SIKYON SURVEY PROJECT - 2009

Prehistoric pottery of all phases from Middle Neolithic to LHIIIC was found in small quantities mostly on the southeast edge of the plateau. A very little Geometric and Archaic pottery and small concentrations of Classical were also found on the plateau: the majority of sherds are Hellenistic and Roman. Most are coarse domestic ware: petrographic analysis shows that this fabric is a mixture of marl and terra rossa clays with quartz, limestone and flint inclusions. The Early and Middle Hellenistic pottery of Sikyon (end of the fourth- to the mid second-century BC) resembles that of neighbouring Corinth, Isthmia and Stymphalos, and differs appreciably from that of Attica, Argos and Elis. Aegean imports are almost unknown: the few imports found are mostly amphorae from the Adriatic (especially Brindisi and Lamboglia 2 types), which served as models when local production developed in the second century BC. From the second century BC to the first century AD, tablewares, cookwares and other domestic pottery were also produced in the characteristic local coarse clay with silicate inclusions. The most significant potters’ quarter in ancient Sikyon lay at the southern edge of the south plateau, bordered by residential blocks to the north and east. Hellenistic material was scattered over the entire plateau, with the greatest concentrations on the south plateau. The area immediately south of the agora (SP76−81) produced (mostly domestic) middle and late Imperial pottery (second- to fourth-century AD). The area east of the agora (SP83−106) contained large concentrations of Late Roman and Early Byzantine material (fourth- to seventh-century AD), although Early Byzantine fineware is almost completely absent. There is little Late Roman and Byzantine on the southeastern projection of the plateau (SP82 and 107) where pottery is mostly Frankish and Ottoman (13th- to 16th- century). The expansion of the settlement probably relates to the development of the castle by the Villehardouin in the early 13th century. The 21 coins found in the survey range from a fourth-century BC Athenian issue to a 16th-century Venetian.

Planning of the excavated monuments in the agora (the temple and overlying basilica, the stoa, palaestra and bouleuterion) progressed (Fig. 2), and many of the ancient quarries, architectural remains and geological features were mapped. Magnetometry was undertaken at selected locations on the plateau, notably the (as yet unexcavated) stadium (Fig. 3): the track is estimated as 28m wide and 198m long.

Samples from selected points on the plateau were analysed using X-ray fluorescence to identify settlement, manufacturing and agricultural activity. In area NP104, high levels of phosphorus and potassium inside the ancient residential blocks probably reflect the discard of domestic refuse (Fig. 4). Much lower levels are found along the roads. Higher values for metals such as zinc and to some degree copper also relate to buildings, as does the presence of sulphur.