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"","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.","","","Report","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","Corinth","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Danielle Smotherman (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-30)","2015 Session I, Late Byzantine - Early Frankish activity in Unit 2, Room 2 and Frankish fill in Unit 2, Room 9","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Danielle Smotherman (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-30)","",""
"","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.","","","Report","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","Corinth","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","2015 Session I Excavations: Corridor North of the Church in Unit 2","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","",""
"","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.","","","Report","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","Corinth","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio, Lorenzová, Alžběta with additions from Larkin Kennedy (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","Final Report Unit 2, Rooms 4 and 6. Session I 2015","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio, Lorenzová, Alžběta with additions from Larkin Kennedy (2015-04-21 to 2015-04-28)","",""
"","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.","","","Report","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","Corinth","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett, Lucas Stephens (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-22)","2015 Session II, Corridor N of Church and Room 6","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Wesley Bennett, Lucas Stephens (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-22)","",""
"","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)","","","Report","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","Corinth","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Danielle Smotherman and Tim Brannelly (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-22)","2015 Session II, Frankish activity in Unit 2, Room 9","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Danielle Smotherman and Tim Brannelly (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-22)","",""
"","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.","","","Report","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","Corinth","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio and Tanaka, Kurtis T. (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-31)","Final Report Unit 2, Room 3. Session II.","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Rodríguez-Álvarez, Emilio and Tanaka, Kurtis T. (2015-05-04 to 2015-05-31)","",""
"","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","","","Report","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","Corinth","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Sitz, Anna and Katz, Philip (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","Unit 2, Room 9: later half of thirteenth century and earlier cistern; Unit 2, Room 6: Frankish burials and 13th century surfaces","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Sitz, Anna and Katz, Philip (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","",""
"","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.","","","Report","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Temple E, Temenos | Temple E, Southeast","Corinth","","Corinth:Report:Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","Corinth Report: Temple E Southeast excavations. Unit 2, Rooms 8 and 7.","","Temple E, Southeast 2015 by Emilio Rodriguez-Alvarez (2015-06-02 to 2015-06-26)","",""