill (496) produced a late 13th c. date. ; ; A major activity during the Frankish period in our excavation area was the opening of a sequence of six intersecting pits cut through the red clay floor associated with wall 313 to the east and wall 332 to the west. The fill (508) of the latest circular pit (cut 510) produced late 13th c. material. The function of pit cut 510 is unclear; the diameter is consistent with a well cut, though the depth (0.52m) and stopping point would contradict this interpretation because the bottom of the pit consisted of a loose matrix with no impediments to further digging if their intention was to sink a well. Pit cut 510 was cut into the fills (511, 512) of a larger oval pit (cut 513) which also produced late 13th c. material. The finds from this pit which include an intact horse cranium and articulated sheep/goat vertebrae with both the sacrum and innominate, indicate that it was probably used as a refuse pit. Pit cut 513 cut the fills of two earlier pits; pit cut 517 and pit cut 526. The later of the two, pit cut 517 was a shallow circular pit that yielded a lot of building material together with late 13th c. pottery (fills 515, 516). The earlier pit cut 526 was another circular and relatively deep pit that produced also later 13th c. material (fills 518, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 544). Pit cut 526 is cut through the fill of an earlier pit (cut 528) with which it shared a northern boundary. The fill (530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535) of pit cut 528 gave late 13th c. material. It seems that the pit was not filled to the top immediately but rather left open for a relatively long period of time as pieces of the red clay floor, into which the pit was cut, were recovered from the fill of the pit c. 0.25-0.40m below the elevation of the floor. The function of the pit is not clear; the pit has a depth of at least 1.7m and cuts bedrock at the lowest revealed part of the cut which might indicate that it is a well. However, its diameter of 2m seems too large of such a feature. The lowest excavated fill produced a lot of building material. Pit cut 528 has not been excavated to its full extent. Pit cut 528 is cut into the fill of an earlier oval pit to the north (pit cut 527). Pit cut 527 is the earliest pit in the sequence. The fill (514, 509, 519, 541, 542, 520, 543) of the pit gave pottery dating to the 3rd quarter of the 13th c. ; ; The extensive disturbance in the area has caused slumping of the layers in and around the pits. The overlapping pits in this area seem to indicate a preference for digging pits in already disturbed areas where the soil is less compact. All the pits are imagined to have cut from the red clay floor such that they postdate the use phase of the floor and its associated walls 313 and 332. It seems that by the end of the 13th c. at least this part of the house was not in use. ; ; Byzantine ; ; Two fills (502, 503) were excavated in the room bounded by walls 364, 332, 305 and 306. In the center of the room there is a concentration of rooftile fragments and whole tiles that may be associated with the rooftile collapse to the west of wall 306 (not yet excavated at this time), creating a destruction horizon. Two lenses of fill that were removed partially obscured the rooftile destruction east of wall 306 and produced material dating to the second half of the 12th c. Further excavation is necessary to determine whether the rooftile concentration east of wall 306 represents redeposited material or in situ collapse. ; ; An inscribed sherd of a Byzantine pitcher was recovered from cleaning context 484 and inventoried as C 2009-04. ; ; Conclusion ; ; The area south of wall 366, east of wall 313 and north of wall 305 appears to be approaching layers contemporary to the destruction phase of the house. It is expected that the area north of wall 366, surrounding the N-S drain 426 still preserves later disturbances and further excavation should concentrate in this area.","Nezi Field 2009 by Stella Diakou and Jody Cundy (2009-05-19 to 2009-05-20)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Stella Diakou and Jody Cundy (2009-05-19 to 2009-05-20)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Yellow Session 2 Summary","We, Sarah Lima (SL), Mark Hammond (MH) and Kiersten Spongberg (KS) excavated North of Nezi between April 27, 2009 and May 15, 2009 (session II), focusing on the rooms bounded by walls 5483, 5403, 6027/6285/6300, and 6267/5631/5671/6245 (271.10-277.70 E, 1027.70-1023.67N) (east room); and walls 5483, 5484, 5284, and 5519 (265.90-270.70E, 1028.00-1023.65N)(west room).  These rooms are both located north of Nezi Field, south of the courtyard in the center of the Byzantine House previously excavated by X. Lattimore (NB 229) and X. Berg (NB 229) in the 1960s.   Records from more recent excavation in these spaces are available from Dan Leon and Ben Sullivan in 2009, and Anne Feltovich, Emily Rush, and Catherine Person in 2008.  The goal in both of these rooms was to reach the 10th century levels and come to a better understanding of the architectural development of the house in its different phases of use; this was accomplished in the east room, and 12th century levels were reached in the west room.  The director was Guy Sanders; assistant field director Alicia Carter; and pickman Panos Kakouros.; ; The following summary documents the findings of session II in the 2009 excavation season in the two rooms in which we excavated.  Each room will be initially treated individually and the conclusion will attempt to relate these rooms to each other and the area of the North of Nezi excavations as a whole.; ; East Room; ; This room has previously been described as being bounded by wall 5553 to the east and wall 5552 to the north; DL and BS completed the excavation of these walls in session I.  Two particular features were our main focus: the floor/surface areas and the north and east walls.  ; ; Phasing of walls:; 1) wall 5403 bounds the southern side of the room (foundation trench fill 5818, mid-10th); 2) wall 5483 bounds the western side of the room and abuts wall 5403(foundation trench fill 5779 late 10th-11th); 3) wall 5519 caps the northern end of wall 5483 and bonds with it (ca. 10th-11th century). ; 4) wall 6300/6285/6027 (terminus ante quem 10th century) abuts and does not bond with wall 5403. ; 5) wall 5631/5671/6245 (ca. 10th-11th century on the basis of stratigraphy); ; Our first priority was to remove remaining later walls that had caused disturbance in earlier floor surfaces and walls.  After walls 5553 and 5552 (2nd half of the 13th century) had been excavated, there was one section remaining that had been incorporated as part of wall 5552 as well (6181 (2nd half of the 13th century)) and this was one of the earliest structures removed.  6181 had been bonded to a series of foundations and remaining wall segments, including 5965 (2nd half of the 13th), 6172, 6171, 6183, and 6187 (all the rest- ca. 12th century).  These wall and foundation segments were laid against wall 6027 (terminus ante quem late 11th-early 12th century) which was left as a martyr by DL and BS to preserve the cut for pier 6065, which truncates the northeast corner of the room.  These walls were found to cover even earlier disturbance within the room, in the form of robbing trenches 6227 (fill 6169) and 6226 (fill 6166) which robbed out portions of east-west running wall 6120 and north-south running wall 6027.  The robbing trenches also destroyed the relationship between paving stones 6190 and the wall series bounding the room on the eastern side (6027/6285/6300).  ; Another later feature that disrupted earlier phases was pier foundation 6249.  We have labeled this feature as a pier since it is similar to other features within the house that also seem to be piers (i.e. 6359 and 6318 excavated by Scott Gallimore and Will Bruce in the courtyard).  When these excavations had been completed, the paving stones (6190) were partially exposed, as well as east-west wall 6120.  We were also able to more clearly see a blocked threshold in wall series 6027/6285/6300 (blocking stone 6277 and fill 6278 with threshold 6285).   These sections of walls were found to be in contemporary use and formed the length of the eastern boundary of the room (pre- late 10th century on the basis of stratigraphy).  The relationship between this section of the wall and the floors uncovered that may be contemporary will be discussed below.  Only the un-numbered un-excavated surface revealed by the excavation of context 6292 was found to be contemporary with the use of threshold 6285.  The same surface goes beneath paving stones 6190, which project above and partially covered over the threshold platform, and which are slated for removal in the future.  ; ; Similarly, in the northern wall sections, there were later series of wall-phases and thresholds disturbing earlier features.  AF and CP, in their report, discuss the series of four thresholds being moved gradually westward over time.  The earliest thresholds were further to the east than the later thresholds.   There is the possibility of a fifth threshold beneath 5671 (the only threshold remaining in-situ; ca. 11th century) which is un-excavated and un-numbered.   We removed these thresholds in the following order: 5648 (late 11th- early 12th century), which, although representative of an earlier phase was removed first because it was loose because covering fills had been excavated around it; 5647 (late 11th- early 12th century), the latest phase and top most threshold; 5670 (late 10th/11th century) (with foundation fill 6238 and 6242).  The previous belief (by AF, ER, and CP) that 5670 putatively was constructed from robbed out stones from the west of 5648 needs reconsideration given the new information (dating) that we now have.  The removal of these thresholds was accompanied by the removal of the western-most wall segment of wall 5631 with foundation course 6233 (late 10th/11th century).  After excavation of these contexts, underlying wall 6245 was still in-situ and of similar construction and running on a clean line with wall 5631.  Therefore, it is our interpretation that walls 6245, 5671, and an eastern section of 5631 were in contemporary use as the original northernmost boundary of this room (late 10th-11th century).  While we were examining wall 5631 we noticed a section that seemed different in construction and clearly laid on the existing section of wall 5631; this section was given its own structure number, 6267 (fill for its foundation trench 6079 dates to late 11th century).  The same structure also abuts north-south wall section 6027 to the east, making it later than both walls.; ; A series of surfaces were excavated to the north and south of wall 5552 which was excavated in session 1 and exposed wall 6120 below it.   These surfaces were in contemporary use before being divided by wall 5552   In the interest of observing the contents of each stratum we sampled the contents of each surface for flotation.  Our pickman, Panos, realized in 2008 that the nature of the surfaces suggested that they were exterior surfaces, constructed by irregular compacting and patching as opposed to large-scale labor-intensive construction events.  AF, ER and CP excavated a series of floors that were contemporary with later threshold constructions (5670, 5648, and 5647).  The series of floors that we have excavated are in contemporary use with northern wall sections 5671, 5631 and 6245.  The excavation of fills 6140, 6160 and 6152 revealed surfaces 6168 and 6164 (late 11th- early 12th century), in contemporary use.  Following this, there was a series of other surfaces including 6211 and 6258 (both late 10th- 11th century) to the north; and 6270 (11th century), and the surface revealed by 6292 (un-numbered and un-excavated) just to the south of 6120.   6270 (overlaid by fill 6256 (11th century)) and 6258 (overlaid by fills 6222 and 6213) were visible in the scarp (visually marked by their whitish colored “Frankish” clay) created by the construction of wall foundation 5552(#???), and are the same surface.  Surface 6211 offered support for the idea that this room was part of an outdoor area since the accumulation of pebbles was located directly south of threshold 5671 and could have been indicative of removal of debris from an inside area.  The excavation of surface 6258 revealed a number of things about the phasing of the room: first, the foundation trench 6261 for the insertion of threshold 5671 was revealed indicating that the threshold was installed prior to the construction of that surface; second, 6258 was the last surface to be uncovered in association with the northern wall, while, to the south of east-west wall 6120, further surfaces were recovered at a lower elevation, which means that surface 6258 was the first surface associated with the room when it was bounded to the north by wall 5671/5631/6245 and the surfaces south of wall 6120 are in use in the room when it was bounded to the north by wall 6120. This changing and reorganizing of space marks a major phase change in the development of this part of the house.  Therefore, threshold 6285 is earlier than threshold 5671.    ; ; West Room; Previous excavation in this room was conducted in the 1960s, and also by AF, ER, and CP in 2008.  ; ; Phasing of walls (AF, ER, CP):; 1) Wall 5484 (ca. mid-tenth), same as wall 5403 to the east and 5216 to the west.; 2) Wall 5519 (pre-late 10th-11th century on the basis of stratigraphy).  Although 5484 and 5519 have not been related stratigraphically, it is believed that 5484 is the exterior wall and therefore before the interior wall 5519.; 3) Wall 5483 (late 10th- 11th century), built against walls 5584 and bonds with 5519.  Although no foundation trenches have yet been found in this room, foundation trench 5779 on the east side of wall 5483 is above the foundation trench for wall 5403=5484 (foundation trench 5818). ; 4) Wall 5490 (3rd quarter of the 12th century), superstructure of wall 5485. ; ; The first objective was to remove walls 5490 and 5485.  North-south running wall 5490 was the superstructure above foundation 5485.  These walls were not removed in 2008 because permission had not yet been granted.  This structure was truncated by one of two large storage pits in the southern half of the room (previously described as a “bothros” in NB 229 page 180ff, “Bothros I”). Structures 5490 and 5485 were the first contexts to be removed because they were the latest features in this area and were preventing the further removal of other fills and surfaces in the room.  Another objective was to find the foundation trench for western wall 5284 which was being blocked from excavation by these later walls, as well as by fill 6334 in between walls 5485 and 5284.  ; ; ; Fill accumulated inside the western storage pit was removed, some likely being1960s backfill (context#) as well as a context composed of large boulders that perhaps had tumbled from a nearby wall.    The pit continued down and fills 6352 and 6353 (1300 +/- 10) were removed before the base of the cut was found.  Field notes from NB 229, pg. 180ff. record that the pit was not fully excavated in the 1960s. The pit cut through a thick layer of reddish colluvium before cutting bedrock. The fact that pit was cut somewhat into the bedrock suggests that it was a storage pit as it was too far into bedrock for asimple rubbish pit, and not far enough through the bedrock to have been a well that reached water. ; ; Similarly, in adjacent storage pit 6380, we reached an unexcavated fill (6372 (2nd quarter of 13th century)) and continued our excavations down into bedrock, revealing a similarly flat-bottomed round storage pit.  Remains of wall 6157 and foundation trench 6379 still remain in the south profile of cut 6380 beneath wall 5484.  In the north profile of 6380, one can observe the remains of robbing trench 6381. It is clear that the construction of pit 6380 truncated robbing trench 6381 which was used to remove a section of north-south wall 6157 which rested in foundation trench 6379.  Neither wall 6157 nor robbing trench 6381 are currently visible on the surface, but we expect to reveal them through excavation this season.; ; When AF, ER, and CP excavated the surface levels, they left a martyr along walls 5485 and 5519 to preserve stratigraphy and prevent contamination from the material in the walls. We excavated the martyr first which revealed a series of surfaces and sub-surfaces.  Two ash pits (6406 and 6407) cutting floor 6411 were uncovered, one of which revealed a built hearth of tiles (structure 6413).  A layer of tile and redeposited destruction debris (6415 (12th century)) was also uncovered below floor 6408.  A posthole (6432) was uncovered cutting 6428, as well as a possible patching surface against 5519 (fill 6437).  Additionally, the foundation trench fill on the south side of wall 5284 was revealed and excavated (cut 6427); the foundation trench for this wall had already been revealed on the north side (foundation trench 5466) in a previous season by Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade.  Our foundation trench matched theirs in elevation and composition.; ; As we excavated these surfaces and sub-surfaces in the martyr we tried to equate our contexts with the contexts previously excavated by AF, ER, and CP on the eastern side of the room.  Leveling fill 6415 (12th century) was found to be equal to 5682 on the basis of elevation, composition and inclusions.  6428 (12th century) was equal to 5887, again, on the basis of elevation and composition inclusions.  We excavated the entire martyr revealing a continuous floor over the surface of the room, disturbed by the two storage pits and a foundation trench.; ; East Room Conclusions; ; In this room, we met our objective of reaching late 10th to early 11th century levels.  The excavation in this room seems to be complete, except for paving stones 6190 towards the eastern side, west of threshold 6285, which are yet to be removed.  Further consideration may need to be given to threshold 5671 because it seems to be of a later date (ca. 11th century on the basis of stratigraphy) than threshold 6285; we reached this conclusion because the threshold 5671 cut the floor- this is supported by the face that the last of the series of floors was contemporary with 6285 (laid against), while it was earlier than (below) 5671.  Additionally, it may be possible that there is yet another threshold underneath 5671; this possibility could be further explored in later seasons. ; It seems that this area was likely an outdoor space, on the basis of the hard packed surfaces, the pebbly surface near the threshold (5671), and the accumulation on the floor surfaces.  We are unsure of the nature of the surface that is only partially revealed and runs beneath paving stones 6190; but this will be revealed by the next team to excavate in this room.  ; ; ; ; West Room Conclusions; ; In this room, we managed to get the levels of the surfaces down to the same level (ca. 12th century) by removing a martyr.  This room has now been completely rid of 1960s backfill.  The surfaces covering the rest of the room, however, have been left in a good starting point for the next team.  The next team should begin their excavation in the southwest corner of the room, continuing to bring the martyr (not associated with the floor surface contexts; a separate martyr) around the storage pit down to the level of the other surfaces.  The cleaning of this context was the last thing we completed (cleaning 6436).   ; This room seems to have, at some point, been used for storage, on the basis of the two storage pits.  These storage pits are later than most of the other features of the room, and likely cut a higher surface than the ones preserved.  Guy Sanders mentioned that it may be possible that this room was a basement space in its earlier phases; although this conclusion cannot be tested until the room has been excavated further.","Nezi Field 2009 by spongberg hammond lima (2009-05-20 to 2009-05-21)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by spongberg hammond lima (2009-05-20 to 2009-05-21)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Report 2009 - rooms south of the courtyard of the Byzantine House, first  phase of the Byz House","Sarah Lima; Session 3 ; End of Season Report; 15 June, 2009; ; Between the dates of May 25, 2009 and June 15, 2009 (Session III), our excavation team  comprised of Sarah Lima (recorder), Panos Kakouros (pickman), Panos Stamatis (barrow man), and Agamemnon (siever) continued investigating several rooms south of the courtyard of the Byzantine house previously excavated by Lattimore (NB 229) and Berg (NB 229) in the 1960s. In 2008, Panos Kakouros excavated in the same area with Anne Feltovich, Emily Rush, and Catherine Person recording; in 2009 session I, Dan Leon and Ben Sullivan recorded there; and in 2009 session II, excavations were conducted by Mark Hammond, Kierston Spongberg, and Sarah Lima. The aim for Session III was to understand the phasing of the three rooms where our team had worked - how the space had been manipulated to serve the needs of the people inhabiting and using the area, and how people would have moved from room to room at different times.  In particular, we were interested in reaching 10th century levels in order to understand the earliest phases of the rooms south of the courtyard area, which once served as the hub of the house.   ; ; During Sessions II and III, we worked in three rooms: the “Central Room” (in Session II summary, the “East Room”) bounded by walls 5483, 5403, 6027/6284/6300, and 6267/5631/5671 with foundations 6245 (271.10-277.70 E, 1027.70-1023.67 N); the “West Room” bounded by walls 5483, 5484, 5284, and 5519 (265.90-270.70 E, 1028.00-1023.65N); and the “East Room” bounded by walls 10078/10085, 6624, 6027/6285/6300, and 5341 (1027.24-1022.98 N, 281.50-277.62 E).; ; East Room; ; We began our work in the East Room by excavating a surface exposed by DB and BS during Session I 2009. A majority of the room, primarily the central and western portion, was excavated during the 1960s. Several deep pits cut most of the southern half of the room, and on the northern edge of the room, two deep pier cuttings cut the remaining surfaces from higher elevations, leaving just a thin balk available for excavation. Joanna Potenza and Ryan Boehm had recorded the removal of a threshold of the Frankish period on the northern boundary of the room [5919], which may have been in use along with walls 10077 and 10076 to the east and with walls 5552 and its superstructure 5922 to the west. While JP and RB did uncover a floor surface in contemporary use with the threshold on the northern side of the room’s boundary (5290), only floor surfaces predating the installation of the threshold were uncovered by BL and DB to the south, the final of which was 6080; the room was then left for future excavation. ; ; The first surface that we excavated was surface 6445, which was contemporary with the use of wall segment 6426. Excavation of 6445 revealed what may be the foundation trench for that wall. The closeness of the wall to the numerous pier cuts made excavation impossible without toppling the entire balk, so the foundation trench was not further explored; we made every effort not to include fill from near the wall in our subsequent deposits. ; Several subsequent surfaces, 6468 and 6488, were excavated, prior to uncovering a large built storage pit (cut 6557, fills 6495, 6466, and 6452 built components 6594 and 6558), which would have occupied the room during its 12th century phase. We decided to cease excavation of the balk at this point because the east-west wall segment 6624 had become pedestalled, and permission has not yet been obtained for its removal. ; ; We turned our attention to the eastern boundary of the room, removing wall and threshold 10085 and its underlying foundations (6475 and 6476). At the time that we excavated these contexts, we believed that 10085 was a separate construction from wall 10078, based both on the appearance of the foundations and on the style of the wall itself. We envisioned wall 10085 as installed especially to accommodate a much later threshold construction, as a part of already-existent wall 10078. However, upon excavating the section and seeing how deeply subfoundations 6476 lay (at an equal depth to the foundations of wall 10078’s), we concluded the opposite: that 10078 and 10085 were probably of contemporary construction. Further support for this idea is the fact that there were two surfaces (6451 and 6445 ) running against foundations, suggesting that the foundations predated those deposits. However, this was unclear at the time, since those surfaces were at significantly lower elevations than the wall sections in situ.  The pottery from foundations 6676 dated to the late 12th or early 13th century. ; ; The upper blocks used in the construction of remaining wall section 10078 are very substantial in size and appear to be reused Roman road blocks of the Late Roman period; one interesting feature of these eastern sections of wall is that one block that remains in situ appears to have been cut to corner westward about 4 m from the southern terrace wall 5341, dividing the room nearly in half (we assigned this wall the number 6522). We began excavating strata that were positioned around the place where the wall projected from the section, and the excavation of fill 6521 revealed the line of a long east-west robbing or foundation trench cut running nearly the lengh of the room (cut 6523). The reason that the foundation versus robbing cut identification remains ambiguous is that pit cuts have truncated that part of the room badly, so all that we can understand is that the wall existed, and that based on the foundations that were uncovered, it was a substantial, load-bearing wall.  I propose that wall 6522 functioned as a terrace wall and was the earlier Roman terrace wall that existed before wall 5341 was constructed immediately to the south in the medieval period for the same purpose. The evidence for this is that  it is set into reddish-colored colluvium above bedrock and rests at a lower level than the foundation trench 6509 for wall section 6027, which bounds the room to the west (foundation trench fills 6530 and 6506, covered by fill 6504). Further, the first medieval floor in the room immediately to the west is constructed right atop the red colluvium (this is a course pebble  floor that is only partially visible under paving stones 6190 and would have been in use with threshold 6285); there was no earlier phase of use of this space. This changes our impression of the construction of threshold 6285, excavated during Session II; we had envisioned the entire wall section comprised of 6300/6285/6027 to be earlier than the features of the East Room, but if the east-west wall 6522 once existed at an early period, holding back red colluvium on its south-facing side, there is no way that threshold 6285, given its physical position, could have been in use during that period for purposes of communicating with the East Room. However, after the east-west wall was robbed out (at whatever elevation and time that that event occurred), the East room would have received a new terrace wall to the south (i.e., the wall 5341, now in situ), and the space would have been expanded to the south(and therefore open for communication with the east room via threshold 6285). The best guess for when this event may have occurred is Late Byzantine, based on the scant amount of ceramic material available from foundation trench fill from 6530 and 6506 and overlying 6504; additionally, if the cut indicating the course of early east-west terrace wall 6522 is a robbing event, then the date of that event can be further narrowed to the 10th/11th century. Therefore the earliest medieval phase of this part of the house began with a massive reorganization of space and great effort spent at expanding the usable space by moving the Roman terrace wall 4 m to the south. ; ; Future Considerations ; ; The balk cannot be explored further until wall 6624 is documented and removed, since the wall is pedestalled as it currently lies. The relationship between the wall sections 6300, 6285, and 6027 is not yet fully understood, as foundation trenches have not yet been revealed for 6300 and 6285; recovery of foundation events for those sections could confirm or refute our speculations about how the East and Central Room construction sequences work. Another question worthy of further attention is whether wall 10078 truly represented the easternmost extent of the East Room or not; while the blocks that comprise the wall as it stands are extremely large, there does appear to be another wall running behind it; are there multiple eastern wall phases for this room? Finally, the section of 10078 immediately to the north of the cut for excavated foundations 6476 and 6475 for wall/threshold 10085 should be considered together with those construction events if and when it is removed. ; Western Room; ; The Western Room was excavated in 1960s excavations by Lattimore and Berg (NB 229, p. 180). As was the case in the East Room, this room featured several deep Frankish-period storage pits (labeled as “bothroi” in the 1960s notebooks) that truncated many of the earlier features within the room. In the case of the Western Room, those two storage pits (cuts 6380 and 6363 which terminated on bedrock) were confined in the southern half of the room. The space was further restricted by two large Frankish north-south wall sections, 5485 and 5490, which lay against north-south wall 5284. In 2008, AF and ER excavated within the Western Room, reaching levels that ran beneath wall 5490. Because permission had not been obtained from the Byzantine Ephoria to remove the two later wall sections, they were pedistalled so that excavation could continue east of them. Our efforts during Session II were focused on cleaning and investigating the previously-excavated storage pits, and on excavating contexts preserved in the balk under the walls once they were removed. We wanted to reveal and excavate the floor revealed by 6428 (=5887), which represented the same stopping point that AF and ER reached in 2008. Additionally, a Frankish period cooking pot was excavated from one of the surfaces that we excavated (surface: 6393, cook pot: 6397).; Our excavations of the surfaces to the north had, in turn, left a balk of higher elevation on the southern side of the room, since it was difficult to reach and excavate the thin deposits surrounding the two storage pits and running up against walls 5284, 5484, and 5483. In Session III, we began our excavations of the southern strata with fill 6439, uncovering the remaining fill of foundation trench 6427 (fill 6552) for wall 5284. 6439 was assigned a date of the 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 12th century on the basis of its ceramics, while the surface that was cut was 2nd quarter of the 12th century, dating the construction of wall 5284 to that period. This does not match the date of the foundation trench found on the other side of the wall by JC and NA in 2008; their foundation trench was dated to the 13th century by stratigraphic relationships. This situation  is worthy of further consideration in light of the potential shifting of dates posed by lower fills from this room (explained in more detail below). ; ; One goal in excavating the Western Room was to understand the nature of the robbing event that took place on wall 5519. The east-west wall 5519, which bounds the northern side of the Western Room, features a significant gap of approximately 1.5 m on its eastern side, near its junction with north-south wall 5519, bounding the eastern side of the room. It was our intention to compare the surfaces that we uncovered within the western room with the surfaces recorded to the north of 5519 by Scott Gallimore and Will Bruce during Session II of 2009. The last surface that they excavated to the north of 5519 revealed the edge of a cut that appeared to be part of the robbing event of the wall, and they expected that we would find a similar cut on our side beneath floor surface 6540 (84.54 MASL). We did not find a cut on our side of the wall, but other pieces of evidence suggest how the robbing event may have taken place, and how the use of the space may have changed after the removal of the wall section. Our investigations revealed that not only were our surface deposits below 6540 (i.e., surfaces 6572, and 6589) different in composition from those revealed to the north of the wall (beaten earth in the western room, pebbled and tiled surfaces in the courtyard), but their elevations were different as well, by approximately 0.50 m (surface deposit 6572, 84.49 MASL, and surface deposit 6589, 84.41 MASL). One possible explanation for this difference is that perhaps it was a threshold that was robbed from wall 5519, mediating between the space in the courtyard and the space within the Western Room. In that scenario, differences in elevations and in composition could be accounted for because the spaces were bounded by a wall, with communication between the two rooms offered by a door and possibly a step downward into the Western Room. After the section of 5519 (putatively a threshold) had been robbed, the space where the door had been would have still remained, allowing access into and out of the room, but the floor levels would have had to be brought to the same level to allow movement in and out. Fill 6628, underlying 6540, demonstrates how this would have been done; its location near the missing section of wall suggests that the threshold blocks were removed, and that the resulting hole was filled with tile and debris as a means of raising the floor level to accommodate the resulting height differences between the surfaces to the north and to the south. 6540, then, would represent the first surface in the Western Room after the putative threshold was removed. The pottery of 6540 dates to the 12th century, and its overlying fill deposits 5887 and 6428 are from the first half of the 12th century. ; ; The foundation trenches for walls 5483 and 5519/foundations 6575 were uncovered at lower elevations, below the level of both surface deposit 6572 and surface deposit 6589; these surfaces may be considered to have been in use with 5483 and 5519 wall sections after they were founded. Ceramics from all three surfaces date to the 12th century. As far as the sequencing of the walls of the room go, wall 5483 is stratigraphically the earliest, although the elevation of its foundation trench is almost identical to the lowest foundation trench of wall 5519 [cut 6677 at elevation 83.98 versus cut 6646 at 84.00 MASL]; since the upper courses of the walls appear to bond, it would make sense for their foundation events to have occurred at the same time. Wall 5519 does show evidence for at least two foundation events, indicating that it had an earlier phase on its eastern side (cut 6677, fill 6646) and a second phase to the west of that, cutting the earlier foundation (cut 6616, fill 6611, revealed by late Byzantine fill 6578). Finally, the foundation trench 6427 cut the foundation fill 6616 for wall 5519, indicating that that 12th century foundation event is a terminus ante quem for the other two sections. ; ; The earliest surface excavated was 6624, revealing a hard, light pinkish brown surface that appeared to be composed of the colluvium that has been observed to rest above bedrock levels throughout the North of Nezi area. This unnumbered and as yet unexcavated surface appears to have been cut by numerous features, including the earliest foundation trench for wall 5519 (trench cut 6647, fill 6646) and the foundation trench for wall 5483 (trench cut 6677, fill 6675), which came down onto bedrock. Additionally, the unnumbered pinkish brown surface was cut by a large ashy pit that was revealed in the northeastern corner of the room (pit cut 6645, fill 6639, overlying fill 6639), truncating both early foundation trenches in addition to cutting a much larger robbing trench cut 6665 (putative), to the south. Overlying surface 6624 has pottery from the 11th century, which would potentially provide a terminus ante quem for these earliest foundation events- but there is an inconsistency with the pottery from fills from the truncated east-west robbing trench 6665. Two fills from robbing trench 6665 (6649 and 6663) yielded joining coarse incised sherds of the mid-13th century, potentially shifting the dates of all of the previously discussed contexts (and other contexts from the room) two centuries later. This warrants a more detailed discussion of how the putative robbing trench was discovered, how we approached its excavation, and the potential scenarios by which these inconsistencies may be interpreted. ; ; The cut of the putative robbing trench 6665 was first noticed in the section of storage pit cuts 6380 and 6353 as a straight line appearing to run the length of the room from east to west. We noticed the cut before it was exposed in plan on either its northern or southern sides, and speculated variously about its length, suggesting at times that it ran all the way across the southern side of the room, and at other times that it was thinner in width, perhaps in connection with robbing cuts 6381 (for north-south wall 6157 visible below wall 5411) and with robbing cut 6674 (east-west cut, visible below wall 5284). In context 6587, the difference in strata to the north versus south of the cut line became more visible (but the cut was not revealed in plan), and immediately after, surface 6589 was excavated with knowledge that the strata south of the line of excavation were different from the surface that was excavated. In these contexts, the line of the cut may have been visible, but its full extent was not yet defined in plan, so it was left unexcavated. It was only visible as a straight line in the south-facing section of the two storage pit cuts, making it impossible to use the sections to try to determine its extent and shape; however, since virgin red colluvium had been cut for the construction of the two storage pits and had preserved their round shapes on all sides, it is certain that the cut could not have stretched completely across the southern half of the room at the levels we were excavating. What’s more, we were steered away from thinking that the cut related to cuts 6381 and 6674 by the fact that the cut continued further east past the point where it would have cornered to rob wall 6157. ; ; The cut became clearly exposed in plan after the excavation of surface 6624, cutting into the hard pinkish brown surface truncated by numerous earlier pits. The excavation of 6619 was an effort to find the southern line of the cut, but was unsuccessful, as was the excavation of fill 6631, which revealed the southern edge of pit 6645, making it stratigraphically later than the robbing trench cut 6665.  Pit 6645 cut into fill 6649 to the south, which was one of the aforementioned contexts in which one of two joining 13th century coarse incised sherds was collected. Three more fills south of the cut line, 6657, 6660, and 6663 (the other context from which a joining coarse incised ware was collected) were then excavated before the southern extent of the robbing event 6665 appeared clearly in plan, along with the foundation trench for wall 5483 (foundation cut 6677, fill 6675, overlying fill 6663). The excavation of lowest fill 6676 within cut 6665 revealed a hard, brownish yellow surface, likely the floor associated with an earlier architectural phase of which wall 6157 is part prior to the foundation of wall 5483, while the excavation of lowest fill 6675 within foundation trench 6677 revealed bedrock. ; There are at least three possible conclusions to draw from the stratigraphy as we have defined it and the ceramics that have come from these contexts, in light of the discrepancies we have discovered:; ; Scenario 1) The stratigraphy was excavated correctly and the dates of the ceramics from stratigraphically later contexts need to have their dates bumped up to account for their stratigraphic relationships. In support of this are findings from Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade’s 2008 records of the room directly west of the Western Room. While many of their upper strata were found to be 12th century, a Frankish strap handle was found at the bottom of a pit cutting lower strata in the room, thus altering the date of all overlying contexts. There is further support for this idea in the pottery from fill 6676, the bottommost fill of cut 6665; it dates to the 12th/13th century.  Finally, the fact that the 13th century levels were found in lowest stratified levels of the room, and were all excavated on the same day in a limited amount of time makes the possibility of contamination (e.g., through tumble or long-term exposure) less likely.; ; Scenario 2) We missed the line of the robbing trench cut 6665 at a higher elevation and needed to treat the fills within it as fills lying on each other within a cut, rather than relating them variously to surfaces to the north, potentially across the putative cut line. This would also mean that the final cut line that we identified after excavation of 6663 relates to another cutting event, and not to the line of the robbing event. Further supporting this scenario is the fact that a boundary was defined for the northern side of the cut as early as context 5343/5345 during session II; however, it remains that the entirety of the cut was not exposed until the excavation of context 6663. ; ; Scenario 3) The area was significantly disturbed by 1960s excavation events, in ways that we did not fully perceive while excavating during both Session II and Session III. In this scenario, the stratigraphy could have been cut in order to accommodate the excavation of pits 6353 and 6380. The cutting events involved could have been anything from half-sectioning, to creating steps out from the storage pit cuts during excavation to facilitate getting in and out of them, and to prevent the walls from collapsing. In this scenario, the fills we dug south of cut 6665 were actually backfill from the 1960s. In support of this scenario are two facts: A) 1960s records (NB 229, p. 180) mention that the southern portions of north-south walls 5490 and 5485 were removed in order to accommodate the excavation of the storage pit cut 6353; additional disturbance could have occurred at the same time. B) Contexts 6343 and 6345, excavated during Session II, uncovered a cut in the same place that the cut 6665 begins to the west, and at the time that we were recording it, it was speculated that the cut might have been for a half-section created to facilitate 1960s excavations within the Western Room; if that small cut represents the beginning of cut 6665, we would be able to place it significantly later in our stratigraphic understanding of the room. ; ; Future Considerations ; ; Pit 6645, cut 6665, and foundation trench cut 6677 which were the last contexts recorded cut the unnamed pink surface revealed by 6624 to the north, but 6665 and 6677 also cut a smaller level of fill revealed by 6660 in the southeastern corner of the room. Provided that these fills are not found to belong to very early levels truncated by an erroneously defined cut, the fill in the southeastern corner should be prioritized for removal in 2010. Likewise, the fill of robbing event 6381, heretofore only visible in the northern and southern facing sections of pit 6380, but revealed by the excavation of fill 6676 and cut 6665, should be exposed in plan and removed. After those contexts are excavated, it will be possible to consider exploring beneath the pink surface. ; ; Conclusions; ; The way that the discrepancy between the Frankish lower fills and the Byzantine upper fills is interpreted has implications for the way that the courtyard area is phased, since one of the questions that this excavation addresses is how the area changes through time, and when those changes take place. One scenario is that construction activities occurred in two phases: the 10th/11th century, and the 13th century, with less activity in the 12th century. A second possibility is that development was steady and gradual, occurring from the early Byantine through the Frankish period. ; Until the lower Frankish fills were uncovered in the West Room, that space showed strong evidence for some early activity (evidenced by the robbing events 6381 and 6674 visible below walls 5411 and 5284, as well as the early surface uncovered below pit cut 6665, predating wall 5483), a great deal of construction  activity in the 12th century, and subsequent Frankish building activity as well.   ; ; The levels in the East Room are early and definitely reflect “phase one” constructions of the 10th and 11th centuries, prior to a subsequent restructuring of the room that involved relocating the southern terrace wall to open the East Room for communication with the Central Room via threshold 6285. There is little evidence for 12th century activity in the East Room as it currently survives, but the eastern wall section that we removed, 10085, featured foundations (6575, 6576) that contained 12th/13th century pottery, supporting the idea of Frankish period reuse of the space. ; ; The Central Room, like the West Room, features up to three phases of development. The earliest floor surfaces there are directly on top of the red colluvium soil, meaning that they are quite early and probably date to the 10th century, and the east-west wall 6120 would have divided the room. The walls 5483 and 5631/6425 date to the 10th/11th century as well, and would have represented part of the room’s expansion, since 5631 lies further north. Then, the Central Room opened up to the East Room via the construction of 11th century threshold 6285, expanding movement still further; subsequently, the threshold was blocked off by fills 6278 and 6277, and Frankish constructions such as walls 5552 and 5553 would have constricted the Central Room again.","Nezi Field 2009 by Sarah Lima (2009-05-25 to 2009-06-15)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Sarah Lima (2009-05-25 to 2009-06-15)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","End of Season Summary especially for areas N, NE and E of the courtyard and some work in the courtyard itself and south of the courtyard","North of Nezi (Green) Report End of Season 2009: Will Bruce (until 25 May), Scott Gallimore (until 1 June), Karl Goetze (from 25 May), Dan Leon (from 1 June); ; The following summarizes the results of excavations during the entire season at Corinth 2009 in four areas north of Nezi Field previously excavated in the 1960s under the supervision of H.S. Robinson (NB 229, 230, 235, 253, and 264): the Byzantine courtyard, the room west of the courtyard, the room northwest of the courtyard, and the room north of the courtyard.  These rooms were excavated in the first two sessions of 2009 by Scott Gallimore and Will Bruce; in the third session by Scott Gallimore, Karl Goetze, and Dan Leon.; ; Excavation in all four areas was supervised by Guy Sanders (director) and Alicia Carter (field director).  Our pickman was Athanasios Sakellariou; our shovelman was Panos Stamatis; our barrowman was Sotiris Raftopoulos.  Excavations were conducted in the southern area of the Byzantine courtyard (E264.40-E270.50; N1027.90-N1033.40), in the room west of the courtyard (E261.10-E264.60; N1030.80-1034.90), in the room northwest of the courtyard (E260.90-E264.60; N1034.85-N1038.75), and in the room north of the courtyard (E265.30-E270.50, N1035.60-1039.20).  Periodically, overlapping stratigraphy or concern for phasing caused us to move from one room to the next.  Our main goal in this area was to expose the walls and features of the Byzantine house for consolidation and presentation to the public.  Our summary will be arranged chronologically by room.; ; COURTYARD ; ; Frankish:; Session I began excavation in the courtyard when it was found that surface layers in the courtyard overlay context 6077 in the north room where excavation had been taking place. Session II began by removing wall 5508, which dates between the late 13th and early 14th centuries and was pedestalled in 2008 as permission to remove it had not yet been received, making it by far the latest feature in this immediate area. The construction of this wall limited access between the courtyard and the space in front of the rooms immediately to the south of the courtyard. The only point of access after the construction of wall 5508 was in the southwest corner of the courtyard. Session II excavation removed all remaining Frankish contexts from this area and all session III contexts can be dated from pottery and stratigraphic relationships to late Byzantine 10th-11th centuries.; ; Late Byzantine:; Session II excavation ended while excavating Late Byzantine floor surfaces and sub-floor leveling fills in the southern portion of the courtyard (south of removed wall 5508). Session III began excavation in this same area with the goal of finding a common floor surface that would link the area south of removed wall 5508 with the main courtyard area north of removed wall 5508. ; ; Session III excavations in the southern part of the courtyard ended up concentrating on two areas: a series of floor and sub-floor leveling surfaces adjacent to all four sides of staircase 6296  which was pedestalled and left in situ and thus post dates all session III excavations, and the foundation trenches associated with wall 5783 (cuts 5795 and 6302) excavation of which was begun during the 2008 season but not finished. ; ; Session III began by following a series of leveling fills and floor surfaces (contexts 6435, 6440, 6441) which were overlaid by context 6423 (excavated at the end of session II) and which ran successively north of each other until reaching cut 6302, the cut for the foundation trench for the west end of wall 5783. The pottery from the fill of the foundation trench dates wall 5783 to the late 11th century. Built pebble floor 6440 as well as its associated leveling fills 6423 and 6435, also date to the late 11th century and are the last contexts that can be dated to Late Byzantine period.; ; The southern courtyard area during the late Byzantine period saw the construction of pebble floor surface 6440 as well as wall 5783 and stairway 6296 which began closing off access to the courtyard from the south. Construction of Frankish wall 5508 effectively completed this process and so we can see a gradual evolution of this space from the southern portion of an open courtyard to what seems to be an interior corridor. ; ; ; Middle Byzantine:; ; Session III next concentrated further on a series of patches, floor surfaces, and leveling fills in the area west, south and east of pedestalled staircase 6296 (contexts 6446, 6450, 6453, 6456, 6461, 6463). Successive removal of these contexts revealed a built floor made of pebble and tile that seemed to cover the whole area south of removed wall 5508 and which continues north into the courtyard proper (north of wall 5783 and removed wall 5508). We were unable to excavate this built floor surface due to the fact that it was cut by a robbing trench that robbed a section of wall 5519 and which would need to be excavated first. This area belonged to the yellow team however whose excavation had not yet reached this area. Although we could not excavate this surface, fills for two robbing trenches (6461 and 6463) that cut this floor surface help date the surface to late Byzantine, 10th-11th century.; ; Having finished excavation in the southern portion of the courtyard, we believe that we have revealed the latest surface to have spanned both areas: the courtyard and the room south of the courtyard, proving that in the 10th and 11th centuries, this was one unified space. ; ; ROOM NORTH OF COURTYARD; ; Frankish: ; Most of the Frankish levels of this room had been previously removed and were only encountered at the very beginning of excavation during session I. The only Frankish features encountered in this room, were three superimposed walls (5473, 5913, & 5914) which were removed according to a permit obtained this year. These three contexts were actually all components of the same wall from different phases: 5473 was the superstructure, with 5913 & 5914 as foundations. If any floor levels were associated with these walls, they must have been excavated during the 1960s, since the earliest floor from the 2008 season (5585) is late Byzantine based on the pottery from this context.; ; Middle-Late Byzantine:; Late Byzantine levels were encountered throughout the entire room, the latest being from the 12th century. The majority of the 12th century contexts found in the western half of this room consisted of a series of small leveling fills (5921, 5927, 5931, 5933, 5936, & 5962). A floor surface which may have been associated with these leveling fills was excavated in 2008 as context 5585. In the eastern half of the room, 12th century levels included a small pit (5926), several small leveling fills (5939, 5941, 5942, 5944, 5945, 5948, 5955, & 5958), and a threshold block (5865), which was removed. The floor surface with which this threshold could have been associated is context 5800, stretching from the doorway into the courtyard. The last 12th century context in this room was a leveling fill (5948) located in the northeast part of the room, the removal of which revealed an intact clay hearth (5975, 5976, cut 5977). The contents of this hearth were also water sieved, but nothing substantial was recovered. The only plausible floor surface, which could be associated with hearth 5975 would be context 5963. This floor was greatly truncated and did not come into contact with the hearth itself, but could conceivably agree stratigraphically based on their elevations.; ; The majority of the contexts encountered in the room north of the courtyard dated to the late 10th –  11th centuries. This seems to indicate that this was a period of intense activity in this room.; Session III excavations removed an extremely large dumped fill of large boulders (6516) which occupied the entire southern half of the room south of wall 6526 and west of wall 6016. Session I excavators who excavated down to this level before moving out of the north room interpreted this fill (6516) as composed of boulders from the superstructure of walls 6526 and 6016. Excavation of 6516 and other contexts (6532, 6550, 6554) around walls 6526 and 6016 serve to confirm this interpretation as all were dumped fills with significant inclusions of boulders. It is likely that walls 6526 and 6016 date much earlier than these dumped fills and that they were torn down specifically in order to level the surfaces in this room for the initial phase of middle Byzantine construction of this house.; ; Session III excavation also revealed a large pit (cut 6536) between (and disturbing) wall 6526 and wall 5562. Fill contexts for this pit include 6539, 6543, 6459 and 6460 - excavation of which (6460) was stopped when it was determined that the context went even deeper (and possibly into a cistern) and the pottery was late roman 5th – 6th century. This pit (cut 6536) however, took us down to foundation levels for walls 6016 and 6526 where they intersect on the north side of wall 6526 and the west side of wall 6016. ; ; At this level there is evidence of a wall coarse of reused ashlar blocks on top of which wall 6016, made of mud and rubble, was built. Furthermore, a robbing trench was discovered above wall 6016 where it intersects with wall 5562 which served to rob stones from 6016 but which also uncovered the top of one of the reused ashlar blocks underneath. This ashlar block extends to the north into wall 5562 and either this same block, or another block on the northern course can be seen protruding from the north side of wall 5562. It was decided to differentiate this reused ashlar coarse from wall 6016 which sits on it and the new structure number is 6566. It should be noted that the tops of what looks to be more reused ashlar blocks can be seen at this same level under wall 6526. This evidence seems to indicate that these walls (6016 & 6526) are of middle or later Byzantine rubble and mud construction on top of late Roman walls of reused ashlar. ; ; Further examination of wall 5562 west of the pit (context 6650) revealed the foundation trench for the south side of wall 5562 and the foundation trench for the east side of wall 6321. The foundation trench for wall 5562 truncated that for wall 6321 so it was excavated first. About .4m of this fill was excavated until we stopped due to concern that we would destabilize wall 5562. Pottery from this foundation trench was dated to Byzantine 10th – 11th century. Excavation of the foundation trench for 6321 was postponed while we searched for the continuation of the foundation trench for wall 5562 east of wall 6016 (context 6560=6554). We were unable to locate this trench, nor the one for wall 5990 on the east side of the room. At this point it was determined that we should move back into the northwest room and continue excavating in there. We did not have a chance to explore further the south side of wall 6526 and establish whether it is indeed part of the same construction as wall 10111 and how such a wall would relate to the rest of the house.; ; ; Room NW of the courtyard; ; Frankish:; ; The latest feature in this area was a well that had been left intact by previous excavations. The well is located at the eastern end of the room, and cuts many earlier deposits.  We did not excavate all the way to the bottom of the well, but removed fill to an elevation of 83.80.  The well widens towards its base and seems to have been built in two phases, a main construction of tile and plaster (6493=6638) with a superstructure of small cobbles and plaster at the top of the well (5876).  A perplexing aspect of this well’s construction appeared at a level much below the top of the foundation and embedded within contexts dated firmly to the middle Byzantine period.  What appears to be a cut for a foundation trench traveling around the northern half of the well (6641) was overlaid by contexts that must be much earlier than this well.  It is possible that some sort of slump or collapse accounts for the cut, rather than deliberate human action, and this event may be related to the slumping that was visible at several levels in the area immediately north of the well, similar to that discussed by Lima, Webb, and Kolb in the notes for context 5558.; ; We also excavated leveling fills, a wall foundation, and fill inside a tile-built sub-floor storage feature, all dating from the Frankish period.; The latest of these features was a cobbled wall foundation (6100), the superstructure of which was removed last year as context 5604. Beneath this context was a firmly packed soil surface. ; We performed a cleaning inside a pit excavated last year as context 5644 to determine whether last year’s excavation had reached the bottom of this context. Within pit 5644 was a small fill (6097) and a robbing pit (6103, cut 6106) associated with wall 10111. We continued excavating pit 5644 as context 6115 (cut 6116), and it became clear that this was the fill of a subterranean tile-built storage feature with a depth of ca. 1.10 meters. None of the actual structure of this feature was discovered, but the fill and the cut made its identification certain. A comparandum lies in the room north of this one (context 5504), excavated in 2008. Within the fill of 6115 were found a well-preserved late-Roman Ionic capital, a stone mortar, and a large assemblage of Frankish pottery. As for reconstructing the use life of this tile-built storage feature, our excavations up to this point can only inform us that this tile-built storage feature was out of use by the late Byzantine period since it was truncated by wall 5725 which is currently dated to the Late Byzantine period. ; Removal of the storage feature fill (6115) also gave us insight into the construction history of two walls (10111 & its N-S jog 6130), which predate its construction. A portion of wall 6130 was uncovered during the removal of 6099 & 6107, but was not identified as a wall until 6115 was excavated. We hypothesized that wall 10111 is a continuation of the E-W wall (6526) uncovered in the room north of the courtyard.; In addition to pit 6115, most of the Frankish contexts excavated in this room were fills (6107, 6108, 6110).; ; Late Byzantine:; ; In the NW corner of the room, directly beneath a layer of Frankish fill, we discovered what appears to be a large rubbish dump, comprised of contexts 6607 and 6612, which together reached a depth of 1.68m.  However, we did not finish excavating the dump because we realized, when we reached the bottom of the surrounding walls (5562, 5142, 6130, 10111), that it was later cut by all four of those walls, and thus earlier, that is, the dumped fills ran under these walls.  This dump yielded a large number of cooking sherds showing evidence of heavy use, as well as a great deal of material associated with cooking such as egg shells, fish scales, and animal bones that had been chopped or sawn.  The volume of such material suggested commercial, rather than private, use of the area.  Sanders has tentatively suggested that this part of the Byzantine house may have been used as a tavern in this period, and that the dump was an associated rubbish heap.  Such usage would accord well with the hypothesis offered by Gallimore and Bruce in the summary for Session II concerning a large deposit of white-ware kettles resting on a floor (6129).  The date for this deposit based on these kettles (1100 ± 10) provides the best chronological marker for the construction history of the levels excavated in this room which must be Late Byzantine or later.  Moreover, In the southern portion of this room, several leveling fills of late-Byzantine date (6151, 6153, 6154) had been deposited for the construction of a floor, likely excavated in the 1960s since no floor is noted in this area from the 2008 excavations. These fills covered a small semicircular cut (6156), the fill of which (6155) was serving to backfill the tile-built storage feature discussed above. We discovered a floor in this part of the room (6496) which was a part of the same floor upon which the white-ware deposit sat (6145), and which also yielded a large number of white-ware sherds that had presumably been stamped into the floor from above.  This floor was firmly dated by pottery to the same period (1100 ± 10) and was later cut by the aforementioned tile-built storage feature (6519), which itself was cut by wall 5725, suggesting that the NW room may originally have continued further south and joined with the W room, though such a connection.; ; Middle Byzantine:; ; On the E side of the room we excavated a series of floors that had been disrupted by the Frankish well.  One of them showed evidence of a repair patch (context 6588), and all of them overlaid a robbing trench that ran along the E boundary of the room, to the S of the well.  This trench was filled with a mixed deposit that initially made the identification of a single trench quite difficult.  Another difficulty was that wall 6375, to which the trench grants access, seems not to run to the full northern extremity of this room.  Sanders suggested that to the S end the wall had only been partially robbed out, but to the N end the wall had been completely robbed out by some later action to accommodate construction of the well.  Such an action is difficult to reconstruct however, since the trench was overlaid by middle Byzantine floors, which would have to have been removed by the Franks as they built their well, if the robbing was indeed associated with that construction project.  Alternitavely, wall 6375 did not continue north of wall 10111, and so the robbing trench would not be expected to be found north of wall 10111. The date of this robbing action presents a problem, as the stratigraphy and pottery suggest Middle Byzantine in the northern sections, but three sherds at the southern end (fill 6349) are of Late Byzantine date, and Sanders has given a very firm date of 1150 ± 10.  It is possible that these sherds are contaminants, but a stronger likelihood is that further excavation will force the revision of the dates of some surrounding contexts, many of which are less than specific, eg Byzantine 10th-11th century NPD.; ; ; Room W of the Byzantine courtyard; ; Frankish:; ; A series of floors and sub-floor leveling fills were excavated in this space. The fills (6159 + cut 6161, 6162) seem to be leveling fills for an unidentified floor, perhaps excavated in the 1960s, since no upper floor surface was noted during the 2008 excavations. Revealed by removal of these fills were two isolated patches of floor, one (6163) in the northeast corner, and the other (6165) in the northwest corner. These two patches perhaps belonged to the same floor surface, but were kept separate in the Harris matrix, since their elevations do not correspond. Associated with this floor were twelve leveling fills: (6167, 6174, 6176, 6179=6182=6185, 6189, 6192, 6203, 6178, 6207, 6214, 6218, & 6236). These floors and fills were laid up against wall 5725 because they overlay its unexcavated foundation trench. Context 6165 was cut by the foundation trench (5720) for wall 5762 in the west. Thus, this floor surface, if the same, postdates wall 5725, but predates wall 5762. ; The removal of one of these fills (6203) revealed two distinct courses of wall 6228 (previously labeled 50kj in the 1960s records). The top courses (structure 6206) were much more crudely built and had no associated foundation trench. A mid-late 12th century sherd embedded in the soil matrix of upper courses made it clear that it was a later construction and thus we removed it on April 30th. During the 12th century the inhabitants may have added to the height of the wall on account of the rising floor level created by the addition of fills and floors.;  ; The floor level revealed by the removal of all of the aforementioned twelve fills was context 6237. We were able to excavate one fill below this floor (6239), but we ran into difficulty because robbing trench (6350) located immediately east of this room truncated the surface beneath fill 6239 (6465), and thus we had to shift our focus temporarily to the southern half of the courtyard. ; ; In a pit in this room, located in the southern part and truncated by the northeast corner of the Ottoman house, we discovered a small extension of the cut and unexcavated fill, which we excavated as context 6214 (cut 6215). This pit was excavated in the 1960s, but we have not yet identified which of the 1960s notebooks refers to it.; ; Sakellariou believed he could discern the cut and fill of the foundation trench of wall 5725 in the east scarp of “Bothros 9” (NB 235, p.19), which disturbed most of it. “Bothros 9” appears to be of Frankish date, based on Guy Sanders’ examination of the lot pottery (Lot 837). This foundation trench cut has as yet not been revealed by the further removal of deposits in the area (see Middle Byzantine, below).; ; Late Byzantine:; ; In this area we excavated a series of floors that had been disturbed by later actions.  Floor 6477 had a post-hole dug into it which would be consistent with some sort of roof support.  It was also cut in the south by what appears to be a pit filled with large debris, although this pit was itself disturbed by a later pit, which was excavated in the 1960s, and so its purpose remains unclear.; ; Middle Byzantine:; ; The series of floors and leveling fills from the Middle Byzantine period were excavated in this room, one of which (6484) shows evidence of a post-hole similar to the one discovered in Late Byzantine levels.  This post-hole was probably also used for a roof support. In this period the room seems to have been used for cooking, since a hearth (6653) was cut into the fill at the southern end of the room (6658=6664).  The same fill was cut dramatically short of the southern wall of the room for a purpose that remains unclear.  It was in this area (fill 6658) that a fragment of the Roman sima of the South Stoa was discovered, namely a terracotta head of a female divinity.  The earliest material excavated in this room was a floor that was broken in many places (6670=6668=6672) that does not show evidence of cooking, so it seems that cooking only took place in this area for a limited time during the Middle Byzantine period.  The removal of floor 6668 revealed a slump that may be related to the foundation trench for wall 5725, but no firm cut has been discerned.  Since wall 5725 cuts a Late Byzantine tile-built foundation feature (see above), and thus must be a Late Byzantine or later wall, it seems unlikely that a foundation trench will be found below this level and that the foundations of this wall were constructed flush with the foundation trench cut.; ; ; Conclusion:; ; All four of the areas excavated by Team Green during the 2009 season are components of the Byzantine house under investigation in the area north of Nezi Field. They represent four independent, but interconnected spaces which appear to have undergone substantial modification during their use. Our excavations this season have clarified many aspects of the construction history in this area of the house. It appears now that the rooms immediately northwest and west of the courtyard were divided during the Byzantine period by wall 5725, and may have originally been one large space. The relationship between the courtyard and the room immediately to the west has also been clarified by the excavation of robbing trench 6350 for wall 6375. When wall 6375 was removed, probably during the Late Byzantine Period (early-mid 12th century), this opened the courtyard to the west and made obsolete threshold 6320. The removal of this wall seems contemporary with the pier foundations 6359 and 6318, which represent the construction of a support system for a roof over of part of the courtyard, thus diminishing the open-air area of the courtyard. Access to the courtyard was reduced during the late 13th or early 14th century with the construction of wall 5508, which left only an entrance at the southwest as a point of access leading toward threshold 6320 in the northwest corner of the courtyard.; ; The high-volume cooking activity apparent in the NW area (cut by walls 5562, 5742, 5725, and 6321) suggests that for at least part of its history the house may have been used as a tavern, which may also account for the frequent renovations.  The true nature of the cooking activity may be revealed by the further demolition of late walls such as 10111 and 6130.  The Frankish well would ideally be removed as well, though there may be some practical difficulties owing to the nature of the shaft, which expands at its lower levels.  The NW room’s relationship to the W room has become much clearer, and the removal of wall 5725 should make it easier to treat the two as a single space.; ; With respect to the room immediately north of the courtyard, there remains at least one deposit of leveling fill atop the earlier E-W wall in this space that dates from the period when the first phase of the house had gone out of use and the floor levels were raised for the construction of the second phase of use of the house. This leveling fill may reveal floors associated with the first phase of use of the house. However, attention must be paid in keeping excavation in phase between the room north of the courtyard, the courtyard itself and the rooms NE and E of the courtyard so as not to artificially break up earlier features/deposits associated with the first phase of use of the house.","Nezi Field 2009 by Karl Goetze, Dan Leon (2009-05-25 to 2009-06-12)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Karl Goetze, Dan Leon (2009-05-25 to 2009-06-12)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2009 Excavation summary","Katie Rask, Marty Wells; ASCSA Corinth Excavations; End of Season Report; Blue Team; North of Nezi; ; The following is a summary of the excavations carried out in the area north of Nezi field during the 2009 season. Three teams worked in this area over the three sessions. In the first session, 29 March – 24 April, Ryan Boehm and Joanna Potenza were supervisors. They focused on four areas: the westernmost room bounded by walls 5631 and W54; the room bounded by walls 10080, 10076, 10077, 10087 and W55, both east of the central courtyard of a Byzantine house (E: 274.70 – 281.69; N: 1026.30 – 1032.55 including the southern walls); the room bounded by walls 10081, 10082, 10083, 10086, and 10079, an addition built outside of the eastern edge of the house (E: 282.15 – 284.95; N: 1027.15 – 1030.25); and a series of roads running N-S east of this addition (E: 285.4 – 286.65; N: 1029.30 – 1032.40). In the second session, 27 April - 22 May, Katie Rask, Dreya Mihaloew and Martin Wells were supervisors. They focused on the room between walls W55 on the north (N 1034.30), 6267 on the south (N 1026.97), 10086 on the east (E 282.15) and W54 on the west (E 273.95). Rask and Wells continued supervising in the same room during the third session, 25 May -12 June. This report provides a summary and interpretation based on the season as a whole.; ; Our objective this season was to expose the 11th century levels for the purpose of opening up this house for public display. The director was Guy Sanders, the field director Alicia Carter, the pickman Thanasis Notis, the shovelman Tasos Kakouros and the barrowman Vasilis Kollias. The dry sieve was operated primarily by Sula Anastasopoulou, Kollias, Rask, Mihaloew, and Wells.; ; Previous Activity: 1961; ; Under the directorship of Henry Robinson, Section F of the Byzantine house was explored by William Berg III in the spring of 1961. At some time after the completion of excavation (either in 1961 or later in the 60s when excavation in the Agora Southwest was closed) portions of the room were back-filled, while other areas were left exposed. Following his work, no archaeological activity was undertaken in the area except for a cleaning in 2007, when it was weeded, covered with plastic, and back-filled.; ; In the room which was the focus of our excavation throughout all three 2009 sessions, Berg had exposed walls W54, W55, 10080, 10083, 10086, 10088,10094, 5631,  an E-W drain (5938), and well 6288. Additionally, he sunk trenches in all four corners of the room; these may have been further excavated while searching for the Roman road. The combination of back-filled and exposed areas, as well as the recording practices in the 1960s, had an effect on our ability to interpret the pre-60s stratigraphy. For this reason, extensive study of Berg’s photographs and excavation notebooks was undertaken in order to determine how his activity impacted the space of the room prior to our renewed excavations. A detailed discussion of the four corner trenches is attached as Appendix B of this report. More general references to Berg’s results are included in the pertinent discussions below.; ; ; Frankish (1210-1458); ; The Frankish period seems to have witnessed a great deal of activity and renovation in our space, with the most active period being the second half of the 13th century. Of the features dated to this period, most can be placed either in the third quarter or in the later part of the century. During this time span, the form and use of the room changed on several occasions. A wide variety of new or changed elements in the room indicate this, including the addition of rooms, walls, a drain, thresholds, floors and fills. ; ; Well 6288; ; One of the main actions pointing to the changing use of space was the closing of well 6288, which was filled sometime in the third quarter of the 13th century. Because the excavation and processing of the well was a significant part of the season’s work, and because its contents will be the subject of considerable further study, in what follows we will provide a detailed description of our results from the well’s excavation. Afterwards, the discussion will return to the other 13th century activity. ; ; The well had originally been examined on May 13, 1961 (NB 229, p. 109) and designated Well OA-107 (coordinate designation) at that time. Berg excavated it for less than a meter and recorded no finds. He postulated that it belonged to the Turkish period and did not excavate deeper because of its narrowness. Our own investigation began by removing 0.45 m of backfill and debris before excavation. Initially we attempted to determine context changes based on differences in soil composition and inclusions; however, after approximately 2.0 meters of excavation, the Director advised that we should change contexts approximately every 0.30 m. This was our primary method of excavation, but we also changed contexts when stratigraphically necessary.  All the material from the well was dry sieved with 7mm screens and 3mm starting with context 6420. Water flotation samples (15 L) were also collected from every context. 32 contexts were removed in total, but the bottom of the well was not reached nor was the structure (6288) itself excavated.; ; The material removed from the well indicates three discernible dumping actions dating to the Frankish period, between 1270-1290 C.E. The character of these deposits, however, suggests that the well was filled over a short time. The latest dumping layer (6286, 6291, 6297, 6360, 6361, 6365, 6368) fills the top 2.75 meters of the well. The contexts comprising the layer included a large amount of pottery, bone material, and various smaller finds such as iron nails, glass, and bronze objects. The proceeding (and underlying) dumping action revealed a dramatic decrease in the number of inclusions, with a very small amount of pottery and bone, and a significant increase in the ash and charcoal content of the soil (6369, 6371, 6374, 6378, 6383, 6386). Below and proceeding the ash deposit was another dumping action (6394, 6400, 6405, 6412, 6416, 6420, 6430, 6438, 6447); this deposit was characterized by soil with a high clay content and very little ash, extremely large amounts of pottery (with a high proportion of fine ware) and a very large amount of animal bone. ; ; At a depth of 11.70 m (elev. 73.40 m) we reached the water table (context 6518). The pottery and bones were still present at their normal high amounts so we continued excavating for another 37 cm, to a depth of 11.88 (elev. 73.03 m), at which point we felt that it was unsafe to continue. The last context was 6524.  ; ; The latest pottery found in the well dates to a twenty-year span (1270-1290), but the three dumping actions apparent amongst the contexts are not chronologically separate, despite their stratigraphic relationships.  In addition, the presence of complete vessels suggests primary deposition, but the occurrence of incomplete and fragmentary body sherds also indicates the secondary deposition of pottery. This interpretation is supported by the bone material. The excellent preservation of delicate and small bones (e.g., of fish, cats, birds), as well of the articulation of some bones, can be indicative of primary deposition; on the other hand, a large amount of weathered and fragmentary bones suggests the secondary deposition of animal remains.; Personal communication with Thanos Webb, the excavation’s zooarchaeologist, emphasized the distinct nature of the bone material that had been removed from the well. The preservation was very good, with little weathering and the presence of smaller and more fragile elements. There was an abundance of different anatomical elements, representing parts from the entire skeleton. The surface modification of the bones was also distinctive, with the butchery marks on multiple elements being far more extensive than that on bones from areas outside the well. Finally, the species representation from the well was also conspicuous, ranging from common domesticates to large birds and fish, and with an age distribution ranging from fetal to mature.  Additionally, large amounts of microfaunal remains and fish scales were collected from the dry sieve.  These have yet to be analyzed.; ; In addition to the pottery and bones, we recovered small finds of both a utilitarian and luxury nature. These included stone and bone tools, iron nails, bronze lumps, worked bone artifacts, spindle hooks and whorls, and glass. Twenty-seven coins were recovered. Nearly half of these were illegible, and of those which we could date, most were Late Byzantine and Frankish. None need to be later than the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, chronology in agreement with our pottery. A complete list of the contexts and coin dates can be found in Appendix A of this summary.; ; The well structure itself was not excavated, so our only evidence for the construction date of the well comes from our limited excavation of the fill (6536) inside the construction cut (6535). The pottery from this context dated to the 10th/11th centuries. Given the large amount of dumped 10/11th century fill in other parts of the room which stratigraphically date to the 12th century (see below), the small sample provided by the construction trench cannot assuredly date the well’s first use phase. Still, if one considers the dating of the contexts surrounding the well (see below), we can speculate that well was in use from the 10th/11th centuries until it was closed at the third quarter of the 13th century.; Other 13th century activity; ; The character of the other 13th century actions in the room also reflects an alteration of the space. In the 3rd quarter of the century, sometime around the closing of the well, a long drain (5938) was laid running E-W and extending eastward out of the room. In order to extend the drain completely to the road, a small portion of wall 10083 had to be removed. The pebble/cement floor associated with the drain (5934) suggests that the room continued to act as an outdoor space, as it had previously in the 12th century. Two piers (5957, 10077) set up at the room’s south east boundary and a threshold (5919) placed between served to monumentalize the passageway between our room and the one to the south. At the same time, another pier (6148) was placed to the north on an axis with the eastern pier; it was placed against the west end of wall 10087 and can be dated by the fill which it cuts to the south (6141). Together the three piers must have served a supporting function for an upper level or arch.  By the end of the century the threshold had been walled up and two connecting N-S walls (10094, 10080) were added at the western pier to slice the entire room in half, separating the well and staircase from the room’s eastern portion. ; ; In order to build wall 10094 it seems that digging activity of some sort was undertaken, probably to clear the space for construction. We have not settled on a firm interpretation of the activity here, however. Originally we believed we had found a robbing trench for another pier foundation (6273), located on an axis with the other three. Further excavation revealed that the pier foundation cut was part of a longer N-S cut (6254/5, 6240, 6565, 6569) truncated by Berg’s corner trench (6570). The lower portion of the cut contains fill with 12th century dates (6274, 6581); the robbing of the upper portion, evidently begun at the southern end, can be associated with the 13th century (6225, 6240). Conclusions about the history of activity in this region are tenuous, but may include, for example: a) an earlier wall was robbed out in the 12th century, another placed in the same cut at a higher layer, and that robbed out in the 13th century, b) a wall was removed at some point and a pier foundation was sunk in its place to coincide with the other three, then removed for 10094. ; The removal of other features was also necessary to reshape the space. For example, an E-W wall (6052) ending at 10086 must have been removed to accommodate the threshold placed just at its south. The robbing trench left behind by the wall’s removal was later cut by pit 5935. This pit may have been dug to remove a large pithos, evidenced at the south end of the pit by its deeper circular depression, perhaps located at the corner of  walls 6052 and 6424 and therefore outside the boundary of our room and adjacent to its south (see Appendix B).; ; 12th century; ; Whereas the 13th century activity in the room involved the movement and construction of numerous built features, at present it seems that the 12th century activity, while extensive, cannot be linked to any extant architectural elements within the room. Instead, the 12th century activity is marked by a series of leveling and dumping activities that can be situated in two general time periods, the early 12th century and the second half of the century.; The most dramatic of these is a deep layer of multiple dumping actions in the southern part of the room. In the early part of the century, an extensive cut was made that truncated a grey clay floor in the west and extended to the eastern edge of the space. The cut was filled with many deposits of a mixed nature; in particular, several lenses of fill contained pottery of multiple periods and included large dumps of roof tiles (e.g., 6191: 21.4kg, 6186: 24.9kg). The mixed nature of the pottery deposit suggests that it was removed from another context before deposition in the room. In fact, the majority of the lenses were dated by pottery to the 10th/11th century (6629, 6626, 6622, 6194, 6196, 6198, 6225), while the dumping activity can be securely dated to the 12th century by the lowest fill level (6662). ; ; Redeposited 10th/11th century material was also used to make up the matrix of a series of pebble floors in the room’s NE corner (6593, 6592, 6591). The floors were truncated on all sides, but can be dated by a deep fill beneath (6605) containing early 12th century pottery and very well-preserved bones (with nearly complete and fragile examples, suggesting primary deposition).  Because the patchy pebble floors exhibited wear patterns compatible with the pooling of water, during the early part of the century we suspect the room to have been an outdoor space. ; The evidence for architectural adaption in the courtyard during the twelfth century is scanty. A feature running N-S east of the well may have been removed (see above). An E-W wall (6426) may also have been removed, since a series of robbing trenches were found (6042, 6046), but since the wall has not been fully excavated, we cannot be certain of its chronology. ; ; 10th/11th century; ; Our understanding of the 10th and 11th century phases of the room is currently incomplete, since our efforts have focused primarily on removing 12th and 13th century remains. As mentioned, many of the dumped fills that we have encountered were dated by pottery to the 10th/11th century, but belong stratigraphically to later periods. We also have 10th/11th century dates for the patchy floors and some of the fills below them in the NE part of the room, but these are stratigraphically dated to the 12th century as well. ; ; A large drain was located outside the room, east of wall 10086 under the later additions to the Byzantine house, curving from the southwest (10079) north and west to 10083. Situated under what was once the wider Medieval road, the drain was covered by squared limestone slabs probably removed from the nearby Roman road. The fill and surface above the drain contained pottery of the 10th and 11th century, but as the cut and fill excavated seems to have been related to a later repair, we are not able to establish a firm chronology for the drain’s construction. Moreover, given the stratigraphically later 10th/11th century fills common in the room, the date should probably remain speculative for the time being.; Otherwise, we have no structures that can be assuredly dated to the 10th and 11th centuries. In the western portion of the room, a grey clay floor has been uncovered through which the well was cut. The fill inside the well construction cut was dated to the 10th/11th century, as were the fills above this floor and the cut. However, as stated above, given the limited excavation of the construction cut, the unexcavated well structure, and the disturbed nature of this part of the room, we only tentatively date the well construction to this period. ; ; Suggestions for further excavation; ; One area of particular interest for future research is the architectural phasing of the area. This is especially relevant since the room appears to have served as a courtyard in the 12th century and its boundaries seem to have shifted on several occasions. For this reason, it might be worth considering the room’s relationship to the other external courtyards. It is also a possibility that the space’s form and function changed as the larger building was broken into smaller units. ; ; In keeping with the premises of open-area excavation, we have endeavored to extract all 13th century and later levels from the room (the exception being the unexcavated well deposits below the water table). Nearly all 12th century levels have been removed. We recommend that the following steps be taken to clear any remaining 12th century evidence before proceeding to the earlier Byzantine periods. ; ; 1)Any remaining fill from the unfinished portion of 6662 should be removed, particularly the dumped fill in the area north of 5935 and west of 6556/7. The relationship between that fill and the eastern area of the room should be further clarified (particularly in the region of wall 10086 and cut 5935). ; 2)If permission to remove wall 6426 has been acquired, then it should be taken out and the area beneath it examined in more detail. It may have been partly robbed out in the 12th century, but its construction date has not yet been identified.; 3)The staircase (6324, 6325, 6333) can be further examined by excavating the space between the lower and upper steps. It is probable that the staircase was added after the well was closed, since it partly overlies the well packing, but a more precise date for its construction would be helpful.; 4)The triangular area 6648 laid against walls 10086 and 10087 should be excavated. We believed that it may have been outside cut 6678, but its stratigraphic make-up should be determined more precisely, since its last level to be removed was part of the larger context 6648.; 5)The grey floor south of the well should be examined in an effort to understand its use phases, the date and function of wall 6422 and the collection of rocks visible in the 1960s sondage section.; 6)The uneven fills in the northeast part of the room should be removed to explore their make-up and to determine if they actually date to the 10th/11th century or if they are part of the 12th century leveling action. Their removal will also allow the investigation of the floors beneath them that had been cut by 6678. ; 7) If the lower levels of the room are reached, three particular questions that have been created by earlier excavation might be addressed:; A. What were the circumstances of the skeleton’s deposition in the NE corner? (See Appendix B) Why was the body haphazardly laid out and why was its skull covered by 10087?; B. What is identification of the line of stones at the bottom of the N-S cut (6273)? The soil south of the stones seemed to be full of hollows. Might it be an earlier well, as Thanasis has suggested, or another type of open space?; C. A N-S wall was uncovered by Berg in the NW trench (6570) and re-found in 2009. It appears to be a finely constructed wall abutting the earlier phase of W55, forming a precise corner. How does this change the plan of the building and the understanding of the long entrance alley to the north? Does the wall have any relation to the Byzantine house at all or is it entirely pre-Medieval?; ; ; Appendix A: Well coin dates; ; Context   Coin # and date; 6286; #123 Corinth medieval 1245-1250; 6291; 6297; 6360; 6361; 6365; 6368; 6369; 6371; 6374; 6378; 6383; 6386; 6394; 6400; 6405; #99 medieval illeg.; #102 Manuel I 1167-1183; 6412; #103 medieval illeg. 1092-1399; #104 Villehardouin 1250-1260; #107 illeg.; 6416; #114 illeg. 1092-1261; #115 Roman Imperial; 6420; 6430; #119 Manuel I 1143-1180; #120 medieval illeg. 1092-1261; #121 illeg 324-599; #122 Greek – Corinth 400-146 BC; 6438; 6447; #126 illeg. 1092-1261; #127 illeg. 1092-1399; #128 illeg. 1250-1330; #161 illeg.; 6455; 6469; #137 Alexius I 1085-1092; #139 illeg.; #140 illeg. 1204-1261; 6474; #142 Manuel 1 1143-1180; 6483; #149 illeg.; 6486; #146 medieval illeg.; #150 illeg.; #151 Byzantine illeg.; 6492; 6497; #153 medieval; #154 Byzantine; #155 Byzantine; 6515; 6518; 6524; ; Appendix B; NB = Berg’s notebook, #229.; PV = Photograph volume 18, 1960 II; ; Berg included a number of plans of Section F, which he updated throughout the season as new information came to light. His drawings have been useful for reconstructing his activity at the time, although his plans do often focus on architecture to the expense of other important features (e.g., he never depicts well 6288). His adherence to the overall grid is often inexact. It appears that his elevations, in contrast, are quite accurate; they can be tested both at the 13th century drain (5938) and at the bottom of 6173.; ; Two of the corner trenches were cleaned during 2009’s Session1 by Potenza and Boehm, that in the southwest (5935) and southeast (6223).; ; 5935: This area was originally excavated by Berg on June 10th, 1961 (NB: 192, 195). He mentions working in the area between his walls #33 (10080/10094), #27 (10086/10087), and #23 (10076/10077). Although Berg does not describe the excavation of a deep pit or bothros, a figure-eight-shaped pit is visible in the end-of-excavation photographs (PV: p 32, 61-24-4); it was cleaned, defined and recorded by Potenza and Boehm as cut 5935. Berg’s silence on the issue of the pit may be due to the fact that its excavation was done on the last day of the season, with work ending at noon. The material was saved as Lot 662. Because the stratigraphy was so disturbed by both Berg’s excavation and by later weathering, 5935’s original digging cannot be placed securely in the room’s sequence of events. It clearly occurred after the filling of 6042/6046 (RT for 6052), which it truncates, but otherwise we can not exactly place it on the Harris Matrix and have thus left it floating.; ; 6623: Berg refers to this area, excavated on June 6th, 1961 (NB: p. 182), as the space between his walls #34 (W54), #33 (10080/10094), and #25. No photographs of the specific area were taken, but it is depicted in the post-season views found in PV. The photos indicate that in this area, Berg excavated everything to the level of the top of the well, with two specific features down to a lower level. The first is the sondage taken at the corners of W54 and 6267/5361; it was cleaned by Potenza and Boehm but not given a number. According to the photos, Berg’s excavation of the sondage revealed the northern face of 6267/5361, the wall located about a meter or so north of Berg's Wall #25 and the southwest boundary of our own trench. Berg did not include wall 6267/5361 on his plans, but it does seem to have been drawn on the 2009 Nezi field plan. The pit that he excavated at this time has a large number of jumbled rocks on its east face (under wall 6422). It is unclear if 6422 was excavated by Berg, but on his final plan (p. 188) he draws a small structure that jogs east and then south from W54 in a similar way to how we originally interpreted 6422; this may be a reference to his sondage and the jumbled rocks therein, or to 6422. Also likely, however, is that the structure drawn by Berg refers to a pile of larger rocks possibly visible north of the sondage and south of the staircase in photo 61-26-5 (p35); again, this interpretation is based on a general photograph of the area as there was no detailed description in Berg’s notebook. ; ; The second delineated feature visible in the photographs is a circular pit to the east of the sondage and up against Berg's wall #33 (our 10080). This is probably what Berg refers to on p. 182 as a circular pit just west of his wall #33 and north of his wall #25. He indicates that the pit had a plastered southern face and was filled with fine white ash. The pottery was saved as Lot 683. He excavated the pit to an elevation of 84.16m. Our season’s closing elevation was 84.18m, a difference of only .02m, and was taken approximately under the pit’s location as visible in the photographs (at the bottom of 6662). ; ; The placement of Berg’s corner sondage had some bearing in our interpretation of contexts 6620 and 6338. 6620 was made of an extremely soft and ashy fill that was exposed by Potenza and Boehm’s cleaning at the beginning of the season, and was partly removed by 6338 and further sweeping. Its softness and the its straight northern boundary suggested that it might be back-fill. In the 1961 photographs, the sondage does not appear to be located so far north, leaving the possibility that the softness of the soil was a result of exposure to the elements, foot traffic and other 2009 excavation activity. Nevertheless, it is still possible that the area was excavated further after the 1961 end-of-season photos were taken and that 6620 was composed of re-deposited earth - if so, the excavation activity must have been completed after Berg's 1961 efforts. See PV: p. 34, 61-26-4; p. 35, 61-27-1, 61-27-2, 61-26-5.; ; The two corners in the northwest (6570) and northeast (6173) were cleaned by Rask and Wells in 2009’s Session 2 and 3: ; ; 6173: This northeast corner was originally excavated by Berg on June 9th, 1961 (NB: p. 192) and continued on June 10th, the final day of the season. Berg stopped digging at a hard surface found at 84.20m, at which point the wall foundation trenches for W55 (#34) and 10086 (#27) were visible. At this level he also uncovered a skeleton lying in a disheveled E-W position with its head beneath10087 (PV: p. 25: 61-15-3). Berg makes clear in his notebook that the area would not be excavated any further beyond their stopping point at 84.20m, the level of the skeleton. Our excavation has shown, however, that some time later digging must have taken place, as an irregular pit cuts through the hard surface at which Berg stopped (our measurement shows the disturbed hard surface to be 84.10m, slightly lower than Berg’s stopping point at 84.20m). The later digging cut through the wall foundation trench noted by Berg and continued to a presently undetermined depth. It is unclear when this digging happened and by whom it was undertaken.; ; 6570: The northwest area was originally exposed on May 26, 1961 (PV: p. 35, 61-27-7). It began as a soft fill that was excavated to a hard level at 84.06m. He speculated that the soft fill was W54/55's foundation trench (p.151). The hard soil was then removed from W54 eastward towards Berg's wall #33 (10094/10080). Berg originally drew #33 as extending from our room northward beyond W55 (plan, p. 101); if the wall truly extended that far north than its northern portion must have been removed by Berg. Unfortunately, the end-of-excavation photographs do not clarify the matter, although they do seem to indicate that Berg excavated a N-S trench possibly crossing over W55 that terminated in a large round pit to the north (PV: p. 36, 61-27-3). It is not possible to say much more from the photographs nor to determine if that cut/pit had any relation to the activity in our room. Moreover, no mention is made in Berg's notebook of the wall we designate 10095 and which seems to have been the easternmost point of their trench here. It is drawn on two of his plans, although it seems to be indicated in the wrong spot on his last plan (p. 157 and 188).   The area of 6570 was excavated down “to levels of obviously Roman or Classical date"" (p. 167) and was presumably closed on May 30th, 1961. The pottery from Berg's exploration was saved as Lots 672, 673, 675.; ; Our interpretation of the N-S cut 6273 was affected by 6570, since Berg’s excavations truncated the cut. It is also unclear if Berg partially exposed the line of rocks at the preserved northern end of 6273.","Nezi Field 2009 by Martin Wells, Katie Rask (2009-06-17 to 2009-06-18)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Martin Wells, Katie Rask (2009-06-17 to 2009-06-18)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Pink Final Summary","Jody Cundy and Dina Boero; Corinth Excavations ; Nezi 2009; Final Summary; 12 June 2009    ; ; Over the course of three sessions in the 2009 season, excavations continued in the west half of Nezi field, which extends from the following coordinates: NW corner: 1015N, 255.5E, NE corner: 1014N, 264E, SE corner: 999N, 266E, SW corner: 999N, 2555.5E. The area was excavated by Stella Diakou and Cavan Concannon, from March 30 to April 16th, 2009, Stella Diakou and Jody Cundy, from April 27 to May 15th, 2009, and Jody Cundy and Dina Boero, from May 25 to June 12th, 2009.  All trench supervisors worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders, Alicia Carter, James Herbst and Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst. Panos Stamatis was the pickman in the first session, Stavros* was the barrow man, and Sotiris Raftopoulos was the shovel man.  In the second and third sessions, Kostas Arberores was the pickman, Stavros * was barrowman and Vaggelis Kollias was shovelman.; ; The aim of excavation this season in Nezi Field was to remove all contexts later than the period of occupation of the buildings composed of walls 306, 336, 332, 365, 305, 376, and 313, which appear to be medieval domestic structures.  The overall goal of the Nezi field excavations is to show the relationship of this area to the excavated area to the North (North of Nezi).; ; Early Modern (1831-1945); ; During the first session, S. Diakou and C. Concannon excavated a number of agricultural deposits containing eighteenth and nineteenth-century pottery, mixed with thirteenth- and fourteenth-century material (contexts 434, 435, 439, 442, 443, 441, lot 2009-76, lot 2009-79).  The mixed nature of these deposits, coupled with the fact that they cover most of the area of excavations, suggests that this area was plowed and used for agricultural purposes during the early modern period.  Added evidence for this conclusion is the removal of an early modern wall (243) in the 2008 excavations, which served to mark the boundary between agricultural fields in the area.  In addition, a lens of dumped material (476) associated with the robbed out portion of the earlier NS stone built drain 426 indicates disturbance of this feature in the early modern period.  A circular pit which contained early modern material (485, 486) also interrupted the course of the drain, though this feature predates the construction of the boundary wall (243) since the foundation trench for this wall (272) truncates the pit.  Both the plow zone and the pit are likely associated with the occupation phase of the Giambouranis’ house (Nb. 252, 262).  ; ; Also during the early modern period, two phases of robbing activity occurred.  The corner formed by the NS wall 306 and the EW wall 366 was robbed out (496, 497).  The homogenous nature of the fill of the L-shaped cut indicates that both walls were robbed out in the same event. Prior to the robbing of the intersection of these two walls, another robbing event occurred (cut 596).  This robbed wall may be the further westward extension of 366 or it may have been a different wall on a similar orientation that either abutted or bonded with the W corner of walls 306 and 366.  The robbing trench 596 itself is roughly in alignment with EW wall 366, but no stones from the robbed wall remain in situ in the bottom of the cut.  Consequentially, it is not possible to compare the alignment of this wall with the preserved portions of wall 366.  The pottery associated with this earlier robbing activity produced an early modern date (595).  ; ; After this season’s excavation in Nezi Field, it is expected that we removed all the deposits associated with early modern activity in the west portion of the area, though early modern material may still be present in the area east of walls 540 and 313 which was not excavated this season but in 2007 and 2008.; Turkish (1680 – 1831); ; A series of deposits excavated along the course of the NS drain 426 attest to the disturbance of this feature during the Ottoman period.  We excavated a series of deposits within the course of the drain from which we recovered Ottoman material (591, 590, 589, 463).  These fills represent backfilling of the drain rather than use fill.  This backfilling occurred after the removal of the cover slabs in the northern stretch of the drain; these cover stones are preserved in situ in the portion of the drain that extends southward from wall 366.  It is not possible to determine whether human agents purposely recovered the cover slabs for re-use or if these elements were disturbed by the agricultural activity in the area.; ; We partially excavated a deep, plaster-rich lens which continues westward into the scarp at the edge of the excavations (255.5 E).  The plaster inclusions suggest that this is re- deposited debris from the demolition of a wall possibly connected with the Ottoman phase of the Giambouranis’ house (459, 631).; ; Frankish (1210-1458 CE); ; Excavations this season attest to an abundance of Frankish activity throughout Nezi Field.  First, in the northwest corner of our excavation area we exposed a collapsed circular built well (structure 495). The fill of the well below the lowest preserved course of roughly hewn limestone blocks has not been excavated. The upper most fill (492) of the cut for the construction of the well (cut 493) produced fourteenth-century material whereas the second lens (494) contained tumbled blocks from the built walls along with  thirteenth-century material; the large block in this fill indicates a collapse of the upper courses of the well and a possible date for its destruction in the thirteenth century, though whether this collapse reflects an intentional event related to the backfilling of the well remains unclear and requires further excavation. ; ; Second, in the southwest corner of the excavation area, west of wall 306 and north of wall 376, a destruction lens of collapsed roof tiles was revealed. This destruction layer was disturbed with the opening of a pit (cut 501). It is possible that this pit represents an effort to sink a well that was abandoned when the pit-diggers hit bedrock. The excavation of the pit fill (499, 500) produced late-thirteenth-century material (lot 2009-26). This gives us a putative terminus ante quem for the destruction of the room west of wall 306 and north of wall 376. From the pit fill (500) we uncovered a bronze earring with copper wire decoration (MF 2009-09). ; ; There is further evidence of Frankish activity in Nezi Field which post-dates the occupation of the structures formed by walls 305, 306, 313, 365, 366, and 376.  As mentioned above, west of the NS wall 306 and north of the EW wall 376, we revealed a destruction layer composed of nearly complete roof tiles which had fallen when the roof collapsed.  When excavated, this destruction layer (602) produced late thirteenth-century material and revealed a clay floor which abuts wall both 376 and wall 306.  It is clear that occupants of this space swept the floor clean prior to the abandonment of this structure, as no objects were revealed on the interfaced below the collapsed roof.  Further north in the same room the floor was cut for the construction of a random-coursed, hydraulic cement-lined well (610).  The partially-excavated backfill of the well included late thirteenth-century material (611).  Because no roof tiles remained in the northern portion of the room or overlaid the well, it is impossible to determine at this point whether the construction of the well pre- or post-dates the abandonment of the space.  Further excavation of the backfill and use fill of the well will be necessary in order to clarify this issue.  ; ; We posit that a rather short period elapsed between the last phase of occupation of this space and the collapse of the roof, because excavation of the floor covered by tiles and the leveling fill beneath it produced late thirteenth- through early fourteenth-century material (614, 615, lot 2009-75).  A second, earlier floor (618, lot 2009-74) extended northward from wall 576 but did not reach the robbing trench 596 which marks the northern boundary of the space.  The excavation of this floor produced mid thirteenth-century material and revealed a third, earlier floor; the sequence of floors provides evidence for continuous occupation of the space.  The floors and destruction layer in this room have been sectioned during excavations because the scarp to west at 255.5 E marks the edge of the excavation area; thus their full extent is not known.  No points of communication between this space and the adjacent rooms east of wall 306 have been identified.  The south wall of the space abuts and therefore postdates the NS wall 306.  Wall 376 also extends EW off alignment with wall 305 which runs on the east side of wall 306.  Based on these observations, it is possible that this space belongs to a different complex than the adjacent rooms to the east.            ; ; Third, a wealth of Frankish activity also took place in the eastern portion of the site.  After the last occupants abandoned the suite of rooms bounded by the three NS walls 306, 332 and 313, and the EW walls 366 and 305, blocks were robbed from the intersection of the NS wall 332 and the EW wall 365. The excavation of the fill of the robbing trench produced material which showed that walls 366 and 332 were robbed no earlier than the thirteenth-fourteenth century (450, 451, lot 2009-1).  These walls were not fully robbed down to their foundations; instead they continue underneath the fill of the robbing trench. ; ; In the room south of the robbed portions of walls 365 and 332, a sequence of six intersecting pits disturbed the red clay floor associated with wall 313 to the east and wall 332 to the west (lot 2009-60). The fill (508) of the latest circular pit (cut 510) produced late thirteenth-century material. The function of pit cut 510 is unclear; the diameter is consistent with a well cut, though the depth (0.52m) and stopping point would contradict this interpretation because the bottom of the pit consisted of a loose matrix with no impediments to further digging if their intention was to sink a well. Pit cut 510 was cut into the fills (511, 512) of a larger oval pit (cut 513) which also produced late thirteenth-century material. The finds from this pit include an intact horse cranium and articulated sheep/goat vertebrae with both the sacrum and innominate and indicate that this pit was probably used as a refuse pit. Pit cut 513 cuts the fills of two earlier pits: pit cut 517 and pit cut 526. The later of the two, pit cut 517 was a shallow circular pit that yielded a lot of building material together with late thirteenth-century pottery (fills 515, 516). The earlier pit cut 526 was another circular and relatively deep pit that produced also thirteenth-century material (fills 518, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 544). Pit cut 526 is cut through the fill of an earlier pit (cut 528) with which it shared a northern boundary. The fill (530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535) of pit cut 528 gave late thirteenth-century material. It seems that the pit was not filled to the top immediately but rather left open for a period of time as pieces of the red clay floor, into which the pit was cut, were recovered from the fill of the pit c. 0.25-0.40m below the elevation of the floor. The function of the pit is not clear; the pit has a depth of at least 1.7m and cuts bedrock at the lowest revealed part of the cut which might indicate that it is a well. However, its diameter of 2m seems too large of such a feature. The lowest excavated fill produced a lot of building material. Pit cut 528 has not been excavated to its full extent. Pit cut 528 is cut into the fill of an earlier oval pit to the north (pit cut 527). Pit cut 527 is the earliest pit in the sequence. The fill (514, 509, 519, 541, 542, 520, 543) of the pit gave pottery dating to the 3rd quarter of the thirteenth century.; ; Extensive disturbance in the area has caused the slumping of layers in and around the pits. The overlapping pits in this area seem to indicate a preference for digging pits in already disturbed areas where the soil is less compact. All the pits are imagined to have been cut from the shallow lenses of dumped fill above the red clay floor such that they postdate the use phase of the floor and its associated walls 313 and 332. It seems that by the end of the thirteenth century at least this part of the complex of rooms was not in use. ; ; The Frankish phase of occupation of the room bounded by wall 332 to the west, 313 to the east, wall 305 to the south and wall 365 to the north is attested by the heavy red clay floor (620, 549, 550) which extends between and abuts all four of the walls.  Although phasing of the construction of these walls requires further excavation and the isolation of foundation trenches associated with the walls, the relationship between the red clay floor and the walls shows at least one phase of contemporary use in the first half of the thirteenth century.  The floor also lay against two superimposed courses of tile fragment built into wall 332; we interpret these tile courses as the bedding for a robbed out threshold block.  The presence of the threshold (structure 536) indicates communication between the room east of wall 332 and the room west of wall 332.  Communication between the room east of wall 332 and the adjacent room to the east of wall 313 is similarly attested by the limestone threshold block and the doorjamb and pivot cuttings (structure 537) built into wall 313.  The room east of wall 313 is bounded to the east by the NS wall 334 and was previously excavated in the 2008 season.  We posit a mid-thirteenth century date for the phase of occupation associated with the floor based on the pottery recovered during excavation of the floor, which is consistent with both the fragments of a plate and an incised bone bead found sitting on the interface of the floor (562, lot 2009-24, MF 2009-23). ; ; The red clay floor (620, 549, 550) also abuts a large, stone-built structure which appears to be a platform, bench, or perhaps the base of a staircase (452).  Excavation of the fills below the floor north of this structure further revealed fair-faced courses of stone rather than rubble foundations, indicating that the use phase associated with the floor (620, 549, 550) is not the first phase of use.  The structure itself clearly abuts the E face of wall 332 and therefore postdates the construction of the wall.  Based on these observations, it is expected that further excavation in this room will reveal earlier use phases.   ; ; Fourth, the space north of the complex of rooms bounded by walls 306, 332, 313, 366, 365, and 305 appears to be exterior space in the Frankish period, though some structures in this area exist.  NS stub wall (478) likely abutted EW wall 366 prior to the robbing out of this wall.  This NS stub wall (478) is associated with an EW stub wall (477) by a clay floor (481). The EW stub wall (477) likely abutted the NS wall 540, before the robbing of courses of this wall.  Given the dimensions of the interior space created by walls 477 and 478, these walls potentially form either a storage space, pen, or supports for a work surface.  The excavation of the walls 478 and 477 demonstrated that neither wall had foundations and that the associated floors (480, 481) were laid against the structures as they did not continue underneath wall 477.  ; ; Further north in this area, the NS wall 540 is associated with a pier (573) further to the east by a floor that abuts both structures.  A circular pit filled with re-deposited eleventh- century material and a few Frankish sherds cuts the floor midway between the pier 573 and the wall 540.  Because of the nature of the fill, it does not appear to be a refuse pit and its function is unclear.  It is undetermined whether this pit post-dates the use phase of the space associated with the floor or served some function within the space.  Also associated with the floor is a shallow fire pit filled with ash and lined with white clay (564, 568, 570) which cut the floor against the west face of NS wall 540.  The choice of a shallow pit rather than a built hearth suggests a single building event rather than repeated use.  Although the east and west boundaries of the floor (576, 577) are clear, the north boundary is unknown since there is no preserved north wall or pier for the space preserved, although it is possible that this feature was removed in the 1960s’ excavations.  The south boundary of the floor is more mysterious as the floor stops abruptly in a straight line, but no feature is present and no disturbance of the layers is apparent.  It is possible that a curtain wall without foundations similar to walls 477 and 478 originally formed the south boundary of the space, but no evidence other than the edge of the floor is preserved for such a structure.  We can speculate that the space between the pier 573 and the wall 540 was roofed or the clay floor 577, 576 would be impracticable in inclement weather.  The excavation of the floor produced mid-thirteenth-century material and revealed an earlier, poorly preserved floor.  This earlier floor which remains unexcavated abuts the wall 540 to the east but is cut by the foundation trench for the pier 573 to the west.  It is unknown what type of structure the substantial NS wall 540 is associated with in the use phase of this floor.  ; ; Late Byzantine (1059-1210); ; The 2009 excavations produced a number of Byzantine features in Nezi Field.  Within the complex of rooms bounded by the three NS walls 306, 332 and 313, and the EW walls 366 and 305, we have not been able to isolate any floors in the southern room bounded by walls 306, 365, 332, and 305.  It is expected that we are currently below floor levels in this space as the foundations for the EW wall 365 are currently exposed.  It appears that the surface associated with the use phase of these walls is not preserved.  It is clear that there are two phases of use of the EW wall 365: one with a doorway providing communication between this space and the adjacent room to the north, and a second phase in which the doorway is filled in, closing off access.  A similar process of closing off access might have occurred to the east in wall 332, though further investigation is necessary to clarify the issue.  Because of the evidence for multiple phases in the structures associated with this space, it is expected that the deposits within the room have been heavily disturbed, as no floors have been identified.  The excavation of the fills in this space has produced mid-twelfth-century material, perhaps indicating a Byzantine date for the walls which make up this complex.  It is clear that the EW wall 365 is later than the NS walls 306 and 332 because it abuts both of these features rather than bonding with them.  Based on this observation, it seems likely that at an earlier phase, the complex consisted of three long rooms arranged on the NS orientation and that the westernmost room was subdivided.  The NS walls 306, 332, and 313 run parallel to one another and meet the EW walls 365 and 305 at right angles.  There is evidence for bonding for these walls which indicates contemporary construction.  Also, the size of building materials, width of the walls, and construction technique are consistent across all these walls.  In addition, the excavation of the deposit below the Frankish floor 620 (621) which also abuts wall 332, 313, 305, and structure 452 produced mid-twelfth-century material.  ; ; North of wall 365 appears to be exterior space in the late Byzantine period, and several fills have produced twelfth-century material (483, 626, 630, 627, 625, 622, lot 2009-73, lot 2009-77).  A NS stub wall that abutted the EW wall 366 before portions of this wall were robbed out is laid on these twelfth-century fills.  The function of this wall is unclear as there are no other associated structures.  These fills post-date a sequence of pebble floors, the latest of which was excavated out of sequence and produced eleventh-century material (460, 461).  The NS drain 426 cuts these pebble floors and continues southward.  The capstones of the drain remained in situ in the portion of the drain that continues south from wall 365.  It is clear that the course of the drain, although interrupted by the later construction of well 346 and pit 431, continues underneath the undisturbed foundations of the EW wall 365.  Based on this observation, it is clear that the drain predates the construction of this partition wall.  It is unclear, however, what the chronological relationship between the drain 426 and the EW wall 366 is; the robbing event of blocks from wall 366 (496, 497) has obliterated the interface between the wall and the drain.  Further excavation will be necessary to determine the chronological relationship.  Although we removed the capstones of the drain 426 and have yet to identify the cut for the construction of the drain, the vertical walls of the drain are imbedded in the surrounding matrix.  Because we have yet to identify the foundation trench for wall 366 and it is expected at a lower elevation, it is likely that the drain post-dates the first phase of use of the complex of rooms.   ; ; Further excavation in Nezi Field should concentrate on determining the full extent of the suites of rooms in this Byzantine complex, in particular the space east of wall 313 and west of wall 334 as well as the space south of wall 305.  Expanding the excavation area to the east would likely expose more of the room with the destruction horizon and further clarify the relationship between this space and the suite of rooms to the east.  Also, the relationship between the NS drain 426 and the complex could be profitably investigated in the room south of wall 366 and north of wall 365.","Nezi Field 2009 by Jody Cundy and Dina Boero (2009-06-19 to 2009-06-20)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Jody Cundy and Dina Boero (2009-06-19 to 2009-06-20)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2010 Session I Final Report: Area North of 1961 Byzantine House","North of Nezi 2010; Yellow First Session Report (Jessica Paga); ; ; The following summarizes the results of excavation in the area directly North of the 1961 Byzantine House, in the space bounded by North-South wall 5677 on the West (E. 261.83), East-West wall 5562 on the South (N. 1040.23), and North-South wall 5431 on the East (E. 276.78).  The Northern boundary of the area under investigation is delineated by the scarp of the excavations and backfill from the late 19th c., later excavations in the area to the South of the South Stoa by Oscar Broneer in the 1930s, and the subsequent excavations in the 1960s (N. 1045.51).  ; ; The excavation of this area was supervised by Dr. G.D.R. Sanders (director) and Martin Wells (field supervisor).  Our pick man was Panos Kakouros, our shovel man (and occasional pick man) was Kleomenes Didaskalou, our wheelbarrow man was Vassilis Kollias, and our sieve man was Agamemnon.  Jessica Paga was recorder for the first session, from 7 April – 23 April, 2010.  This area was last excavated in 2008 by Thanos Webb, Amit Shilo, Christina Kolb, and Sarah Lima.; ; Our primary objectives in excavating this area included defining the relationship of this area to the Byzantine House to the South, removing the Frankish levels in order to investigate the Middle and Late Byzantine uses of the area, and clarifying the possible connections and relations between this area and that directly South of the South Stoa.  The boundary between the Byzantine House and our area is the E-W wall 5562 (which has not yet been phased, but which clearly has two periods of construction).  One of the main questions regarding the relationship of our area to the Byzantine House is whether this is an exterior or interior space.  The removal of the Frankish levels required dismantling several walls and excavating several deposit contexts.  In removing the Frankish levels, we were hoping to answer questions about the Middle and Late Byzantine use of the area.  The area to the South of the South Stoa is riddled with later walls, pits, and areas of backfill.  Our primary goal here was to clarify what had been previously excavated (e.g. what was backfill, what were the parameters of earlier investigation) and what were “untouched” or unexcavated strata.  Due to the disparate nature of the Frankish levels and the physical divisions of the area by various North-South walls (e.g. 5677, 5561, 5394, and 5430) and pits/robbing trenches (e.g. robbing trench 5802, bothros 5595), we excavated this area in two parts.  The Western half, which we investigated first, consists of the area bounded by N-S wall 5677 on the West, E-W wall 5562 on the South, robbing trench 5802 on the East, and the Northern scarp as defined by the 2008 excavations (e.g. the scarps of 5689 and bothros 5629).  The Eastern half, which was investigated second, consists of the area bounded by N-S wall 5430/5431 on the East, E-W wall 5562 on the South, N-S wall 5561/6821 and bothros 5595 on the West, and the Northern scarp as delineated by earlier 19th and 20th c. excavations.  In the final two days of session I, we turned our attention to the central area between the Western and Eastern halves: an area bounded by robbing trench 5802 on the West, bothros 5595 on the South, N-S wall 6821 on the East, and the Northern scarp as defined by the earlier excavations.  This central space represents the link between the Western and Eastern halves of the area.; ; ; THE WESTERN HALF; ; Excavation in the Western half of the area was conducted from 7 April – 14 April, 2010.  The latest feature still extant in this area was Frankish E-W wall 5678.  This wall abutted, but was not bonded with, N-S wall 5677, possibly implying that it was co-terminus to or post-dated wall 5677 (N.B. wall 5677 has not yet been phased).  Wall 5678 was dated to the 3rd ¼ of the 13th c. based on pottery.  One coin was recovered during the dismantling of the wall (2010-001), from the reign of Alexius I (1092-1093 C.E.).  It is possible that the wall as it existed prior to excavation was actually only the foundation rubble; at the very least, most of the demolition of wall 5678 involved the removal of the foundation rubble and fill, with only a few upper stones indicating possible visible wall courses.  Wall 5678 cut the 2008 deposits 5712, 5531, 5515, and 5524.  The wall also cut the 11th-12th c. external floor surfaces 6698 and 6696, as well as the layers of fill below them.  The wall further cut the 10th-11th c. marble tile floor (5710), which is extant on the North and South of the foundation trench for the wall.  Wall 5678 was possibly truncated or robbed out by the activity to the East, evidenced by robbing trench 5802.  The sequence and nature of events at this intersection is unclear without further examination.; ; On either side of wall 5678 and cut by it (North and South), there was an external floor surface, indicated by a compact surface with small to medium sized pebbles and tiles laid horizontally (6698 and 6696, although see the excavation notes for the problem with 6696).  The nature of the pebbles and use of tile implies an exterior, rather than interior, space.  The optical similarity between the surfaces cut by wall 5678, as well as their similar inclusions and compaction, suggests that they represent a single unified space.  This floor dates to the 11th-12th c. and represents a clear use of the area during the Late Byzantine period.  At this time, the area to the North of the 1961 Byzantine House was exterior to the primary living space, but possibly still associated with the house and nearby activities.  Underneath the floor were several deposits of fill and accumulation (most likely both natural and man-made), all datable to the 10th-11th c.  This possibly indicates a period of abandonment or lack of precise use during the transition from the Middle to Late Byzantine periods.  Prior to this hypothetical period of abandonment, a marble tiled floor was laid (5710), most likely dating to the 10th c. (N.B. the floor has not been excavated; dating is based on the stratigraphic relationship between the marble floor and the fills that postdate it).  ; ; The positive sequence of events for the Western half of the area begins with the concrete subfloor and marble tile floor, laid alongside N-S wall 5677, probably during the 10th c.  This marble floor runs up to the East face of N-S wall 5677, but does not extend as far South as E-W wall 5562.  The Northern and Eastern limits of the floor are unknown.  The floor itself was laid in an opus sectile and lozenge pattern, with alternating white marble and blue schist stones.  The lozenge pattern tiles seem to form a border around a missing central feature.  The function of this floor and space is unclear without further excavation, as is its possible relationship to the 1961 Byzantine House to the South.  A concrete subfloor underlies the marble floor and is traceable in many places where the marble tiles are no longer extant.  This subfloor was cut along the South by an irregular line, possible denoting the later foundation trench for wall 5562.  Following the abandonment of the marble floor phase, several layers of fill accumulated across the surface.  At the present moment, this fill represents 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 c., in the Late Byzantine period, this fill was overlaid with an external floor surface.  This floor surface was subsequently cut in the 12th c. by a built pithos (5504), as well as a bothros (5629).  The pithos and bothros also cut the marble floor and the concrete subfloor.  At the end of the 12th c., a robbing trench (5802) also cut the external floor surface (and possibly the marble tile floor).  In the 3rd ¼ of the 13th c., a Frankish rubble wall (5678) was installed, cutting both the external floor surface as well as the earlier marble floor.; ; ; THE EASTERN HALF; ; Excavations in the Eastern half of the area were conducted from 14 April – 23 April, 2010.  The Eastern area itself was artificially divided into two halves: the Western area delineated by N-S wall 5561 and N-S wall 5394, and the Eastern area delineated by N-S wall 5394 and N-S wall 5430.  As with the Western half, the Eastern half was characterized by later rubble walls.  Our first action in this area was to dismantle the Frankish (2nd ½ of the 13th c.) N-S wall 5430, which was the latest feature still extant.  This wall was built on top of an earlier N-S wall, 5431, both of which abut E-W wall 5562, but do not bond with it.  Contexts 6723, 6733, and 6809 were further evidence of the Frankish use of this area.  6733 possibly represents a clayey surface, associated with N-W wall 5430.  The precise nature of the Frankish use of this area remains unclear, as does the relationship between the Frankish levels on the Eastern half and the Frankish E-W wall 5678 on the Western half.; ; Prior to the Frankish occupation of this area, there were 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 fill is later than the 10th-11th c. fill that covered the marble tile floor and underlaid the external floor surface in the Western half of the area, and therefore probably is not related to the same period of disuse.  The ashy soil layer covered, and thereby post-dates, three walls: E-W wall 6764, N-S wall 6765, and E-W wall 6775.  The ashy soil also covered a stratum of compact clayey soil (6777), dated to the Late Byzantine period (12th c., npd).  This compact clayey deposit possibly represents a surface, slumping to the East and South due to soil disruption below.  The clayey surface is related to 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 (6778).  Taken together, the ash, clayey surface, and tiles might represent a Late Byzantine hearth.  Mitigating this hypothesis is the fact that the ash contained very few traces of charcoal, there was a general lack of pottery within the deposit of ash and the clayey surface, and there were no traces of burning on the tiles or stones of N-S wall 5394 and N-S wall 6789 (the tile feature abutted and partially ran underneath wall 5394; it runs directly up to wall 6789).  It is possible that there was industrial activity occurring nearby and the ashes were dumped in this area; this would explain the lack of localized burning and absence of materials within the deposit.; ; In addition to the Late Byzantine “hearth,” the 12th c. occupation of this area included the use of a rectangular pit, created by the intersections of N-S wall 5431, E-W wall 6764, N-S wall 6765, and E-W wall 6775.  These four walls created a long, narrow space (L. 1.80m, W. approximately 0.32m), that was filled with very loose and soft soil (6759, 6770).  The soil contained several ash lenses, possibly representing a connection with the ash associated with the “hearth.”  Near the bottom of the fill of this pit (6759, 6770), several cook pots, one 12th c. white ware plain bowl, and large quantities of bone were deposited (including part of a human skull).  This rectangular area appears to have been used as a receptacle for the disposal of goods during the Late Byzantine period.  It is possible that the N-S wall 6765 and the E-W wall 6775 were built specifically for this disposal pit, but that hypothesis remains uncertain without further excavation of the area.  ; ; The positive reconstruction of this area is complicated by the fact that the relationship between the ash deposit and “hearth” feature and the rectangular pit is unclear.  They all date to the 12th c., but it is not clear if they were being used simultaneously.  All three deposits might be linked to the industrial activity postulated within this broader area.  After the area fell into disuse, several layers of accumulation and fill built up, until the clayey surface of the Frankish period was installed, along with N-S wall 5430.; ; To the West of this activity, the situation is likewise imprecise.  The western part of the Western half is delineated by N-S wall 5561 (and earlier N-S wall 6821) on the West, and N-S wall 5394 (and earlier N-S wall 6789) on the East.  The latest layers of this area were, like those to the East, Frankish, dating to the early 13th c.  Most likely, the Frankish occupation of this area was the same as that to the East and West.  The Frankish contexts in this area overlaid 11th-12th c. strata.  At some point in the 11th or early 12th c., a stone feature was built (6820), running parallel to E-W wall 5562.  This feature might be a Western continuation of E-W wall 6764, or it might represent an independent structure of unknown function.  The 11th c. occupation of the area is represented by several deposits underlying N-S wall 5561 (12th – early 13th c.).  These deposits (e.g. 6812, 6814, 6805, 6815, 6816) are layers of accumulation or fill on top of earlier N-S wall 6821 (this wall has not yet been phased).  Possibly related to these deposits of 11th c. activity, are two external floor surfaces (6819 and 6825), identified as such due to the small to medium pebbles embedded in their surfaces, as well as horizontally-laid tiles.  The later floor, 6819, is optically identical to the external floor surfaces excavated in the Western half (6698 and 6696), although possibly slightly earlier in date.  These external floor surfaces represent our clearest evidence of linked activity and occupation throughout the Western and Eastern halves of the area.  ; ; The positive reconstruction of events in this area begins with the N-S wall 6821, of uncertain date.  This area subsequently is filled by various 11th c. deposits, including an ash deposit (6814), potentially related to the ash deposits further to the East.  In the late 11th c., an external floor is laid, which was later cut by 12th c. bothros 5595, late 12th c. robbing trench 5802, and Frankish pit 5758.  Co-terminus or later with the external floor surfaces, a stone feature (6820) was installed, of uncertain purpose.  These strata and features represent the Middle and Late Byzantine period of use in this area.  The connection between these areas and the 1961 Byzantine House to the South remains unclear, as the Byzantine House at this point was covered and filled with backfill.  It is also unclear at the present moment what is happening further to the East, in the direction of the road.  To the North, the relationship between the South Stoa and the Byzantine and Frankish activity here is similarly unclear, although there is general evidence of industrial activity along this area.; ; ; CONCLUSION; ; The Frankish occupation in this area is characterized by several rubble walls (E-W wall 5678, N-S wall 5430) and deposits.  The Frankish activity is dispersed throughout the area and not localized in one particular section.  The Late Byzantine period immediately preceding the Frankish period, is primarily identifiable in the various late 11th and 12th c. floor surfaces (6696, 6698, 6819, 6825), which, in some places, are associated with rubble walls.  The Late Byzantine walls, in general, are built with fewer pieces of spoliated stone than the Frankish walls, and also tend to be constructed with smaller stones and in more regular courses.  The Late Byzantine occupation of this area included industrial or cooking activity of some sort, as indicated by the various deposits of ash, cookware, and bones, particularly in the Eastern half of the area.  The arrangement of walls and stone features in the Eastern half, along with the material finds from this area, potentially indicates compartmentalized disposal activity.  The Middle Byzantine period of occupation in this area is thus far indicated by layers of fill on the East and a marble tile floor on the West.; ; The relationship between this area and the 1961 Byzantine House to the South has been made somewhat clearer by the excavations of Session I.  In the Western half of the area, at least, the connection between the Byzantine House and the marble tile floor can be postulated (the construction date for the Byzantine House is late 10th-early 11th c.; the marble tile floor is co-terminus).  ; ; ; SUGGESTIONS FOR SUBSEQUENT EXCAVATION; ; 1.     Continue excavating the deposits between N-S wall 6821 and N-S wall 6789.  Contexts 6791 and 6810 revealed a relatively compact, reddish stratum that covers most of this area.  Excavation of this area will help clarify the nature of the stone feature 6820, as well as better define the parameters of the two N-S walls.; 2.     Define the Northern baulk as it continues to the West.  The Eastern edge was revealed by the excavation of context 6809, but it is important to continue tracing this line of backfill and cuts made in the 1930s, in order to prevent contamination.  ; 3.     Continue excavating context 6787, which was paused, mid-excavation.  This is a stratum of loose fill between E-W wall 6764 and N-S wall 6789.  Further excavation of this layer could reveal more of E-W wall 6764 or expose a foundation trench for N-S wall 6789.; 4.     Resume excavation of the pit between walls 5431, 6764, 6765, and 6775.  Contexts 6759 and 6770 revealed a stratum of loose soil with lenses of ash and charcoal, and with lots of inclusions of pottery and bone.  Excavation in this pit will help to clarify the nature of the Late Byzantine activity in the area.; 5.     Investigation of the area around the “hearth” (6807) might reveal more information about the nature of the activity in this area and the ashy deposits.; 6.     Continued excavation of the central area, between the Western and Eastern halves, would help to unify the two areas and better our understanding of the overall activity.  The floor surfaces 6819 and 6825 revealed a stratum of loose fill, somewhat similar to that revealed by the external floor surfaces to the West (e.g. fill 6701, 6699).","Nezi Field 2010 by Paga, Jessica (2010-04-07 to 2010-04-23)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Paga, Jessica (2010-04-07 to 2010-04-23)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2010 Session I Final Report: The Room West of the Courtyard of the Byzantine House","North of Nezi 2010: Green First Session Report (Scott Gallimore); ; The following summarizes the results of excavations in two areas north of Nezi field during the first session of the 2010 excavation season at Corinth. These areas were the room directly west of the courtyard of the Byzantine house and the room directly north of the courtyard. Excavations took place from 7 April, 2010 until 23 April, 2010. Supervising these excavations were Guy Sanders (director) and Martin Wells (field director). The excavation team included Scott Gallimore (recorder), Athanasios Sakellariou (pickman), Panos Stamatis (shovelman), and Pavlos… (barrowman).; ; The main focus of excavations during this session was the room directly west of the courtyard of the Byzantine house (E. 261.10 – 264.70; N. 1030.80 – 1034.90). We dug in this room each day of the session (7 April – 23 April) with an aim to identifying the earliest phases of Byzantine occupation along with tracing possibly Middle Roman and Late Roman usage, abandonment, and post-abandonment of the space. This room had been previously excavated in the 1960s (NB 235), in the second and third sessions of 2008 by Sarah Lima, and in all three sessions of 2009 by Will Bruce, Scott Gallimore, Karl Goetz, and Dan Leon. We excavated a single context in the room directly north of the courtyard of the Byzantine house (E. 265.30 – 270.50; N. 1035.60 – 1039.20) on 9 April during a period when the stratigraphy in the room west of the courtyard was causing some confusion and we needed some time to consider the best method of approach. This room had been previously excavated in 1961 by Steven Lattimore (NB 230), in the second session of 2008 by Nathanael Andrade and Jody Cundy, and during all three sessions of 2009 by Will Bruce, Scott Gallimore, Karl Goetz, and Dan Leon.; ; ; ROOM WEST OF THE COURTYARD; ; Frankish:; ; At two different points during the Frankish period, two deep pits were dug into the room west of courtyard. The earliest of these pits (fills 5754, 5766, 5943, 6481; cut 6326=5767), dating to the first half of the thirteenth century, is located in the southern part of the room and was subsequently truncated to the southwest by the corner of the Ottoman house. Where this pit is not truncated, it is circular in profile and is relatively deep (top elevation of 85.01; bottom elevation of 82.88). It is possible that this pit represents an attempt to dig a well that was abandoned before reaching the water table. Near the bottom of this pit, the diggers came upon the foundations for the northern curb (structure 6738) of the Roman decumanus. While they continued to dig until reaching the bottom of these foundations, they stopped when they hit they hit sterile bedrock perhaps indicating they did not feel this location was suitable for a well. The latest of the two pits was dug against the southern face of wall 5725 and was semi-circular in shape (fill 6583, cut 6655). This pit, which dates sometime between the late thirteenth and late fourteenth century, contained several different lens of fill, the latest of which was excavated during the 1960s (NB 235, Bothros 9).  Unfortunately, it is difficult to assign any specific function to this feature. It is deep enough to perhaps be considered another failed attempt to dig a well (top elevation of at least 84.99; bottom elevation of 83.35), but it is unlikely that a well would be dug against the face of a wall. ; ; Middle and Late Byzantine: ; ; No evidence of Late Byzantine activity was encountered in this room during this excavation session. This indicates that these levels must have been removed during previous excavation sessions. Asides from the necessity to continue investigating the Frankish pits mentioned above, the latest activity discernable in this space was Middle Byzantine in date, specifically the eleventh century A.C.; ; During the eleventh century, a floor of packed earth was laid down in this room which likely would have covered the entire space (6668=6670=6672). In several areas this floor was disturbed due to later activity in the room and was only preserved in a few isolated patches. This floor was laid down on a series of leveling fills which would have altered the floor level of the room by a noticeable amount (fills 6679, 6482, 6489, 6490, 6528). The earliest of these fills (6528) has a bottom elevation of 83.96 while the latest (6679) has a top elevation of 84.36 indicating a change in floor level of approximately 0.40m. 6528, the earliest of these fills, was laid down on part of another floor surface consisting primarily of rounded to subrounded, spherical, medium-sized pebbles (6656). Floor 6656 has an associated cut, 6708, although its original shape has been disturbed by the two Frankish pits in the room (defined by cuts 6326=5767 and 6655). This floor surface may have originally been rectangular in shape and covered most of the central part of the room. It does not appear that 6656 was intended to be a floor covering the entirety of the room, however, and instead occupied a central position with surfaces of compact earth surrounding it.; ; Floor 6656 was cut into a series of fills of unknown character spreading across the room (6710, 6713, 6714, 6717). These fills tended to have high percentages of poorly sorted inclusions and could represent some type of dumping action. This could perhaps coincide with the fact that the earliest of these fills, 6717, was laid over a robbing trench (fills 6722, 6734; cut 6720). The robbing trench appears to be associated with the foundation for the northern curb of the Roman decumanus which had first been identified in the northern scarp of the Frankish pit defined by cut 6326=5767. Stones laying atop this foundation were likely the target of the robbing trench and there may have been an attempt following the robbing out of these stones to level off this space with a series of fills. ; ; The act of dumping material into this space appears to have also preceded the digging of the robbing trench since this feature truncated another large fill (6752) containing a large percentage of poorly sorted inclusions which would have covered most, if not all of this space. This fill appears to date to the ninth or tenth century C.E. and may be part of a period of post-abandonment in the space. Overlying fill 6752 at its eastern end was a shallow lens of soil with few inclusions possibly representing an accumulated fill which built up against the eastern face of wall 5724.; ; There was also other activity which occurred in this room at some point during the ninth or tenth century A.C. The robbing trench defined by cut 6720 was not the first to be dug in association with structure 6738. Fill 6752 overlay an earlier, smaller robbing trench which only affected the easternmost revealed section of structure 6738 (fill 6754, cut 6756). In this part of structure 6738 a different construction technique was employed. Most of the revealed blocks associated with this feature are substantial in size with a height of approximately 0.55m. At the eastern end, however, it appears that two blocks were stacked on top of each other to achieve this same height. The robbing trench defined by cut 6756 was dug to remove the upper block of these two. This robbing trench also truncated a deposit of what appears to be dumped fill in the northeast corner of this room (6758). Fill 6758 contained a high percentage of poorly sorted inclusions and sloped steeply to the south giving it the appearance of a ramp. However, parts of this context continued beneath wall 5725 to the north and wall 6375 to the east making it difficult to interpret since we cannot reconstruct its original shape.; ; Fill 6758 was dumped in over part of another robbing trench (fills 6761, 6808; cut 6762), this one apparently for a north-south wall that ran along the eastern edge of this space. This robbing trench was fairly deep (approximately 1.2m) and came down on sterile bedrock at its lowest elevation. Part of the wall robbed out by this trench (structure 6817) is visible beneath the easternmost revealed block of structure 6738. There is also another block which abuts the southwestern edge of the robbing trench.  This wall appears to be quite early, at least predating the construction of structure 6738. It appears that the robbing trench defined by cut 6762 was the first action to occur in this space following a period of abandonment which lasted for several centuries. This trench was dug at some point in the ninth or tenth century, but there is no preceding activity in this space until the sixth or seventh century. ; ; Early Byzantine:; ; No evidence for any activity has been revealed which can be associated with this period. It appears, thus, that this space was abandoned sometime during the Late Roman period with usage of the space not occurring again until the ninth or tenth century. This abandonment may coincide with the construction of the Late Roman Wall at Corinth possibly in the mid-sixth century. The construction of this wall east of the Forum placed Nezi field outside of the city proper and the lack of evidence for activity in the room west of the courtyard would suggest this area was abandoned shortly afterwards.; ; Late Roman:; The latest discernable Late Roman activity in this space occurred in the form of a tall, rectangular patch of slumped mud-brick (6768) located in the eastern part of the room. This mud-brick could date to the sixth or seventh century A.C. In the Middle Byzantine period this mud-brick was truncated by the robbing trench defined by cut 6762 and covered by fill 6758. The slumped nature of this mud-brick indicates it collapsed from the north-south wall which was later robbed out by the trench defined by cut 6762 in the Middle Byzantine period. This collapse may have occurred after the abandonment of this space leading into several centuries of post-abandonment. 6768 covered a small part of a larger surface that may also represent slumped mud-brick (6773). This mud-brick may have again slumped off from the north-south wall at the eastern end of the room, but the lack of any noticeable slope towards this wall could also suggest it is some type of dumped fill that included mud-brick within its soil component; ; If fill 6773 were dumped into this space, this occurred over another fill that was likely dumped in (6776). This earlier fill is characterized by comprising of mixed soil, numerous pieces of charcoal, and evidence of burning. The evidence of burning is not so substantial to suggest any kind of destruction occurring in this space, but does indicate that the fill was originally obtained from a location that may have suffered from some type of fire. Both fill 6776 and 6773 were dumped into this space over a large fill of slumped mud-brick (6784) that does appear to be associated with the north-south wall robbed out in the Middle Byzantine period. The soil was mixed and contained large amounts of white marl and red mud-brick and had a noticeable slope away from the area of the wall. At the eastern edge of 6784 where this context was truncated by the Middle Byzantine robbing trench for this north-south wall there were several cobbles and boulders which likely represent some type of collapse off of the wall when this mud-brick slumped down. Based on pottery evidence this collapse may have occurred at some point in the late third or early fourth century A.C., although it is not infeasible that it may have occurred even later than this.; ; Middle Roman:; ; The third century A.C. is when we first see evidence of active usage of this space. It is during this century when the large foundations for the northern curb of the Roman decumanus (structure 6738) were laid down. Specifically, the foundation trench for this structure was dug at some point during this century (fill 6795, cut 6796). This foundation trench was unique in that it was dug deeper than the lowest elevation of the blocks of structure 6738 (bottom elevation of 6795 is 82.75; bottom elevation of 6738 is 82.93). This appears to have been a purposeful decision and it became clear that each individual block which is part of this structure lies on a different type of soil. What this suggests is that the foundation trench was dug and then small patches of soil were laid down in an effort to level each block independently. At the eastern-most revealed end of structure 6738 this foundation lies on a large block from an earlier wall which may have been an important marker for leveling the other blocks. This foundation trench was covered by a small number of fills (6785, 6792). The soil of these fills tends to be mixed in character and contains numerous inclusions including large amounts of charcoal. Directly above the foundation trench defined by cut 6796 was a shallow surface of compact earth (6793) which appears to have been purposefully laid down, perhaps coinciding with the establishment of structure 6738. Surface 6793 was of homogenous thickness throughout and contained very few inclusions of any type. The soil was also fairly homogenous distinguishing it from the mixed fills described above. Along with overlying the foundation trench for 6738, surface 6793 also overlay a small, circular pit of unknown function at the western end of the room (fill 6798, cut 6799).; ; Both the foundation trench (cut 6796) and the small circular pit (cut 6799) truncated a shallow surface of compact earth (6800) similar in character to surface 6793. This may be another surface purposefully laid down in this space and may be associated with some earlier version of the decumanus since it is unlikely that foundations associated with this road were laid down for the first time only in the third century A.C. In fact, surface 6800 was one of several of these surfaces of compact earth (6802, 6804) superimposed on one another across the space of this room. Each is relatively shallow, of homogenous soil type, and contains relatively few inclusions. The earliest of these surfaces, 6804, overlies a deep dumped fill of mixed soil and mud-brick (6806) which appears to date to the late second or early third century. The nature of this fill could suggest it was some type of leveling fill for the surfaces above. Fill 6806 overlay an uneven surface of white marl mud-brick (6823) that covered only a few patches of the northern part of the room. The uneven nature of this mud-brick argues against it slumping off a wall and it is likely that it was dumped into this space. Below fill 6823 is a deep dumped fill of mixed soil which appears to overlay a floor surface associated with wall 6817. However, we only excavated a small portion of this context and it is difficult at this point to provide any indication of function. ; ; ; ROOM NORTH OF COURTYARD; ; Middle Byzantine:; ; The only context encountered in this room appears to be Middle Byzantine in date. At some point during the ninth or tenth century A.D. a fill was built up into a ramp abutting the southwest junction of walls 6526 and 6016, perhaps to facilitate dumping of material on either side of these walls. This ramp (6491) was then covered by a deep dumped fill of dirt, tile, and stone (6516) which abutted the southern face of wall 6526 and the western face of wall 6016. Fill 6516 was one of a series of contemporary dumped fills in this area (6532, 6550, 6554) which could represent a period of post-abandonment for this space prior to its reorganization as part of the Byzantine house.; ; ; CONCLUSIONS; ; The room west of the courtyard represents one of the components under investigation in the Byzantine house situated north of Nezi field. While the primary goal of these excavations has been the identification of the construction phase for the house, the decision was made during session 1 to explore earlier levels in this space to attempt to trace periods of usage and abandonment prior to the construction of the house. While our excavations did require us to finish digging two Frankish pits, the majority of the contexts we encountered provided us with indications of the earliest Byzantine usage of the space as well as the latest Roman usage. ; ; The earliest evidence for use we have encountered occurs during the late second and third centuries C.E. when a series of surfaces were laid down along with the foundations for the northern curb of the Roman decumanus. Several more surfaces were laid down subsequent to this. By the Late Roman period there are indications that this space may have been neglected or abandoned. There is evidence of slumped mud-brick and collapse from a north-south wall and several fills were dumped in. The latest evidence of activity is a patch of collapsed mud-brick which would have abutted the western face of this north-south wall. When usage of the space resumed in the Middle Byzantine period (during the ninth or tenth century) it came in the form of a series of robbing trenches and fills. The north-south wall (perhaps associated with structure 6817) was robbed out as were components of the curb. Following this a series of leveling fills were dumped in and the earliest floor surface, a pebble floor only covering part of the room was laid down. On top of this were laid more leveling fills and until the first floor surface to cover the entire room (6668=6670=6672) would have been laid down sometime in the eleventh century.","Nezi Field 2010 by Scott Gallimore (2010-04-07 to 2010-04-23)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Scott Gallimore (2010-04-07 to 2010-04-23)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Blue 2010 Session 1 summary","Rob Nichols, Marty Wells; Corinth Excavations 2010; North of Nezi; We, Rob Nichols and Marty Wells, commenced excavation in the area north of Nezi during the first session of the 2010 Corinth excavation season, 6 April – 23 April.  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). This session continues the work supervised by Katie Rask, Marty Wells et al. during the 2009 excavation season.  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 expose the earlier (11th cent CE or before) layers of the room in order to understand the changes of space over time in the various phases as well as to open up the house for public display.; The following is a summary and interpretation of the first session of excavation. The director was Guy Sanders, the field director was Marty Wells, the pickmen were Thanasis Notis and Panos Stamatis, the shovelman Sotiris Raftopoulos, and the barrowman Vangelis Kollias. The dry sieve was operated by Raftopoulos and Kollias.; Late Byzantine (1059-1210 CE); Early in this period (it still may be a late Middle Byzantine action), a small rectangular pit was cut and filled (6757, 6753) against the corner of N-S wall 6421 and 6052.; This period saw quite a bit of activity geared changing the use of space in the room between n-s walls 10087 (and 10086) on the east and wall 54 on the west. Most importantly, it seems that two perhaps mid-byzantine walls (6421 and 6707) were robbed of their upper courses, probably to make room for the well (6288). Two well constructed plaster floors (6693 south of the well and 6748 in the center of the room) were laid in this period. A series of leveling fills in the room (6774, 6771, 6755, 6695) raised the center of the room considerably for the construction of these floors. East – west wall 6426 was built in this period, dividing what had most likely been one long north-south room (wall 55 at the north, probably wall 5341 at the south) into two rooms. More detailed discussion of these contexts follows below. ; In the center of the room, probably early in this period, a large trashy fill consisting of tiles, bone and small stone cobbles was deposited (6774, probably 6780 as well). The bones are quite weathered, suggesting that the fill contained re-deposited dirt that had been sitting exposed for some time. This may also be the case for the fill 6780, which seems to have been a re-deposited Hellenistic fill. A series of leveling fills (6771, 6766-67, 6769, 6755) served to bring the floor level up to accommodate a white clay floor surface (6748, including several resurfacings) that extended north to wall 55 and west perhaps to N-S wall 6421 before 6421 was later cut for the well 6288. At some point a small pit for a posthole was cut and later filled (6750 and 6751), though the relationship between this posthole and the surrounding surfaces is still unclear; for now it can only be added that in 2009, four postholes were excavated in this area but at a considerably higher level. At a later point the level of the room was raised again by two fills (6685, 6686).; In the southwest corner of the room a series of fills (6694, 6695) were deposited for the construction of floor 6693 (above two earlier Late Roman/Middle Byzantine walls (E-W 6707 and N-S 6421, probably contemporary, sharing foundation trench cut 6706), likely due to the fact that the shape of the room and its relationship to adjoining rooms by the Late Byzantine period had changed.  Further information of the area to the SW of walls 6707 and 6421 is hindered somewhat by the large tree root in the corner of the room as well as the fact that this area was one of those excavated in the 1960s.  At some point, wall 6422 was put in as a foundation for a higher level in later phases.; In the southern area of the room, leveling fill (6736) was used to accommodate an E-W wall (6426), which was later robbed out (6724, 6725) and cut by a large pit (5935, 1960s excavation).; Middle Byzantine (802-1058 CE); In the southern area of the room, leveling fills (6730, 6736) would later be used for the construction of the E-W wall 6426 (or these were fills that 6426 was built on. The fact that this area was excavated in the 1960s and in 2008 and 2009 makes definite dates for this wall’s construction difficult to ascertain.  Two pits were also dug in this area, though their relationship with the surrounding architecture remains unclear.  The first pit (6742, 6741) was cut south of fill 6736 and is remarkable for containing a large amount of carbon and a nearly complete cookpot. The second (6745, 6746) was cut and appeared to extend N-S along wall 6421 and may have been part of the foundation trench for this wall. ; E-W wall 6707 and N-S wall 6421 were constructed during this period.  Wall 6707 abutted 6421 on its western side and share foundation trench 6706.  The upper courses of the walls were most likely robbed out at the same time in order to accommodate well 6288 later. Eventually the middle section of 6421 was robbed out and filled (6709, 6721), with the lower courses abutting wall 5631 to the south, and terminating on the north at the same elevation as wall 55. This robbing trench fill would be cut by well 6288 in a later phase.; Quite late, the E-W wall 6052 was robbed out and filled in (6718 and 6719); later a pit (6712) seems to have been cut into the robbing trench fill.; Late Roman/Early Byzantine (300-801 CE); These layers are concentrated primarily in the center of the room. In the Late Roman period, a sewer drain (structure 6827) was in existence (we have not dated the structure as of yet), oriented NW-SE, under the phases of the later Byzantine room and continued under wall 10086 to the east. It 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 (so far excavated), one half-column cut lengthwise, and an unfluted (so far as is visible) column with an offset empolium.  At some point the drain went out of use, and an extensive fill of re-deposited material (6788) was deposited over it, followed by subsequent fills 6686, and 6682 in later periods.; Middle Roman (200-400 CE); During this period a pit was cut to the south (6824, 6822) into a deposit of reddish fill (6813). It is possible that this cut may be for a pit which was later cut by the sewer and then partially filled in by the fill (6788) overlying the sewer.  Again, the fact that this area had been previously excavated makes understanding the relationship between this pit and the fill over the sewer difficult to understand. It is possible that what had been an early pit (6824, 6822), with pottery dating to the middle Roman period, was later cut due to sewer maintenance. We only had a small portion of the cut on the south side.  ; Conclusions/ Suggestions for Further Excavation; Based on current excavation, the earlier phases of the Byzantine house were constructed over a Late Roman sewer and contained a good deal of reused material and re-deposited fill, perhaps from the Forum to the north.  In the later chronological phases the internal space of the room was modified and enlarged: the walls in the South and Southwest went out of use and were either filled above their foundations or robbed out completely. The large white clay floor surface in the middle of the room may have extended beyond what was visible upon its excavation; evidence for this may have been obliterated in the construction of the four large piers (observed in the 2009 excavations) used to support a second story.  See the Blue summary from 2009 for more detailed discussion on the cutting of the clay/plaster floors 6693 and 6748.; The position of the sewer indicates that the Late Roman E-W road may have passed near to this later room.  Director Guy Sanders has suggested prima facie that the major N-S artery to the East of the room may have been wider in the earlier phases, perhaps incorporating the sewer in its urban space; in the later Byzantine periods and with the construction of the major house walls, the road contracted. ; Additional items to consider:; 1.    Mid-Byzantine wall 6707 seems to have extended west past wall 54 about 50cm. What is the wall’s relationship to the surrounding contexts during that time?; 2.    The Late Roman sewer (6827, revealed under fill 6788): from where are the drain builders getting the architectural members to use as coverslabs? The South Stoa? Some then-defunct admin building? Where was the Late Roman road? Where does the drain go? Can we find a more precise date for the drain after excavating under it? Further excavation and investigation into these issues will have to wait until the second session.; 3.    The relationship between the sewer and fill above it (6827, 6788) the red fill to the south (6813) and what remains of a pit cut (6824) is not fully understood.  See the notes on 6824.","Nezi Field 2010 by Rob Nichols, Marty Wells (2010-04-28 to 2010-04-29)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Rob Nichols, Marty Wells (2010-04-28 to 2010-04-29)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2010 Session 2 Green Team Final Report: Rooms North of the Courtyard of the Byzantine House","North of Nezi, 2010: Green Session II Final Report (Dominic Galante, Christina Trego); ; The following summarizes Green Team’s excavations in two rooms in the Byzantine house north of Nezi field during the second session of the 2010 excavation season at Corinth. These are the rooms north and northwest of the courtyard of the house. Excavations took place from 4 May to 21 May 2010. Supervising these excavations were Guy Sanders (director) and Martin Wells (field director). The excavation team included Dominic Galante (recorder), Christina Trego (recorder), Athanasios Sakellariou (pickman), Pavlos Senis (shovelman), Panos “Junior” Stamatis (barrowman), and Vangelis Kollias (sieveman).;  ; For the first week of the excavation (4-7 May), work was done in the room north of the courtyard ( N 1035.70-1039.30, E 265.40-270.60); from 10-21 May, work was pursued in the room northwest of the courtyard (N 1035.00-1038.70, E 260.70-264.90).  In the room north of the courtyard, our goal was to trace periods of usage and abandonment, especially in regards to the construction phases of walls (e.g. 5562, 6016, 6526, 6321).  In the room northwest of the courtyard, our goal was to excavate two tile-built pithoi and their surrounding contexts in order to understand the usage of the room in the Frankish and Byzantine periods, as well as take the room down to the middle Roman levels excavated by Scott Gallimore in the room west of the courtyard in the first session of 2010.; ; ROOM NORTH OF THE COURTYARD; ; During the first session of the 2010 season, Scott Gallimore excavated a ramp abutting the southwest junction of walls 6526 and 6016 (6491), which was covered by a dumped fill (6516, excavated in May 2009). The ramp is dated to the the 9th-10th centuries.  Gallimore believes that these two contexts could represent a period of post-abandonment for this space prior to its reorganization as part of the Byzantine house.  Second session work in this room concentrated on the southern half of the room, with some work being done in the NW.; ; LATE ROMAN; ; The earliest activities encountered in the room north of the courtyard in the Byzantine house were fills in the southern half of the room (6869, 6871, 6872, 6874). These fills are dated to the Late Roman (5th-6th century CE) and contain ash, iron, bronze, and nails. One item, parts of which came from 6872 and 6874, is particularly intriguing. It needs cleaning for more exact study, but it may be a lamp stand comprised of a central iron shaft connected to arms by means of a wooden joint; the arms appear to have iron hooks at their ends that may have been used to hang lamps. ; Rubble wall foundations (6876) were revealed during excavation of 6842 and 6850, running E-W on the southern side of the room. A block appeared under contexts excavated to the north of this wall, and perhaps represents a robbed out wall that joined with 6876 and ran N-S. The foundations were not excavated, and neither superstructure nor foundation trench was found; however, stratigraphically we might date 6876 to the 5th century CE.; Previous excavations had discovered Late Roman pottery in a pit fill on the northern side of this room, between (and disturbing) walls 6526 and 5562 (cf. cut 6536 and associated fills 6539, 6543, 6459, and 6460). This cut goes deeper than was excavated and possibly fills a cistern.; ; EARLY BYZANTINE; ; Little from the Early Byzantine period remains in the northern half of the room, although we did not do extensive excavation in this area. A cut dated to the 7th century CE (6836 and its fill 6835) may be a robbing trench for wall 6526, indicating that the wall was in existence by this time period.; There appears to be something of a gap in activity in this room from this robbing trench until the tile-built grave discussed below. There is one context dated by pottery to the 8th-9th centuries, 6846; however, this context stratigraphically is above a 10th century deposit (6868) and therefore must be updated. As explained below, we believe that the construction of the grave caused some disturbances in the stratigraphy.; ; MIDDLE BYZANTINE; ; A tile-built grave was discovered at the SW junction of walls 6526 and 6016. Four tiles were placed on top of the tile-lined grave on an E-W orientation in the corner of the two walls. The structure itself was 1.09m long, and contained the burial of a child. The skeleton was well-articulated and missing the left leg below the knee and all foot bones. Water sieving the grave fill revealed no grave goods. The fill inside the cut for the grave (6865 in cut 6859) can help date this grave: it is dated to the Middle Byzantine period (NPD). This fill is above 6868, which is 10th century in date; therefore we suggest a 10th century date. The amount of earth moved for the construction of this grave may have contributed to the stratigraphy of this part of the room: e.g., 6868 (10th century) appears below 6850 (6th century). The existence of this grave, placed deliberately in the corner of walls 6526 and 6016, demonstrates with certainty that these walls were constructed before the date of this grave. ; ; The 9th-11th centuries saw a significant amount of activity in this room, as revealed by our excavations and 2009 excavations. The southeastern area of the room, including the grave, was covered by a ramp (6491) of the 9th-10th centuries that was used to assist in dumping material in this room. Several fills dating to the 10th-11th centuries contained high amounts of boulder inclusions (6516, 6532, 6550, 6554), which may have come from dismantling walls 6526 and 6016. It is possible that these fills were used to level the area. A foundation trench (6831 with fill 6830) of wall 5562 is dated to the Middle Byzantine period (NPD) and possibly belongs to a second construction phase of the wall. We reconstruct two phases of this wall based on the usage of larger boulders on the upper sections of the wall, contrasting with sections of the wall below. Foundation trench 6567 (with fill 6568), excavated in June 2009, was also clearly a foundation trench of wall 5562. Based on the presence of two distinct building materials and two distinct foundation trenches, we propose two phases for this wall. The first of these must have been Middle Byzantine in date and the second in the 10th-11th centuries. ; ; ROOM NORTHWEST OF THE COURTYARD; ; The room northwest of the courtyard was last excavated during the 2009 season; this work covered all areas of the room, centering around a tile-built pithos on the east side of the room (6881), another tile-built pithos on the southern side of the room (on the northern side of Wall 5725) (6991), and a rubbish dump in the northwest part of the room (6112).; ; LATE ROMAN; ; The earliest construction in the room northwest of the courtyard in the Roman period is a plaster floor and rubble wall foundations (7032), also coated with plaster (the same as the floor on the west side, and painted plaster on the east side), in the northeastern half of the room.  The floor surface continues under Wall 10111 and on the southern side of the cut of the built pithos (6881), as well on the eastern side of Wall 7031.  As these features have not yet been excavated, the date of their construction is uncertain, but they were covered and associated with a destruction debris of burnt mud brick (7015) that is dated to the 5th-6th centuries CE, most likely from the superstructure of Wall 7032.  This wall is cut by the later built pithos (6881), but continues to the south of the pithos (unexcavated, but visible in the scarp), and may be connected to the robbed out N-S wall (6817), the robbing trench only of which was excavated in the room west of the courtyard (cut 6762), and which was also associated with fallen/slumped mud brick.  The earlier phase of construction indicated by this wall perhaps dates to the Middle Roman period, and may be associated with ashlar blocks in the room north of the courtyard (underlying walls 6526 and 6016, as well as the N-S spur running from 5562 and below 6526).  The farthest south ashlar block (N 1036.00-.50, E 267.20-70) uncovered between walls 6526 and 5463 had plaster on its western face, perhaps indicating the area to west was interior space, if the block is in its original location in association with the plaster.; ; The Late Roman period is represented by a destruction debris (7015) of burnt mud brick, as noted above, and contained large amounts of burnt pottery, iron and bronze, glass, and painted wall plaster.  Again, this may be connected to the slumped mud brick uncovered in the room west of the courtyard, as it appears these two room were one large space in the Late Roman period, and walls 10111, 6321, 5725 and 6130 were not constructed until the Byzantine period. The nature/cause of the destruction is unknown, but it does appear to signal the end of the Late Roman phase of use in this structure.  The burnt mud brick layer was covered by several fills of compacted, unburnt mud brick (7030, 7013, 7011, and 7002), which in turn were cut by 7012 (filled by 7005). Although the purpose of this cut is unknown, the odd wave pattern at the western bottom of the cut suggests perhaps it was used to remove something from the destruction and subsequent layers of mud brick.  A floor was constructed atop these mud brick fills (7000), most likely a compaction of the topmost mud brick layer, and was truncated by a foundation trench for a later phase of Wall 5562 (6970, cut 6971), an earlier version of which seems to date to the same period as the plaster floor and Wall 7032, as indicated by plaster on the lowest visible blocks in association with the floor and 7032.  ; In the southern half of the room, a leveling fill (6983) at the northwestern juncture of wall 5725 and 5724 and what may be the foundation trench of Wall 10111 (fill 6978) represent the Late Roman period.  More excavation is necessary to determine if the Late Roman phase has actually been reached (as indicated by 6983), and if the 6978 does indeed represent the fill of the foundation trench of 10111, and if it should be dated by the pottery (dated tentatively to the 5th century CE), or if it dates instead to the Early Byzantine period (since it was covered by fills dating to the 7th century CE, see below), and the fill represents earlier fills cut into and redeposited with the construction of 10111.  More excavation is necessary to securely date this, as 6978 was taken about 75 cm farther down than the fills to the south of it before excavation was terminated.; ; EARLY BYZANTINE; ; As with the room north of the courtyard, the Early Byzantine period is not very well represented in this room.  There are several dumped/leveling fills (all in the southern half of the room, 6969, 6925, 6932, 6905) that may date to this period.  6969 and 6932 were dumped fills, extending over a large portion of the room south of the east pithos (6881), and cut by both pithoi.  6925 and 6905 were deposited against  walls 10111 and 5724 and may represent leveling fills.  It is unclear if these fills should be taken to indicate use of the site in the Early Byzantine period (although 6925 and 6932 overlaid fill 6983, the possible foundation fill for Wall 10111), or if there was a period of abandonment from the end of the Late Roman period, until the Middle Byzantine (9th-10th century), as suggested by the lack of Early Byzantine remains in the house overall.; ; MIDDLE BYZANTINE; ; The Middle Byzantine period sees the resumption of construction and use of this area, with several foundation trenches for Wall 5562, the E-W wall extending along the northern boundary of the rooms north and northwest of the courtyard (cut 6959, 6957; cut 6945, 6951), Wall 6130 (cut 6947, 6946), and several dumped fills.; ; In the northern section of the room, under floor 6600, several leveling fills were excavated (6604, 6935, 6941, 6944), which all indicated activity in the 10th-11th centuries, and were cut by foundation trenches for Walls 5562, 6130, and 6321.  The earliest trench appears to be that for Wall 6321, and may be part of the original foundation trench (6973, fill 6965).  7030, the fill that contained mud brick and was associated with the destruction layer, appears to run under wall 6321, and also underlies the fill of this foundation cut.  It would appear that Wall 6321 (under which Wall 10111 also runs, perpendicularly) dates to the 10th century, although the construction of the east pithos (6881), as well as the robbing trench for Wall 6375 make the stratigraphy in the area directly abutting the western face of 6321 somewhat confusing.   A foundation trench for an earlier phase of Wall 5562 in the Byzantine period, 6959 (fill 6957), which was later cut by 6945 (fill 6951), cut these leveling fills.  A similar pattern emerged along the south face of wall 5562 in the room north of the courtyard, and seems to be on equal elevations and have similar dimensions (6568, 6831).  This would seem to indicate at least two phases of construction of Wall 5562 in the Middle Byzantine period – the first (associated with 6957, 6831), uses smaller, unworked stones with tile used to level the courses, and the second, later phase (associated with 6951, 6568) uses larger, roughly squared blocks.  ; A foundation trench for Wall 6130 (6947, fill 6946) also cut these leveling fills, and appears to be a bit high for the original foundation of the wall, but may relate to a second phase of use/construction (much like with Wall 5562), occurring the 11th century.  ; In the southern half of the room, much disturbed by the two pithoi, several fills extending across the entirety of the southern half of the room were uncovered, dated to the 10th century.  These may have been leveling fills for the construction of the rubble foundations (6100), removed in the 2009 season of excavation.  These fills were characterized by moderate amounts of animal bone, charcoal, and seem to confirm the hypothesis that this area was used for cooking/a tavern in the Byzantine period.  ; ; LATE BYZANTINE; ; The Late Byzantine period in the room NW of the courtyard is dominated by the presence of two built pithoi. The first of these, structure 6991, was located in the southern part of the room and had been built over by wall 5725; half of it lies in the room W of the courtyard. It was built of corbelled tile with a tile bottom over a leveling fill. No plaster was used in the construction and it was bonded with mud.  The fill inside this pithos (6512) was first excavated in May 2009, and on the basis of pottery the associated cut (6513) was dated to the 12th century. However, excavations of this season revealed fill of the 10th-11th centuries (6880, 6897) within the pithos and excavation of the structure yielded pottery of the 11th century. We therefore propose a construction date of the 11th century, with use of the pithos extending into the early 12th century and terminating with the construction of wall 5725 in that period.;  The second pithos is structure 6881, which has been identified by previous excavations as a well. Work of previous seasons excavated parts of this structure: a stone “well head” (5876) and tile corbelling lined with plaster (6493). Our excavations of 6881 and its fill also yielded tile corbelling lined with plaster. Therefore we reconstruct two construction phases, the later stone head and the tile corbelling. The former is dated to the third quarter of the 13th century, in the Frankish period. 6493’s pottery is 10th-11th century, the same as 6881. Two holes in the tile and plastering were observed on opposite ends of the interior of the structure, approximately 10cm wide; we believe these were to allow access (perhaps during the pithos’ construction), which was about 2m deep in this first phase. Excavation of the tile revealed some reused material, including a terracotta sima with egg and dart moulding from the South Stoa. Wall blocks, probably from wall 10111, were also reused in the construction of the pithos. Blocks were observed on the west side of the interior, repositioned to the curve of the structure (but still generally aligned with wall 10111) and with plaster applied to them. Similar blocks were observed on the east side of the interior of 6881, and more stone blocks were observed on the north and south sides of the scarp left from the excavation. These latter may represent yet another wall, and the northern projection of these blocks has been opened as context 7032. The pithos had a cement and plaster bottom, which was built over a leveling fill of tiles (6889).; ; CONCLUSIONS; ; The rooms N and NW of the courtyard in the Byzantine house represent different spaces, perhaps differently oriented in various time periods and not all of which were strictly domestic in use throughout the periods excavated this session. One of the most complicated aspects of these spaces is the number of walls that have been found. Just within the confines of the room N of the courtyard, there are three walls (6016, 6526, 6876) and there could be yet another. Because these walls have not been excavated and not precisely dated, it is difficult to say anything about their chronology and use with any certainty. However, it is probably that 6526 was built in the 7th century, and we do not believe that wall 6321 existed at that point.  Furthermore, ashlar blocks were found under parts of 6526, apparently in a N-S line towards wall 5562. Some plaster was found on these blocks. These may have formed a room in conjunction with 7032. The area of the room north of the courtyard may also have been used as a workshop during the Late Roman period, based on finds recovered from 6872 and 6874. ; ; In the room NW of the courtyard during the Late Roman period there was a destruction, as evidenced by 7015. This seems connected to slumped mud brick and robbed out N-S wall excavated in Session I of 2010 in the room W of the courtyard. This is further evidence that these two rooms were connected before the construction of wall 5725 (early 12th century), a supposition also supported by the existence of pithos 6991 directly under 5725. The destruction fill 7015 probably extended over most of the room, and certainly under wall 10111. This destruction may have contributed to the decline in use of this space during the Early Byzantine period.; ; The Early Byzantine periods sees a noticeable slacking of activity in these two rooms. There is some pottery from the 7-9th centuries, but these were all found in stratigraphically later contexts. Therefore, the actions these contexts represent must be Middle Byzantine in date. This may represent an abandonment of these areas, and this may be as a result of the Late Roman destruction (fill 7015) found in the room NW of the courtyard. ; In the Middle Byzantine period, we believe that pithos 6991 may be contemporary with the floor and white ware kettles (6145) and that it may have been built to service a cooking or tavern area. Pithos 6881 was constructed close in date with wall 5725 (which marks the end of use of pithos 6991), and that 6881 was a replacement for 6991. At this point, then, the room NW of the courtyard was divided from the room W of the courtyard. ; In the room N of the courtyard, the tile-lined grave of a child of the 10th century marks the resumption of activity in this room after little evidence of the 7-9th centuries. By this point both walls 6016 and 6526 have been built. It is likely that wall 6321 is built during the Middle Byzantine period and separates the room N of the courtyard from that NW of the courtyard. The 10th-11th century sees dramatic changes in the space, with a ramp (6491) being constructed over the area of the grave to facilitate dumping boulders from the superstructures of surrounding walls for leveling fill. These actions have been interpreted by previous excavators as part of the effort to organize the spaces around Nezi into a house.","Nezi Field 2010 by Dominic Galante, Christina Trego (2010-05-03 to 2010-05-21)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Dominic Galante, Christina Trego (2010-05-03 to 2010-05-21)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Session Two 2010 Yellow Team Report","Yellow Second Session Report (Johanna Best and Kelcy Sagstetter); 2010; ; North of Nezi; ; 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 (E. 261.83), east-west wall 5562 on the south (N. 1040.23), and north-south wall 5431 on the east (E. 276.78).  The northern boundary of the area under investigation is delineated by the scarp of the excavations and backfill from the late 19th century, later excavations in the area to the south of the South Stoa by Oscar Broneer in the 1930s, and the subsequent excavations in the 1960s (N. 1046.51).  ; ; The excavation of this area was supervised by Dr. G.D.R. Sanders (director) and Martin Wells (field supervisor).  The Yellow team consisted of Panos Kakouros (pick man) Vassilis Kollias (wheelbarrow man), and Agamemnon Karvouniaris (sieve man).  Johanna Best and Kelcy Sagstetter were recorders for the second session, from 4 May – 21 May, 2010.  This area was last excavated in the first session of 2010 by Jessica Paga. ; ; 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 is probably an exterior space, and another goal was to clarify how it was used in 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 led us to believe that this may have been an industrial area, a hypothesis we hope will be tested in the final session of excavation. The work in session 2 has concentrated on the eastern half of the trench: 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 6765.  The western half of the trench remains at the level of excavation achieved at the end of session 1.  ; ; From the excavation this session, we can add to Jessica Paga’s suggestions from session 1 about the area west of robbing trench 5802, east of wall 5677, and north of wall 5562.  She suggested that the marble tiled floor (5710) was laid in the 10th century.  Based on the placement of the tiles and placement of the later built pithos (5504), we hypothesize that in the 10th century this tile was an external decorative surface surrounding a fountain.  Above this, in a possible period of abandonment after the 10th century, several deposits of fill and accumulation (most likely both natural and man-made, and all datable to the 10th-11th centuries) may indicate a period of abandonment.  In session 2, we found that 6912, a possible leveling fill for a floor, was visually similar to 6696 and 6698 (according to Martin Wells), both of which were excavated in session 1. Based on the dating of 6912 by pottery to the 11th century, and the similar dating of 6696 and 6698 to the 11th and mid-12th centuries, the western and eastern portions of the trench (at least including the area west of 269E and wall 5677) may have been united as one external floor surface in the mid-11th century. Jess Paga has noted that this large external floor surface was cut in the 12th century by a bothros (5629) and a built pithos (5504).  The 12th century dates of the pits 6840 and 6891 in the central part of the trench lead us to believe that they may have been contemporaneous with the pithos and bothros in the west. ; A pit filled with ash (6929) was revealed to the east of pit 6840 and north of wall 6821.  Although we have no precise date for wall 6821, we know it was robbed out in the late 11th/early 12th centuries due to the fill of robbing trench 6927.  The first layer of fill, context 6928, was removed as a U-shaped context, since the ash in this context surrounded a small intrusion of dark reddish brown soil which was the same as the soil in 7009 (fill of robbing trench 6927).  The cut for the robbing trench did not truncate the cut for the pit 6929, yet the fill of the robbing trench continued into the fill of the pit.  In context 7014, the fill second from top in 6929, we discovered a large stone covered in concrete. Under the following layer of fill (7033), we came upon a very deep ash fill, which remains unexcavated.   A small tile stack, structure 7017, was excavated just to the east of the robbing trench 6927.  The working hypothesis for area 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 before the late 11th or early 12th centuries wall 6821 was constructed to the south of this pit and also the 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 took place the majority of this tile structure was also removed.  This hypothesis would account for a portion of robbing fill 7009 intruding into the fill of pit 6929.  Further excavation into the deeper fills of pit 6929 will hopefully create more clarity in this area. We speculate that whatever industrial activity led to the creation of cuts 6840, 5629, and 5504 may have also led to the cutting of pit 6929.; ; Excavation of contexts 7018 and 7022 in the area between walls 6821, 5562, and 6789 has revealed that these areas were active in the 11th century. Although there is no more precise date, a possible pit in the southeast corner of 7018 suggests a continuation of the pit-digging activity seen in the central and western portions of the trench. Further excavation of this area may bring provide some greater clarity on this point.; ; In investigating the extent of ash deposits in the trench, we removed structure 6807, identified by Jessica Paga as a possible tile-covered hearth. Under a layer of clay bedding  for the tiles (6936) we found three distinct layers of ash fill (6938, 6942, and 6981 respectively). 6942 included areas of extremely compact ash, which may have been mixed with lime and water, and the stones surrounding 6942 showed signs of burning.     However, the contexts immediately to the south of the tile “hearth,” include less ash (though some charcoal), more inclusions (bone, tile, and ceramics), and large stones.   One of these contexts, 6962 (currently not completely excavated due to a threat to the integrity of wall 6765) seems to continue under wall 6765 and may join with context 5759.  Additionally, 6962 contains a curved line of large stones at its current bottom.  At this point, we hypothesize 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 6962 and 5759 (dated late 11th century and mid-12th centuries respectively) and under context 6747, which was dated to the 12th century.  At this point, we speculate 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.  Further excavation of the northeastern part of wall 6765 might clarify its use and construction.  Structure 6956 was probably built abutting the western side of 6765 at about the same time that tile structure 6807 was constructed.  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.; ; In conclusion, the Middle and Late Byzantine period is primarily identifiable in this trench by means of the various 11th century floor surfaces, the number of pits dug in the area, and the evidence of industrial activity.  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.  The trench’s small spaces, the presence of ashy deposits, and external floor surfaces suggest an industrial use.    ; ; Suggestions for further excavation:; ; 1.     Continue to define the northern baulk and trace the line of backfill and cuts made in the 1930s in order to prevent contamination. ; 2.     Continue excavating contexts 6787, 6977, and 6962, all of which were paused, mid-excavation, as well as resume excavation of the pit between walls 5431, 6764, 6765, and 6775 (contexts 6759 and 6770)    Excavation in this area may help to clarify the nature of the Middle Byzantine activity in the area.  In addition, it might be profitable to continue excavation to the north of wall 6775.; 3.    Continue excavation of the area between walls 6821 and 6789 and north of pit 6840 to better the understanding of the overall activity in this area.  In particular, the excavation of pit 6929 might clarify what sort of industrial or storage activities were taking place here.; 4.     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; 5.     Define the rocks that have appeared just north of wall 5562 in between walls 6789 and 6821.  This might help to clarify the nature of structure 6820.; ; ; Panayia Field (NE) Report; ; The following summarizes the results of excavation of Ottoman graves in two areas of Panayia Field.  The first area is located between 987-988N and 416-419E.  The second area is further to the south between 978-980N and 424.5-426E. ; ; The excavation of this area was supervised by Dr. G.D.R. Sanders (director).  The Yellow team consisted of Panos Kakouros (pick man) Vassilis Kollias (wheelbarrow man), and Agamemnon Karvouniaris (sieve man).  Kelcy Sagstetter and Johanna Best were recorders, from 5 May – 11 May, 2010.  This excavation was, in part, filmed for the television documentary “1821: Birth of a Nation” by Anemon Productions.  ; ; The primary objectives for these excavations were to continue the excavation of Ottoman period graves in Panayia Field, which had recently been published by Rohn, Barnes, and Sanders in Hesperia 78 (2009).  In addition, the excavation of these graves could visually aid the viewers of “1821” and help them to better understand burial practices and social fabric of Ottoman Corinth.  ; ; Excavation in the first area (987-988N and 416-419E) took place on 5 May.  Two small grave pits were dug, in hopes of revealing burials.  Both of these small pits (Baskets 43 and 45) revealed disarticulated human bone beneath the topsoil.  The date given to both these baskets, based on associated pottery, was Mid-Byzantine (12th century), however this may be due to agricultural activity in the area, making the graves themselves as late as the Ottoman period.; ; Excavation then commenced in the second area (978-980N and 424.5-426E).  This area was selected because the skull of the skeleton in this burial was emerging from the baulk running north-south along 424.5E.  Excavations over the course of 6 May – 11 May, 2010 (Baskets 44 and 46) revealed an unlined burial pit oriented northeast-southwest containing an articulated skeleton. The skeleton was complete and in good condition. The grave appeared roughly sub-rectangular in shape, although the western edge had completely eroded.  The skeleton’s skull was in the southwestern part of the grave and the head appeared to have been turned to face the southeast.  The skeleton was in a partial fetal position, turned onto its right side, but with its pelvis flat and the left leg extended straight down. The right leg was bowed. The left arm was placed at roughly a 90 degree angle across its ribcage, with the hand and fingers tucked directly underneath the wrist. The right arm was extended along its right side with the palm down. The shoulders were hunched up in a manner consistent with having been dragged by the shoulders. Based on stature (approximately 5’1”) and a cursory examination of the sciatic notch, we believe the skeleton is female. Comparanda from the Hesperia supplement suggest that skulls facing the southeast and legs bowed indicate Muslim-style burials. However the lack of bowing in the left leg, as well as the careless way the rest of the skeleton appears to be placed, suggest that these features are coincidental and may not indicate a religious affinity. All of the graves immediately surrounding the burial, except one, were hypothesized to be Christian-style. Pottery found both baskets (the fill and the grave itself) range from Middle Byzantine (12th century) to the early Ottoman period. However comparanda from the rest of Panayia Field suggests that the burial is probably from the first 2/3 of the 17th century.","Nezi Field 2010 by Johanna Best; Kelcy Sagstetter (2010-05-04 to 2010-05-21)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Johanna Best Kelcy Sagstetter (2010-05-04 to 2010-05-21)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2010 Session II White Team Final Report: Area North of 1961 Byzantine House - west room and southwest corner","North of Nezi 2010; White Second Session Report (John Tully); ; The following summarizes the results of excavations in two areas north of Nezi field during the second session of the 2010 excavation season at Corinth. These areas were:; - the area bounded by coordinates 265.90-270.70 E, 1023.65-1028.00 N.  This was known as the 'West Room' in Yellow Third Session 2009, and was excavated from 5 May, 2010, until 14 May, 2010.  For consistency, this will here too be referred to as the West Room.; - the area bounded by coordinates 275.01-276.92 E, 1027.53-1028.88 N.  This was known as the southwest corner of the 'Well Room', the east room of the Byzantine house, in Blue First Session 2010, and was excavated from 14 May, 2010, until 20 May, 2010.  For consistency, this will here too be referred to as the Southwest corner.; Supervising these excavations were Guy Sanders (director) and Martin Wells (field director). The excavator was John Tully, with assistance from supervisors and workmen in the area.  ; The objective in the 'West Room' was to complete removal of all material occupation traces, focussing initially on the area under 6624, and, in particular, to trace any sign of a possible EW road or pathway in this area.  The objective in the Southwest Corner was to trace the ashy deposit noted by Blue Third Session 2010 on the south side of Wall 5631 as continuing under the wall, and to understand better the activity in the area.;  ; Conclusions:; 'West Room'; 6923, the large deposit of large Neolithic and Early Helladic Sherds excavated last, is strong evidence for Neolithic and Early Helladic settlement in this area. ; The juxtaposition of Early Helladic and Hellenistic layers supports previous hypotheses that this area was not a focus for the classical or archaic city.; The juxtaposition of Hellenistic and Byzantine layers provides further evidence for site reorganisation and cutting-back that occurred in this area in the Early Byzantine period.; No additional evidence for an EW road or pathway through this area was found beyond the probable E-W robbing trench of the southern side of the decumanus excavated in 2009.; ; The Southwest Corner; The stratigraphy in this area was disturbed owing to a tree in the SW corner, and prior excavation in the 1960s. 6972, as the deposit nearest the tree, may have been particularly affected.  Nevertheless, its ceramic date, if accepted, gives foundation trench 6704 and its associated wall 6421 a terminus post quem of 5th/6th AD.; The consistency of the dating of the deposits below 6972 excavated suggests that this area represents the results of a single dump c 225 BC.; ; Future Considerations; Excavation in both areas was prematurely terminated, before bedrock was reached, because of the low quantity of pottery being recovered.  As such, both might be productively explored.  In particular:; West Room; The area under the redeposited fill of 6887 might lead to a deeper understanding of Neolithic and Early Helladic activity in this area.; the Southwest Corner; The area under 7008 and foundation trench 6707 might be examined to investigate activity prior to the third quarter of the third century BC.; ; 'West Room'; The West Room was excavated in the 1960s by Lattimore and Berg (NB 229, p 180), but most recently in the second and third session 2009.  Our efforts in 2010 concentrated on completing the excavation started in 2009.  As such, it was a broad, shallow dig, with several isolated parts of the room being excavated for their traces of material occupation.; ; Early Helladic and Neolithic Occupation; Most Early Helladic and Neolithic material found in this area was found in Hellenistic layers, and small, consistent with being redeposited colluvium washed down from Acrocorinth.  6923, however, was a thick, compact layer, and contained only Neolithic and Early Helladic sherds up to Early Helladic II, suggesting that this was not redeposited.; ; Hellenistic occupation; Most evidence of occupation found was Hellenistic, in layers also containing much redeposited Neolithic and Early Helladic material.  This was primarily found in the higher area to the north of the room under stone structure 6853: 6849 (2nd quarter 3rd BC), 6863 (3rd BC), 6870 (mid 3rd BC), 6875 (1st half 3rd BC), 6887 (3rd BC).  ; The juxtaposition of Byzantine and Hellenistic layers supports theories of post-Roman clearing and site reorganisation in this area.  ; The absence of archaic and classical material from these redepositions perhaps supports the notion that this area was being newly occupied in this period, with the focus of the earlier city elsewhere, further to the north.  Alternatively, this may also reflect significant site reorganisation and clearing in the early Hellenistic period.; ; Roman occupation; Roman occupation has previously been traced in this room, eg, in 6673 (1st/2nd AD), the robbing trench to the west of the western bothros.  The only additional evidence discovered for Roman activity this year was robbing trench 6893 for wall 6157, previously identified on the excavation of cut 6380 as context 6381.  Fill 6894 dated this to the late 1st BC/early 1st AD.  It is noteworthy that both of these actions are fills for robbing trenches, and that both are at a lower elevation than the layers dated ceramically to the Hellenistic period (6649 and below).  The Roman floor level, if such there was, would thus most likely have been at a higher level, one not here present quite possibly because of post-Roman clearing of the site, rather than because of lack of occupation. ; ; Byzantine occupation; Much previous evidence for Byzantine activity had already been identified in previous years in this room, down to the late 10th/11th centuries (6646).  Only two further such traces were found in this excavation. ; A feature of seven stones in two rows (6853) was revealed in 2009 by the excavation of 6624 (11th AD NPD).  6868, the fill on which the stones sat, was ceramically Byzantine (NPD), but contained a coin of Romanus I (931-944), indicating that the structure was likely constructed and in use in the Middle Byzantine period, a date also in keeping with that of 6624.  This was the only structure excavated or revealed this year.; Deposit 6903, a fill of Byzantine date (NPD), filled cut 6904, a thin cut of the southeast corner of the higher area in the northern part of the room.  Only a small section of this cut survives, as it was itself cut by cut 6665 (filled by deposit 6676: late 12th/early 13th), excavated in 2009.  Nevertheless, the profile of 6904 suggests a pit rather than a robbing trench.  In addition, the looser soil forming 6903 was only identified after excavation of 6875, a context of Hellenistic date.  As the edge of the higher area slanted here, it is possible that 6904 did not cut 6675 (1st half 3rd BC).  Alternatively, we may have missed 6904 when excavating 6675.  In 2009, the excavators believed that cut 6665, a robbing trench filled by deposit 6676 (late 12th/early 13th), cut the layer we this year excavated as 6875.  If correct, this would suggest we did miss the cut at a higher level.  Alternatively, they may have failed to notice 6904, which was very slender.; ; Southwest Corner; This area was last excavated by Marty Wells and Rob Nichols, Blue First Session 2010.   In exploring the room, they unearthed wall 6421 restricting access to the southwest corner, and excavated its foundation trench (6704: Late Roman/mid-Byzantine).  We returned to learn more about earlier activity in this area.  Excavations were complicated by a tree in the southwest corner of the room, where walls 54 and 5651 meet. This could not be removed as it was structural, and might imperil them.  Its roots had caused some disturbance to the stratigraphy.; ; Hellenistic occupation; Bar 6972, all activity was dated to the 3rd BC, and involved a large dumped fill in several layers.  These layers extended under the walls, and were disrupted by root activity from a tree in the southwestern corner of the area.  Hence, each was taken as multiple contexts.  There was a significant number of joins not just between contexts forming the same layer, however, but between layers, including between 6993 and 7008, and 6888 and 6993.  This may be owing to root activity.  Alternatively, given the close dating of the contexts, all to the 3rd century BC (2nd half, 2nd quarter, 3rd quarter, or 225 BC +/- 10 years), we might argue that the fill represents stages of a single dumping or clearance operation.  In favour of this may be that all deposits sloped to the NE, suggesting they were all dumped from the same direction.; ; Late Roman activity; 6972, a small patch of fill dated to the 5th/6th AD, was the only additional evidence of late Roman activity found in this area.  It is also the latest layer cut by 6706, the foundation trench for wall 6421.  As such, it confirms the late Roman/mid Byzantine date ascribed that trench, and wall.","Nezi Field 2010 by Tully, John (2010-05-05 to 2010-05-21)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Tully, John (2010-05-05 to 2010-05-21)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2010 Session II Blue Final Report: Well Room (A), Room south of Courtyard (B), and Room South of the Byzantine House ( C )","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)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Cameron Pearson and Lincoln Nemetz Carlson (2010-05-27 to 2010-05-28)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Green Session III, Room NE of Courtyard, North of Nezi","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)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Charlotte Maxwell-Jones (2010-05-31 to 2010-06-18)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Yellow Session Three Final 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)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by Johanna Best (2010-05-31 to 2010-06-18)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Blue Session III; area North of courtyard house","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)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2010 by W. Flint Dibble Mark F. Piskorowski (2010-06-01 to 2010-06-21)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Excavations in NE Area of Nezi Field by Team Pink, Session 1, 2012","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)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Andrew Connor and Simon Oswald (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Excavations of Nezi Field, SW area, Session 1 2012","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)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Larkin Kennedy, Angele Rosenberg-Dimitracopoulou (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Excavations in Nezi Field, NW area, Session 1 2012","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)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Rachel McCleerySarah Miller (2012-04-03 to 2012-04-20)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Report 2012 Session 2: Team Pink","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)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by Larkin Kennedy, Jonida Martini, and Rachel McCleery (2012-04-30 to 2012-05-19)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Report 2012 Session 3: Team Pink","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.","Nezi Field 2012 by Kyle Mahoney and Rachel McCleery (2012-05-28 to 2012-06-15)","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)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2012 Session 3 Team Blue Final Summary","Charles George, Rossana Valente; Nezi Field Excavations; N: 1015.90 N, S: 1006.90 N, E: 264.20 E, W: 255.50 E; 28 May – 22 June, 2012; ; This is a final summary of the third season of excavation (28th May – 22th June) in 2012 in the northwest area of Nezi field. Guy Sanders (director) and Heather Graybehl (field director) supervised. The blue excavation team consisted of Charles George and Rossana Valente (recorders), Athanasios Sakellariou (pickman), Athanasios Notis (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (shovelman), and Pavlos Sennes (barrowman).; Excavation began in the area bounded by the Giambouranis house (NB 252, NB 262, 1015.90 N) to the north, Wall 540 to the east (264.20 E), Wall 366 to the south (1006.90 N), and the balk of Nezi field (255.50 E) to the west. The lack of preserved architecture, except the partially preserved Wall 747, led us initially to interpret our area as exterior space associated with the Byzantine room to the south, bounded by Wall 366 and Robbing Trench 497 to the north (1006.00 N), Wall 365 to the south (1002.10 N), Wall 332 to the east (262.07 E) and Wall 306 to the west (258.01 E). The goal of this session was to further explore the Byzantine habitation layers found during earlier excavations in the area (2008 and 2009, sessions 1st and 2nd 2012), with the hope of better understanding the use of space in this area during Frankish and Byzantine times and also of reaching Late Roman material by the end of the season.; ; Late Antique (5th-7th AD); ; We have reached Late Antique contexts in the northeast of the area which are overlaid by Wall 540, dated to the late 11th c. For this reason, we cannot see the eastern ends of the contexts, and we suggest close cooperation and contact with the Pink Team’s excavations of the area east of the wall.; We have identified a mid 6th- early 7th c. AD floor (S 936, removed as 957), which seems to continue under wall 540, and we argue that it is equal to a floor in the Pink Area (S941). This context contained two fifth century nummi (coin no.  2012-159, 160), with five fifth century nummi (coin no. 2012- 162-166, 169) also found in what we interpret as the continuation of the floor to the north (959), and two fifth century nummi (coin no. 2012-161, 164 ) found in a suggested floor surface below S 936 (958). The excavation of the floor has revealed another possible floor, which itself was laid over another possible floor surface. This may suggest that we have a stratification of floors indicating several successive habitations during the Late Antique period. The section of the floor called 959 seems to be laid on an E-W wall (S 918), therefore dating the wall earlier. It is unclear when and under what circumstances the wall later was robbed out. However, further excavation in the area and removal of wall 540 should elucidate the relationship. ; ; Above floor S 936 is a tile destruction layer (934), which is likely equal to the tile destruction layer across wall 540 on the Pink Team’s tile destruction layer 929. The elevation of Pink 929 is roughly equivalent to that of Blue 934 and part of Blue 931, a leveling fill directly above the destruction layer. As supporting evidence for this relationship is an AFRS form 99, which has joining fragments both in Blue 931 and Pink 929.; ; Vast quantities of sherds of Late Antique pottery have been found in the fill of a Late Byzantine lime pit (the eastern part of pit is 878 and western part is 917), an ovular Byzantine pit (888), and adjacent cleaning contexts and leveling fills (895, 906, 907, 908). Also, a Late Antique glass bottle (MF 2012-50) and jar (MF 2012-51) have been found in the lime pit (917). While we have interpreted these all as redepositions, the large size of the glass sherds and the size and density of the pottery suggest that the Late Antique material in these fills does not show signs of frequent redeposition.; ; Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD); ; The most important feature identified as Late Byzantine is the western portion of wall called 747, which dates to the late 11th c. The excavation of the fill to the east of western wall 747 has revealed a finished surface to the wall and an apparent end to the foundation beneath the wall. We think that in this space East of Western wall 747 there was an entrance. As the Western and eastern portions of wall called 747 are on the same axis, despite the gap and differences in construction, we maintain that they are contemporaneous and of the same structure. We still hope to determine whether there was an interior space north or south of the wall. North of 747 may have been exterior as suggested by the massive pit there (C 870, fill 844 and 868, W-E 258.43-261.89, S-N 1011.63-1014.56), which we have identified as a bothros, since it contains a mix of pottery ranging from the Geometric Period to the late 11th c.; ; Western Wall 747 seems to be surrounded by several leveling fills that are also dated to the Late Byzantine period. These leveling fills are both north (854, 855, 857, 858, 859, 863, 868, 869, 875, 876, 925, and 927) and south (897 and 904) of Wall 747. These leveling fills characterized by a yellowish brown soil, are poorly sorted, and there are not many material inclusions. Small quantities of pottery are found across these contexts. These small contexts are overlaid in several areas by various lenses of leveling fill, often consisting of harder-packed and different colored soil, but the pottery dates from all of these contexts suggest that they are all part of a relatively contemporaneous leveling of the area. None of these contexts has a precise date for the Late Byzantine period; we can relate this context to the Late Byzantine leveling activity of this area mainly by stratigraphic relationships. In the middle Byzantine dumped fill of a robbing trench along the W Scarp (950), we have found a likely-Christian clay bread mold (MF 2012-47). These fills seem bounded by Wall 747 in the south but extend as far as the Northern Balk.; ; We have found a lime pit (C 882, W-E 257.54-260.87 S-N 1008.88-1010.10, filled by 878 and 917) directly south of Western Wall 747. All the preserved sides of this pit are covered with lime. It is possible that the walls of this cut were intentionally covered with lime, for building purposes. For example, the lime pit may have been used for the construction of walls 747 and/or 540, which both also seem to date to the late 11th c. In a later action, this cut was filled by a dumped fill (878 and 917). The filling of this cut, dated to the late 11th c, is a secondary deposition of large quantities of Late Antique pottery (5th – 6th C). Excavation of the oven (S 910) and the area between the oven and the pit will elucidate the issue and will provide confirmation as to the western boundary of the pit, which is not yet certain.; ; Last but not least in importance is pit 888 (W-E 262.21-263.10, N-S 1009.06-1007.06). Partially excavated during session 1 (888=680), this pit seems to be a bothros. Its dumped fill, dated to the 11th C, seems to be a secondary deposition of much earlier material including large quantities of Late Antique (5th – 6th C)  pottery, Late Antique coins (2012 22-29, 105-126), and a 2nd-3rd c. incised intaglio (MF 2012-33). ; ; Frankish (1210-1458 AD); ; During the Frankish period E - W Wall 747 was partially robbed out. As noted during session 2, certain fills (833, 744) excavated in the robbing trench for this wall were distinguished both in materials excavated and soil composition, and should be considered the first robbing episode of this structure. ; S of this robbing trench, we excavated a Frankish pit dated by the pottery to 1270 (C 926 filled by 883, 884, 885, 887, 889, W-E 261.88-264.03, S-N 1010.35-1008.90). The pit was particularly rich in finds, including luxurious items such as gilded bone bands (MF 2012-43, 45), incised bone knife handles (MF 2012-48), and gilded bronze flower-shaped clamps (MF 2012-53A, 53B, 54, 55) as well as stone- and metal- working tools such as a lead cupellation bowl (MF 2012-38) and an iron chisel (MF 2012-40). Also found was a pecten shell used by pilgrims travelling on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela (MF 2012-34).; ; Below the pit, we came on the head of a well, a cistern, or a manhole (S 902 W-E 262.23-262.71, S-N 1009.55-1010.05). The structure is lined with plaster, and goes down 2.35 m, without any visible fill except for a small accumulation of debris, much of which is from our excavation of proximate contexts. The hole seems to have been intentionally closed with blocks. That it is a manhole is suggested by the slightly ovular shape of the hole, but it appears to be self-contained in all horizontal directions, which makes it more likely that it was a cistern or a well. That it is a well is suggested by the nearly intact water jug that was found at the bottom of pit 889, just centimeters away from the hole. Further excavation is needed to ; Another Frankish pit (C 871, filled by 860, W-E 255.51-256.95, S-N 1011.92-1013.63) was excavated during the second quarter of the 13th C, as its dumped fill suggests. This pit, located next to the W scarp of the excavation area has been interpreted as a bothros. Interestingly, the N side of the pit scarp is full of tile. A few large, unworked stones (possibly mined bedrock) are visible at the bottom on the E side. ; These pits may have been created for the purpose of storage. Generally Frankish pits were made along walls, as the surface of the wall offered an easy ready-made boundary for the pit. Our Frankish pits C 871 and C 926 correspond to this interpretation as do two Frankish pits excavated by the Pink Team (C 847, C 867).; ; Early Modern (1831-1945); ; Context 880 is the only context that has been dated to the Early Modern period, specifically Turkish II. We have interpreted the Turkish finds as contamination from the robbing trench for wall 747 (759), and therefore we interpret the context as a disturbance of the Frankish pit (C 926).; ; Recommendations; ; We recommend to future excavators the following:; ; 1.    Take down Wall 540. We are now certain that the Late Antique floors in the northeast of our area (S 936, 939, and those stratigraphically below) continue under the wall and into the Pink area (see above). The excavation and dating of the wall would remove an obstacle to excavating in the area and would be helpful for dating in the area. Lastly, there are many walls in the Blue (S 747 and S 918) and Pink areas that misalign by as few as 0.10-0.30 m, and the excavation of the wall would help in seeing more clearly whether they are related and how.; ; 2.    Excavate oven S 910 and the surrounding contexts in order to determine the relationship between the oven and the Byzantine lime pit to the east (C 882). ; ; 3.    Excavate floors S 911 and S 912 to discern their dates as well as the relationship between the two floors and between the floors and the surrounding area; ; 4.    Take down the contexts east of 949 and then proceed to finish its excavation. Digging in this area is important for understanding the boundary between the Late Antique material to the east and the 11th c. lenses of fill 844 to the west.; We hope that in the future, interior and exterior areas will be able to be identified, and that the Late Antique levels, now appearing in the NW, will become apparent throughout the area.","Nezi Field 2012 by George, Charles; Valente, Rossana (2012-06-26 to 2012-06-27)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2012 by George, Charles Valente, Rossana (2012-06-26 to 2012-06-27)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Sesssion 2, Nezi Field, Final Report","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.","Nezi Field 2013 by Kyle Jazwa; Hilary Lehmann (2013-04-29 to 2013-05-17)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2013 by Kyle Jazwa Hilary Lehmann (2013-04-29 to 2013-05-17)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2013 Session 1, Team Pink, Final Summary","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.","Nezi Field 2013 by Mohammed Bhatti and Daniel P. Diffendale (2013-05-09 to 2013-05-10)","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)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2013 Session 1, TeamBlue, Final Summary","Katherine Harrington, Jana Mokrišová; Team Blue, Session 1; Nezi Field Excavations; N: 1017.20 N, S: 1006.90 N, E: 263.50 E, W: 255.50 E; 1-25 April, 2013; ; This is the final summary of the first session of excavation in 2013 in the northwest area of Nezi field. Guy Sanders (director) and Rossana Valente (field director) supervised. The blue excavation team consisted of Katherine Harrington and Jana Mokrišová (recorders), Athanasios Notis (foreman and pickman), Athanasios Sakellariou (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (barrowman), and Panayiotis Rontzokos (shovelman). ;     ; The excavation area was initially bounded by the Giambouranis House (also referred to as the Turkish house; NB 252, NB 262, 1015.90N) to the north, Wall 540 (264.20 E) to the east, Wall 366 (1006.90 N) to the south and the baulk of Nezi field (255.50 E) to the west. However, the northern boundary was extended in course of the excavation by the discovery of N-S drain to the northernmost point of the drain (1017.20 N), and after the removal of the wall 540 the eastern boundary was moved to 263.50 E.; ; The goal of this session was to remove final traces of Byzantine occupation in the excavation area and to further explore the Late Antique levels with the hopes of better understanding the Late Roman/ Late Antique occupational activities in the area. In addition, we also re-examined the sequence of Middle and Late Byzantine walls in the area. ; ; Late Antique (5th-7th century CE); ; We reached the Late Antique levels in most of the excavation area, except possibly any remaining fill in Cut 1040 (N-S 1016.46-1014.59, E-W 259.47-258.59), a robbing trench running N-S next to the eastern wall of the Turkish house, which may continue deeper. Additionally, we believe that there might be an extension of this robbing trench on the south side of Cut 870 in an area that was not investigated during this session (under Context 927). ; ; An ovoid hearth, with a schist and tile bottom, was revealed in the southeastern part of the excavation area (N-S 1012.49-1011.56, E-W 262.46-261.57), but was subsequently excavated by Mohammed Bhatti and Daniel Diffendale. The fill within the hearth contained a single illegible coin (no. 2013-144), a possible minimus dated to the 5th-6th century CE, and Late Roman coarse wares. ; ; The most significant Late Roman activity in the excavation area is the series of tile destruction fills dumped in the western side of the excavation area (immediately west of Cut 870). The earliest and the largest fill, Deposit 1080 (N-S 1015.83-1011.22, E-W 258.48-255.73), yielded a large amount of broken tile, charcoal, as well as over 200 kg of pottery and a significant amount of glass, metal, and animal bone. This is clearly a dump consisting of a large amount of cooking wares, storage vessels (e.g. amphorae), as well as glass tableware, which seems to be an assemblage of a wealthy household or households. Special objects include three bone plaques with incised concentric circles, possibly belonging to a single wooden box (MF-2013-6a-c), an iron buckle (MF-2013-4), a bronze tack (MF-2013-5), and several rare forms of African Red Slip Ware (C-2013-3, C-2013-4). Most of the 56 coins found in this layer were illegible. Some coins, however, provide a useful terminus post quem for the dating of this layer. One such coin, 2013-128, might date to after the 491 CE reform of Anastasius due to the possible presence of denomination mark. Similarly, Coin 2013-139 may also bear a denomination mark. However, the identification of these coins is tentative due to their poor preservation and will need to be verified by Orestes Zevros.  Several other 5th century CE coins (nos. 2013-91, 2013-96, 2013-113) and an interesting possibly counterfeit coin of “barbaric style” dating to 383-402 CE (no. 2013-123) were also found in the context. Ceramic evidence was more useful in dating this context. Most of the pottery from dates to late 5th century CE. However, the context has very few early 5th century sherds, and the lamps and African Red Slip forms present in the context suggest a slightly later date of 500-525 CE. ; ; Above the tile fill in the southern part of this area, two parallel curvilinear walls (S1068 and S1069), 0.45 m apart, rested on a deposit containing much dissolved mudbrick (Context 1073; N-S 1013.60-1011.79, E-W 257.53-255.71). The inner Wall 1068 was made of two courses of limestone cobbles (with the second course represented by only one stone) and a reused marble fragment (A-2013-1), while the outer Wall 1069 had only one preserved course. One section of both walls was covered with a localized concentration of mudbrick, clay, and stone (Context 1047). We originally identified this concentration as a structure, but later we concluded that it was probably a dump of building material or a dense filling between the two walls. The walls run into the western scarp, and unfortunately not enough was preserved to determine their function.   ; ; Above the northern side of the large destruction Context1080, there was another dense fill, Context 1058 (N-S 1015.65-1013.46, E-W 258.47-255.65), which was relatively tile-free, but contained a large amount of coarse and cooking pottery, many of which had joins. While this is not as clearly a destruction level since it did not contain much tile or other building material, there is no clear use-surface above or below it, and the presence of large pieces of charcoal and the joins in the pottery suggests that this may also have been a dumped destruction fill. Some rare pottery types and lamps from this context were saved, including a lamp from the workshop of Chionis (L-2013-1) dated to the late 5th/early 6th century CE, which seems to correspond well with the date based on the remaining pottery. ; ; The fill of Context 1046 (N-S 1015.80-1013.35, E-W 255.60-257.91), yet another layer rich in tile, ceramic, and bone, was smaller in extent and thinner than Context1080, but it included a similar range of materials. The pottery forms seem to be later and are dated to the second half 6th century CE. Similarly, the glass from this deposit contained a number of tubular ring goblet feet, which were introduced in the second half of the 5th century CE and were made with new technology. These were absent from Deposit 1080, which contained only vertical stemmed goblet feet. Thus, here we have two different types of technology represented in two separate deposits. According to Athenian Agora XXXIV, however, the two types may slightly overlap chronologically. Therefore, these two deposits may either represent two chronologically separate events, or may reflect the presence of two separate, but contemporary, households who both dumped material in the same area. Significant other finds include a large ovoid marble fragment, which may be a finial or part of a balustrade. ; ; The interpretation of the nature of the activities in this area is made difficult by the presence of large pit Cut 870 in the middle of the excavation area as well as the presence of the Turkish house to the north and the western baulk of the excavation area, all of which truncated the dumped fills. Given that the pottery dates for each of the three layers described above, it is difficult to determine whether these dumps are related to a single destructive event in the wider neighborhood or represent a series of independent events. One possibility may be that this area lay behind a N-S wall which once filled Cut 1040, which we believe to be a robbing trench. Thus, this may have been a convenient exterior dumping ground used over time. Another possibility may be that a large destructive event, such as the earthquake of 522, afflicted the area causing several households to dump their debris in one single area as a part of a general clean-up project. However, at this point we are reluctant to connect these deposits to a single historical event without further study of the pottery from these levels. Above these dumped fills were a series of leveling fills, which may have been laid down in order to reuse the area for new purposes at the end of the Late Roman period. ; ; The remaining Late Roman activity was located in the northwestern part of the excavation area. A well preserved section of a drain, Structure 1026 (N-S 1017.17- 1014.96, E-W 260.14- 259.75), ran N-S at the northern edge of the excavation area and was parallel to the robbing trench 1040. It appears to have been truncated by the building of Wall 918. The drain dates before the middle of the 6th century CE, based on stratigraphy, but since the structure itself and the fill it rests upon were not yet excavated, this date remains preliminary. The drain may have been connected to the well—excavated in the 1960s—located just north of it, immediately to the east of the Turkish house and may have been part of the drainage system of structure related to the wall we theorize filled Cut 1040. ; ; The latest Late Antique activity in the area is present in thin deposits preserved below Wall 540 on the east side of the excavation area. The wall, which dates to the early 12th century, was left pedestalled during the 2012 season (top H. 86.56m, bottom H. 85.98m). Excavation continued on both sides of the wall, and after its removal we were able to correlate this season’s deposits to some of those excavated in 2012. ; ; The pedestal below Wall 540 was preserved in three sections, interrupted by two robbing trenches, Cut 980 and Deposit 985. We excavated the two northern sections and Daniel Diffendale and Mohammed Bhatti excavated the southern section. Each of the two northern sections of the baulk below the wall contained two tile destruction levels, separated by a layer of leveling fill. This clear sequence allowed us to find equivalent layers of the baulk across the robbing trench of Wall 918/992 (filled by Contexts 975 and 985), which separated our two sections of the baulk. ; ; The lowest layers of the pedestal were excavated as Deposits 990 and 991 (990 N-S 1016.20-1014.64, E-W264.68-263.66; 991: N-S 1014.62-1011.63, E-W 264.59-263.76) and correspond to Structure 936 (dated to mid 6th- early 7th century CE), a compact floor surface excavated in 2012. They also relate to Deposit 1035, excavated by Bhatti and Diffendale. Given the narrowness of the pedestal, we cannot add much to the interpretation of this surface at this point. The possibility of further succession of floors below this level was suggested by George and Valente in 2012 report, but was explored by Bhatti and Diffendale during this season. ; ; The earliest tile destruction layer, Contexts 989 and 984, are equal to Contexts 934 and 929 excavated in 2012, due to their roughly equivalent elevations and presence of tile. This allows us to confirm that this tile destruction layer ran under the wall, as theorized by Valente and George in 2012. Our tile layer must have been part of a larger dump of tile, possibly resulting from the clean-up of a destroyed building elsewhere, or—as theorized in 2012—from the collapse of a roof. We were not able to equate the other layers of the pedestal (including the later tile layer) to levels excavated in the previous season, unfortunately. This may be due to a disturbance from the foundation trench of the wall or other activity in the area after the Wall 540 was built, which preserved the later tile layer under the wall, but removed it to the east and west. The layer intervening between the two tile dumps and the later tile dump itself date to the late 6th/early 7th century CE, while the top-most level of the baulk (Contexts 974 and 986) dates to the 7th century CE. ; ; ; Middle to Late Byzantine (802-1210 CE); ; During the mid-10th to late 11th centuries CE, there was a very large pit in the middle of the excavation area (Cut 870, N-S 1014.56-1011.63, E-W 261.89-258.43), which was previously identified as a bothros by George and Valente in 2012. This pit seems to have been filled over a period of time, with the cut and first preserved fill (Context 1002) dated to the late 10th-early 11th centuries and the latest fill (Context 844, excavated in 2012) dated to the late 11th century. This extremely large and deep cut may have functioned as a disposal bothros during this period. The bothros seems to have been filled by the time that the Late Byzantine walls in the area were built, so we are currently unable to associate it with any architecture. However, it must have existed in an exterior space at its time of use.; ; There seems to have been a flurry of building activity in this area during the late 11th and early 12th centuries. Wall 747/1087 seems to have been erected first, in the late 11th-early 12th centuries (1087: N-S 1010.81-101.11 E-W 258.29-255.75; 747: N-S 1010.80-1010.40, E-W 264.15-263.30).  During the 2012 season, the foundation trench (Cut 809) for Wall 1087 was partially excavated, but we removed the final layer of fill within the cut during this season, as Context 1086 (N-S 1011.38-1010.62, E-W 258.24-255.68), and we also exposed further foundations of the wall during cleaning. We are uncertain what space was defined by this wall in its earliest phase, but during a later phase in the early 12th century, it appears to have been abutted by the slightly later N-S Wall 540. Therefore, it seems that the space to the west of Wall 540 was divided into a northern and a southern section by Wall 747/1087. However, we cannot be certain whether these spaces were interior or exterior and we do not yet have evidence of any further walls defining the space.; ; Wall 540 (N-S 1015.20-1007.26, E-W 264.76-263.68), which consisted of two faces of roughly worked small boulders with cobbles and rubble in the interior, was removed during this season, allowing us to clarify its relationship with several other walls in the area. We are now certain that two E-W walls in the area, Wall 918/992  (N-S 1015.10-1014.57, E-W 266.12-259.56) and Wall 945 (N-S 1011.69-1010.89, E-W 264.50-260.95), were out of use by the time that Wall 540 was built, because Wall 540 was constructed over the robbing trenches of each of these walls. Perhaps these walls were removed in preparation for the building of Wall 540 or as part of a larger rebuilding project in the area. ; ; Recommendations for the future:; 1.    Excavate any remaining fill in Cut 1040 and investigate the possibility that this robbing trench continued on the south side of Cut 870. This would shed light on our theory that the wall which once filled this cut was related to the dumping ground to its west. ; 2.    Continue investigating the area bounded by Walls 992 and 945 to the east of Cut 870 in order to continue exploring the Late Roman levels. Special attention should be paid to any evidence of dumped destruction fills. ; 3.    Remove Drain 1026 and the fill below it to clarify the date of the drain. ; 4.    Consider excavating part of Wall 747/1087 for chronological purposes. ; 5.    Clean the bottom of Cut 870 to better understand the material exposed at its bottom and take closing levels, which we were unable to do during this session.","Nezi Field 2013 by Katherine Harrington, Jana Mokrišová (2013-05-09 to 2007-05-24)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2013 by Katherine Harrington, Jana Mokrišová (2013-05-09 to 2007-05-24)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Session 3 2013 Blue Northwest Nezi Field, Early/Middle Roman to Frankish Periods","Kate Larson and Jon Meyer; ASCSA Corinth Excavations; Blue Team Session 3 Final Report; N :1016.50 N, E: 263.00 E, S: 1005.70 N, W: 255.50 E; May 27 – June 18, 2013; ; During Session 3 2013, the Blue Team excavated in three distinct areas in the northwest section of Nezi Field (N. 1016.50 N, E. 263.00 E, S. 1005.70 N, W. 255.50 E), with the goal of reaching Late Roman (4th-6th century) occupation layers, discovering discrete Late Roman contexts to clarify an absolute ceramic chronology, and learning more about the activity in and around Nezi at that point in time.  Additionally, we have been able to refine the dating and use of the space immediately north of wall 366, around well 742, in the late 11th and 12th century.  Under the directorship of Guy Sanders and field directorship of Rossana Valente, the Blue Team consisted of Athanasios Notis (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (shovelman), Panayiotis Rontzokos (barrowman), and Kate Larson and Jon Meyer (recorders).  ; ; On May 27th, the Blue team conducted a minor operation in the area immediately south and east of the Giambouranis (Turkish) House (N. 1016.50 N, E. 259.80 E, S. 1014.25 N, W. 257.85 E), clarifying N-S cut 1040 and removing the skin balk between 1040 and the large tile deposit 1080 excavated in Session 1 by Katherine Harrington and Jana Mokrišová.  Beginning on May 28th, the Blue team moved south to the area bounded by E-W walls 1087 and 945 on the north (1010.50 N), robbing trench 1171 on the east (263.00 E), wall 366 on the south (1005.70 N), and the western scarp of Nezi on the west (255.50 E), last excavated during Session 3 2012 by Rossana Valente and Charles George.  In this area, we have identified a Frankish pit and robbing activity, several late 11th-early 12th century Byzantine structures suggesting intensive activity, and a thick Late Roman fill, mostly of earlier architectural debris, which is probably related to the construction and elevation of well 742 in the 5th or early 6th century.  By the end of the season, we reached early-middle Roman strata which indicate possible domestic occupation in Nezi but will require additional investigation in future seasons before any clear conclusions can be reached.; ; During the final week of excavation, Rossana Valente under the auspices of the Blue Team excavated a late 11th century coin hoard just south of wall 366 and east of wall 332, north of and under structure 452 (N. 1006.08 N, E. 264.20 E, S. 1003.70 N, W. 262.70 E), an area most recently excavated in 2009.  While the original intention of this limited project had been to properly excavate a large, mostly intact jar which had become exposed due to weathering over the past several years, the discovery of the coin hoard in context 1235 offers excellent corroborative dating evidence for associated Late Byzantine pottery, and further excavation should be conducted in this area in subsequent seasons.  ; ; Early-Middle Roman (1st-3rd century); Based on stratigraphy, N-S wall 1222 was built sometime before the 4th century, by which time it had gone out of use and was covered over (see below).  The wall begins at 1010.03 N (where it abuts wall 1087) and extends south into the baulk at 1006.08 N.  At the preserved elevation of 85.84 masl, the wall is constructed in two distinct manners: from uncut fieldstones of 0.15-0.20 m in its northern half, and (reused?) larger cut ashlars (0.35-0.55) at the south, possibly indicating a repair or extension of wall 1222.   An earlier phase of E-W wall 366, running from 261.50 E to 262.90 E, where it disappears into the east balk, probably also was built in this period.  The west end of this wall was robbed or otherwise disrupted in the Late Roman period, but the large ashlar stones still contain traces of red wall plaster in situ.  A third Early Roman wall may have been located 3.60 m east of wall 1222, represented by Late Byzantine robbing trench 1171.  The numerous ornate Masonry style and faux marble wall painting fragments found in the Late Roman fill in this area (contexts 1227, 1210, and 1187) could well have come from these walls, and suggest a rather wealthy domestic or semi-public space.; ; These walls are possibly related to the pebble floor found in situ near the north end of wall 1222, 0.50 m to the east, at 85.17 masl  and/or the tile floor at 85.01 masl 2.5 m east of 1222 and a bit further south.  Both these surfaces should date sometime in or before the 2nd century, based upon the material excavated directly above them (contexts 1202 and 1242, respectively), but further excavation is required to determine their actual date and extent.  A third floor for which we found evidence but no in situ remains was made from cut down tiles which were used as bricks, set in a limey matrix, and covered over with soft limey plaster.  This floor was destroyed by the 2nd or 3rd century and dumped in sizable chunks, the largest 0.60 x 0.70, into the area between wall 1087 and wall 945, and excavated as contexts 1202 and 1250; these contexts are dated by a large piece of square lipped water pipe dated by Palinkas and Herbst to the late 2nd-early 3rd century (Hesperia 2011 80.2), but no pottery is later than the 1st century CE.; ; Late Roman (5th-6th century); Well 742 may have been constructed and in use as early as the fourth century, although further excavation around it and removal of the well structure itself will have to confirm this date.  Beginning around 85.60 masl (excavated as context 1227), the walls of the well shaft were reinforced with uncut cobbles and fieldstones, built into and laid against the sides of the well shaft; the soil is completely undifferentiated from the surrounding fill.  This rudimentary construction, which was clearly not intended to be seen, ceases after about half a meter, at 86.10 masl.  The top of the preserved well shaft was made from three courses of larger rectangular stones roughly hewn on the exterior and more nicely cut into a curvilinear shape for the interior of the well shaft start (one course removed this season as context 1185).  We have identified no external cut into which the well was dug; before it opens into a larger cistern or chamber, the well shaft is composed of the same hard packed soil we are finding throughout the excavation area which seems to have been packed or cut inside the well. Unlike at higher elevations, we have found no evidence below 85.60 masl or so of the reinforcing cobbles around the well structure which indicate built construction.  The only soil we excavated below these cobbles, which seems possibly to have been cut rather than built as part of the well, contained no pottery dating later than the 1st century CE, although the deposit did contain a coin of Hadrian (coin 2013-251; context 1246). ; ; We suggest that a series of superimposed dump fills represents a construction or raising of well 742 and the surrounding area, possibly to correspond to the street level of Late Roman Nezi.   These fills cover the entire area bounded by later walls 1087 on the north, 366 on the south, robbing trench 1171 on the east, and the scarp of Nezi excavations on the west (N: 1010.08 N, E: 262.10 E, S: 1007.00 N, W: 255.50 E).  The earliest, 1227 and its associated contexts (1239, 1240, and 1248, plus 1233 excavated by the Pink team this session), was laid down in the 4th century, possibly early 5th (as dated by the pottery from 1233).  This filling operation was dense and over half a meter thick.  Context 1210, immediately over 1227, was very similar in composition, differentiated only by the inclusion of small quantities of pottery dating to the 6th century.  Similarly, context 1187, immediately overlying 1227, contained almost all 4th century and earlier material redeposited with two rims of 6th century cookware and a tubular foot goblet which dates to the second half of the 5th century or later.  These fills were built up against and covered over the early-middle Roman walls 1222 and the earlier phase of 366, as discussed above.   ; ; Most of the cultural material from these fills is architectural in origin, including abundant tiles, bricks, painted and unpainted wall plaster, architectural moldings, and assorted floor tesserae.  These fills likely also contained a large quantity of mudbricks which have since disintegrated, leaving behind small pieces of poorly preserved Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Early Roman (1st century) pottery which we found in much greater quantities in these contexts than we did pottery which is contemporaneous with the deposit itself.  Although truncated at the north by wall 1087 and the trenches to either side and the east by robbing trench 1171, this fill clearly extends south into the baulk under wall 366 and west into the baulk of Nezi.; ; Because there is so little material throughout these fills which is contemporary with the filling operation itself, it is unclear whether these three large deposits all represent a single construction event or the raising of the well gradually over time from the 4th-6th centuries.  That these fills represent a single event is supported by the continuity in the construction method of the well, which was uncut fieldstones, cobbles, and soil (as discussed above) up to about 86.10 masl (exposed as contexts 1187 and 1210), and by the lack of evidence for floors or surfaces below surface 1157 at 86.46 masl.; ; A sequence of surfaces built above the huge dump fills are likely related to the use of the well in the 6th century or later.   No trace of these floors and their subfloors was found west of well 742, but the high degree of disruption by later Byzantine and Frankish occupation may have destroyed them.  Surface 1157 (86.46 masl) is a rock and tile floor bound together with plaster, covering the entire area east of well 742 up to robbing trench 1171.  It was supported by a 0.25 m thick sandy and rocky fill containing 4th-5th NPD pottery (deposit 1162, 86.28 masl), which may have been some sort of bedding or leveling layer for the surface; during its excavation, Guy Sanders noted that this sandy limestone is the local bedrock and suggested this deposit in particular may originate from construction (or expansion?) of well 742 or well 902 to the northeast.  Surface 1157 was replaced by surface 911, a reddish limey floor (N: 1009.42 N, E: 262.04 E, S: 1007.37 N, W: 259.22 E, 86.59 masl).  This floor was quite well constructed, with a plastered cobble subfloor (structure 1153, 86.54 masl) and a highly compact soil bedding layer (structure 1156, 86.46 masl).  By contrast, dirt surface 912 above it (N: 1009.33 N, E: 261.96 E, S: 1007.69 N, W: 259.63 E, 86.62 masl) was quite patchy and, having been exposed for a year, rather difficult to identify the boundaries of; had it not been identified as a surface last season, we probably would not have recognized it as such.  All of these contexts were nearly sterile of cultural material other than tile, but they overlay context 1210 which contained 6th century material.; ; A series of square structures was built up against the south side of well 742, presumably in the Late Roman period along with the other features associated with the well (although we found virtually no datable material in any of them, and stratigraphically they can only be associated clearly with the well itself).  All covered about the same area of 1007.15-1007.90 N and 258.35-259.15 E (0.75 x 0.80 m).  We are uncertain about their use and function: the most likely is that they represent a sequence of entrances or thresholds to the well from the south, but they were not associated with any floors we identified during excavation; further excavation of Late Roman strata in the Byzantine room to the south may help resolve this.  The earliest (no context number; unexcavated) is a platform or base consisting of a single layer of uncut cobbles and fieldstones 0.08-0.20 m large.  These stones are difficult to differentiate from the stones supporting well 742 and from the stones of wall 1222, immediately to the west.  This structure seems to have been built over the southeastern half of wall 1222, and extends further south than the overlying tile and ashlar structures, into the line of wall 366 and southern baulk.  Excavation of this platform and the underlying soil deposit is necessary to clarify these relationships.  These stones may have been a bedding surface for a level of flat laying tiles immediately above them (context 1220, 86.12, pottery Roman NPD).  These tiles were then covered with a 0.05-0.10 m thick layer of reddish clayey sand (deposit 1209) which resembles the Late Roman fill operation of context 1210 (above).  A large cut ashlar (0.60x0.70x0.40), which may have come from wall 1222, was placed on this soil, and topped by another layer of flat lying tiles (context 1158, 86.54 masl).  ; ; Unfortunately, we have not been able to identify any walls or primary deposits which correspond to the Late Roman use of the well, possibly suggesting that it was in an exterior space, or roofed with a simple wooden structure.  It should also be noted that we retrieved no evidence for the well head in any period (i.e. no stones with use wear rope cuttings), which was therefore either wooden or spoliated at a later date for use elsewhere.  ; ; Around the Turkish House, we provided additional dating evidence for context 1080 (Session 1 Blue).  Deposit 1143 is part of the same destruction fill as deposit 1080.  Like 1080, 1143 contained large quantities of tile, along with pottery, glass (especially vertical foot goblets), and three additional coins (C-2013-192, -193, and -194, all illegible minimi).  According to the current ceramic chronology, the pottery indicates a date in the second half of the 5th century, but a North African style moldmade lamp in local Corinthian fabric (L-2013-4) suggests a date closer to the mid-6th century for this deposition of material based on comparanda with material from the Fountain of Lamps. ; ; Early-Middle Byzantine (7th- 10th century); No early Byzantine activity has been detected in the excavation area, based on the lack of ceramic material dating to this period.; ; Middle-Late Byzantine (11th- 12th century); Prior excavations have clarified that the large bothros pit in the middle of NW Nezi (Cut 870) was filled over the course of the mid 10th-late 11th century (see Session 1 2013 Blue final report).  The putative N-S robbing trench Cut 1040 was also filled during this period (deposit 1136), further support that the far northwest corner of Nezi field around the Turkish House served as a source of stone for new construction activities and a garbage dumping area during this century and a half.  So far, we have been unable to ascertain whether Cut 1040 (and therefore a now-missing wall from a prior period) continues south of Cut 870, as suggested by Harrington and Mokrišová.; ; South of wall 1087/747, which Harrington and Mokrišová date to the late 11th-early 12th century, another N-S wall was robbed at some point during the 11th century, represented by rectangular cut 1171 (N-S 1009.57-1007.06 N, E-W 262.98-262.28 E) extending northward from wall 366.  Both fills in this cut, 888 and 1167, contained material dated to the 11th century.  Based on the flurry of activity in this vicinity dated to the late 11th century, it is likely that cuts 1040 and 1171 provided source lime and stone for these constructions.  Immediately south of wall 1087 is lime pit 882, initially identified and preliminarily excavated by George and Valente in 2012, dated by them to the late 11th century (based on material excavated from context 917; we recovered no material from the removal of the lime plaster itself which dates later than two micaceous water jar bases from the 6th century in context 1176).  Even though the stratigraphy is unclear as none of these structures connect, the pottery phasings and common sense suggest that the sequence of events in this area is 1) robbing of walls, 2) cutting and use of the lime pit to create mortar for the walls from the robbed stone, and 3) construction of walls 1087/747 and 366 .   ; ; Well 742 potentially served as the source of water for mixing lime mortar, as the lime pit appeared to be set immediately against its north side.  We identified a possible narrow cut around the top of the well, filled with a loose, dark black soil (deposit 1175, 86.40-86.16 masl) which was quite distinct from the surrounding red sandy Late Roman matrix; both this deposit and the comparable black soil around highest preserved course of the well (context 1185) contained 11th century pottery.  Therefore, we suspect that well 742 was a two-phase structure, as after removal of the upper course, we have been unable to identify any type of cut around the well to indicate that the lower Late Roman fill was disturbed during the course of well construction.  However, the construction method of the highest preserved course of the well – three rectangular ashlars with roughly carved exteriors, and a well carved curved interior surface around the opening for the well, held together with cobble chinking stones – is quite similar to what we can ascertain of the lower levels; on the other hand, George and Valente removed several stones from around the well in 2012, and these may represent the true 11th century construction and use phase of the well.  ; ; After construction of the walls, the area was adapted for occupational use, probably as a form of interior or exterior domestic space bounded by the wall 1087 at the north and 366 at the south.  Our 2013 excavation of round, stone built hearth 910 generated ceramics dated to the late 11th century; the interior fills excavated by George and Valente in 2012 were dated to the early 12th, suggesting this hearth was only in use for a few decades at most.  Construction of the hearth seems to have disrupted the western edge of lime pit 882, which was never concretely identified by either us or George and Valente; all we found were spotty bits of lime visible in the western face of the pit, quite dissimilar from the much better preserved solid surfaces of lime found to the east.  Well 742 likely continued to be used as well.  ; ; Excavations in the area E of Wall 332 (N: 1006.06 N; S: 1003.75 N; E: 264.17 E; W: 262.77 E) allowed further investigation of the Byzantine strata in Nezi field. ; ; The structure 452 (N 1005.51, S 1004.01, E 263.75, W 262.78) exposed during excavation in 2009 and removed in June 2013 has now been interpreted as the foundation of a staircase. It did not directly lay against any walls or other structures: the closest wall to this staircase, Wall 332, was separated from structure 452 by a thin layer of soil, 2 cm thick on average. Nevertheless we can argue that staircase 452 can be related at least to the western room bounded by Wall 332, Wall 366 and Wall. And it seems to be contemporary to northern Walls 540, 749 and 1087 the eastern Wall 807, even though no physical relationships are preserved. At the moment we can infer that during the Late Byzantine period the building identified in this area consisted at least of two floors.   ; ; Structure 452 laid on a hard packed earth deposit (deposit 1235). This fill was dumped South of Wall 366 and West of Wall 332 in order to have a proper surface for bedding the staircase foundation (structure 452). When deposit 1235 was dumped a hoard of bronze coins was deposited below the north side of Structure 452, few centimeters beneath the lowest course of stones. These coins belong almost all to the reigns of Nicephorus III and Alexius I, and range from 1178 to 1118 (coins 2013-221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 236, 238, 252, 254, 255, 256), except for two earlier ones: coin 2013-231 dated to 969-1030 and coin 2013-234 dated to1070 -1075, which were likely still in use at the beginning of the 12th century. The coins do not seem to have been contained in a ceramic vessel, we hypothesize that they were originally in a leather bag.  The presence of a hoard beneath staircase does not seem to be unique in Nezi: in the field N of Nezi another hoard was identified in similar condition of preservation according to G. Sanders.; ; Unfortunately not much pottery was associated with this hoard. On the contrary, the new, wide deposit exposed beneath it and unexcavated appears to be very rich in ceramics. This new context is around the Frankish pits 527 and 528 and, according to the stratigraphy exposed in these cuts, it seems to be all the same deposit exposed beneath 1235 and to continue further south. We definitely encourage more excavation here: the numerous coins we found in 1235 can provide a terminus ante quem for this layer exposed beneath 1235. ; ; Frankish (13th century); The Frankish period is another phase of disruption, rather than occupation, in this area; George and Valente also identified a series of pits and wall robbings dating to the 13th century (see Final Report Session 3 Blue 2012).  The western extent of wall 366 was robbed, an action described by cut 687 , and a shallow circular pit was dug below it at the presumed intersection of walls 366 and 306 (N-S 1006.91-1005.81 N, E-W 258.23-257.15 E, 86.17-85.82 masl).  These cuts were then filled by deposits 1204 and 1183 around the third quarter of the 13th century.  ; ; Outstanding Issues; For the next season of excavation in Nezi Field, we recommend the following for this area:; 1.    Excavate the single course stone feature immediately south of well 742 and the fill beneath it in order to investigate the nature of the sequence of stone and tile structures overlaying it.  More work may need to be done in the Byzantine room to the south in order to determine the full southern extend of the stone feature and the late Roman fills which pass under wall 366.; 2.    Remove the remainder of well 742 and the soil surface around it to resolve its initial construction and use.; 3.    Expose more of the pebble floor and tile floor to determine their extent, date, and relationship to walls 1222 and the earlier phase of 366, in order to learn more about Early-Middle Roman Nezi.; 4.    Resume work in the area around the Frankish pit 527, because the coin hoard in 1235 provides an excellent terminus ante quem for the underlying deposits","Nezi Field 2013 by Kate Larson and Jon Meyer (2013-05-27 to 2013-06-18)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2013 by Kate Larson and Jon Meyer (2013-05-27 to 2013-06-18)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Session 3, 2013, Pink Team, Nezi Field North","Nezi 2013 Season; Session 3 Final Report; Grace Erny and Emily Joy ; N 1005.89 – 1022.92; E 255.66 – 271.22; 27 May – 21 June 2013; ; This is the final report for the third session of excavation at Nezi, 2013.  Guy Sanders (director) and Rossana Valente (field director) supervised.  The Pink excavation team for this session consisted of Grace Erny and Emily Joy (recorders) and Panos Kakouros (pickman).  The first ten days of excavation focused briefly on the area south of wall w35 and east of wall 5218, then moved north and east into the area south of wall 5484 and east of wall 1154.  Previous excavation in this area was undertaken during the 2007 season. Our excavation goals for this area included clarifying the relationships between the various walls and surfaces present there.  In the final six days of excavation, we moved south in Nezi field to work in the area west of Wall 1222. This area is bounded to the north by a foundation trench for the Late Byzantine Wall 1087 (C809), and to the south and the west by unexcavated scarps. As we excavated the deposits west of 1222, the Blue team continued to work to the east of the wall.  By digging in this area, we hoped to determine the extent and possible construction date of wall 1222, to compare the finds from the area west of the wall to the finds from the area east of it, and to ascertain whether the pebble mosaic floor uncovered in situ by the Blue team roughly 0.5 m east of the north end of wall 1222 continued below this wall to the west.  It was also suggested that excavations in this area might encounter a continuation of the tile-rich dump deposit 1080 excavated during Session 1 of the 2013 season, which yielded much Late Roman pottery, including several rare forms, and many coins.; ; The two areas in which we excavated in this session are far apart, and since we did not dig the contexts in between them we will present the two areas separately in this report.  ; ; Area 1:  27 May – 7 June (N 1015.44 – 1022.92; E 266.44 – 271.22); ; The number of walls, floor-like surfaces of hard-packed earth, and fill deposits in this area suggests that it was an interior space, likely residential. It appears to have served this function from the Early Roman period through the Late Roman period and to have undergone a destruction and several fill operations and reconfigurations within that time.; ; Early Roman, ca. 1st c. BCE – early 2nd c. CE; ; In the Early or Middle Roman period, probably in the second century BCE or earlier (based on the pottery dates from the fill dumped on top of it), a floor of hard-packed, grayish, clay-rich earth (structure 1191) was in use in the area.  Two walls, wall 1154 (N 1020.04-1020.43, E 268.32-268.89, orientation NW-SE, constructed with a mixture of roughly hewn and squared limestone blocks bonded with mud) and wall 1213 (N 1020.07-1020.64, E 270.14-271.09, orientation E-W, constructed similarly to 1154 with the addition of roof tiles) were in use at the same time as this floor, which extends directly up to them with no cuts for foundation trenches visible.  These two walls may have formed part of a room at this point, with a space left for an entryway between the east face of 1154 and the western end of 1213. Wall 5435 and wall 5218 prevented us from digging further to the north and east, confirming the extent of the floor.  Floor 1191 probably continued south through the putative entryway between 1154 and 1213, possibly into another room to the south, although the presence of the later Roman wall 1155 makes this difficult to determine.  Excavations directly south of wall 1155 and 1213 in the western part of deposit 1199 descended upon a hard-packed surface with a similar composition and elevation to 1191.  The hypothesis that this surface is a continuation of floor 1191 is supported by the presence of patches of charcoal and ash directly above both surfaces.  These ash and charcoal deposits do not have clear edges and do not contain enough material to constitute hearths.  Rather, they seem to be the remains of small, localized, one-time events, perhaps related to cooking.  At some point during the floor’s use, pockets of tiny (approximately 0.001 m) greenish-brown seeds collected on top of it (at the bottom of deposit 1199).  This material may also indicate food preparation activities in this area, although an identification of the seeds by an archaeobotanist would be helpful for interpretation here.  ; ; One squared limestone block of wall 1213 has a rectangular groove (length 0.08 m, width 0.02 m, depth 0.04 m) incised on its upper surface.  The block appears to be in secondary use here, and it is possible that the groove was originally used to support a stele with a tongue at its base.  The presence of such a block is consistent with evidence for Hellenistic cult activity in the vicinity.; ; Middle Roman, ca. 2nd - 4th c. CE; ; In the Middle Roman period, this area saw much activity, including multiple fill operations and a destruction.  In the potential room bounded by wall 1154 to the west and wall 1213 to the south, floor 1191 went out of use as material was dumped on top of it. This material was deposited in two discrete events.  The deposit laying directly against wall 1154 in the western half of the area (context 1151) was rich in crushed mudbrick and large broken pieces of roof tile mixed together.  The soil here was quite red, a common effect of mudbrick being exposed to heat, and contained inclusions of charcoal.  These observations suggest that a destruction occurred here, possibly involving the partial burning of a building.  Similar deposits containing high proportions of mudbrick and rooftiles were excavated directly above context 1151 in 2007 (B5069, B5082) and reportedly did not extend further west than the east face of wall 1154, which implies that the putative destruction postdates wall 1154.  ; ; The deposit to the east of this destruction (context 1169), by contrast, contained almost no mudbrick, and the roof tile pieces present were less numerous and smaller.  One notable find from context 1169 was a fragment of furnace brick with some bronze adhering to it, which suggests that bronze production was occurring in this area during or before the Middle Roman period.  The deposit directly above 1169 was also excavated in 2007 (B5070) and consisted of a clayey surface identified by the excavators as a possible floor and dated by  them to the second half of the 3rd century, presumably based on pottery.  1169 is likely leveling fill which was dumped into the area as a preparation for this surface.  The pottery from this context, which was dated to the 2nd c. npd, supports this interpretation.; ; It is difficult to reconstruct whether the leveling operation or the destruction event occurred first.  Both of them were dumped directly on top of floor 1191.  The large fragments of tile, however, became somewhat scarcer towards the bottom of the destruction deposit 1151, although the change was not dramatic enough to warrant a change of context.  Neither we nor the previous excavators noticed an extension of the putative floor 5070 into the western half of the area, which seems odd given that there is no evidence for a wall or other boundary that might curtail its westward extent.  One possibility is that the surface 5070 originally extended as far west as wall 1154, and then the destruction occurred sometime after the floor’s construction in the late 3rd century.  This event then destroyed the western part of this surface, which would mean that deposit 1151 would postdate both 5070 and the leveling fill 1169 below it.  Ceramic evidence support this interpretation, as the pottery recovered from the destruction (1151) was dated to the Middle to Late Roman period, is later than the 2nd century pottery date assigned to the leveling fill (1169).  A carved gemstone depicting Aphrodite Hoplismeni (MF 2013-13) was also recovered from 1151. Although we dated it on the basis of comparanda to the Early Roman period (1st-2nd c. CE), a valuable or heirloom item such as this may have been kept for a long time and does not necessarily imply a date this early for the entire context.; ; This destruction event seems to have prompted a reconfiguration of space in the area in the later part of the Middle Roman period.  To the south of wall 1213, at least two pebble-rich, hard packed, slightly uneven surfaces were in use sometime before the 4th century CE, but after floor 1191 went out of use.  One overlays the other, but their similar compositions and elevations suggest that they may have been used at roughly the same time and perhaps represent repairs to the same surface.  Time constraints prevented us from excavating these putative floors and gaining a better understanding of their stratigraphic relationships to each other and the surrounding walls, but they are shown on the bottom plan for context 1199 and are labeled as Floors 1 and 2.   ; ; In the 4th century, these two surfaces went out of use as more fill (deposit 1199) was dumped on top of them, possibly as preparation for a later floor.  Wall 1213 also went out of use at this time as it was covered by the same fill. This fill contained much redeposited earlier material, including Early Roman redwares and relief lamps (all Broneer type 22; see in particular L 2013-5), Hellenistic and 4th century BCE loomweights, and several earlier figurines (MF 2013-22, probably Early Roman, and MF 2013-15, possibly 4th century BCE).  Stone tesserae and large quantities of painted wall plaster were also present in this fill, probably from earlier Roman domestic or semi-public spaces in the area.  ; ; After this fill operation was performed, wall 1155 (N 1020.24-1020.56, E 268.90-270.09, orientation E-W, constructed with limestone, roof tiles and pebble conglomerate bonded with mud) was constructed along the same line as but at a higher elevation than the earlier wall 1213.  Wall 1155 abuts wall 1154 at its western end but stops at the east with a large squared limestone block (height 0.90 m, top surface 0.50 m x 0.40 m).  This block possibly delineated the western edge of a point of entrance into an interior space bounded by wall 1154 to the west and wall 1155 to the south.  ; ; The area south of wall w35 and east of wall 5218 also appears to have been in use in the Middle Roman period, when a series of floors was constructed in the area.  Deposit 1148 was comprised of areas of looser, sandier soil alternating with compact, flat layers of more clayey soil, which we interpreted as several layers of flooring with patches of crushed mudbrick fill in between.  Pottery from this deposit supports a Middle Roman date. The boundaries between these successive floors were difficult to distinguish, and they were likely laid down roughly contemporaneously as part of repair operations in an interior space.  A shallow carbon and ash-rich deposit (1147) was laid on top of this series of surfaces and was probably in use at roughly the same time, but it did not appear to be a proper hearth, and the area was probably only sporadically used for burning. ; ; Late Roman, ca. 5th c. CE; ; A new floor (1142) was laid over the series of Middle Roman floors sometime in the 5th century (based on pottery dates).  Both this floor and 1199 were cut by a robbing trench, which was cut by a pit.  The fill of the trench and pit were dug in 2007 (B5151 and B5152 for the trench and B5148 and B5150 for the pit) and yielded very mixed pottery dates, ranging from Hellenistic to 5th century CE.  This may indicate that there were few pieces of definitive pottery from these fills and that stratigraphic dating would be more useful in establishing a chronology for this area.  Based on our current stratigraphy, both the trench and the pit should date to the 5th century or later.; ; Suggestions for future excavators; ; Two future plans for excavation in this area spring to mind.  The first of these would be to continue digging in the area exposed by the excavation of the fill deposit 1199, where four different contexts (three surfaces and one deposit) are now visible.  We did not assign context numbers to these four contexts since we were unable to dig them at this time, but the bottom plan for context 1199 shows their elevations and locations.  Excavating the later two surfaces would help to clarify their extent and exactly when they were in use.  They could be compared to the series of Middle Roman surfaces (deposit 1148) that we excavated to the west of the robbing trench and might aid in an understanding of the relationship between the areas to the east and west of the robbing trench.  Removing these two surfaces would also allow us to see more clearly if the Early Roman floor 1191 does indeed continue south below wall 1155.  Another deposit, not a surface, was also exposed below the fill 1199.  It is at a lower elevation than floor 1191 and may constitute leveling fill for the floor, so digging in this area could help give a more secure stratigraphic date for the surface 1191.; ; Another place where further excavation could be useful is in the area west of the robbing trench.  Digging more here might clarify the relative construction dates of wall w35, which abuts and extends west of wall 1154, and wall 1155, which abuts and extends east of wall 1154.  We could also see if an earlier floor similar to 1191 exists in this area as well, which would help link the areas east and west of the trench and determine if they formed two halves of the same interior space in the Early, Middle, and Late Roman periods.; ; ; ; ; Area 2:  10 June – 17 June (N 1005.89 -1010.04; E 255.66 – 258.13); ; Late Roman, ca. 5th-6th century CE; ; In the fifth century, multiple dump fill operations took place in the area west of the Early to Middle Roman wall 1222 (for coordinates, construction, and dating of this wall, see the final report of the Session 3 Blue team, Kate Larson and Jon Meyer).  The first of these dump operations (deposit 1247, N 1009.25-1010.04, E 255.71-257.79, pottery Late Roman 5th century) was deposited on top of two hard-packed earth surfaces (further excavation would be needed to determine their date and function).  This dump was particularly rich in large pieces of broken roof tile.  Although the tile-rich fill extended all the way up to the west face of wall 1222, the Blue team reported no continuation of this fill east of the wall, and so the deposit was probably dumped over the western edge of wall 1222.  It may represent the southern edge of the tile-rich dump deposit 1080, which was excavated in Session 1 by Katherine Harrington and Jana Mokrišová.  If this is the case, then this fill layer was cut in the Late Byzantine period by the foundation trench for wall 1087 (cut C809).; ; Later in the fifth century (dated by ceramic evidence), more than 0.4 m of fill was dumped to the west of wall 1222 (deposit 1233, likely equivalent to deposits 1227 and 1248 excavated by the Larson and Meyer this session, which were on the east side and overlaying the north end of wall 1222).  This large dump operation probably took place in discrete smaller dump operations over a span of hours or days, which led to minor variations in color and composition throughout the deposit.  Many of the finds recovered from these fills were architectural or construction-related, including many broken roof tiles, pieces of pebble conglomerate flooring, rectangular bricks, painted wall plaster, brown-coat plaster, marble revetment, and a diamond-shaped brick of a type commonly used for flooring.  The presence of these materials may indicate that the fill operation was carried out in conjunction with other building projects in the area. Large pieces of slag, possibly from glass production or metal refinement, also imply that industrial activity was taking place in the environs in the Late Roman period or earlier.; ; At one point during the fill operation, a hard-packed earth surface (context 1236, N 1005.89-1007.44, E 256.85-257.61) was briefly in use in the southeastern part of this area.  It seems unlikely that it was a proper floor, as it was quite irregularly shaped and did not extend up to the west face of wall 1222.  Since the fill above and below it was very similar in composition and in date (Late Roman 5th century, based on pottery), this surface was probably a work surface that was used as a place from which to dump more material.  It could have become compacted through heavy foot traffic or after being exposed to the elements during a hiatus in the fill operation.  In any case, more fill was soon deposited on top of it (context 1226; see Larson and Meyer’s report for a description of the later 6th century fills in this area). ; ; What could have prompted so many filling operations?  There was clearly a need to raise the ground level in this area sometime during the 5th century.  As Larson and Meyer have proposed in their report, the fills may have been related to the construction or reconstruction of feature 742, a well or manhole.  We could find no evidence in previous notebooks of Late Roman surfaces constructed on top of these fills in our area, but this does not mean that such surfaces never existed – they may have been disturbed or disrupted by later Byzantine and medieval activity in the area.  ; ; Suggestions for future excavators; ; Time constraints prevented us from fully excavating all of the Late Roman dump fill in this area.  However, removing more of this fill would allow future excavators to determine the extent of the packed earth surfaces that we began to expose below deposits 1233 and 1247 and to ascertain whether these represent work surfaces or more permanent and earlier structures.  It would be interesting to see if the pebble and tile floors (probably of Early to Middle Roman date) that were exposed by Larson and Meyer on the east side of wall 1222 continue to the west of it.  Such information could tell us more about the use of space in this area before the fifth century dump operation.  Further excavation of the deposits laid against wall 1222 would also clarify the stratigraphy in this area and give a more precise idea of the date of the wall’s construction.","Nezi Field 2013 by Grace Erny and Emily Joy (2013-06-22 to 2013-06-23)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2013 by Grace Erny and Emily Joy (2013-06-22 to 2013-06-23)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Session 3 2013 White:  Late Classical to Frankish Strata in NE Nezi Field","Alison Fields and Jessica Lamont; Team White, Session 3; Nezi Field Excavations Interim Report; Area 1: N-S 1016.05-1011.70, E-W 274.18-278.91; Area 2: N-S 1009.51-1005.94, E-W 278.90-271.47 ; May 27-June 14 2013; ; This is the final report for the third session of the 2013 excavations in the northeast area of Nezi field. Guy Sanders (director) and Rossana Valente (field director) supervised. The white excavation team consisted of Alison Fields and Jessica Lamont (recorders), Athanasios Notis (foreman and pickman), Tasos Kakouros (pickman), and Vasillis Kollias (shovelman and barrowman).; ; The excavation consisted of two separate areas: Area 1 was bounded to the north by wall 5334, to the east by walls 1137 and 1138, to the south by wall 851, and to the west by wall 746, and began at H 86.28 m. in elevation.  Area 2 was located due south but contained no physical relationship to Area 1.  Area 2 stretched from N-S 1009.51-1005.94, E-W 278.90-271.47, and began at H 87.21 m. in elevation.; ; The goal of this session was to explore the final traces of early Byzantine activity in the excavation area, and to further illuminate the Late Antique/Late Roman levels. The initial aim was to gain a better understanding of the Late Roman/ Late Antique occupational activities in the area. However, excavation of these Late Antique levels exposed a good amount of earlier material, including a puzzling section of Late Classical/Early Hellenistic interior space, possibly containing evidence of ritual activity. ; ; ; LATE CLASSICAL (4TH CENTURY B.C.E.): the Room with the Posthole Feature; ; A small section of a Late Classical (4th century B.C.E.) room (floor 1215) and an associated stone posthole feature (1196) are currently the earliest remains visible in Area 1 (both unexcavated).  These remains are limited at the north by a Late Roman robbing trench (1178), and at the south by a Late Roman foundation trench (1166), both of which have cut away the original N-S extent of the room.  This interior space is represented by a hard-packed clay floor (1215) partially underlying and partially laid up against the western face of the posthole feature.  The small deposit to the east of the posthole feature (limited at the east by Wall 1138) was left unexcavated, so the eastern extent of floor 1215 is unknown, but analysis of the north-facing section created by the Late Roman robbing trench (1178) mentioned above does not show a clear continuation of floor 1215 beyond the posthole feature to the east, which suggests that the posthole feature serves as an eastern boundary for our room.  The western boundary of the room is unknown as floor 1215 runs underneath a Late Roman wall (746) and outside our area of excavation.; ; The posthole feature is composed of two cut stones, set at an approximate NW-SE orientation; however, due to the Late Roman disturbances mentioned above, it is possible that the feature might have extended further to the north and/or south.  The northern stone measures c. 0.38m L x 0.28m W x 0.14m D; the southern stone measures c. 0.52m L x 0.28m W x 0.19m D and contains a cylindrical cutting, slightly off-center toward the north, with a diameter of 0.185m and depth of 0.19m.  The size of the cutting suggests that the stone might have originally supported a wooden column, although no traces of ash or other carbonized remains were found within the posthole, itself.  The construction of the posthole feature and floor 1215 appear to be contemporary as the floor runs underneath the northern stone but appears to be partially laid up against the southern stone.  While it is possible that the northern stone might have been installed later (after the final construction of floor 1215), the similar masonry style and orientation of the two stones suggests they should be interpreted as a unit.; ; Adding to our interpretation that floor 1215 was an interior space was the discovery of an embedded vessel nearly abutting the posthole feature at the SW.  At some point after floor 1215 and the posthole feature were installed, a circular cut (1216) was made into the floor, c. 0.20m in diameter and .05m in depth, in order to accommodate a nearly-complete Late Classical cooking pot (as Corinth VII.6, III-59), dating broadly to the second half of the 4th century B.C.E.  This cooking pot (deposit 1217) was not set on its base, however, but rather upside-down and perfectly vertical, and was thereby embedded beneath the floor from the rim to the shoulder.  This curious and intentional placement indicates that the pot had been re-appropriated for a use alternative to cooking.; ; At some point, perhaps also in the second half of the 4th century B.C.E., a second hard-packed clay floor (1203) was laid c. 0.10m above floor 1215 and was laid up against both the posthole feature and the cooking pot.  The continued use of both features adds their significance and indicates a continuation in the use of space.  Embedded in this same floor, just ca. 0.30m north of the cooking pot and nearly abutting the posthole feature at the northwest, was a shallow depression (0.35 L x 0.26 W) blanketed with a thin layer of sterile, white clay and filled with ash.  Curiously, the ash must have been re-deposited in this feature as the clay itself was unfired.  Just under this feature and partially embedded in the clay was a fine bronze pin (MF-2013-19), a bronze ring (MF-2013-21), and a silver gilded pin with a floral design incised onto the head (awaiting conservation, MF-2013-18).  All of these prestige objects date to the Archaic period, and were thus retained as heirlooms in this Late Classical context. In the case of both pins, the best comparanda come from Archaic sanctuaries such as that of Hera Akraia at Perachora and Artemis Orthia at Sparta.; ; The deposit of these prestige objects inside or just below the clay feature, the re-deposition of ash, and the continued use of the upside-down cooking pot—both nearly abutting the posthole feature—suggest this space was the focus of ritual activity.  Although the base of the upside-down cooking pot was disturbed by a later robbing pit (1206), we speculate whether a hole might have been cut into the base (top) in order to receive libations concurrently with burned offerings upon the clay feature.  In this context, the posthole feature might have served as a focal point, supporting a central, venerated column or monument rather than a beam to bear the weight of the superstructure of a building.; ; This interior space west of the posthole feature might have remained in use for two more phases, represented by clay floors 1195 and 1184; unfortunately any possible relationship they had either with the posthole feature or the venerated cooking pot was obscured by a robbing trench (1198) marking the final use of this interior space.;  ; ; LATE CLASSICAL – EARLY HELLENISTIC (4TH-3RD CENTURIES B.C.E.); ; In the late 4th or early 3rd century B.C.E., the posthole feature was put out of use and covered with a leveling fill or possible surface (deposit 1193, dated by the presence of echinus bowls and a body sherd of West Slope ware).  Perhaps contemporary with this surface was a feature constructed of various tiles fragments (1182) embedded in earth to create a square paved unit (55 x 62 x 9 cm).  Only the northern and western sides were fully preserved as the south side had been cut by the foundation trench for wall 851 and at the east by a robbing trench (1206).  The robbing trench (1206), which was square in shape, ran parallel to the tile feature cutting into deposit 1193 as well.  The shape of the cut suggests that the tile feature originally extended to its eastern edge before being robbed out and covered with a leveling fill (1181). The tile feature consisted of 18 tiles pressed into deposit 1190 at a uniform elevation; the tiles, furthermore, were of (at least) three distinct fabrics arranged at deliberate angles, with little earth separating the individual pieces (typically 1-2cm).  This careful arrangement of tiles atop 1190 rules out a dumped-deposit, suggesting rather the creation of a possible surface.  Notably, the earth packed around and under the tile feature contained a high concentration of carbonized remains, including many fragments of what appear to be whole olives (awaiting archaeobotanical analysis).; ; Interestingly, the tile feature (in its original state) was constructed directly over the area which had contained the embedded cookpot, the clay feature, and the posthole feature (although separated from these by two other floor levels, 1195 and 1184); furthermore, directly overlying the tiles were several joining fragments of a Classical perirrhanterion, suggesting that this area continued to be a locus for ritual activity into the 3rd century B.C.E.  Perhaps the tile feature served as a surface for the perirrhanterion.  Furthermore, the possible related surface to the east, 1193, contained several fragments of miniature vessels, possibly of a votive nature, providing further evidence for ritual activity in the area.  The tile feature and deposit 1193 represent the last clear strata of ritual activity, however, as this level was then filled with two distinct leveling fills, 1181 and 1179, with no discernable features or remarkable finds.  ; ; It is interesting that this ritual activity was concentrated in the same area from the Late Classical period down into the Early Hellenistic period. This quiet interior space and ritual transcended the political turbulence that marred Korinth in the late 4th century BCE. The most contested of battlegrounds, Korinth hosted the armies of Phillip II and his son Alexander (338-323), the Antigonids (323-308), the Ptolemies (308-304), and then, under Demetrios Poliorketes, a second period of Antigonid hegemony. Confronted by chronic war and (forced) foreign rule, it is possible that this ritualized space, which had definite roots in the Classical period, served as a discreet assertion of longstanding Greek identity in the face of a new, Macedonian regime.; ; ; LATE ROMAN (5TH-6TH CENTURIES C.E.); ; In the 5th-6th centuries C.E., but perhaps closer toward the mid-6th century C.E., two substantial pits were dug into our area.  The first was a robbing trench (1178), which ran east from wall 746.  The cut extended from E 276.71 to E 275.07 to a total depth of 1.28 m, at which point the cut reached sterile soil.  The original eastern extent of the trench is unknown, as it was truncated by another pit dating to the Early Byzantine era (1163, see below).  It is likely that this trench was dug in order to rob out an earlier E-W wall that existed before the construction of Wall 746 as the robbing trench fill (1170) appears to continue below the foundation of Wall 746 toward the west and outside our area of excavation.  In addition, the deposits to the north of the robbing trench are distinct from those to the south, which provides further evidence that the deposits were originally separated by some sort of structure. A pre-existing E-W wall running underneath wall 746 in this location would have provided a sharp boundary between the deposits to the north and south and presents the most probable explanation for the different deposition pattern on either side of the cut.  ; ; Much of the cultural material recovered from the robbing trench fill (1170) included Archaic-Hellenistic pottery, including the base of an early Archaic aryballos painted and incised with two hoplite figures; two miniature vessels (skyphos and krater); 2 terracotta figurine fragments; and a bronze earring (selection lot-2013-).   Perhaps these objects were originally used in the Classical period as votives, within the ritual contexts described above, before being cut away by robbing trench 1178.  Although the contents of the robbing trench fill (1170) do not post-date the 1st century C.E. (Early Roman period), we have attributed the creation of the robbing trench to the Late Roman period for two reasons.  First, a leveling fill (1168), which was directly overlying the robbing trench fill (1170), was nearly identical to the robbing trench fill in respect to soil color and composition, but contained a rim of African Red Slip Ware, Form 61B.  This single sherd would down-date the entire deposit substantially, placing it in the 6th c. C.E.  We believe this fill (1168) was part of the same action as the filling of the robbing trench (1170) and served as a subsequent surface.  Secondly, at approximately the same elevation and orientation but further to the south (N 1012.81 – N 1012.48), a foundation trench (1166) was cut in order to construct wall 851.  The fill for the foundation trench (1164) dates securely to the Late Roman period based on an Eastern Aegean micaceous fabric cooking pot as Hesperia 2005, II-35.  The similar orientation and elevation of the cuts suggest they were probably constructed at the same time.  Consequently, we believe that the area lacks undisturbed Early-Middle Roman contexts.; ; It is possible that the removal/destruction of the E-W wall once filling cut 1178—which we believe to have been a robbing trench—happened in connection to a large destructive event, such as the earthquake of 522 CE. After this event, households in the area were dumping debris in various areas (e.g., Nezi Field 2013 Session 1 excavations, contexts 870 and 1040), and likely looking for blocks for reuse and rebuilding. This would explain the chronological discrepancy between the Early Roman pottery of the robbing trench fill (1170), and the Late Roman date of the trench and its leveling fill (1168). With little to no habitation in this area after the Early Roman period, this spot would have been ripe for stone mining after the 522 earthquake. While the pottery could support this in a general way, we are currently reluctant to connect this robbing trench/leveling fill to a single historical event without further excavation. ; ; After this robbing episode, Walls 851, 746, and perhaps also 1138 and the latest phase of Wall 5334, were constructed in order to create an interior space comprising the entirety of our excavation Area 1.  The only datable evidence for this construction episode, however, derives from the foundation trench of Wall 851 (mentioned above).  Although bonded to Wall 851 with plaster and founded at approximately the same elevation, the construction of Wall 746 left no trace of a foundation trench.  The construction of Wall 746 therefore lacks associated pottery.  The latest phase (upper two courses) of Wall 5334 at the north also lacked a foundation trench, and the eastern-most wall of our area, 1137, retained no associated deposits as its western face was cut by an Early Byzantine pit (1163).  However, the bottom elevation of Wall 1137 (H 85.25m) is relative to the bottom elevation of Wall 851 (H 85.38m).  The fact that all four of these walls were founded as approximately the same elevation, and are bonded and aligned perpendicular and parallel to each other, suggests that the space confined by these walls was designed intentionally as a unit, with an entryway at the SE (between Walls 851 and 1137). ; ; ; EARLY BYZANTINE (610-802 C.E.); ; In the late 7th-8th centuries C.E., the interior space confined by the Late Roman walls mentioned above became the location for a massive destruction dump.  Here, abutting wall 5334 at the north and 1137 at the east, a large pit (1163) was constructed (2.55 x 2.06 x 1.55 m; 1015.38 N, 1013.74 S, 278.11 E, 276.73 W).  The cut for the pit reached a total depth of 1.55m, cutting into sterile soil.  The fill of the pit (1145) contained ca. 70% inclusions of large coarse building materials, such as tiles, marble, mosaic floor, and storage vessels, which suggests that the pit might have been dug in order to dump this debris after the destruction of a nearby building.  ; ; The latest datable feature in Area 1 is Wall 1138, which is a solid block of plaster foundation aligned N-S and resting on a single course of stone.  These foundations abut Wall 851 at the east.  Although the structure is lacking a foundation trench and thus all datable material, its construction cut through our Early Byzantine pit at the south, placing the date for the construction of the wall to the 8th century C.E. or later.; ; ; LATE BYZANTINE (1059-1210 CE); ; Excavations in our southernmost area (N-S 1009.51-1005.94, E-W 278.90-271.47) illuminate activities during the Late Byzantine Period, during which this expanse functioned primarily as a dumping ground. Almost all deposits with few exceptions were characterized by large and diverse inclusions such as iron slag, broken tile, pottery (predominantly burnt, broken coarse and cooking ware), rocks, shell, and large bones (jawbones, ribs, etc.). This area contains two pits: a large, late 11th c. CE pit to the east, and a later (mid-late 12th c. CE), smaller pit to the west. The smaller pit (Cut 1229) cuts the topmost level of the larger pit (Deposit 1244, in Cut 1245) and thus postdates it.; ; Most striking in this area is the large pit east of Wall 746 (Cut 1245, N-S 1008.95-1006.39, E-W 277.94-275.39). This pit is square in shape but has rounded edges, and appears to have been cut into a reddish soil visible on the pit’s eastern edge (unexcavated). Measuring 2.7m. L x 2.3m. W x 1.34 m. D, the fill of this pit was excavated in several baskets, created arbitrarily to monitor changes in ceramics relative to elevation. Of particular interest from this pit were the substantial amounts of Byzantine White Ware, painted and glazed in the Polychrome technique. The presence of White Ware Polychrome (Type I & II) cups and plates within four levels of the pit (Deposits 1214, 1234, 1238, 1241) offers new evidence in support of an 11th-early 12th c. CE chronology for the ceramics (as per G. Sanders, 2001, “Byzantine Polychrome Pottery,” pp. 89-104.) In the lowest level of the pit, furthermore, sherds of White Ware Polychrome were found alongside Slip Painted Ware, perhaps explaining the resemblance in shapes between this late regional style. ; ; This big pit continued in use for a long period of time; accordingly, few architectural or large-scale building debris were found, suggesting that this pit was not cut after a single episode or destruction. Rather, at all elevations the pit contained striking amounts of iron slag (over 100 circular slag amalgams, possible “hearth blooms.”) The large presence of iron slag throughout the pit suggests metalworking activity in the area; possibly these highly ferrous deposits are related to Byzantine industry, such as the nearby lock-production. One specimen, containing vitreous blue glass within the slag amalgam, may also suggest nearby glass production. In either case, this area functioned as a dumping grounds for large amounts of metal waste, in addition to organic and rubble debris. ; ; After the full excavation of this pit (Cut 1245), we determined that it was cut in the late 11th century CE, and continued to function until the first half of the 12th century CE when it was put out of use. Despite encountering a few pieces of Frankish fine ware pottery in the bottommost and topmost levels of this pit (Deposits 1244 and 1234, respectively), we interpret these sherds as contaminants from beyond the pit’s southernmost boundary, accidentally breached by our workmen. Likely cutting Pit 1245 was a later Frankish pit further to the south, running under our southernmost scarp. The Frankish sherds emerging in contexts associated with Pit 1245 are thus contaminants, coming from a breach of this later, Frankish context. ; ; Our chronological interpretation of this area—which we date to the Late Byzantine rather than the Frankish Period—can be tested by future excavation of the reddish soil into which Pit 1245 was cut. A substantial deposit is extant to the east of Pit 1245, and a smaller deposit can also be found east of Wall 746, into which the NW part of Pit 1245 was cut. This deposit should be contemporary with or earlier than the late 11th century CE, as it was cut by pit 1245 and filled with debris during the Late Byzantine period. If, however, excavation of this orange earth deposit reveals Frankish pottery, then pit 1245 and its associated deposits (1234, 1238, 1241, and 1244) must be Frankish, too. Further excavation under the southern scarp should also bring to light Frankish activity, namely the deposit(s) into which our pickmen scratched while excavating 1234 and 1244.; ; Finally, the excavation of these pits revealed the southern extent of Wall 746, which by the Late Byzantine period was used as the western, sub ground-level retaining wall for Pit 1245. It was covered over completely in the mid 12th c. CE by the latest fill of Pit 1245.; ; ; FRANKISH PERIOD (1210-1458); ; The same southern area described above (N-S 1009.51-1005.94, E-W 278.90-271.47) exhibits continuity of function into the Early Frankish period, continuing to be used as a dumping ground for debris and organic waste. All strata feature large inclusions such as tile, rough stones, bone, ceramics, shell, etc. in large quantities. ; ; Our latest levels (Deposits 1219, 1212, 1221) date to the Frankish period on firm ceramic grounds, but still feature sherds of Byzantine fine ware. It is likely that in these deposits, we are glimpsing the transition between the Late Byzantine and early Frankish Periods. This scenario serves as a reminder that the material culture at Korinth did not alter instantly in the wake of the Fourth Crusade; the change was gradual. The ceramic record reveals more of an ease into the Frankish era, with vessels categorized as “Byzantine” being used well into the mid-late 13th century CE. ; If politics changed overnight, it appears that the ceramics—and likely other aspects of daily life—did not. ; ; ; RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE:; ; 1.    Contiguous excavations south of Wall 851 to determine whether contexts 1196, 1215, 1216, 1217, 1203, 1197, 1195, 1184, 1198, 1194, 1190, 1182, 1206, and 1181 have parallel strata to the south.; ; 2.    Excavation below floor 1215 and stone feature 1196 to determine whether ritual activity predates the Late Classical period, and how early continuity can be established.; ; 3.    Excavate the deposit immediately east of stone feature 1196 to determine whether the stone feature marked a boundary, or whether the interior space (and associated ritual activities) continued as a related context.; ; 4.    Excavate west of Wall 746 to expose the foundation trench and the strata through which it cuts, and whether the interior ritual space and floor 1215 continues to the west.; ; 5.    Excavate south of the southernmost scarp, and east of Pit 1245 into the red-soil deposit to more firmly secure the chronology of Pits 1245 and 1229.","Nezi Field 2013 by Alison Fields, Jessica Lamont (2013-06-23 to 2013-06-24)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","","Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2013 by Alison Fields, Jessica Lamont (2013-06-23 to 2013-06-24)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Unit II, Room 6 and Room 8, Session I","Sarah Rous, Rebecca Worsham; Session I; Temple E Southeast Excavations; N: 1087 N, S: 1075.25 N, E: 129 E, W: 116.5 E; 6–25 April 2014; ; Introduction; ; This is the final summary of the first session of excavation in 2014 in Rooms 6 and 8 N of the church in Unit II in the area of Temple E SE. Room 6 was last excavated in 1996 and recorded in NB 864 (p. 57–119). Room 8 was last excavated in 1995 and recorded in NB 877 (p. 73–198) and 845 (p. 33–75).  In Room 6 excavation was conducted from April 6 to April 23 of 2014, while Room 8 was excavated from April 23 to April 25 of 2014. Guy Sanders (director) and Jody Cundy (field director) supervised, and Sarah Rous and Rebecca Worsham recorded. In Room 6, excavation was carried out exclusively by Sarah Rous and Rebecca Worsham. In Room 8, Athanasios Notis and Panagiotis Stamatis were pickmen, Angeliki Stamati and Hekouran Çoli were shovel(wo)men, and Panagiotis Rontzokos was the barrowman.; ; Excavation in Room 6 was bounded by Wall Context 58 (1076.94–1083.30N, 117.20–118.12E), the W wall of the room, and by Wall Context 59 (1077.48–1084.33N, 119.64–121.55E), the E wall of the room, and its associated robbing trench. The S boundary was effectively a pedestal surrounding the reused Hymettian orthostate at the entrance to the narthex of the church to the S (1076.5N). The N boundary was artificially established at 1082.5 N as the northern extent of Room 6 is as yet unknown. Coordinates for our excavation area are: N at 1082.5 N, S at 1075.25 N, E at 122.5 E, and W at 117.5 E.; ; Excavation in Room 8 was bounded on all sides by walls. At the N was Wall Context 154 (1085.91–1086.65N, 124.04–126.17E) and the abutting Wall 166 (1086.27–1087.30N, 126.20–130.82E). At the E was Wall Context 155 (1079.23–1086.27N, 126.50–128.65E). At the S was Wall Context 156 (1077.50–1078.97N, 123.58–128.40E), and at the W was Wall Context 157 (1078.37–1085.05N, 122.55–124.63E). Coordinates for our excavation area are: N at 1088.00 N, S at 1077.00 N, E at 129.00 E, and W at 121.00 E.; ; We did not excavate in Room 7, between Rooms 6 and 8, at this time. Goals for the excavation season included the clarification of the function and phasing of the rooms N of the church to prepare them for consolidation.; ; Frankish (1210-1458 CE); ; Room 6; ; The earliest level reached in this room is the unexcavated Floor 7 of NB 864, previously exposed beneath NB 864 B62 on the E face of Wall 58. It may also have been revealed in a small area in the southern central portion of Room 6 under our Context 90 (possibly equal to later Floor 6; 1077.93–1078.76N, 119.62–119.93E), which dates to the late 13th to early 14th centuries. Floor 7 must therefore antedate the late 13th–early 14th centuries. Beneath Context 90 the surface was not finely finished, and so it may not be the same as the Floor 7 revealed by earlier excavations. ; ; Grave 2014-02, a child burial, was cut into this surface and filled also in the late 13th to early 14th centuries (Cut Context 125; 1077.96–1078.61N, 118.57–119.79E; Fill Context 71). The grave was a simple pit, 1.23m long, 0.38m wide, and 0.24m deep. The burial was oriented roughly W-E with the W end against Wall Context 58. It contained a fairly well preserved skeleton of a subadult (Skeleton Context 72) in a supine position with the head at the W. In association with the skeleton were a tile supporting the chin and a heavily worn Latin imitative coin (2014-48) made after 1204. This burial was overlying another unexcavated burial of which only the top of the skull and possibly part of another skull were visible at the W end of the grave. No cut was found for this earlier burial, and so it cannot be firmly associated with the chronology of this room. ; ; Apparently a short time after the filling of Grave 2014-02, another overlying burial was made, Grave 1996-5, which certainly truncated the cut of Grave 2014-02 at the W and may also have truncated the face of the skeleton associated with this burial (Context 72). Another infant burial was made to the N along the face of Wall Context 58, Grave 1996-6.  Neither of these graves contained closely datable pottery. All three of these burials were sealed by Floor 6 (NB 864 B62) of the previous excavations of Room 6, which the excavators had dated to the mid-13th c., but which clearly must post-date the fill of Grave 2014-02, which is dated by pottery to the late 13th to early 14th centuries. A probable portion of Floor 6 (Context 90) was dated by pottery to the late 13th–early 14th centuries.; ; Into Floor 6 was cut Grave 1995-2, which truncated the central portion of Grave 2014-02. The tibiae of this later grave seem to have been set almost directly on top of the femur of the earlier grave, indicating the heavily disturbed nature of this area and the extremely high density of burials, and may suggest a botched effort to re-associate disturbed bones with the correct skeleton. No date is given for this burial, but it was covered by a leveling fill (NB 864 B59, 1250s–1260s) for another floor, Floor 5 (NB 864 B56), dated by the excavators to the 1260s to 1270s, though again it must actually date somewhat later.; ; Several burials were then cut into Floor 5, including the previously excavated Graves 1996-1, 1996-2, and 1996-4, as well as Grave 2014-05. Grave 2014-05 was a pit grave (L. 0.65m, W. 0.20m, depth at least 0.14m) containing an infant burial cut into the floor against the E face of Wall Context 58, oriented roughly N-S (Cut Context 165; 1079.50–1080.14N, 118.03–118.37E). Pottery from the fill of this grave (Context 130) was not able to be dated before the end of the first session. The skeleton (Context 54), laid supine with the head at the N, was fairly well preserved and had tiles on each side of its skull, as well as a necklace of red glass beads in situ around its neck (MF 2014-16). ; ; This grave was truncated by the probably roughly contemporary Grave 2014-01, a tile-lined cist (L. 0.48m, W. 0.29m, depth 0.15m)containing the S-N oriented skeleton of a neonate (Context 37). The skeleton was positioned supine, slightly twisted to the right, with the head at the S. The fill of this grave (Context 13) was dated to the mid-13th c. by pottery. A lead disc with a string hole, probably an undecorated lead seal (MF 2014-01), was also found in association with this infant. The burying group was perhaps related to the burying group of Grave 2014-05, as an effort was apparently made not to disturb the bones of the earlier skeleton (Context 54), left in situ below, although the skull is at the same level with this later burial and must have been visible. The infant was then covered over with fragments of the same tile used to line the cut of the grave (Context 128; 1079.54–1079.99N, 118.08–118.44E). These burials were then sealed by Floor 4 (NB 864 B52, B53, and B54), dated by the excavators to the last quarter of the 13th c.; ; No further investigation of this room was conducted during the first session of the 2014 season.; ; Room 8; ; The earliest level reached in Room 8 was an unexcavated surface hardened by foot traffic (under Context 184) with flat-lying sherds, possibly extending across the S portion of the room (unexcavated, under Context 174 and 168). This surface was probably a part of a general fill, onto which a lens of inclusion-rich leveling material (Context 184; 1079.01–1081.51N, 125.99–127.63E) was spread. This construction fill is dated to the third quarter of the 13th c. by pottery. It abuts Wall Context 156 (1077.50–1078.97N, 123.58–128.40E), the S wall of the room, which should then be earlier. Because Wall Context 156 may bond with Wall Context 155, this fill may be related to the construction of both these walls.; ; Following the laying of this fill, the foundation trench of Wall Context 155 (1079.23–1086.27N, 126.50–128.65E), the E wall of the room, was cut into it (Context 182; 1079.24–1081.03N, 127.28–127.86E). Wall 155, the wall dividing Rooms 8 and 9, was then constructed. This wall seems to bond with Wall Context 166 (1086.27–1087.30N, 126.20–130.82E), which forms the N wall of Room 9, at its N end. It may however, also bond with the S wall of the room, Wall Context 156 (which otherwise seems to predate it). The foundation trench of Wall 155 was then filled (Contexts 176 and 177). This fill is dated by pottery to the late 13th–early 14th centuries. In the N preserved section of the foundation trench (Context 176), some disturbance represented by an unexcavated soft fill and a later red, stony deposit excavated in Context 183 (1082.59–1083.72N, 126.61–126.96E) intruded into the foundation trench. The red stony deposit is not closely datable, but contained a coin of 602–604 CE (2014-74) on its interface with the unexcavated level below (possibly the same as Context 181).; ; At the W side of the room, a firm fill including many cobbles was laid along the wall (Wall Context 157; 1078.37–1085.05N, 122.55–124.63E), possibly as a foundation for a bench (Context 175; 1078.93–1081.26N, 124.05–124.80E). A lens of ashy debris—remains of the earlier use of this room?—was laid against this foundation (Context 174; 1079.24–1081.07N, 124.39–125.27E) and contained a bronze weight (MF 2014-4) and a mould for lead seals (MF 2014-15). A more finely finished white clay floor was laid over the entire southern half of the room, excavated in Context 168 (1079.15–1083.27N, 124.90–127.76E).  With this floor was found a small bronze buckle (MF 2014-9). This floor covered the fill of the foundation trenches, and may continue in fugitive patches to the N, excavated in Context 153 (1081.41–1085.81N, 123.50–126.04E), though this context was marked by a much higher density of inclusions. Both of the contexts representing the possible floor are dated to the late 13th to early 14th c.; ; Into the N part of the room, a large pit was cut into this surface (Context 159; 1082.60–1085.07N, 124.30–125.80E). The fill of the pit (Context 162) was dated by pottery to the 14th c. A coin (2014-66, postdating 1204 CE) and a bronze earring with silver and gold plating (MF 2014-17) were recovered from the fill, along with discarded ceramics, bone, and iron. The upper elevations of this fill may have been composed of eroded floor surface.; ; On the S side of the room, some disturbance was caused perhaps by the installation of furniture along the N face of the S Wall 156. The first of these was a strip along the S wall that may represent a bench or perhaps untrodden soil along this wall (Context 151; 1078.93–1079.02N, 125.42–126.83E), similar in dimensions to the earlier bench excavated in Context 175. This context was dated to the late 13th c. by pottery, and contained a coin dating to after 1204 CE (2014-63). Both of these possible benches were later disturbed by a circular deposit, perhaps also representing furniture, in the SW corner of the room (Context 150; 1078.73–1079.15N, 124.65–125.39).; ; The so-called Frankish floor of the earlier excavations was found across the full length of this room as a well-preserved light clay floor. This was excavated in Context 140 (1078.58–1086.12N, 123.07–127.84E), though after years of exposure it was no longer recognizable as a floor. Within the make-up of this surface were deposited a number of significant finds, including a bone die (MF 2014-6) and a bronze weight (MF 2014-5) similar to that found with the ashy deposit against the bench (Context 174, MF 2014-4). Additionally, two coins (2014-59 and 2014-60) were recovered, both dating to the Byzantine period, the first to after 1204 and the second to 1143–1152 CE. The floor itself was dated by pottery to the 14th c.; ; The N wall, Wall Context 154 (1085.91–1086.65N, 124.04–126.17E), seems to have been laid on this surface, perhaps indicated by a lens of sandy clay directly beneath it that may be the ""Frankish floor."" The wall is therefore built without a foundation, directly on the surface of the room. It abuts Wall Context 166, the N wall of Room 9, and closing off Room 8 on the same line.; ; Following this, the room was abandoned, and tile fall (a small portion excavated in Context 149; 1079.04–1079.84N, 127.29–127.76E) covered the whole room (NB 877 B91, B92, B114, B149, B150, B167, Lots 1995-14 and 1995-16). This fall (nerk) has been dated to the late 13th–early 14th c. by pottery, and to ca. 1300 CE by the previous excavators. If the floor is 14th c., it must be later.; ; ; Conclusion; It is likely that the bottoms of the two sections of the foundation trench (Context 176 and 177) have not yet been reached. Context 181 was only partially excavated out of sequence and its relationship to the surrounding features should be established.; ; Recommendations for Future Excavation:; ; Room 6; 1. Finish removal of the skeleton Context 54 in Grave 2014-05. Finish removing the fill (Context 130) to the bottom of the cut (Context 165). Elevations must be taken beneath the skull and at the bottom of the cut. Read pottery. Take sample up to flotation.; ; Room 8; 1. The soft, dark soil surrounding and possibly interrupting  the foundation trench (Contexts 182 and 176) in the NE part of the room should be removed in order to continue the excavation of the foundation trench and because it seems to be the latest deposit in this area of the room.; ; 2. Clean the intersections of Walls 155 and 156 and 156 and 157 to see how these walls are bonded and abutting. The foundation trench for Wall 157 should be near the current excavated level.; ; 3. In the scarp on the N side under Wall 154, the grey clay floor visible in the sides of the cut Context 159 is clearly visible and apparently running under Wall Context 166. If it is going under this wall, how is it related to the foundation trench of Wall Context 155 at its N preserved section?; ; 4. Explore the interfaces of the red, pebbly soil along the S part of the room. A similar soil is visible in the center of the room under Context 184 (at the NW of this context) and at the N of the unexcavated area under Context 174.","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Sarah Rous, Rebecca Worsham (2014-04-06 to 2014-04-25)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Sarah Rous, Rebecca Worsham (2014-04-06 to 2014-04-25)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Report - Green","This is the final report for the area excavated by the green team in Temple East – Southeast during the first session of excavation of 2014. Guy Sanders (director) and Jody Cundy (field director) supervised. The excavation team consisted of Colin Whiting (recorder), Thanasis Notis (pickman), Panos Rontzokos (shovelman), and Marios Vathis (sieve). Our excavation area was the unexcavated baulk that formed the north and west boundaries of Harris and Johnson’s previous investigations in 1995 (NB 873) and Brogan’s in 1993 (NB 859). The area extended from the edge of the scarp at (roughly 115E) to a modern rubble wall running north/south at 111.75E (context 11). The adjacent area west of the rubble wall was investigated by the blue team with Hans Hansen and Alex Seufert as recorders. The excavation scarp at (1076N) formed the southern limit of the area which extended to a martyr at (1080.1N). The martyr was created by the need to preserve a pine tree and its roots that we do not yet have permission from the authorities to remove. North of the baulk is the modern museum courtyard, constructed in the 1930s.; ; The goal of this abbreviated excavation was to determine use patterns of the area above the so-called 'sterile red' layer which was sectioned in the previous excavations and confirm previous excavators' analyses of the surrounding areas. Brogan in particular was interested in more precise dating from debris in the northerly portions of the road (NB 859, p. 122). This was in service of the broader goals of the American School in Corinth, that is, the final excavation and consolidation of Frankish materials at Corinth in order to present the Frankish phase of Corinth to visitors to the site. When the materials above the 'sterile red' layer were removed, the area was turned over to Hansen and Seufert to continue the excavation of the area as a complete unit. The general course of use in this area was fairly straightforward and can be presented in two phases.; ; Early Modern Roads, 16th-19th c.; ; This phase of use is represented by a sequence of superimposed north-south oriented roads which covered the whole of the excavation area (111E-115.5E, 1075.5N-1080.5N). ; ; The earliest road had a somewhat irregular surface and its construction was not particularly sophisticated such that it might reflect the result of surface compaction (context 48). The road was originally approximately 3.5m wide, according to Brogan’s excavations directly south (NB 859, B14, 58; p. 121). The dating of this road is somewhat difficult. The pottery within the surface itself suggests a date in the late 14th or early 15th c., but a Venetian coin (2014-61) excavated just below it by Hansen and Seufert (within context 141) dates to the late 15th c. Brogan had put the date of this road between the 16th and18th c. previously (NB 859, B14), but his interpretation based apparently on elevations. In his summary, Brogan allowed for dates as early as the 15th c. (ibid., p. 122) but describes dating this road as “tricky.” Harris and Johnson excavated a small part of the road south of the lime pit but offer no particular date (NB 873, B47). Just beneath this surface they also found a 15th/16th c. sherd (NB 873, B48). Given the coin and the sherd, it is likely that the road represents a very late 15th or early 16th c. result of rebuilding activity after a late 15th c. destruction. The pottery finds in this road contained very little cookware, particularly when compared to the similar, later road (context 24) that overlaid it. Perhaps this reflects settlement pattern in which this surface was some distance from residential areas or other areas of food production.; ; This earlier road had a dumped fill including large amounts of tile on top of it (context 38, 1075.95N-1080.10N and 111.75E-112.90E). Another dumped fill further east (context 42, 1076.05N-1079.20N and 113.35E-115.15E), which was further away from the wall (context 11 running north-south at 111.75E), and did not have significant amounts of tile in it. However, the eastern side of the road did have significant amounts of tile in a dumped fill on top of it, as reported by Harris and Johnson (NB 873, b49). This suggests that there was a significant period of disuse marked by the collapse of buildings along the both edges of the road and the solidification of the remains. The pottery in both dump fills above context 48 dates to the 18th c., and so suggests that the road went out of use for some time in the 18th c. before being deliberately reformed in the late 18th or early 19th c as context 24. A trowel found within context 38 may be related to this activity.; ; The presence of later metalled road (context 24) whose construction dates to the late-18th to the very early-19th c. points to a renewal of circulation in the area after a period of abandonment. The road is dated on the basis of the 18th-c. pottery contained in the leveling fill immediately below it (context 46) . Harris and Johnson excavated the eastern edge of the road south of the lime pit although they identified it as a floor (NB 873, B37). They date this surface to the 19th c. but offer no explanation as to why. This early 19th c. date is corroborated by the probable attestation of the road on a map of Corinth prepared by Peytier in 1829. According to Brogan’s excavations to the south, the road was also originally approximately 3.5m wide (NB 859, B11, B53; p. 121) and overlaid the extent of the earlier road (NB 859, p. 121). The center of the road was dipped in the center along the same north-south alignment as the road, possibly due to heavy traffic along the middle of the road compared to its sides. Two dumped fills (contexts 17, 1077.55N-1080.10N and 112.42E-113.96E, and context 18, 1075.90E-1079.48E and 113.15E-115.15E) overlaid the road in the center and east respectively. These both included large amounts of tiles, and suggest that there was also a period of disuse in the 19th c. during which buildings adjacent to the road collapsed and the collapse became solidified over time. The larger stones in context 18 that overlay the tiles suggest the building was on the east side of the road, as Brogan suggested when he excavated the eastern boundary of the road in 1993 (NB 859, b3). It is difficult to further specify when the road went out of use because the excavation of in lenses on top of the road did not yield more precisely datable material.; ; Modern Construction of the Museum, 1930s.; ; A modern lime pit (contexts 6, 9, and 10) reflects the latest activity in the area which took place in the northeastern part of the excavation area (1079.1N-1080.4N and 113.25E-114.4E). This was used to mix cement for the construction of the museum in the 1930s. The original size of the pit was approximately 2.5m east-west by 3.5m north-south, judging by present excavations and the excavations of the eastern half of the pit done by Harris and Johnson (NB 873, B35, B66). Due to the aforementioned need to preserve the tree, only the southwestern part of the lime pit was removed (the area bound by coordinates 1079.10N-1080.10N and 113.25E-114.40E). The northern extent of the lime pit is still visible in the scarp to the north (see top plan for context 9). The fill of the pit included several iron nails, perhaps also from the museum's construction.; ; Conclusions and Future Study; ; The excavations confirmed previous interpretations of the stratigraphy above the ‘sterile red’ layer, in particular the presence of two roadways occupying roughly the same space, one early modern and one somewhat earlier. Further excavations of the area have already continued under Hansen and Seufert with the full removal of the ‘sterile red’ layer (context 141 represented some general fill on top of the ‘sterile red’ layer, the ‘sterile red’ layer is context 148, and the tumble of rocks within the ‘sterile red’ is context 169). If the tree can be removed at some point in the future, then the remainder of the lime pit can be removed as well as the last of the remaining road surfaces.","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Colin Whiting (2014-04-07 to 2014-04-14)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Colin Whiting (2014-04-07 to 2014-04-14)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Summary, Session I (Unit 2, Church Nave)","Maggie Beeler, Morgan Condell; Session 1; Temple E, Southeast Excavations; N-S 1074.64-1071.50; E-W 126.00-122.70; April 2014; ; This is the final summary of the first session of excavation in 2014 in the Temple E, Southeast excavations at Corinth. Guy Sanders (Director) and Jody Cundy (Field Director) supervised. The area supervisors consisted of Maggie Beeler and Morgan Condell (recorders), and the workmen were ThanasisNotis (foreman and pickman), Tasos Tsongas (pickman), Angela Stamati (shovelwoman and barrowwoman), MariosVathis (barrowman), and PanosRonzokos (shovelman). ; ; The excavation area was the NW quadrant of the church nave in the complex known as Unit 2.  This was previously excavated during the 1990 field season (NB 831, NB 835). The excavation area was bounded to the north by the north wall of the church (Structure 20, N-S 1075.11-1074.52, E-W 129.51-122.06) and its robbing trench, and to the west by the narthex cross wall (Structure 21, N-S 1074.44-1067.99, E-W 123.52-121.98) and the later threshold (Structure 22, N-S 1072.09-1070.55, E-W 123.31-122.25) built into it. The northwest pier base (Structure 23, N-S 1073.63-1072.29, E-W 125.25-124.03) also fell within the excavation area. Because the excavation area was sectioned in order to facilitate future micromorphological analysis within the church, the eastern (E 126.0) and southern (N 1070.50) boundaries were established to align with the grid. ; ; The goal of this session was to locate the earlier floor of the church, since the raised threshold in the narthex cross wall was a later addition associated with a later floor, in order to gain a better understanding of the use phases of the church and when it went out of use.; ; Frankish Period (1210-1458 A.D.); ; The earliest phase of activity is represented by two graves cut into a fill that has yet to be excavated.  Grave 2014-06 (Cut 137, N-S 1073.85-1072.58, E-W 125.95-125.22, filled by Context 129), which abuts the eastern face of the NW pier base (Structure 23), was an oval pit grave (L 1.27, W 0.73, Depth 0.61m), which contained the skeleton of a single primary adult inhumation.  Skeleton 136 (Bone Lot 2014-06) was in extended supine position with both arms crossed over the abdomen, with its head to the N end of the grave facing S, head and shoulders propped up with a stone and earthen fill.  Material from the fill of the grave included a fragment of a Protomaiolica Slipped Painted plate and a fragment of a Metallic Ware Unslipped pitcher, both of Frankish date.  Four coinswere found, three of which are quite early.  2014-49 and 2014-53 are Greek, and 2014-54 is Roman Imperial.  The fourth coin (2014-57) is illegible.  Other material from the fill included a number of fragments of clear glass, including one with applied threads.  These finds suggest a terminus post quem for the fill of the grave in the Frankish period.; ; Grave 2014-03 (Cut 126, N-S 1072.68-1070.59, E-W 125.75-125.00, filled by Context 112) was a oval pit grave (L 2.09, W 0.75, Depth 0.74 )located in the southeastern portion of the excavation are.  It contained the skeleton of a single primary adult inhumation. Skeleton 127 (Bone Lot 2014-03) was in extended supine position with both arms crossed over the abdomen, with its head to the N end of the grave facing S, head and shoulders propped up with a deposit of earth and tile.  Pottery from the fill of the grave included a fragment of a Glaze Painted I Slipped pitcher and several White Ware sherds, all of Byzantine date.  Two coins were found, one of which was illegible (2014-45) and the other is a Byzantine coin of Leo VI (date:886-912 A.D.) (2014-37).  Though the pottery and coin dates suggest a terminus post quem in the Byzantine period, we suspect that this grave belongs to a later period, as it cut into the same fill and at the same elevation as Grave 2014-06, which has a terminus post quem in the Frankish period.  This may be further supported by fragments of a clear glass goblet with ring foot and two clear colored glass fragments, one with applied thread and one with applied prunt from a prunted beaker, which were found in the fill and suggest a Frankish date.; ; These two graves were overlaid by a shallow fill extending over the eastern portion of the excavation area, including the eastern half of the NW pier base (Context 105, N-S 1074.68-1070.59, E-W 125.98-124.46).  The pottery from this fill included a sherd of a plain White Ware plate, a fragment of a Slipped Plain Glazed bowl, both of Frankish date.  A coin was also found (2014-33), however it is a Roman Imperial coin from the House of Constantine Dynasty, and therefore is not diagnostic for the context.  Fragments of glass were also recovered from the fill, including 2 fragments of clear colorless glass with applied threads.  The material from the fill suggests a terminus post quem in the Frankish period.; ; Another grave was found in the southwest portion of the excavation area along the narthex crosswall, just east of the later threshold (Structure 22).  Grave 2014-04 is cut into an as yet unexcavated fill.  It is unclear whether Grave 2014-04 is cut into the same fill cut into by Graves 2014-03 and 2014-06, since an as yet unexcavated baulk lies between them, which was created when we further sectioned the excavation area.  Grave 2014-04 (Cut 188, N-S 1072.21-1070.45, W 123.20, filled by Context 99) is a subrectangular pit grave (dimensions to be determined), which contained the skeleton of a primary adult inhumation (Skeleton 121, Bone Lot 2014-04), with a secondary deposit of disarticulated human remains (Bone Lot 2014-12) including many long bones and four skulls (three were excavated and assigned Bone Lots 2014-07,08,09) overlaying its lower legs.  Skeleton 121was in extended supine position with both arms crossed over the abdomen, with its head to the N end of the grave facing S-SW, head and shoulders propped up with tiles and earth, with a tile positioned vertically along the eastern side of the skull.  Skeleton 121 appears to be complete, except for the feet, which were disturbed when this grave was truncated by Grave 1990-41A-C to the south.  The grave was not fully excavated due to heavy rain at the end of Session I, such that the bottom and eastern extent have yet to be determined.  The top of the skull of a small child was exposed in the NW of the grave, and may represent another burial or further disarticulated remains.  Material from the fill of the grave included one fragment of a Sgrafitto IV bowl, as well as the base of a Green Glazed Painted bowl (with joining fragments in Context 52, C 2014 6).  Part of a gold and pearl earring (MF 2014 3) was found near the left leg of Skeleton 121.  Two coins were found in the fill, one of Byzantine date (2014-58).  The other (2014-68) is a coin of Charles I or II Anjou (1278-1289 A.D) minted at Clarenza,.  Several fragments of glass were also found in this fill, including one with applied threads.  The material from the fill of the grave suggests a terminus post quem in the Frankish period.  The grave was overlaid by a shallow fill (Context 83, N-S 1072.34-1070.64, E-W 124.08-123.23) that ran east of the narthex crosswall, extending south from the rubble feature abutting Wall 21, which remains to be explored in future excavation.  An overturned undecorated marble column capital was embedded in this fill, and may have served as a marker for the grave.  This fill also contained one fragment of a Metallic Ware Unslipped pitcher, and two sherds of Glaze Painted IV slipped ware, as well as several fragments of clear glass, one with embedded thread, one with applied thread, and several fragments that may have belonged to a lamp (cf. MF 1992-36).  This material suggests a terminus post quem in the Frankish period for this fill.; ; Turkish I Period (1458-1680 A.D.); ; The entire excavation area was overlaid by a deposit of differentiated lenses of fill (Contexts 25, 52, 61, 67, 69, 70, 74, 77, 81), which we believe to be part of the same activity.  This fill is dated to the Turkish I period by a sherd of Posgrafitto ware(early 16th c.) found in Context 52.  Other material that was common to all of these differentiated lenses included fragments of clear glass, and a large concentration of Frankish pottery.; ; This fill underlies the remains of a cement bedding for a later floor (Context 47, N-S 1072.81-1071.78, E-W 126.01-125.10), portions of which we found in situ in the eastern portion of the excavation area.   This cement bedding would have been laid on a tile leveling fill, represented by Contexts 14 & 49 (N-S 1072.82-1070.99, E-W 125.74-124.74).  This preserved cement floor bedding was exposed during the 1990 field season, and extended discontinuously across the church, particularly to the E and S.; ; Evidence for a decorative floor is represented by numerous fragments of Cosmati style floor and marble architectural elements (Lot 2014-001).  These include cemented fragments of gray and white marble along with black and red cut stones found within multiple contexts, including the fill of all three graves as well as the fills above them (Contexts 83, 99, 112, 129, 52, 105).  We hope that further excavation will clarify the relationship between these Cosmati floor fragments and the preserved cement floor bedding (Context 47).; ; The Turkish I fill was also cut by two pits along the N boundary of our excavation area, abutting the exposed scarp of the robbing trench of Wall 20.  The cut for the pit in the NW corner (Cut 44, N-S 1075.42-1073.96, E-W 124.09-123.25, filled by Context 32) was difficult to determine because it was highly disturbed.  This is due in part to erosion from long exposure, but also due to previous excavation in this area (NB 835, Basket 53, pp.97-98), which identified but did not fully excavate a grave pit of which this may be a part.Material from the fill of the pit included disarticulated human bone and evidence for heavy bioturbation, as well as fragments of glass, painted plaster, and a small amount of pottery including a fragment of a Late Sgrafitto Slipped Style VII bowl and a Slipped Plain Glazed bowl, as well as Roman and Pre-Roman material.; ; The second pit, located further E along the scarp of the robbing trench (Cut 45, N-S 1074.65-1074.26, E-W 125.48-124.35, filled by Context 28), may also have been associated with burial activity, given the high frequency of disarticulated human remains.  It appears to have been truncated and disturbed by the robbing of Wall 20.  Material from the fill of the pit included a coin (2014-43) which was illegible.  The pottery included a fragment of a Slipped Plain Glazed bowland a Neolithic burnished bowlsherd.  Other material included several fragments of clear glass, and one shoulder fragment of an early 4th c A.D. lamp with a black painted vine scroll design.; ; Due to the poor preservation of the cement floor bedding, it is unclear whether these pits predate it, or cut into the later floor surface.; ; Recommendations for Future Work in this Area:; ; 1.    Determine extent of Cut 188, and complete the excavation of Grave 2014-04.; 2.    Remove the baulk created by sectioning of the excavation areato clarify the relationship of the fill cut by Grave 2014-04 and the fill cut by Graves 2014-03 and 2014-06.; 3.    Two grave cuts run underneath this baulk and were partially revealed by removal of Context 105.  These should be excavated.; 4.    Investigate the NW corner, underneath the upturned column capital to determine whether a burial is located there.; 5.    Determine the nature of the rubble structure running along the Narthex crosswall (Structure 21).; 6.    Continue excavating fill inside of church, with the hopes of clarifying the phases of its use and architectural history.","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Maggie Beeler and Morgan T. Condell (2014-04-07 to 2014-04-28)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Maggie Beeler and Morgan T. Condell (2014-04-07 to 2014-04-28)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Summary, Session I (NW Passage)","Stephanie Kimmey and Jennifer LaFleur; Session 1; TESE Excavations, NW Passage; N: 1073.00 N;    S: 1058.07 N;     E: 108.91 E;     W: 94.00 E; April 7-May 3, 2014; ; This is the final summary of excavation for the first session of the 2014 excavation season which took place in the Frankish quarter, southeast of Temple E.  Guy Sanders (director) and Jody Cundy (field director) supervised.  The area supervisors were Stephanie Kimmey and Jennifer LaFleur (recorders), and the workmen were Thanasis Sakellariou (pick man), Christos Sakellariou (shovel man), and Agamemnon Karbouniares (wheelbarrow man).  Excavations began on April 7, 2014 and ended on April 25, 2014.; ; Excavations occurred in the NW passage, in the courtyard and exterior areas between Units 1 and 2 of the Frankish quarter, in an area roughly shaped like an ‘L’.  Thus there is a secondary east and north boundary dictated by the west and south walls of Unit 2, Room A. To the north our area was bounded by a modern water pipe (1073.00 N; NB 839).  On the west by an excavation scarp to the west of Wall 8 (also known as NB 866, Wall 4) that lay on the grid at 94.00 E.  The south boundary was determined by the north wall of the courtyard of Unit 1 (1058.07 N).  The eastern boundary was the west wall of Unit 2, Room 3 (also known as NB. 830, Wall II) on the grid at 108.91 E.  For the first week work concentrated along the western part of the area and for the remaining two weeks, within the eastern half of the courtyard proper.  In the last week of excavation, we sectioned off the northeast corner of the courtyard (N: 1063.53; S: 1062.00; E: 108.85; W: 103.01 E).; ; The goal of excavation this session is to better understand the activities and chronology of the Frankish quarter.  Concerns related to the future consolidation and conservation of the area in order to open it to the public also determined excavation activities.  More specifically, our area will allow for a clearer sense of exterior activities bordering both the domestic space (TESE Unit 1) and the church complex (TESE Unit 2); ; Frankish (13th and 14th century); ; Roads; In order to facilitate communication between the church complex (TESE Unit 2) and domestic spaces (TESE Unit 1) within the Frankish quarter, a series of roads were built on a north-south axis running to the west of the buildings.  One of these was a very well built, level road surface (Deposit 36, N-S: 1071.61-1065.68) that was laid up to the west wall of the church complex (Unit 2).  This road was later cut by two pits, one possibly a post hole due to its circular shape (Cut 35, N-S: 1068.13), the other is irregular and possibly due to animal activity (Deposit 27; N-S: 1069.60-1069.1).  Both of these pits were filled in either by wash over the road or naturally, since both fills contained no material culture.  The pits are still clearly visible in the lower layers of roads.   The roads were built and maintained over a long period of time, as evidenced by their superimposed nature.  The purposefully built roads are typically characterized by their use of round and angular pebbles and cobbles mixed with a sandy silt soil.  Over time these roads were either relaid or resurfaced as a result of wear and damage from extended use and human activity.  Thus it is also possible that the western part of the preserved road was later resurfaced to cover the post hole, evidenced by the thin lens of a small rounded pebble road surface laid above the post hole (Deposit 33; N-S: 1069.42-1066.89; E-W: 97.12- 96.32).  It is clear that these roads were important in the Frankish period because of their location within a high traffic area and the continual maintenance over time.  To the south the roads allow for the shops on the west side of the domestic space (Unit 1) to communicate with the extended Frankish community.; ; Also cut into this series of roads (most clearly evident in the unexcavated surfaces) was a possible foundation trench (Cut 65; N-S: 1070.23-1068.76) for a north-south wall (Structure 51; N-S: 1070.18-1068.50) that forms the west wall of the church complex (TESE Unit 2 Room A, NB 839).  After the wall was built, this cut was filled first with a layer of large subrounded stones (in situ), followed by a dark yellowish brown soil fill (Deposits 57 and 60).  Within this fill (Deposit 60) was found a Corinthian Villehardouin coin (Coin 2014-17) of Frankish date (1246-1278).  This can provide a terminus post quem of the third quarter of the 13th century for the construction of Room A.; ; Courtyard; A rectangular courtyard lies between the church complex (TESE Unit 2) and the domestic space (TESE Unit 1), which can be accessed from an alley in the southeast corner (N: 1058.20; E: 107.89) or from the west, which is open to the roads.  It was an area of high activity as evidenced by the multiple layers of surfacing and leveling within a short period of time, spanning the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries.  Upon these surfaces was built a circular stone structure (Structure 94) that was laid against the exterior face of the west wall of the church complex (NB 830, Wall II; TESE Unit 1, Room 3).  This structure is one course 0.57m high with an exterior diameter of 2.66m, built of roughly hewn limestone, conglomerate, and tiles, with no bonding material (N-S: 1063.37-1060.70; E-W: 109.03-107.04).  Its function remains a mystery, but was filled in the late 13th century (Deposit 96: Lot 2014-013) by a layer of light brown soil with pebbles, bone and material culture that does not appear to be related to its use.; ; Within the northeastern area of the courtyard (sectioned at N: 1063.53; S: 1062.00; E: 108.85; W: 103.01 E) a clayey silt layer (Deposit 173: Lot 2014-015) was deposited in preparation for the laying of a pebble courtyard surface (Deposit 172: Lot 2014-016).  The leveling fill contained a purple steatite button (MF 2014-14) and a Frankish coin of Guy I or II de la Roche of Theban mint dating to 1280-1308 (Coin 2014-70).  This functioned as a leveling fill to cover a circular cutting (Cut 178), which may have been a post hole, a large pit (Cut 187), and a possible refuse dump (Deposits 180 and 186: Lot 2014-014) within the northern area of the courtyard.  Included in the refuse dump was a small iron key (MF 2014-8).  Upon this leveling fill a small bench of three roughly hewn stones, measuring 0.69 x 0.31 x 0.15m (Structure 147; E-W: 105.67-104.98), was installed parallel to the south wall of the church complex (TESE Unit 2, Rooms A and B).  Both the surface and the bench were laid upon the leveling fill, but since the two do not interact with one another it is not possible to know which activity came first.  Into this pebble surface a shallow, oval pit (Cut 171) was dug, and its fill (Deposit 170: Lot 2014-017) was characterized by its high concentration of ash.  This pit may be the result of an outdoor cooking event, which seems contemporary with the use of the pebbled courtyard.  Subsequent to this activity, a second layer of pebbles (Deposit 163) was laid to resurface the area, in which were found two adhering iron keys (MF 2014-7a, b) and a small fragment of a stamped Arretine plate (C 2014-5).  This second layer of pebbles had larger, rounded pebbles in comparison with the first layer of pebbles (Deposit 172).  The layer not only resurfaced the area, covering over the ash pit, but extended further to the north to abut the bench (N: 1064.51) and further to the west (103.01, western limit of section).  These pebble surfaces stand out because of their high concentration of river pebbles indicating that they were specifically intended for the courtyard surface.  The use of river pebbles would allow for better drainage of water within the courtyard, which may have been necessary after using clay as a leveling agent.  These phases of activity happened in relatively quick succession at the end of the 13th century; the material culture from these surfaces is not sufficient to provide more specific dates.  As a result of sectioning the courtyard to focus in the northeastern area, it is impossible at this time to make generalizations about the use of the courtyard and its relationship to the larger Frankish quarter based on observations in this limited space. ; ; The activity in the northeast corner of the courtyard may reflect a separate series of events within the 14th century.  The surfaces were destroyed by several pits of varying sizes (unexcavated), which allowed for a later disposal of a large amount of material (Deposit 167: Lot 2014-018), including a high concentration of bones and ceramics, including a ceramic waster of a coarse ware basin (C 2014-4).  The origin of this material is unclear, but there was a similar amount of fine and cooking wares, which is notable.  This, in addition to the bones, may suggest a refuse dump.  Over this dump, a leveling fill (Deposits 152 and 158) of dark brownish black soil with rare shell and carbon was deposited, unrelated to the earlier clay leveling, which lies further to the west.  Also in this fill were two Frankish coins, one a Corinthian Villehardouin dating to 1250-1278 (Coin 2014-64) and the other a Charles I of Anjou from Avignon dating to 1246-1285 (Coin 2014-65).  This fill also served to cover a small pit in the far northeastern corner of the courtyard (Cut 161; E-W: 108.41-107.74) and its light brownish black soil fill (Deposit 160), which may be associated with the leveling (Deposit 152).  The pit’s function cannot be determined as it was truncated on the north and east by the reconstructed walls of the church complex (Wall II and Wall III, NB 853).  There was not sufficient material culture within the pit to provide a more specific date than the Frankish period.  Upon the leveling fill, the bench (Structure 147) was extended to the east (Structure 146; E-W: 107.01-105.71) in a second phase that was not as well built as the first.  This addition measured 1.13 x 0.40 x 0.19m.  The four stones were not of identical shape or size, nor were they laid as carefully.  There is no constructed surface associated with this leveling.  These two factors suggest that a project to expand the pebbled courtyard surface to the east was begun but not completed.; ; In the 14th century, the majority of the courtyard was leveled by a substantial fill (Deposit 117: Lot 2014-020; N-S: 1064.44-1059.75; E-W: 108.80-100.23).  The dark brownish black fill had a high concentration of ceramic, while the rest of the inclusions made up only 5% of the soil matrix.  Also within this layer were the following special objects:  a blue-threaded glass lamp (MF 2014-10); a lead weight (MF 2014-12); a marble capital fragment (A 2014-1).  In addition to these were three Villehardouin Frankish coins from Clarenza (Coins 2014-40, 2014-42, 2014-44) and one of Corinthian mint (Coin 2014-47), all dating to 1250-1278.  By the early 14th century, as dated by the pottery, the courtyard was completely covered  (Cut 143; N-S: 1060.81-1059.81; Cut 145; E-W: 103.64-100.19). One pit was filled with dark brownish black clayey silt (Deposit 142) and had very little material culture.  It does not seem to be intentional because of its location and irregular cutting, but may be the result of animal activity.  The other pit was filled by dark grayish brown sandy silt with a high concentration of ceramics, bones, shell and carbon (Deposit 144: Lot 2014-019).  The contents suggest that this was a refuse dump.  Also within the fill was one Frankish Villehardouin coin of Corinthian mint dating to 1250-1278 (Coin 2014-62), which supports the ceramic dating of the fill to the late 13th to early 14th century.  Its full southern extent is unknown because of the reconsolidation of the north wall of the domestic space (TESE Unit 1) truncates the pit.  To the west and northeast the fill and cut of the pit are truncated by a drain (Structure 164; N: 1060.40; S: 1058.00; E: 101.65; W: 99.36), which enters the courtyard from the south and turns to the east in a curve 2.76m in length.  The drain was constructed with a tile lining at the bottom and orthostates of a variety of materials, mostly rough hewn: marble, limestone, and conglomerate.  The drain was then capped with stone.  The relationship between the leveling fill (Deposit 117) and the drain (Structure 164) is unclear due to previous excavation in the early 1990s (B. 15, 29, 40, 41, 42; NB 880).  In addition, the leveling fill covered the southwestern part of the circular stone structure (Structure 94) where its upper courses had tumbled due to its lack of bonding agent.  This indicates that the structure had gone out of use by that time.; ; After the courtyard was leveled, no well-built surface was immediately laid.  In the southeast corner of the courtyard were two superimposed surfaces made of pebbles, cobbles, and shells (Deposits 109 and 113).  It is possible that the later deposit was a resurfacing and extension of the earlier one. Within that later deposit were two coins, one illegible (Coin 2014-35) and one a Frankish coin minted in Corinth (Coin 2014-36: 1250-?).  These surfaces did not extent far into the courtyard (Deposit 109; N: 1060.83; Deposit 113; N: 1059.58).  Their southern extent is unknown due to excavation boundaries, but it is possible that these surfaces continue into the alley that runs between the church complex and the domestic space (Units 1 and 2), while their full northwestern extent was not preserved.; ; The only surface (Deposit 102) to follow the massive early 14th century leveling event (Deposit 117) is not well made.  It did include flat cobbles and tile at a low concentration, but was mainly made of light brown black sandy silt.  Also within the deposit was found the upper part of a terracotta female figurine, Greco-Roman in date (MF 2014-11) and a Frankish coin of Clarenza mint with a terminus post quem of 1250 (Coin 2014-29).  This surface was not only laid upon its leveling fill, but also seemed to cover a pit (Cut 108; N-S: 1064.12-1063.13), which was mostly filled with cobbles and tile (Deposit 107) that seem to have been deposited as part of the preparation for the laying of the surface.  Within this fill were found two Villehardouin coins of Frankish date (Coin 2014-31: Clarenza mint, 1250-1278; Coin 2014-32: Tours mint, 1223-1270).  The pit also cut into a very thin, irregular lens of light reddish brown clayey silt that lay between the leveling fill and the subsequent courtyard surface, which may have been some kind of debris dropped in the courtyard.  ; ; In the northwest corner of the courtyard is a 1.87m deep bothros (Cut 80; N-S: 1063.80-1062.93; E-W: 101.88-101.03), in which was found a homogenous deposit of dark brownish black sandy silt with a high concentration of ceramic and bone (Deposits 78, 88, and 100: Lot 2014-021).   The material culture within the fill included some joining fragments, suggesting that the ceramics and bone were part of quick filling during a single event.  The bothros was carefully cut into a bell-shape (Diam. of top: 0.79; Diam. of bottom: 1.53) with a flat bottom, as well as the addition of four hand-holds.  These hand-holds are regularly placed, two cut into the northwest and two in the southwest.  The concern for ease of access to this space argues against a single use for the bothros; perhaps it was originally dug as a storage area.  Although the layers through which the bothros was cut are still unexcavated, an architectural fragment possibly of Roman date is visible at the bottom of the cut.  The neck of the bothros had a much higher concentration of large tile fragments and boulders, forming a seal for the deposit.  The top of the fill was capped by four large stones.  The ceramics date the fill and quite probably, then, the cut as well, to the 14th century.  A coin found near the top of the fill supports this date (Coin 2014-21).; ; Turkish II (18th and 19th century); During the Turkish period, a series of superimposed roads continued to be laid on the north-south axis within the corridor to the west of the domestic space (TESE Unit 1) and continuing to the western edge of church complex (TESE Unit 2).  Many of them were later truncated by modern activities, so their full extents are unknown.  One of the Turkish roads (Deposit 30) that ran to the west of TESE Unit 2, Room A (N-S: 1071.90-1069.80; W-E: 96.95-98.62) was a metalled road made primarily of tiles and medium angular cobbles.  Although it has been interpreted as a road, it was a very thin lens and thus possibly the result of an underdug context from the 1995 excavation season.  In 1995, a series of superimposed Early Modern and Turkish roads were removed from the area, and Deposit 30 may be associated with B. 45 (NB839).  The Turkish roads appear to have been laid directly upon the layers of Frankish roads with no activity from the Post-Medieval or Venetian periods.  This leads to several suggestions about the use of this N-S corridor.  While this space continued to be used to facilitate communication between buildings in the Frankish period, its identity as a road continued through to the 19th century (B. 40 and 61, NB 839).  Its exact direction and function during the Turkish period is unclear since only a small part of it has been preserved.; ; Modern (1992 to the present); The modern feature that had the most impact on the excavation of ancient layers was Deposit 12, the fill for Cut 16, both associated with the modern water pipe.  Prior to World War II, Mrs. Kosmopoulou excavated in the area to Neolithic levels (Grid 83G; B. 81, NB 839, p. 139); her trench was subsequently backfilled.  Then at some point before 1995 a foundation trench was dug through the backfill in order to lay the water pipe.  The preserved portion of this trench extends east to west (E: 97.10; W: 94.97), while the water pipe continues in both directions to an unknown extent within unexcavated areas.  In 1995, the water pipe was again exposed as a result of excavation activities.  At some point after the 1995 season, it was backfilled a second time, probably to preserve the stability of the water pipe.  Thus the current excavation revealed a cut stepped on the south side (top elevations 86.17 and 85.72) as a result of several phases of activity.  The cut truncates the northern extent of the series of roads that run to the west of Unit 2 and along the corridor between Units 1, 3 and 4 (at 1070.15 N).  The fully exposed length of the modern water pipe is 5.81m (circumference 0.21m); only 2.15m of this was exposed this season.; Throughout our area excavations had previously been conducted in the 1992 through the 1995 seasons.  These excavations had revealed several features within the area including a wall, Structure 8 (Wall 4, NB 866 and NB 880), a Frankish water channel (NB 880, p. 79), a second drain to the north of Unit 1 (Structure 164; also see NB 880, p. 62-77), and modern water pipe (NB 839, p. 139).  In the subsequent years, though unknown to the current excavators, these features were backfilled.  The area was backfilled to allow for the ease of transportation of materials and machines needed to consolidate the walls of the buildings for Units 1 and Unit 2.; ; Conclusions and Recommendations for Future Work:; 1.    Explore the date of the circular stone structure in the courtyard (Structure 94) by removing the surface upon which it sits.  This may also aid in determining its function.; ; 2.    Continue to excavate the lenses of fill in the northeast corner of the courtyard, especially what Deposit 167 revealed to determine if it was either overdug or taken out of sequence. ; ; 3.    Clarify the use and construction for the south drain (Structure 164).; ; 4.    Remove courtyard layers into which the bothros cuts (Cut 80) to support or refute the currently proposed date.; ; 5.    Continue the removal of the superimposed roads to the west of Unit 2.  This will answer several questions: What is the relationship between the roads and Wall 51 and the vaulted chamber?  Is the currently exposed cut for the north drain related to excavation, cleaning, or repair?  This will also allow for the discovery of the drain’s foundation trench, which seems to cut these roads.; ; 6.    Excavate the possible graves in the western side of our excavation area.","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Stephanie Kimmey and Jennifer LaFleur (2014-04-07 to 2014-04-28)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Stephanie Kimmey and Jennifer LaFleur (2014-04-07 to 2014-04-28)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Room 7 and Corridor Between the Church and Unit 2","This is the summary of the second session of excavation in 2014 in Unit 2, Room 7, and the adjacent passage north of the church nave, in the area of Temple E Southeast (TESE). Room 7 was previously excavated in 1992 and 1994, recorded in NB 850, 854 and 864. It is bounded by Wall 59 (1082.35 – 1084.5 N, 119.00 – 120.13 E, NB 864 Wall 11) and its associated robbing trench (1077.2 – 1082.6 N, 119.65 – 121.6 E, NB 864 B 9 and B 11) to the west, and by Wall 157 (1078.3 – 1085.3 N, 122.4 – 124.6 E, NB 864 Wall 12) to the east. A martyr along the Turkish wall to the north of Room 7 marked the northern boundary of our area of excavation (1085.5 – 1086.7 N, 119.00 – 122.00 E) and an arbitrary line was set between the points 120.23 E, 1077.42 N and 123.99 E, 1078.04 N as a boundary to the south. Despite the earlier decision to section the deposits of room 7 from their continuation into the corridor further south, excavations continued into this area later in the session.  The southern boundary of the corridor space is formed by the north wall of the church (Wall 20) and its associated robbing trench (NB 835, pp. 35-44, 65-66, 1074.3 – 1076.1 N, 122.00 – 130.30 E).  Its northern boundary is formed by the south wall of room 8 and room 9 (Wall 156 1077.5 – 1079.3 N, 123.5 – 129.7 E, NB 864, pp. 43-44). The corridor itself was previously excavated in 1993 (NB 863). In Room 7, excavation was conducted from May 5 to May 15, and excavation was conducted in the corridor on May 15 and 16. Guy Sanders (director) and Jody Cundy (field director) supervised, and Dylan Rogers and Maggie Burr (area supervisors) recorded. Athanasios Notis was pickman, Angeliki Stamati was shovel(wo)man, and Panagiotis Rontzokos was the barrowman. ; ; Excavation in Room 7 was undertaken in an effort to understand better the function of the room  and its relationship to the church and to clarify the chronology of the construction, use and end-of-use phases of the church and Unit 2. Plans to present the entire area to the public in the coming years have made it necessary to consolidate this area as well, and preparing the spaces for consolidation and conservation were also goals of the project. Excavations conducted in the early 1990s, particularly in 1992 and 1994, revealed that both the church and parts of Unit 2 were covered with what is interpreted as a destruction layer. Excavation of the south half of Room 7 in 1992 and the north half in 1994 (recorded in NB 854 for 1992, and NB 864 for 1994) revealed a layer of smashed glass (NB 854 B6, B7, B16, NB 850 B96, B97), lying beneath a layer of collapsed roof tiles. This was interpreted as a destruction layer that was dated to the early 14th century (AD 1312). The tile fall excavated in the southern portion of the room in 1992 (NB 850 B97; NB 854, B6, B7, and B16) covered an area of around 3.2m x 1.57m. A tile fall excavated in the northern portion of the room in 1994 seemed to span the width of the room (NB 864, B16, B17, B18 and B31), and covered the entire trench from north to south (roughly 3.5 meters). A clay floor was also revealed underneath the tile fall (elev. 85.08, NB 854 B16), and a coin of Philip of Savoy, minted in Clarenza, gives the tile-fall a terminus post-quem of AD 1301-1307 (NB 854 B16, (Coin 1992-264). ; ; Williams and Zervos (Frankish Corinth: Hesperia 1993, 3) posited that the destruction came at the hands of the Catalans, who invaded the Peloponnese in 1312. Damage done to the city during the invasion was mentioned in a letter from Bartholomew, Archbishop of Corinth, to Pope Clement V, (Williams and Zervos, 1993, 3). At the time of the 1993 publication of these destruction layers, Williams noted that “all pottery from the destruction level associated with Units 1 and 2 (could) be dated comfortably to the ten years on either side of A.D. 1300” (Williams and Zervos 1993, 3). ; ; Frankish (1210-1458 CE) ; Room 7; ; In the late 3rd quarter of the 13th century, it appears that the space now identified as “Room 7” was probably both unwalled and unroofed and was in use as an outdoor space of unknown relationship to the church. The earliest level reached was a trampled surface extending throughout the space (its original extent is unknown, as the surface is presently truncated by Walls 59 and 157). It remains unexcavated. A large irregularly shaped refuse pit was cut through the southernmost part of this surface (Context 296 1078.20-1081.30 N, 121.85-123.25 E). Based on its contents, the fill of the pit (Context 274, 1078.20-1081.30 N, 121.85-123.25 E) suggests a deposition related in some way to dining or food preparation. In addition to a large quantity of animal bone and charred organic material, the pit contained a very large number of cooking and fine wares, found in much larger quantities than in other pit fills excavated in Room 7 this season (including 21 kilos of coarse ware, alone). Among the cooking wares, a large, vertical-rimmed stewpot, inventoried as C-2014-8, is suggestive of preparation of food for a large number of people. The fineware consisted of glazed-painted, sgraffito and Protomaiolica bowls, plates and pitchers, dated to late 3rd quarter of the 13th century. A number of fragments of glass drinking vessels were found. The majority of these vessels were Frankish prunted or plain beakers, one of which was inventoried as MF 2014-31. Also present in the glass assemblage was a blue-green goblet stem. Activities other than dining are also represented in the pit fill. Two bronze spindle hooks (as Corinth 12, cat. 1227) attest to wool-working somewhere in the vicinity. ; ; It is hypothesized that in the phase immediately post-dating the deposition of pit fill 274, the room remained unwalled and continued being used as a location for dumping. The southernmost part of the room was roughly leveled with the deposition of a fill (Context 266, 1078.1-1080.80 N, 121.90-123.90 E) which contained cooking and tableware, dated to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, and fragments of at least two Frankish beakers. It appears that the activities (construction, cooking and dining) represented by the waste were occurring away from Room 7. The above fill was then trampled, apparently acting as a rough working surface, and two pits (Context 275, 1080.16 – 1081.30 N, 121.85 – 122.74 E and Context 305, 1080.32 – 1080.95 N, 120.90 – 121.68 E) were cut into it. While the fill of pit 275 (Context 263, 1080.16 – 1081.30 N, 121.85 – 122.74 E) included a great deal of ash and charred organic debris that might suggest that some cooking activity was going on in the pit itself, the nature of the tableware and other finds in this and other deposits (discussed below) seems to suggest that the majority of the cooking and dining activities associated with the finds were happening elsewhere. The ceramic assemblage of cooking, coarse and fineware was very similar in style to those dumped in fills 266 and 274, primarily Protomaiolica or sgraffito plates and bowls, as well as fragments of a very fine Frankish bottle (as MF 1774) and fragments of at least two finely decorated prunted beakers, one (as MF 92-38) with blue threading. The relatively high quality of the tableware and the breakability of the glass hint at a level of dining and of storage of dining vessels requiring more space and perhaps more formality than could be offered in this outdoor, unroofed and unfloored space. Furthermore, the quantity of ceramics deposited in the fills discussed above (nearly 7 kilos of fineware between 274, 266 and 263) suggests that the dining activities represented food consumption for a large number of people (or many, smaller dining events), and it seems unlikely these events were happening in the small space offered by Room 7 or its associated corridor (each not more than 3 meters wide). The multiple levels of fill in pit 305 (Contexts 304, 301 and 297; contexts 301 and 304: 1080.32 – 1080.95 N, 120.90 – 121.68 E; Context 297 1080.53 – 1080.95 N, 121.31 – 121.73 E) echo this idea. ; ; By the 4th quarter of the 13th century, the space underwent a change in shape and perhaps in function. A layer of fill roughly leveled the southern half of the room at this time (Contexts 251, 254 and 260, which are equivalent, 1078.10 – 1082.10 N, 121.00 – 124.00 E). The foundation trench for Wall 59 (Context 244 and 253, 1078.00 – 1084.70 N, 119.600 – 121.80 E) was cut into this surface in the southern portion of the room, and into an unexcavated, exposed surface in the northern portion. This trench was cut by a 0.75 meter wide robbing trench (1077.20 – 1082.5 N, 119.65 – 121.1 E). Thus the terminus post quem for the construction of the wall is the 4/4 of the 13th c. Two body sherds from a unslipped metallic ware pitcher, dating between 1275 and 1335, strengthen this date. Excavations of the robbing trench in 1992 and 1994 suggested that Wall 59 was robbed out in the 15th or 16th centuries (NB 854, B12, pp. 18-19, 47; NB 854, pp. 18-23). The precise date of construction of Wall 157, bounding the space on the east, is more tenuous, as foundation trenches have not been located, but given the nature of some later fills which seem to lie against the wall (Context 233 and 237), it is likely the wall was constructed at very nearly the same time as Wall 59 and that the wall completely filled the foundation trench.  Both walls were constructed of randomly placed courses of fieldstones, occasionally supported by tiles or smaller cobbles. Wall 59 measured 0.65 meters wide and appears to have been roughly 8.6 meters long, including the area now robbed out. Wall 157 measured 0.65 meters wide, and was 8.1 meters long. Wall 157 appears to abut Wall 156, which forms the boundary between Room 8 and the corridor, and is truncated by an Ottoman-Period well (NB 877, pit 95-2). Wall 59 is abutted by a pit on its southern end (NB 850 B94, NB 854 B2). ; ; Even after it was delineated with Walls 59 and 157, Room 7 seems to have remained unroofed until as late as the early 14th century. No flat, floor like surface appears to have been laid in the space until the surfaces uncovered under the tile fall by excavators in 1992 and 1994, and these layers are dated to at least the early 14th century (NB 864, B16, B19 and B31). Prior to this, nothing resembling an actual floor was uncovered. The surface cut for the construction of Wall 157 (Contexts 251, 254 and 260) was rough and uneven, as was a surface laid immediately above it (Context 233). In addition to the rough quality of the surfaces in this area, there is further evidence to suggest that, even after Walls 59 and 157 were built, Room 7 remained unroofed. While no fire pits appear to have been cut into the surface of Room 7 after the construction of the walls, two refuse pits containing charred organic material and tableware were cut in the southern half of the room (Contexts 243 and 248) after the walls went in. At the same time, the northern third of the space appears to have been used primarily as a refuse dump. A 20 cm thick fill in this area, comprised primarily of building materials (fieldstones and roof tile) was excavated as Context 222 (1082.4 – 1085.5 N, 119.4 – 122.6 E). In addition to the fieldstones and tiles, a piece of incised opus sectile was found, indicating (perhaps) that some of the dumping activity may have been related to activities in the church, which at one point had Cosmatesque paving.  It is unclear if the unexcavated surface beneath 222 is a more compact continuation of the same dumping activity. ; ; A series of fills were laid down (Context 233, 1078.00 – 1081.10 N, 120.70 – 123.90 E; 230, 1080.49 – 1084.90 N, 120.3 – 123.5 E; Context 225, 1080.60 – 1084.30 N, 120.49 – 122.70 E). It is unclear whether these deposits were placed deliberately to level the area, or whether they correspond to use and/or dumping phases. All three deposits appear to have been trampled after deposition. A small, circular, refuse pit (Context 227, 1080.70 – 1081.30 N, 122.20 – 122.50 E), dug into Context 225 in the southern third of the room and containing a small amount of fine ware (slipped plain glazed), hints that even the southern portion of the space was still being intermittently used as a refuse dump into the late 13th century.  ; ; Soon after this dumping event, Room 7 was apparently deliberately leveled. Dumped fills (201, 220, 218 214) raised the central third of the room by ca 0.10 m and the southern third by 0.04 m, until the southern two-thirds of the surface were roughly level. A lozenge-shaped structure and bench-like structure (Structure 208 1082.60 – 1084.25 N, 122.20 – 123.0 E) was constructed on top of this new level surface and abutting wall 157. Only one course high, the structure measured 0.75 meters long and 0.6 meters wide. The function of this structure remains in question. It appears that Room 7 continued to be used as a dumping location after the construction of the bench. Three dumping events, including two surface dumps (Contexts 197 and 199) and a pit, filled with organic material, fine and coarseware (Context 205) were placed on top of, or cut into, a lens of fill deposited after the construction of the bench (fill 202, 1077.80 – 1080.90 N, 120.80 – 123.90 E, saved as Lot 2014-25). Two sherds of Archaic Maiolica from Context 202 suggest a date as late as the early- to-mid 14th century for all four deposits.;    ; The Corridor N of Church; ; It appears that in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the corridor space north of the church underwent several changes in function, perhaps related to the construction or ‘finishing’ of spaces, like Room 7, within or around the church complex. ; ; Like Room 7, it appears that in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the space between the north wall of the church and Room 7 (referred to here as the ‘Corridor’) was an outdoor, unroofed multi-purpose space used for cooking and the dumping of dining-related waste. ; ; The earliest level reached this session is the unexcavated trampled surfaces at both the eastern and western ends of the space. These surfaces are hard-packed and studded with pebbles on the east, and with large pieces of flat-lying roof tile, on the west, their compaction suggests that during the late 13th century, the corridor space might have functioned as a walkway or alleyway of some sort. ; ; At the end of the period represented by these unexcavated surfaces, the space underwent a shift in function. A looser packed surface (Context 389) was laid down in the west, and a trench (Cut 403, 1075.40 – 1077.80 N, 124.10 – 125.10 E) was dug, bifurcating the space on a roughly NW-SE line. This trench is in rough alignment with the eastern wall of Room 7 (Wall 157). While it has been suggested the cut could represent a demolition or robbing event associated with Wall 157 (or an earlier iteration thereof), its function remains unclear. Understanding the function of this cut will be instrumental in identifying the use of the unexcavated surfaces, as the presence of a wall bifurcating the corridor would preclude use of the space as a walkway. ; ; After the cut was filled (Context 398), in the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, four post holes were cut into the southern third of the corridor, running along a roughly west-east line (Contexts 333, 341, 365 and 360), all about 0.7m from the north wall of the nave (Wall 20). They appear to be grouped in pairs of two, with contexts 333 and 341 placed 0.7m apart, followed, to the east, by a 2m gap, and then contexts 359 and 364, set about a meter apart. Their function is not clear, but their width (between 25 and 35 cm) could indicate an expectation that they would bear weight. It has been suggested that they may have served as supports for scaffolding, or perhaps for a pitched roof placed over the southern side of the corridor for a short period of time. ; ; From this point on, the northern and southern halves of the space appear to have served different functions. Deposition of layers of fill occurred throughout the space for the entirety of the period covered by this session’s excavation. While small dumping or leveling events spread across the space, the northern half of the corridor appears to have been a focus for larger-scale dumps of both construction and cooking refuse. A large pit, roughly 7x2 meter (Context 408), running roughly west to east and cutting through the northern portion of trench fill (398), was filled with multiple layers of what appears to be general dumping or construction debris (Contexts 379, 366, 377 and 354). Also note that the pit is bounded by the EW wall that forms the S wall of unit 2 room 8 and 9. Fine ware from all four lenses of fill date these dumping events to the late 3rd – early 4th quarter of the 13th century. The filled surface appears to have still functioned as a walkway or work surface at this time, as each layer of fill excavated appeared trampled. At around this time, the space was further delineated by the construction of a wall (Wall 380), abutting wall 157, separating the northern portion of the corridor from the southern boundary of Room 7, only one course of which was extant. The wall appears to have been constructed of randomly placed fieldstones. Some leveling tiles were found in the wall. It measured 1 meter long and 0.7 meters wide. Into this newly-delineated space, a series of fills were deposited (Contexts 374, 386, 383, 376, 372, 361, 353, 351, 349, 346, 343, 327, 325, 285, 321, 313 and 300). The amount of time that passed between dumping events is unclear. The lenses of fill, as mentioned above, appeared packed and trampled, and so it is likely that the space was being used as a walkway or work surface while the layers of fill were being deposited. Ceramic assemblages from these contexts date them to the end of the 13th century. The deposition of the final three lenses of fill (Contexts 321, 313 and 300), created a level surface (elev. 85.05 for all three) in the space for the first time since the north-south trench was cut, and it is possible that much of the dumping activity took place over a very short period of time as an effort to create a level surface in the space. This notion is, perhaps, supported by evidence from previous excavation in the outdoor area east and northeast of the church. A patio, paved with rough, square limestone blocks, covered the open area to the east of the church (NB 829 B29, pp. 53-56). One paving stone, located immediately to the east of the northeastern boundary of the trench, suggests the possibility that this paving continued into the corridor space. If the corridor space was paved, the level surface created by the deposition of contexts 313, 300 and 321 would have been immediately beneath it and these surfaces would, therefore, have functioned as a level subfloor for the pavement. ; ; The idea that the activities represented by the repeated depositions of fill in the courtyard may have taken place over a short span of time is strengthened by the nature and location of five pits cut at various points into the uneven trampled fills in the northern half of the room. Three (Contexts 336, 326 and 371) were cut into a trampled layer of fill (372), on the western side of the space, while two (Contexts 329 and 344) were cut into another trampled layer of fill (343), in the mid- to-eastern side. The surfaces into which the pits were cut are not level. Four (Contexts 336, 326, 329 and 344) appear to have been fire pits and contained a high proportion of ashy, carbonized organic material. Because all five pits are located north of the line of post holes discussed above, it is likely that the post holes, and whatever they supported (perhaps scaffolding or a pitched roof?), were still in place at the time the pits were dug and filled (with fill contexts 334, 325, 328 and 342). Like pit 205 and refuse dumps 197 and 199 in Room 7, all of this activity appears to have occurred in the early 14th century, and the fills of the pits in the corridor space contained material similar to that in Room 7 (fragments of prunted beakers, as MF 3071 and 1992-38 from context 329, for instance, and fragments of glazed fineware, from context 334, 325 and 370). ; ; Both the post holes and the pits were covered over in the early 14th century, when the leveling fills (contexts 313, 321 and 300) were laid down. These fills seem to be part of the same event as leveling fill 194 in Room 7, which covered pit 205 there: perhaps these four fills (194, 313, 321 and 300) were laid down as a final stage in the preparation of Room 7 and the corridor to be floored and/or paved. A corroded iron knife blade (Context 319, inventoried as MF 2014-20), was found lying on the surface (Context 389) adjacent to post-hole fill 331. The presence of the knife blade lying on a trampled surface could suggest that the deposition and subsequent covering of the knife may have happened relatively quickly.; ; Conclusions:; ; Excavation in Room 7 and the corridor space during this session revealed that neither Room 7, nor the space north of the nave, were ‘finished’ spaces until at least the start of the 14th century, when it appears that a floor was laid down in Room 7 and paving was laid down in the Corridor. It is unclear whether or not some of the cooking and dumping activity evident in the spaces related to the Church or the structures associated with Unit 2 to the north prior to their monumentalization were associated with the construction or preparation of the areas for building or not. Certainly, construction debris from the church area (or other nearby monumentalized space) was dumped, particularly in Room 7, in which fragments of opus sectile, marble wall facing, marble and glass tesserae and other building materials were found (in contexts 230, 254 and 274, all dated to the second half of the 13th century). The quality of the tableware, both fine and glassware, from the pits, particularly in Room 7 – indicates that these were secondary deposits coming from somewhere close, but not directly connected, to the area. ; ; The nature of the glassware found in pit fill 274, in Room 7 (as well as some glass fragments from fills 266 and 263) might shed some new light on glass deposits found at higher elevations in 1992 and 1994. Williams and Zervos have suggested that Units 1 and 2 were, in the late 13th century, part of a nascent monastic community being built up around the church (Williams and Zervos 1993, 11-13). A deposit of glass representing at least 42 Frankish cups and 3 glass lamps, was uncovered in Unit 7 in 1992 (NB 854 B6, B7, B16, NB 850 B96, B97, now Lot 1992: 77, Williams and Zervos 1992), apparently from within a collapsed cupboard. It was interpreted as being property of this community and as having been intended for use by a specific group of people (Williams and Zervos 1996, 26). The similarity of the forms found in Lot 1992: 77 to ones removed from pits filled in the area before it was roofed or walled (for instance, a number of prunted beakers corresponding to Lot 1977-77-1 and 3) could suggest that a nascent monastic community may have been dining near Room 7 (and depositing dining waste within it) prior to the construction of the built monastic building identified by Williams, constructed when the floors in Room 7 were finally laid. Conversely, it could be suggested that prunted beakers of these forms were in common circulation in late 13th century Corinth. Further study of the glassware recovered around Temple E, SE might help to clarify these issues. ; ; Further excavation in the corridor is needed to clarify the chronology of the construction phases of the church. More work in the corridor might also clarify the nature of the north-south cut (Context 403) and the hard-packed surfaces it cuts into. Excavating within the spaces to the west of the corridor might further help to clarify the relationship between Rooms 6 and 7 and Rooms 5 and 4, excavated this season by Kirsten Lee. A flat, packed surface, similar to that uncovered in the corridor space, was found in the southern portion of Room E (at elev. 84.84), and could potentially be related to the outdoor spaces discussed above. ;  ; Recommendations for Further Excavation:; Room 7; 1.    Finish excavating in the northern third of the room (underneath Context 222), in order to understand better the earlier dumping in the mid-3rd quarter of the 13th century.; 2.    Clarify the southern portion of the Room (especially those contexts related to Wall 380). The deposits directly below Wall 380 might indicate better what exactly is happening in this space during this short time span of activity in the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, before Room 7 is actually Room 7.; ; Corridor; 1.    Continue excavations in the Corridor to find the foundation trench of Wall 20, the north wall of the church, which will help to date the construction of the church. ; 2.    Continue to articulate the relationship of the Corridor with the spaces to the north and west. Is there any similarity of the corridor with the rooms directly to the west (where Team Blue replace with names of excavators is excavating this season)?","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Margaret Burr and Dylan Rogers (2014-05-05 to 2014-06-29)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Margaret Burr and Dylan Rogers (2014-05-05 to 2014-06-29)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Roads and Courtyard of NW Passage, Session 2","Bram ten Berge, Katerina Ragkou; Session II; Temple E Southeast Excavations (TESE); N: 1071.69   S: 1058.97    E: 103.11    W: 94.50; May 5, 2014 – May 26, 2014; ; Introduction; This is the final summary of the second session of excavation in 2014 in the Frankish quarter, Temple E Southeast  (TESE). Excavations occurred in the NW passage and focused on the roads west of Unit 2 and on the courtyard between Units 1 and 2, in an area roughly shaped like an ‘L’. The area west of Unit 2 was bounded to the north by a modern water pipe (1073.00 N; NB 839), to the west by an excavation scarp west of Wall 8  (also known as NB 866, Wall 4) that lay on the grid at 94.00 E, to the south by the north wall of the courtyard of Unit 1 (1058.07 N), and on the east by the west wall of Unit 2, Room 3A (also known as NB. 830, Wall II) on the grid at 108.91 E. Our excavations in the courtyard area were bounded to the north by the south wall of Unit 2, Room 3A, to the east by the west wall of Unit 2, Room 3, and to the south by the north wall of Unit 1, Rooms 8 and 9.  ; For the first week work concentrated on the roads of the NW passage west of Unit 2, Room 3A. In the second week we moved to the courtyard. In week 2 we sectioned off the eastern part of the courtyard (N: 1064.52; S: 1058.51; W: 103.00; E: 108.85) and concentrated on its western part. In the final week our focus returned to the roads of the NW passage west of Unit 2, Room 3A. Guy Sanders (director) and Jody Cundy (field director) supervised. The area supervisors were Bram ten Berge and Katerina Ragkou (recorders), and the workmen were Thanasis Sakellariou (pick man), Christos Sakellariou (shovel man), and Vasilis Kolias (wheelbarrow man). Excavations began on May 5, 2014 and the final day of excavation of this summary was May 26, 2014.; The goal of excavation this session was to clarify the activities and chronology of the Frankish quarter, in particular the outdoor activities immediately bordering Units 1 and 2. An additional goal has been to prepare our area for future consolidation and conservation in order to open it for the public.; Frankish Period ; The removal of the levelling fills 381 and 392 revealed the top of a N-S wall 310 (N-S: 1063.88-1060.79; E-W: 99.51-99.25). The wall was out of use at least by the time road 358 = 363 (late 13th century, npd), which covered its top, was laid down. The bottom of the wall is visible in the profile of a large pit (bothros 5, NB 880) at an elevation of 85.29, approximately half a meter beneath the leveling fills that covered its top (381, 392). We have not excavated its foundation trench and thus cannot be sure about its construction date (the pickman identified a possible foundation trench for the wall that has not been excavated). The full extent of this wall is not yet known. Directly to the N and in alignment with wall 310 are the remains of an early wall beneath the west wall of Unit 2, Room A (structure 51: N-S: 1070.18-1068.50; E-W: 99.50-98.89), which sits at a similar elevation and has the same E-W coordinates. ; Abutting wall 310 is road 358 = 363 (N-S: 1070.12-1064.11; E-W: 98.58-97.39 (358); N-S: 1071.22-1065.04; E-W: 97.72-94.95 (363)), which was laid down by the late 13th century (npd). This was a well-built road with a flat surface and a uniform consistency. The road preserves a rectilinear trench (cut 357: N-S: 1070.70-1068.69; E-W: 96.61-95.80) that may reflect the removal of a N-S wall, contemporary with Wall 310, for the expansion of the road to the W. This hypothesis seems corroborated by the surface of road 358 = 360 which slopes upwards on its western edge against this rectilinear trench. Subsequent to the removal of this wall, a substantial number of leveling fills and/or repairs (levelling fills 348, 378, 381, 385, 392, 394, 400, 402, and 407) were deposited to create a flat and uniform road surface. ; Subsequent to these leveling events a drain (structure 332: N-S: 1067.62-1060.80; E-W: 101.26-96.00) was constructed which cut one of the leveling fills (fill 348). It runs in a NW-SE direction punching through Wall 310 to continue into the courtyard between Unit 1 and Unit 2. The drain was constructed by means of a first course of medium and large boulders of limestone and fieldstone (ca. 0.20-0.35 (l.) x 0.20-0.30 (h.)), followed by a second course of smaller stones and tiles (ca. 0.10 (l.) x 0.10 (h.), and capped by capstones that consisted of medium and larger sized boulders (0.43 x 0.31 x 0.10), angular cobbles (0.18 x 0.12 x 0.10), and architectural spolia (fragments of a well-head (0.56 x 0.32 x 0.40) and a column base (0.58 x 0.39 x 0.2)). The full extent of the drain is not yet known as it continues its course eastward into the unexcavated deposits in the courtyard. Likewise, it is unclear whether it continued westward beyond its robbed out portion (N-S: 1061.09-1059.72; E-W: 100.98-100.20). ; Subsequent to the construction of the drain a new N-S wall was constructed (structure 291: N-S: 1069.31-1068.32; E-W: 95.62-94.60) that constituted the new western boundary of the road. The bottom elevation of the robbing trench for this wall (fills 287, 290, 294) is 85.24, approximately 0.70 m beneath the earliest Frankish road we excavated (358 = 363: bottom elevation: 85.96 and 85.92). The remains of the wall do not go further down, suggesting that its bottom lies at this elevation. Although the extent of the wall is not yet clear, it appears to be in alignment with the east wall of Units 3 and 4 that bounded the road further to the south. It may have some connection with Wall 8 (also known as NB 866, Wall 4) immediately to the south, although it is unclear what, if any, this connection might be. Likewise, its connection with the drain is not yet clear.; After Wall 291 went up a new road was laid down (226 = 239: N-S: 1071.20-1064.90; E-W: 98.32-95.70 (226); N-S: 1069.95-1063.71; E-W: 97.53-95.41 E (239)) whose western edge sloped up against this wall at W. 95.70. Like its predecessor, this was a well-built flat and uniform road that consisted of pebbles, cobbles, and tiles, mixed with sandy silt. After the expansion the road was now approximately three meters wide. It is unclear whether the road was bounded at this time by an east wall. It is possible that an earlier wall beneath Wall 51 W. of Unit 2, Room A, bounded the road. But if, as we suggest above, this lower wall was connected with Wall 310, it would have been out of use by this time. Future excavations will have to determine the extent of this lower wall. ; At a later date (by the late 13th century npd) road 226 = 239 received a number of leveling fills and repairs likely due to wear and damage as a result of high volumes of traffic. After these leveling events a vaulted chamber (structure 229: N-S: 1067.23-1065.51; E-W: 99.72-97.90) was built, the construction of which cut these leveling fills (deposits 209 and 212). A later road 36 = 190 overlay the top of the vault. The removal of this road revealed the cemented top of the chamber. We could not perceive the construction cut, however, since the vault was built right up against it. It is clear that the construction of the vaulted chamber preceded the construction of Wall 51, since the construction cut for this wall cut road 36 = 190, while the vaulted chamber was overlaid by this road. A coin of Villhardouin (2014-17) found in the foundation trench of Wall 51 (deposit 60) gives a post quem date of 1245 for the construction of the wall. This in turn is a post quem date for the construction of Unit 2, Room 3A. The precise relationship of the vaulted chamber with Wall 51 and with the earlier wall beneath Wall 51 is not yet clear. The vaulted chamber is roughly square in plan. The dimensions of the chamber are 1.76 m (l.) x 1.55 (w.) x 1.28 (h.). The diameter of the vault is 1.08 m, while its height is 0.68 m. The purpose of the vaulted chamber remains uncertain. Perhaps it was used for storage, as a cellar, or as a basement space. A similar chamber to the south is associated with Unit 1.; After the construction of the vaulted chamber, a new road (193: N-S: 1071.58-1067.61; E-W: 98.58-94.85) was laid down, abutting the vault. This was another well-built flat and uniform road that consisted of pebbles, cobbles, and tiles, mixed with sandy silt. It was subsequently followed, by the late 13th century (npd), by road 36 = 190 which was laid over the top of the vaulted chamber. This was likewise a well-built flat and uniform road consisting of the same materials as the roads preceding it.; By the late 13th century the capstones of the drain were robbed out (robbing trench 406: 1061.32-1060.31; E-W: 103.00-101.52; fills 312 and 314), and the drain ceased being used after the late 13th/early 14th century, which constitutes the post quem date (pottery) for the use phase of the drain. Unfortunately, we cannot narrow down these dates. Likewise, it remains unclear when Wall 291 was robbed out, as we do not know the level that the robbing trench (deposits 287, 290, 294) was cut from (the top of the cut is no longer preserved due to a modern pit dug during the 1995 excavations: basket 57 NB 839).; During the Frankish Period the roads of the NW passage supplied access to an open-air courtyard situated between the church complex (TESE Unit 2) and the commercial and domestic space of the complex to the south (TESE Unit 1). In the period we excavated (late 13th century) this space appears to be walled off on its north, south, and east sides. The courtyard was open to the road and the surfaces that communicated between the courtyard and the road (deposits 252: N-S: 1062.91-1060.14; E-W: 102.10-97.77; 381: N-S: 1068.91-1063.50; E-W: 99.21-97.50) were uniform and constructed with the same materials (pebbles, cobbles, and tiles, mixed with sandy silt). There was a passageway to the SE of the courtyard giving access to the eastern part of the church complex and the shops of Unit 1.; The courtyard seems to have been a highly frequented space that received much traffic and activity, as evidenced by the succession of multiple surface layers dated to the late 13th and early 14th century. These surfaces typically consisted of round and angular pebbles, and small fragments of tiles, mixed with sandy silt. The courtyard appears to have functioned as a meeting-place and to have served multiple functions. So, in the late 13th to early 14th century there seems to have been a bench in front of the north wall of the courtyard (structure 147: N-S: 1064.72-1064.43; E-W: 105.67-104.98). During the late 13th century (npd) there is possible evidence of burning through the discoloration of the soil (surfaces 273, 330, 340, 345). It is possible that this burning was associated with cooking activities carried out with portable hearths (deposits 144, 152, 158, 170). A large bell-shaped pit (cut 80: N-S: 1063.80-1062.93; E-W: 101.88-101.03), which seems to have been dug in the late 13th century, and whose purpose remains uncertain, contained a substantial number of animal bones and cooking wares, which may serve to corroborate the presence of cooking activities in this area during this period. Moreover, the removal of the courtyard surface 345 (N-S: 1064.54-1061.82; E-W: 103.02-99.21) revealed two postholes that may indicate the use of temporary stalls or other temporary structures. Finally, situated against the east wall of the courtyard is a semi-circular stone structure (structure 94) that we did not excavate and whose purpose remains uncertain. It should also be noted that the removal of courtyard surface 345 revealed what appears to be the robbing trench for the south wall of Unit 2, Room A. Future excavations will have to further investigate this trench.; In conclusion, the NW passage of the Frankish quarter was characterized by a series of superimposed roads dating from at least the 13th century (and probably earlier) to the early modern period. These roads have a N-S orientation and run from our area southward towards Unit 1, facilitating traffic and communication between the different Units of the Frankish quarter. The roads also offered access to the courtyard area between Units 1 and 2, and to the western part of Frankish Corinth beyond it. The roads received high volumes of human and animal traffic during the Frankish Period, as evidenced by the presence of multiple leveling fills and what seem to be several repairs. The road offered access to an open-air courtyard between Unit 1 and Unit 2, which seems to have been a highly frequented space with multiple functions, one of which was as a meeting place and a place for cooking activities. The late 13th century was a period in which much building activity took place in the NW passage in an apparently short amount of time, with the removal of Wall 310 and a conjectured contemporary wall, the construction and robbing out of a drain (332), the construction and robbing out of Wall 291, the construction of a vaulted chamber (229), the construction of the W. Wall 51 of Unit 2, Room A, and in the courtyard the construction of a large pit (cut 81) and a semi-circular stone structure (structure 94). ; Early Modern (1831-1949 AD); Prior to World War II, Mrs. Kosmopoulou excavated in the area to Neolithic levels (grid square 83G; B. 81, NB 839, p. 139). Her trench was subsequently backfilled. This backfill is the material collected in our deposits 241 and 246 (N-S: 1070.21-1069.40; E-W: 95.58-94.67; N-S: 1070.29-1067.26; E-W: 95-58-94.77), associated with the robbing trench of Wall 291. ; Modern Period (1950 -); Our excavation area is bounded to the north by the construction of a modern water pipe in 1995. Throughout our excavation area previous excavations were conducted during the 1992 through 1995 seasons and during the first session of the 2014 season. During the 1995 excavations the bothros north of the vaulted chamber was dug as Basket 32, NB 839. The excavators underdug this bothros, with the result that the cut was no longer fully preserved. We removed the remaining pit fill. As stated above, during the same excavations a modern pit was dug that removed the top of the cut for the robbing trench of the drain. During the same season bothros 3 (NB 880) was excavated and subsequently backfilled. The removal of deposit 390 revealed the top of this backfill. ; Recommendations for future excavation; a)    Continue to explore the continuation of drain 332 into the courtyard ; b)    Continue to remove the courtyard layers around bell-shaped pit (cut 80) to clarify its construction date.; c)    Continue to remove the surface layers across the courtyard to further clarify its continued use.; d)    Continue excavation to the south of Wall 291 in order to investigate its continuation to the south and its construction date. ; e)    Investigate Wall 310 in order to establish its construction date and use phase.; f)    Investigate Wall 51 and the earlier wall beneath it, in order to clarify their connection with the vaulted chamber and to elucidate the chronology of Unit 2.","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Bram ten Berge and Katerina Ragkou (2014-05-05 to 2014-05-26)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Bram ten Berge and Katerina Ragkou (2014-05-05 to 2014-05-26)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Sessions 2-3 of 2014: Church Nave, Unit 2 of the Frankish Quarter","N-S 1074.64-1071.50; E-W 125.50-122.70; Session 2-3 Final Report, June 27, 2014; ; This is the final report of the second and third sessions during the 2014 excavations in the church nave in Unit 2 of the Frankish Quarter of the Temple E, Southeast area. Guy Sanders (Director) and Jody Cundy (Field Director) supervised. Larkin Kennedy worked as area supervisor and pickwoman with Angeliki Stamati(barrow and sieve) and Panagiotis Ronzokos(shovel, barrow, and sieve) during Session 2. In Session 3, work in this area continued under the supervision of Jody Cundy, with Athanasios Sakellariou (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (sieveman), and Vasilis Kollias (barrowman).; ; The excavation area was the NW quadrant of the church nave in the Unit 2 complex. Excavation under Larkin Kennedy concentrated on the graves in the area abutting the wall that separates the nave from the narthex. Jody Cundy excavated the remaining grave in the central aisle of the nave and the surrounding fills. The nave was previously excavated during the 1990 field season (NB 831, 835), at which time the southernmost grave along the narthex cross wall (Grave 1990-41, burial events A-C) was recorded and the layers of fill inside the church were removed to the level of a cement subfloor. Excavation in this area continued during Session I of the 2014 field season under the supervision of Maggie Beeler and Morgan Condell, during which time the cementsubfloor was sectioned and a lower surface uncovered.Graves 2014-03 and 2014-06, which cut this subfloor and contemporary fills, were excavated during Session 1. Just to the east of the later threshold to the narthex (Structure 22), Session 1 then proceeded to begin investigation of Grave 2014-04. Excavation of this grave was completed by Larkin Kennedy during Session 2, following which excavation proceeded north along the narthex cross wall (Wall 21).; ; The excavation area was bounded to the north by the north wall of the church (Wall 20, 1075.11-1074.52 N, 129.51-122.06 E) and its robbing trench, and to the west by the narthex cross wall (Wall 21, 1074.44-1067.99 N, 123.52-121.98 E) and the later threshold (Structure 22, 1072.09-1070.55 N, 123.31-122.25 W) built into it. The southern (1070.50 N) excavation boundary was established for sectioning and aligns with the excavation grid. Excavation proceeded east as far as 125.50 E during Session 3. Two graves (2014-04 and 2014-07) and a bench-like structure (Structure 302) associated with the northern grave (Grave 2014-07) were removed during Session 2. Grave 2014-10 and the fills to the east of this grave and surrounding the NW pier (Structure 23) were excavated during Session 3.; ; The primary goals of these sessionsincluded the completion of excavation of the commingled burial in Grave 2014-04 east of the threshold (Structure 22) and finding the eastern extent of this grave (Cut 188) in order to evaluate its chronological placement in relation to the cement subfloor (Context 47). As excavation of this grave revealed the articulated feet of an inhumation in Grave 2014-07 to the north, the investigation of this northerly grave also became a priority in order to better understand the use of this space in later periods. Fills to the east and north of Grave 2014-07 were then removed to determine the relationship of these graves to Graves 2014-03 and 2014-06 as well as whether the use of the church as a cemetery occurred after the church was no longer in use, as judged by the relationship of these graves to the cement subfloor. Secondary goals for session 2 included examiningsequences of burial episodes for Graves 2014-04 and -07 relating to differences in grave usage, and identifying means of recording commingled graves which would enhance productivity while preserving evidence for mortuary behavior.; ; FRANKISH PERIOD (1210 - 1458 AD); ; Bench-like Structure; ; Construction of a bench-like structure up against the narthex cross wall (Wall 21)occurred during the earliest phase of activity in this area. Structure 302 (1073.63-1072.22 N, 123.25-123.05 E) is aligned with Wall 21 north of the late threshold (Structure 22). This structure (L. 1.38 m, W. 0.30) consists of a single regular course (H. 0.11) of conglomerate and limestoneboulders and tile fragments, many reused and with cement adhering to their sides. The larger boulders were placed along the exterior face of the structure and measure 0.27 to 0.18 m long and 0.17 to 0.16 m wide. Tile fragments and smaller boulders, measuring 0.18 to 0.08 m long and 0.13 to 0.07 m wide, were placed in the interior along the east face of Wall 21. The presence of iron nails at the north end, both along the east edge and in the later, adjacent grave fill (308) as well as where this possible bench meets the narthex cross wall, suggest that an associated wooden structure may have extended up the wall. The leveling fill (Deposit 324) for this structure consisted of horizontally-laid tiles and rubble in a cut along the narthex cross wall (Cut Context 338,1073.85-1072.21 N, 123.25-122.75 E) which extends slightly beyond the north and south edges of the structure. Within this bedding were found an illegible coin (2014-139), a bronze handle for hanging glass lamps (MF 2014-33) and four joining fragments of a large Roman marble volute krater (most probably belonging to MF 1996-49 but non-joining), horizontally laid and used in a similar fashion as the tiles for leveling fill. The pottery in this deposit dates the construction to the early 14th century, including a heavily incrusted slipped protomaiolica plate, an unslipped metallic ware pitcher, and a slipped late sgraffito bowl. ; ; Further evidence for an early 14th century date for this structure stems from the non-joining portion of the Roman volute krater MF 1996-49 discovered during the 1996 excavation in Room 4 (D) of Unit 2. This large fragment covered the head and torso of an extended burial in Grave 1996-21 (NB 864, pp. 190-191, Bone Lot 1996-72), originally dated to the 13th century. Though both the large fragment in Grave 1996-21 and the smaller fragments in the bedding fill for structure 302 are present in at best secondary contexts, their reuse suggests either a contemporary construction based on common availability of building materials, or an even later, tertiary reuse of the volute fragments in the construction of the bench-like structure. In the latter case, these four joining fragments could have been used, when complete, to cover the head of a burial in a manner similar to that found in Grave 1996-21 and contemporary with it. When this grave was later disturbed during construction of the bench-like structure, the volute fragments were then reused yet again in the bedding fill. Support for this suggestion includes the large amount of disarticulated human bone also found in the bedding fill.; ; Osteological Inventory of Bone from Disturbed Graves; ; The inclusion of human skeletal materialwas common in fills dating to at least the late 13th, early 14th century AD in the church. A preliminary osteological inventory of bone recovered during the first and second sessions for the 2014 field season highlights that human skeletal remains outnumber faunal in 8out of 16 total sieved contexts from the church which were not otherwise directly associated with a human skeleton (cf. Deposits 14, 28, 49, 61, 74, 204, 308, and 324, in Bone Lot 2014-21). As a contrast, of the other 358 deposits which were sieved 50% or more during sessions 1 and 2 outside of the church area and which were not associated with graves, only two were observed to contain human bone. Deposit 141- leveling fill for the road north of Room E- contained an isolated fragment of proximal tibia, while Deposit 64 – a clay surface north of Room F –contained a few extremely fragmentary human skeletal remains. Both deposits contained more faunal than human skeletal elements. The inclusion of such high concentrations of disarticulated human bone in many church contexts indicates that earlier phases of church use included a burial component. Later construction in the church disturbed these graveswhich were then re-depositedas fill during the renovation process. As the remaining 8 sieved contexts from the church that were not directly associated with burials did not contained a large amount of bone, human or faunal, inclusions (cf. Deposits 67, 69, 70, 77, 81, 83, 105), this indicates that some fill was brought in from an outside source as well. In the case of Deposit 335 under the cut of the bench-like structure (Structure 302), as this deposit was dug out of sequence, it may date much earlier than the rest of the material excavated thus far. Further excavation may clarify its chronological placement and the depositional processes which gave rise to it. Osteological analysis and the removal of earlier graves in the nave may furthermore make it possible to determine the chronological placement of the early burials to which these isolated elements originally belonged, and their relationship to church use and renovation.; ; Cosmati-style floor ; ; A decorative flooring installed in the nave constitutes evidence for the latest use of this space as an enclosed space in the Frankish period. This may have occurred as part of renovations contemporaneous with the construction of the bench-like structure (Structure 302), though the relationship of the structure to the flooring is obscured by later graves along the narthex cross wall (Structure 21). Portions of the cement and plaster bedding for this flooring were exposed in situ and in a fragmented state in the 1990 field season, and a portion of it was excavated during Session 1 of the 2014 field season (Context 47, 1072.81-1071.78 N, 126.01-125.10 E). This bedding appears to have been laid across the center aisle of the nave. Evidence for the original Cosmati-style floor resting on this subfloor is represented by numerous fragments of marble tesserae and green-veined marble paving slabs (Lot 2014-001). Fragments of flooring indicate that grey, white, black, and red tesserae, 1-2 cm squares, were originally cemented in a decorative pattern through the center aisle of the church nave, and may have been bordered by wider white marble bands (cf. Lot 2014-001:1). Outside of the center aisle, the subfloor supported marble slab paving, such as that in situ in the church narthex, or partially preserved around the piers inside the church (Contexts 502, 506, 507). Tesserae and fragments of cemented subflooring were found in secondary context throughout multiple deposits (Contexts 52, 77, 83, 99, 105, 112, 129, 204, 347, and 508), all of which dating by pottery to the late 13th to early 14th century AD. As these deposits appear to be composed of fill redeposited from later digging, especially for graves, in the church, one fragment of sgraffito IV (1300-1400) can be used as a terminus post quem for the floor itself. ; ; TURKISH I PERIOD (1458 – 1680 AD); ; During the Turkish I period, this area undergoes its latest period of use as a cemetery. Portions of the cosmati-style flooring were found in the fill of Graves 2014-03, 04, 06, 07, and 10, indicating that all of these graves were dug through this floor, or the remains of this floor, during the following time period.As the decorative flooring was damaged and not repaired, and marble architectural remains were reused as grave markers in the church at this time, this space does not appear to have been in use as a church any longer at this time. It is unclear, however, how long this enclosed structure remained in use as a church before its abandonment and subsequent reuse as a cemetery. The graves themselves are preliminarily dated to at least the 15th century due to this presumed passage of time.; ; The earliest use of this space in this time period appears to have been limited to a sequence of burial activity along the east face of the narthex cross wall (Wall 21), starting in the northwestern corner of this space and then continuing south. ; ; Grave 2014-07 ; ; The northernmost Grave 2014-07 (Cut Context 317, 1073.89-1071.96 N, 123.90-122.75 E, filled by Deposits 308 and 347) was cut along the side of the bench-like structure (Structure 302) against Wall 21, and slightly undercuts the bench itself. The presence of a few iron nails in the upper levels of the grave fill (308) along with a fragment of the same or similar Roman stone volute krater (MF 1996-49E, non-joining) as that found in the leveling fill for structure 302 attest to the grave cut (188) skimming the eastern edge of the structure and dislodging material which became redeposited in grave fill. Grave 2014-07 consists of an oval pit grave (L 1.98 m, W0.825 m, Depth 0.73 m)which went through two distinct burial episodes. ; ; The original inhumation, a probable male, middle adult in age at death (30-40 years by pubic symphysis and ilium auricular surface morphology), was disinterred in order to reuse this grave. As many of the skeletal elements were broken, this individual was most likely covered with earth during burial ritual. After a new interment was placed in the grave and a layer of grave fill and tile were used to cover the body, these bones were returned, resulting in a disarticulated secondary bone pile (Skeleton 391, Bone Lot 2014-15) partially covering the abdomen and spilling over to the east of the later interment. This bone pile also includes the more fragmentary skeletal remains of two other adults of indeterminate age and one infant, and may represent elements from Frankish period burials disturbed during the construction of this grave. To the west of the later interment, other disarticulated remains (Context 472, Skeleton 473, Bone Lot 2014-15) were found which can be assumed to have originally belonged to one such earlier grave cut into by Grave 2014-07. This earlier grave remains unexcavated and extends south and west as well as lower into the fill underlying the bench-like structure. ; ; The primary adult inhumation (Skeleton 375, Bone Lot 2014-16) was placed in a supine, extended position, oriented N-S with the head to the north and propped up by the northwest corner of the grave cut. Mounded tiles and earth elevated the head and shoulders slightly above the rest of the body, though no tiles or stones were used to keep the mandible in place. The arms were crossed over the abdomen, palms down, with the right arm over the left and the left fingers curled. The legs were extended straight, the right foot turned slightly out. This male was a middle adult (40-44 years of age) at time of death with a maximum height of 1.7 m. Dental health of this individual was particularly poor given age at death, with the mandible almost entirely edentulous. Evidence for the initial burial behavior accompanying the disarticulated remains exists in the form of the left hand bones found semi-articulated under the right ribs of the primary inhumation. These remains seem to indicate analogous burial behavior to that of the primary inhumation, with the arms crossed over the chest and abdomen of an extended burial.; ; The overlying grave fill (308, 347) contained many iron nails, possibly attesting to the presence of a coffin associated with the early burials in this area, along with fragments of glass beakers, glass lamps and their bronze handles (cf. MF 11122, MF 2014-33), an iron hook, possibly used as part of a latch, a large amount of disarticulated human bone, and fragments of Cosmati flooring. Two coins from the fill (2014-150 and 2014-152) were both illegible. After filling the grave, an inverted marble column capital decorated on each short side with a cross in a circle and sculpted leaves on the corners was reused as a grave marker (A 2014-4). The grave fill (Contexts 308 and 347; Lot 2014-35) dates to the mid-14thcentury or later, on the basis of a possibly late medieval, combed cone pitcher and a Venetian I bowl associated with a variety of otherwise late 13th to early 14th century sherds. The late 13th to early 14th century remains, including the majority of the pottery, the glass lamps, the metallic ware pitchers, and the disarticulated human bone, all point to an earlier use of the church as a cemetery which was disturbed by the later construction of this grave, with the grave fill accordingly consisting of reworked, earlier grave fills and material dating to this earlier, Frankish use of this church. The construction of this grave and the burial episodes themselves are dated to at least the 15th century due to its association with the decorative cosmati-style flooring.; ; Grave 2014-04 ; ; Grave 2014-07 was truncated by a grave to its south, which was located east of the narthex cross wall threshold and was truncated in turn by later Grave 1990-41A-C. Grave 2014-04 (Cut 188, 1072.21-1070.45 N, 124.14-123.20 E, filled by deposits 99, 204, and 242), abuts the filling for the later threshold (Structure 22) and is aligned with Wall 21, cutting the cement bedding for the cosmati floor (47) to the east. This subrectangular pit grave (reconstructed L 1.98 m, actual W 0.94 m, Depth 0.45 m) was dug into fill covering an earlier built cist grave, partially disturbing the earlier grave’s west wall of built limestone blocks and the interred burials. This cist grave, which remains unexcavated, would have originally been built up against the narthex cross wall, with wall 21 forming its west boundary and one course of limestone blocks delimiting its eastern extent (reconstructed L ca. 1.75 m, W 0.45 m). The largest of these blocks, possibly still present in situ in the northeast corner of Grave 2014-04, measures 0.38 x 0.20 m. A number of skeletal elements from this earlier grave were left in the bottom of the grave cut as represented by the skulls of one adult (Skeleton 282, Bone Lot 2014-11) and one subadult (Skeleton 283, Bone Lot 2014-14), which were damaged by this later grave cut.; ; This grave pit was then used for a series of primary inhumations over a number of years, with the latest primary inhumation consisting of an adult (Skeleton 121, Bone Lot 2014-04) in an extended supine position overlying Skeletons 282 and 283, arms crossed over the torso and abdomen with the right arm over the left. The head and shoulders were propped up at the northern end of the grave on a deposit of earth and tile, the head facing south. No tiles were placed alongside the face or under the mandible. The bones from a number of individuals forming a secondary inhumation were piled over the legs and feet in the south half of the grave, and overflowed to rest on the limestone blocks of the disturbed west wall of the earlier cist grave while a few elements tumbled off the pile to rest near the shoulder of the primary inhumation. These bones included at least five individuals, represented by a preliminary count of the four intact skulls (Skeleton Contexts 278-281, Bone Lots 2014-7 to 14) and the skeletal remains of at least one subadult, probably an infant, and appear to have been commingled prior to their inclusion in Grave 2014-04. This pile of disarticulated human bone might represent the remains of previous primary interments in this grave. This would indicate that Grave 2014-04 remained open for an extended period of time, wherein it went through at least four episodes of removal of skeletal remains from previous burials followed by reuse through interring the new body in an extended position and placing the now disarticulated remains of previous burials on the legs and feet. The grave does not appear to have been filled, or the bones covered with dirt, between burial episodes. The surface of the grave may have been covered with a stone or wooden slab during this time, as the majority of the commingled skeletal elements appear relatively undamaged. The ragged widening of the northeastern boundary, and the slumping lip of cement bedding (47) cut into by this grave could also attest to episodes of reopening and covering of the same grave cut. This practice is still documented anecdotally in modern Greece. At the end of the grave’s span of use, which in the modern Corinthia commonly lasts ten years, or one generation (Tzortzopoulou-Gregory 2010). An overturned column capital (removed with overlying context 83 as A 2014-05) may have then been placed on top of the grave as a marker.; ; Within Grave 2014-04, one gold and pearl earring was found in the area covered by disarticulated bone (MF 2014-03), possibly representing an element of adornment for one of the episodes of primary inhumation. Other finds include glass vessel fragments including the remains of lamps (Cf. MF 1992-36), which along with the pottery were fragmentary and part of the fill covering the burials rather than grave goodsthemselves. This fill comes from contexts dating to the late 13th to early 14th centuries by pottery. One fragment of green glazed painted bowl joins to a fragment found in fill 52 (C 2014-6). Two coins may have been associated with either the interments or with the later grave fill closing the grave (coins 2014-58, Byzantine in date, and 2014-68, 1278-1289 AD Charles I or II Anjou, minted at Clarenza), while another four were associated with the later grave filling episode only. Of these four coins, one (2014-84) was illegible, two illegible but possibly Late Roman (2014-95, -96), and one (2014-99) from an imitative Bulgarian mint, dating to 1195. While these finds suggest a terminus post quem for the grave fill in the Frankish period, thegrave cut and the burial episodes date to at least the 15th century as this grave cuts through the already damaged remains of the cement subfloor (47) in the center aisle of the nave. As Grave 2014-04 furthermore truncates Grave 2014-07 to the N, further evidence for the later date from Grave 2014-04 comes from the late date for the fill of Grave 2014-07 and the fact that this grave must have been constructed after Grave 2014-07 went out of use. While the terminus post quem of Grave 1990-41A-C to the south was initially given by coin 1990-325 as 1289-1297 AD, this grave truncates Grave 2014-04 in turn. The late date of the fill for Grave 2014-07 and the stratigraphic relationship of Grave 2014-04 to the cement subfloor (47) therefore incorporates all three graves into a use sequence extending north to south along the narthex cross wall (Wall 21) during the Turkish I period. ; ; Graves 2014-03 and 2014-10 ; ; During the same time period as these burials, Graves 2014-03 and 2014-10 were cut side by side and parallel to each other through the decorative cosmati flooring in the center aisle of the church. Grave 2014-06 also appears to be contemporary as it cuts into fill from the same depth in the north aisle in the nave (Context 506). Grave 2014-10 (Cut 528, 1072.52-1070.45 N, 124.81-124.28 E, filled by deposit 508) was an oval pit grave (L 2.07 m, W 0.52 m, Depth 0.70 m) containing one primary inhumation. Skeleton 516 (Bone Lot 2014-19), an adult female of as yet indeterminate age at time of death, was laid in an extended, supine position with the head to the north, facing south. The mandible was not propped in place with stones or tiles. The head and shoulders were elevated on tiles and fill and the arms were crossed over the abdomen, right over left, with the palms down and resting on the body. The legs were extended, knees slightly to the west though mostly straight out from the body. Green staining on the anterior and dorsal surfaces of the mandible most likely indicate that this individual was buried wearing a bronze chain or pendant which has not preserved. The grave fill deposited on top of the burial gives a terminus post quem of the late 13th, early 14th century and includes sherds from unslipped metallic ware as well as glass fragments. However, the presence of cosmati flooring fragments and the fact that this grave cuts the bedding for the decorative flooring, much as does Grave 2014-04, indicates a later date for this grave contemporary with Grave 2014-04. ; ; Grave 2014-03 (Cut 126, 1072.68-1070.59 N, 125.75-125.00 E, filled by deposit 112) was an oval pit grave (L 2.09 m, W 0.75 m, Depth 0.74 m) excavated during Session 1. As the fill of this grave indicated a terminus post quem of Byzantine date, this grave was initially dated by stratigraphic relationships to the Frankish period. As this grave is clearly aligned parallel to Grave 2014-10, and both appear to have been marked by columns likewise placed parallel to each other, these graves should be considered to have been cut as part of the same burial activity. The orientation of Skeleton 127 (Bone Lot 2014-03) was moreover identical to that of Skeleton 516, with the head to the north, facing south and with the head and shoulders elevated on earth and tile and the arms crossed over the abdomen.; ; CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER STUDY; ; Excavation completed during Sessions 2 and 3 of this season revealed evidence for major changes in understanding the sequence of human activities in this building. Completion of excavation on Graves 2014-04 and 2014-10 suggests amendments to the chronological placement of the cement bedding for the later floor (47) which was first exposed during the 1990 field season (NB 835, B43-B44, p.78-81) and portions of which were removed during Session 1 of this field season. As the farthest east extent of the grave cut for Grave 2014-07 cuts this cement bedding, the flooring supported by this bedding is therefore assumed to date to the Frankish period but earlier than the graves themselves, which presumably punched through this flooring after this space was no longer in use or in need of beautification. Fragments of decorative Cosmati-style flooring were recovered in multiple contexts in the previous session, as well as in all of the graves excavated in Sessions 2 and 3, and are assumed to represent part of the original flooring supported by this bedding. Completion of excavation on Grave 2014-10 confirms that this grave also cuts through the subfloor, and the similarities in burial morphology and skeletal orientation suggest that the other graves cut in the church nave away from the walls date similarly late and should likewise be considered to have been cut after this space was no longer in use as a church. This changes the chronological assessment of how this space was used, as it is based on evidence that was not available after completion of Session 1 this year. As the construction of the cosmati floor is dated to the early 14th century and the fill from the graves dates to the mid-14th and later, this supposes that the decorative flooring in the church was protected as an extension of the space being enclosed and the building being in use for at least a fifty year time period before the space came into its final use as a cemetery.; ; Graves 2014-03, 2014-04, 2014-07, 2014-10, and 1990-41A-C form evidence for the latest clear use of this space as a burial area, possibly after the church itself was no longer recognizable as they were not succeeded by a clear floor. Grave 2014-06 probably dates similarly late as its fill contained fragments of the decorative cosmati flooring which was likely cut into by graves constructed in the central aisle of the church. As the fill overlying the unexcavated possible osteotheke in the northwest corner of the nave and the unexcavated subadult grave along the robbing trench for Wall 20 contained fragments of cosmati flooring and other late context pottery, it is probable that these graves will likewise date to the same period of use.; ; Graves 2014-07, 2014-04, and 1990-41A-C form a sequence of pit graves cut along the east face of wall 21, disturbing earlier grave cuts or structures in the case of Graves 2014-04 and 2014-07, and reusing a similar, earlier structure in the case of Grave 1990-41A-C. The child burial (NB 835, B62, p. 111-112; burial episode recorded as Grave 1990-41C) might represent the inhumation originally associated with the built stone cist in the grave furthest south. This sequence, first starting in the northwest corner of the nave and progressing to the south, is dated by stratigraphic relationship to Grave 2014-07, which contains fill with pottery from the mid-14th century AD and later, and the fact that Grave 2014-04 cuts the cement bedding for a floor dating to the early 14th century. Each grave in this sequence contained primary, extended burials over the top of which disarticulated skeletal elements were piled. In Grave 2014-07, this secondary burial appears to mainly consist of one, fairly complete, individual, while in Graves 2014-04 and 1990-41A-C, a number of commingled individuals make up the disarticulated bone pile, possibly indicating that during their lifespans of use, primary burials were removed from the grave while a new body was interred, with the disarticulated skeletal elements from previous burials then placed back, commingled in the grave. Small differences in mortuary behavior accompany the construction and use of each consecutive grave pit. Grave 2014-07 included only one episode of reuse wherein the previous inhumation appears to have been covered with grave fill prior to exhumation. Grave 2014-04 was left open for an extended period of time and went through at least five episodes of reuse.The adult primary inhumation in Grave 1990-41 (1990-41A) was buried with the head to the south end of the grave, while the heads of primary inhumations in the other two graves are in the north end of these graves. ; ; This disruption in burial behavior could be a further indication of slow, small diachronic changes in burial practices. Initial stages of these changes separate this burial sequence chronologically from the burials excavated in 1995 and 1996 in Room 4/D (Williams et al. 1998; NB 880, 895) -which are earlier than the graves excavated this year-and the burials excavated in 1990, 1995 and 1996 which cut into the sterile red layer in the narthex and to the south of the church-which are later than the graves excavated this year (Williams and Zervos 1991; NB 829, 831, 864). Graves 2014-03, 2014-10, 2014-04, 2014-07 and 1990-41A-C lacked propping tiles next to the skulls and under the mandibles of primary inhumations and showed no signs of coffin usage, separating them from the other two burial groups. These graves along the narthex cross wall furthermore show signs of consistency in the reuse of the same grave cut or even the same grave for these burials rather than cutting a new, possibly overlapping and truncating, pit for every burial episode (Williams et al. 1998; NB 864, 880, 895).As the paleopathological analysis of the inhumations in Room 4/D identified that many in this population suffered from debilitating illnesses, it was suggested that these burials date to the Frankish period along with the hospital complex identified in Unit 2 (Barnes 2003; Williams et al. 1998). The orientation of the interred bodies in these earlier graves are likewise E-W or NE-SW with heads to the west rather thanN-S, though two skeletons excavated in 1990 were buried N-S with their heads to the south (Williams and Zervos 1991) and a number of subadults buried in Room 4/D were likewise buried along the east wall of the room (Williams et al. 1998). These aberrations were assumed to take their orientation from their proximity to the building (Williams and Zervos 1991). This could suggest that the grave sequence along the narthex cross wall similarly takes its orientation from proximity to architecture, though the shared orientation of the inhumations in Graves 2014-03, 2014-06 and 2014-10 in the church nave throws this hypothesis into question.The N-S skeletal orientation, together with the lack of propping tiles for the head or mandible, and the elevation of the head and torso above the rest of the body with the legs extended straight and the arms crossed over the abdomen, indicate instead that these graves form a temporally distinct grouping.; ; The majority of skeletons excavated in the sterile red layer overlying the south end of the churchand therefore dating to later than the grave sequence along the narthex cross wall were single inhumations laid in coffins in non-overlapping grave cuts, and did not appear to be individually marked. Those burials not interred in coffins appear to have had stones propping the head much as the graves in Room 4/D. This area is suggested to have been used as a cemetery into the early Turkish period as coin 1990-91 (Ottoman issue, 1481-1512 AD) was discovered in Grave 1990-34 and another coin 1990-145 (AD 1603-1617) was in Grave 1990-08 from this area.; ; At the end of the excavation season, the relationship of the bench-like structure to the cement bedding remains uncertain, and further excavation in the northwest corner of the nave may clarify their chronological placement. Excavation in this area during Session 3 had exposed the tops of at least two skulls (529), and the excavation of a possible osteotheke so late in the excavation season was deemed unwise. This grave will need to be removed before any subsequent contexts can be excavated in the church nave.; ; Recommendations for future work in this area:; ; 1.     Remove the remaining balk of the cement bedding (47) (left during Session 1) cut by Graves 2014-04 to the west and 2014-10 to the east. This has the potential of resolving the chronological placement of the plaster surface below the cement bedding for the floor.; 2.    The grave (possible osteotheke) in the NW corner of the nave needs to be removed prior to further excavation in this area.; 3.     Further excavation in the northwest corner of the nave may clarify the relationship of the bench-like structure (302) to the cement bedding for the floor (47).; 4.    The subadult grave, partially exposed during cleaning of the south scarp of the robbing trench (Context 524) needs to be removed after its grave cut becomes better defined during excavation. This grave may be associated with a gold and possibly silver gilded bronze pendant (MF 2014-56) recovered during cleaning this area.; 5.     As an even lower floor for the church was potentially identified in the south profile of the robbing trench for Wall 20, it is likely that another section will be opened in the church floor to gain a better understanding of the earlier use phases of the church.; 6.     Osteological analysis is currently underway for these graves and other burials excavated this season, and may provide further information as to the cemetery demographics and the life ways of the individuals buried in the church during this time period.","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Larkin Kennedy and Jody Cundy (2014-05-06 to 2014-06-27)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Larkin Kennedy and Jody Cundy (2014-05-06 to 2014-06-27)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Room F/5 and South Hall in Unit 2, Session 3","Session III; Temple E Southeast; 2-27 June 2014; ; This is the final summary of the third and final session of excavations for the 2014 season in the north area of Unit 2 in the Frankish quarter, Temple E Southeast.  Guy Sanders (director) and Jody Cundy (field director) supervised. Ross Brendle and Justin Holcomb (area supervisors) recorded. The workmen were Panos Kakouros (pickman), Tasos Tsogas (apprentice pickman, shovelman, sieve), and Marios Vathis (barrowman, sieve).; ; Excavation was focused on the baulk north of rooms F and G of Unit 2 from June 2nd to 12th.  The first week of work was recorded by Ross Brendle, who was then joined by Justin Holcomb for the second week of excavations. The scarp formed by the 1931-1932 excavations for the construction of the museum forms the northern boundary of the excavation area at N1079.10. The southern boundary is formed by the scarp left by the 1994 excavations of Rooms F and G at N1075.22 (see NB869). The eastern boundary is Wall 135, exposed in the first session of the 2014 excavations at E111.82 (revealed by deposit contexts 118, 131, 132). The western boundary is the scarp formed by the removal of backfill from previous excavations (deposit context 198) at E104.22. The goal of this excavation session was to bring down the unexcavated baulk to better unify the Frankish Quarter with the area to the north, the museum courtyard in front of Temple E. This work is being done alongside consolidation of the Frankish area in preparation for opening the area to visitors. Additionally, we hoped to clarify the relationship between the walls exposed in previous sessions (110, 135) to the walls to the south and determine whether they represent distinct chronological phases. ; ; Work moved to the South Hall, south of the church in Unit 2 during June 13th to 17th, recorded by Ross Brendle. The excavation area is limited by the north, west, and south walls of the South Hall and an arbitrary line 3.6m to the east of the west wall. We sectioned the room because of the limited amount of time left in the excavation season, and the western half of the room included what appeared to be a pit exposed but not excavated in an earlier excavation season. This area had been previously excavated in 1991 (NB828 pp. 157-170). The goal of excavations in this area was to determine the date and use of this building as well as to explore the pit. ; ; Work then returned to Room F from June 18th to 20th, at the southeast corner by the doorway to Room 3, recorded by Ross Brendle. The excavation area was limited by wall 135 to the east, the east-west wall separating Room F from Room 3 to the south (N1071.32), a pit dug in the previous excavations to the west, and an arbitrary line to the north (N1073.06). This area was excavated in the 1994 season down to the floor level at which we began (NB869 B92, pp. 128-129). We hoped to find a foundation trench for the east-west wall, which would give a construction date for the complex to the south that may be associated with the church to the east. ; ; ; NORTH BAULK, ROOM 5/F; Byzantine ; In this session, pottery from the earliest stratigraphic levels reached in this area dates to the 12th century. In that period, this space was part of the same room as that on to the east of Wall 135, known as Room 5. The earliest significant activity in this area during this time is the construction of an outdoor floor surface (context 568) composed of unglazed ceramic tiles. The tiles are mostly broken and clustered at the northern edge of our section. They do not continue south to the wall, but it seems likely that they originally did. This surface was laid against the east-west wall separating Room 5 from Room 3. It is likely the same surface as one uncovered to the east of wall 135 in the 1993 season (NB859 B74, pp. 112-114). This floor seems to have extended to most if not all of Room 5 in this phase. Pottery excavated this season from the fill laid against the south wall shows the floor must date to the third quarter of the 12th century at the earliest.; ; Further investigation in the area is necessary to determine the date of the east-west wall. It does not bond with wall 135, which is later, and its foundations extend at least a meter deeper than excavated this season, as visible in the scarp of the pit to the west. The wall extends to the east to the narthex wall of the church and formed the southern extent of Room 5. The marble threshold block in the doorway between Rooms 5 and 3 appears to be a reused block. A deposit of marble chips in the fill below floor 568 on the north side of the threshold, dating to the mid to third quarter of the 12th century, may be left from the reworking of this block for its final use.; ; Frankish; The next phase of use is visible in the north baulk area. A construction phase and the raising of the floor in the mid to late 13th century are apparent in several dumping fill deposits in the western portion of the baulk. A wall belonging to a previous phase of use of the building (structure context 501 [N1077.21, S1075.40, W106.37, W105.70]) was covered over by fill, indicating a change in the division of space and a change in use in the area. Wall 501 is made of roughly hewn, randomly coursed limestone blocks (0.35 x 0.20 x 0.15 m) bonded with mud plaster. It does not seem to directly correspond with any other visible walls. Only the top of wall 501 was exposed in this season’s excavations, so more cannot be said about its date other than that it was out of use by the mid 13th century.; ; Sometime in the 13th century, a cement surface was laid down. Our excavations this year were not able to properly examine it, but its edge was revealed with the removal of contexts 463 and 521 and it appears to continue under the unexcavated fill below wall 110 (N1078.40, S1077.96, E111.48, W106.71). This may represent a use surface instead of simply a phase of construction, suggesting an interim phase of use of the building between the Byzantine period and the 14th century.; ; Floor 568 of the Byzantine period was later overlaid with fill, onto which was built wall 135 in the 14th century (see Williams, Hesperia 1995). The fill covering floor 568 was excavated in 1994 (NB869). The construction of wall 135 re-divided the space, creating Room F to its west.; ; Floors or construction surfaces were built (contexts 463, 469) and small stone walls or platforms were installed (structure contexts 442 [N1076.71, S1075.69, E106.70, W106.21], 455 [N1076.16, S1075.63, E105.90, W105.20]) in the 13th and 14th centuries. Structure context 442 was a rectangular stone construction, 1.10 x 0.50 x 0.18 m, without a deeper foundation. Its small size and flat top surface suggest it was a platform for something built on top of it rather than a wall. Structure context 455 was similar, 0.43 x 0.70 x 0.81 m, with a flat top surface and no foundation, but less regularly rectangular. The purpose of these stone platforms is unclear but they may indicate a change in the use of the area. These two small structures are not physically connected but have their top surfaces at similar elevations. They could have been constructed to be used together.; ; Floor 469 included four sherds (out of 599 total sherds) of 18th-19th century Ottoman pottery. The context was cut by an Ottoman period pit excavated in the previous session (cut context 255, deposit contexts 256 and 259). Given that none of the contexts overlying this one contained any material dating to later than the 14th century, it seemed most likely these few sherds were contamination from under-digging of the adjacent pit and the context has been placed in the 13th century in the Harris Matrix, based on stratigraphic relationships.; ; In the early 14th century, a plaster “bin” (approximately 1 m wide, 0.28 m deep, extending 0.55 m south from wall 110) was built on an earlier surface of leveling fill in the eastern portion of the excavation area. It is uncertain whether the bin is truly a built structure or simply consists of the remains of plaster mixed on site during construction. The bin cuts into the unexcavated fill below floor 413 and extends under and predates wall 110, which must date to at least the mid 14th century. Further exploration of the bin was not possible without removing the wall. Before wall 110 was constructed, it is unclear whether this area was roofed or not, but the cement floor mentioned earlier suggests it may have been, or was at least a delineated area of frequent use. ; ; The south edge of the bin was cut by the digging of a large pit into the subfloor (435). Joining fragments of a cooking pot where found in this fill (428) and that inside the plaster bin (438). The pit was truncated by the 1994 excavations. It originally extended an additional 4m to the south (see NB869 B71, Lot 1994-26). If the plaster bin is to be associated with a construction phase, this pit should be as well. The 1994 lot was dated to the mid to third quarter 13th century, while the fill excavated this year was dated to the early 14th century. This pottery is saved in Lot 2014-37.; ; In the mid-14th century a refuse pit was dug and filled in the western part of the baulk (cut context 464, deposit contexts 458, 487, 504). The fill included many large tile fragments and the soil of the upper layers was mostly clay. Together, the dumped clay and roof tiles likely represent a dump of construction refuse. At the bottom of the pit was a concentration of ash and two nearly complete but broken Frankish matt-painted storage jars. Fragments of the vessels were deposited up to 20 cm apart vertically in the fill, indicating they were broken prior to deposition. (Amphora: E105.41, N1077.16, H84.93; Hydria/three-handled amphora: E105.08, N1077.70, H84.96).; ; A leveling fill or construction floor (422) was put in before a final floor was laid south of wall 110 (context 413) in the mid-14th century. At this time the space is now enclosed by walls to the north (110) and east (135) and is certainly now an indoor space. ; ; ; Conclusion:; This season’s excavations in this area investigated two distinct construction phases of this building.; ; The wall forming the southern extent of Room 5/F either does not have a foundation trench or it is at a level not reached by this season’s excavations. Based on pottery, the construction of the floor (568) laid against the wall has a terminus post quem of the mid to third quarter of the 12th century.; ; Wall 110 has no foundation and cannot be excavated under at this time. The floor laid against it (413) has a t.p.q. of the mid 14th century based on its stratigraphy. ; ; We did not investigate material on top of these floor surfaces in this session, and so cannot address the use of the building in these phases. We can say that the period prior to the 14th century phase was characterized by extensive construction in the area and the deposition of a significant amount of fill.; ; ; SOUTH HALL; Byzantine Period; ; The earliest activity detected in the area occupied by the South Hall appears to be a pit dug in the mid to third quarter of the 12th century. This likely represents a refuse dump, as it contained a good quantity of pottery and some charcoal (deposit context 565). Only part of this lowest fill was removed, because we realized the cut we had begun excavating (cut context 566) cut an earlier pit below. This deepest material was being removed unstratigraphically and we could not be sure how far the deposit extended horizontally, so we closed the context. This also means the 12th century date is not secure, though it is suggested by the pottery.; ; In our excavation, we exposed the foundations of an east-west wall, approximately 1 meter south of wall 534 and running roughly parallel to it, covered over by later floors. The earlier wall extended to the west beyond the boundaries of the excavation area and below wall 526 and to the east beyond the excavation area. The “pit” found but not excavated in the earlier excavations turned out to be an area where the floor had sagged over this wall. In the 12th century, this area was obviously divided very differently than in the Frankish phase visible today. The area north of the wall, closer to the church, had a much darker fill than that south of the wall, indicating it was an interior space and this was the south wall of an earlier building.; ; Frankish Period; ; In the early 14th century, another pit was dug above the Byzantine pit, in the space that would later become the southwest corner of the South Hall (cut context 566, deposit context 561). Again this was likely a refuse dump, as it contained a good amount of ceramic sherds.; ; Also in the early 14th century, the ground was leveled and smoothed (deposit context 547), probably in preparation for construction of the South Hall. The north wall (structure context 534 [N1068.20, S1066.71, E130.84, W122.32]) and west wall (structure context 526 [N1066.76, S1063.10, E123.49, W122.52]) of the South Hall were built on this surface, and a floor, or perhaps a subfloor, was laid over it (deposit context 532). The walls were built of reused limestone blocks, probably from a Roman period construction in the area, and were laid directly on the leveled ground surface without foundations. None of the walls of the South Hall bond with the walls of the church to the north, wall 534 included, though it is laid very close and parallel to the south wall of the church. Still in the 14th century, another floor surface was laid down later (527), and then a final cement floor was added sometime after this.; ; Sometime after floor 527 was laid, the south wall of the South Hall was constructed (structure context 535 [N1064.99, S1063.44, E131.60, W123.87]) overlaying it. It may have been the case that the South Hall was a part of a much larger building extending further to the south, and wall 535 was added to divide the space. Investigation of the area south of the South Hall could tell us more about the phasing of this larger structure and when it was divided.; ; Conclusion:; The construction of the north and west walls of the South Hall has a terminus post quem of the late 13th – early 14th century based on pottery in the deposit overlaid by the walls. The south wall has a t.p.q. of the early 14th century. The construction of the north and west walls seems to have been contemporaneous, while the south wall may have been built slightly later.; ; ; Recommendations for Future Work; South Hall:; 1.    Excavate in eastern half of Hall to uncover more of exposed Byzantine wall. ; 2.    Explore area south of south wall to determine if South Hall was previously part of a larger building divided by a partition wall.; ; Room F:; 1.    Continue excavations in search of a foundation trench or deposit associable with the construction of the wall forming the southern boundary of the room.; ; North Baulk:; 1.    Remove wall 110 and continue investigation of construction levels below, including the plaster bin and the cement floor.","Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Ross Brendle and Justin Holcomb (2014-06-02 to 2014-06-27)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2014 by Ross Brendle and Justin Holcomb (2014-06-02 to 2014-06-27)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2015 Session I, Late Byzantine - Early Frankish activity in Unit 2, Room 2 and Frankish fill in Unit 2, Room 9","Danielle Smotherman; Temple E, Southeast Excavations; Session I; Unit 2, Room 2; N: 1066.50 N, S: 1065.00 N, E: 119.27 E, W: 116.57 E; Unit 2, Room 9; N: 1086.73, S; 1079.10 N, E: 132.85 E, W: 126.83 E; 21-28 April 2015; ; 2015 Session I, Late Byzantine - Early Frankish activity in Unit 2, Room 2 and Frankish fill in Unit 2, Room 9; This is the final summary of the first session excavation for the 2015 season in Room 2 of Unit 2 and Room 9 of Unit 2 in the Frankish quarter, Temple E Southeast. Guy Sanders (director) and Larkin Kennedy (field director) supervised. Danielle Smotherman (area supervisor) recorded. On the last day of excavation, Danielle was assisted by Alžbĕta Lorenzová. The workmen were Thanasis Sakellariou (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (shovelman), and Panagiotis Rontzokos (barrowman, sieve). ; On account of the delayed permit, the first half of Session I was spent on research and development of a webpage for the Frankish Quarter of Corinth as well as cleaning the areas for excavation in Unit 2. Excavation during Session I was limited to six days. ; Excavation work focused in Room 2 and then moved to Room 9. In Room 2, the space was subdivided and only the northern portion of the room was excavated this session. The full extent of Room 2 is bounded by walls 556, 557, 558, and 559 (N: 1066.50 N, S: 1061.55 N, E: 119.27 E, W: 115.30 E), and the area under excavation is: N: 1066.50 N, S: 1065.00 N, E: 119.27 E, W: 116.57 E. In Room 9 the area of excavation was bounded by the walls of the room, which have not yet been numbered (N: 1086.73, S; 1079.10 N, E: 132.85 E, W: 126.83 E). Excavation in both rooms was done in order to clarify the dating and the relationship between the walls of those rooms to the other areas of Unit 2 in preparation for the area being presented to the public as part of the Frankish Quarter. Consolidation and restoration work continued contemporaneously to the excavations. ; ; Room 2 was previously excavated in 2014 Session III by E. Wilson and J. Swalec. During the first session of the 2015 season, only the northern part of the room was excavated on account of the limited time available. The goal was to find a foundation trench or means of dating the construction of the North wall of the room (Wall 556: N: 1067.50 N, S: 1066.10 N, E: 119.80 E, W: 114.20 E) to better help our understanding of the date of construction  of Room 2, its function, and how it relates to the rest of the complex. This was also facilitated by sectioning the room. As part of the restoration work of Unit 2, portions of  the N, E, W and S walls (Walls 556, 557, 558, and 559) have all been restored since the 2014 excavation season, leaving a c. 20 cm wide construction trench abutting each reconstructed wall in the room. At points, these construction trenches cut contexts and obscured relationships between the walls and contexts. The construction trench for the N wall of the room did not cut across the one original block of the wall, thus contexts that bordered the wall at that point were still able to be discerned. Excavation in Room 2 ceased when it was clear that we had not found a foundation trench for Wall 556 and that we were now in Byzantine period levels, which appear to be earlier than the construction of the wall.  ; Excavation then turned to Room 9, which had not been excavated since 1996 (NB888 P1-46). The final two days of Session I excavation, 27th and 28th of April, were spent in Room 9. During those two days, we removed the surface that had been exposed since 1996 throughout the room, cleaned the edge and sides of the big pit, removed two construction fills and stones resting on the surface, and defined the edges of a previously unexcavated pit in the S part of the room that will be excavated in Session II. Excavation will continue in Room 9 during Session II. ; ; Unit 2, Room 2, excavated 21/4/2015-27/4/2015; ; Middle Byzantine Period (AD 802-1058):; During the Middle Byzantine period, there was a small patch of hardened fill (Context 627; 1066.90 N, 119.05 E, L. 0.9 m, W. 1.35 m). Shortly after the deposit of this hardened fill, the floor level was raised. Only an iron tack, a bronze strip, and two very small pieces of glass were found in this layer. ; Late Byzantine Period (AD 1058-1210):; During the Late Byzantine period, a deep fill (D. 0.29 m) with cobbles, tiles, and pottery was dumped to raise the floor level (Context 620), although the floor the boundaries of this room were different during this period. The material of the fill dates from the late 11th to the early 12th centuries by pottery and included coins from the Late Roman period (Coins 2015-25, 2015-27). The plastered floor (1066.60 N, 118.17 E, L. 1.6 m, W. 2.86  m, Context 617), dating to the second half of the 12th century by pottery, surmounted this raised level and appears to go under Wall 557, indicating that the room as it was excavated belonged to a later period. Two separate fills cover the floor (Contexts 612 and 614), related to use activity of the space during the Late Byzantine period, in particular the mid to late 12th century by the pottery. The activity layers contained few finds other than the pottery, although the earlier layer had a piece of glass making waste and a piece of iron slag.  ; ; Frankish Period (AD 1210-1458): ; A robbing trench for wall 556 cuts through the Byzantine fills (1066.60 N, 118.60 E, L. 3.2 m, W. 0.23 m, D: 0.26 m, Cut 643, Context 608). Previous excavations along the wall had encountered a robbing trench dating to the Turkish period (Context 553, Skeleton 562, NB839 B13, B15, B24). The excavated trench (Cut 643, Context 608) represents an earlier robbing activity in the room, which was then cut by the later robbing trench. The trench included pottery dating to the mid-13th century. This fill is consistent with the overlying context (Context 603) and could represent a slump of this fill. ; The continued use of the room during the Frankish period is indicated by five separate deposits of fill in the space (Contexts 593, 599, 602, 603, and 607), likely to continue raising the floor level, which are all dated to the mid 13th century by pottery. These deposits include coins dating from the Greek (Coin 2015-20), Late Roman (Coins 2015-11, 2015-12, 2015-13, 2015-14), Byzantine (Coins 2015-9, 2015-21), and Frankish (Coins 2015-15, 2015-16) periods. The two Frankish coins date between 1250 and 1278 (both from Context 603), which corroborates the date of the pottery. A bronze pendant, generally dated to the Byzantine period, was recovered in the earliest lense of fill in the room (MF-2015-3). Its decoration includes an inscribed circle on the body of the pendant with an inscribed cross with letters at the ends of each arm of the cross. The vertical axis (top to bottom) reads Chi and Rho. The horizontal axis (left to right) reads Theta and Epsilon. In the later lenses of fill, domestic items such as a bronze crochet hook and bronze and bone sewing needles were recovered along with industrial refuse, including iron slag, glass wasters, and crucibles, indicating a mixed origin for the fill material. ; ; Conclusions:; The dates for the construction of Room 2 and, in particular, the N wall of the room are still uncertain, but must date to the Frankish period since the Late Byzantine floor goes under the later eastern wall of the room. The excavations revealed that the space had been used as an indoor space since at least the Late Byzantine period, albeit with different boundaries. The robbing trench indicates that there was some robbing activity of the N wall of the room during the mid-13th century, which may have also included some rebuilding as the space continued to be used as a room afterwards, and is distinct from the later robbing activity of the wall.; ; Future goals:; 1.    Excavation in Room 2 this Session revealed another large block under the orthostate in the North wall (Wall 556). If excavation were to be resumed in the room, continuing excavation along the N wall to find the bottom of the original wall could aid in the understanding of the development of the space and dating of the room.; 2.    The southern portion of the room was not excavated this session. Further excavation in this area could help clarifying the dating of the Frankish levels. In particular, if Context 620 is continued in the southern part of the room, further investigation of the fill could help clarify if the date of the fill represents the date of the dumping activity or if the material was brought in from elsewhere in the site that contained earlier materials. The dating of the East and West walls would be important for understanding the change in the use of the space from the Late Byzantine to Frankish periods.; ; Unit 2, Room 9, excavated 27/4/2015-28/4/2015; ; Frankish Period (AD 1210-1458):; All contexts excavated in the two days of excavation in Room 9 date to the 14th century by pottery. Multiple layers of fill, unevenly distributed in the room, were excavated and represent multiple depositional activities in the space during the 14th century (Contexts 628/634, 638, and 639). The earliest fill removed contained a Latin imitative coin dating 1204-1261 (Coin 2015-43). A reused threshold block (L. 0.596 m, W. 0.510 m, H. 0.157m, N: 1086.45 N, S: 1085.30 N, E: 131.25 E, W: 130.50 E, Context 631) rested on a 14th century floor, perhaps also represented by by a small patch of tile floor left over from the 1996 excavations (NB888 B33 P37; NB888 B38 P42; NB888 B41 P45-46). The threshold could have been used as a step up to a doorway, as previously thought, although there does not seem to be evidence for a doorway in that wall.; The tile floor encountered across the room in the previous excavations (NB888 B33 P37; NB888 B38 P42; NB888 B41 P45-46) had a bottom elevation of 85.03 m and rested on a clay surface that was left exposed for 19 years, [the remnants of ?] which may be included in Contexts 628 and 634. The bottom elevation of the floor, (85.07) is very close to the top elevation of Context 628 (85.05 m). The difference between the elevations most likely is a result of weathering during the 19 years of exposure of the area. The pottery of Contexts 628/634 dates to the 14th century and included one 18th century intrusion, probably from the central pit previously excavated. A pit was identified in the SW portion of the room and its edges defined; excavation of the pit, however, was left for the next session. Above the tile floor, the previous excavators encountered a layer of destruction debris, primarily tiles which was originally dated to the late 13th-early 14th century and now thought to be 14th century in date (NB888 B32 P36, NB888 B37 P41) providing evidence for when the room went out of use. ; ; Early Modern:; The big pit in Room 9 is a later intrusion (NB888 B18 P22-23; NB888 23 P26; NB888 B24 P27; NB888 B25 P28). It was excavated in 1996 to a total depth of 0.80 m and the material of the fill dated primarily to the 18th and 19th centuries, with some earlier materials included (a 12th century coin, Coin 1996-150, and some 16th century pottery). The final lense in the pit contained 13th century pottery, but this most likely indicates material disturbed by the cut of the pit rather than the date of the pit itself. Only the edges and sides of the pit were cleaned during Session I, but it may need revisiting in Session II. ; ; Future goals:; 1.    Assign wall numbers to each of the walls in the room to facilitate discussion of their dates and relationships with the use periods within the room. ; 2.    Determine the relationships of the walls to one another within the room and to the walls of the other rooms, such as Wall 156 that abuts the southern wall of Room 9. Was Room 9 a later addition to the complex or was it a free-standing building at one point? When were the walls subdividing Room 9 from the rooms to the north and west added? ; 3.    Complete cleaning of the pit excavated in 1996 which has been exposed since 1996. ; 4.    Explore the unexcavated pits in Room 9: the pit in the SW corner and the pit N of the big pit. ; 5.    Further excavate the room to get a better understanding of its function.","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Danielle Smotherman (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-30)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Danielle Smotherman (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-30)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2015 Session I Excavations: Corridor North of the Church in Unit 2","Wesley Bennett; Session I; Temple E Southeast Excavations; 1075-1078.5 N, 121.5-129.5 E; 21-28.04.2015; ; This is the end-of-session summary of the first session of excavations in 2015 in the Corridor North of the Church (hereafter, “Corridor”). The Corridor was excavated from the 21st to the 28th of April by Wesley Bennett (Area Supervisor), Thanassis Notis (pick-man), Kostas Arberoris (pick-man/shovel-man), and Marios Vathis (shovel-man/barrow-man), as part of Session I. This same area was excavated previously by two different groups during the 2014 season: Jennifer Swalec and Emily Wilson during Session 3, and Dylan Rodgers and Maggie Burr during Session 2. Before the 2014 season, the Corridor was excavated in 1993 under Charles K. Williams II (NB 863).; ; The southern boundary of the Corridor is formed wholly by the northern wall of the church (Wall 20: 1074.5-1076.1 N, 122.06-130.1 E) and its associated robbing trench (NB 835, pp. 35-44, 65-66; 1074.3-1076.1 N, 122.00-130.30 E), while its northern boundary is formed in part by the southern wall of Unit 2, Room 8 (Wall 156: 1077.5-1079.3 N, 123.5-129.7 E, NB 864, pp. 43-44). The latter wall (Wall 156) encloses only the eastern two-thirds of the Corridor before turning the corner to the north and changing into Wall 157, which forms the eastern side of Unit 2, Room 7. At the junction of this corner, Wall 156 continues slightly westwards to form a stub wall. During the middle of excavations this season, we decided to establish an arbitrary line at 1078 N in order to define better the northern boundary of the trench vis-à-vis Unit 2, Room 7. An artificial line also delineated the eastern boundary of the trench (1076.12-1078.50 N, 129.00-129.60 E), while Wall 59 (1076.00-1077.40 N, 120.90-121.78 E), extended to the south by another artificial line to Wall 20, defined the western boundary.; ; As in years past, excavation in the Corridor was undertaken in an effort to understand better the use of the space, as well as the phasing and dating of the church and surrounding complex.; ; ; Frankish (AD 1210-1458); ; The earliest level reached this session is primarily an unexcavated hard surface that covers the majority of the trench. In its earliest phase, a relatively open space was present along the north wall of the church (Wall 20). This surface (unexcavated as of the close of Session I) consists of pebble- and cobble-sized stones, tile, and brick, all of which are flattened within the soil matrix, suggesting that the surface had been left exposed long enough for it to become well-trod or simply stamped down before more fill was dumped into the area. ; ; The exterior of the church was covered with a cement point during the mid-13th century, as dated by pottery and coins in the fill directly underlying the surface represented by this pointing (Context 640). The floor associated with this pointing either was never recognized during excavation or was completely deconstructed before several fills raised the ground surface level substantially.; ; From the excavations in previous years, we have gathered that there were essentially two main phases of use in the Corridor. In the earlier phase, the space that would eventually become the Corridor had not yet been enclosed by Wall 156, the southern wall of Room 8. Instead, this area seems to have been a well-trod outdoor space used for the dumping of construction and dining refuse and the burial of deceased persons, especially immediately adjacent to the northern wall of the church (Graves 2014-09 and 2014-11; cf. Swalec and Wilson, pp. 1-3). The date at which Wall 156 was built and thus formed the Corridor as we see it now is problematic. Swalec and Wilson discovered a foundation trench that ran along the entirety of the wall (and around the stub wall extension). In their final report, they mention that this foundation trench was not fully excavated; the workman removed only the top lens of the fill of the trench (Swalec and Wilson, pp. 3). No continuation of this trench could be found this year, however, suggesting that they had indeed removed it all. If this is the case, the pottery from the excavated lens, dating to the middle-to-third-quarter of the 13th century, should date the construction of Wall 156. Since this year we excavated primarily several fills at a level underneath the bottom of the wall dating to the mid-13th century, we favor a late date in this range, perhaps in the late third quarter of the 13th century for the construction of Wall 156 and the formation of the Corridor. After its construction, the Corridor served as a passageway linking two specific spaces: Unit 2, Room 7, and the Paved Court to the east of the church nave. Nevertheless, the space continued to be used intermittently as a site for burial (Grave 2014-08) and the dumping of refuse to raise and level out the ground surface.; ; A series of fills dating by pottery primarily to the mid-13th century (Contexts 598, 606, 610, 613, 616, 618, 619, 622, 626, 629, 632, 637) overlies the level of this pointing, indicating that the floor level of the Corridor was risen deliberately and relatively quickly. In the western half of the trench, a large amount of faunal remains (notably cattle, pig, goat, sheep, dog, oysters) was dumped, coinciding with a great deal of charcoal. Either the space was used for food preparation or the fill represents the refuse of dining that was subsequently dumped and possibly burned as trash. The eastern half of the trench produced much less of both, and so seems to have had a different origin. It is altogether possible that these two very different types of fills were being deposited in the Corridor space at the same time, and commingled in the middle. Aside from faunal remains and pottery, these fills often contained a variety of construction material (fragmentary tile, brick, lime mortar, and iron nails), which attests to building activity in the area. Coins (2015-22, -24, -26, -28-42, -44) were found frequently and generally confirm the dates derived from the pottery. Along with a chance find (MF 2014-04), a glass weight depicting a lion with upturned tail facing stage left, the coins are a testament to the economic activity happening in the area.; ; Once deposited, these fills in total raised the level of the trench surface more than 30 cm. in some places. The top surfaces of some of these fills, like the unexcavated surface mentioned above, seem to have been left exposed at least long enough for the inclusions within the fill matrix to become flattened by trampling upon the surface.  Given that the ground surface was raised so high in such a short period of time, however, it is likely that none of these fills was exposed for any substantial period of time. Rodgers and Burr seem to be of the same opinion of the upper fills also (cf. Rodgers and Burr, pp. 5). Instead, it seems to us that a conscious decision to raise the ground surface level was made at some point in the middle of the 13th century, and in order to accomplish this, several fills were dumped into the Corridor space and intermittently trampled to flatten, level, and compact, the soils before more fills were deposited above them. ; ; It is tempting to connect this great filling and levelling event with the development of the complex north of the church during the latter half of the 13th century, including the formation of the Corridor itself, but until the phasing of the complex to the north of the church is better understood, such a connection should remain mere conjecture. It is also possible that the filling event both raised and leveled the surface in preparation for paving the Corridor. Though dating is uncertain, possibly during the 14th century a small court, paved with rough, square limestone blocks, existed to the east of the church nave. A similar paving block lies just to the east of the Corridor trench, perhaps indicating that the paved surface of the court to the east of the church originally ran around the northeastern corner of the nave and into the Corridor as well (cf. NB 829 B.29, pp. 53-6; Rodgers and Burr, pp. 5). In 2014, Rodgers and Burr thought that they discovered the final levelling events (Contexts 313, 300, 321) in preparation for the paving of the Corridor, but perhaps it took a greater amount of effort and soil to raise and level the surface than they initially thought.; ; Grave 2015-01, which was truncated by the later Grave 2014-09, was cut into one such mid-13th c. fill (Cut Context 609). This cist grave (Contexts 604, 605; Cut 609; Bone Lot 2015-1; 1075.65-1076.35 N, 125.00-126.50 E) was missing the skull and pelvis among other bones due to the installation of Grave 2014-09. Though sex could not be determined due to fragmentation, enough skeletal material was preserved to indicate that the body was outstretched, supine, from west-northwest to east-southeast along the north wall of the church, with the (missing) head at the west and the feet at the east. Both arms were crossed over the chest, and the fingers were tucked around the body. No finds were discovered directly associated with the deceased. The pottery in the grave fill dates the cut to the mid-13th century, as was the fill into which the grave was cut, again suggesting that these fill deposits were never left exposed for long. While a fragmentary crochet hook was found in the fill of the grave cut with the deceased, its association as a grave offering is suspect, especially since the sex of the individual could not be determined. Perhaps it belonged instead to the woman who occupied Grave 2014-09. In any case, the crochet hook attests to weaving activity somewhere in the vicinity.; ; ; Conclusion; ; Although we did not get down far enough, and thus failed, to meet the primary objective of the session, i.e. to find the foundation trench of Wall 20, the northern wall of the church nave, in order to date the church itself, we learned a great deal about how the Corridor space developed throughout the mid-13th century. Several different fills raised and leveled the ground significantly in the middle of the 13th century, perhaps in preparation for the development of the complex north of the church. We were able to date a floor of the Corridor fairly securely to the mid-13th century, and we were able to give a more precise date of the construction of Wall 156, and thus the formation of the Corridor (late third quarter of the 13th century). We also gathered significant amounts of faunal remains that should certainly be studied by specialists in the future to gain insight into the dining activities of the people who resided in the area. ; ; ; Recommendations for Future Excavation:; ; 1. Continue excavation in the Corridor to find the foundation trench for wall 20.; ; 2. Excavate in the space between the Corridor and Unit 2, Room 7, to gain better insight into how the two spaces related to one another throughout time.","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Report Unit 2, Rooms 4 and 6. Session I 2015","Introduction:; This is the final report for the first session of excavations in the 2015 season for Rooms 4 and 6 of Unit II in the area of Temple E SE. Room 4 was last excavated by A. Rohn in July and August of 1997 (See NBs. 895 and 907). Room 6 was last excavated by S. Rous and R. Worsham in April of 2014, although the southernmost part of it was last excavated by J. Rife and B. Olsen in April of 1996 (See NB. 864 p.57-119). Dr. Guy Sanders (Director) and Larkin Kennedy (Field director) supervised. Alžběta Lorenzová excavated in Room 4 while Emilio Rodríguez-Álvarez excavated in Room 6.; ; Excavation in Room 4 aimed at exploring any undisturbed graves remaining after the 1990s excavation. In two places, cleaning revealed the bottom of the cut from previously excavated graves 1997-43 (1069.70-1070.70N; 114.35-116.10E) and 1997-13C (1069.25-1069.90N; 114.65-116.25E), as well as the tile bedding for the heads of the skeletons interred in those graves, but not any undisturbed material (cf. NB 895). Alžběta Lorenzová excavated the one undisturbed grave (2015-02) abutting the rubble baulk at the north wall, about 2.25m away from the west wall and 2.20m away from the east threshold of the room. The south side was further bounded by a baulk (1070.80-1070.60N; 118-27-117.57E).; ; Excavation in Room 6 took place in three specific spots, the south side of NB 864 pit #10, the surface of the south side of the room, and a deposit in the west of the room along the wall (Wall Structure 58), all of which had been identified previously as possibly containing human skeletal remains. The general area of the excavation was delimited by the west wall of the room (Context 58; formerly Wall 13 of NB 864) (1076.94–1083.30N, 117.20–118.12E), and by the east wall of the room (Context 59; formerly Wall 11 of NB 864) (1077.48–1084.33N, 119.64–121.55E) and the associated robbing trench (removal detailed in NB 864). The south boundary was effectively a pedestal surrounding the reused Hymettian orthostate at the entrance to the narthex of the church to the south (1076.5N). The north boundary was arbitrarily established in a line at 1080.20N as excavation focused on the south segment of the room, much of which had remained unexcavated in the course of previous examinations of this area. However, despite its reduced size, work did not take place on the whole surface of the demarcated area.; ; ; Goals of the excavation:; Room 4 and Room 6 are grouped in this report since they share common research goals as well as the same problems in addressing them. Although excavation was carried out in the northern and central portion of Room 6 during the 2014 season, the defined area, as well as the whole of Room 4, were last excavated in 1996 and 1997 respectively. The goal for both rooms was to explore a series of features visible on the surface that had the potential of being unexcavated burials cut into the otherwise exposed surface visible in both rooms. As excavation methodology in the 1990’s made use of a grid system with baulks, current consolidation efforts in the Frankish quarter required further excavation according to open area excavation methodology, including the removal of baulks between areas excavated in the 1990’s (e.g. Context 595).; ; Frankish Period (AD 1210-1450); ; Room 4:; During the Frankish period, Room 4 was used as a cemetery. In the 1990s more than 200 skeletons were excavated in relation to this phase of activity (Williams, Snyder, Barnes, Zervos 1998, p. 239). Interments were placed in E-W trenches through the floor of the room, with graves 1997-43 (1069.70-1070.70N; 114.35-116.10E; Context 896; cf. NB 895: 172-175) and 1997-13C (1069.25-1069.90N; 114.65-116.25E; Context 897; cf. NB 895: 83-86) each the western-most burials in two such parallel trenches. Grave 2015-02, a tile grave (Contexts 592, 615, and 623; Cut Context 630; 1071.30-1070.95N; 117.10-116.01E), underlies Graves 1996-17, 1996-28, 1997-4, 1997-5, and 1997-46 (NBs 864, 895). This rectangular grave, oriented E-W, was the earliest (H 85.29m) and easternmost in an E-W trench along the north wall of Room 4. The tiles, mainly broken terracotta and one stone, were arranged in a tent coffin (Context 615; 1071.21-1070.67N; 117.30-116.03E) 1.18 m long x 0.40 m wide. This small size indicates the grave was intended for a small child. At the west end several boulders may also have formed part of the structure. Plaster was present between some tiles and many fragments of white painted plaster have been found in the whole grave, suggesting the coffin was at least plainly decorated. The tiles were arranged in two layers, with flat tiles on the inside (max. dim.: 30x0.24x0.03m) and curved tiles on the outside (max. dim.: 0.18x0.16x0.0.25m). Even though the position of the tiles indicated an undisturbed grave, no skeleton was present in the grave fill (Context 623). In the west end of the grave was a curved pillow tile (at an elev. of 84.53m), propped up from the grave cut with stones and fill. The upper grave fill (Context 592) contained few human bones, most likely related to other, previously excavated burials in the room, and yielded a fragment of gouged sgraffito bowl dating to the second quarter of the 13th century, providing further evidence for the Frankish use of this area as a cemetery.; ; Room 6:; In the later part of the 13th century, a refuse pit (partially excavated as pit #10 in 1996) was dug in the southern portion of Room 6.  It measures 0.90 x 0.45 m. The depth is unknown yet since the excavation conditions of Context 595 (fill of the cut that remained unexcavated in 1996) required work to be ended before exhausting it. This pit also cuts through an earlier pebble surface of the room which remains unexcavated.; ; After a period of compaction (related to Floor 6 excavated in former seasons), this area was used for burial activity during the late 13th to early 14th centuries (1996-6, Grave 2014-02, Context 621). A cut by Structure 58 during this time period (Context 633; 0.98 x 0.23 x 0.33 m), though presenting a rather irregular shape that required further analysis, contained an accumulation of disarticulated bones (Context 621), both animal and human, though oriented in a NW-SE axis parallel to the wall. A shallow burial (1996-6, NB 864 p.112-113) overlaid this context, the fill of which seems to correspond with the matrix and inclusions from Context 621 (a very soft soil with a mixture of infant and animal bones). The bone pile removed as context 621 is therefore probably related to Grave 1996-6 or Grave 2014-05 (Rous and Worsham 2014).; ; Conclusions:; Room 4:; The nature of Grave 2015-02 conjures more questions than answers. The burial was not disturbed, possibly truncated only on the very edge of the cut, yet not even a disarticulated skeleton has been found. Finds from upper levels were most likely related to other burials (young adult and adult teeth have been found, irrelevant to the currently investigated grave due to the small size) and are probably the result of animal disturbance. The fact the grave was intended for a child is very interesting in combination with the missing corpse. One possible explanation is that this was a symbolic burial. Cenotaphs are common for soldiers who died battling in distant lands and whose families built a mock tomb to honour their memory. Since this grave is way too small for an adult, the child could have died at sea (possibly in a shipwreck), or in the mountains – in both cases it is nearly impossible to retrieve the body for a proper burial. Another option is that the child could have been victim of a highly contagious illness and in that case cremation would be the safer option for the community. The author does not dare explore possible religious reasons to explain the absence of a corpse.; ; A mock child burial can be considered exceptional. In medieval times, child casualties were common, and common folk would most likely not put the effort and money into building a cenotaph for approximately a 3 year old. On the other hand, although upon examining the size of grave 2015-02, one would instantly call it a child burial, it may have been intended for the cenotaph of an adult, since it would serve only as a symbolic tomb and not as the actual grave. While common for soldiers, cenotaphs may also have been used for merchants during the medieval period, and especially in connection with the Frankish area in Corinth, which was probably wealthy according to other material finds. Therefore it could be a mock burial for a member of a mercantile family who disappeared on one of his journeys. ; ; The above interpretations are based entirely on material remains of the grave 2015-02 (which were very poor in cases of pottery and other small finds), and general characteristics of Room 4 and the Frankish area. Speaking of the graveyard in Room 4, one particular question comes to mind: why, in a heavily used cemetery with over 200 cadavers scattered over the whole room in nearly any position so they could all fit into such a small space, remained an unused grave? If the community using this burial ground have had no problems moving and manipulating the earlier burials, why was this one left undisturbed? It does not seem it was separated from the other graves in any unapproachable manner; was it then left forgotten? Since this grave was earlier than the others, maybe the community had not resolved to disturbing older burials at that point of Room 4 usage, and only started that practice when the number of the dead increased – this observation may be supported by the fact the cemetery was actually subdivided and organized in sections, each for a different family (Williams, Snyder, Barnes, Zervos 1998, p. 242). Relationship between social and economic circumstances and the nature of burials in Room 4 allow yet another view of grave 2015-02 and would deserve further study.; ; Lastly the dates must be discussed. The church and the row of rooms (A-D) N of the church, starting with Room D (the Frankish “Room 4”) in the east, were constructed in the first third and damaged by the end of the 12th century (Williams, Snyder, Barnes, Zervos 1998, p. 237). At the beginning of the 13th century this section of Unit 2 was partially restored, but the most significant change happened in the mid-13th century, when only the church and Room D continued to be used, serving the new purpose of a grave chapel (Snyder, Williams 1997, p. 21). Destruction of Room 4 is to be dated to around 1300, most likely connected with a great earthquake (Williams, Snyder, Barnes, Zervos 1998, p. 239). Grave 2015-02 probably dates to the very beginning of the Frankish usage of Room 4: the coffin contained a marble tile, and perhaps this stone slab was originally part of the nearby church that underwent reconstruction by the mid-13th century; another grave, excavated in 1997, thus being in the immediately following level after grave 2015-02, contained a similar marble slab (Williams, Snyder, Barnes, Zervos 1998, p. 240). Upon considering the stratigraphical relationships, the overall chronology of the room, and the little pottery that was useful for establishing at least a terminus post quem, grave 2015-02 probably falls to the mid-13th century.; ; Room 6:; The limited amount of time devoted to excavation this session and the state of the area restricted the outcome of the work. The transition in the excavation methodology from the Wheeler-Kenyon method to Open Area and the time span of almost two decades between interventions in the area made necessary a careful study of former notebooks and reports before resuming work.  However, and despite these issues, this limited intervention has been able to link past and present results in the area and provide a more coherent picture of the stratigraphic sequence. ; ; As of the end of Session 1, there are two clearly identifiable layers visible in Room 6. The study of NB 864 seems to indicate that these layers were defined in the past as Floor 5 (Basket 56), a compact dark yellow soil characterised by the presence of major inclusions of shards and stones, and Floor 6 (Basket 62),  a compact light yellow soil with no visible inclusions (NB 864, p.117). These surfaces were dated respectively to the 1260-1270 and the middle of the 13th c. The effects of weathering, however, prevent us from establishing a more direct connection, since many of the surfaces and the boundaries of these baskets could have been lost by exposure to the elements. Context 611 could be the surface defined as Floor 7 (NB 864, p.117) that was exposed but left unexcavated in 1996.; ; The results of this intervention reinforce the chronological interpretation of Floor 6, which covered the burials excavated in the room, given by S. Rous and R. Worsham. They excavated in 2014 a portion of what they interpreted as Floor 6 (Context 90) and dated by pottery to the late 13th–early 14th centuries. Although the original excavators in the 90's dated this floor, based also on pottery finds, to the middle decades of the 13th c., the fill of Grave 2014-02 (late 13th to early 14th centuries) and of Context 621 (4th q. of the 13th c.) support a much later use of the area for burial. Wall 58, against which the later graves were excavated (e.g. Grave 2014 02, Context 621), was constructed not later than the 4th quarter of the 13th century. ; ; Pit # 10 and the burials of the area seem to belong, based on the material recovered, to the same period. The mixture of human and animal bones in Context 621 could be interpreted as an almost simultaneous use of the space for burial and garbage deposition. A possible interpretation of these results is that the area had a primary use as a garbage deposit and that a specific event demanded the area to be re-adapted as a burial ground. But this hypothesis is based only on the limited area cleaned this session  with the problems indicated above. Further research in the north sector of the room, which still retains surfaces belonging to later periods, can not only increase the dataset available but also clarify the stratigraphic sequence of the different depositions.; ; ; Recommendations for Future Excavation:; Room 4:; Exploring the surrounding area, especially the truncating tile, could yield some more evidence of the early Frankish usage of Room 4. However, one must remember that this room had been thoroughly explored in the 1990s. Cleaning of graves 1997-43 (context 896) and 1997-13C (context 897) yielded pottery, tile, and human and animal bone from the lowest level of fill in the grave cut, but this material was fragmentary and the information available from such scrappy material may be limited. The human skeletal material will be compared to that excavated in the 1990s in an effort to rejoin elements for osteological analysis.; ; Room 6:; Future work should aim at continuing to stratigraphically unify the whole area of excavation. As the excavation of Context 611 demonstrated, the removal of layers related to exposure and weathering of the area can greatly enhance its interpretation and facilitate correlations between previous and current excavations. As stated above, this context could be a portion of Floor 7 left unexcavated in 1996 (NB 864, p.117). However, the effects of two decades of weathering and trampling affected negatively the visibility of the stratigraphic relationships among context.; Finally, the removal of the layers referred to as Floor 5 and Floor 6 is the next logical step in the stratigraphic sequence, after removal of any burials cut into these surfaces. Finally, Graves 1996-5 (Basket 63) and 1995-2 (Basket 60) (NB 864 p.107) require further examination in order to assess whether these burials were completely excavated.","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio, Lorenzová, Alžběta with additions from Larkin Kennedy (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio, Lorenzová, Alžběta with additions from Larkin Kennedy (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2015 Session II, Corridor N of Church and Room 6","Wesley Bennett and Lucas Stephens; Session II; Temple E Southeast Excavations; Corridor North of Church: 1075-1078.5 N, 121.5-129.5 E; Room 6: 1077-1085 N, 116.85-120.7 E; 04-22.05.2015; ; This is the summary of the second session of excavations in the Corridor North of the Church (hereafter, “Corridor”) and Room 6 in Unit II in the area of Temple E SE. The corridor was excavated from the 4th to the 13th of May by Wesley Bennett and Lucas Stephens (Area Supervisors), Thanassis Notis (pick-man), Kostas Arberoris (pick-man/shovel-man), and Vassilis Kollias (shovel-man/barrow-man), as part of Session II. This same area was excavated previously in Session I by Wesley Bennett and by two different groups during the 2014 season: Jennifer Swalec and Emily Wilson during Session 3, and Dylan Rodgers and Maggie Burr during Session 2. Before the 2014 season, the Corridor was excavated in 1993 under Charles K. Williams II (NB 863). Grave 2015-07 in the Corridor was documented and excavated by Elina Salminen during excavation of Room 6. Room 6 was excavated from the 13th to the 22nd of May by Lucas Stephens (Area Supervisor), Thanassis Notis (pick-man), Kostas Arberoris (pick-man/shovel-man), and Vassilis Kollias (shovel-man/barrow-man). Room 6 was excavated in Session I by Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez and in Session I of 2014 by Sarah Rous and Rebecca Worsham. ; The southern boundary of the Corridor is formed wholly by the northern wall of the church (Wall 20: 1074.5-1076.1 N, 122.06-130.1 E) and its associated robbing trench (NB 835, pp. 35-44, 65-66; 1074.3-1076.1 N, 122.00-130.30 E), while its northern boundary is formed in part by the southern wall of Unit 2, Rooms 8 and 9 (Wall 156: 1077.5-1079.3 N, 123.5-129.7 E, NB 864, pp. 43-44). The latter wall (Wall 156) encloses only the eastern two-thirds of the Corridor, except for the far eastern portion which is the earlier Wall 729 (1078.48-1079.62 N, 128.35-132.11 E), before turning the corner to the north and changing into Wall 157, which forms the eastern side of Room 7. At the junction of this corner, Wall 156 continues slightly westwards to form a stub wall. During Session I, Bennett decided to establish an arbitrary line at 1078 N in order to define better the northern boundary of the trench vis-à-vis Unit 2, Room 7. An artificial line also delineated the eastern boundary of the trench (1076.12-1078.50 N, 129.00-129.60 E), while Wall 59 - the eastern limit of Room 6 (1076.00-1077.40 N, 120.90-121.78 E), extended to the south by another artificial line to Wall 20, defined the western boundary. During excavation of Grave 2015-07, it was found that the eastern end of this grave extended under the east scarp, and a 1 x 1 m extension was made to the east along Wall 20 to facilitate documentation and removal. The material from this extension was not sieved or kept for study until the grave cut was reached.; Excavation in Room 6 was bounded on the west by Wall 58 (1077-1083.3 N, 116.9-118.8 E) and on the east by Wall 59 (1082.3-1084.65 N, 119.25-120.2 E) and its associated robbing trench. The southern boundary was an arbitrary line running west-east from the southern end of Wall 58 (1077 N). The northern boundary was formed by the northern edge of Pit 8 (NB 864, B 38, 41, 69, 70; 1082.9-1084.7 N, 116.85-118.3 E, associated with the building of the museum) and an arbitrary line running southwest-northeast from the northeastern corner of Pit 8 to the western face of Wall 11 (NB 877 pp. 159; 1084.3-1085.45 N, 118.25-119.15 E). ; The goals of excavation in the Corridor were to better understand the use of the space and to provide dating criteria for the construction of the church by excavating a foundation trench for Wall 20. During session II, a one meter wide area running north-south was sectioned off near the center of the Corridor (1078.2-1075.6 N, 126-127 E) in order to better define the boundaries and stratigraphy of the foundation trench of Wall 20. Once the dimensions of the cut for the trench were clear, we decided to continue excavation east of the section in order to collect more datable material associated with the foundations of the church. Goals for the excavation of Room 6 were to clarify the function and phasing of the room and to prepare it for consolidation. ; ; Middle Byzantine (AD 802-1058); Corridor; In its earliest phase this area seems to have been open and little used. Neither Wall 156 to the north (dated by Bennett in Session I to the late third quarter of the 13th century), nor Wall 20 to the south had yet been constructed. The presence of faunal remains and construction material in several fill layers (Contexts 682, 702, 705, 707, 710, 718, 722, 723, 724, 725), the earliest of which (725) is dated by pottery to the early 12th century, attests to mixed activities in this area, although relative to later, Frankish contexts these were fairly sterile of finds. ; ; ; Frankish 1210-1458; Corridor; In the middle of the 13th century (dated by coin 2015-151 from context 743, and pottery from context 714) a foundation trench for Wall 20 was dug .56 m into the soil (Cut 745, 5.5 x 1.2 m, 1076.6-1075.4 N, 124.8-130.3 E, filled by contexts 714, 728, 731, 734, 735, 739, 742, 743). This was likely one of the first steps in the construction of the church to the south of the Corridor and seems to have changed the use of this area. The foundation trench was likely filled with the same soil into which it was dug, and contained predominantly 12th century material including Coin 2015-131 from context 714.  The cement pointing on the exterior of Wall 20 identified by Bennett in Session I (dated to the mid-13th century by its relationship to context 640) likely represents the earliest phase of decoration for this side of the church, soon after but not contemporary with its initial construction. ; Soon thereafter but also in the mid-13th century the area started to be used as a burial ground. Grave 2015-07 (contexts 741, 757, 767, 804) was dug into the foundation trench itself (cf. Salminen, Session II summary). Burial continued next to the church (as attested by Graves 2015-01, 2014-08, 2014-09 and 2014-11) throughout the subsequent filling and leveling operations which defined the use of the area until the third quarter of the 13th century when Wall 156 was built. The burials are generally oriented east-west immediately adjacent to Wall 20 with the head at the east, the body supine, and the legs extended to the west. Many of the graves have covering tiles over the skull and torso and stones or tiles propping up the skull. The density of burial in this area was such that later graves occasionally disturbed earlier ones (as with graves 2014-09 and 2014-01, both dated to the mid-13th century; cf. Swalec and Wilson, pp. 1-3). The skeletons represent both sexes and a range of ages including a child (Grave 2014-08, Bone Lot 2014-17), a male adolescent 17-21 years of age (Grave 2014-11, Bone Lot 2014-20), and a female adult likely over 50 years of age (Grave 2014-09, Bone Lot 2014-18). ; Simultaneously to the use of the area as a burial ground, several layers of mixed fill (contexts 645, 646, 655, 658, 662, 669, 671, 680, 686, 687) containing faunal remains, charcoal, and building materials were deposited across the area. These filling operations raised the ground level of the area more than 30 cm in some places. Coins from these layers (nos. 2015-50 – context 645, 2015-55 – context 646, 2015-61 – context 658, 2015-71 – context 662, 2015-74 – context 662, 2015-76 – context 662, 2015-77 – context 662, 2015-99 – context 691) date to the 12th and 13th centuries and attest to economic activity involving both contemporary and earlier money. These fill layers are all below Wall 156 (dated by Bennett in Session I to the late third quarter of the 13th century) whose construction formed the area into a passageway linking two specific spaces: Unit 2, Room 7, and the Paved Court to the east of the church nave. ; Room 6; Over the course of the 13th and 14th centuries this area underwent several phases of use as a burial site with intermediary floor layers and deep fills separating the graves. ; Grave 2015-10 (cut context 803; preserved coordinates: 1079.2-1079.85 N, 118.8-119.3 E; fill context 801) was the earliest burial excavated this session in Room 6 (dated by pottery to the second quarter of the 13th century). The cut for this grave was truncated by Grave 1996-02 at the north and east and by Grave 1996-01 at the south, leaving us in doubt as to its exact dimensions (preserved L .65 m, W .5 m, Depth .14 m) and which surface it was cut into. The burial was oriented roughly north-south almost in the center of the room. It contained the skeleton (context 802, Bone Lot 2015-11) of a subadult laid supine, missing its skull and most of the left side of its body. The absent skull would have been at the north. ; Grave 2015-09 (cut context 800; preserved coordinates 1079-1080.5 N, 118.15-119 E; fill context 795) was cut into Floor 6, oriented north-south along the eastern face of Wall 58 late in the 13th or early in the 14th century (NB 864 B 62; dated by Rous and Worsham for stratigraphic reasons to the late 13th – early 14th century). The grave was a simple, narrow pit preserved to a length of 1.5 m, a width of .85 m, and a depth of .64 m. It contained the skeleton of a young adult male in excellent condition (context 797, Bone Lot 2015-10) laid supine with its head at the south propped up by several stones, arms crossed over the torso, and legs and feet extended to the south. The head was covered by half of a roof tile (context 798; preserved L .28 m, complete W .38 m). The grave was later disturbed at its northern and southern ends by Graves 2015-08 and 1996-01 respectively. ; These graves were sealed by Floor 5 (context 789; NB 864 B 56, dated by the excavators to the 1260s – 1270s) dated by pottery to the third quarter of the 13th century. Rous and Worsham place Floor 5 slightly later due to stratigraphic reasons. Floor 5 was excavated in 1996 in the southern half of Room 6, but left unexcavated in the northern half. Graves 2014-01, 2014-05, 1996-01, and 1996-02 were cut into it in the southern half of the room. In the northern half, Graves 2015-05, 2015-06, and 2015-08 also cut into this surface. ; Grave 2015-05 (cut context 765; 1082-1083.15 N, 119.05-119.6; fill context 756) was dug 30 cm below Floor 5, against the western face of Wall 59. The grave was oriented roughly north-south and measured 115 x 55 cm. It contained a well preserved juvenile skeleton (context 761, Bone Lot 2015-05) laid supine with its head at the south, arms crossed over its torso, and feet outstretched to the north. The skull was propped up by stones and along with the torso was covered by a single tile broken into two pieces (context 758; complete L .42 m, W .17 m). Pottery in the fill dated this burial to last quarter of the 13th century. ; Grave 2015-06 (cut context 766; 1082.75-1083.15 N, 117.45-118.05 E; fill contexts 762, 759) was almost completely robbed out by Pit 8 from the 1931 excavations. It was dug 42 cm into Floor 5 near the eastern face of Wall 58 in the early 14th century (dated by pottery of context 759). The grave was oriented N-S and contained the top half of an adult skull (context 764, Bone Lot 2015-06) propped up by stones and covered by a broken tile (context 760; preserved L .18 m, complete W .30 m). The head was therefore at the southern end of the grave. ; Grave 2015-08 contained two burials. The earlier burial (cut context 788; 1080.55-1081.95 N, 118.05-118.6 E; fill context 784) contained a well-preserved juvenile skeleton (context 783, Bone Lot 2015-09) laid supine with its torso at a slight angle to its legs, arms crossed over its torso, and head at the south. This grave was disturbed by the later burial in Grave 2015-08 (cut context 781; 1080.2-1081.95 N, 117.65-118.85 E; fill context 770) which was dug almost immediately on top of the earlier burial. The diggers of the second burial must have encountered and disturbed the skull (context 779, Bone Lot 2015-08A) of the first skeleton which was found disarticulated and placed to the side of the later skeleton (context 775, Bone Lot 2015-08B) underneath the later skeleton’s associated covering tile (context 774; complete L .61 m, W .36 m). This disturbance truncated the top of the earlier grave cut and made it impossible to associate the earlier burial with the stratigraphy of the rest of Room 6. The later burial contained the well-preserved skeleton of a juvenile, laid supine with its head at the south propped up by stones, its arms crossed over its torso, and it legs extended to the south. Both the skull and torso were covered by tiles (context 774) – a larger one (.36 x .61 m) covered the torso and was partially overlaid on the smaller (preserved .30 x .29 m) which covered the skull. The earlier burial was dated by pottery to the first quarter of the 14th century, the later to the late 13th-early 14th century, but their fills were likely mixed. The western side of Grave 2015-08 was later disturbed by Grave 1996-04. These graves were then sealed by Floor 4 (NB 864, B 52, 53, 54), dated by the excavators to the last quarter of the 13th century. ; If we follow Rous and Worsham’s date for Floor 6 in the late 13th – early 14th century, then all of this burial activity (as well as the laying down of Floors 5 and 4) must take place in a short period of time at the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th century. ; Both burial activity and the deep fill layers seem to end in the early 14th century, when the stratigraphy give way to much thinner layers (contexts 753, 752, 751, 749, 748) above Floor 4 which may be my context 754 (dated by pottery to the first quarter of the 14th century). ; ; Conclusion; Corridor; We met the goal of finding a foundation trench for Wall 20, and it currently dates the construction of the church to the middle of the 13th century (based on coin 2015-151 from context 743). There seems to have been a gap in activity in the area between the 12th (latest context 702) and the mid-13th centuries. Further excavation could address this apparent gap and better define the use of the space in pre-Frankish levels. Following the construction of the church, the area immediately adjacent to its north wall became a popular location for inhumation. Burial practice continued while the level of soil in the area was raised by several filling operations until, in the third quarter of the 13th century, Wall 156 was built, which seems to have again changed the use of the space. Osteological analyses will provide further information regarding those individuals buried in this area, and their relationship to contemporary populations. The stratigraphy towards the western end of the trench became very difficult for the workmen to read during excavation of contexts 682, 698, and 701. Context 682 (which should predate the construction of the church) was left partially unexcavated for this reason. ; Room 6; Figuring out the phasing of Room 6 is made difficult by the patchy state of excavation. The northern half of the room needs to be further excavated and put better into line with the stratigraphy of the previously excavated southern portion. This is made difficult by the high density of burial in the room - an unexcavated skeleton was found beneath Grave 1996-02 and needs to be removed.","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett, Lucas Stephens (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-22)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett, Lucas Stephens (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-22)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","2015 Session II, Frankish activity in Unit 2, Room 9","Danielle Smotherman; Timothy Brannelly; Temple E, Southeast Excavations; Session II; Unit 2, Room 9; N: 1086.73, S; 1079.10 N, E: 132.85 E, W: 126.83 E; 4-22 May 2015; ; 2015 Session II, Frankish activity in Unit 2, Room 9; ; This is the final summary of the second session excavation for 2015 in Room 9 of Unit 2 in the Frankish quarter, Temple E Southeast. Guy Sanders (director) and Larkin Kennedy (field director) supervised. Danielle Smotherman and Timothy Brannelly (area supervisors) recorded. The workmen were Thanasis Sakellariou (pickman), Christos Sakellariou (shovelman), and Panagiotis Rontzokos (barrowman, sieve). ; Excavation work focused on Room 9. In Room 9, the area of excavation was bounded by the walls of the room: the East wall (Wall 659: N. 1087.97; S. 1079.86; E. 133.18; W. 130.68), the North wall (Wall 700: N. 1087.11; S. 1086.23; E. 126.99; W. 130.93), the West wall (Wall 720: N. 1086.14; S. 1079.21; E. 128.46; W. 126.48), and the South wall (Wall 729: N. 1079.62; S. 1078.48; E. 132.11; W. 128.35). Excavation in room 9 was done in order to clarify the dating and the relationship between the walls of this room to the other areas of Unit 2 in preparation for the area being presented to the public as part of the Frankish Quarter. Especially of interest was the relationship between the church and the construction of Room 9. ; ; Excavation in Room 9 was begun in Session I 2015, prior to that it had not been excavated since 1996 (NB888 P1-46). The final two days of Session I excavation, 27th and 28th of April, were spent in Room 9. In Session II, Room 9 was excavated 4th-22nd May 2015. The majority of the excavation time in Session II was dedicated to the removal of a very large pit cut into the space, which produced an enormous amount of soil, pottery, bones, and small finds. On the 11th of May, there was a significant amount of rain, which necessitated putting aside soil to dry on the morning of the 12th prior to sieving and created a backlog on the sieve. This soil was not completely sieved until the 15th.  The large pit has been a massive endeavor and the team has been greatly aided by Angela Stamati (sieve), Vasillis Kollias (barrowman), Kostas Arberoris (acting as shovelman), Wesley Bennett (sieve, pottery, small finds), Kurtis Tanaka, and Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez (sieve).; ; Unit 2, Room 9, excavated 4/5/2015-15/4/2015; ; Frankish Period (AD 1210-1458):; All contexts excavated in the Session II excavation in Room 9 date between the late 13th and 14th centuries by pottery and coins. ; During the third quarter of the 13th century, it is most likely that the space of Room 9 was outdoor. A courtyard surface (Context 772) is preserved in the eastern half of the room, cut by several pits. That courtyard surface is securely dated to the second half of the 13th century by three William Villehardouin coins (coins 2015-227, 2015-228, and 2015-230) all of the CORINTVM type that date AD 1250-78. The courtyard surface was prepared by a leveling fill (Context 792) that was probably put down at one time, even though the pottery represents a mix of periods, because the fill is homogenous throughout. The fill contained three minor finds: a marble stopper (MF-2015-18), a fragment of a glass bracelet (MF-2015-17), and a glass tessera with gold leaf (MF-2015-34). The leveling fill was above an earthen surface, which was not excavated this season. The fill is also securely dated to the second half of the 13th century by three definite William Villehardouin coins, two CORINTI (coins 2015-266 and 2015-313), the other a CORINTVM (coin 2015-312), and two other coins that are most likely also Villehardouin CORINTVM or CORINTI (coins 2015-316 and 2015-320).; ;  A large pit (Context 733/717/726/747, L. 5.7 m, W. 3.1 m, N. 1083.88; S. 1079.99; E. 130.80; W. 127.50) was dug into the courtyard surface during the fourth quarter of the 13th century and filled with a mix of pottery, animal bones, industrial rubbish such as iron crucibles, part of a glass kiln, and domestic refuse including crochet hooks. The middle layer in the pit, Context 726, contained a stamped amphora handle from Zakynthos (C-2015-1), and the following minor finds: an iron weight (MF-2015-11), an iron door handle (MF-2015-10), an iron knife (MF-2015-35), an iron blade (MF-2015-38), a square iron buckle (MF-2015-36), a pierced bronze disc (MF-2015-37), a bone die (MF-2015-30), a bronze pendant (MF-2015-33), a glass bead (MF-2015-39), a silver pendant (MF-2015-9), and a silver necklace with a coral pendant, silver cross, bronze cross, and glass bead (MF-2015-21). The top level of the pit, which spills outside of the cut of the pit, included a pilgrims’shell (MF-2015-19) and a bronze earring (MF-2015-40). The pit most likely represents a trash dump that may not reflect the use of nearby spaces. Excavation of the pit also revealed the side of a cistern, which was not excavated this session as it remains under nearly a meter of fill in the eastern half of the room. ; ; Numismatic finds in the pit were numerous with a total of 40 coins found, several of which securely date to the Frankish period. In addition to several Byzantine coins, several of which belong to Manuel I, AD 1143-1180 (coins 2015-143, 2015-161, and 2015-204), Context 726 yielded several Frankish coins belonging to William Villehardouin as well as several French Royal coins also belonging to the 13th century. Coins 2015-124 and 2015-127 are Villehardouin CORINTI coins, Coin 2015-139 is a Villehardouin CORINTVM coin (both dated c. 1250-1278). Coin 2015-138 is a French St. Martin of Tours coin utilizing the imagery of the castle Tournois, which Villehardouin also used on some of his coins, dated to the 13th century, while coins 2015-145 and 2015-201 belong either to the reign of Louis VIII or Louis IX and are dated 1223-1270. In addition, coin 2015-149, although illegible, is most likely either a French royal or a Frankish Villehardouin coin. Likewise, Context 747, the lower sense of the large pit, yielded a similar assortment of coins, albeit a smaller number. Several of the coins from Context 747 were unfortunately illegible, but are most likely Frankish, including coins 2015-184 and 2015-186. The only secure Villehardouin coin from context 747 is Coin 2015-164, a CORINTVM type. Furthermore, the deposit at the bottom of the pit (Context 773), which, according to pottery, is actually not part of the pit and represents the level to which the pit was cut, has a date of the fourth quarter of the 13th century, indicating that the pit must have been cut and filled during the later part of the fourth quarter of the 13th century. Context 773 also yielded a single Villehardouin CORINTI coin (Coin 2015-215), which may have found its way into this lower level when the pit was cut. For a list of all the coins by their respective contexts and with their dates, see the attached chart. It is worth noting that none of the coins postdates William Villehardouin and 1278.; ; In the fourth quarter of the 13th century, the area ceased to be used as a trash dump and became an indoor space. The first wall definitely constructed in the space of Room 9 was the North wall (Wall 700: N. 1087.11; S. 1086.23; E. 126.99; W. 130.93). The pottery from the foundation trench for the N. Wall, Context 706, indicates a date of the fourth quarter of the 13th, and the three Villehardouin CORINTVM coins from the trench, Coins 2015-111, 2015-112, and 2015-113, can be dated 1250-1278, thus confirming the date from the pottery. A leveling fill which covers the foundation trench also dates to the late 13th century by the pottery (Context 696) and indicates the beginning of the indoor use of the space. The floor itself was excavated in 1996 (NB888 B38 P42; NB888 B41 P45-46), at a higher elevation. The East wall (Wall 659: N. 1087.97; S. 1079.86; E. 133.18; W. 130.68) and its respective foundation trench (Contexts 673/672) is only generally dated to the early 14th and late 13th centuries by the pottery. The West wall (Wall 720: N. 1086.14; S. 1079.21; E. 128.46; W. 126.48) rests on the bottom of the large pit (Contexts 733/717/726/747), which could have served as the foundation trench for the wall in the late 13th century and was partially robbed out in the later 13th/early 14th centuries, so the foundation and the robbing out of the wall may be very close in time (Contexts 664/663). Excavation thus far has not indicated a date for the South wall (Wall 729: N. 1079.62; S. 1078.48; E. 132.11; W. 128.35), but it may be contemporary with Wall 720 because they do meet at the SW corner of the room along with Wall 156. It is not clear how the walls bond, so their stratigraphic relationship is in question. In general, the corners of the room are obscured or the walls appear to rest against one another without clear stratigraphic relationships: the Northwest corner of the room is obscured by a robbing trench (Walls 700 and 729), the Northeast corner includes touching walls (Walls 659 and 700), the Southeast corner is disturbed by the pit in the corner (Walls 659 and 729), and the Southwest corner (Walls 720 and 729) meet. It is possible that the relationship at the corner of 729 and 720 could be clarified by further excavation, but it is not clear at the current level of excavation. Wall 729 was later extended to the west by Wall 156, which dates to the mid- to late-13th century (cf. Bennett Session I summary), indicating that Room 9 was an interior space prior to either the creation of an enclosed passageway north of the Church or prior to the enclosure of the southern end of Room 8.; ; Multiple layers of fill, unevenly distributed in the room, were excavated and represent multiple depositional activities in the space during the late 13th - early 14th centuries, dated generally by the pottery (Contexts 652, 674, 676, 679, 683, 685, 699, 694, 704, 712, 715). These layers of fills appear to be contained within the walls, with only the unexcavated earthen surface appearing to go under the east wall (Wall 659).  In part, some of these could be leveling fills to raise the floor level, possibly to the 14th century floor level excavated in 1996, a small portion of which was excavated in Session I (NB888 B38 P42; NB888 B41 P45-46; Contexts 628 and 634). Among the levels of fill, a bronze hinge comes from a layer of ashy fill (MF-2015-32, Context 652), a lead mending strip was recovered from Context 712 (MF-2015-20), a lead seal was recovered in the trench 692/695 (MF-2015-31), and another bone die in the fill directly above the pit (MF-2015-29, Context 685). It is possible that the space went out of use for a short period of time when two small and relatively shallow circular rubbish pits (Contexts 660/665 and 661/666), a small post hole (Context 689), and a larger rectangular trench of unknown use (Context 695/692, L. 1.87 m., W. 1.0 m., D. 0.20 m., N. 1083.60; S. 1083.00; E. 129.50; W. 127.68) were cut into the fill.; ; Above the tile floor removed in 1996, the previous excavators also encountered a layer of destruction debris, primarily tiles, which was originally dated to the late 13th-early 14th century and now thought to be 14th century in date (NB888 B32 P36, NB888 B37 P41) providing evidence for when the room went out of use. ; ; Early Modern:; The pit in the center of Room 9 is a later intrusion (NB888 B18 P22-23; NB888 23 P26; NB888 B24 P27; NB888 B25 P28). It was excavated in 1996 to a total depth of 0.80 m and the material of the fill dated primarily to the 18th and 19th centuries, with some earlier materials included (a 12th century coin, Coin 1996-150, and some 16th century pottery). The final lense in the pit contained 13th century pottery, but this most likely indicates material disturbed by the cut of the pit rather than the date of the pit itself. This pit cut through a portion of the large pit (Contexts 733/717/726/747) excavated in Session II. ; ; Future goals:; 1.    Full inventory of all the minor finds from Room 9. As time was limited, not all minor objects were fully inventoried by the end of Session II, although all were noted. These objects can provide more information on the use of the space in the late 13th-early 14th centuries. ; 2.    Try to find a foundation trench for the South wall (Wall 729) of Room 9 to help clarify the construction dates of the wall as well as to identify the relationship between Wall 729 and Walls 270, to the North, and 156, to the West. ; 3.    Explore the cistern under the courtyard, the side of which was revealed by the excavation of the large pit, and which needs to be excavated and filled prior to the final consolidation of Room 9. ; 4.    Further excavate the room to get a better understanding of its function prior to becoming an indoor space and its relationship to the church. ;  ; APPENDIX I: COINS; ; Context 639; Coin 43 (sieve)    Byzantine (1204-1261); ; Context 647; Coin 49 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 51 (sieve)    Frankish (1223-1250); Coin 53 (sieve)    Frankish (1200-1299); ; Context 652; Coin 56 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 57 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 62 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 63 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 64 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 65 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); ; Context 663; Coin 75 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); ; Context 676; Coin 91 (sieve)    Byzantine (1204-1261); ; Context 679; Coin 93 (sieve)    Byzantine (1204-1261); Coin 94    Illegible; Coin 95    Frankish (1223-1270); ; Context 683; Coin 96 (sieve)    Not a coin; ; Context 688; Coin 97 (sieve)    Frankish (1223-1270); ; Context 692; Coin 98 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); ; Context 696; Coin 100 (findspot)    Frankish; Coin 106 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); ; Context 704; Coin 109 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); ; Context 706 (foundation trench for Wall 700); Coin 111 (findspot)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 112 (findspot)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 113 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); ; Context 715; Coin 130 (sieve)    Frankish ; Coin 117 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); Coin 132 (sieve)    Not a coin; ; Context 717 (top of large pit?); Coin 118 (findspot)    Greek (400-300 BC); Coin 119 (sieve)    Frankish (1223-1270); Coin 120 (findspot)    Byzantine; Coin 121 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1184); Coin 122 (sieve)    Greek ; Coin 123 (sieve)    Byzantine (1204-1261); Coin 125 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 126 (sieve)    Frankish; ; Context 720 (Wall, under a loose rock); Coin 212 (findspot)    Illegible; ; Context 726 (large pit); Coin 124 (findspot)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 127 (findspot)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 128 (findspot)    Roman Imperial; Coin 129 (sieve)    Frankish; Coin 137 (findspot)    Byzantine (1204-1261); Coin 138 (findspot)    Frankish (1235-1278); Coin 139 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 141 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 143 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); Coin 144 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); Coin 145 (findspot)    Frankish (1223-1270); Coin 149 (findspot)    Frankish (1223-1270); Coin 152 (sieve)    Byzantine (1150-1190); Coin 153 (sieve)    Byzantine ; Coin 154 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 155 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 156 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 159 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 160 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 161 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); Coin 162 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 194 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 201 (sieve)    Frankish (1223-1250); Coin 203 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); Coin 204 (sieve)    Illegible; Context 747 (large pit); Coin 163 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 164 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 180 (sieve)    Byzantine (1082-1118); Coin 181 (sieve)    Byzantine (1075-1080); Coin 183 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 184 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 185 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 186 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 187 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 196 (sieve)    Byzantine (1078-1081); Coin 199 (sieve)    Byzantine (1070-1095); Coin 202    Not a coin; ; Context 772 (courtyard paving); Coin 227 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 228 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 229 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 230 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 231 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); Coin 232 (sieve)    Byzantine (1143-1180); Coin 261 (sieve)     unread; ; Context 773 (level at bottom of large pit); Coin 213 (sieve)    Byzantine; Coin 215 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); ; Context 792 (leveling fill under courtyard paving); Coin 261    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 262 (findspot)    Greek Imperial (193-217); Coin 266 (findspot)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 268 (findspot)    Byzantine (1081-1118); Coin 270 (findspot)    Byzantine (1204-1261); Coin 291 (sieve)    Roman Imperial; Coin 293 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 309 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 310 (sieve)    Byzantine (1204-1261); Coin 311 (sieve)    Roman Imperial; Coin 312 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 313 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 314 (sieve)    Roman Imperial; Coin 315 (sieve)    Roman Imperial; Coin 316 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 317 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 318 (sieve)    Illegible; Coin 319 (sieve)    Not a coin; Coin 320 (sieve)    Frankish (1250-1278); Coin 321 (loose dirt in Wall 659)    Frankish (1250–1278)","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Danielle Smotherman and Tim Brannelly (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-22)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Danielle Smotherman and Tim Brannelly (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-22)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Report Unit 2, Room 3. Session II.","Introduction:; This is the final report for the second session of excavations of the 2015 season for Room 3, Unit II in the area of Temple E SE. In the 1990’s, Room 3 was divided by the grid system and, consequently, excavated in two different sequences. The south side was excavated during April 1992 (NB848: 1-152), by C. Keesling, while the north side was excavated during the second and third session of the 1992 season (NB853: 52-83) by M.R. Scottan. During the 2015 season, this area was unified and the excavation area was bounded by walls on all four sides. Based on the few stones still visible from the lowest courses of the walls,  their original outline was traced (North Wall: 1066.80-1065.30N, 109.20-114.50E; South Wall: 1058.50-1056.90N, 109.40-115.70E; East Wall: 1065.00-1057.90N, 114.50-115.70E; 1065.20-1058.50N, 108.50-110.10E. All measurements restored). ; It is important to note, however, that all four walls that delimited the room where heavily reconstructed during April 2015. Only the S section of the W wall presents a stretch of original wall longer than 1.5 m (1063.00-1058.40N, 108.90-110.40E), which turned up to be essential for the dating of the room, as illustrated below. Even when some traces of the wall were visible, blocks were covered by new courses of stone, making it impossible to assess the dimensions of these original sections. The original traces of walls, as represented in the plans of the excavated context, were traced from an orthophoto of the room that postdates the consolidation works and later compared to the visible traces of original masonry on the sides of the walls. Emilio Rodríguez-Álvarez and Kurtis T. Tanaka supervised and recorded the excavations of Room 3, with the assistance of workmen Panos Stamatis, Hecuran Ҫoli, Michalis Vathis, and Memos Karvouniaris. Dr. Guy Sanders (Director) and Larkin Kennedy (Field Director) supervised.; ; ; Goals of excavation:; The aim of the excavation of this area was to resume the work left by Keesling and Scottan during the 1992 season and to obtain a clearer picture of the chronological sequence of the use of this room, in preparation for the backfilling of this area and its subsequent opening to visitors. Current excavations were complicated by the room’s exposure since the 1992 excavations as well as the conservation works mentioned above, leaving both the upper layers of the room dry and compacted. It was only with the removal of these topmost layers that the stratigraphy of the room became clearer.; ; ; Frankish Period (AD 1210-1450); The Mid 13th Century; Context 771, a dump fill, constitutes the earliest deposit excavated in the area during the 2015 season, dating to the mid 13th century based on the pottery. This deposit helped to provide the chronology, based on stratigraphic relationships, to contexts 778, 780, and 782, dated as well to mid 13th century. These contexts together compose a compact brown surface with charcoal inclusions that were cut by the later large pit created by cut 777 (113.90-109.90E/1058.90-1065.00N). Though this surface was noticeably compact, it does not seem to have been an actual floor as it is likely that at this time this area was an open space west of the church. This surface did not extend into the NW corner of the room. Rather, at this time (dated by the pottery), fills associated to the reconstructed N wall (contexts 730, 111.30-109.50E/1062.65-1065.20N and 732, 112.70-111.30E/1065.30-1065.90N) were deposited in this portion of the room. No coins were recovered from the contexts of this period.; ; 13th to 14th Centuries; Later in the 13th century, or perhaps in the early 14th, a deep circular pit defined by cut 763 (113.60-112.50E/1061.85-1062.85N) (filled by 746 and 755), ca. 1m in diameter and 2m deep, was cut into the surface made up by contexts 778, 780, and 782. The pit was filled rather quickly after the cut was made as joins were found throughout. The material recovered from the pit was characterized by a much higher density of pottery, bone, and charcoal, most likely the waste of food preparation that took place nearby. One sample from context 746 and two from context 755 were taken for flotation and analysis. It should be noted, however, that no evidence for such food preparation activities was found in Room 3 itself. Three coins were recovered from context 746 (nos. 2015-158, -164, and -165) and five from context 755 (nos. 2015-182, -195, -197, -209, and -211). Of these, three are roughly contemporary, 2015-164 and -182 of William Villehardouin, and 2015-197, a French issue possibly of Louis IX. The pit was also rich in non-ceramic finds, including a large amount of glass (including prunted beakers), iron fragments (including an iron handle inventoried as MF-2015-15), shell, and bronze fragments, including a bronze finger ring inventoried as MF-2015-23. The only decoration the state of preservation of the ring allows to elucidate is a small incused square in its centre.; This juncture spanning the 13th and 14th centuries also saw significant activity in the southern extent of the area that would become Room 3. At this time two levelling fills (contexts 657 and 667, dated by the pottery) were deposited in the area. Their original extents cannot be traced due to later activity in the room (namely the large pit formed by cut 777, discussed below), however, it is clear that they were deposited over the surface defined by contexts 778, 780, and 782. These two layers extended under the walls that would later define Room 3, and thus provide a terminus post quem for the walls’ construction. Indeed, it is possible that these two fills were deposited in anticipation of the South wall, with the context 667, rich in large stones, laid to provide a more stable basis for the wall’s construction. Though dated by the context pottery, seven coins were recovered from context 667 (nos. 2015-78, -79, -80, -82, -84, -85, and -86) and eight from context 657 (nos. 2015-58, -59, -60, -67, -68, -69, -72, and -73). Of these, only coin 2015-69, an issue of William Villehardouin, is roughly contemporary, though still somewhat earlier, than the pottery. The rest are earlier issues, mostly dated to Manuel I or Latin imitatives. Along with an average amount of iron, glass, and bronze recovered from the area, three bronze spindle hooks were recovered along with one bronze bead or button, inventoried as MF-2015-27.; In the northern extent of Room 3, levelling fills were deposited (contexts 677, 681, 727, and 737), each dating between the second half of the 13th to the 14th centuries, based on the pottery, likely to prepare the area for the “Frankish floor” removed above these contexts during the 1992 campaign. These were deposited directly overlying the surface defined by contexts 778, 780, and 782 and were later cut by a pit excavated in 1992 (pit 1992-1). One coin was recovered from context 677 (no. 2015-92) and two from context 727 (nos. 2015-178 and -179); two of these (nos. 2015-92 and -179) were Manuel I and dated to the Byzantine period, and thus are much earlier than the date given by the pottery. Coin 2015-178 is a Latin imitative type A coin, and dates somewhat closer to the period defined by the pottery, ca. 1204-1261 CE. One find was inventoried from these contexts, a lead weight (MF-2015-8) found in context 677. ; Sometime in the late 13th to early 14th centuries a large shallow cut (context 777, 113.90-109.90E/1058.90-1065.00N, filled by 693, 697, 709, 721, 738, 744, 771, 776) extended over a large portion of Room 3. This cut truncates the pit defined by cut 693 and cuts the levelling fill for the “Frankish floor.” The earliest fills of this pit are contexts 744 and 776, dated by the pottery to the late 13th to early 14th centuries. Only one coin was recovered from these contexts, no. 2015-157 from context 744, a Latin imitative type A coin, dating slightly earlier than the context itself.; The early 14th century; The large pit (cut context 777) was filled more extensively in the early 14th century (contexts 738, 697, 709, 721, and 693). Two coins were recovered from context 738 (nos. 2015-142 and -150) and five from context 697 (nos. 2015-101, -102, -103, -107, and -108). Of these, all were earlier Byzantine issues save nos. 2015-103, a French issue of the early 13th century, and 2015-142, an issue of William Villehardouin. Contexts 697, 709, and 721 were especially rich in finds, with a large amount of iron, glass (including fragments of prunted beakers), and bronze recovered. One find was inventoried from this fill, a bone die (MF-2015-22) from context 709. Despite the numerous finds from the fills of the pit, its purpose remains enigmatic. Unlike the pit made by cut 693, it is less clear if this pit was made solely to receive the waste of food preparation. The presence of butcher marks on some of the bones, however, prompted the taking of two flotation samples from context 721, and it is hoped that the analysis of these samples will yield a clearer picture of the use of this area and the pit.; This pit was capped by levelling contexts 690 and 649. Into this last deposit, a pit (cut 653, filled by context 650, 111.80-110.90E/1061.45-1062.10N) was dug at about the same time as its initial deposition. All this activity dates to the early 14th century based on pottery (contexts 690, 650). Only one coin was recovered from these contexts, no. 2015-52 from context 649, a coin issued by William Villehardouin dating as late as 1278. Finds were comparatively few from these contexts, but include a few glass fragments of a prunted beaker and an iron double hook (none were inventoried).; ; ; Conclusions:; Work in Room 3 during the 2015 season yielded important information pertaining to the phases of use of the area that would become Room 3. One of the most significant findings of the season was yielded by contexts 657 and 667, which provide a terminus post quem for the construction of the walls of Room 3. It seems likely that these two fills were used to create a firm, level basis for the walls and thus the walls must post date the late 13th to early 14th centuries.; We are thus able to rethink the early use of Room 3 as an open area in the cluster of rooms west of the church. The two main pits in the area (cuts 763 and 777) provide ample evidence for the types of activities that might have occurred in the wider area, namely the preparation of food (though it should be reiterated that no evidence was found for such activity in the room itself) and the use of the area of Room 3 as a location to dump the detritus from those activities. It would seem, however, that the walling in of the area was not enough to change the area’s function, as the cutting of the large central pit (cut 777) appears to post date the construction of the walls. The surface associated to the definition of this area as a room would be the context excavated in 1992 as Frankish floor, a white clay surface recorded extensively in the excavation of the Frankish quarter  (described in detail in NB848:150-151 and NB853: 80). ; ; ; Recommendations for Future Excavation:; As the area is currently being backfilled to be made ready for tourists, it is unlikely that further exploration will be easily made in the area. A more fruitful endeavour would then be to reconcile the findings of the 2015 season with those of the 1992 campaign. In particular the general dating of the area needs further work, as pit 1992-1, dated to the mid-13th century, seems to have cut through contexts to which our work has ascribed later dates. A review of the materials recovered from the 1992 excavations will therefore be necessary to clarify the chronology of Room 3.","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio and Tanaka, Kurtis T. (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-31)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio and Tanaka, Kurtis T. (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-31)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Unit 2, Room 9: later half of thirteenth century and earlier cistern; Unit 2, Room 6: Frankish burials and 13th century surfaces","Session III; Unit 2, Room 9; N: 1086.73, S: 1079.10, E: 132.85, W: 126.83; Unit 2, Room 6; N: 1085.00, S: 1077.00, E: 120.70, W: 116.85; ; This is the final summary of the third excavation session for 2015 in Rooms 9 and 6 of ; Unit 2 in the Frankish quarter, Temple E Southeast. Guy Sanders (director) and Larkin ; Kennedy (field director) supervised. Anna Sitz and Philip Katz (area supervisors) ; recorded. The workers were Thanassis Sakellariou (pickman), Panagiotis Rontzokos ; (shovel and barrowman), and Angeliki Stamati (sieve). Cistern excavation during the ; final week was assisted by most of the workers on site, especially Marios Vathis ; (pickman for the bottom layers). Grave 2015­13 was excavated by Elina Salminen during ; the same period.; ; Room 9 was previously excavated in Session I 2015 by Danielle Smotherman and in ; Session II by Danielle Smotherman and Timothy Brannelly; prior to that, the area had ; been excavated in 1996 (NB 888, pp. 1­46). Room 6 was previously excavated in Session ; I 2015 by Emilio Rodriguez­Alvarez and in Session II by Lucas Stephens. During the ; 2014 season, the area was excavated in Session I by Sarah Rous and Rebecca Worsham; ; prior to that, the area had been excavated in 1996 (NB 864, pp. 57­119).; Excavation in Room 9 was bounded to the North by Wall 700/166 (N 1087.11, S ; 1086.23, E 126.99, W 130.93), to the East by Wall 659 (N 1087.97, S 1079.86, E 133.18, ; W 130.68), to the South by Wall 729 (N 1079.62, S 1078.48, E 132.11, W 128.35), and ; West by Walls 720 (N 1081.05, S 1079.20, E 128.55, W 127.50) and 830 (N 1086.62, S ; 1081.05, E 128.30, W 125.95). In Room 9, excavation aimed to answer questions about ; land usage and material culture in the later half of the thirteenth century in the area to the ; north of the Frankish church. Though our excavation was bounded by the walls of Room ; 9, these did not engage directly with the contexts dug this session. Our material thus dates ; to a period when the area was an outdoor space associated with the church to the south ; and the road to the east.  As excavation in Room 9 progressed, the fill of a 12th (?) century ; Late Byzantine cistern (Structure 833, N 1083.02, S 1081.27, E 131.63, W 130.23) ; produced promising material. Our aim therefore shifted towards completing the ; excavation of this structure before the area undergoes conservation.; ; Room 9; ; Late Byzantine (1059­1210); ; The earliest feature in the area of Room 9 is an unexcavated white plaster floor visible in ; the western half of the room, partially exposed in the previous session by the excavation ; of the late 13th century large pit (733), which used the surface as its base. The plaster floor ; is also visible in the section of a late Ottoman period pit and therefore extends farther ; north and east under unexcavated contexts in Room 9. This plaster floor is cut in an arc, ; an activity related to the construction of the well/cistern perhaps in the first half of the ; 12th century (hereafter referred to as a cistern; Structure 833 filled by contexts 907­904, ; 898, 895­893, 888, 886, 834, and 832). The western portion of the cistern opening was ; exposed during the previous session when the fill of pit 733 was removed, just as it ; would have been during the original digging of 733 in the late 13th century. ; ; The construction of the cistern began with a large, deep cavity (approximately 2.50m ; maximum diameter), which cut through the plaster floor to a depth of about 4.31m. The ; dug­out cistern was then lined with roughly hewn or unworked, flat­faced limestone ; blocks and conglomerate stone with some use of tiles in the interstices and mud mortar. ; The cistern is honey­comb or bell­shaped, with a narrow mouth at the apex and gradually ; expanding interior diameter. The space between this narrow mouth and the original ; cavity was then back­filled up to the height of the mouth. Some of the fill of this cut in ; the plaster floor was dug in the previous session as the lowest layer of fill (773) of the ; large pit 733, though with some uncertainty about whether it was a continuation of the ; large pit. It now seems likely that this fill represents deposits made during the ; construction of the cistern since the sherds found in it did not match the rest of the fill of ; pit 733. These sherds, however, do not substantially help with the dating of the cistern ; construction, since the majority of the fineware was pre­Roman. ; ; The cistern terminates in packed dirt and some pieces of mortar. A drain (0.30 x ; 0.25m)enters the mouth of the cistern at the south, the top of which is right at or just ; below the level of the plaster floor. The cistern was filled with clayey soil, pottery, bone, ; tile, occasional boulders, some charcoal, and other finds. A few pieces of worked marble, ; including a Byzantine/Frankish type window mullion (A­2015­2, in context 904) were ; also found. These fills produced a rich pottery assemblage, with several pots having ; complete or nearly complete profiles. ; ; The earliest deposits (898, 895, and 894) so far analyzed date to the second half of the ; 12th century and provide a terminus post quem for the cistern’s construction and may ; indicate use fill, i.e. the cistern was still in use at that time and rubbish gradually ; accumulated in it, perhaps entering from the drain. The earliest layers of fill contained ; large quantities of ceramics, decreasing near the middle layers of the cistern before ; increasing again closer to the opening: a layer near the middle of the well (893) had only ; had only 0.79 kg of pottery, compared with 4.2kg in the layer below (894) and 11.59 kg ; in the layer above (888). This middle nearly sterile layer (893) also marks a change in ; date, with material dated to the second quarter of the 13th century. This suggests a ; possible lull in activity in the area from the late 12th through the first quarter of the 13th century. The two layers above this nearly sterile layer (888 and 886) also date to the ; second quarter of the 13th century (dated by pottery and Coin #2015­605, a Villehardouin ; Corintum issue) and represent more dense pottery accumulation (11.59 kg and 16.58 kg, ; respectively). Though all the fills of the cistern represent a span of approximately 75 ; years, the dirt throughout was largely homogenous – hard, greyish clay with a dominant ; greenish/yellowish tinge, suggesting the presence of human or animal waste; samples ; have been taken for later analysis. Because the dirt was homogenous, it cannot be ; excled; that there was a single filling event of the cistern with soil brought from ; elsewhere; the stratified nature of the deposits, however, suggests a more gradual ; accumulation. ; ; Frankish (1210­1458); ; Near the opening of the cistern, two additional layers of fill were dug that dated to the ; late 13th century (834 and 832). It is likely that both these layers also included material ; that fell into the cistern opening during the original digging and filling of pit 733 in the ; late 13th century, by which time the ground level in the area had risen so much that the ; cistern opening was completely obscured. Therefore, the final deposit in the cistern made ; while the opening was still visible is 886, from the second quarter of the 13th century. ; Immediately above and around the mouth of the cistern (but not extending over the ; opening itself), there was a layer of stones (854) that contained many boulders (including ; two spoliated pieces of marble, removed as Context 885) and tiles. It is dated by pottery ; to the mid 13th century. One of the marbles was a half Ionic column base, probably dating ; from the Roman period, but from an unknown building. The stones around the cistern ; opening may indicate a rough attempt to raise the opening of the cistern as the ground ; level around it rose. This stone layer, and a line or cut in the surface perhaps due to ; slumping of material into the well, was visible in a level, packed surface dating from the ; third quarter of the 13th century (843, more on this surface below). ; ; By approximately the third quarter of the 13th century, with the cistern out of use, the ; eastern portion of Room 9 was covered with a series of level, packed surfaces. The ; earliest, 843, may be connected with a whitish clay floor (contexts 836 and 835) in the ; northwest corner of Room 9, which extended into the adjoining Room 8 (context 870) ; and was built up against Wall 850 (later robbed), which runs obliquely NW to SE, ; perhaps suggesting a different orientation to the space prior to the construction of Room ; 9’s walls (see below). Subsurface instability, caused by slumping into the cistern, resulted ; in a small deposit (831) in the surface of 843, and the area was again covered over by a ; more substantial surface (829), which eliminated any evidence of the cistern. This surface ; was rich in small finds, coins (33, including 7 Corintum and 4 Corinti Villehardouin ; coins, see coin list below), and small sherds (18.65 kg) consistent with a trampled ; surface. Later iterations of these packed level surfaces were dug in the previous session ; (772 and 792), and each of these surfaces may be associated with the road identified to ; the east of Wall 659 in the 1990s, which led to the Frankish marketplace south of the ; church. This series of level, packed surfaces in the eastern half of Room 9 was bordered ; on its western side by a series of rubbly deposits. Overtime, these level surfaces ; encroached on the rubble layers along their western border in the south of Room 9. ; ; Still in the third quarter of the 13th century, but after the other surfaces and rubble ; deposits in our sector, a small pit (808, 1.00 x 0.90, depth 0.24) was dug in the ; southwestern corner of Room 9 (filled by deposits 805 and 807). This pit perhaps ; indicates a shift towards using this outdoor space for rubbish disposal, as seen in the large ; pit 733, dating from the late 13th century, even with the church located just to the south.; Late 13th century; The sequence of wall construction in Room 9 is difficult to ascertain because of robbing ; trenches/pits, varied construction techniques, and incomplete excavation in the spaces to ; the north and south of the room. The earliest wall in Room 9 is most likely Wall 659 to ; the east, which runs beyond the bounds of the room farther north and south, alongside the ; road. Wall 659 thereby distinguishes the property associated with the church from the ; road. This wall was built with a foundation trench and a layer of foundation stones wider ; than the face of the wall above. The foundation trench for this wall (cut 673, fill 672) ; dated to the late 13th/early 14th century based on pottery and stratigraphy. The foundations ; to the north and south seem to vary in depth when visible, but since these spaces have not ; been excavated, they do not provide dating information for Wall 659.; ; The next wall to be constructed in the Room 9 area was likely southern Wall 729 and ; western Wall 720. Wall 729 makes use of two large worked ashlars at its western ; terminus; one of these ashlars juts out slightly to the north, indicating that this was ; planned as a corner. Wall 720 is built on top of this large ashlar and to the same depth (c. ; 84.50). Wall 720 may terminate after approximately two meters since a block covered ; with plaster is visible on its north face. Wall 830 then seems to be built against Wall 720, ; not bonded with it but continuing its line north. It should be noted, however, that the ; block with plaster may be reused from an earlier structure, and therefore this may not ; indicate a terminal face of Wall 720. Wall 830 could therefore be a continuation of the ; same wall after a short break in construction (perhaps the end of one day’s work). In any ; case, both Walls 720 and 830 have foundations that descend into large pit 733 (which ; extends into the area of Room 8) and rest on the plaster floor mentioned above, at a ; maximum depth of 84.05. This indicates that these walls, and joining Wall 729, must ; have been built after the filling of Pit 733 in the late 13th century. Since the surface level ; into which the pit was cut, and the fill of the pit, was at a height of approximately 84.71, ; this indicates that the foundations of these walls were cut straight down into the soil and ; filled completely with stones, leaving no subsequent sign of a foundation trench. The face ; of the wall above seems to have been the same width as these foundations, making it ; difficult to distinguish between the foundations and the visible wall face.; ; Wall 830 was robbed out in its northern section, where it was built atop the clay floor ; level discussed above (Contexts 836 and 835). However, a small piece of wall to the ; north of this robbing trench can be identified as a continuation of Wall 830; its northern ; side indicates a terminal face because it is flat and makes use of two ashlars ; (approximately 0.50m in length) at its northwest corner. This section of Wall 830, ; however, has been previously assumed to be part of Wall 700/166 and is indicated as ; such on top plans. Wall 700/166 is therefore laid against this preexisting segment of Wall ; 830. Wall 700/166 retains two structure numbers because it was mistakenly given a new ; number in the 2015 Session II season without reference to the preexisting number 166 ; from 2014 Session I. The foundations of Wall 700/166 are at approximately the same ; depth (84.64) as the segment of Wall 830 it is laid against. Wall 700/166 was constructed ; with a foundation trench, rather than a straight cut downwards, as in Walls 830, 720, and ; 729. The fill of the foundation trench of Wall 700/166 dated to the late 13th century based ; on pottery stratigraphic relationships (foundation cut 708, fill 706). At the east, Wall ; 700/166 is laid against Wall 659. Each of the walls is constructed of unworked but ; smooth­fac, ; or lightly worked stones, with occasional use of ashlars, facing on a rubble core with lime mud mortar. ; Wall 659 also makes use of tiles between the stones.; ; The northern and southern walls of Room 8 to the west, which abut Wall 729 and the ; segment of Wall 830, are built at significantly higher levels (0.40m higher for northern ; Walls 154 and Wall 830; 0.13m higher for southern Walls 156 and 729).  These walls ; therefore post­date the walls of Room 9. It is possible that the robbing trench of Wall 830 ; dated to the period when Room 8 was enclosed by these walls, creating a threshold ; between these two rooms. Since Room 8 southern Wall 156 dates later than Wall 729, ; there was no full north corridor of the church prior to that time.; ; Room 6; ; Frankish Period (1210­1458); ; As noted by Bennett and Stephens, the area of Room 6 was used throughout the 13th and ; 14th centuries as a burial ground, with surfaces and leveling fills intermittently laid over ; the graves. The earliest level reached during our work was the unexcavated surface ; exposed beneath context 872, which dates to the early 14th century. Into this surface was ; cut the earliest burial excavated this session, grave 2015­13 (cut context 903; preserved ; coordinates: N. 1081.48, S. 1080.59, E. 120.00, W. 119.62; preserved depth: 0.20; fill ; context 882). It contained the skeleton (context 902, Bone Lot 2015­20) of a subadult laid ; supine, oriented north­south, and covered from the waist up by a terracotta cover tile ; (structure 901). The skeleton, structure, and grave cut were later truncated to the north ; and east by the robbing trench of Wall 59, the eastern wall of the room; the absent skull ; would have been at the north. At the time of burial, the grave would thus have directly ; abutted the western face of the now­missing wall.; ; After the southern area of the room was covered by surface 872, Grave 2015­11 (cut ; context 899; preserved coordinates: N. 1080.39, S. 1078.68, E. 119.80, W. 119.02; ; preserved depth: 0.35; fill context 881) was cut into the center of the room. This grave ; contained the skeletal remains of at least three individuals: an articulated skeleton, ; truncated at the waist with a disarticulated skull to the west, which initial osteological ; inventory suggests may belong to a second individual (both recorded in the field as ; context 883, Bone Lot 2015­16), and a second disarticulated skull to the east (context ; 884, Bone Lot 2015­17), added at a later period. After the initial burial, the grave was ; significantly disturbed: it was truncated to the east by Grave 2015­10 and south by 1996­; 01, and directly above was later placed Grave 1996­02. This degree of disturbance ; unfortunately removed much of the burial fill, and makes it difficult to determine the ; grave’s original extent.; ; During the course of the 14th century, a variety of surfaces were laid above the level of ; these graves. Unlike those in Room 9, however, these surfaces contained few coins and ; no notable small finds. In the southern portion of the room, drainage or slumping issues ; seem to have arisen due to the density of graves and other cuttings, resulting in patchy ; surfaces (contexts 872, 868, 861) with numerous irregular deposits (contexts 865, 867, ; 87. ; At the north, however, the relative lack of burials allowed for more stable, regular ; floors (contexts 861, 874).; ; Conclusion; ; Room 9; ; Our excavation in Room 9 uncovered a series of deposits dating primarily from the ; second half of the 13th century, indicating rapid accumulation of fills in that area and a ; quickly rising ground level at a time when the area was still an outdoor space just north ; of the Frankish church. The excavation of the Late Byzantine cistern produced a large ; amount of material that can aid in refining the pottery chronology for that period as well ; as the opportunity to study water management in the area prior to the Frankish period. ; With the foundation courses for all the walls of Room 9 now exposed, these structures ; can now be placed in sequence. Further excavation in Room 9, down to the level of the ; plaster floor could provide a more precise date for the construction of the cistern and a ; better picture of the possible lull in activity between the late 12th century and early 13th century.; ; Room 6; ; The phasing of Room 6 remains difficult due to the patchiness of the surfaces, number of ; disturbances, and the nature of the excavation, which has focused on the removal of ; burials. Continued excavation of surfaces would help elucidate the relationship between ; the north and south sections of the room, and the chronology of the surrounding walls. ; Further work should also include the osteological analysis of the human remains from ; these graves, and their comparison with contemporary populations.; ; Coin List, TESE 2015 Sesssion III Blue; ; Context 805; 2015­431 (findspot): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­433 (sieve): Roman imperial (4th century), AE; 2015­436 (findspot): Byzantine (1078­1081), AE, Anonymous Folles I; 2015­438 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; ; Context 809; 2015­440 (findspot): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­441 (findspot): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­443 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; ; Context 814; 2015­444 (sieve): Frankish (1200­1300), BI, St. Martin of Tours, Castle Tournois; 2015­445 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE; 2015­446 (sieve): Byzantine, AE; 2015­447 (sieve): Byzantine, AE; ; Context 816; 2015­448 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; ; Context 817; 2015­449 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­450 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­451 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; ; Context 820; 2015­461 (findspot): Latin Imitative (1204­1261), AE; 2015­462 (findspot): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; ; Context 822; 2015­464 (findspot): Frankish (1250­1278), AE; 2015­465 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­466 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; 2015­467 (findspot): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; ; Context 826; 2015­468 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­469 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­470 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­471 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­472 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; ; Context 829; 2015­473 (sieve): Byzantine, AE; 2015­499 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, Genoese Gate (?); 2015­500 (findspot): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­502 (sieve): Latin Imitative (1204­1261), AE; 2015­503 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; 2015­504 (sieve): Greek, AE; 2015­505 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­506 (sieve): Byzantine, AE; 2015­507 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­508 (sieve): Byzantine, AE; 2015­509 (sieve): Greek, AE; 2015­510 (sieve): Illegible, AE; 2015­511 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; 2015­512 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; 2015­513 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­514 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­515 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­516 (findspot): Latin Imitative (1204­1261), AE; 2015­517 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), BI, St. Martin of Tours, Castle Tournois; 2015­518 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­519 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, Genoese Gate (?); 2015­522 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; 2015­523 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; 2015­524 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­525 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­526 (sieve): Byzantine, AE; 2015­527 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­528 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­529 (sieve): Illegible, AE; 2015­530 (sieve): Illegible, AE; 2015­531 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­532 (sieve): Latin or Bulgarian Imitative (?), AE; 2015­533 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; ; Context 831; 2015­535 (sieve): Not a coin; ; Context 832; 2015­536 (sieve): Illegible, AE; 2015­537 (sieve): Latin or Bulgarian Imitative (?), AE; ; Context 834; 2015­543 (findspot): Roman Imperial, AE; ; Context 836; 2015­544 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; ; Context 838; 2015­546 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­547 (sieve): Disintegrated; ; Context 840; 2015­548 (findspot): Not a coin; ; Context 841; 2015­549 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, Genoese Gate (?); 2015­550 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; ; Context 843; 2015­553 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­554 (findspot): Latin Imitative (?), AE; Context 847; 2015­556 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­557 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­558 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; 2015­559 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; 2015­560 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTI, Genoese Gate; ; Context 848; 2015­561 (sieve): Illegible, AE; 2015­562 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­563 (sieve): Illegible, AE; 2015­564 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­565 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­566 (sieve): Illegible, AE; ; Context 861; 2015­585 (findspot): Illegible, AE; 2015­587 (sieve): Not a coin (?); ; Context 867; 2015­590 (sieve): Roman imperial (?), AE; ; Context 868; 2015­592 (sieve): Not a coin; 2015­593 (sieve): Corroded; 2015­594 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; 2015­595 (sieve): Latin Imitative or Anonymous Folles (?), AE; ; Context 874; 2015­597 (sieve): Effaced, AE; 2015­600 (sieve): Latin imitative (?), AE; ; Context 881; 2015­604 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; ; Context 886; 2015­605 (sieve): Frankish (1250­1278), AE, CORINTUM, Acrocorinth; ; Context 888; 2015­615 (sieve): Byzantine (1143­1180), AE, Manuel I; 2015­616 (sieve): Illegible, AE; ; Context 898; 2015­628 (sieve): Byzantine (919­944), AE, Romanos I; 2015­636 (sieve): Anonymous Folles (?), AE","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Sitz, Anna and Katz, Philip (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Sitz, Anna and Katz, Philip (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Corinth Report: Temple E Southeast excavations. Unit 2, Rooms 8 and 7.","Room 8 [N: 1088.00 N, S: 1077.00 N, E: 129.00 E, W: 121.00 E]; Room 7 [N: 1086.30 N, S: 1078.20 N, E: 123.90 E, W: 119.40 E]; Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio; Session III; ; Introduction:; This is the final report for the third session of excavations in the 2015 season for Rooms 8 and 7, Unit II,  in the area of Temple E SE. Room 8 was first excavated in 1995 (NB 877: 73–198; NB 845: 33–75) and then between 23rd and 25th of April 2014 by Rous and Worsham. Work was briefly resumed between the 19th and the 21st of May 2015 by Tanaka and Rodríguez-Álvarez and carried out by Rodríguez-Álvarez in June 2015. Room 7 was first excavated in 1992 by Schmalz (NB854) and briefly explored in 1994 (NB 864). Excavation was resumed between the 5th of May and the 29th of June in 2014 by Burr and Rogers and continued by Rodríguez-Álvarez between the 16th and the 19th of June 2015.  Dr. Guy Sanders (Director) and Larkin Kennedy (Field Director) supervised. Emilio Rodríguez-Álvarez recorded. Kostas Arberoris excavated and Thanassis Notis and Vassilis Kollias sieved. ; ; Goals of excavation:; The excavation of this area had two main aims: first, to explore the use of the area through time, before and after the space was defined as Room 8 by the erection of Wall 154 (1085.91–1086.65N, 124.04–126.17E) and the abutting Wall 166 (1086.27–1087.30N, 126.20–130.82E) at the north, Wall 720 (1081.10-1079.20N, 128.55-127.50E) and 830 (1084.10-1081.10N, 128.30-126.70E) at the east, Wall 156 (1077.50–1078.97N, 123.58–128.40E) at the south and Wall 157 (1078.37–1085.05N, 122.55–124.63E) at the west. Secondly, to assess the correlation between Room 8 and some of the finds made by Smotherman and Brannelly in Room 9 during the previous session, specially the pit (Context 733/717/726/747, N. 1083.88; S. 1079.99; E. 130.80; W. 127.50) sectioned by Wall 830, which seemed to extend into Room 8. When the excavations in room 8 revealed a second pit shared by Rooms 8 and 7, the correlation of finds with the material recovered by Burr and Rogers in 2014 and the relationship between the pit (Cut 842 1081.65-1078.40N, 127.80-123.90E) and Wall 157 (1078.37-1085.05N, 124.63-122.55E) became the third aim of the session. Finally, it is intended to backfill the area and to prepare it for visitors once the area has been fully studied.; Frankish Period (AD 1210-1450); Mid 13th century:; The first signs of activity in Room 8 are associated to the erection and ultimate dismantlement of Wall 850, a limestone structure made with roughly squared blocks and bounded with a mixture of mud and lime (1085.80-1081.40N, 125.55-123.30E). This structure was found in the NW quadrant of Room 8, not aligned, joined or abutted with any of the other walls of the room. A white clay surface was excavated in association to this wall (870 1086.10-1084.20N, 126.60-124.10E) and dated by the pottery finds to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Its characteristics are reminiscent of those of the so-called Frankish floor located and excavated in several locations of the Frankish area. ; Context 845, the deposit that covered the wall, was dated to the 4th quarter of the 13th century, but we know the wall was carefully dismantled before 1270±10 CE, since the digging of Cut 842 truncated the south section of the structure and this event was dated to this date. No traces of blocks belonging to the wall or any other sign of collapse have been found on the contexts laid up against both sides of the wall. These contexts make up a large number of small deposits, with almost no compaction of the soil, scarce artifacts and clustered dates. Most of them have been dated to the mid 13th century. Contexts 862 and 864, located in the lowest part of the stratigraphic sequence, have been dated to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Based on this evidence, I concluded that around the central years of the 13th century this wall is erected. Then, around 1270 CE the area is backfilled and leveled with small throws of soil which are accumulated on both sides and, finally, top of the wall (Context 845).; C. 1270 CE:; The next traces of anthropic action in the area are defined by two large pits that were excavated and filled in the last quarter of the 13th century. These pits were later truncated by the walls that defined Rooms 7, 8 and 9. Cut 823 (1083.80- 1080.80N, 127.50- 126.45E, depth: 0.62) is the west side in room 8 of a large pit also excavated in Room 9 (as Cut 733). The filling of the pit removed in Room 8 (Contexts 806, 813, 815, 819 and 821) was dated by pottery to the 4th quarter of the 13th century, and lotted with the material recovered in Room 9 (Contexts 717, 726 and 747) as Lot 2015-04. Context 806 included a cubic bone die with numbers drilled and painted in black (MF- 2015-57).; A second pit, Cut 842 (1081.65- 1078.40N, 127.80- 123.90E, depth: 0.47), was located on the South section of Room 8 and extending to the west into Room 7. This pit was also truncated by a structure (Wall 157), the part located in Room 7 already excavated by Burr and Rogers in 2014. The filling of this pit (Contexts 825 and 839) was dated by pottery to 1270±10 CE; Context 274 (1078.20-1081.30 N, 121.85-123.25 E, cf. Burr and Rogers, 2014) was dated to the late 3rd quarter of the 13th century. However, the  earliest fill in the west portion of this pit, Context 887, was excavated this year and dated by pottery to the 4th quarter of the 13th century, providing further evidence for the equivalence of the pit cut to the east and west of Wall 157 (Cut 889=842; 1081.70- 1078.50N, 123.80- 121.40E).  ; 4th quarter of the 13th century:; In the last decades of the 13th century the space north of the church gets delimited by a series of walls defining what is now labelled as Room 7, Room 8 and Room 9. Room 8 is separated from Room 7 by Wall 157 (124.63-122.55E/1078.37-1085.05N; Wall 13 NB 877), from the corridor north of the church by Wall 156 (128.40-123.58E/1077.50-1078.97N; Wall 16 NB 877 and 845) and from Room 9 by two structures, Wall 720 (1081.30-1079.20N, 128.55-127.50E) and Wall 830 (1084.10-1081.30N, 128.30-126.80E). ; The data obtained from the excavation and subsequent study of the two pits described in the previous section, as well as the chronologies established for these structures by Rous and Worsham on one hand, and Burr and Rogers on the other, have been used to establish a sequence of construction for these structures. The first wall erected in the area in this period was Wall 156, since Walls 157 and 720 abut rather than join with it. This structure was dated by Rous and Worsham, (Context 184), to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Bennett, in 2015, dated the wall to the last years of the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, but based solely on a lens of soil left unexcavated in 2014 on the corridor between the church and Room 8 by Swalec and Wilson (see also NB 864). The pit shared by Room 7 and Room 8 was truncated completely on its southern edge by the erection of Wall 156, with the exception of a small portion of the edge preserved in the southeast corner of the room as Context 855, and dated by pottery to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. If we also consider the date provided for the fill of the pit is 1270±10 CE (Context 825 and 839), we obtain a TPQ for the erection of the wall of very late 3rd or early 4th quarter of the 13th century.; The structure that divides Room 7 and Room 8, Wall 157, was built against 156. This wall 157 also divides Cut 842=889, the pit located between Room 8 and Room 9, in two different sections. The fill of the cut excavated in Room 7 was dated by Burr and Rogers to the late 3rd quarter of the 13th century (Context 274) and this session to the 4th quarter of the 13th century (Context 887); the fill of the pit in Room 8, as indicated above, to 1270±10 CE. A possible bench (cf. Context 175, Rous and Worsham 2014) laid along Wall 157 was likewise dated to the late 13th century. ; Room 8 is separated from Room 9 on the east by two structures, Wall 720 and Wall 830. These two structures were first recorded together as Wall 155 in 2014 by Rous and Worsham, based on the records for Wall 18 (NB 877, 845). In May 2015 the record of Wall 155 was duplicated by Smotherman and Brannelly as Wall 720, still comprising in its extension the structures I define here as Wall 720 and 830. In June 2015 it was discovered that this single structure was in fact two different walls abutting. The study of previous documentation of the structure pointed out the duplicity of this record. Since a new nomenclature was needed, it was decided to keep the duplicated record of 720 for the south section of the wall and assign 830 to the north. Thus, Wall 155 is in fact Wall 830 plus Wall 720 (as recorded by Rodríguez-Álvarez), and the original record for Wall 720 (as recorded by Smotherman and Brannelly) equates Wall 155 but it is now obsolete. ; Coming back to the analysis of the area, former Wall 155 was dated by Rous and Worsham based on the stratigraphic relationship with two possible foundation trenches (Context 176 and 177) to the late 13th or early 14th century. The excavations of this season showed that its south section (now Wall 720), also truncated Cut 842 on the east edge, preserving only part of it in Context 855 (as explained above in relation to the dating of Wall 156). Further work in June revealed that a second wall, 830, was constructed on the north end of Wall 720. Traces of what appears to be plaster were spotted on the surface where 830 abuts 720. Wall 720 truncated Cut 842=889 on its east edge, and can be dated to a time after 1270±10 and the construction of Wall 156 on which is abutted. Finally, Wall 830 divides the pit between Room 8 and Room 9 (Cut 823=733), and can be dated to at least the 4th quarter of the 13th century and after the erection of Wall 720.  ; The erection of these walls defined the space of Room 8. Former excavation in the area revealed a series of deposits that have been interpreted as the use surface of this room. The so-called ""Frankish floor"" (NB 877 and 845, see NB 845 p. 53), also excavated as Context 140 and the earlier surface excavated in Context 168 seem all to have been laid against the wall. These deposits were dated to the 14th century. These surfaces rest on two deposits, Context 786 and 796, which have been interpreted as garbage piles that were levelled in the area as sub-floor of for these use surfaces. The date provided by the pottery is the 4th quarter of the 13th century. Two bone cubic dice with numbers drilled and painted in black (MF-2015-24 and MF-2015-25) were recovered from this garbage context. A lead seal (MF-2015-56) was recovered from Context 844 (now equated to 786).; ; Conclusion: ; The succession of structures, spaces and use in the area took place in a relatively short period of time. The presence of the garbage pits in the space later occupied by Room 7, 8 and 9 led different excavators in the past to interpret the space as an open air garbage dump. The discovery, however, of Wall 850 opens the possibility that this open area was a transitional phase between two different construction phases in the area: the first carefully dismantled before 1270±10 CE and the second one carried out in the last quarter of the 13th century. ; With regard to the first phase of construction, Wall 850 and the possible clay floor associated to it (Context 870) are the only evidence, and more work is needed to assess the extension both in time and space of this structure. The presence of pits truncated by walls was already noted by previous excavators in the area (e.g. Rous and Worsham, Burr and Rogers, Smotherman and Brannelly) and led them to conclude that the area was an open space where garbage was deposited. The analysis of the materials recovered from the pit deposits (Lot 2015-04: 806, 819, 821; Lot 2015-38: 825; Lot 2015-37: 839) and the leveled garbage deposits (Lot 2015-22: 786, 796) clearly indicate that the disposal of refuse is taking place in the area. One pattern observed in this behavior is that alongside the pottery and animal bones, those deposits interpreted as garbage layers are characterized by a high presence of coins (17 in Context 786, 3 in 796, 5 in Context 806, 7 in Context 825). These coins, however, are never contemporary to the date provided by the pottery finds for the deposit, with all legible coins belonging to the Byzantine period, often to different issues of Manuel I (1143-1180). Coins contemporary to the Frankish dates of these contexts tend to appear in isolation and associated with leveling fills (e.g. Coin 2015-584, a CORINTVM issue of William Villehardouin found in Context 858, a leveling fill associated with Wall 850). Coinage of the Byzantine period seems to have lost any monetary value during the Frankish period, and it is in consequence discarded as a worthless object with the rest of the refuse produced in the area. These garbage deposits were also characterized by an abundant presence of iron remains, mostly square and round shaft nails, and small fragments of glass. Shards of prunted beakers, similar to MF-1992-38 and MF-2009-29, are especially abundant in these deposits. In conclusion, the study of Cut 823/733 and Cut 842/889 reinforces the interpretation of former excavators of the area being used as an open air garbage dump. But if the chronology of the area exposed in this summary is correct, that would mean that the church was already functioning while the space was working as a dump area. The discovery of Wall 850 not only indicates the presence of a former constructive phase but also clarifies the interpretation of the role of the pits and the leveling of the garbage in the area. The  dismantlement of Wall 850 and the rapid succession of deposits in Room 7 and Room 8 might belong to a sequence of events in which the former structure is torn down to leave space for the rooms defined by Wall 156, 157 and 720. In the brief interim of construction garbage was disposed in this area north of the church, but just for a brief period of time, as the homogeneity of the fills of the pits (Contexts 825-839 and Contexts 806-819-821), seem to indicate. ; ;  Recommendations for Future Excavation:; - Continue with the excavation of Room 7 and Room 8, in order to reach the deposits corresponding to the 2nd quarter of the 13th century, in order to explore into more detail the early phase of construction in the area related to Wall 850.; - Analyse the sequence of construction of the walls shared by Rooms 7, 8 and 9, in order to assess whether the lack of joins among these walls is the product of an extended lapse in their construction or the result of the building techniques of the period. The relative chronology offered in this report is based on dates provided by artefacts and the visible relationships among the structures. Further excavation in the area and, especially, a detailed study of masonry styles and techniques in the Frankish period could corroborate or invalidate the present interpretation.","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","EXCAVATIONS OF SOUTH STOA, SHOP 2 REAR","FINAL REPORT: EXCAVATIONS OF SOUTH STOA, SHOP 2 REAR, SESSION 1 2016; ; Alexandra Daly and Thalia Parr ; Dates of Excavation: April 5 – April 22; Coordinates: N: 1090.40 N, S: 1085.50 N, E: 351.40 E, W: 345.20 E; ; ; INTRODUCTION; ; This is the final report for the excavation of Shop 2 Rear in the first session of the 2016 season.  Shop 2 Rear is a rear shop room in the South Stoa.  It is bounded by four walls built of large, well-worked ashlar blocks—Walls 459 (coordinates to be taken in Session 2), 462 (N: 1086.10 N, S: 1084.80 N, E: 350.90 E, W: 346.70 E), 464 (N: 1091.10 N, S: 1089.10 N, E: 349.40 E, W: 345.05 E), 465 (N: 1094.75 N, S: 1086.00 N, E: 346.00 E, W: 342.10 E)—and by the robbing trench (Cut 428, N: 1086.70 N, S: 1078.65 N, E: 349.60 E, W: 332.65 E) that spoliated most of the south wall of the stoa.  Shops 1, 3, and 4 were excavated by two other teams at the same time as our excavation of Shop 2 Rear.  Excavation began on April 5th and continued until April 22nd.  Guy Sanders (director) and Danielle Smotherman (field director) supervised.  Our team consisted of Alexandra Daly and Thalia Parr (area supervisors), Thanasis Notis (foreman and pickman), Kostas Arberores (pickman), Vassilis Kollias (barrowman), and Panagiotis Rontzokos (shovelman).; ; Shop 2 Rear was first excavated in 1934 by Oscar Broneer.  In addition to exposing the walls, he excavated the north and west foundation trenches (Cuts 349, 352), as recorded in NB 139 and shown in Broneer 1954 Corinth 1.4 Pl. 6.2 and 7.1.  Modern material throughout the fills of these foundation trenches (Contexts 345, 348) demonstrates that Broneer backfilled them after excavation.  Broneer later excavated the robbing trench (Cut 428) and in doing so widened it and cut into his own backfill of Shop 2 Rear.  We have found no indication in his notebooks and publications that Broneer excavated the east or south foundation trenches, and we believe that their fills have remained undisturbed since the construction of the room, because they yielded only ancient material and were overlaid by ancient contexts.  In the southeast corner of the room Broneer left a Late Roman or Byzantine wall (Wall 288), which was laid over earlier contexts.  ; ; The goals of this session were to remove Broneer’s backfill, to find evidence for the date of the construction of the South Stoa, to investigate layers predating the stoa, and to prepare the stoa for presentation to the public.  ; ; ; PREHISTORIC; ; The earliest layers in our area are a series of deposits containing a mixture of prehistoric pottery, mainly Early Helladic and Late Neolithic, including a ritual vessel leg (C-2016-6 in Context 445), with some Middle Neolithic.  These layers also contained two Cycladic frying pan base fragments (in Contexts 420, 442), some non-local chert, much obsidian, and several pieces of andesite (including a grinder in Context 476), all of which suggest trade or migration.  There were also several stone tools in these layers, including a burnisher MF-2016-7 in Context 415, and an Early Helladic spindle whorl (MF-2016-11 in Context 452).  The current understanding is that most of these layers are colluvium filling a sharp drop in the bedrock, which is represented by Cut 502 and may be an erosion gully.  The amount of pottery in all these colluvial layers, and of bone in Contexts 476 and 477 (the latter containing a cow or bull horn), suggests that they may have washed down from a nearby settlement.; ; Between these colluvial layers, four separate phases of human activity are represented by three thin compacted surfaces (Contexts 388, 442, 500) with prehistoric cultural material trampled into them and by two pits (Cuts 419, 422).  If the majority of the other prehistoric layers are in fact colluvium, then these surfaces would have been formed by brief and probably intensive activity during dry periods, when prehistoric people could have made use of and traversed the area.  ; ; The earliest phase of human activity is represented by a surface (Context 500, preserved in a 2.8m x 1.8m area) dating to EH II and containing much ash, which was probably used as a hardening agent.  An exceptionally high number of snails was present throughout the surface, and one part contained a concentration of carbon.  Context 500, then, appears to have been a surface intentionally created through the use of ash, perhaps for cooking, as evidenced by the snails and carbon.  An anthropogenic (rather than natural) deposition of the snails is supported by the presence of many more snails in an unexcavated bothros immediately below Context 500.; ; After this surface (Context 500) had fallen out of use, several layers of colluvium accumulated above it, forming overlapping ledges of soil within the erosion gully (Cut 502).  During excavation, these ledges appeared to be anthropogenic and were recorded as cuts (Cuts 453, 475, 483), but they are now considered to be the result of water action.; ; Another earthen surface containing a high concentration of bone was formed during EH II (Context 442, preserved in a 1.9m x 1.55m area).  Because this surface lacked evidence for the intentional preparation seen in the earlier floor (the ash in Context 500), we believe it may have been created circumstantially by a single event, such as a feast, which could have generated the bone trampled into it.  A bothros cut into this surface and filled with bone (Cut 430/Context 429) may support this interpretation.  The Neolithic sherds in the fill of this cut would then be the result of backfilling the pit with soil containing Neolithic sherds.; ; Above the earthen surface with bone (Context 442), more colluvium accumulated (Contexts 415, 420, 425) until the end of EH II and into EH III (as indicated by the inclusion of a fine-incised body sherd in Context 425).  Two of these deposits (Contexts 415, 420) filled two pits (Cuts 419, 422) that are the only evidence for human activity during this phase.  Along with Cut 430, these pits run along the southwest corner of the area in a line from east to west, each cutting the one that came before it.  The alignment of these three cuts suggests chronological proximity, but the function of Cuts 419 and 422 seems to have been different from that of Cut 430.  While Cut 430 appears to have been intentionally filled with waste, Cuts 419 and 422 appear to have been filled with colluvium, and thus were standing open.  If so, they may have been storage pits.; ; Above all of this lay more colluvium (Contexts 392, 393, 397, 400, 404, and 413), above which a third surface (Context 388, preserved in a 3.2m x 2.45m area) represents the fourth and final phase of prehistoric human activity, also during EH III.  A chert scraper and two whetstones trampled into this surface, as well as a chert awl just below it in a layer of colluvium (Context 393), suggest that it may have served as a working area.; ; ; HELLENISTIC; ; The only possible testament to Hellenistic activity in the area before the construction of Shop 2 Rear is a pit (Cut 386/Context 384) that contains Hellenistic pottery.  This cut was made before construction of the room began as it was covered by a deposit cut by the south foundation trench (Context 365) and was likely unrelated to the construction because it was not oriented with the room.; ; The earliest layers that may be associated with the construction of the South Stoa are Hellenistic deposits of fill (Contexts 359, 365, 368, and 370), which together covered most of the southeastern half of Shop 2 Rear.  Given the quantity of prehistoric pottery mixed with the Hellenistic (including a fine incised EH III handle fragment C-2016-3 and body sherd C-2016-4 in Context 365), we believe that the builders of the South Stoa excavated this soil from foundation trenches elsewhere and dumped it into the area that later became Shop 2 Rear.  This sequence of events is supported by the fact that all of these layers were cut by the south and east foundation trenches of Shop 2 Rear (Cuts 322, 325).  The area of Shop 2 Rear may have been chosen because the erosion gully had created a natural depression suitable for dumping.  The fill belonging to the pre-construction pit discussed above (Context 384) had a diffuse boundary with one of the Hellenistic deposits of fill (Context 365) and so may have been part of this dumping process.  ; ; The construction of Shop 2 Rear is dated broadly to the Hellenistic period by the fill of the south foundation trench (Cut 325/Contexts 328, 339, 498) and more narrowly to the first quarter of the third century BC by the fill of the east foundation trench (Cuts 322, 496/Contexts 321, 372, 431, 491, 499).  Given the mixture in these fills of Hellenistic pottery with much earlier material, including an Early Helladic spindle whorl (MF-2016-20 in Context 499), the backfill of the east and south foundation trenches, like the Hellenistic deposits cut by the foundation trenches, is most likely the result of digging by the builders of the stoa.  ; ; The south foundation trench must have been constructed before the east, as it was cut by the lowest portion of the east foundation trench (Cut 496, 1.7m x 0.6m).  This lowest portion was an undercutting of the east foundation trench that made it significantly wider than the portion of the trench above, and it may have been meant to accommodate the wider blocks in the southern portion of the fifth course down of the east wall (Wall 459).  Regardless, the stratigraphy of the foundation trenches makes it clear that the south wall was constructed before the east.  The east wall abuts and so must postdate the north wall (Wall 464).  It seems, then, that the north and south (Wall 462) walls were constructed first, followed by the east and west (Wall 465) walls.  This is the most logical order in which to construct the walls of a stoa: first the walls that constitute its length, then those dividing individual rooms.; ; There is some evidence for the use of Shop 2 Rear after its construction.  A small rocky deposit of fill (Context 324) was laid over the fill of the south foundation trench and therefore provides a terminus ante quem for the construction of Room 2 Rear in the second half of the third century BC.  Given its quantity of prehistoric sherds, it was likely not use accumulation but a leveling fill, perhaps needed after the fill of the south foundation trench had sunken as it settled over time.  A shallow circular pit (Cut 319) in a reddish patch of fill (Context 359) in the northeast of the room is more likely to post- rather than pre-date the construction of Shop 2 Rear, as it respected the boundary of the east wall. It may have been a pithos stand.  Its mixture of prehistoric and third century BC pottery suggests that the fill of this pit (Cut 319/Context 318) was backfill after the pit had fallen out of use.; ; ; LATE ROMAN; ; The next phase of activity for which we have evidence in the area of Shop 2 Rear dates to the second quarter of the fifth century AD or later.  A Roman lamp rim in a deposit of fill along the east wall of the room (L-2016-2 in Context 315) provides this date as a terminus post quem for all the other contexts discussed in this section.  ; ; It is clear that some of the Late Roman activity took place while Shop 2 Rear was still in use as a room, because several layers of fill (Contexts 315, 309, 296, Cut 307/Context 319) from this period respect the east and south walls.  Two layers (Contexts 309, 315) covering the foundation trenches contained material over a large chronological range and may have been deposited as leveling fill after the original construction of the room.  After the deposition of these layers, a large pit (Cut 307), which given its depth may have served as a storage pit, was cut into them.  After this pit had fallen out of use, it was filled with soil containing material ranging in date from prehistoric to the third century BC, including two fourth century BC loomweights (MF-2016-1, MF-2016-2 in Context 304), three lead weights (MF-2016-3, MF-2016-4, MF-2016-5 in Context 306), and an iron ring (MF-2016-6 in Context 308). Next, another deposit (Context 296) seems to have served the same purpose as the previous leveling fills (Contexts 315, 309), this time to level off the filling of the storage pit (Cut 307).  The Middle Roman pottery and large amount of carbon in this leveling fill (Context 296) suggest that its soil derives from a destruction layer, perhaps from Alaric’s destruction of Corinth in 396 A.D, which would match the date provided by its pottery.  ; ; Late Roman activity in this area appears to have continued after Shop 2 Rear had fallen out of use, since Wall 288 (N: 1087.70 N, S: 1085.10 N, E: 351.40 E, W: 349.60 E; 1.50m x 2.2m x .71m) and the layers of fill deposited under it (Context 294, which contained the lead weight MF-2016-8, Contexts 291, 290) were laid on top of the south and east walls of the room.  The layers of fill are interpreted as leveling fill for the foundation of the Wall 288, which consisted of rubble and spolia.  One of the spoliated materials was a threshold block with a possibly Byzantine cutting.  This threshold block and the rubble served as the foundation for a spoliated stele base, with part of the stele foot embedded within it, which may be a member of the now lost superstructure of Wall 288. ; ; ; EARLY MODERN; ; We believe that most early modern activity in Shop 2 Rear was related to Broneer’s excavation.  His excavation of the north and west foundation trenches (Cuts 349, 352) has already been discussed above.  Most likely, another part of his activity in this area is a small patch of soil near the north foundation trench, which contained modern material (aluminum and glass, Context 351).  Over most of the interior of the room, Broneer deposited several layers containing modern material (Contexts 354, 313, including a belt buckle MF-2016-18, and 314) as well as a layer of a fine soil with very little material (Context 317).  Panos Kakouros suggested that the fine, material-poor deposit may have been soil that Broneer had sieved (Context 317).  All four of these contexts must have been deposited by Broneer, since they were cut by the robbing trench (Cut 428), which he excavated after Shop 2 Rear.  A thin layer of soil under Structure 311 (Context 312) seems to have accumulated after Broneer’s excavation.  Structure 311 consisted of three toppled column drums, roughly in a line extending from the northeast corner of the room (N: 1090.30 N, S: 1088.80 N, E: 349.00 E, W: 348.20 E).  This structure does not appear in any of Broneer’s photographs of Shop 2 Rear during excavation, so it must have been placed there after his excavation of the room.  ; ; ; CONCLUSION; ; This excavation of Shop 2 Rear successfully removed Broneer’s backfill and clarified the extent of his activity in the room.  After exposing the walls, Broneer appears to have focused on the north and west foundation trenches, neglecting the interior as well as the east and south foundation trenches.  Our dating of the fill of the east foundation trench supports the down-dating of the construction of the South Stoa from the widely accepted date of 338-323 B.C. to the third century B.C. by Sanders, Miura, and Kvapil (2014) and James (forthcoming).  ; The most unexpected and exciting discovery of this excavation is the long series of undisturbed Early Helladic layers beneath Shop 2 Rear.  This area seems to have been used sporadically during EH II and EH III for short-term, intensive activities such as food preparation.   The accumulation of colluvium indicates that water action would periodically have made the space unusable.  The great amount of cultural material within the layers of colluvium suggests that a settlement might have been located nearby.  An analysis of water action in the surrounding area may indicate the source of this material.; ; ; FUTURE GOALS; ; •    Excavate the redeposited bedrock in the northwestern half of Shop 2 Rear to find any other evidence of ancient activity and to clarify the relationship between Broneer’s activity and this deposit.; •    Continue excavation of the foundation trenches to find the bottom of the foundations and any further dating evidence for the construction of the South Stoa.; •    Through further excavation and Panagiotis Karkanas’ analysis of the microstratigraphy, clarify the formation and nature of the prehistoric layers (anthropogenic and natural) in the southeast portion of Shop 2 Rear.; •    Process the soil samples taken from various parts of the trench.  For the later deposits, we hope that this will clarify whether the carbon present in the soil is the result of cooking, destruction, or some other process.  For the prehistoric deposits, we hope that this will shed light on aspects of diet and animal use in the Early Helladic period at Corinth.; ; ; Coins; ; 2016-5, 2016-7, 2016-8, 2016-9, 2016-11, 2016-12, 2016-13, 2016-14, 2016-15, 2016-16, 2016-17, 2016-18, 2016-19, 2016-22; ; ; Inventoried objects; ; C-2016-3, C-2016-4, C-2016-6; L-2016-2; MF-2016-1, MF-2016-2, MF-2016-3, MF-2016-4, MF-2016-5, MF-2016-6, MF-2016-7, MF-2016-8, MF-2016-11, MF-2016-18, MF-2016-20","South Stoa 2016 by Alexandra Daly & Thalia Parr (2016-04-05 to 2016-04-22)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Forum | South Stoa","","Corinth:Report:South Stoa 2016 by Alexandra Daly amp Thalia Parr (2016-04-05 to 2016-04-22)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","South Stoa Shop I Rear","An Jiang, Catharine Judson; 2016 Corinth Session I; South Stoa Excavation, Shop 1 Rear ; Coordinates: N: 1092.3, S: 1084.7, E: 355.9, W: 349.6     ; Excavation Dates: April 5-21, 2016; ; Introduction; This is the final report of the first session of the Corinth excavation for 2016 in Shop 1 Rear in the South Stoa. Guy Sanders (director), James Herbst (architect) and Danielle Smotherman (field director) supervised. An Jiang and Catharine Judson (area supervisors) recorded. The workmen were Panos Kakouros (pickman) and Marios Vathis (shovelman and sieve), Vassiles Kollias and Giannes Oikonomopoulos (wheelbarrow). Photogrammetry has been carried out for every context of the room since April 11, 2016. ; ; In Shop 1 Rear, the area of excavation was bounded by the four walls of the room: Wall 457 to the east (N 1106.511; S 1086.5; E 356.4; W 348.667), Wall 458 to the south (Greek phase; N 1086.379; S 1084.15; E 355.829; W 351.808), Wall 459 to the west (to be measured in Session II), and Wall 461 (N 1092.747; S 1090.634; E 353.638; W 349.193) to the north. The coordinates of the interior space of the room are: NE corner E: 353.85, N: 1092.3; NW corner, E: 349.6, N: 1090.8; SW corner, E: 351.8, N: 1084.7; SE corner, E: 355.9, N: 1086.5. ; ; The goals of the excavation in this room are to determine the chronology of the activities in the room during the use of the Stoa (where these levels are preserved); to investigate the pre-Stoa activities in this area; and to prepare the area for consolidation, conservation, and presentation to the public. The dates during which we excavated are: April 5-21, 2016.; ; Shop 1 Rear was previously excavated by Oscar Broneer in the 1930s and 1940s. The bulk of excavation was carried out in March of 1934 (Corinth NB 139). Broneer began by removing “fill and rough masonry” across the entire area. On March 3, he records removing rubble foundations (c.70 cm thick) from this specific room. These walls may have been Byzantine in date, based on vague references to the general area in the notebook during this part of March. On March 20, Broneer excavated a trench along the entire length of the west wall between crosswalls Wall 371 to the south and Wall 461 to the north. This trench is identified both by the old excavation photos (Corinth 1.IV, pls.6.2, 7.1 and 27) and by the modern material we found in the fills along the western wall (Contexts 298 and 310). In this area, Broneer reports finding “little except some Early Helladic and Neolithic potsherds and a few Greek sherds” (p.116). On March 21, he reports that the fill close to the west wall goes deep below floor level, and that this produced primarily Early Helladic and Neolithic pottery. This may refer to the very deep sounding that we excavated as Cut 301/Context 298. Broneer also excavated in the SE corner of the room on March 21, and along the east wall on March 22, reporting Neolithic fill, Neolithic and Classical sherds, and several coins (late Classical/Hellenistic [Corinth P/T?], 1 coin of Demetrios Poliorketes, 1 coin of Manuel I). The coin of Manuel I came from the level of the toichobate (NB 139, p.122), and possibly indicates the level of Byzantine occupation in this area that was cleared away by Broneer. The trench dug along the eastern and southern walls was probably an excavation of the foundation trenches. Broneer revisited this area in 1946, but appears to have done little but cleaning in this room, based on his description of work in the notebook (Corinth NB194).; ; Prehistoric; Late Neolithic and Early Helladic pottery is present in contexts across the center and southern part of the room, typically mixed with later (generally Hellenistic) pottery. There is an especially high concentration of prehistoric pottery found in layered fills in the central area of the room (especially contexts 424, 438, and 436). The presence of this pottery and associated finds (e.g. obsidian and chert blades, EH spindle whorl [MF-2016-17]) indicates the presence of prehistoric activity in this area of the site. This is also confirmed by the presence of prehistoric levels in the space of Shop 2 Rear immediately to the east. None of the contents of these deposits are in their primary (prehistoric) context, however: all deposits with prehistoric pottery also contain later material and are indicative of later activities in the area rather than prehistoric ones. The mostly likely scenario is that, during the construction of the Stoa, foundation trenches were dug into prehistoric levels and the resulting soil was immediately redeposited as a fill level in the room’s interior with little time for Hellenistic ceramic contamination (especially Contexts 424, 436, and 438). Other contexts (e.g. Context 411) also contain prehistoric material but in lower concentrations, and are more likely the result of later filling and leveling operations within the space after the initial construction of the Stoa walls and the fill event represented by the almost pure prehistoric contexts.; ; Based on the appearance of the section in the scarp of Cut 301 compared to contexts in Shop 2 Rear, and the depth that Broneer dug to against Wall 459, it is likely that Broneer (like the builders of the Stoa) cut into prehistoric activity levels. The Neolithic and Early Helladic pottery that he mentions in both the western part of the room and in the southeast corner probably represent the spread of prehistoric activity levels across the space as well as the redeposition caused by Hellenistic construction. A matte-painted terracotta figurine in the museum comes from his excavations along the east wall (MF 13360). ; ; The pottery demonstrates that prehistoric occupation of the area ran from at least Late Neolithic through Early Helladic II. LN matte-painted and grey burnished ware, and EH red and black slipped wares are the most representative pottery types for the deposits in question. Characteristic shapes include LN fruitstands (cf. C-2016-8, C-2016-10), a LN ritual vessel (C-2016-11), a LN shoulder bowl (C-2016-9), EH bowls with incurved rims, and EH sauceboats. ; ; Classical; There are some traces of Classical activities in the room. Two deposits of fill (Contexts 456 and 478), located in the southern area of the room, date to the 4th and 5th centuries BC respectively, based on pottery. It is currently unclear what sort of activity these deposits represent, as there are no preserved surfaces dating to this period in this part of the room. One whole vessel containing traces of blue pigment was excavated in Context 456 (C-2016-5), but was resting on stones within a fill level rather than on a surface.; ; The exact type of activity in the Classical period in this room is difficult to establish, because we currently have too few excavated contexts that can be securely associated with this period. Context 478 and the associated Cut 497 may indicate the location of any stratified Classical activity in the area of the room, but the pottery from 478 is heavily prehistoric and likely represents redeposited prehistoric fill. Broneer probably also excavated part of this same deposit next to the Wall 457, as he mentions a mixture of Neolithic and Classical pottery from this specific area. His trench cuts through the deposit and exposes it in cross-section. ; ; Based on the quantities of Classical pottery present in other excavated contexts across the room, this period does not appear to form a major phase of occupation in this area. ;  ; Hellenistic; Pre-Stoa phases of activity in the late 4th and early 3rd centuries are most likely represented by a possible floor (or at least well-consolidated surface), removed as Context 449. This context dates to the 4th century BC. Its connection with the 4th century fill Context 456 in the southern part of the room is unknown, as the two deposits are spatially separated and different in appearance and formation. Two pits were dug into Context 449, and probably were meant to hold pithoi (Cuts 389 and 382). These pits were dug into the top of the surface, and therefore are likely contemporary with this 4th century surface.  ; ; The construction of the Stoa, currently dated to c.280 BC by Sarah James' 2015 excavations, is marked in the interior of the room by the redeposition of fills (Contexts 424, 436, and 438) in the center of the room (discussed above in the Prehistoric section). Their redeposition in the large cut through the consolidated surface (Context 449) suggests that this surface was highly disturbed during/by this construction project. The remainder of this surface and the pits cut into it in the northern part of the newly formed room were not covered over as part of the Stoa construction, however, and may have remained in use for some time. The pithoi in pits 389 and 382 may have been removed in conjunction with the Stoa construction. Pit 407 was also dug into the surface (Context 449) during the first half of the 3rd century BC and may mark the point at which it went out of use as a surface. Additional leveling fills were added across the southern part of the room sometime in the 3rd century BC (Contexts 411 and 398). Context 398 sealed the contents of Pit 407 (Context 403) and therefore indicates that there were multiple phases of leveling and remodeling within the room, most likely associated with the construction of the Stoa. ; ; Shortly after the construction of the Stoa, Wall 371 (L 2.5 m, W 0.50 m; N 1087.0, S 1085.8, E 353.7, W 351.3) was constructed in order to subdivide the interior space of the room. This wall was constructed in two successive, but closely dated, phases, sometime in the later 3rd century BC (post-275 BC, Context 374). This represents a restructuring of the use of the space. Probably linked with this is the gradual infilling of the two pits next to the northern wall, which had been left open after the construction of the Stoa and the probable removal of their pithoi. Context 383 (the western pit) was filled in by the late 3rd century BC, and Context 376 was filled in by the early 2nd century BC, based on the pottery (Context 376 is dated primarily on the basis of C-2016-7, a bowl with outturned rim). The coins from both pits corroborate but do not narrow this dating, as they provide a terminus post quem of the mid- to late-3rd century BC for both contexts (Context 383: 2016-78 [Ptolemy II, 285-246 BC], Coin 2016-85 [Argos, 352-228 BC], Coin 2016-86 [Argos, 352-228 BC]; Context 376: Coin 2016-63 [Argos 350-228 BC], 2016-64 [Demetrios Poliorketes, 306-283 BC], 2016-67 [Corinth P/T Group VIII, 287-252 BC]). In addition to large numbers of coins, the pits contain high concentrations of pottery and other small finds, including metal fragments (MF-2016-19: bronze handle), lamp fragments, roof tiles, ostrich egg shell (cf. MF 3957, ostrich egg shell from Broneer’s excavations against east wall), bronze rings, and pebble cement fragments. These two pits were covered and closed with a layer of fill covering the NE corner (Contexts 367, 390). The pottery from this fill event provides a terminus post quem date of the late 3rd century BC, but the fill layer was likely laid down sometime in the early 2nd century BC, based on the contents of Context 376. This fill also contains a high concentration of coins, including a Classical coin from Cleonai (2016-50, 471-421 BC), a late Classical/Hellenistic coin from Argos (2016-56, 400-200 BC), and several Corinthian P/T Type VII coins (2016-88, 2016-89, 2016-90, 2016-92: 303-287 BC). ; ; Roman; There is limited evidence for the Early Roman modification of the Stoa in this space. Pit 361 and its associated fill 364 date to the 1st century BC and are sealed by Context 360, dating to the Late Hellenistic or Early Roman period. This pit likely represents a change in function of the space, and is the first dateable act of deposition after the early 2nd century BC that we can reconstruct in the room. A thin deposit of fill (Context 346) also dates to the Early Roman period, and lies across the entire area of the room. This represents a further modification of the space after the closing of Pit 361. The date of this context is based on the pottery, but this deposit also contains 16 coins mainly dated to the earlier Hellenistic period (2016-44 [Thasos, 300-200 BC], 2016-33 [Demetrios Poliorketes, 306-283], 2016-38 [Antigonos Gonatas, 277-239 BC], 2016-36 [Lokris, 338-300 BC], several Corinthian P/T). There is one much later coin in this context, however (Coin 2016-39, Late Roman minimus), which may either pull down the date of the context dramatically or be later contamination. This level is the latest stratified deposit across the majority of the room.; ; Middle Roman activity in the room is only represented by Cut 334 and associated fills (especially Contexts 332 and 337) in the NE corner. This may be a rubbish pit associated with some construction event in the area, as many of the small finds in these contexts are broken building materials (tiles, marble revetment, cement, plastered blocks, wall plaster fragments, pebble cement flooring). The squared shape of the cutting may indicate that this originally had some other function than for trash dumping, however. ; ; We speculate that the later Roman use levels of the room were removed in the post-Roman period (Broneer mentions Byzantine walls in this area) or during early excavations without any comment in the notebook, and all that remained were traces of various filling operations from Roman construction.; ; Modern; The latest activity in the interior of the room is modern backfilling and trampled fills. Cuts 301 and 316, and Contexts 287, 297, 298, and 310 represent Broneer’s activities, including both excavation and backfilling. The bottom of this modern excavation and backfilling has not been clearly identified in the area of Context 298, since we stopped digging along the west wall after the first week of the session. One of Broneer’s goals in this area was presumably to expose the entire eastern profile of Wall 459 in the area of Context 298. This deposit exposed four courses of the wall, with at least one more likely still buried, as known from the excavations in Shop 2 Rear. In addition, the construction of the stone patch (Context 326) in the NE corner of the room also probably belongs to this period because of the modern material found in it. All excavation in the area took place in the 1930s and 1940s. The terminus post quem for the backfilling of the western soundings in the room is provided by coin 2016-6, a 1954 drachma. In all areas of modern excavation, a number of modern glass, metal and plastic objects were found, including a complete modern medicinal bottle (MF-2016-16).; ; Conclusion; The excavation activities of this session have raised more questions about ancient activities in the room than they have answered. The primary problem that is raised by the types of contexts in Shop 1 Rear so far excavated is that there are no clearly identified floor levels, and therefore no clear idea of activities within the room during different use phases. Most of the deposits represent fill events rather than occupation phases. Various construction phases also severely disrupted earlier levels and therefore caused a high degree of fragmentation of deposits within the space of the room. Nonetheless, we are able to link at least some of the contexts with the construction of the Stoa and therefore can mark chronological points of change to the space (pre-Stoa, Stoa construction, mid- to-late 3rd century restructuring, Early Roman, Middle Roman), even if their function is not always clear. ; ; Future goals; 1. To determine the spatial boundaries and nature of prehistoric occupation in this space, and how it relates to similar deposits in Shop 2 Rear.; 2. To investigate the type of activities in the room in the Classical period (occupation, redeposited fill, etc.).; 3. To determine the date of the construction of the Stoa walls and how this construction relates stratigraphically to other phases of occupation (e.g. relationship with prehistoric levels, Classical levels, Roman levels).; ; ; Appendix; List of Inventoried Objects:; C-2016-2 Corinthian A Stamped Amphora Handle (context 346); C-2016-5 [pottery with blue pigment] (official name TBD) (context 456); C-2016-7 Bowl with Outturned Rim (context 376); C-2016-8 Late Neolithic Fruitstand (context 411); C-2016-9 Late Neolithic Shoulder Bowl (context 478); C-2016-10 Late Neolithic Fruitstand (context 411); C-2016-11 Late Neolithic Vessel: Leg (context 411); MF-2016-9 Bronze and Iron Boss (context 390); MF-2016-12 Bronze Stylus (context 360); MF-2016-14 Conical Loomweight Type X (context 411); MF-2016-15 Conical Loomweight Type IX-X (context 367); MF-2016-16 Modern Glass Medicinal Bottle (context 287); MF-2016-17 Early Helladic Spindle Whorl (context 424); MF-2016-19 Bronze Vessel: Handle (context 383); ; List of Coins (64 in total):; 2016-2 (context 284) Byzantine (Manuel I?); 2016-6 (context 287) Modern 1954; 2016-21 (context 298) Possibly Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-23 (context 320) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-24 (context 320) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-25 (context 330) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-26 (context 330) Antigonos Gonatas (277-239 B.C.); 2016-27 (context 337) (not a coin); 2016-28 (context 337) Greek, illegible; 2016-29 (context 337) Argos (c.350-228 B.C.); 2016-30 (context 337) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-31 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-32 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-33 (context 346) Demetrius Poliorketes (306-283 B.C.); 2016-34 (context 346) Epidauros; 2016-35 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-36 (context 346) Lokris (c.338-300 B.C.); 2016-37 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-38 (context 346) Antigonos Gonatas (277-239 B.C.); 2016-39 (context 346) Roman minimus (5th – 6th A.D.); 2016-40 (context 346) Greek, illegible; 2016-41 (context 346) Greek (Macedonian king?); 2016-42 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-44 (context 346) Thasos (c.300-200 B.C.); 2016-45 (context 346) Greek, illegible; 2016-46 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-47 (context 346) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-48 (context 364) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-49 (context 364) Greek, illegible; 2016-50 (context 367) Cleonai (c.371-321 B.C.); 2016-51 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-52 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-53 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-54 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-56 (context 367) Argos (c.400-200 B.C.); 2016-57 (context 367) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-63 (context 376) Argos (c.350-228 B.C.); 2016-64 (context 376) Demetrius Poliorketes (306-283 B.C.); 2016-65 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-66 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-67 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VIII (c.287-252 B.C.); 2016-68 (context 376) (not a coin); 2016-70 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-71 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-72 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-74 (context 376) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-78 (context 383) Ptolemy II Euergetes (285-246 B.C.) golden coin; 2016-79 (context 383) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-80 (context 383) (not a coin); 2016-81 (context 383) Megara (c.307-293 B.C.); 2016-82 (context 383) Greek, illegible; 2016-83 (context 383) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-84 (context 383) Greek, unclear; 2016-85 (context 383) Argos (c.352-228 B.C.); 2016-86 (context 383) Argos (c.352-228 B.C.); 2016-87 (context 383) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-88 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-89 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-90 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-91 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-92 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-93 (context 390) Corinth Pegasus/Trident; 2016-98 (context 398) Corinth Pegasus/Trident Group VII (c.303-287 B.C.); 2016-118 (context 449) illegible; ; List of Contexts (51 in total):; 284 Cleaning of dark soil near west wall; 287 Removal of pebbly matrix in western half of room; 297 Dark soil SE corner of cut exposed by 284; 298 Dark soil next to west wall of room; 301 Cut of 298 into 310; 310 Red Soil in NW + SW corners of room; 316 Cut filled by 310; 320 Clay across northern center of room; 326 Patch of stones in NE corner of room; 330 Dark stony soil in NE corner; 332 Red stony soil in NE corner; 333 Cut filled by 330; 334 Cut filled by 332; 337 Cobbles filling cut 334 under deposits 330 + 332; 342 Fill cut into clay surface in room center; 344 Cut filled by 342; 346 Clayey layer in center of room; 360 Clay patch next to southern crosswall; 361 Cut filled by 360 + 364; 364 Fill of cut 361 below deposit 360; 367 Clay patch next to N wall; 371 Late crosswall in S of room—top course; 374 Foundation course of structure 371; 376 Fill of pit abutting N wall; 382 Cut filled by 376; 383 Pit abutting N wall; 389 Cut filled by 383; 390 Clayey patch between Broneer and square cutting in east of room; 394 Soil under western block of wall 371; 396 Small pebbly patch next to N wall; 398 Pebbly matrix in S of room center; 403 Small bothros; 407 Cut filled by 403; 411 Pebbly layer S center of room; 421 Cut filled by 396; 424 Pebbly matrix in center of room; 427 Patch of wash on E Broneer scarp; 436 Small clay patch; 438 Cobbly layer in center of room; 449 Clay deposit in N center of room; 456 Clayey deposit in S of room; 457 N-S wall/ E wall of Shop 1 (Greek); 458 E-W wall/ S wall of Shop 1 (Greek); 460 E-W wall/ N wall of Shop 1 front; 461 E-W wall/ N wall of Shop 1 Rear; 468 N-S wall / E wall of Shop 1 (Roman); 469 E-W wall/ S wall of Shop 1 Rear (Roman); 478 Layer of black soil below 456; 493 Cut filled to S by 411, 424, 438; 494 Cut filled to N by 424, 438; 497 Cut filled by 478","South Stoa east 2016 by An Jiang and Catharine Judson (2016-04-05 to 2016-04-21)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Forum | South Stoa east","","Corinth:Report:South Stoa east 2016 by An Jiang and Catharine Judson (2016-04-05 to 2016-04-21)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Session II and III Final Report: Interior of the Church in Unit 2 of the Frankish Quarter","Introduction: ; ; This is the finalreport of the second and third sessions for the excavation of the interior of the church in Unit 2 of the Frankish Quarter of the Temple E, southeast area. Guy Sanders (Director) and Danielle Smotherman (Field Director) supervised. Kaitlyn Stiles was the area supervisor and contributed as pickwoman when possible alongside AngelikiStamati (shovel and sieve), Sula Anastasopoulou (shovel and sieve) and KostasArberores (pickman).; ; The excavation area was bounded in the north by the north wall of the church (Wall 20, 1075.11 – 1074.52 N, 129.51-122.06 E), to the east by the east wall of church comprised of three sections, including two straight sections and an apse (North section: Wall 925, 1075.65-1073.90 N, 130.40-129.75 E; Apse: Wall 926, 1073.95-1070.7N, 131.70-129.70; South section: Wall 927, 1070.30-1068.95N, 131.05-120.5E), to the south by the south wall of the church (Wall 929, 1069.00-1067.6 N, 131.15-123.25E), and to the west by the west wall of the church (Wall 21, 1074.44-1067.99 N, 123.52-121.98 E) and the later threshold (Structure 22, 1072.09-1070.55 N, 123.31-122.25 W) built into Wall 21. ; ; The nave of the church was previously excavated in 1990 (NB 831, 835) down to a cement subfloor. The 2014 field season continued excavation in the NW quadrant of the church during which time portions of the narthex and nave were recorded down to the Frankish period (A.D. 1210-1458) revealing the bench-like structure (302) aligned with Wall 21 north of the later threshold (Structure 22), which was dated to the early 14th century. The excavations also recovered a large amount of human skeletal material which was common in the fills used in the late 13th and early 14th century phases of the church. Excavation was not continued within the church in the 2015 season, but was concentrated in Corridor North and Rooms 3, 6 – 9 in Unit 2. ; ; The 2016 Sessions II and III field work resumed the excavation of the interior of the church,primarily focusing on the eastern two-thirds covering the north and south aisles, the nave, and the transept. The subfloor revealed by the 1990 season and excavated in the NW quadrant of the church was completely removed from the nave, the transept, and the SE corner of the church. In Session IIwe worked toward understanding relationships of the surface under the cement floor with joining areas containing overlapping fill deposits and grave cuts throughout the entire interior of the church. Numerous fill deposits associated with various stages of flooring and floor repair, a threshold structure (Structure 924), and six graves (2016-01, 2016-02, 2016-03, 2016-04, 2016-05, 2016-06) were excavated during Session II. In Session III, we continued excavation in the church, but focused primarily on the south aisle. Mostly burials were excavated including three large graves (2016-07, 2016-08, 2016-09), which each contained a complicated series of burials.; ; The overarching purpose for excavating the church area at this time was to bring down the level of the interior church to a period consistent with the rest of the Frankish area so that it can be preserved and opened to the public. Because the church was used as a burial ground throughout many phases, one of the main goals of these sessions was to understand the chronological sequence of burials in relation to the use of the church as well as record information pertaining to grave usage and burial practices. ; ; Frankish Period (1210-1458); ; Grave 2016-09; ; Grave 2016-09 (Cut 1023, 1068.95-1068.40 N, 126.60-124.05E, filled by Deposits 1020 and 1024, Structure 1016, and Skeleton Contexts 1022, 1025, and 1027) is located in the southwest quadrant of the church, parallel to Grave 1990-40 on its south side, and truncated by Grave 2016-08 on its east side. This grave was discovered during the course of excavating Grave 2016-08 in which the eastern portion of the tile covering (Structure 1016) within Grave 2016-09 was found. Grave 2016-09 contained the remains of at least 3 individuals represented by one primary inhumation (Context 1025), and a jumble of bones (Context 1027). This grave evidently cuts an as yet unexcavated grave directly to the north as a cranium (Context 1022) was found essentially within the cut (1023) for the grave, indicating the burial of another individual beneath or beside it. The primary inhumation (1025) of Grave 2016-09 was enclosed by a covering (Structure 1016, L 1.69 x W 0.52 x D 0.11) made of ceramic and marble tiles, which also lined the north side of the grave. The original burial and burials prior to the inhumation of Skeleton 1025 are represented by the bone jumble (Context 1027) exposed beneath and to the south side of Skeleton 1025. These remains were stacked on the south side of the jumble and beneath the lower limbs of the inhumation. Very few bones were found directly on top of the primary inhumation (Skeleton 1025), including both in the fills above (Context 1020) and below (Context 1024) the covering (1016). One disarticulated infant femur was found under the covering, but on top of the inhumation. This bone indicates that the grave may have also been used for infant burials in addition to adult burials.; ; The primary inhumation (1025) was that of an elderly woman, oriented W-E, laid supine with her head elevated facing east and turned slightly to the south. The head was framed by a worked stone to the north and tiles to the west and south. The mandible was likely supported by a rock, which later fell out of place and came to rest on the sternum. The shoulders were elevated and the humeri drawn in so that they rested directly against the anterior-lateral aspects of the rib cage. The forearms were bent at the elbow and crossed over the chest with the left forearm over the right. The legs were straight but positioned so that the knees and ankles were almost touching. The femora were rotated medially toward one another. The arrangement of the arms and legs suggests that this woman was tightly wrapped in something like a shroud at the time of burial. The shroud may have caused her spinal column to contract in the burial as there was a noticeable curve in the spine to the north in the thoracic vertebrae around T6. An examination of the bones will provide more information about whether this was a result of positioning or reflected the spinal column in life. The left hand was found disarticulated around the midshaft of the right humerus, which suggests that the hand was held against the body when the shroud was still in place, but likely fell apart as the body decomposed. The shroud likely also prevented bones from the jumble from becoming interspersed within the inhumation.; ; The date of the most recent use of Grave 2016-09 is in the late 13th century or later based on the pottery from the fills both above (1020) and below (1024) the tile covering (1016). Finds from this burial included an iron ring (MF-2016-62) found still around a proximal phalanx of the left hand, which was wedged against the north side of the grave. There was one small piece of lapis lacedaimoniusthat may have come from a floor disturbed in the process of burial, possibly that represented by a subfloor (Context 1029) apparent along the south wall of the church (Wall 929). The single coin (Coin 2016-170) from the grave dates from 1143 to 1180 AD. A six-pointed iron spur or decorative star was found in the fill (Context 1020) above the cover tile (Context 1016), which may have been from a previous burial and was re-deposited in the fill for subsequent burials.The grave is cut by Grave 2016-08 (Cut 1009), which dates to the 15th century or later.; ; Grave 2016-03; ; Grave 2016-03 (Cuts 144 and 146, 1074.85-1074.05 N, 127.5-125.5 E) lies south of Wall 20, in the middle of the north aisle. It was parallel to Grave 2016-02on its north side and nearly forms a 90-degree angle to the east with Grave 2014-06. This grave was both a cist and a pit grave used for multiple interments, which were split into two distinct use phases. Phase I, represented by Cut 944, was cut by Phase II, represented by Cut 946. Both phases of burials are oriented W-E and are inline or within a stone lining (Structure 950). However, the stone lining (Structure 950) was disturbed during or prior to the burial of the primary inhumation (Skeleton 961) of Phase I. Structure 950 (L 0.82 x W 0.66 x D 0.24)is represented by one rectangular stone block on the north side and two rectangular stone blocks with a medium cobble between them on the south side. The stones run parallel to one another about 0.41m apart.; ; The Phase I burials are located on the west side of the grave(1074.85-1073.80 N, 126.20-125.05). They are represented by loose bones found in the fills (Contexts 958, 969, and 962), one distinct bone pile (Context 959), and one primary inhumation (Skeleton 961). The skeletal material in the fill contexts and bone pile are the remains of individuals buried in the grave prior to the burial of the articulated primary inhumation. The bone pile (Context 959) consisted of long bones placed over and to the side of a mostly intact cranium, which were all located on the south side of the burial. A small part of the cranium was under the tile covering (Structure 960) of the primary inhumation, but the height of the other bones in the pile above the tile covering indicate that the cranium may not have been intentionally placed under the tile but settled there over time. The loose bone in the fills located above (Contexts 958, 969) and below (Context 962) reinforce the picture of multiple burial as previous burials were cleared and then later placed on top of the primary burial or included with the fill of the burial.; ; The primary inhumation (961) represents the last burial before the location of the Phase I burials in the grave was forgotten. This inhumation was truncated by Grave 2014-06 (Cut 137) on the south side and by the Phase II burial activity (Cut 946) on the east side. The skeleton was essentially divided in half with the upper half of the skeleton preserved from the ribs to the cranium in the west end of Grave 2016-03. This portion of the skeleton was mostly articulated and in situ. The individual was covered by a concave ceramic tile (Structure 960), which was damaged by the truncation of Phase II burials and later by Grave 2014-06.Many tile fragments were found lying directly east of the tile covering within Cut 946 and were used to cover the head of the primary inhumation (Skeleton 956) of Phase II. The individual (Skeleton 961) was laid in a supine position with the arms drawn tightly toward the sternum and the elbows bent at acute angles placing the left hand close to the right side of the head and the right hand close to the left armpit. The articulated right hand was exposed with the fingers curled and one phalanx bearing an iron ring (MF-2016-32) in the excavation of the fill to the north (right) of the inhumation (Context 969). Another iron ring (MF-2016-31) was found over the left shoulder in the course of excavation. The position of the arms, shoulders, and hands indicates that the shoulders were constricted by something like a shroud, a coffin, or the pit prepared for the inhumation. The head was elevated and a medium size rock was located on its left side. There may have been a stone on the other side of the head but was excavated from truncating Grave 2014-06. This would have acted as the other “cheek piece” to hold the head in place. There was a larger rock and a large tile fragment laying on the lower half of the right rib cage. Upon removal of the rock, it was evident that the right ribs were disturbed. The sternal body had also been disarticulated to the south (right) side of the body and rotated so that it was oriented in the opposite direction (E-W instead of W-E). Disarticulated remains of other burials including a skull fragment, an extra right radius, and vertebrae were laid on the lower right ribs under the rock. Because this inhumation was truncated on the south side by Grave 2014-06, it is likely that some of the remains from this section of Grave 2016-03 were included in the fill of Grave 2014-06.; ; The fills (Contexts 958, 962, 969) of the Phase I burial have been dated by pottery and stratigraphy to the 14th century. They did not contain any grave goods other than the two iron rings (MF-2016-31, MF-2016-32) which date to the first half of the 11th century based on comparanda in Corinth 12 (Davidson 1952). Other small finds included one piece of coral, glass vessel fragments, and one iron nail.; ; The Phase II burials were designated by Cut 946 which truncated the Phase I burials. This burial phase involved at leastsix burials including one primary inhumation (Contexts 943, 945, 952, and 956). As with Phase I, many disarticulated bones were found in the fill (Context 943) and there was a distinct bone pile (Context 945). There was also a layer of bones (Context 952) laid on the legs and lower torso of the primary inhumation (956). The layer and other miscellaneous bones found in Fill 943 contained elements from every part of the body suggesting that the individuals represented by them occupied the tomb prior to the primary inhumation (Skeleton 956). They would have beenexhumed to provide spacefor the new primary burial and re-deposited with or, likely, before the soil was replaced. It is not possible at this time to determine which bones belonged to the originally inhumed individual as the Skeletal Layer (952) consists of at least four individuals including three adults and one juvenile based on the presence of three right adult femora and one unfused juvenile tibia. ; ; The bone layer (Context 952) was overlaid by another bone pile (Context 945),which was located in the upper levels of the fill (Context 943). It is difficult to say when this bone pile (Skeleton 945) was deposited relative to the skeletal layer (Context 952) as the soil of fill 943 was fairly consistent throughout the deposit (dark, reddish brown with frequent red clay lumps). However, the bone pile (Context 945) was located on top of the most eastern stone of Structure 950 and seemed to be lying directly upon Cut 946. Cut 946 was likely started at the same place as Cut 944, but once the diggers hit the stone lining (Structure 950), they angled the cut inward. It is unclear why the bone pile (Context 945) would have been placed higher in the fill on top of one of the cist stones.It may be due to how the grave was filled in after the placement of the primary inhumation (Skeleton 956).; ; The primary inhumation (Skeleton 956) consists of a probable male adult, age at death to be determined, who was laid in the grave in asupine position,oriented W-E with arms crossed over thechest at the lower sternum, right arm over left, with the right hand moderately curled. The shoulders were drawn in toward the spinal column, the elbows were elevated, and the head was raised and framed by broken tiles on either side of the face, over the face, and on top of the head.The constricted position of the shoulders suggests that this individual may have been buried in a shroud, though less tightly wrapped than Skeleton 961.The broken tiles are similar to the tile covering (Structure 960) over the inhumation of Phase I; thus, it is probable that these tiles were broken in the course of creating the Phase II burials and reused as a head covering in this case. A rock was removed from beneath the mandible, but it is unclear whether it was used to prop the head up from the chest. The legs were straight, and the right foot was laid out on the plantar surface, but the left foot had fallen to the left side (north) slightly. It is apparent that the cist tomb (Structure 950) was not originally built for this individual since the right upper arm is positioned where the next stone block of the cist tomb would have been located on the northwest side of the tomb. Thus, part of the stone lining of the cist was either removed for this burial or had been removed prior for another inhumation. This was supported by the Phase I burials lacking any cist stone lining on the west side of the grave.; ; Fill 943 contained pottery, many glass vessel fragments, coins, and a number of iron nails (4 complete, 17 fragments).The pottery has been dated to the 14th century, which is consistent with the overlying strata (Contexts 923, 915, and 914) which also date to the Frankish period. Three coins were discovered in the sieve (Coins 2016-138, 2016-139, and 2016-142). Coin 2016-139 dates to the Roman Imperial period and was minted between AD 341-346 under Constantius II. Coin 2016-142 is also from the Roman Imperial period, dating to the 4th century. Coin 2016-138 is of W. Villehardouin (1246-1278 A.D.), whichcorroborates Frankish dates provided by the pottery. The iron nails may indicate the presence of a coffin in one or more of the burial events of Phase II.One silver-plated bronze earring (MF-2016-27) was found in fill 943, which looks almost identical to an earring (MF-2016-28) found in fill 923 directly above Grave 2016-03.; ; Grave 2016-06; ; Grave 2016-06 (Cut 978, 1074.10-1073.50 N, 124.95-124.05 E, filled by Context 976, Structure 979, Skeleton Contexts 977 and 981) was a pit grave andwas positioned in line with Grave 2016-03 to the west and parallel with NW Pier Base (Structure 23).It appears to have been created after Grave 2016-03 based on its placement rather close to the west extent of Grave 2016-03. Like Grave 2016-03, Grave 2016-06 was also cut by Grave 2014-06, making it earlier than 2014-06, but later than Grave 2016-03. The grave contained two individuals, both infants. The original burial (Skeleton 977) was oriented W-E, with the cranium in the west end, supported by two small rocks on either side of the head. Only the cranium, the left scapula, right fibula, and potentially left foot phalanges were still in situ beneath the later inhumation (Skeleton 981). These elements indicate a supine body position. The remaining elements were disarticulated and primarily placed on the sides of the grave, with the majority being on the south side. The primary inhumation (Skeleton 981) was fully articulated and supine. The head was elevated,slightly turned to the north, and supported on the north side by a medium sized rock and on the south side by a large tile fragment. The apex of the crown was covered by a stone tile (Structure 979, L 0.27 x W 0.145 x D 0.05). The arms were bent at the elbow and crossed over the chest, right over left, directly below the sternum. The legs were laid out straight with the left foot flexed resting against the east wall of the cut. The age of the primary inhumation (Skeleton 981) is around 1 year of age based on in situmaximum femoral length. The originally buried individual (Skeleton 977) is a little older, possibly 18 months to 2 years old, based on comparative fibula lengths.; ; The fill of Grave 2016-06 contained only pottery and one small glass fragment. The pottery (2 sgraffito IV fragments) dates the grave to the 14th century, which is consistent with the relative chronology of Graves 2014-06 and 2016-03. The excavation of the bottom of the grave revealed a stone block very similar to those making up the cist lining of Grave 2016-03 (Structure 250). The block is in line with the south side of the cist lining and may be associated with it.; ; Grave 2016-04; ; Grave 2016-04 (Cut 965, 1073.50-1073.15 N, 126.85-126.10 E, filled by Context 963 and Skeleton 964) wasan oval pit grave placed in the central area of the nave to the south of Grave 2016-03 and to the east of Grave 2014-06, oriented W-E. The grave contained a single primary inhumation of an infant, around 1-year-old based on estimated maximum femoral length. The skeleton was supine, the head was elevated, and the arms were crossed over the chest, right over left, just below the sternum. The bones were in poor condition and the cranium fairly fragmentary. The grave cuts into an as yet unexcavated fill level. However, it lies beneath the concrete subfloor (Context 909) and its leveling fill (Context 918), which date to the 14th century. The pottery from the burial provides an 11th century date. However, based on its stratigraphy and the similar top elevation of Grave 2014-06, this burial likely dates to the Frankish period. The fill (963) contained a few glass vessel fragments, iron nails, and an iron needle. There were not enough iron nails to suggest a coffin, so it is possible these nails were brought in with soil from elsewhere.; ; Grave 2016-02; ; Grave 2016-02 (Cut 933, 1074.90-1074.65 N, 127.2-126.85 E, filled by Context 932) was cut into a surface abutting the robbing trenchon top of Wall 20. Only a quarter of the burial remained intact with the spine of the skeleton (Skeleton 934) protruding from the scarp wall. The proximity of the cut and burial to Wall 20 suggests that the wall may have served as the northern boundary of the burial pit. The cut (Context 933) of the burial suggests an oval shape, but it was truncated on the north and east sides by the robbing trench over Wall 20. The presence of human perinatal bones in Fill 932 also suggests that the grave may have been used for more than one interment. ; ; If the grave was used for more than one interment, the original burial was for a younger juvenile, likely perinatal (less than 1-year-old) based on the size of rib fragments and a scapula. The primary burial excavated from the grave consisted of the upper right side of the body. The cranium and most of the cervical vertebrae were missing as were all the lumbar vertebrae and at least a quarter of the thoracic vertebrae. The individual was placed in a supine position-oriented W-E with the right arm bent at the elbow over what would have been the pelvic region. The elbow was elevated due to its resting on a stone which was part of the stone lined cist Grave 2016-03 directly south of this burial. The upper ribs had collapsed on top of the lower ribs. Based on the size of the bones and epiphyseal fusion pattern, this individual was a child at the age of death (2-3 years old, based on estimated maximum length of the right humerus).; ; Kennedy and Cundy(2014) identified this grave while cleaning the south scarp of the robbing trench (Context 524) and suggested that it might be associated with a silver gilded bronze pendant (MF-2014-56) collected during this cleaning. None of the material culture collected during the excavation of the burial could confirm this suggestion. The fill (Context 932) containing the skeleton included very little pottery, a few small pieces of glass, a moderate amount of charcoal, and large chunks of hard, whiteish inclusions similar to the material from the cement subfloor cleared as Deposit 909. This presence of cement chunks suggests that the cut of the burial went through the cement subfloor. The cement subfloor (47)from the previously excavated portion of the nave was dated to the 14th century, which indicates that Grave 2016-02 may also date to the 14th century or later.; ; Disturbed Grave 2016-01; ; Grave 2016-01 (Cut 916, 1074.90-1074.2 N, 127.10.-126.30 E) was located directly on top of Grave 2016-03 next to Wall 20. It was extremely truncated by a leveling fill layer (Deposit 914). Cut 916 was quite shallow and contained the scattered remains of at least one adult and one juvenile, designated Skeleton 917. An unfused occipital was laid with the foramen magnum oriented up against the SE corner of the cut. The shape of the cut appeared to be oval, but it may have been more rectangular and extended toward Wall 20. The small size of the cut, even if it extended to Wall 20 indicates the grave was dug for a juvenile individual. The overlying fill (Context 914) contained a notable amount of human bone material, including unfused juvenile osacoxae, which was widely dispersed and not gathered in piles or a uniform layer as in Graves 2016-03, 2016-05, and 2016-06. This suggests that leveling activities that resulted in the fill of Context 914 destroyed most of Grave 2016-01, which also destroyed the primary inhumation. The skeletal material was then mixed with the dirt used for the fill level. The fill (Context 915) of Grave 2016-01 contained pottery dating to the 14th century. The pottery and Coin 2016-132 found in the fill above (Context 914) date to the late 13th or 14th century. It is much higher than Graves 2016-07 and 2016-08, but was disturbed by the implementation of the Cosmati-style floor (likely 15th c.) Therefore, the date of Grave 2016-01 is likely in the 14th century.; ; 15th Century ; ; Grave 2016-08; ; Grave 2016-08 (Cut 1009, 1069.30-1068.20 N, 128.30-124.90 E, filled by Deposits 1003, 1004, 1013, and 1015, Skeleton Contexts 1005, 1006, 1011, and 1012, contains Cut 1014) is located in the middle of the south aisle, against Wall 929, and parallel to and cut by Grave 2016-07. The designation of the burials contained by Cuts 1009 and 1014 as Grave 2016-08 is perhaps misleading as the area contained by Cut 1009 likely represents the outer limits of multiple grave cuts that could not be distinguished in the soil at the time of excavation due to repetitive use of the soil for burials within a short period of time. However, as that is what could be recognized, the burials contained in the limits have been defined as belonging to Grave 2016-08. Differences in elevations do allow some discussion of the sequence of burials. At least five individuals were contained in Grave 2016-08, represented by two disarticulated skulls (Skeleton 1005), two partial primary inhumations (Skeleton Contexts 1006 and 1011), and the majority of a third primary inhumation (Skeleton 1012) contained by Cut 1014.; ; Skeleton 1012 is the earliest burial contained within Grave 2016-08. The cut associated with it is Cut 1012, which is within the larger Cut 1009. Cut 993 from Grave 2016-07 truncates the north side of Cut 1012, which mayhave resulted in the cranium associated with Skeleton 1012 having been disturbed by the digging of Grave 2016-07.  As such, the skull of Skeleton 1012 may be with the bone jumble(Skeleton Context 992) of Grave 2016-07. The inhumation (Skeleton 1012) is oriented W-E and consists of the right torso including ribs and some cervical vertebrae but missing the remaining spinal column. The mandible lay more or less on the present cervical vertebrae near a tile that may have been used to prop the head up. The body is not centered within the reconstructed dimensions of the cut, but rather appeared to be set against the north side of the burial space. The trunk was slightly twisted to the south, which caused the lower limbs to also twist to the south, with the left femur and knee at a higher elevation than the right and the left metatarsals and phalanges nestled in the arch of the right foot. The arms were crossed over the chest with the right forearm crossed over the left, but the left hand had somehow bent backwards so that it rested on the dorsal aspect rather than the palmeraspect, which would be expected given the position of the arms. This positioning of the left hand and the relatively constrained position of the body suggests that the individual was wrapped in a shroud at the time of burial. As with many of the other burials in this church, there was a scattering of disarticulated bones in the fill (Context 1004) above Skeleton 1012 including a mandible over the right pelvis.; ; The next burial within Grave 2016-08 was Skeleton 1006, which consists only of the articulated legs and feet of a child. The remains lay above Skeleton 1012, ca. 1.00m from the east edge of Cut 1009, at about the mid-point of Skeleton 1012. The legs were straight with the feet resting on the plantar aspect. The legs were truncated directly below the proximal epiphyses on both the tibiae and fibulae. This truncation was most probably from the construction of Grave 1990-22, which was described as an ossuary in the 1990 field season Notebook 829 in Basket 68. The excavation of the mixed deposits (Contexts 983 and 984) over Grave 2016-07 and Grave 2016-08 included soil from in Grave 1990-22 and produced a number of disarticulated bones from the pit that remained after its excavation. ; ; Grave 1990-22 also truncated Skeleton Contexts 1005 and 1011, which rested at a higher elevation than Skeleton 1005 and thus represent the latest burials within Grave 2016-09. Skeleton Context 1005 consisted of two child crania. These were positioned on either side of a third cranium (Skeleton 1011), which was articulated with some cervical vertebrae, the right clavicle, and Ribs 1-4. The two crania from Skeleton Context 1005 represent two earlier burials in the same space as Skeleton 1011. The crania were high in the most western portion of Grave 2016-08. The truncation of the burial by Grave 1990-22 and root action caused the loss of the lower portion of Skeleton 1011 and any other disarticulated bones that would have been associated with the crania of Context 1005. These burials were directly over the eastern portion of Grave 2016-09 and may have truncated the upper fill of Grave 2016-09 in that area.; ; While all of these burials occurred at different times, they all appear to have been dug through a concrete subfloor (Context 1029; L: 1.86m, W: 0.23m, D: 0.07m) that was exposed at the bottom of fill 1003. The south edge of Cut 1009 clearly cut through this concrete subfloor which is apparent along the middle of Wall 929. The concrete subfloor continues along Wall 929 to the west and was also cut by Grave 2016-09. As this subfloor might belong with the original use of this church, it provides information about the use of the church for burials. The fill (Context 1004) for Grave 2016-08 dates to the 15th century AD based on the pottery representation. Coin2016-166 from this fill dates to the Frankish period, being of William de la Roche and in circulation between 1280 and 1308, which provides a firm terminus post quem within the Frankish period. The other coins (2016-164, -167, and -168) from the context date primarily to the Roman Imperial period with one (Coin 2016-165) dating to the early 3rd century BC. This prevalence of old coins indicates that the fill of these burials was highly mixed and in use over a long period of time. The data from the pottery and the coins of Grave 2016-08 indicate that these burials date to the 15th century AD. However, it may be that the earliest burial, Skeleton 1012, is earlier than this based on its depth in the burial and the lack of a firmly associated fill.; ; ; ; Grave 2016-07; ; Grave 2016-07 (Cut 993, 1070.00-1068.90 N, 128.1-125.65 E, filled by Deposits 989 and 997, Skeleton Contexts 991, 992, 994, and 996; Cut 1000, 1070.00-1069.15 N, 128.00-126.05 E, filled by Skeleton Context 998) is located in the middle section on the north side of the south aisle of the church. This grave was used for at least six burials including one full primary inhumation (Skeleton 994), an articulated left foot with an associated fibula (Skeleton 992), a pile of bones (Skeleton 996), a disarticulated bone jumble (992), and articulated remains of two individuals (Skeleton 998). The order of these burials is complicated, but the presence of articulated remains provides a good place to begin understanding the sequence of events. Due to the number of burial events in this location, Cut 993 likely represents a series of cuts that enlarged the overall grave. The earliest of these burials (Skeleton 998) is within cut (1000) that was truncated by the burials on top of it within Grave 2016-07, contained by Cut 993.; ; The first series of burial events of the grave is represented by Skeleton 998, which consisted of a partially articulated spinal column associated with ribs, a left scapula and a left humerus. The lower portion of the spinal column had shifted south, which disturbed the ribs from that portion. The cervical vertebrae of the spine were resting on top of a curved ceramic tile with thick grooves running parallel. The skeleton was oriented with the cervical (neck) vertebrae in the west and proceeded to the east. This torso had been placed on top of the remains of another burial represented by a right scapula and both humeri. The left humerus was located directly beneath the left humerus of the articulated torso. Therefore, these lower remains probably represent the earliest burial in Grave 2016-07. These or the overlying remains are also likely associated with an articulated right foot found within Cut 1000 at the east end. The small size of the earlier remains suggests a female individual. The laterremains on top of these are more robust and may represent a male individual. These two individuals were contained in Cut 1000. Cut 1000 was defined on its north side by Structure 1002, which is a stone lining along the north edge of Grave 2016-07. However, it is unlikely that Cut 1000 was originally cut for this stone lining nor was Cut 993 (discussed below); neither of which extended beyond the northern limits of the lining.; ; The second series of burial events is represented by Skeleton Contexts 991, 992, 994, and 996, contained by Cut 993.The north side of the grave is partly defined by the stone lining structure 1002. The earliest burials are likely represented by the bones making up Skeleton Context 992, which was a jumble of bones along the east and south sides of the grave. The jumble contained at least three skulls, a number of long bones, and miscellaneous smaller elements. These bones were not as carefully placed on top of the inhumation as in other cases (such as in Grave 2016-03) but were mixed with broken tiles and not laying parallel with the W-E orientation of the primary inhumation (994). Skeleton Context 996, which included a pair of articulated feet and a cranium, represents the next burial event. These remains were found beneath the feet of the primary inhumation (994). The cranium may not be associated with this pair of feet, but it is possible. Skeleton Context 991, consisting of an articulated left foot and fibula, represents a burial that was truncated by the burial of individuals in the same space as Skeletons 992, 996, and 994. It appears to have been a much shallower burial than the other burial events. Within the west end of the bone jumble (992), excavation exposed an object made of small iron balls (pea-size) with short spikes, likely for linking them together. The material and potential reconstruction of the object indicates that it might be a belt.; ; Finally, the primary inhumation (994), was a fully articulated adult, possibly male, individual who was oriented W-E, supine with the head turned slightly to the north. The arms were bent moderately at the elbow with the hands over the pelvis. The shoulders appear to be constricted with the distal ends of the clavicles drawn superiorly and medially. The right forearm was over the left forearm with the right hand resting on the pelvis extended toward the head of the left femur. The left hand was under the right forearm. The legs were straight with the feet flexed, side by side. Three items were excavated with the inhumation including a bone spool (MF-2016-53) found near the left hip and two iron boot heel cleats (MF-2016-71A, MF-2016-71B). The cleats were found in situ essentially on the heels of Skeleton 994, which indicates that they were buried on the individual. ; ; Although the main cut for this grave was not made clear until after the excavation of two fills; (Contexts 983 and 984), the relationship of the grave cut(993) with Cut 985(filled by Deposit984) suggests that Cut 993 began at the level of Cut 985, truncating fill (Context 987) used in the remodeling of the interior church near the end of the Frankish period. The pottery of fill 989 provides a date of the late 14th or early 15th century AD for the burial of inhumation 994. Because Cut 993 truncates the cut(1009) adjacent to Grave 2016-08, which dates to the 15th century based on pottery in its fill (1004), the date for this Grave is the 15th century or later. Coins (2016-155, -157, -159, -160) from fill context 989 are mostly from the Roman Imperial period, but Coin 2016-156 dates to the early Frankish period (1204-1261). The presence of so many old coins indicates that the soil making up this grave fill had been re-deposited a number of times. As in Grave 2016-08, the earliest burials from Grave 2016-07 may date earlier than the 15th century based on their depth in the grave and their association with a different cut (Cut 1000).; ; Post-Medieval Period (Turkish I [1458-1680]); ; Double Burial Grave 2016-05; ; Grave 2016-05 (Cut 968, 1069.50-1069.00 N, 129.90-128.90 E, filled by Contexts 966 and 973, Coffins 972 and 975, and Skeletons 967, 970, and 974) is located in the southeast corner of the church, enclosed by Wall 930, Wall 927, and Wall 929. Wall 929 serves as the southern border of the cut (Context 968). This grave was used for at least three separate juvenile burials (Skeletons 967, 970, and 974). However, it presents a unique case among the graves found in the church thus far as two of the burials were seemingly contemporaneous (Skeletons 970 and 974) in coffins situated side by side in the same cut (Context 968). It is also possible that the individuals died around the same time and the grave was enlarged to accommodate the second individual. ; ; The burial on the north side of the grave (Coffin 972, Skeletons 967 and 970, overlaid by fill 966) contained the remains of a single primary inhumation (Skeleton 970) overlaid by a disarticulated layer of skeletal material (Skeleton 967). The layer of bone (Context 967) consisted of juvenile bones including a fairly intact skull, a number of long bones, ribs, and vertebrae. These bones (Context 967) were situated directly on top of the primary inhumation (Skeleton 970), primarily on the eastern half below the distal end of the femora, with the disarticulated skull sitting just beyond the feet of Skeleton 970. The lines of the coffin (972) became clear as the bone layer (Context 967) and the inhumation (Skeleton 970) were exposed. They were further attested by in situ iron nails positioned along the west, south, and east sides of the inhumation in clear lines. The disarticulated bone layer appears to be confined to the limits of the coffin, which suggests they were placed in the coffin on top of the body. The individual inhumed within the coffin (Skeleton 970) was an infant (ca. 1-year-old based on estimated maximum femoral length), oriented W-E, andlaid in a supine position with a slight twist to the right side (south). The head was turned toward the south on its right side. The arms were bent at the elbow with the hands over the abdomen, right arm over left. The legs were slightly bent at the knee and the feet had fallen to either side to the north and south. The coffin (972) appeared to be too large for the individual as the skeleton only occupied about two-thirds of the coffin space, providing ample space for the disarticulated skeletal material at the east end of the coffin.; ; The burial on the south side of the grave (Coffin 974, Skeleton 974, overlaid by fill 973) was discovered in the course of excavating the northern burial. The presence of another coffin (Coffin 975) was attested by two nails in the SE corner of the northern burial pointed in opposite directions, one to the north and one to the south. It became apparent that the southern nail belonged to a coffin that had been positioned parallel to and flush against the south side of coffin 972. The southern coffin (Context 974) fit snugly between Wall 929 on its southern side and Coffin 972 on its northern side. A series of nails in a line along Wall 929 confirmed the presence of Coffin 975. Coffins 972 and 965 were almost identical in size despite the difference in the size of the children. The inhumation (Skeleton 974) in Coffin 975 was a child(ca. 2.5-3 years old based on estimated maximum femoral length), oriented W-E, and laid in a supine position with the head turned to the south on the right side. The left arm was bent at the elbow and crossed over the chest with the hand over the sternum, but the ulna (part of the forearm) was displaced. The upper right arm was articulated at the right side, but the ulna and radius had been displaced inferiorly and did not appear to be in anatomical position. It is unclear what may have caused these odd displacements. The soil around and filling this grave exhibited a significant amount of root activity, which may have contributed to displacing some elements of the inhumation. The legs are both slightly bent at the knee and turned outwards with the feet turned out as well. Only a few disarticulated remains were found in the vicinity of this inhumation, which contrasts with the bone layer (Context 967) found with skeleton 970.; ; The fills for these inhumations (Contexts 966 and 973) are from the same burial event and were thus considered together for dating and find interpretations. There were no significant finds in the fill, but the pottery provides a Middle Byzantine date. Alternatively, Context 957, located directly above Grave 2016-05, contained a number of iron nails that were likely used for the top portions of Coffins 972 and 975, which means that at least some of the fill belongs to Grave 2016-05. The fill above Grave 2016-05 (Context 957) contained three coins (2016-143, 2016-144, and 2016-145). Coins 2016-143 and 2016-145 date to the 5th century, but Coin 2016-144 dates to 1030-1042 AD. Context 957 also held fragments of a Slipped Plain Glazed bowl and a sgraffito III vessel, which were both dated to the post-medieval period. As discussed above, one piece of rossoanticoand one piece of grey schist were found in Context 957, which may have been part of an overlying Cosmati floor extending across the church during the Frankish period. This suggests that the grave may have been dug through theCosmati-style Frankish floor, thus dating to a later, post-medieval period, as the pottery suggests. This has been further supported by the excavation of Graves 2016-07 and 2016-08 to the west in the middle of the south aisle. The pottery from their fills (989 and 1004) suggests a 15th century AD date. Given the much higher elevation of Grave 2016-05, a post-medieval date would be fitting. Previous excavation in the area from the 1990 field season (NB 828 B69) also exhibits at least one context in an “L” shape along Walls 930 and 927, which indicates that the cut mark was evident at a higher elevation than was defined for its actually excavation. Furthermore, the use of coffins and the differences in the body positions of these burials versus the other burials at lower elevations suggests a change in practice that might be associated with a later date.; ; Architectural Features; ; To learn more about the chronology of the church and its construction, a section in the apse was excavated at a greater depth than the rest of the church interior. This section revealed a number of fill deposits (Contexts 1035, 1036, 1037, 1038, 1042, and 1043) and two working surfaces (Context 1039 and an unexcavated surface). Although much of the church appears to have been used for human burials throughout and after its use as a church, the apse was free of human burial. It did, however, contain a number of animals remains, consisting primarily of sheep/goat and other smaller mammals. The earliest surface (unexcavated) was covered by a deep level of fill (Context 1043), which was 0.53 in depth. This fill had an uneven slope at the top and included a high level of orange-ish/reddish clay inclusions mixed in a clayey silt matrix. It also included large chunks of mortar adhered with limestone. The surface it overlaid was much lighter and harder with mortar around the edges of the apse along Wall 926. The inclusions in the fill level and the characteristics of the surface, suggest that it may have been a working surface on which the debris from dressing the limestone blocks making up the apse wall fell. There appears to be a later working surface (Context 1039) located above this unexcavated surface, which was laid on top of Fill 1042. Fill 1042 was likely used to level the uneven layer of Context 1043. The surface (Context 1039) is covered by Fills 1036 and 1037, which are two artificial levels of the same deposit, with a combined depth of 0.53 (the same as Fill 1043 above the unexcavated working surface). There were a few (ca. 4) flat lying tiles (Context 1038) on the surface of Context 1039. The surface itself consisted primarily of limestone, mortar and plaster, but also contained some tile fragments that may have served to level this surface. Two horizontal cuts were found within the apse wall (Wall 926) on the north (at 84.84m) and south (at 85.00m) sides, which likely represent cuts for scaffolding as the church was being initially constructed.; ; The dates for the fills (Contexts 1043, 1042, 1038, 1037, 1036, 1035) overlying these two working surfaces come primarily from pottery. The pottery from these fills dates mainly to the 12th century. As they are fills, it is likely that the soil used for the deposits had been deposited in many other places prior to the apse. The pottery from Fill 1036, above the later working surface (1039), provides the latest date as the second half of the 12th century.The coins from the fills in the apse date to either the Roman Imperial Period (Coin 2016-187) or to the early Byzantine period (Coin 2016-189). Although these fills and surfaces, provided more information about the construction of the church, it did not yield evidence of the lime-concrete subfloor (Context 1029) found along the middle of the southwall, nor any other floor level. This may indicate that the floor represented by Context 1029 and other potential preceding floors were taken out when the most recent floor, the Cosmati-style floor laid on subfloors 47, 909, 910, 911, and tile (sub?)floor 941.; ; This lime-concrete subfloor (Context 1029) was exposed along the middle of the south wall (Wall 929) of the church during the excavation of Grave 2016-08 (Context 1003). The fill is dated to the 15th century, but the subfloor is likely earlier as Context 1003 was part of Grave 2016-03.  The subfloor was cut (Cut 1014) for the burial of Skeleton 1012, which was the earliest burial of the grave. A scattering of lime-concrete patches was found at about the same elevation (ca. 85.09m) to the east of this subfloor in the southeast corner of the church beneath Context 1033, which indicates that the subfloor continued to the east.; ; Subfloors consisting of concrete, packed pebbles, flat-lying tiles, and mortar for a Cosmati-style floor that extended across the church was exposed by the 1990 field season (NB828, 829, and 835) and was partially excavated in the west nave and NW narthex in the 2014 field season (Context 47). The remainder of the subfloor in the nave (Contexts 909, 910), the transept (Contexts 910, 911, 912, and 913), and SE corner (Structure 941, Context 942) were excavated this season. Evidence of the overlying Cosmati-style flooring was found in the form of two fragments of lapis lacedaimonius in the concrete subfloor context (Context 909), two fragments of rosso antico in the fill layer (Context 918), and one fragment each of rosso antico and grey schist in Context 957. As reported from the 2014 season, the subfloor surrounding the nave likely supported marble slab paving, some of which is still in situ on the north side of the SW Pier Base (Structure 920). ; ; The subfloors were made up of two or, potentially, three layers. In the nave and transept, an upper level consisting of a harder white concrete was observed in the upper layer of Context 909 and by Context 910. The lower level of concrete was softer and included more pebbles, which is seen in the lower level of Context 909 and by Context 913. The floor may have been patched or repaired at some point as Contexts 911 and 912 have different consistencies but are at similar elevation levels. The SE corner is slightly different in that there is an upper level consisting of leveling tiles (Structure 941) and a lower level of concrete/plaster (Context 942). The tiles (Structure 941) may have been used to level the floor for an overlying surface. The pottery for Context 912 provided a date of the 15th or 16th century. The subfloor was dated to the 14th century on the west side in the 2014 season by a fragment of sgraffito IV (Context 47). Therefore, the concrete subfloors and the associated transept threshold (Structure 924) are likely 14th century or later.A cut mark (Cut 919, filled by Deposit 918) associated with the floor on the north side of the nave suggests a difference in flooring between the north aisle and nave. Graves 2016-01, 2016-02, 2016-03, and 2016-06 were excavated from the north aisle. The difference in flooring may be associated with frequent burials in the area as the floors may have been restored after the burial events in some cases (Grave 2016-03, Grave 2016-02).; ; A cement covered, concave threshold exposed in the 1990 field season is situated at the east end of the nave as one enters the transept. The threshold did not have a foundation trench and consisted of two layers of cement with one course of stone tiles between them. The upper layer of cement is concave with medium size stones used to support the concavity on the eastern side. It is likely that this concave portion held half of a column split vertically, which served as the main component of the threshold. Although the pottery excavated with the threshold places the date in the Late Byzantine period (12th century), this threshold may have been constructed during the Frankish renovation of the church which potentially include the concrete bench-like structure (Structure 302) in the NW corner and the Cosmati-style floor installed in the nave. There is no foundation trench associated with it, but a possible leveling fill for the Cosmati floor (Context 918) rested on the same level, indicating that the floor and the threshold may have been contemporaneous. ; ; The altar base (Structure 931) in the transept, across from the apse (Wall 925), may also be contemporaneous with the implementation of the Cosmati-style floor and threshold (Structure 924). The foundation fill (Context 948) was cut (Context 949) into the surface on which Contexts 912 and 913 and Structure 924 were laid. The foundation fill contained pottery dating to the Middle Byzantine period and two coins (2016-140, 2016-141) dating to the 4th and 3rd centuries AD respectively, but its stratigraphic position beneath the subfloors (Contexts 912 and 913), suggests a later date, likely 14th century or later if associated with the construction of the Cosmati-sytle floor. ; ; The threshold area in the middle of the west wall (Wall 21) of the church was excavated to explore the sequence of thresholds and thus use of the church. The earliest threshold is an unexcavated tile structure at 84.37m, which is ca. 0.60m below the earliest subfloor (Context 1029) found in the church. This tile structure was covered by mortar and tiles (Contexts 1040, 1001) which contained pottery dating to the 11th century, but most likely belong to the (early?) Frankish period based on their relationship to the rest of the church. The next, later, level of fill (Context 999) which appeared to have been mixed with mortar, dates to the 15th century based on a fragment of a yellow, slipped plain glazed bowl. The overlying level of fill (Context 995) was located directly beneath the marble threshold (Structure 22), which was in the wall (Wall 20) at the level of its preservation. Fill 995 contained pottery which confirmed the 15th century date of the preceding level (Fill 999). These fills (995 and 999) provide a terminus post quem for the construction of the marble threshold (Structure 22) in the 15th century. The construction of the threshold may have corresponded with the implementation of the Cosmati-style floor.; ; ; Conclusions; ; Excavation of the interior of the church during Sessions II and III has provided further data on the construction and use of the interior of the church (Cosmati-Style Sub-Floor: Contexts 909-913, 941-942; Lime-Cement Sub-Floor: 1029;Interior Threshold: Context 924; Altar Base: Contexts 948, 949, 951; Exterior Threshold: Contexts 22, 995, 999, 1001, 1040) during the 14th and 15th centuries as well as more information about the sequence of burials and their relationship with the interior of the church. Most of the graves discussed here are located beneath this 14th century floor, but it does not appear that they went through that particular floor level. The sequence of burials for Graves 2016-01, 2016-02, 2016-03, 2016-04, 2016-05, and 2016-06 indicate further use of the space as a burial place in the Frankish period, although the chronology is still somewhat unclear. The placement of Grave 2016-01 directly on top of Grave 2016-03 and 2016-02, to some extent, suggests that burial locations were often remembered and reused. Grave 2016-01 was destroyed in the leveling process of the floor supported by thefill of Context 914, but Grave 2016-02 and 2016-03 include cement fragments likely from the cement subfloor (Context 47 and Context 909-913) built during the 14th c. This may indicate that the floor was repaired at some point after the burial of these individuals, which would explain why Grave 2016-01 is so heavily disturbed and why the other two graves include cement chunks in their fills. ; ; The practice of multiple burials exhibited in Graves 2016-03, 2016-09, 2016-07, 2016-08, and 2016-06 seemssimilar to that described for Grave 2014-04 (Kennedy and Cundy 2014) and Grave 1990-41A-C (NB835 B41, 51, 52, 58, 61, 62), which were both located next to the west wall (Wall 20) of the church. Kennedy and Cundy (2014) suggest that the deposition of disarticulated, relatively unbroken bones on top of the primary inhumations may indicate that a particular grave was left open for a certain period of time during which it was reused multiple times for subsequent burials. The unbroken nature of the bones laid directly on top of the inhumation suggests that they were not constantly being covered with fill that might have caused them to be more fractured. There are layers of bones deposited over and/or around the primary inhumations in Graves 2016-03, 2016-06, 2016-07, 2016-08, and 2016-09, but it appears that only Grave 2016-03, Phase II burials might have followed this practice. The bone layer (952) above the inhumation (956) were relatively intact and were laid in a fairly orderly fashion with the long bones laid parallel to the inhumation. However, in Grave 2016-06, the bones of the previous burial appear to have been pushed to one side or not moved at all, which indicates that this grave was not left open. The child burials at the top of Grave 2016-08 similarly appear to not have been left open but reopened for each burial. Grave 2016-07 also exhibits a different practice in that the bone layers/jumbles (Skeleton Contexts 991, 992, and 996) associated with the primary inhumation (Skeleton 994) are much less orderly (i.e. not laid parallel to the orientation of the body) than those of Grave 2016-03 and 2016-09. The articulation of some of the skeletal material from the skeletal contexts of Grave 2016-07 also suggests that the grave was not left open but reopened multiple times. The disorder of the bone jumble (992) supports the argument that the bones were potentially placed in the grave with the fill albeit primarily at the bottom of the fill rather than mixed in with the rest of it. There were a number of bones recovered that had been mixed in with the fill (989). Grave-2016-09 deviates from the other graves in that most of the disarticulated bones were found beside or beneath the primary inhumation, rather than on top of it. This also indicates that the grave was not left open for a period of time for a series of burials.; ; The graves containing adults (2016-03, 2016-07, 2016-08, 2016-09) do appear to be similar in the potential use of a shroud as the arrangement of the skeletons suggests a constrained position within the burial.The burial positions of all of the primary interments mostly concur, with the arms crossed at the chest below the sternum or at the abdomen and the legs laid out straight. There are differences in head position, but these are related primarily to the coffin burials in Grave 2016-05. Every other primary inhumation had either an elevated skull held in place by props on either side of stone or tile. The heads of the burials in Grave 2016-05 are not propped in any way, but are turned southward, to the right side. Many of the graves excavated contained only juvenile remains including Graves 2016-02, 2016-04, 2016-05, and 2016-06. Grave 2016-03, 2016-07, 2016-08, and 2016-09 contained adult remains with most having juvenile bones included in the bone layers of the grave, excepting Grave 2016-08, which contained articulated remains of two juveniles. The peculiarities of Grave 2016-05 cause chronological issues with the relatively high elevation of the grave compared to the other graves, the use of coffins, the side-by-side burials, and the bone layer (Context 967) on top of only one of the inhumations (Skeleton 970). However, the further excavation of the SE corner of the church and an examination of previous excavation in the area does indicate that the burials were established at a later date, likely post medieval,than most of the other excavated burials in the church.; ; The burial of individuals within the church appears to span the currently known period of use of the church (Mid-13th to early 15th c.) (Graves 2016-01, -02, -03, -04, -06, -07, -08, -09) and after it was no longer used (Graves 2016-05). This means that people may have been actively using the floor of the church as a burial place while the church was in use as a place of worship. However, this may also suggest that the church went through at least two periods of use and abandonment. There is evidence that one grave (2016-08) went through an early subfloor (Structure 1029) of the church, which does not appear to have been repaired after the creation of the grave. Grave 2016-09 represents the earliest excavated(this season) primary inhumation of the church, dating to the late 13th century or later. However, this primary inhumation was only the last of many. The skeletons represented in Context 998 are likely earlier than inhumation 1025 but were disturbed by subsequent burial activity in Grave 2016-07. The latest burials are represented in Grave 2016-05. The continuity of the practice of multiple burial is evident throughout the use of the church as a burial area. However, the use of coffins over shrouds and/or tile coverings in Grave 2016-05 also indicates changesin burial practices over time.; ; Recommendations for Future Work in the Area:; ; 1.    Continue the excavation of the osteotheke in the northwest corner of the church nearby Grave 2016-05. It cuts into Context 982, excavated in Session II, identified by Cut 44 and filled by Contexts 32 and 529, excavated in Session I of 2014.; 2.    Determine the nature of the stone block found at the bottom of Grave 2016-06 and whether it is related to Structure 150.; 3.    Determine the nature of the stone lining (Structure 1002) in the north scarp of Grave 2016-07.; 4.    Continue excavation in the south aisle, as there are more articulated burials evident in the bottom of Grave 2016-08 and in the west scarp of Grave 2016-07.; 5.    Excavate the remnants of Grave 2014-04 along the west wall (Wall 21) along with the short wall built specifically for the burial (Wall 1032). This will also allow for completing the excavation of the fill between the threshold and Wall 1032.","Temple E, Southeast 2016 by Kaitlyn Stiles (2016-05-04 to 2016-06-25)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2016 by Kaitlyn Stiles (2016-05-04 to 2016-06-25)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Report: Excavations of South Stoa, Shop 1 Rear, Session 2 2016","Final Report: Excavations of South Stoa, Shop 1 Rear, Session 2 2016; ; Alexandra Daly and Thalia Parr; ; DATES OF EXCAVATION: May 4-20 2016; ; COORDINATES: N: N 1090.40; E: E 353.95; S: N 1084.70; W: E 349.60; ; INTRODUCTION; ; This is the final report for the excavation of Shop 1 Rear in Session II of the 2016 season.  Shop 1 Rear is the rear room of Shop 1 in the South Stoa.  It is bounded by four walls built of large, well-worked ashlar blocks: 457 to the east (N: N 1106.51, E: E 356.40, S: N 1086.50, W: E 348.67), 458 to the south (Greek phase; N: N 1086.38, E: E 355.83, S: N 1084.15, W: E 351.81), 459 to the west (N: N 1095.75, E: E 351.30, S: N 1086.60, W: E 347.25), and 461 to the north (N: N 1092.75, E: E 35364, S: N 1090.63, W: E 349.19).  The coordinates of the interior space of the room are: NE corner, E 353.85, N 1092.30; NW corner, E 349.60, N 1090.80; SW corner, E 351.80, N 1084.70; SE corner, E 355.90, N 1086.50.  Our excavation was limited to the portion of this area south of the section line (running from E 350.2, N 1090.4 to E 353.95, N 1088.05) laid at the beginning of Session II; the area north of the line has been saved for microstratigraphic analysis by Panagiotis Karkanas.  Excavation began on May 4th and continued until May 20th.  Guy Sanders (director), James Herbst (architect), and Danielle Smotherman (field director) supervised.  Our team consisted of Alexandra Daly and Thalia Parr (area supervisors), Panos Kakouros (pickman), Marios Vathis (pickman and sieve), and Panagiotis Rontzokos (shovelman, barrowman, sieve).  Photogrammetry has been carried out for every context of the excavation.; ; Shop 1 Rear was first excavated by Oscar Broneer in the 1930s and 1940s, mainly in March 1934 (Corinth NB 139).  During Session I Jiang and Judson removed most of his backfill, and thus everything excavated in Session II seemed undisturbed by his activities.  Broneer's sounding beside the west wall (Wall 459), excavated as Cut 301/Context 298 in Session I, cut through the center of the foundation trench on the east side of Wall 459.  The Neolithic and Early Helladic sherds Broneer found in the fill of the trench were most likely redeposited by the stoa builders from some of the purely prehistoric deposits excavated in Session II.  The fill of the foundation trench to the north and south of Broneer's sounding (excavated in Session II as Cut 507/Contexts 511, 544; Cut 506/Contexts 505, 510, 512) appeared undisturbed by Broneer, since it yielded only ancient material and was overlaid by ancient contexts.  Broneer’s trench along the east and south walls (Cut 509) was probably an excavation of those foundation trenches. ; ; Shop 1 Rear was next excavated by An Jiang and Catharine Judson in Session I of the 2016 season (April 5th-21st).  After removing Broneer’s backfill, they excavated several layers of Roman and Hellenistic fill.  A compact, partially preserved deposit (Context 449) with two cuts for pithoi (Cuts 382, 389) was the only possible surface identified in Session I.  Because of its 4th cent. BC pottery date, Jiang and Judson proposed that this surface had been in use before the construction of the stoa and was repurposed for Shop 1 Rear.  The last context excavated in Session I, a large rectilinear cut (Cut 497/Context 478), was closed artificially at the end of the session and reopened in Session II.; The goals of this session are to find evidence for the date of the construction of the stoa, to investigate activities in the area during and before the use of the stoa, and to prepare the stoa for consolidation, conservation, and presentation to the public.; ; PREHISTORIC; ; Prehistoric activity in the area of Shop 1 Rear may be divided into five phases, all occurring during the Early Helladic II period.  This date is firmly established, with twenty-two of the prehistoric contexts dated to that period by their own pottery.  The remaining eight are dated broadly to the Early Helladic period by their pottery, but seven of these may be narrowed to EH II by their stratigraphic relationships.  Only our last context from this session (Context 551) lacks a precise date within EH.  A larger, unexcavated portion of what appears to be the same surface as Context 551, separated from it by a large bothros (Cut 548/Context 547) and extending to the bedrock in the southeast corner of the section, may yield material with a more specific date when it is excavated in Session III.  ; ; In the first phase of prehistoric activity, the EH inhabitants of Corinth leveled off and trampled down a sandy exterior surface (Context 551, preserved in a 1.00 x 0.50 m area).  Although its full extent is unknown—it is truncated by the foundation trench of Shop 1 Rear to the west and continues under our section line to the east—it appears to be bounded by bedrock to the northwest and southeast.  In the northwest, it lay over a small portion of downward sloping bedrock, as well as some rocky fill.  In the southeast (to be excavated in Session III), it runs up to the edge of what appears to be a deep, anthropogenic cut in the bedrock.  It is clear from the scarp of Broneer’s sounding (Cut 301) that the bedrock, though visible at the level of this surface to its northwest and southeast, drops dramatically in the area below this surface, creating a deep gully that appears to be have been filled deliberately.  For this reason, we believe that this hard, compacted surface may be the result of the EH II inhabitants of Corinth filling this gully and then packing down the fill.  The small amount of pottery in this surface suggests that it was not used or exposed for very long before being covered by later fill.; ; In the second phase, a broad, shallow bothros was cut into this surface and filled with waste (Cut 548/Context 547).  Some of the waste appeared to derive from the collapse of a building nearby: pieces of chopped up bedrock, some stone tools, pieces of lime (perhaps plaster or flooring), several cobbles with faces, and many pieces of mudbrick, one of which had a face.  The bothros also contained 120 pieces of bone, many of which were preserved in rather large pieces, and a great deal of pottery: 458 sherds at 4.64kg.  Among the pottery were an EH II firedog stand knob (C-2016-20) and a Late Neolithic ritual vessel handle (C-2016-19).  The majority of the pottery was EH II and so, along with the bone, might have been the accumulated trash of nearby inhabitants.  The Late Neolithic sherds and chert blade (MF-2016-39) in this deposit may already have been in the soil excavated to create the pit, so that they were redeposited as backfill in the pit.; ; This bothros may be associated with another EH II bothros excavated in Session I beneath Shop 2 Rear (Cut 430/Context 429). Both bothroi were cut into surfaces at relatively similar elevations: the sandy surface (Context 551) in Shop 1 Rear at 80.68-80.49 and the clayey surface (Context 442) in Shop 2 Rear at 80.70-80.59.  Like the bothros beneath Shop 1 Rear, the bothros beneath Shop 2 Rear contained large pieces of bone in smaller quantities, a comparable amount of pottery (368 sherds at 6.15kg), and material possibly from a collapsed building: many cobbles, some stone tools, and two EH rooftiles.  The similarity of these bothroi suggests that they were dug and filled at around the same time.  This in turn suggests that their respective surfaces may be two parts of the same large surface, separated from one another by the digging of the foundation trench for Wall 459.  The difference in soil between the two surfaces is attributable to the mixed nature of the packed down fill of which they are composed.; ; The third phase of EH II activity in Shop 1 Rear is represented by the construction, use, and maintenance of an exterior surface over a considerable period of time.  The surface was initially constructed by laying down rocky fills (Contexts 539-546) over the sandy surface discussed above (Context 551) and covering this fill with a lens of clayey silt, which was packed down, over the fill (Context 538, preserved in a 3.85 x 0.75 m area).  This surface was then used for some time, as demonstrated by the significant amount of pottery that had been trampled into it.  Eventually another layer of rocky fill (Context 537) was laid down on top of the first lens, with another compacted clayey lens created on top of it (Context 536 preserved in a 2.60 x 0.35 m area).  After another period of use, a second remodeling, with a third layer of fill (Contexts 532, 534, and 535) and a third clayey lens, appears to have occurred.  The second remodeling is less clear than the first, however, because the center of the third surface appeared to have been eroded away, leaving only two patches of it in the north (Context 533, preserved in a 1.20 x 0.55 m area) and south (Context 531, preserved in a 1.85 x 0.30 m area).  Perhaps the surface went out of use for some time and slowly wore away, or perhaps it was destroyed in a single event such as a winter torrent.  Either way, the eroded portion of the third lens seems then to have been repaired by three layers of fill (Contexts 527, 528, and 530) laid against the eroded edges of this lens.  These repairs were not overlaid by any lens of the surface.  In their full extent the next four lenses (Contexts 517 [1.50 x 0.40 m], 520 [1.20 x 0.65 m], 521 [1.70 x 0.20 m], 529 [1.50 x 0.30 m]) most likely overlay the repairs to the third lens, but these higher lenses were so eroded that they bore no stratigraphic relationship to the repairs  They survived only in a small portion in the south of our area, truncated by the classical cellar to the south (Cut 497), eroded away to the north and west, and running under our section to the east.  They formed directly over the third lens with no fill between them, and therefore appear to have accumulated unintentionally through use of the surface. ; ; We argue that all these lenses and fills represent the construction, remodeling, use, and repair of a metaled road.  Our pickman, Panos Kakouros, who has excavated other roads at Corinth, was the first to suggest this interpretation and has maintained it throughout our excavation.  The character of the surface is consistent with this interpretation.  First, it was very hard and compact, in parts composed of thin, overlying lenses.  Second, it appeared to have been eroded away and repaired several times.  Third, it had cultural material from disparate periods (from MN to EHII), sometimes in equal proportions, trampled into it.  One would expect a much narrower chronological range for the artifacts in other kinds of exterior surfaces, such as working areas, whereas a road could have accumulated material from a wide range of periods through water action.  Finally, the fills below the lenses, especially those below the first lens, contained many stones, generally increasing in size toward the bottom.  The fill below another EH II road at Lerna is similar in composition (M. H. Wiencke 2000. The Architecture, Stratification, and Pottery of Lerna III. Vol. IV. Princeton: 287).  ; ; The orientation of this road is difficult to determine since only a relatively small part of it is both preserved and visible.  If we look to the area below Shop 2 Rear for the continuation of this road, we do find another surface below Shop 2 Rear (Context 388, preserved in a 3.2m x 2.45m area) that lay at nearly the same level as the fourth lens of the road (Context 529)(81.00-80.81 and 80.98-80.83 respectively), but the surface below Shop 2 Rear does not have a series of lenses above or below it as we found in Shop 1 Rear.  It is possible the upper lenses were destroyed during the construction of the South Stoa, since Context 388 is almost exclusively overlaid by Hellenistic fills, but this fails to explain why the first through third lenses of the road under Shop 1 Rear do not appear to continue into the area beneath Shop 2 Rear.  Perhaps the road was  oriented N-S, so that it continues not under Shop 2 Rear, but under Shop 1 Front.  Context 388 under Shop 2 Rear, then, might have been a work area (as it was originally interpreted) beside or at the end of the road.         ; ; After the road finally fell out of use, it appears to have suffered significant erosion, creating a wide, shallow depression running roughly NE-SW across our area.  This depression was then filled in the fourth phase of EH II activity with a layer of cobbles (Context 524-526) with a thin layer of earth and pebbles over and between them (Context 523).  These deposits must have been made at the same time, since fragments of the same Early Helladic black-slipped one-handled cup (C-2016-16) were found in both the pebbly soil (Context 523) and the cobbles (Context 525)..  In addition to this vessel, a few Late Neolithic and Early Helladic sherds and a triangular stone burnisher (MF-2016-30 in Context 526), were found among the cobbles.  Based on the flat, apparently worked surfaces of some of the cobbles, and the pieces of mudbrick and chopped up bedrock throughout, we believe these layers represent the ruins of an earlier structure that were redeposited in the depression caused by the erosion of the road.  ; ; These cobbles may have been laid as a pavement, and they do resemble the pavements identified at Eutresis (J. L. Caskey and E. G. Caskey. 1960. “The Earliest Settlements at Eutresis: Supplementary Excavations, 1958.” Hesperia 29: 126-167).   Fragments of a complete vessel and pieces of mudbrick are more likely to be found in dumped rubble than among carefully laid stones, however, and pebbly soil (Context 523) laid over a pavement is difficult to account for.  More likely, the cobbles and the soil were cleaned up from a nearby area and dumped in this convenient natural ditch by the inhabitants of Corinth.; ; If this layer of cobbles did serve some purpose, it had fallen out of use by the fifth and final phase of EH II activity.  More soil (Context 522) was heaped upon the cobbles as well as upon the latest lens of the road (Context 516).  Little more can be said about these fills, since they were partially disturbed by later activity and partially hidden by our section.; ; Our excavation produced a great deal of prehistoric pottery from purely prehistoric contexts.  Almost every deposit contained a mixture of Late Neolithic and Early Helladic wares, with only a few Middle Neolithic sherds.  ; ; The Late Neolithic pottery was predominated by Grey Burnished (469 sherds), Black Burnished (380 sherds), and Matt Painted (277 sherds).  The paint on the Matt-painted sherds was often very well preserved, especially the Late Neolithic Matt-painted fruitstand in Context 527 (C-2016-17) .  The Late Neolithic ritual vessel handle in Context 547 (C-2016-19) is even more unique: although its triangular section is not uncommon, we have so far been unable to find any comparanda for its undulating ridge.; ; The Early Helladic pottery was most often represented by Red-slipped (725 sherds), Cream-slipped (547 sherds, some with fine incision), and Black-Slipped (400 sherds); the next most frequent ware was EH Lightware (31 sherds).  The EH II black-slipped one-handled cup in Contexts 523 and 525 (C-2016-16) and the cooking pot in Contexts 540 and 543 (C-2016-21) were the two almost intact prehistoric vessels found this session.  24 sherds of an Early Cycladic Red-Slipped vessel (yet to be reconstructed or inventoried) found in Contexts 538, 542, 543, and 544 was also of interest.; ; Two Early Helladic terracotta spindle whorls were also found in Context 538 (MF-2016-35 and MF-2016-36), not upon the surface of the road, but within the fill beneath.  Other important small finds from the fill that so far lack dates include two stone tools (MF-2016-33 in Context 532, MF-2016-38 in Context 537) and an obsidian core (MF-2016-37 in Context 537).; ; The good preservation of the finds and pottery from all periods in our trench suggests that they were probably close to their primary contexts, and that they had not been redeposited many times.  Stone tools, textile tools, and pottery show that habitation layers were close by. At the same time, the solid date of all these contexts suggests that EH II was a period of major renovation of this area, apparently involving the cleanup of some nearby collapsed buildings (Context 523-526 and Context 537).  In light of both these factors, as well as the current lack of evidence for EH I contexts, it seems that the area of Shop 1 Rear was abandoned in the Late Neolithic and only revisited in Early Helladic II.  The Early Helladic inhabitants of Corinth would have encountered an area much altered by their Neolithic predecessors: earth filled with Late Neolithic sherds and tools as well as a deep cut in the bedrock.  In filling and leveling off this cut and constructing their road, they would have mixed their own waste with that of their predecessors, creating a “Mixed Fill,” much like the one found in several places at Lerna (M. H. Wiencke 2000. The Architecture, Stratification, and Pottery of Lerna III. Vol. IV. Princeton: 29).; ; Several previous excavations at Corinth uncovered mixed deposits of Early Helladic and Late Neolithic.  According to Phelps 2004, Walker-Kosmopoulos found Late Neolithic in equal proportions with Early Helladic on the north side of Temple Hill in 1920.  In 1931, Hill likewise discovered Late Neolithic with much Early Helladic on the site of the current museum.  Finally, Weinberg in 1938 found Black and Grey Wares mixed with Early Helladic west of the museum.  It would be valuable to revisit these deposits now that the pottery sequences of the Late Neolithic and Early Helladic in the Peloponnese have been better defined.  Perhaps the Early Helladic material in these contexts is also confined to EH II.; ; CLASSICAL?; ; There is very little evidence of human activity between EH II and the construction of the South Stoa, probably because the builders of the South Stoa cleared and leveled the area before construction.; ; Before that, however, the inhabitants of Corinth dug a long, rectilinear pit (Cut 497/Contexts 478 and 513-515) running E-W that widens slightly toward the west (1.00m wide at the east, 1.40m wide at the west).  Its preserved length is 2.70m, but it was truncated to the east by Broneer's excavation trench (509) and to the west by the foundation trench for Wall 459 (Cut 506).  It is quite deep (0.72m), with vertical sides and a roughly leveled bottom.  Its southern side and some of its base were cut into bedrock, while its northern side was cut into the prehistoric surfaces discussed above.  ; ; The form of this cut suggests that it was a Classical cellar.  Two comparable cellars associated with the Classical Buildings I and II in the forum area of Corinth were excavated in 1971 by Charles Williams (Hesperia 41.2: 143-184).  Both cellars are 1-2m wide (Cut 497 is 1.3m wide), cut into bedrock, and not waterproofed (as ours); Cellar B also widens toward one end.  ; ; HELLENISTIC (LATE 4TH TO EARLY 3RD CENT. BC); ; After the cellar had fallen out of use, it was filled in the late 4th/early 3rd cent. BC or later (Contexts Contexts 478, 513-515), before the construction of the west foundation trench and probably during the initial leveling of the area in preparation for the stoa.  The filling of the cellar was most likely part of the construction process, as joining sherds of the same matt-painted vessel (C-2016-14) were found in the cellar fill (Contexts 478, 515) and the foundation trench fill (Context 505).  Next the foundation trenches were dug, the walls were constructed, and the trenches were backfilled.  The builders then deposited several layers of fill (Contexts 456, 503, 508) over the cellar fill and the foundation trench fill in order to level Shop 1 Rear.  Since none of the fills in the foundation trench itself dated later than the 4th cent. BC, they are all dated by their stratigraphic relationship to the cellar fill, which was cut by the foundation trench, to the late 4th/early 3rd cent. BC.; ; One of the leveling fills over the foundation trench (Context 508) was overlaid by a possible surface (Context 449) into which two pithos stands were cut (Cuts 382, 389).  As stated above, Jiang and Judson believed that this surface predated the construction of Shop 1 Rear, and they therefore interpreted the Hellenistic fill of a large cut in this surface (Cut 493/4/Contexts 424 [first half of the 3rd cent. BC], 436, 438) as the leveling of Shop 1 Rear immediately after its construction.  However, the fill (Context 508) over the foundation trench (Context 511) and beneath this surface (Context 449) makes it clear that this surface postdated the construction of Shop 1 Rear.  For this reason, we believe that Context 449 may have been the original floor of the room, or at least another leveling fill for the floor, since the pithos stands were cut into it.  Cut 493/4 and its fills would then reflect a significant change to the room, perhaps after it or part of the surface had fallen out of use.; ; This interpretation of Context 449 suggests that Shop 1 Rear was constructed and in use by the end of the 4th cent. BC or later.  This date is brought down to the first quarter of the 3rd century BC by a single sherd found in Session I in the fill of the east foundation trench of Shop 2 Rear (Cut 322/Deposit 321)—the other side of the same foundation trench we excavated this session.; ; Most of our Hellenistic contexts contained a great deal of Late Neolithic and Early Helladic pottery.  In the cellar we found a Late Neolithic Matt-painted bowl rim (C-2016-18 in Context 513) and a Late Neolithic Black-burnished roll handle (C-2016-15 in Context 515), as well as a Neolithic figurine (MF-2016-25 in Context 513); in the leveling fill we found an Early Helladic II obsidian blade (MF-2016-21 in Context 508).  The presence of this material is easily explained.  The builders of the South Stoa inevitably dug down into earlier layers while excavating the foundation trenches, and then used this same soil to backfill the trenches and level off the rooms.  The soil in the cellar could have come from the foundation trench of another room that was built before Shop 1 Rear.; ; CONCLUSIONS; ; This excavation of Shop 1 Rear has provided evidence that the South Stoa was constructed in the late 4th to early 3rd cent. BC, which supports the down-dating of the construction of the stoa from the widely accepted date of 338-323 B.C. to the 3rd century B.C. by Sanders, Miura, and Kvapil (2014) and James (forthcoming).; ; Through the discovery of a Classical cellar beneath Shop 1 Rear, the excavation has added to our understanding of this area soon before the construction of the stoa.  Along with Classical Buildings I and II, it indicates that this area was already occupied by structures and probably saw a good deal of activity.; ; The prehistoric layers beneath Shop 1 Rear have shed further light on the prehistoric layers beneath Shop 2 Rear.  Together these layers have provided a wealth of material that promises to open up new lines of research in the prehistory of Corinth.  Although no settlement has been located, the kinds of material culture we have found, as well as its good preservation, indicate that there were probably Late Neolithic and Early Helladic II settlements nearby.  The discovery of the EH II road suggests that the Early Helladic settlement may have seen a good deal of traffic, and some of it (based on the discovery of obsidian, non-local chert, and Cycladic pottery) may have come from rather far away.; ; FUTURE GOALS; ; •    Continue excavation to clarify the nature of the sandy surface (Context 551) as well as the fill below it.; •     Explore the possibility of more connections between the prehistoric layers excavated last session in Shop 2 Rear and those in Shop 1 Rear.; •    Use Panagiotis Karkanas’ analysis of the microstratigraphy to come to a better understanding of the formation processes in this area.; •    Compare the pottery from our excavations with that from other prehistoric excavations at Corinth.; ; ; CONTEXTS: 497, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 509, 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 525, 526, 527, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548, 549, 550, 551; ; MF-2016-21 Early Helladic II Obsidian Blade in 508; MF-2016-25 Neolithic Figurine in 513; MF-2016-30 Triangular Stone Burnisher in 526; MF-2016-33 Stone Tool 532; MF-2016-35 Early Helladic Terracotta Spindle Whorl in 538; MF-2016-36 Early Helladic Terracotta Spindle Whorl in 538; MF-2016-37 Obsidian Core in 537; MF-2016-38 Stone Tool in 537; MF-2016-39 Late Neolithic Chert Blade in 547; ; C-2016-14 Late Neolithic Matt-painted Jar in 505; C-2016-15 Late Neolithic Black-burnished Roll Handle in 515; C-2016-16 Early Helladic Black-slipped One-handled Cup in 523, 525; C-2016-17 Late Neolithic Matt-painted Fruitstand in 527; C-2016-18 Late Neolithic Matt-painted Bowl in 513; C-2016-19 Late Neolithic Ritual Vessel Handle in 547; C-2016-20 Early Helladic II Firedog Stand Knob in 547; C-2016-21 Tripod Vessel in 543, 540","South Stoa 2016 by Alexandra Daly and Thalia Parr (2016-05-04 to 2016-05-20)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Forum | South Stoa","","Corinth:Report:South Stoa 2016 by Alexandra Daly and Thalia Parr (2016-05-04 to 2016-05-20)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Final Report on the Excavations for the ASCSA’s New Apotheke","This excavation was undertaken from May 30-August 13, 2016 in the area of the planned new apotheke of the ASCSA’s Corinth Excavations. As the excavation permit requires, the primary objective was to reach floor levels within the rooms of three different houses exposed in this area. The stratigraphy investigated in these buildings ranges from the 11th century to the third quarter of the 12th century and suggests that there are two main architectural phases before a period of abandonment in the late 12th century. Traces of the foundations of structures datable to the early Byzantine periods were also investigated. ; ; The site itself slopes from south (60.023 masl) to north (58.586 masl) with the highest wall of the southernmost Byzantine house (Wall 34) at 59.646 masl or roughly 0.5m below ground level (see cross-sections). Most of the walls of the Byzantine houses are preserved only to their lowest foundation courses. The best-preserved wall (Wall 283) consisted of seven courses and stood 1.45m high (with the top at 59.47 masl). Furthermore some of the walls were robbed out after the abandonment of the houses and during excavation their robbing trenches were identified. The Byzantine architecture was built, in the southern part of the site, directly over the foundations of three Early Byzantine structures. The rest of the Byzantine structures were constructed over a mixed fill that contained small amounts of primarily Classical to Byzantine pottery or built directly on top of a deep layer red clay stereo without any material culture. The existence of the consistent layer of red clay stereo across the site was demonstrated by the excavations of six test trenches (labeled 1-6 on Master Plan) within the original bulldozer trenches that all reached this same layer at approximately 57.35 masl on the south side and 56.87 masl towards the north end of the site (see cross-sections). The deepest wall foundations of the Byzantine structures (including Wall 373) were set directly upon the red clay stereo level (see below) and we can therefore conclude that any earlier features (including the Early Byzantine) that may have existed were heavily disturbed by the construction of these houses. Furthermore, the very small amount of pottery datable to before the 5th century AD that was recovered in excavated contexts throughout the site, in comparison to the Forum area or other ASCSA excavated-sites in ancient Corinth, strongly suggests that there was no significant activity here before the Early Byzantine period. The site is therefore primarily a single-period site consisting of three Byzantine structures.; ; The following report will summarize the main phases of the Byzantine structures before discussing the evidence for Early Byzantine and Early Modern activities in the excavated area. Please refer to the attached plan (Master Plan) for wall and room numbers from all periods.; ; The Byzantine Houses; ; 1) The southernmost house consists of rooms 1-6, 8, and 17, as well as the area immediately west of room 17 (see Master Plan). It appears that the earliest phases of this structure date as early the first half of the 11th century on the basis of Pits 234 and 238, which provide a terminus post quem of the second half of the 11th century; as does the material in Contexts 92 and 99.  Three structures of the Early Byzantine period were also truncated by the construction of this house (see below). The latest material in this house dates to the third quarter of the 12th century (see Rooms 5, 6, 8); the same period that courtyard and northern rooms of the central house were remodeled. It is likely that the original floor surfaces associated with this last phase of this southern house were highly disturbed by later agricultural activities. A 19th-century cistern (Structure 12) was also cut through Room 1 (see below). ; Rooms 1, 2 and 3 (see Master Plan); The stratigraphy south of Wall 11 in Room 1 appears to be highly compromised by 19th-century activities and as a result the interior spaces are poorly preserved. Before this period, the latest material in Room 1 belongs to the early 12th century (dated by pottery in Contexts 17 and 32), while all earlier deposits contained 11th-century ceramic material. ; During the course of the 11th century or early 12th  century, Wall 11 was remodeled to insert a drain (Structure 45), which runs N-S along the east side of Wall 18; it also appears to continue south beneath the extant segment of Wall 18.  Based on pottery found in the exposed segment of the drain (Context 44 – pottery dated to the 11th century), this drain likely went out of use when the house was remodeled in the 12th century.; Room 2 is delimited by Wall 6 (running east-west along the south edge of the room), Wall 20 (running north-south along the west edge of the room, its stones robbed out in its southern section), Wall 11 (running east-west along the north edge of the room; cut by the bulldozer trench 8), and Wall 159, a north-south wall running along the east side of the room (also cut by the bulldozer trench 8). Room 2 had been excavated to the tops of the walls throughout most of the room in 2015.; The latest fill in Room 2 dates to the third-quarter of the 12th century (Context 2) and probably relates to either abandonment or remodeling of the house in that period. A possible 11th-century occupational level, represented by an earthen floor (Structure 23, excavated as Context 31) in the eastern half of the room.  A fragment of a pietro ollare vessel (NA #4 from Context 27) was also found associated with the floor. ; Room 3 is a small room immediately to the south of Room 2. It is delimited on the north side by Wall 6 (running east-west), on its west side by Wall 35 (a continuation of Wall 20 to the north, running north-south), on its east side by Wall 36 (running north-south) and on its south side by two walls running east-west: Wall 42, dating to the 11th century, and Wall 34, probably dating to the later 12th century phase. ; Room 3 contained a series of fills dating to the 11th century (Contexts 37 and 39) that were laid up against Walls 34 and 35 and therefore provide a terminus ante quem for these walls of the 11th century and may be part of the leveling operation in the second phase of the building. ; Walls 34, 35, and 42 belong to the first late-11th-century phase of the house. This space was remodeled in the later 12th century with the addition of Walls 6 and 36. At this point, this room seems to have been a fully enclosed space. It is unclear where the entrance to this room was, but it is possible that access was from the NW corner of the space, as there is a break in the northern part of Wall 35. However, due to the damage caused to this wall by a later robbing trench, it is unclear if this wall contained an entrance to Room 3.; ; Room 17; ;     Room 17 is located east of Room 2 (see Master Plan).  It is bounded on the north side by Wall 283, on the south side by Wall 380, on the west side by Wall 159, and on the east by Wall 381. On the basis of their construction and orientation, these walls all belong to the first phase of the house in the later 11th century. This 11th-century room overlies an earlier Byzantine well (334) and wine/olive press (325) (see below). Evidence for the 11th-century construction phase comes from a leveling fill that covered both the earlier Byzantine wellhead and the press (Contexts 323, 321, 333, 336, 337, and 344 – all dated to the 8th-11th centuries on the basis of pottery). Wall 283 had a foundation trench associated with it (Cut 314 and Contexts 316 and 335) that contained Middle Byzantine pottery dateable to the 10th to 11th centuries, which accords with the 11th century construction date of the house. Furthermore, the original construction of Walls 159 and 6 have been dated to the later 11th century based on pottery in contexts found in Room 2 to the west (see above). ; ; Room 8; ; The northeastern and southern sections of Room 8 were excavated down to floor level, whereas the northwestern section was excavated to a leveling fill (367) beneath a floor.  The area is delimited by four walls: Wall 49 (along the north edge of the room; also the north wall of Room 5), Wall 50 (along the east edge of the room), Walls 352 and 353 (along the west edge of the room), and Wall 11(along the south edge of the room) that can be dated to the first phase of the house in the late 11th century (see below and Master Plan). The dates of Walls 49 and 50 are provided by fills (Contexts 92 and 99) in a pit (105) that (see Master Plan) underlies both walls, which date to the 11th century. Walls 102 and 103, which bisect the room and are separated by a threshold that linked the eastern and western sections of Room 8, are contemporary with Walls 252 and 253 due to their identical alignment and construction technique (see below and Plan1). All that survive of these walls are their foundation courses and as a result, the original entrance to Room 8 cannot be determined.; The latest contexts excavated in this area confirm the 3rd quarter of the 12th as the last phase of construction of this part of the house. All occupation levels were fragmentarily preserved, and a series of levelling and debris deposits have been excavated, that exposed an earlier floor level likely dated to the 11th century. This surface (Contexts 364 and 365 – both dated to the early 12th century) is the earliest floor reached in the northwestern section of the room.  In the northeastern section of the room, the excavation has also revealed a series of earlier floor surfaces that lay above pit 105. Contexts 121, 132, and 135 (all also dated by pottery or stratigraphy to the early 12th c. AD) are a series of floors, leveling fills, and pits in the northern section of Room 8. At least one of these floors, the one lowest in elevation (at 58.345m) seems to correspond to the earlier phase of Wall 49, and may be chronologically similar to the floor unearthed in the adjacent Room 5 (at the bottom of Contexts 72 and 73 – both dated by pottery to the 11th to early 12th century). These overlay Context 99 in the pit (see Master Plan) in the northeast corner of Room 8, which provides a construction date for Walls 49 and 50 of the second half of the 11th century. ; A circular stone-built storage bin (Structure 354) was inserted into the west side of Room 8. The material from the fills within this structure does not suggest a clear chronology. An 11th century terminus post quem can be suggested by the levels cut through by the pit excavated for the construction of this feature, therefore it should belong to the second phase of the house in the late 12th century AD.  Contexts 358 (which contained NA #106 – a bronze earring), 366, and 368 provide an additional terminus ante quem of early 12th century for the silo and for the robbing event of wall 103 in the southern half of the room – both of which support the date for the second phase of this house.  The floor surface in the southern half of Room 8 was not excavated, but it has a terminus ante quem of the 11th or 12th century, based on pottery from the fill of a pit (Pit 363 filled by Context 362) that was cut into it.  It appears that Structure 354 was installed after the southern space was expanded when part of wall 103 was removed. An ashy deposit (Context 366) laid against the Structure 345 and a contemporary fill to the south (Context 368), that provided examples of olive pits (NA #112, 113), are leveling fills of the 12th century associated with the remodeling of this room. Context 366 was water sieved and yielded many archaeo-botanical samples. Overall the evidence suggests that Room 8 had two major phases.  The room was constructed in the 11th century and then remodeled and expanded southern end to accommodate the circular stone-built storage bin (Structure 354) in the 3rd quarter of the 12th century AD.; ; Room 5; ; This room is south of the Main Courtyard and is delimited on its north side by Wall 49, on its east side by Wall 52, on its west side by Wall 50 and on its south side by Walls 51 and 54, which are divided by an entryway that connects this room to Room 4 to the south. The foundation trenches of Wall 49 (Context 72 – dated by pottery to the late 11th to early 12th century) and Wall 52 (Context 73 – dated by pottery to the 11th century) provide a date of the late-11th/ early 12th century for their construction and therefore they belong to the first phase of the southern house. A terminus post quem for Wall 50 is also provided by Context 99 (see above). A large marble threshold block was found in the northwest corner of the room and is likely spolia that was displaced from one of the adjacent walls. Part of a surface (Context 70) from this earlier phase was preserved in the southern half of Room 5 is dated to the late-11th century. Several large fragments of a pietra ollare vessel have been found in the SW corner of the room, possibly in relation to this floor.; The second construction phase of the house in the later-12th century consists of a series of leveling fills (Contexts 48, 53, 55, 62, and 63 – dated by pottery to the 12th century, including NA-140 from Context 48) below a possible floor (Context 46, from which NA-141 came), dated to the 3rd quarter of the 12th century. A low stone platform was found near the center of the room that belongs to this phase; its purpose is unknown.; ; Room 4 ; ;     This room is bounded on the north, and connected to Room 5, by Walls 51 and 54. It is bounded on the east by Wall 52, on the south by Wall 11, and on the west by Wall 50. From the original late-11th century phase of the house, this room was connected to Room 5 as demonstrated by the shared Wall 52. It is possible that Walls 51 and 54 were added in the later remodeling phase to separate Rooms 4 and 5 into two distinct spaces. Room 4 was heavily disturbed by bulldozer trench 8, which cut right through the center, and the section revealed by that cutting showed no architectural features within the room. The decision was therefore made to not excavate this space. ; ; Room 6 ; ; In its latest phase, Room 6 was enclosed by Walls 52, 58, 59, 60, and 61. These were uncovered and the uppermost fill layers were removed in 2015, including a probable surface level associated with the 12th-century phase of this room. Bulldozer trench 5 cut through its southern wall and extended all the way through Room 17. On the basis of the surviving portions of Walls 60 and 61, it is possible to reconstruct a central doorway between them (similar to that between Walls 51 and 54 in Room 5).; Wall 58, on the north side, also has a threshold block, which suggests access to a room to its north. There is an architectural space consisting of one or two rooms of this house and/or the house immediately to the north of Room 6 but these were not excavated because of the large baulk in the area. It is reasonable to assume that Walls 59 and 69 originally extended to the north and that Wall 49 extended to the east to create a northeastern room of this southern house. The date of the later 12th century for the latest walls comes from the fact that Wall 69 was covered by a heavy concentration of stone debris (Context 57– dated by pottery to the third-quarter of the 12th century). The northern doorway of this room may have been reinforced with large threshold stones during these renovations as well. The superstructure of many of the walls in Room 6 was probably made of mudbrick as shown by Context 68, which contained a few extant mudbrick pieces and the soil was heavily mixed with concentrations of mudbrick detritus. ; The earlier contexts excavated in Room 6 (in conjunction with somewhat similar material uncovered in neighboring Room 7), may point toward a function of this space in the late 11th to early 12th centuries as kitchens as these layers contained a noticeable amount of ash, animal bones, cooking wares, and some charcoal (i.e. Contexts 65, 67, 68, and 71). ; ; West of Room 1; ; This area included four walls (195, 196, 197, 376) of the Byzantine period and re-used Wall 198 (see early Byzantine section below), each with multiple phases of use (probably with late 11th and later 12th century phases). Wall 376, at the very south edge of the excavated area, runs east-west and is possibly part of the original southern wall of the house. None of these walls form clear architectural spaces at least partly because of later activities in the area including the bulldozer trenches. Before the initial construction phase of Walls 195, 196, and 197 were two large pits located west and north of Wall 198. These pits are represented in the cut contexts of 237 and 238. These deep pits were cut into a sterile reddish clay soil, which was also cut by the foundation of Wall 198. The chronological relationship between these pits cuts remains unclear. Arguably, Pit 237 is the earliest as it most clearly is truncated by Pit 238. The fills of both Pits 237 and 238 are remarkably homogenous in their soil compositions and inclusions. ;     Within Pit 237, it is likely that there were multiple contemporary deposit events with multiple different soils. The majority of the pit fills were of two soil profiles: a reddish grey soil and a soft ashy grey soil. Both soils are characterized by sizable amount of pottery and bones. Extensive sieving was performed in grey ashy contexts yielding finds such as: coins (NA #67, 68, #72-78; all pre-Medieval), two bone stylus (NA #66 and NA #79), bronze buckles (NA #65 and NA #71), and an amethyst bead (NA #122). The contexts that are most likely to have filled Pit 237 include: 201 205, 207, 208, 213, 216, 217, 222, 225, and 234. The pottery within Pit 237 was remarkably consistent in date belonging to the late 10th possibly 11th centuries from top to bottom. Examples include NA-136 and NA-137 from Context 222, NA-133 (which joins with NA-138), NA-134, and NA-135 from Context 225, and NA-138 (which joins with NA-133) and NA-139 from Context 234. There was just one instance of a survivor—a LHIIIB2 deep bowl (NA-145). All the pits fills postdate Walls 199 and 198. This is clear from Context 234 (the lowest stratigraphic context that filled Pit 237) which is laid against Walls 198 and 199. It is therefore likely that the cutting of pit 237 or related pits removed whatever remained of the foundations of the Early Byzantine structure that is the earliest phase of Walls 198 and 199 (see below for a description of this structure).; Pit 238 was located immediately to the west of Pit 237 and was truncated by bulldozer trench 4. The soil in Pit 238 was a relatively consistent dark greyish/brownish brown/grey sandy silt, a profile which was similar to the fills of adjacent Pit 237. Moreover, like Pit 237, the soil of Pit 238 had a substantial amount of pottery and bones. Finds included a bone pin (NA #107), a bronze weight (NA #109), two glass goblets (NA #114 and 115), some fruit pits (NA #116), and a pietra ollare fragment (NA #83). Pit 238 was filled with Contexts 194, 248, 263, 266, 272, 277, 278, and 289. Several of these contexts were water sieved and yielded much charcoal, some carbonized seeds, and bird and fish bones. Like Pit 237, the fills of Pit 238 are consistently late 10th to early 11th century in date on the basis of pottery (such as NA-144 from Context 289) and an Anonymous Follis class 3 coin with Leo VI on it (866-912 AD) (NA #92). One LH III closed vessel from Context 272 at the top layer  (NA-147) was the only survivor found in the pit fills. In addition, Contexts 272, 277, 278, and 289 in Pit 238 appear to directly correlate with the grey soils of Contexts 222, 225, and 234 in Pit 237 (see above). Both Pits 237 and 238 also contained many cooking pots and animal bones and should be interpreted as debris from food consumption and preparation and general household rubbish.; ; The Central House; ; Most of the excavated area is occupied by the central Byzantine house, which is mostly preserved at its foundation levels (see Master Plan). It consists of Rooms 7 and 9-15.Unlike the houses to the north and south, it was left relatively undisturbed after it was abandoned in the 13th century. The exceptions are the eastern walls of the house that were robbed out completely after the house was abandoned. This house was emptied before it was abandoned because there were no finds on the floors of the rooms on the north and west. It is likely that the earliest phase of the structure dates to the late 11th/early 12th century on the basis of pottery found in Contexts 92 and 99 (see Master Plan). The original courtyard surface is therefore that into which Pit 275 (see below) was cut and is represented by Contexts 332 and 340 (that also date to the late 11th/early 12th century). Numerous fills within the rooms on the north and west side allow for an architectural sequence to be reconstructed spanning the 12th century. Leveling fills with tile, rubble and pottery in Rooms 9-12 date a major remodeling phase in the third-quarter of the 12th century. In this second phase, the courtyard was rebuilt and the rooms on the north opened to the outside; as shown by the creation of a number of pits and post-holes in Room 14 (see below). As in the house to the south, it is likely that any occupational layers and surfaces associated with the rooms of this Late Byzantine phase were removed in the 2015 excavations and/or by later agricultural activities. The destruction debris in the northwest corner of the courtyard consisting of mudbrick and rubble, but little tile, indicates that the tiles of this house were probably removed and the walls allowed to decay sometime in the early 13th century. ; ; Central Courtyard; ; The central courtyard is bounded to the south by Wall 49, to the east by Walls 82 and 373 (the latter was removed to its lowest foundations by bulldozer trench 2), to the west by Walls 86 and 143, and to the north by Wall 185. In the late 11th century, there were two entrances to the main courtyard from the east and west. During the remodeling in the third-quarter of the 12th century, the western entrance was blocked by Wall 382 and Structure 157. Approximately 75% of the courtyard was excavated stratigraphically along the west side of bulldozer trench 3 and the north half between bulldozer trenches 2 and 3.; The excavation of the southwest section of the Courtyard provided a preliminary chronology for the use of the Main Courtyard and for the construction of the rooms north of Wall 49 (i.e., Rooms 9, 10, and 11). The latest deposits excavated in this southwest area (Contexts 83, 87, and 182) are dated, as suggested by the pottery and stratigraphy, to the third quarter of the 12th century: this period might be interpreted as the last phase of use of this area. ; The latest floor surface level (Structure 98) exposed in the Main Courtyard has been partially sectioned and excavated as Context 95, and it has been dated to the early 12th century. A series of fills (Contexts 84, 88, 90 and 94) in the southwest part of the courtyard are dated by pottery to the late-11th / early-12th century and confirm the construction and use of the courtyard in the first phase of the central house. ; Evidence for the initial construction of this house comes from Context 92 (see Master Plan and discussion in reference to Wall 49 in Room 8 above), which was overlaid by Wall 86 of Room 9. Furthermore, Context 92 (and 99) appears to be partially overlaid by Wall 49. The pottery from these deposits has been dated to the second half of the 11th century. Therefore, this rubbish pit provides a secure terminus post quem for the construction of Wall 86 and for Wall 49. These contexts therefore establish both the date of the first construction and the contemporaneity of the central and southern houses.  ; Excavations in the northwest section of the courtyard, west of trench 3, confirmed the basic chronology of the courtyard and established a phase of remodeling in the courtyard in the third quarter of the 12th century (on the basis of Pit 275). During this remodeling, the courtyard surface was re-made and a well (Structure 369) that belonged to the earliest phase of the house was put out of use. A circular stone-built storage bin (Structure 157) was inserted into the west entrance to the house and wall 382 was created to close off that side of the house. Contexts 202, 203, 204, 211, 227, 235, 246, 251, 261, and 265 are leveling fills associated with the third-quarter of the 12th century remodeling of the courtyard and are dated by pottery (with only one survivor—a LH IIIB1 deep bowl from Context 265).; These fills covered Pit 275, which was 2.15 m x 1.7 m x 0.71 m, making it the largest pit excavated in the courtyard. It contained a variety of well-preserved pottery, vast quantities of animal bones, fish scales (NA #111), a steatite button (NA #119), and fragments of glass vessels. A sample of the soil was also taken for the water sieve, which yielded evidence of possible kitchen debris. The pit was excavated in six different contexts (arbitrarily divided for vertical control – Contexts 274, 279, 281, 285, 286, 287), but joins between sherds of the same vessel in different contexts (e.g. between NA-127 in Context 281 and a sherd not numbered from Context 286 as well as NA-124 from Context 279 and another unnumbered sherd from 286) indicate that it is all one dumped fill. The glazed pottery (such as NA-124, NA-125, and NA-126 from Context 279 and NA-127 from Context 281) and cooking wares (like NA-128 from Context 281) provide a date of the third-quarter of the 12th century and give a clear terminus post quem for the construction of the courtyard and this remodeling phase. Below this pit are multiple surfaces and lenses (Contexts 309, 306, 303, 298, 297, 296, 295, 291, 288, 284, and 271) that also date to the third-quarter of the 12th century AD. It was in these various, prepared clay surfaces that the formal pits (275, 317 and 327) were cut and they also support the late 12th century date for a major remodeling of the courtyard. ; The earliest fills below these surfaces that were excavated in this area (i.e. Contexts 332 and 340) consisted of a mixed fill with some Middle Byzantine pottery (dated to the 11th century). As seen in section, this thick (1m +) level sits below all major occupational surfaces excavated in the courtyard and with the exception of a well/cistern (Structure 369), exists below any architecture or architectural feature. Structure 369 is cut into this stratum. Consequently, these contexts may represent the leveling or accumulation related to first phase of the courtyard in the later 11th century.;     The northeast area of the courtyard is bounded by bulldozer trenches 2 and 3, and previously on the east by Wall 373. A possible staircase, Structure 220, possibly built or at least remodeled in the third-quarter of the 12th century may have accessed an upper floor above Room 15. Surface 343 and the fills below it (Contexts 349 and 356) all date to the mid- to third-quarter of the 12th century. Surface 343 was composed of pebble and soil and corresponds to that of the floor surface (Structure 271 to the west). This context therefore supports the date of the remodeling of the courtyard in the third-quarter of the 12th century. This layer connects to and was probably built around the same time as the possible staircase Structure 220. No further excavation was undertaken in this northeast area of the courtyard.; ; West Rooms of Central House; ; Rooms 9, 10, and 11 ; ; Rooms 9 and 10 are bounded to the west by Wall 127 and to the east by Wall 86, in which a doorjamb is preserved connecting Room 9 to the courtyard in the first phase (there is no similar opening to connect Room 10 to the courtyard). These two rooms are divided by Wall 133, which has a threshold to allow passage between these two spaces. Finally, Room 10 is separated to the north by Wall 134. Structure 157 is a circular stone-built storage pit that was inserted into the western group of rooms – it is bordered by Wall 382 to the west, wall 144 to the north and wall 133 to the south. The space occupied by Structure 157 in the original 11th-century phase of the house was likely an entrance into the central courtyard. This entrance was blocked by Wall 382 and the construction of Structure 157 in the third-quarter of the 12th century. Room 11 was possibly bounded to the west by Wall 382 in a later phase, but it was robbed out completely at some point in its later history (excavated in 2015 with no dating evidence), Wall 142 to the north, Wall 144 to the south and Wall 143 to the east. ; Rooms 9, 10, and 11 contained tile leveling fills (Contexts 125, 152, and 160 respectively) at elevations ranging from 58.05-58.22 masl that all date by pottery to the 12th century or more specifically the third quarter of the 12th century, confirming that also these rooms were remodeled in this period and the floor levels raised to create easier access to the central courtyard. Moreover, the absence of any complete, mendable, or even large fragments of tiles in these fills identifies them simply as fills rather than as roof collapse (contrary to the excavator’s original interpretations). In their earlier phases, possible storage pits, (Room 9: Cut 116, Room 10: Cut 137) that were virtually empty aside from irregular stones, were cut into the floor. The threshold of Room 11 was raised with the addition of a block during the late 12th century remodeling (see description of Wall 143). ; ; ; North Rooms of Central House; ; Rooms 12, 13, and 14; ; Room 12 is bounded to the west by a wall that was completely robbed out in antiquity. Wall 185, which is the south wall of Rooms 14 and 13, was partially robbed out as well (Cut 206), perhaps as part of the late 12th century remodeling of the house and courtyard in which Room 14 was perhaps made into an exterior space (i.e., a northern extension of the central courtyard). Rooms 12 and 13 are separated by Wall 153, which has a threshold or opening towards the south that connected the two rooms. Rooms 13 and 14 are separated by wall 168, the southern part of which was robbed out at some point. The original eastern wall of Room 14 was also robbed out and/or destroyed at a later point. Tile-rich leveling fills were excavated in all three rooms (Room 12: Context 161, Room 13: Context 167, Room 14: Context 170) with dates ranging from the 10th to the 12th centuries and elevations of ca. 58.20 masl. Below these deposits relatively level surfaces were exposed. In Rooms 12 and 13, the same floor level appears to have been reached. In room 12, a peculiar oval-shaped pit built in regular courses of tiles and clay pit (Structure 166) was identified, but its function remains unclear. It was filled with pottery of the third-quarter of the 12th century (Context 162) and therefore should be associated with an earlier phase of Room 12. ; Similar pits found in the west end of Room 14 (Structures 186 and 188) are plastered with clay and the tile fragments are irregularly laid against the vertical sides of these structures. These odd pits did not contain any datable material. They were cut into Context 200, which contained Coin NA #59 (Anonymous Follis 1070-1075 AD) suggesting a terminus post quem for these fills of the 11th century, but the pottery dates to the third-quarter of the 12th century and so  they are part of the later remodeling of the space.  The earliest floor level was found in the northwest corner of the room in Context 262, which dates to the 11th century on the basis of pottery and a coin of Nicephoros III (NA #80). This confirms the date of the first phase of the house in the later 11th century.; In the center of Room 14 was Surface 219, which had a series of small pits cut into it (filled by Contexts 228 and 233). East of Surface 219 was Context 249 (dated by pottery to the second half of the 12th century) which had another set of oval pits (Contexts 241, 243) with flat bases and vertical sides similar to cut 229. The fills in these oval pits (Contexts 240 and 242) can be dated to the Middle Byzantine period on the basis of pottery.  There was, however, little pottery in the oval pits and so the date of their construction is given by Context 249. These pits are therefore also part of the late 12th century remodeling of the space. Down the center and on the southern edge of Room 14 (along the robbing trench for Wall 185) were small regularly-spaced cuts (Contexts 244, 247, and 232), which, due to their small and semi-circular appearance, may have been used for postholes for the space. It is likely therefore that Room 14 was turned into a partially exterior space during the second remodeling event and that posts supported the ceiling rather than Wall 185. The pits may perhaps be associated with keeping animals in the area or perhaps a household level industry. No further excavation of this room was conducted during the 2016 excavation season. ; ; East Rooms of Central House; ; Room 15 ; ; This room was bounded on the north by Wall 185, to the west by Wall 373 (now robbed out by bulldozer trench 2) and to the south by Wall 375. The space between Wall 375 and Wall 81 to its immediate south was the east entrance to the house and the central courtyard in all periods. ; The east wall of Room 15 is not preserved nor was a robbing trench identified for it. There is no sign that any walls bonded or were perpendicular to Wall 373 and therefore this room may originally have been very long and narrow, like Room 14 to its north. The scarp in bulldozer trench 2 and some test excavations across the trench in Room 15 suggested that there was little material culture remaining in this area. It appears to correspond to the soil in Contexts 332 and 340 and is Middle Byzantine in date. This area was not excavated further.; ; Room 7; ; In its late 12th-century phase, Room 7 was bounded by Wall 81 to the north, Wall 82 to the west, and Wall 80 to the east (these three walls were exposed in 2015). Wall 80 in all phases likely continued into the unexcavated baulk to the south and perhaps abutted Wall 49 and/or 59 to create a long, narrow room like Room 15. Excavations in this area in 2016 revealed Wall 379, below layers containing later 12th century pottery and kitchen debris. It is likely therefore that, in the late 11th-century phase of the house, Wall 379 truncated Room 7 and created another room to the south and below the baulk.  ; ; The North House; ; The most highly disturbed of the Byzantine houses is the northern house (see Master Plan). This is for two reasons: 1) the excavated site slopes down by two meters from south to north and therefore the architecture was closer to the original ground surface and more vulnerable to later activities, and 2) five bulldozer trenches (1, 6, and 9-11) cut through it both north-south and east-west. There are several 19th century features in the north-central section (marked with a dotted line on Master Plan), which also may have destroyed earlier features. The remaining walls suggest that it is a similar type of house as those to its south. The two best preserved and architecturally-bounded areas were excavated and provide a date of the third-quarter of the 12th century for the surviving architecture of this house. Most of the architecture is preserved in only the foundation courses which are less than 0.2m high. ; Room 16; Room 16 is bounded by Wall 180 to the west, Wall 269 to the south, and wall 270 to the east. Wall 270 consists of small blocks of spolia including marble and granite, in addition to what appears to be evidence of a stone with square cut for a doorway leading into the area east of the room. If there was a northern wall, it was removed by bulldozer trench 10. The only surface reached was Context 273, a layer of fill on the western portion of the room that produced a coin (NA #87), which is an issue of Manuel I and therefore gives a 12th century terminus post quem for this context. Cut into Context 273 is Context 268, a pit measuring 1.01 x .97 m. The fill of this pit, Context 267, dates to the 3rd quarter of the 12th century during the Late Byzantine period. No further excavation was conducted in this room during the 2016 season.; ; Area East of Room 16; ; Moving east of Room 16, we find a large rectangular space reached by an alley formed between Walls 269 and 154 from the west and also from a doorway leading from Room 16. The possible northern boundary of this space was Wall 282 and it is also possible that Wall 377 is part of the same structure. The earliest stratum excavated in this area is Context 300, which is the second floor surface in the eastern half of this area. This context is dated to the third-quarter of the 12th century on the basis of pottery and a coin, NA #98 (Anonymous Class 3), which supports a date in the Late Byzantine period. ; Context 300 gives a third-quarter of the 12th century date for a pebble floor covered entire area—Structure 294, which also contained pottery of that date. There is substantial evidence for remodeling and leveling activities in this area.  Contexts 292 and 280 both dated to the 3rd quarter of the 12th century. The pebble flooring and compact surface support the interpretation of this area as an exterior space during the 3rd quarter of the 12th century. No further excavation was undertaken here. ; ; Other Phases; ; Early Modern (19th century); In Room 1, in the area west of Wall 20, there is evidence of a 19th century occupational level (Context 4), which heavily impacted the earlier stratigraphic levels. The identification of a cistern (Structure 12) and the recovery of a Koronaika pithos, found with fragments of a grindstone and mortar (NA #3), and 19th century utilitarian vessels are in fact indicative of the occupation of this area in the Early Modern period. ; ; Early Byzantine ; ; A bottle cistern (Structure 304) was excavated in the area west of Room 1.  It was truncated on its western half by the bulldozer Trench 7 but the eastern half is still extant except the northernmost course of stones, which was removed when wall 353 was constructed.  It was made of random courses of roughly hewn limestone with a plaster coating on its interior and a tile floor at the base. The cistern was filled with pottery of the late 8th-early 9th century (Contexts 305, 311, 351, and 355), examples of which include NA-129, NA-130, and NA-131 from Context 305 as well as NA-132 from Context 351.  The bottle cistern was likely covered before Pits 236, 237, and 238 were created in the 10th – 11th centuries but the exact stratigraphic relationship between these pits, wall 353, and the bottle cistern remains undetermined due to soil disturbance by the bulldozer.  The bottle cistern sits on top of the sterile red soil or stereo into which the pits are cut, therefore the fills are the only source for the date of the cistern’s use.  It is possible that the use of the grape/olive press from Room 17 is roughly contemporary and/or post-dates the closure of this bottle cistern.   Samples of the soil were taken for water sieving and yielded small pieces of charcoal, grape pips, and grain. ; In Room 17, a well (Structure 334) and a grape/olive press (Structure 325) were discovered. The latter was identified by its lack of drain and the presence of grape and olive pits recovered from water floatation samples. Excavation revealed that Well 334 had been cut into a thick, white floor surface (not excavated) and that a post-construction leveling fill had been laid against it on the west side. These contexts (345, 346, and 347) all contained 5th and 6th century AD pottery and had been deposited against the well (perhaps in a single event), giving the construction of the well a terminus ante quem of the 7th century. ;     The lowermost fills around the press (Structure 325) also had an Early Byzantine signature. Contexts 338 and 339 can probably be associated with a post-construction leveling event that is contemporary with Contexts 345, 346, and 347 around Well 334. Context 338 contained the fill below the north section of the western wall of the press which had been robbed out or destroyed. It appeared to have been cut into the soil below it, while the 11th century leveling fills (see above) had been laid against it. The pottery from both of these contexts cannot be dated to anything more specific than the 6th century, but this agrees with the fills around Well 334 and with its 7th century terminus ante quem.; The space enclosed by Walls 199 and south of Wall 198 yielded a date of the 7th c. AD or later based on pottery (filled by Contexts 254- 259, but dated on the basis of one fragment of an African Red Slip Form 105 from Context 259). These contexts therefore provide a terminus ante quem for the last use of those walls and their associated structure of the Early Byzantine period. At the bottom of context 259 was a tile surface that was laid against wall 199, thus post-dating the original construction. No contexts have been excavated that can be directly associated with the construction of Wall 199. The excavation of the lowermost fill of Pit 238, Context 289, revealed a foundation trench for Wall 198 (Cut 301). Though it had been truncated on its western side, probably by the cut for Pit 237 or Pit 238, the trench and fill were still preserved to the east. Context 302 filled the trench, and the pottery tentatively dated the fill to the Early Byzantine period, giving a broad terminus ante quem for Wall 198, which accords with our previous interpretation of Wall 198's date. No contexts have been excavated that can be securely identified as fill for the original structure, however. ; ; Earlier Material; ;     There is no archaeological evidence from anywhere in the excavated area for substantial activities that pre-date the Early Byzantine period. In comparison to other excavated areas in Corinth, such as the Forum area, the Panayia Field, or other ASCSA-excavated sites, pottery from earlier periods that might be interpreted as survivors in later contexts is virtually absent from this excavation. The absence of even moderate quantities of earlier pottery demonstrates that there is no significant pre-Byzantine presence. If there were earlier structures, they would have been cut into or above the red clay stereo level across the site and then destroyed by the Early and later Byzantine activities in the area that reach into the same stereo level. Yet, they also would have left some archaeological trace in the form of pottery that was redeposited or survived in later levels. The absence of such pre-Byzantine pottery is therefore very strong evidence that the earliest major activity dates to the Early Byzantine period. As noted above in relation to their contexts, there was a total of three prehistoric sherds found in the entire area.","New Apotheke: D. Kokolopoulos and E. Lambraki Field 2016 by  (2016-05-30 to 2016-08-13)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | New Apotheke: D. Kokolopoulos and E. Lambraki Field","","Corinth:Report:New Apotheke: D. Kokolopoulos and E. Lambraki Field 2016 by  (2016-05-30 to 2016-08-13)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Frankish Area: Unit 1, Courtyard, Northeast Corner","Temple E, Southeast Excavations 2017; Coordinates: N: 1043.270, S: 1039.866, E: 114.763, W: 109.937; ; This is the final summary report for work undertaken in the northeastern corner of the courtyard of Unit 1, Frankish Area, during the second excavation session of the 2017 season. Personnel: Guy Sanders (Director), Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst (Assistant Director), James Herbst (Architect), Orestes Zervos (Numismatist), Rossana Valente (Field Director), Panos Kakouros (Assistant Foreman and Pickman), Marios Vathis (Shovelman and Sieve), and Tori Bedingfield (Recorder).; ; The area of excavation is located in the northeast corner of the unpaved section north of the paved courtyard in Unit 1. The western section of the unpaved part, 4.5 meters wide (E-W), had previously been excavated during session 1 of the 2017 excavation season. The excavation during session 2 was conducted in the remaining eastern section, approximately 5m (E-W) x 4m (N-S) area. The excavation was bounded in the north by an E-W reconstructed wall (labelled wall 2 in the 1992 excavations, NB 849); in the east by a N-S reconstructed wall (referred to as the south wall of room 8, or annex, in the 1992 excavations, NB 852); in the south by the northern limit of the paved courtyard; and in the west by the excavation scarp created in session 1 excavations. Room 8 is situated directly north of the excavation area, and room 3 is situated to the east. The unpaved portion of the courtyard in Unit 1 was last systematically excavated in April-May 1992 (NB 849, pp.  11-17, pp. 29-51, pp. 69-73, pp. 83-101, lots 1992-24, 1992-42, 1992-39, 1992-40, 1992-50, lot 1992-51; NB 852, pp. 8-10, pp. 38-62, lot 1992-31). The previous excavations removed approximately 1 meter of destruction debris, with a “Turkish house” built over the destruction layer (NB 832). The final elevation recorded in the excavation area by the 1992 excavation team (85.546 masl, NB 852, basket 114) is approximately ten centimeters higher than the opening elevations recorded for the 2017 excavation season (85.46 masl). The final context (NB 849, basket 54) of May 1992 excavation season in the eastern part of the unit, and the final context (NB 852, basket 114) of the June 1992 excavations in the north and western part of the unit, was recorded as being a hard clean clay surface, which is not incongruous with the hard, marl clay surface that was on the surface at the start on the 2017 excavation. The approximately ten centimeters of difference in level between 1992 and 2017 may be explained by a number of reasons. Given that this area was exposed to the elements for 25 years and experienced foot traffic from the restoration efforts on the north and east walls, it is not entirely impossible to exclude that there has been some loss from wind erosion and wear. As in all areas left open to the elements for such a long time, cleaning operations are imperative before the beginning of a new excavation season, in order to remove any potentially mixed strata.  The coordinates of the excavation area are N: 1043.270, S: 1039.866, E: 114.763, W: 109.937; the opening elevation was 85.494 masl, and the closing is 84.99 masl, though the lowest elevation recorded was at the bottom of a pit cut at 84.42 masl. ; ; The overall goals of session 2, 2017 excavation season were threefold: to understand the phasing of the east wall, the floor layers, and the pit deposit visible on the surface, and their relationship to one another; to understand the so-called “mud brick structure” (feature 1073) exposed during season 1 of the 2017 excavations; and to look for evidence for reorientation of the entire space, a theory posited in previous scholarship. By and large, theories and responses to these goals were satisfactorily developed, though more excavation is required to verify any conclusions with absolute certainty. In particular, excavation underneath the paved courtyard to the south of the excavation area would be fruitful for our understanding of this part of the Frankish occupation. ; ; Frankish Period (1210-1458 CE); ; The earliest use of this space that was uncovered was a levelling event made up of redeposited mud brick, resulting in a unified elevation in this portion of the unpaved section of the courtyard (context 1107, lot 2017-1). The westernmost boundary of the mud brick redeposited layer was first uncovered in session 1 of the 2017 excavations (feature 1073). ; ; During the late 13th to the early 14th century, a subfloor (context 1107, lot 2017-1) and accompanying lime floor (1106, lot 2017-3) were laid down on the redeposited mudbrick floor. Despite its relatively durable construction, a repair patch (context 1105) in the floor was needed in the southwest corner of the floor some time later in its use. The west edge of this floor was visible in the excavation unit, and it did not continue over the “mud brick structure” (feature 1073). Therefore, the original western boundary of the floor may be preserved. The southern boundary is unknown, as the floor stretches under the paved courtyard. ; ; At some point later in time, still during the late 13th to early 14th c., a wall stretching across the northern boundary of the courtyard was constructed, and a foundation trench cut through the lower flooring and redeposited mudbrick layer. Contemporary with this north wall, a clay floor approximately 8 centimeters thick was laid down (context 1104, lot 2017-2). After this, a pit (approximately 1 meter by 1 meter) was cut in the northwest corner of the excavation unit to a depth below context 1107 (bottom elevation 84.11 masl), the deepest layer excavated. Due to several days of heavy rain during the excavation season and the high clay content of the surrounding layers, the fill of the pit is not excavated. After this, though still in the late 13th to early 14th c., the clay floor and pit were overlaid by three subfloor layers (8-9 cm thickness in total, context 1103 lot 2017-4, context 1102 lot 2017-5, and context 1101 lot 2017-6), and a cement floor (context 1100).; ; In the 14th c., three more cement floor layers were laid down directly on one another (context 1099 lot 2017-7, context 1097, and context 1085, lot 2017-8), lacking the subfloors seen in previous layers. All layers up to this stage had continued under the paved courtyard to the south of the excavation unit. Additionally, all floor layers are characterized by a high residuality in respect to the artifacts recovered, due to the redeposited material used for the floors.; ; Continuing in the 14th c., another north wall was constructed on top of the earlier wall, and its foundation trench cut through all floor layers down to the lowest of three subfloor layers associated with one of the cement floors (context 1103, lot 2017-4, bottom elevation 85.22 masl). This wall was built directly on top of the earlier north wall. Due to the modern intrusion of the wall restoration, the exact dimensions of the earlier wall are not clear. The existence of an earlier wall was evident mostly in the presence of its foundation trench. ; ; A paved courtyard was constructed to the south of the excavation area, probably contemporaneously with the construction of this later north wall. Paving stones were laid over a section of the floor layers (to the south of the excavation area), and may have reoriented the space from a north-south orientation to an east-west one. In addition to the construction of a paved courtyard and the north wall, a marl floor was laid down in this area. During the 2017 excavation season, the floor was patchy and relatively thin, though in previous excavation this was recorded as being a sturdy clay floor layer (NB 849, p. 41). The clay floor was described as being flush with the level of the paving stones in the paved courtyard, though at the start of this excavation period, the floor was some centimeters lower than the courtyard. Even at its deepest level, this marl floor does not continue under the paved courtyard to the south, and so it is certain that the marl floor was laid down after the paving stones. ; ; After the paving of the stone courtyard, the space seems to have fallen into a period of disuse, and in the east of the excavation unit a pit was cut into the floor layers. Beginning at some point in the 14th c. and ending sometime in the second half of the 14th c., the pit was filled with dump fills of large joining fragments of matt painted amphora and other ceramics, tile, and refuse (from first to last deposited: contexts 1076, 1086-1089, lot 2017-10). Due to the relatively few animal bones and organics recovered and the absence in the soils of the loamy quality common in cesspits, it appears this was not used in a household context, at least in the latter part of the 14th c. During the 1992 excavations, the other portion of this pit was excavated (“pit A” in NB 849). The final elevation of pit A as well as the nature of the finds make it very likely they are from the same event, though there seem to have been around three different pits cut in this area, with at least one pit cutting through the southeast portion of pit A. In addition, a destruction layer covered over this whole area (NB 832), and the excavators who recorded the context below the deposit (NB 849) were ambiguous about the boundaries of the various pits at the start of their excavation. This makes it difficult to be certain the pits are related. The excavation drawings also show an outline that roughly aligns with pit 1078, though it was not explored. The drawing may show the slumping of the floor over the pit, as well as the difference in the adherence of the clay floor to the layer below it. ; ; Following this activity, a wall in the east of the excavation unit was built that cut through the pit. This was the last phase of activity excavated during this season. The clay floor layer mentioned in the 1992 excavation probably dates to this period as well, though it isn’t possible to be certain. To compensate for the loose fill of the pit, it was necessary to fortify the foundation with large cobbles and stones below and around the foundation trench within the pit. A precise date cannot be offered for this wall, other than the terminus post quem is  sometime after the final fill of the pit was deposited (1076, lot 2017-10), in the second half of the 14th c., and after the second phase of the north wall, which dates to the late 14th c. ; ; The previous excavations of April-May 1992 had recovered evidence for a large scale destruction event covering the whole area. It had been assumed that this was due to the Catalan destruction of Corinth in 1312. Given the dating of the pit (after the second half of the 14th c.), this gives good reason to rethink the phasing of the Frankish alteration of the site, as well as to the cause of the destruction layer. In fact, during the year 1312, this area of the site was experiencing continuous maintenance.; ; Outstanding goals; ; The removal of the mudbrick floor level would be important in clarifying the murky understanding of the relationship between the excavation units of session 1 and session 2. In addition, the removal of the paved courtyard would provide more understanding of the function of this area prior to the paving of the stone courtyard.","Temple E, Southeast 2017 by Tori Bedingfield (2017-05-02 to 2017-05-19)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2017 by Tori Bedingfield (2017-05-02 to 2017-05-19)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Kosmopoulos Material From the National Archaeological Museum at Athens Returned to Ancient Corinth Museum","Anna Belza, PhD Candidate University of Cincinnati ASCSA Corinth Museum Project Volunteer; Fall 2020–Spring 2021; Project: Alice Leslie Walker Kosmopoulos, repatriation of Prehistoric material from the National Archaeological Museum in Athens; ; INTRODUCTION; ; Alice Leslie Walker Kosmopoulos was a student of the ASCSA 1909–1914, and associated with the School until 1937. She was assigned the study and publication of the pottery from the Corinth excavations (ca. 1896–1935); later the scope was narrowed to the pre- Byzantine pottery, and eventually to only the Prehistoric period material. The material she included in her study were from her own excavations at Corinth (1911, 1914, 1920, 1930, 1935); and those of other excavators (1904, 1905, 1908, 1916, 1926, 1931, 1932).; ; Kosmopoulos conducted her study at Corinth before relocating to Athens ca. 1935. Her reasons for moving were twofold: her poor health which was worsened by conditions at Corinth (e.g., dampness, mosquitos—she had previously contracted malaria at Corinth); her expulsion from the Corinth excavations due to her falling out with the ASCSA. Kosmopoulos writes about her interactions with the school in the preface to her published work: The Prehistoric Pottery of Corinth (1948). In sum, conflict between Kosmopoulos and the ASCSA regarded her poor/nonexistent publication record. Kosmopoulos responded by relocating some Prehistoric material from Corinth to Athens.; The Prehistoric pottery from Corinth was stored at the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) at Athens in order to facilitate Kosmopoulos’s study and publication process. When the ASCSA severed ties with Kosmospoulous (ca. 1937) they demanded the material be returned to Corinth. Some material was returned to Corinth and is referred to in the Corinth storage system as the Kosmopoulos series or K- series. A large quantity of pottery remained at the NAM following Kosmopoulos’s death in 1954.; Kosmopoulos published one volume on Prehistoric Corinth in 1948. The introductory volume provides basic insight into her ceramic classes and chronological scheme (see Appendix 1). She did not publish all the material that was removed from Corinth to Athens. Attempts were made to return the material to the Corinth Museum1 (viz., Lavezzi in the 1970s–1980s). Robert Bridges visited the NAM in the 1980s and did a basic inventory of the Corinth material. In September 2020 the material was returned to Corinth. The quantity and quality of the material was unknown.; My museum project involved: the unboxing and processing of the Prehistoric Corinth material returned from the NAM; separating the material into lots; and entering all the material into the Corinth records. The prime objective was to process material quickly in order to learn what Kosmopoulos had taken from Corinth and glean evidence of Prehistoric activity otherwise unknown. The quick processing benefited positively PhD candidates Jeffrey Banks (University of Cincinnati) and Katie Fine (Florida State University) who are writing dissertations about Early Bronze Age and Neolithic Corinth, respectively.2; After all the material was sorted, it became clear that it was possible to lot the pottery (more on this below, Phases 2 and 3). I also transcribed the Kosmopoulos label notebooks (Appendix 2) which were given to Ioulia Tzonou to eventually be incorporated into and assigned Corinth Notebook numbers. We do not have Komospoulos’ excavation notebooks from Corinth (the ASCSA archives have her Halae notebooks). Their exact whereabouts is unknown. At one point, decedents from her husband’s side of the family living in Peiraeus attempted to sell a trunk that belonged to her to Henry Robinson. Robinson declined to purchase the trunk blindly (i.e., without knowing the contents) at their high price: without knowing whether the notebooks were there, the trunk and its contents would have been a waste. Jeffrey Banks has attempted to reach out to the family members with no success as of yet (May 2021). Banks believes that the Corinth notebooks went to California with Kosmopoulos in the late 1930s. Kosmopoulos finalized the publication of her book in California and was then in the process of a planned second and third volume. It is almost certain that she had them with her as she continued her work in California because the second volume was meant to be a large presentation of the prehistoric material from Corinth. Problematically, the Halae books did make it to the ASCSA archives which was meant; to form part of the third volume of her study, but that body of material is much smaller and there are indications she was finished with it.; ; Phase 1: Processing the Kosmopoulos Material Returned to Corinth from the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, in 2020; Kosmopoulos used cardboard shoeboxes to store and transport her material. The material placed inside the shoeboxes was grouped in smaller packages of paper tyropita bags, reused envelopes, and, in some cases, loose in the box. Material occasionally was found grouped in clear plastic bags, likely a solution by the NAM to replace old paper bags that had decayed. The storage shoeboxes were transported to the basement of the Corinth Museum in thirty-three wooden storage trays. Processing occurred in the basement of the Corinth Museum.3; The system for processing material involved using iDig on an iPad and recording various information in Microsoft Excel on a Corinth project laptop. James Herbst and Manolis Papadakis set up a context labeled Kosmopoulos in the iDig database. Every “shoebox” was photographed: before opening to record all markings on the exterior of the box; when opened with the contents left in situ, showing the storage of the bags and interior markings; and unboxed with objects strewed. Shoeboxes often had writing on their exterior in one or more crayon colors. The writing was often illegible, written over/crossed out and remarked multiple times, and/or contained a series of undeciphered abbreviations. All but one shoebox were discarded after being photographed and all such marking recorded. In large part, these marking could not be deciphered. It is clear that some of the marking referred to the one time contents; but with the multiple reuses of the boxes and multiple packing and re-strewing of her material in Corinth and Athens over a twenty year period, these marking did not seem to correlate in any meaningful or useful way for what was stored within when they were opened in 2020.; The contents of the shoeboxes, mainly ceramics, were strewn on three tables in the Corinth Museum basement for processing. Contents from each shoebox were kept and photographed together so that any given object could possibly be associated/reassociated to the markings on the box if they are ever deciphered (i.e., everything from one shoebox was laid out together on a table). Sherds stored together in bags or envelopes were laid out atop the bags from which they came. The bags and envelopes also often had illegible and/or abbreviated handwriting in crayon. A few times, typewritten text was used instead. In some instances, these markings were clearly a count of sherds of various types (her classes or the colloquial classes of pottery at that time) stored within: e.g., “5–Urf[irnish], 2–B[lack]B[burnished], 3–Myc[enaean]”, etc.; It was often not possible to discern why Kosmopoulos separated sherds into individual bags, if not by diagnostic features or grouping of decorations. For example, all material of a single class is not conveniently grouped together nor are groups associated based upon their excavation context. The divisions of bags seem to reflect the process by which Kosmopoulos read the objects, recorded them, and stored them, probably working in small batches of pottery because of space issues at the NAM and in light of the considerable amount of material she was working with.; Kosmopoulos seems to have generally followed Wace and Blegen’s classification system for the Early Bronze Age and Wace and Thompson’s system for the Neolithic, though she did not use the same terminology/abbreviations as far as we can tell from the markings on bags and boxes (e.g., she often prefers German terms, likely from her work with Dörpfeld and study of the prehistorics at Leukas). Sherds contained inconsistent markings (discussed further in Phase 2 and Phase 3) that reveal various information: their find spot, their depth, and year excavated. The markings played a large part in our ability to re-lot the material and for Banks to recreate the original contexts for his dissertation (described in Phase 2 below).; Objects of note were removed to receive inventory numbers (CP or MF), discussed below; all those not selected for inventory numbers were stored together with other objects from the same bag (i.e., the Kosmopoulos bagging system was the organizing principle of recording individual “units” in the initial sorting and identifying of material). Some, such as Neolithic gray wares, were often boxed together even if sherds came from different envelopes in one shoebox. There was no clear reason to distinguish the Neolithic graywares and there were no sherd markings or envelope markings that would give a reason why they should not be combined and the storage units pared down. The original envelope context was recorded in the processing photos.; Once material had been processed, they were stored in Corinth Excavation cardboard boxes (open top) which were placed into wooden storage trays. Each box received two numbers: a “K-NAM” number and “box” number. K-NAM numbers represent the shoebox in which items were found: these numbers were not from the original boxes, but were assigned based on the order in which they were processed; they simply help identify all the material that was originally boxed together in the NAM (i.e., to retain an association of the material with the marking on the original shoeboxes). Box numbers identify subdivisions of storage within the shoe boxes: most often, this was simply the paper bags or envelopes within which items were stored. Again, the box numbers only reflect the order in which the material was processed, they were not derived from information on these bags. Box identifies items grouped together in Kosmopoulos bags; K- NAM identifies the shoebox in which larger groups of these bag/box objects were stored.; The individual cardboard boxes were then placed in a wooden tray in the basement of the museum. During the sorting and recording of these items, many objects were assigned inventory numbers: 530 objects were assigned Corinth Pottery (CP) numbers; 45 were assigned Miscellaneous Find (MF) numbers. Their original Box and K-NAM numbers were recorded with these inventoried pieces, but the objects were disassociated from the box/tray system described above.4 Inventoried objects were recorded in iDig as “Objects” and photographed individually. Later, each inventoried object was fully measured and described according to the Corinth Excavations recording system. A running list of the CP and MF numbers were printed out and left with the crates. Inventoried objects were set aside in their own trays in the Museum basement for conservation and photography to eventually process (as of June 2021, the objects have not been conserved or photographed). Eventually these will enter the study collection. A Neolithic expert in particular should go through the objects and vet whether all of these specimen are worth retaining as CPs/MFs, particularly in light of the greater number of objects selected.; K-NAM and box numbers and CP and MF numbers were recorded in three excel sheets. At the beginning of the processing system, before the use of iDig (about a 1-week period), we; were not recording shoebox/K-NAM numbers, as we were still attempting to discern Kosmopoulos’ recording and storage system. In order to record what processed objects/tyropita bags were found together in one shoebox, we recorded that information as “Packed in K-NAM Shoebox with K-NAM Museum Box #”. Using context numbers in iDig rectified this problem; however, we continued to record boxes found together and this was superseded by the K-NAM number system which was retroactively applied to all of the individual box units that had been sorted prior to the advent of this system.; For example, this is the format used to record processed material:; ; Other fields used in excel are:; ; Bag or card info to signify if there was any written information found with pottery on their bag or card:; Contents: sherd count, general chronology, shape, fabric.; CP assigned to objects: CP number(s) given to something from that box. MF assigned to objects: MF number(s) given to something from that box.; Other notes: includes comparanda or publication information in cases where these objects were published in Kosmopoulos’ book (book, page number, etc.), notes to Jeffrey Banks, Katie Fine, or Ioulia Tzonou about specific items from the box that may be of interest to their EBA, Neolithic, and Mycenaean studies, respectively.; Recorded in iDig: whether or not it was recorded in iDig (Yes = yes; Blank = no). Notations on sherds: markings in pen or pencil that were legible, originally made by; Kosmopoulos to preserve excavation context information.; ; ; In total 173 KNAM shoeboxes were processed into 267 cardboard boxes. Two boxes were found in the NAM material that need to be returned to Athens. The first is an orange box with pottery ranging in date from EBA–Classical, obsidian, and a loom weight. Pottery find spots were recorded on the sherds (e.g., Thera). A notecard was found inside the box stating that the material was seized from the German Archaeological Institute (DAI). It seems to be a study collection and seems to have nothing to do with Kosmopoulos or Corinth, returned to Corinth with the Kosmopoulos material by accident. The second box contained numerous tags from various sites (not Corinth), all placed within a foam mold for a bronze spearhead or knife. Banks believes that the latter box might have been the commercial packaging for a knife that was used to hold a bronze dagger found by Komopoulos at Corinth, which she dated to the Middle Neolithic (it was not, but almost certainly EBA); the whereabouts of the dagger are unknown, and it is likely to have eroded away or remains in Athens.; ; Phase 2: Establishing Original Contexts for the Kosmopoulos Material from the National Archaeological Museum; Kosmopoulos abbreviated original excavation context information (e.g., trench and/or year, depths) in pencil or pen on many sherds, almost certainly whenever she removed material from its original context-tagged pottery storage tin.5 Sherds determined to be insignificant were grouped in tins, labeled, and stored at Corinth in the Old Museum.6 All this material was originally taken to the NAM by Kosmopoulos but returned when ASCSA demanded the return of all Corinth material and severed ties with Kosmopoulos in ca. 1937. “Insignificant” material was returned, while the “significant” material remained at the NAM (i.e., highly diagnostic objects that seemingly would have been published in the Kosmopoulos planned—but never finished— volumes on prehistoric Corinth).; Jeffrey Banks and I sorted sherds back into their original contexts. Pottery was separated into trays based on the markings on them that designated their findspots. The EBA and Neolithic pottery were kept separate within their context units to facilitate future study. The process took place in the Museum basement and courtyard.; Two additional columns were added to the KNAM excel sheet to keep track of markings on sherds and where items were being combined/lotted: Kosmopoulos Area Notations on Sherds and Re-lotted. The former recorded markings found on sherds (e.g., “E35”). If notations; were illegible or difficult to distinguish, they were returned to their box and placed in a tray for future revisiting (highlighted in the excel sheet in orange so that we could return and reprocess these after an initial sorting). The latter column (“Re-lotted”) recorded whether items were re- lotted (yes or no) and, if so, into what trays they were combined (e.g., E35, 2TH, 11 Heer 7, etc.). In some cases, all the material from boxes were inventoried (i.e., received CP numbers) and thus did not get lotted (e.g., see table below—“No context pottery to sort”). In many cases, all material from a box was lotted by context, and that box number no longer exists as a discreet storage unit, other than as a recording unit for objects’ original location.; ; Banks partook in the process in order to better understand where the Early Bronze Age material was found and to see if it was possible to rectify stratigraphy based on elevation markings on some sherds. He was able to use the sherd markings and Kosmopoulos trench system and depths to reconstruct a number of contexts across the site and combine this information with her publication, various excavators notebooks, and archival material to get a full understanding of what most of the sherd markings mean.; ; Kosmopoulos Series in New Apotheke and Old Museum: Preparing it for Lotting with the K- NAM material; After processing all of the K-NAM material (i.e., the Kosmopoulos material that was returned to Corinth in 2020), Banks and I  went to the ASCSA Apotheke7 to examine the “Kosmopoulos Series”8 material had never left Corinth, or which was returned to Corinth by Kosmopoulos in the 1930s. This was around Christmas break (Dec. 25, 2020–Jan 15, 2021) when the Italian conservation team vacated the facility for the holidays. At the end of this period, when the conservators returned, this “Kosmopoulos series” material was moved to the Old Museum so we could continue our work.9; The Kosmopoulos series material stored in the New Apotheke was sorted and examined previously by John Lavezzi and Katie Fine. Lavezzi had sorted the EBA and Neolithic material based on chronological periods and distinct wares (e.g., red slipped rims) to facilitate an eventual attempt to combine the NAM material and look for joins. Katie Fine sorted four trays of the material Lavezzi had not managed to sort while a regular member as museum project. Fine’s sorting grouped material based on features of sherds: (e.g., Prehistoric–Roman rims or bases) regardless of chronology or context. Both these sorting methods were no longer relevant in light of our greater understanding of the original excavation contexts which had become the primary lotting principle of the Kosmopoulos material.; Banks and I applied the same sorting technique described above to the material in the Kosmopoulos Series: sherds were separated into boxes based on the notations about original excavations. In total we sorted through twenty trays. The contents included: ceramics, figurine fragments, stone tools (various), and shells. Four trays were unsorted/unstudied material ranging in date from the Neolithic–Roman periods.; In January 2021, Banks and I began to work in the Old Museum courtyard with (ca. 48) trays of Kosmopoulos Series material.10 Mostly, this material lacked individual sherd markings, and the impression is that this was the “insignificant material” Kosmopoulos left behind in Corinth or sent back. Based on Banks’ understanding of the history of the Kosmopoulos material and its various storage and papsing processes it received while in Corinth, these were almost certainly stored in tins that distinguished original context and depth; at some point this information was lost when the material was combined into trays and the original storage tin units lost. Some tags were included in boxes within trays, making it possible to glean, at times, where some material originated from, although almost all of these tags identified that the sherds within had come from more than one context.; Material that could be assigned to a specific context were combined with the proper excavation context/lot units that had been assigned for the KNAM material and the Kosmopoulos Series material from the New Apotheke.11; ; Phase 3: Assigning Lot Numbers to Context Pottery; ; Once all of the K-NAM material was sorted by context, Ioulia Tzontou, Jeff Banks and I agreed that lot numbers could be assigned to the pottery based on original excavation units (for the most part, these refer to identifiable/spatially known trenches). The lotting could not have taken place if sherds had not been marked with excavation data (e.g., trench abbreviation, depth). Banks provides full detail about the lots and contexts in the study for his dissertation and is in the process of generating lot descriptions. The lotting process is ongoing as of June 2021: the final quantities of material that cannot be assigned to a specific context will have to be considered (e.g., combine all Kosmopoulos unidentified location material to a single lot, lots based upon possible locations, toss some material, etc.).; ; Topographical Reconstruction of Prehistoric Habitation at Corinth; ; The K-NAM material attests a larger spatial and chronological use of the site than known previously. The quantity of material returned doubled the amount of known Prehistoric ceramics found in excavations. For more information the topographical reconstruction of the site with deposit information, see Banks’ dissertation.; Chronological Implications; ; Weinberg’s publication of Neolithic–EBA material from his excavations remain an important source for understanding Prehistoric activity at Corinth.12 The K-NAM material offers a more nuanced understanding of chronological periods because of the quantity and quality of material and the fact that they derive from deposits across the site. See above and Banks’ dissertation for a thorough discussion of the relevance of the Kosmopoulos material.; It is unclear whether Kosmopoulos saved all the Prehistoric material from her excavations. It seems likely when one considers the amount of Final Neolithic grayware body sherds she saved. It remains possible that Kosmopoulos intended to papse material at a later date but never finished with the material or had the time to do so. This is especially true of the later material excavated in the 1930’s were the extreme volumes of material and particularly the inclusion of what would normally be termed “insignificant” sherds suggested a near to 100% retention of excavated material, at least until they had been studied.; Below is a rough count of the pottery from the K-NAM processing. It is meant to give an idea of quantities representing chronological periods. The number will surely change after specialists complete their studies. The numbers represent the Kosmopoulos material returned to Corinth from the NAM in 2020 (i.e., they do not include the Kosmopoulos material that had already been in Corinth since the later 1930’s).; EN: ~16 sherds, including 1 mendable variegated bowl (CP 3967) MN: ~70 sherds; LN: ~3,536 sherds EH: ~1,433 sherds; MH: ~2 sherds (CP 3970: Gray Minyan goblet; CP 3977:1 possible Standard matt painted figure 8 around handle); LH: ~10 LH III (CP 3974–3976); ; A few of the LH sherds were marked with “Zyg”, or “Zyg dump”. From Kosmopoulos’ publication, these almost certainly refer to a pile of pottery that had been dumped outside of the Old Museum: it included Bronze Age Zygouries and Neolithic Lechaeion Road East material and excavation unit tags and seems to have been thrown out after Blegen and Hill fell out with ASCSA and were no longer working at Corinth. Kosmopoulos recovered the material. These sherds were placed in the Zygouries study collection drawers in a small bag with a printed explanation included.;         ;         Endnotes; 1 For the sake of posterity: Corinth Museum refers to what is often referred to as the “New Museum”; more clearly, this is the contemporary Museum function currently (2020–2021). There are plans to build a new New Museum, so this may cause confusion in the future.; 2 For a detailed biographical/archival analysis of Kosmopoulos and her work on Corinth and Prehistoric Greece, see Banks’s dissertation (forthecoming).; 3 The basement provided poor light, and in many cases information and notations gleamed from Kosmopoulos were more apparent when viewed in the sunlight at, e.g., the ASCSA Apotheke on Asklepius Street. An additional reading of all the sherds in a more suitable location may reveal additional details of Kosmopoulos’ work and methodology, particularly since her notebooks are missing and the seriation of her excavation units could only be recreated by Banks based on the depth markings on sherds.; 4 Ioulia Tzontou (Assistant Director) selected sherds and objects to receive CP and MF numbers, particularly for the Neolithic. Jeffrey Banks selected Early Helladic sherds to receive CP numbers based on their relevance of specifically for inclusion in his study of the EH period for his dissertation and later publication.; 5 Kosmopoulos 1948, p. 8, fn. 19.; 6 For the sake of posterity: since there is a new museum being planned, “Old Museum” might refer to one of two structures. Old Museum is the original/first Museum, which currently functions solely as a storage space and makes due as a study space, located on the south side of Apollo Street, just west of the village plateia, along the northern edge of the archaeological site—west of the exit gate and east of the Roman North Market.; 7 For the sake of posterity: this storage facility if currently (2020–2021) referred to as the New Apotheke. There is currently plans to create another Apotheke and either also create a fresco lab or retain the New Apotheke as a frescolab as it is currently functioning as such. For sake of clarity, this apotheke is on the north side of Asklepius street, east of Cheliotomylos, northwest of the main archaeological site and current Museum.; 8 The Kosmopoulos Series is a term used to refer to the Kosmopoulos material stored in Corinth in tins (later in trays) that were assigned “K” numbers for storage recording (K-1, K-2, etc.); 9 See fn. 5 for more on the Old Museum.; 10 See fn. 5 for more on the Old Museum.; 11 See fn. 6 for more on the New Apotheke.; 12 Weinberg, S. S. 1937. “Remains from Prehistoric Corinth,” Hesperia 6, pp. 487–524.","Kosmopoulos Trenches 2020 by Belza, Anna (2020-09-28 to 2020-11-20)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | | Kosmopoulos Trenches","","Corinth:Report:Kosmopoulos Trenches 2020 by Belza, Anna (2020-09-28 to 2020-11-20)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Northeast of Theater, Trench 16C","Corinth Northeast of Theater Trench 16C Report; Director of Excavations: Christopher Pfaff; Assistant Director: Ioulia Tzonou; Trench Supervisors: Kaia Brose and David Picker-Kille; Area Excavated: Northeast of Theater (NET), Trench 16C; 35.0-41.0 E, 1385.0-1387.5 N; ; Dates of Excavation: 9-20 May, 2022.; ; 25 May 2022; Excavators and Workers: Argyrios Tsirikis, Thanasis Notis, Angela Stamati, Sotiris Raftopoulos, Ilias Tsolis, and Agamemnon Karvouniarkis. ; ; NET 16C Final Report; ; Introduction: Trench 16C was opened to the east of Trench 16B and to the north-east of Trench 17B, both of which had revealed several layers of road surfaces from the Roman through Byzantine periods in the 2021 field season. The trench was a 6.0 × 2.5 m rectangle, with the coordinates 35.0E, 1385.0N; 41.0E, 1385.0N; 35.0E, 1387.5N; 41.0E, 1387.5N. The primary excavators were Argyrios Tsirikis, Agamemnon Karvouniarkis, as well as the foreman Thanasis Notis, and the primary sievers were Angela Stamati, Ilias Tsolis, and in the latter half of the season, Sotiris Raftopoulos. The trench supervisors were Kaia Brose and David Picker-Kille, under the direction of Christopher Pfaff (Director), Manolis Papadakis (Director Assistant), and James Herbst (Architect). Excavations started on 9 May 2022 and concluded on 20 May 2022. The purpose of the excavation of Trench 16C was to locate the continuation of the ancient road(s) previously unearthed in the adjacent trenches in the 2021 field season. Of particular interest was the possibility that the Byzantine Road layer(s) in this area started to deviate further to the southwest from the earlier Roman and late Roman trajectories.; ; The western half of Trench 16C is characterized by a series of layers of gravel and dirt road layers that reached below the lowest layer reached by the adjacent trench 16B. The numbering system of road levels used in iDig is, in retrospect, not indicative of distinct road phases, but rather of changes in road makeup or type identified at the time by the excavators. After digging what was identified as road level 5 (Deposit 26) and then a disturbed portion of what was identified as road level 6 (Deposit 27), for instance, an intermediary road level (Deposit 29) was identified below the “fifth” road level in the NW corner of the trench. By the conclusion of excavation, it became apparent that that these various layers were more likely the result of the accumulation of repairs or modifications to existing road surfaces than explicit successive phases of road construction. In any case, over 12 such layers have currently been identified. Across nearly one meter (elevation 61.189 – 60.199) of road levels, however, certain characteristics were noticeably consistent. Firstly, none of these roads revealed any indication of paving. With the potential exception of the spoliated material for Wall 27 (Structure 8, see below), no clear evidence of paving stones was discovered, and as mentioned above, all the road surfaces appear to have been made of some combination of dirt, gravel, and occasionally small cobbles (for the latter, see esp. Deposits 34-37). Another common feature was that several of these road layers were greatly disturbed on their eastern halves (see Deposits 20-21, 26, 29-30, 34-35). The lowest two road levels excavated (Deposits 38 & 40) were also straddled on the west by two layers of fill (Deposits 39 & 41); ; The above area, starting from immediately below the ploughsoil (Deposit 6), which was cut by a pair of modern irrigation pipes running N-S through each side of the deposit, is bisected from the eastern half of Trench 16C by Wall 27 (Structure 8), which runs roughly three degrees east of north through the entirety of the trench, with a width of roughly 0.65 m. On its eastern face, the wall is most noticeably defined by two large, worked stones that are smooth on their front-facing surfaces. The one to the south is likely marble, whose front face has a border carved down its south-east edge, and a recession of about 0.1 m, carved down the height of its north-east edge. The top and northern faces also show clear signs of anathyrosis – the former having a border carved along its southern and eastern edges, and the eastern half of the latter just as well-smoothed as its front face – suggesting that it was likely spoliated from an even earlier structure or monument. The stone to the north is similarly smooth on its front face, but unlike its counterpart, is still partially unexcavated and what has been unearthed is much more damaged. Thus, so far, no signs of anathyrosis or any additional workmanship on the stone has been identified, and the irregularity of the visible portions of its rear face might suggest that it had originally been a paving stone of a street or court area. Below the former stone and continuing on either side of the pair are a row of smaller flat stones that have yet to be excavated.; The western face of Wall 27 is constructed of loosely packed cobbles and stones, and is best preserved behind the two large stones mentioned above. Elsewhere, namely to the north and south, the structure appears to have been destroyed or disturbed by later activity. Running N-S along the western side of Wall 27 is a small trench (Deposit 19) that appears to have cut the road(s) as a foundation trench for Wall 27. As of writing, the bottom of this cut, as well as that of Wall 27, has yet to be confirmed. ; ; No evidence of road construction was found eastern of Wall 27. Apart from a roughly N-S line of stones between 38.698-39.207E at an elevation of 61.054-60.870 m (Deposit 10), as well as Wall 28 (Structure 25, discussed below), the entire area consisted of various depositions of fill, nearly all of which contained significant quantities of Byzantine material, although lower contexts saw the appearance of sizeable amounts of Roman, and occasionally Greek, pottery as well. Deposit 24 was the lowest context excavated on this half of the trench, the bottom of which sloped noticeably downward to the east. Upon completing the excavation of Deposits 23-24, Wall 28 (Structure 25) was discovered straddling and protruding from (approximately 0.35 m) the southern trench wall at nearly a perfect E-W orientation, from the southeast corner of the trench until reaching Wall 27, forming a slightly acute angle. Wall 28 is generally more uniform than Wall 27, in terms of stone construction as well as preserved height, but like the bottom of Deposit 24, slopes downward to the east. As was the case with Wall 27, the bottom of Wall 28 has yet to be reached. ; ; The pottery throughout the trench primarily dates to the Byzantine period with a handful of contexts datable to the twelfth century. To the east of Wall 27, the twelfth century dating appears in contexts that are fills over primary structures and fill areas. To the west of Wall 27, the road layers primarily produced Byzantine mpd pottery with Roman and Classical pottery appearing. Lower road levels like Context 37: Road Level 11 are datable to the twelfth century during the Byzantine period before Byzantine fragments disappear and Roman contexts begin to emerge. Roman levels appear in Context 38: Road Level 11 on Westernmost Edge of Trench and continue to the bottom of Road Level 12. The pottery in these last two road layers was primarily Late Roman but a few Byzantine shards (contamination) appeared. The sudden shift from Late Roman to twelfth century Byzantine in the road layers is similar to the shift seen in 16B. On the Eastern side of 16C, opposite Wall 27, the pottery primarily dates to the twelfth century.; ; Conclusions:; ; Since the bottoms of both Wall 27 and 28 have yet to be reached, their relationship to one another, as well as to the road layers, remain unclear, and is one of the primary objectives of continued excavation. At the very least, Wall 27 appears to have cut, and thus post-date, the multiple layers of Byzantine (and possibly earlier) road layers, but its builders must have knowledge of and access to earlier structures on account of the spoliated material. The frequent disturbance of the road levels on their eastern sides might have been the result of the construction of Wall 27. As of writing, there does not appear to be evidence to suggest that Wall 28 continued to the west of Wall 27 where the roads were excavated. Dating the pottery from the various road levels suggests road levels one to ten are Byzantine (twelfth century and after) and levels eleven and twelve are at least Late Roman.","Northeast of Theater 2022, Trench 16C,  by Brose, Kaia and Picker-Kille, David (2022-05-09 to 2022-05-20)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Northeast of Theater","","Corinth:Report:Northeast of Theater 2022, Trench 16C,  by Brose, Kaia and Picker-Kille, David (2022-05-09 to 2022-05-20)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Northeast of Theater excavations, Trenches 15B and 14B","Corinth Report: Northeast of Theater excavations, Trenches 15B and 14B, by Taylor Cwikla, Allisen Hunter (May 9 – May 27); Collection: Corinth; Type: Session Summary; Context: NET Context 26, NET Context 27, NET Context 28, NET Context 29, NET Context 1, NET Context 2, NET Context 3, NET Context 4, NET Context 5, NET Context 6, NET Context 7, NET Context 8; Area: NET; Site: Corinth; City: Ancient Corinth; Country: Greece; ; Taylor Cwikla, Allisen Hunter; ASCSA Corinth Excavations; Excavation Summary; NET; The following is a summary of the excavations carried out in the area northeast of the theater during the May 9-May 27 session of the 2022 season. Taylor Cwikla and Allisen Hunter were supervisors focused on excavations taking place in two areas. The “marble room” southwest of the 2018 and 2019 excavations and north of the 2020 excavations of the marble room from 32 E - 28 E and 1395 N – 1390 N and the room north of Wall 24 from 32 E – 28 E and 1395 N – 1398 N. Our objective this session was to expose the marble floor in 15B to meet the lower area excavation of 16 B. Once this was accomplished, our objective was to continue the exploration of the length of Wall 19 and the original extent of the “Marble Room”. The director was Christopher Pfaff, the associate director was Ioulia Tzonou, the pick-man was Konstantinos Arberores, the shovel-man George Tsakalakis, and the barrowman Helias Delistathes. The dry sieve was operated by Panayiotis Didaskalou.; ; The ”Marble Room” in 15 B; Excavations continued in Deposit 26 in the northeast section of the marble room from 16B bordered by Walls 19 to the east and 24 to the north. The bench from 16B continued into 15B along wall 19 until it was partially damaged for 84 cm until it abuts Wall 24. Wall 24 was determined to be constructed later than the original structure based on the bisection of the room, which was confirmed after the exposure and continuation of the bench and Wall 19 into 14 B, the lack of interlocking stone construction between Wall 24 and Wall 19, and the presence of crossed hatch marks in the mortar of Wall 24. A small aperture measuring 10 x 18 x 126 in Wall 24 was uncovered to the eastern section of the wall and continues through the structure to be visible also from 14B. The hole has been speculated to have been used for scaffolding, but the aperture’s position in relation to the wall seems to minimize this likelihood. Both Walls 19 and 24 showed multiple phases of building. Closer to the bench level of Wall 19, the bricks are more evenly sized and larger in width and length. Closer to the surface, the bricks become less defined and are of a smaller and thinner construction. At one interval of Wall 19 in 15 B, one large square block within the higher brick level can be seen on top of a large, horizontally placed rectangular block within the lower brick level. A similar construction can be seen to the south of the “marble room” in 16 B. The wall was made of two rows of bricks. On the south side of Wall 24, Wall 19 is slightly lower, and to the north, Wall 24 features one top layer of pedales and hatch mark mortar, likely due to a later repair. Wall 24 features multiple layers of construction, and its base is composed of a single layer of horizontally placed large, rectangular blocks. Above these are three layers of long, thin rectangular bricks and four layers of pedales. This wall was made of four rows of bricks.; Deposit 26 contained a general fill that continued to just above the level of the anticipated marble floor where fill became a sandier, less compacted brown silt that featured less pottery than previously excavated deposits. The deposit was compact and contained multiple boulders of both unworked and worked building material as well as vast amount of pottery. On the first day of our excavation, midway through Deposit 26, a portion of a marble leg, possible connected to the Apollo head, was uncovered. Multiple pieces of marble revetment were also unearthed throughout subsequent contexts. While ceramic finds diminished in size and regularity as excavations approached the marble floor, building materials increased in both size and frequency until the final, sandier layer above the marble floor, in which inclusions largely vanished. One Corinthian limestone paving stone was uncovered measuring 74 x 75.5 x 8 to the northwest of the trench. Most of the bricks and stones within the fill were also concentrated along Wall 24. Deposits 26 and 27 composed the same general fill described above but were artificially delineated once excavation reached the top level of the bench. Dividing the fill into a new context served the secondary function of breaking up the sheer amount of ceramic materials recovered for the sake of clarification. Deposit 26 sees the disappearance of any Byzantine ceramic material.  The general fill from Deposits 26 and 27 dates to the 7th century based on the typologies of the extensive ceramic materials. ; The layer directly above the marble floor, Deposit 28, featured several small marble fragments that were likely displaced from the marble floor itself and may be reintegrated into the context of the geometric design. The marble floor was fully uncovered and continued the pattern of the floor visible in 16B, with large polychromic rectangular blocks and circular elements. The floor plan of 15B abandons the otherwise contiguous marble design along Wall 24 and shows evidence of rearrangement of the marble flooring, which likely accompanied the installation of Wall 24 since the structure’s altered floor plan interrupted the floor’s established geometric design. This altered design could alternatively reflect general mending done over the course of the use of the marble room. The marble floor is largely preserved in situ and although portions of it are fragmentary, a significant amount of its broken pieces remain in place. The marble has not been cleaned and will not be until the full extent of the room has been uncovered as directed by conservator Nicol Anastassatou. ; ; The room North of Wall 24; Upon uncovering the marble floor in 15 B, excavations began in a new unit to the north, labeled 14 B. The goal of excavation in 14 B was to follow Wall 19 to see how far north it extended and to determine if the “marble room” of 16 B and 15 B continued beyond the later Wall 24. The first two deposits consisted of topsoil, with the first having been cleared mechanically prior to the start of the broader area excavation. The second layer of topsoil, deposit 2, was cleared this session and included an irrigation pipe, deposit 3, and a diagonally-cut ashy fill, deposit 4. The pipe was removed and the “diagonal ditch” was confirmed as a continuation of 17 B 13, excavated in 2020, 16 B 7, excavated in 2021, and 15 B 8, excavated in 2022. Silt in the diagonal fill of Deposit 4 was flecked with lime and carbon. Deposit 5, fill below topsoil, is coeval to Deposit 6, but the two were separated by the diagonal ditch of Deposit 4 and were thus distinguished, though the southern areas of both deposits yielded notable cement inclusions. Wall 19 was found to continue from 15 B into 14 B and measures 1.765 m in length. Some layers of mortar were preserved on the exterior of the wall to the east. Wall 24 was also found to be wider than originally believed as it continues into 14 B and features more mortar on top of the wall within the context of 14 B. Wall 24 has a width of 126 cm and a length of 1.765 m until it is cut in a straight line 25 centimeters east of the original wall cutting seen in 15B which measures at 73 cm. The cutting on the north extended for 177 cm and the wall did not possess its full width until a depth of 125 cm below the wall level was reached. To the west of the trench the corresponding height and thickness of the wall was found but notably more damaged. The same straight line cut was, however, still visible.  Building materials in Deposit 6 appear to have originally belonged to Wall 24. Deposit 7 began at the top of Wall 19 and featured substantial building materials, including several bricks with mortar and fragments of marble revetment. One 65 x 43 x 26 marble block with a channel measuring 13 wide was found amongst the large brick and rock inclusions. Two large boulders, 69.5 x 55 x 41, and 60 x 49 x 30, were removed and three more are visible in the north baulk. Deposit 8 continues the general fill with an increase in marble, including two joining pieces of cyma reversa molding. ; It is likely that Deposits 26 and 27 from 15 B correspond to Deposits 7 and 8 from 14 B, as they share a comparable depth, nature of fill, and dating for the respective ceramics. It should be noted, however, that the plentiful ceramic content of Deposits 26 and 27 was not paralleled in Deposits 7 and 8, which instead featured abundant building materials both worked and unworked. ; ; The end of the second session interrupted excavation of Deposit 8, which will be continued with the new session. Upon final review of the excavated contexts, more large boulders were revealed in the northern baulk, and a distinct line in Deposit 8 may indicate the proximity to a floor level, either earthen or a continuation of the marble floor visible in 15 B.; ; It has been confirmed that the “marble room” originally extended further north, and the design of the marble floor was contiguous from 16 B to 15 B until the established pattern was interrupted by the later addition of Wall 24. Wall 24’s preserved thickness has now been documented and continued excavation of 14 B will further elucidate the potential repurposing of the larger “marble room” complex. Further goals for consecutive excavations include determining the full extent of the complex, particularly east to west, the uncovering of the floor in 14 B to determine if the marble floor plan continues below Wall 24 and how the later wall may affect the overall design, particularly as it reveals the structural continuation to the west. It will also be interesting to see whether or not excavations extending to the west will reveal more ceramic output in comparison to the masses of building materials that have been concentrated in the presently excavated corner of 14 B.","Northeast of Theater 2022, Trench 15B and 14B,  by Cwikla, Taylor and Hunter, Allisen (2022-05-09 to 2022-05-27)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Northeast of Theater","","Corinth:Report:Northeast of Theater 2022, Trench 15B and 14B,  by Cwikla, Taylor and Hunter, Allisen (2022-05-09 to 2022-05-27)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","NET Trench 19B, Session II Final Report","Kelly E. O’Connor and Catherine A. Uritis; Corinth 2022 Session II (5/9/22- 5/27/22); 27 May 2022; ; Northeast of Theater, Trench 19B, Session II Final Report; ; Elevations of Identified Road Levels in 19B South East Extension ; – Measured in Northern Scarp of Cut 46 “Cut through Upper Road”; – Subject to change upon further examination; 1 (Potential paved road)    58.95; 2 Additional potential layers between Roman fill    TBD; 3 (Exposed, compact road, cut for wall 30)    60.12; 4 (Thin road, cut for wall 30)    60.17; 5 (Over wall 30)    60.35; 6 (Entirely through scarp)    60.60; 7 (Disturbed by gulley)    60.93; 8 (Disturbed by gulley)    61.02; 9 (Exposed upper road)    61.52; ; PERSONNEL; Christopher Pfaff (Director), Ioulia Tzonou (Associate Director), James Herbst (Architect), Panos Kakauros (Foreman), Vasilis Kollias (shovelman), Phanis Kollias (wheelbarrow and sieve), Kelly E. O’Connor (recorder) and Catherine A. Uritis (recorder); ; INTRODUCTION; In Session II May 9-28, 2022, it was decided that excavation of the destruction layer in NET 19B (Deposit 30) would be completed and then 19B would be extended to the south in an attempt to define Wall 25 and the compact surface (floor?) of Deposit 31. The first area of excavation, 19B 30 is located from 1378 N-1375 N and 28 E -35 E. The first extension is located from1375 N – 1373 N and 28 E – 33 E, to the south of wall 25. The southern extension revealed multiple soft fills, most notably a mixed fill in the East (Deposits 37 and 41). Dr. Pfaff determined that this mixed fill was a result of T. Leslie Shear’s 1920’s excavations. Once we reached Wall 30 at the bottom of Deposit 41, it was decided that another extension would be opened to the East and South to determine the depth of the previous excavation trench, located 1375 N – 1371 N and 33 E – 35 E. Most of this session was dedicated to defining and understanding previous excavation decisions. More definitive chronology was discovered in the scarp during study week and K. O’Connor and C. Uritis split their time between the museum and the site. Once the final depth of the modern deposit was discovered and Panos indicated a change in soil, excavation ceased on Thursday May 26, 2022.; ; ROMAN ; The earliest Roman activity appears within Context 46. As very little non-contaminated pottery was found, stratigraphy is the main source of identification of this chronology. Excavation identified a potential paved road (1) running north-south, indicated by a large, flat stone beneath later layers of road and road fill. Other layers of road (2) are potentially identifiable in the scarp of the ancient cut through the roads but will require more study for comprehensive understanding. More fill was accumulated over these potential surfaces, after which a very compact road (3) was laid. The eastern edge of road 3 begins 1,05m from the east scarp and has a width of 1,07 m. Road 3 continues into both north and south scarp, but was cut to the east, down to at least the level of road 1, after its construction. The reasoning for this is unknown and would require further investigation, but the area of the cut would presumably have been filled in the Roman period. Over the compact road, another level of Roman road (4) was laid, which is identified within the north scarp of Contexts 46 and 41. This next phase extends 2,12 m from the east in the northern scarp, where the compact road also terminates. After this road was constructed, both roads 3 and 4 were cut on the western side, presumably to allow for the construction of wall 30 which abuts both road levels. The wall is 1,13 m wide, beginning 2,12 m from the eastern scarp, and has an elevation of 60.51-60.20. The western half shows a more finished face, while the eastern half of the wall may have been robbed out, leaving just the cobbling to be seen. ; ; BYZANTINE; Wall 30 was demolished, signaling some sort of change in use of space. While it is unknown whether the destruction was intentional or not, it allowed for a new road surface (5) to be laid over the entire length of the scarp. Separated by additional fill, Byzantine roads 6-9 were built. The Upper Road (9) is a continuation of the surface identified bellow Deposit 19B 6. The western sides of the 3 final road layers are obscured in the northern scarp as road fill, as the gulley identified in 18B 19 and 19B 8 presumably continued through the road. ; ; To the northeast of the roads, a flat, very hard floor was identified, the same as found in Context 29. The floor slopes down from the south, indicating that the builders did not cut the earth to make a level surface. Wall 25 was then built over the compacted surface, suggesting that the floor was associated with the wall in one structure. The floor may be the coeval with the one on which Wall 20 in 18 B sits. After the wall and floor were constructed, there was some sort of destruction, indicated by a debris layer (discovered in 19B 28, further revealed in 19B 29, and excavated in 19B 30) of ash and burnt tiles, primarily the local Laconian style. As mentioned in 19B 16 and 19B 17, a later Byzantine robbing trench (8) cut through the debris and was filled.; ; MODERN; A deposit of modern soft fill was discovered in Deposits 37, 41, and 45, with a max. depth of 3 m. The modern fill cut through the upper road surface, down through the layers of Byzantine and Roman roads to the level of road 3 and wall 30. The modern fill then continued down through the ancient cut of road 3 to a level of undisturbed soil at the elevation 58.95. Excavation notebook 324 confirmed that this fill was a result of T. Leslie Shear’s 1929 excavations. Modern ceramic finds additionally substantiate the identification. The trench was labeled “North Trench” and was excavated by DeWaele. It measures 36 m east/west, approx. 3 m north/south, and 3 m deep.  On April 12, 1929 a plan was drawn of the trench (p.883). 19B overlaps with L 15, M 15, and N15; the wall is present in the plan, labeled as “l” and described as a “well built foundation [ion?] (1.50)”. The road surfaces are not mentioned. While Shear was attempting to locate the road north of the theater, it appears excavators removed all Byzantine and most Roman roads in the process.; ; An additional modern cut was found through the modern fill for an irrigation trench and pipe, presumably for the orange grove above. ; ; CONCLUSION/FUTURE RESEARCH QUESTIONS; Further study can be done to better define the Roman and Byzantine road surfaces exposed in the scarp of Shear’s trench. Additionally, excavations can be conducted to the south to reveal what lays beyond Shear’s excavated area. Other important questions include the direction and extent of the ancient north-south cut through the road surfaces. As the end of the modern fill was reached, continuing to excavate further down within said cut may provide a better chronology and understanding of its nature. Finally, the pipes of 16B which were originally expected to be seen within the scarp, are apparently missing. Excavations to the north may clarify their location or the lack thereof.","Northeast of Theater 2022, Trench 19B,  by O’Connor, Kelly E. and Uritis, Catherine A. (2022-05-09 to 2022-05-27)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Northeast of Theater","","Corinth:Report:Northeast of Theater 2022, Trench 19B,  by O’Connor, Kelly E. and Uritis, Catherine A. (2022-05-09 to 2022-05-27)","","","","","","Report"
"","Corinth","Northeast of Theater 16C Excavation Summary","Luke Madson and Jesse James, Session III 2022 (May 30 - June 24); ; Excavation Summary:; ; This excavation took place from May 30 to June 17, 2022, during the third excavation session of the season. It continued work done in the same trench in the second session (May 2022) recorded by Kaia Brose and David Picker-Kille, for which see [prior field report]. Jesse James and Luke Madson worked as trench recorders under the supervision of Chris Pfaff (Director) and Manolis Papadakis (Assistant to the Associate Director). James Herbst (Architect) and Ioulia Tzonou (Associate Director) also offered guidance on our complex and sometimes bizarre stratigraphy and Michael Ierardi assisted with the identification of our coins. In our trench, Argyris Tsirikis was our Pickman (newly appointed) and worked hard in consultation and collaboration with Athanasios Notis (Foreman); Argyris was supported by our Shovelman Agamemnon Karbouniaris, our good-natured Barrowman Sotiris Raftopoulos, and our eagle-eyed Sieve Operator Ilias Soli (Hekuran Coli), who also picked occasionally.; ; Area Description:; ; The excavation area consisted of a rectangular trench and was designated NET 16C, that is north east of the Theater, Trench 16C. The coordinates for the area when initially opened were: 35.0 E to 41.0 E and 1387.5 N to 1385.0 N. At the time we began our rotation, the trench had three main architectural features: Wall 27 which runs slightly off N-S axis; Wall 28 running east from Wall 27 and partially embedded in the southern scarp; and Water Pipe 3, running N-S and dividing NET 16 C from NET 16 B. The excavations were carried out largely in relation to Wall 27; from May 30th to June 2nd we worked E of the wall, moving west of the wall from June 2nd to June 16th. On June 10th the architectural features of the Vaulted Drain began to emerge and on June 16th  the Amphora Deposit and Branch Drain were excavated.; ; Phases:; ; Hellenistic: ; ; We found no evidence of activities in this area during the Hellenistic period (but note that two Hellenistic Sikyonian coins were found in contexts that are dated by pottery to the 1st century CE).; ; Early Roman: ; ; We uncovered two apparent drain structures that we have dated preliminarily to the 1st century BCE: a “Vaulted Drain” (Structure 96 in iDig) and a “Branch Drain” (Structure 97), the latter containing the amphora deposit below, with significant remains of approximately ten amphoras. The Vaulted Drain, and possibly the Branch Drain, was likely built shortly after foundation of the Roman colony in 44 BCE and its centuriation at approximately the same time. The Vaulted Drain aligns with a major N/S road of the Roman era uncovered in Trench 16 B (directly adjacent to the W), a road whose width may originally have extended into our trench, although we found no direct, independent evidence of it. ; ; Vaulted Drain; The most significant structure excavated in Trench 16C during the June session was the Vaulted Drain (Structure 96), a stone structure running N-S at the west end of Trench 16C, below Water Pipe 3. As so far exposed in the trench, it consists of a wall, partial arched ceiling, and apparent floor layer. 1.74m of the drain’s N-S length has been excavated. The floor’s elevation is approximately 57.89masi (ca. 3.4m below current topsoil), and the arch’s highest interior point is ca. 1.25m above the floor. The wall of the drain (which is the western wall of the visible structure) consists of a main lower course of large, moderately worked rectangular poros stones (the largest stone is 0.79m tall and 1.22m wide) topped with a course of smaller worked poros stones (ca. 0.2m tall), possibly with mortar between them. At its top this wall curves into the arch of the ceiling consisting of smaller unworked stones (rounded, hard limestone and conglomerate, ca. 0.12–0.35m in length) and bonded into a vault structure with a rough pinkish mortar embedded with small pebbles (0.001 to 0.008m dia.). There is an apparent floor layer consisting partly of worked rectangular stones and partly of soil. The stones run beneath the bottom course of wall stones, indicating that they were set there deliberately, as part of the construction of the Vaulted Drain. Further investigation of these stones and what lies beneath them is needed. They are of different sizes and their top surfaces are now set at slightly oblique angles and elevations, making an irregular floor surface. The larger floor stone measures approximately 0.7m N-S by 0.8m E-W (visible exposed surface); the smaller stone, directly to the N, is 0.31 by 0.33m. The soil around the stones was not compacted to a hard surface, possibly indicating that other floor stones were previously in place and were subsequently removed. An alternative interpretation is that the “floor” stones are not a floor at all but served another function. ; ; The existing arch of the ceiling of the Vaulted Drain appears to peak ca. 0.25m east of the wall surface. Assuming a symmetrical arch, and that we have the highest point of the arch (which seems correct), we would expect an eastern wall to the Vaulted Drain ca. 0.5m from the existing wall. But we found no direct evidence of such an eastern wall: no large worked rectangular stones (no worked stones at all), no other large stones that appeared part of the same structure as the western wall and arch, and no inclusions of mortar matching the mortar of the arch. This evidence suggests one of two possibilities: either the eastern half of the Vaulted Drain was fully disassembled in antiquity (see dating discussion below), removing all traces of the disassembly within the area of our trench; or the drain is significantly wider than appears to be indicated by the remains of the arched ceiling. ; ; The outside top of the Vaulted Drain’s arched ceiling is covered with a reddish, perhaps clayey soil, and Water Pipe 3 sits ca. 0.4m above the top of that ceiling, also in reddish soil. During excavation, that 0.4m depth of soil appeared to be in two layers, which suggests that the pipe may have been laid some time after the Vaulted Drain was built. But the pipe appears to be centered directly over the Vaulted Drain, which could indicate that it was laid at the same time. If that is the case, it may be that this 0.4m of reddish soil was placed deliberately both as a kind of sealing layer over the Vaulted Drain and as a bedding layer for Water Pipe 3.; ; Branch Drain; Slightly to the east of the Vaulted Drain, at the north side of the trench, we discovered what we have called the “Branch Drain” (Structure 97) running roughly SE to NW. It becomes visible in its path from the E (at 36.95m in the easting in our trench, elevation 58.3masl) at a height of ca. 0.5m above the floor level of the Vaulted Drain. At this point the Branch Drain is 0.25m wide, and widens to ca. 0.4m by the time it exits the trench to the N (at 35.25m in the easting, elevation 57.95masl), with a total exposed length of 1.7m and drop of 0.25m. At its westernmost  visible point the Branch Drain is less than 1.0m from the floor of the Vaulted Drain. Some stones still in situ between the SW curve of the Branch Drain and the Vaulted Drain may originally have been part of the Branch Drain walls.; ; We only partially excavated the Branch Drain, even within the boundaries of our trench. We excavated as far E as the west side of Wall 27 (which is a much later wall, for which see below, under “Byzantine”), and have not uncovered the north or south sides of the stones that form its walls. We have also not found a point at which the Branch Drain joins the Vaulted Drain, although we presume such a joint slightly north of the boundary of our trench. Hence the description and interpretation here are highly provisional. ; ; The Branch Drain appears to consist of two walls or sides built of unworked, dry-stacked stones. At the moment of writing there appear to be three or four courses of stones in these walls, but more excavation is needed to confirm what remains of the entire structure. This Branch Drain also has a partial tile floor. At its eastern visible limit the drain is oriented mostly E-W, but curves more toward the northwest as it proceeds west toward the Vaulted Drain. The tile floor slopes down visibly, and the tiles give way to soil after two visible overlapping tile courses. The top tile shows 0.4m of visible length and 0.33m of visible width, and is 0.03m thick. The Branch Drain’s stone sides also slope downward. (Some of this slope of the sides of the drain could be a result of inadvertently removing structural stones during the excavation process. We attempted not to remove any stones that were parts of an obvious structure, but some large stones were excavated in this context and they might originally have been built into the drain sides).; ; Amphora Deposit; One of the major breathtaking finds from the trench occurred on the final day of excavation. A deposit of perhaps eleven amphoras and one mortar, mixed with non-amphora potsherds, some large stones (ca. 0.2 to 0.4m long), and soil, was found in and above the Branch Drain. This deposit, roughly in the shape of a steep wedge, was approximately 0.7m wide (N-S), 1.6m long (E-W), and 1.7m deep at its highest, easternmost point. We were not able to determine definitively whether this deposit was placed into a man-made trench, but its position directly above the Branch Drain indicates that the deposit was made into and onto that man-made drain (the soil within and around the amphoras and stones may have been deposited by natural erosion). All the amphoras appeared to have been lying on their sides (none deliberately placed upright). We did not collect elevation points on individual amphoras in situ, but the highest was found at approximately 59.35masl. All of the amphoras were broken, but the completeness of the remains suggests that none had been moved more than once or twice between the end of its functional life and its final deposition here, and that therefore their deposition was intentional and expected to be final. At least two amphoras (C-2022-7 and C-2022-20) appear to have been deposited as complete vessels, although parts of them (the mouth of C-2022-7 and one longitudinal half of C-2022-20) remain in situ in the trench scarp as of the time of writing. Preliminary analysis indicates that the amphoras date to between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE.; ; As study and cataloging of the amphora remains is ongoing, and additional ceramic material remains underneath Wall 27, this is a preliminary catalog of the approximately ten amphoras from this location: ; ; C-2022-7 (Amphora 1); Dressel 2-4 with dipinto, 1st cent BC to 1st cent CE; ; C-2022-8 (Amphora 2): Dressel 21-22 (resinous substance on interior), 1st cent. CE (cf. C-80-180) ; C-2022-9 (Amphora 3): Spanish Dressel 2-4, 1st cent BC to 1st cent. CE (fragments originally labeled C11 [Amphora 5] and C16 [Amphora 9] have been determined to be part of C-22-09); C-2022-10 (Amphora 4); Dressel 6A(?), 1st cent. BCE to 1st cent. CE; C11 (Amphora 5); see C-2022-09; C-2022-12 (Amphora 6): pompeii vii amphora, end of 1st cent. BCE to 1st cent. CE; C-2022-13 (Amphora 7): thin-walled sandy fabric amphora toe; C-2022-14 (Amphora 8); pompeii vii amphora; C-2022-15 (spouted mortar): late 1st cent. BC to early 1st cent CE (cf. C-2004-12); C16 (Amphora 9); see C-2022-09; C-2022-17 (Amphora 10): Pompeii vii; C-2022-18 (Amphora 11): Pseudo-Coan; C19 (Amphora 12); see C-2022-15; C-2022-20 (Amphora 13 = C19 [fragments originally labeled C19 (Amphora 12) have been determined to be part of C-2022-20) ; ; Water Pipe 3; Water Pipe 3 (Structure 95) runs N-S directly above the Vaulted Drain, centered at 34.645m east, with a top elevation of approximately 59.96m above sea level. Within Trench 16C the pipe slopes slightly from N to S, with a drop of 0.023m over a length of 1.585m (this is surprising because the general slope of the landscape here is gradual from S to N). Its diameter varies from 0.107m to 0.127m (the greater width is at the junctions) with approximately 3 segments (ca. 1.6m) currently exposed in situ. As noted above, the apparent continuity of red clayey soil from the top of the Vaulted Drain up to the bottom of Water Pipe 3, along with the similar orientation of the two structures and Water Pipe 3’s position approximately centered over the Vaulted Drain, suggest that Water Pipe 3 was laid down close in time to the construction of the Vaulted Drain. As explained in detail below, that was likely between 44 BCE and the mid-1st century CE.; ; ; Dating; The Vaulted Drain, Water Pipe 3, and the Branch Drain were likely constructed between 44 BCE and the middle of the 1st century CE. The founding of the Roman colony in 44 BCE provides the terminus post quem. Two separate sets of evidence provide the same terminus ante quem: the dating of the amphora deposit in the Branch Drain, and the pottery deposited around Water Pipe 3.; ; The manufacture and use of the amphoras and the mortar have been preliminarily dated to the period from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE. A single coin was found in the amphora deposit (Coin 2022-440) and dates to between 40 and 30 BCE, shortly after the founding of the colony. The non-amphora pottery within the amphora deposit dates to the second half of the 1st century CE. These dates provide a terminus post quem for when the Branch Drain went out of use (although not a precise date as the amphoras were likely used for a significant duration after their manufacture). It is unclear how the amphoras came to be in the Branch Drain (deliberate human action? Mudslide?); it is also unclear whether they were all placed there at one time or over a long period of time. Because no material in the amphora deposit dates after the end of the 1st century CE, we conclude that the deposit was in the Branch Drain by that time, and therefore that the Branch Drain was out of use by ca. 100 CE (although the Vaulted Drain may have continued to function). Because it was defunct by the end of the 1st century CE, the Branch Drain was likely built somewhat earlier, probably at or before the mid-1st century CE.; ; Pottery found in the soil directly surrounding Water Pipe 3 (in both Trench 16C, Context 68 and Trench 16B, Context 111), indicates that the pipe was laid in the 1st century CE.; ; As discussed above, stratigraphy indicates that the Vaulted Drain was built either before or at the same time as Water Pipe 3. And because the Branch Drain is apparently ancillary to the Vaulted Drain, it is likely that the Vaulted Drain was built before or at the same time as the Branch Drain (this hypothesis should be clarified in next year’s campaign, when the conjectured meeting point slightly to the north can be explored). These two structures therefore converge on a terminus ante quem for the Vaulted Drain of the mid-1st century CE.  ; ; On present evidence it is difficult to settle on a date for the Vaulted Drain more specific than between 44 BCE and ca. 50 CE. On one hand, the Vaulted Drain appears to be a major infrastructure and planning project aligned with the Roman road. This suggests that it was part of the original centuriation of the colony and therefore was built soon after 44 BCE. On the other hand, Water Pipe 3 may have been laid at the same time that the Vaulted Drain was built. But this points to a 1st century CE date, decades after the founding of the colony.  ; ; ;  ; Late Roman (4th to 6th cent.):; ; Disassembly of the Vaulted Drain; The Vaulted Drain’s fragmentary state within trench 16C--no eastern wall and incomplete arched ceiling--and the lack of remains from the eastern wall and the eastern part of the arch, suggest that at some point the Vaulted Drain stopped being used and that part of it was deliberately removed, i.e., robbed out. The deep deposit of loose sandy fill within the Vaulted Drain (in particular from Contexts 84, 91, and 92) appears to date to the Late Roman period from both pottery and coins (e.g. Coin 2022-403 dates to 347–48 CE). The entire deposit was of similar texture and soil type, with no apparent stratigraphy between layers, suggesting that it was deposited within a short period of time. Because we failed to number the buckets of pottery as they were excavated from Context 84 (a fill whose height was 0.84m containing 34 kg of pottery), we cannot now distinguish between pottery from the top of 84 and that from the bottom, to determine if there is in fact any discernible chronological distinction between the top and bottom layers. Yet Contexts 91 and 92, both beneath Context 84 and just above the Vaulted Drain’s floor layer, also contain a mixture of early Roman and late Roman pottery and therefore indicate that they were part of the same deposit as Context 84. Hence it appears that the Vaulted Drain was partially disassembled, and filled, in the Late Roman period.; ; Bronze ring: One find of particular note was a bronze finger ring (MF 2022-39), located quite close to the Vaulted Drain’s floor in Context 91; while this ring has yet to be conserved, its basic form is that of Type 1A finger ring with a setting (Davidson 1952: 228). It is most similar to Davidson No. 1819 (Plate 102/MF 7176; cf. Davidson No. 1818). As this ring form seems to be common in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine contexts (see Davidson 1952: 232, indicating a gap from the 5th to 10th centuries CE), it is consistent with a late Roman dating for the deposit.; ; Domitian coin: Another noteworthy find from the fill in the Vaulted Drain was Coin 395, a bronze assarion of Domitian, minted in Corinth between 85 and 87 CE. On the reverse is depicted a tetrastyle temple on Acrocorinth, seen in perspective from the left corner. This coin, with the obverse head of Domitian facing right, is an example of a hitherto unknown die combination (all published examples with this reverse pair it with an obverse head facing left). This coin, found in Context 84, is chronologically consistent with the wide chronological variety of the pottery found in that deposit.;  ; Road; Unlike in Context trench 16B, immediately adjacent to the west, we found no definite road surfaces dating as early as the Late Roman period. To the west of Wall 27 the lowest clear road surface was Context 71 or 72, both of which still contained Byzantine green glazed monochrome and other Byzantine pottery dating to the 12th century. Similar layers of road may lay east of Wall 27 but remain to be excavated. ; ; The disassembly of the Vaulted Drain and the lack of Late Roman road surfaces suggest that the area between Water Pipe 3 and Wall 27 was not used as a road surface during the Late Roman period. There may have been a Late Roman road which was either intentionally removed or naturally washed out. Perhaps a flash flood or a partial collapse of the Vaulted Drain caused the east side of the Roman Road to subside in the Late Roman period. Then inhabitants may have taken the opportunity to partly disassemble the Vaulted Drain, fill it in, and then use the disturbed area as something other than a road. ;  ; Byzantine:; ; We have found no features or objects datable to the roughly 600 years from Late Roman to the 12th century CE. 12th century features include Walls 27 and 28, apparent road surfaces to the W of Wall 27, and levels of fill to the E of Wall 27.; ; Road; In the Byzantine Period a road ran N to S along the western side of the trench, to the W of Wall 27. The width of this road may continue East of Wall 27 but this remains to be seen. While the earliest apparent layer or fill of the road contained some 6th Century CE Late Roman pottery, no layer appears to date earlier than the 12th cent. CE. The manner of road construction appears informal: rather than any sort of paved surfaces, the stratigraphy revealed a series of hard packed earth surfaces with occasional inclusions and/or potholes, though since there was no formal construction we cannot say how many road layers there were or the thickness of a given layer. The precise width of the road is similarly not yet secure. At some point in the 12th Century, a cut was made for a foundation trench for Wall 27 (below). ; ; Wall 27 ; Wall 27 appears to be continuous with a wall segment in Trench 18C to the south (although the two segments may not be in perfect alignment with each other). Its construction dates to the 12th Century CE based on pottery in the foundation trench (context no. 48). This wall (length 2.25 m running the entire width of the trench; width varies from .60 to .66 m; height 1.09 m at maximum surviving height)  is characterized by 2 large worked blocks (block (1) width .71 m; height .44 meters; thickness .36 m; block (2) width .62 m; height .70 m; width .32 m; apparent spolia from another structure) in the east face which sit on 2 or 3 courses of at least partly worked stone blocks. There are a few worked smaller square blocks in the wall placed irregularly. The west face is mostly made of irregular unworked cobbles and larger stones 6 or 7 courses high. The fill that went up and over the remaining portion of Wall 27 also dates to the Byzantine Period (Pottery NPD), suggesting the wall went out of use later in the Byzantine or Post Byzantine Periods. Notably, in the fill directly beneath the lowest course of stones on the west side of Wall 27, an intact Roman unguentarium was found (C 2022 6); when dated, this object will establish a terminus post quem for the construction of the foundation trench and wall. Wall 27 provides a 12th century eastern limit for the width of the road after it was constructed. Whether the wall was cut into the middle of an existing Byzantine road, or built against the side of that road remains to be seen.; ; Wall 28 ; Wall 28 runs along the south edge of the eastern side of the trench (length 0.41 m; exposed thickness 0.35 m in W to 0.23 m in E; height 0.15 - 0.20 m). The stones and tile on top are 0.10 to 0.15 m in width forming a sort of capping cours. Wall 28 is an enigma and remains only partially exposed as the scarp encloses the south-facing side. There does not appear to be a foundation trench on the north facing side but the soil level that is at the level abutting the wall and that was in use with the wall with the first course of stones dates to the 12 century CE (pottery). The date of this fill and the construction of the wall probably date to the 12th or later. Wall 28 appears later than Wall 27 based on two features: (i) its base is at a higher elevation than the base of Wall 28 (suggesting deposition of earth after the construction of Wall 27 and before that of Wall 28), and (ii) Wall 28 butts to the E face of Wall 27 rather than being bonded or integrated into the larger wall’s stonework. Wall 28, as it remains now, consists of three or four courses of irregular cobbles and small flat stones and tile pieces. As with Wall 27, the fill which covered the wall dates to the Byzantine Period (Pottery NPD), suggesting this wall went out of use later on in Byzantine or Post Byzantine Period.; ; Suggestions For Future Excavators:; ; A great deal of further excavation is needed to clarify this trench. A parallel trench to our south might be opened to better account for the south-facing side of Wall 28 and any possible foundation trench. Such southern exploration would clarify the purpose of Wall 28 as it relates to Wall 27 and whether it functions as an internal wall to a larger structure. Similarly, such investigation would continue to clarify the courses of Wall 27, Water Pipe 3, and the Vaulted Drain, and the course of the Branch Drain as it lies in relation to its possible source to the (south?) east. A similar parallel trench might be opened to the north as well, in order to better clarify the relationship between the Branch Drain and Vaulted Drain which may join just beyond our north scarp. Digging both north and south would also clarify the disassembly of the Vaulted Drain, and whether this occurred throughout the Vaulted Drain structure. The Amphora Deposit may continue to the NE as evidenced by the remains of Amphora 1 still in the scarp to the north and Amphora 13 underneath Wall 27 to the east. Additional amphora finds from next year’s campaign will need to be collected in relation to the amphoras we excavated to complete their conservation and show us their level of preservation. The road layers and deposits underneath, like the Amphora Deposit, may be better clarified with the removal of Wall 27.","Northeast of Theater 2022, Trench 16C,  by Madson, Luke and James, Jesse (2022-05-30 to 2022-06-24)","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Northeast of Theater","","Corinth:Report:Northeast of Theater 2022, Trench 16C,  by Madson, Luke and James, Jesse (2022-05-30 to 2022-06-24)","","","","","","Report"