Megalopolis - Ancient Lykosoura Street - 2011

Megalopolis - Ancient Lykosoura Street (private property of E. Alexaki, housing block 215). Stamatis Frintzilas (ΛΘ’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports on the continuation of the excavation within the archeological space (fig. 1). The excavation revealed the founding pit of a metal object workshop (fig. 2), indicating the presence of the workshop.

The pit contained the base where the clay mould was fired, and the spot where the metal object was formed. One mould found was small and oval-shaped. Many traces of fire were found inside the pit, as well as rust and bronze remains. Iron masses were found all around the area, because the ancient producers considered their moving elsewhere useless and unnecessarily expensive.
The pit was dated in the Hellenistic times (late third-first half of the second century BC), due to pottery findings. One specific characteristic finding was a sealed tile with the inscription [ΔΑΜΟΣΙΟ]Υ ΜΕ[ΓΑ…], which was part of an ancient building’s roof. Perhaps it was a stoic building, destroyed by the Spartan king Kleomenis III, in 223 BC.

A Roman building was constructed later, possibly destroying the metal workshop infrastructure, so the terminus ante quem was surely at some point during the Roman times.

Finally, an ancient street was found alongside one of the Roman walls. It was oriented N-S, as the roman building (figs. 3, 4). The street was built with large unworked stones and tiles. It was the first Roman street found in a rescue excavation in Megalopoli. The street must have worked within the urban plan of the Hellenistic city, which was designed by parallel vertical and perpendicular streets, forming housing blocks (insulae).

[Entry created by E. Kourti]