Sparta - Urban Block 189 - 2011

Sparta - Urban Block 189 (property of the New Archaeological Museum of Sparta). Maria Tsouli (E’ EPKA), reports on the excavation held in the aforementioned area, following a number of trial trenches conducted between October and December 2011. The area revealed extensive ancient remains, including small findings and a large sepulchral monument, dated between the Hellenistic and the Roman times.

The excavation began in the S sector of this area, which mostly revealed Hellenistic pottery sherds (as well as a red-figure sherd of the Classical times) (fig. 1). Similarly dated pottery was located throughout the excavation area, although the N sector revealed a pithos sherd, dated in the sixth century BC, which indicated the earliest date of the site’s ancient use (fig. 2).

The W sector of the excavation revealed similar ancient remains, but here larger quantities of pottery were located. The ancient street connecting the Spartan Acropolis to the Eurotas river had been revealed in this area with the trial trenches of 2011, and its continuation was revealed this year (fig. 3). Furthermore, a monumental structure was located in the W side of the ancient street (fig. 4). The structure, dated in the Roman times, was constructed using unworked limestone, carefully covered in mortar. A half-worked marble cylindrical base, decorated with two consecutive cyma friezes on its upper side, was located on the inside of this structure. A bronze coin of Constantine the Great (320-321 AD) was also located on the inside the structure. Due to the construction practices and the fact that there were other burials located in the area in 2011, the structure was considered sepulchral. Additionally, a marble votive stele, dedicated to Hadrian by Filomenos, was located on the E side of this monument.

[Entry created by E. Kourti]