Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project - 2024

Georgios Spyropoulos (Ephorate of Antiquities of Corinth) and Paul Scotton (California State University) reports on work conducted as part of the Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project in Corinthia, as part of a synergasia between the Ephorate of Antiquities of Corinth, the ASCSA, and the California State University. 

Area A
In Area A, the goal was to excavate the full extent of the Room with the Tile Floor and to better define its north wall and its foundations in order to find the outlet of what had been presumed to be a drain (Fig. 1). The excavation of the room revealed much demolition rubble with large amounts of ceramics dated to the 5th century CE and tile including Laconian style roof tiles. More of the trench that cut through the tile floor was revealed but at its southern end, a human cranium was found under an extensive collapse of roof tile, as well as the upper half of the skeleton above and in the upper part of the trench, with the lower half missing. The left hand was at the face and the right arm behind her back. The chest had been crushed. A sacrum was found ca. 2 m to the north as was what appears to be part of a femur. The excavations along the north wall exposed two ashlar blocks in the western half of the wall, one of which disappears into the baulk to the west, and cobble foundations on both halves on either side of the doorway although of different construction. The western half cobbles are somewhat larger.

Area B
The eastern end of Room 3 produced finds very similar to what was found in the west end, i.e. abundant floor tiles, many of which were intact, with the occasional roof tile mixed in. Some, both single tiles and in stacks, were standing nearly vertical, some nearly parallel to the floor surface below, and others at various angles but all in a layer of dirt ca. 20 cm thick. The floor tiles are all square. This season it was recognized that there were in fact two dimensions: 0.296 x 0.296 and 0.308 x 0.308 cm. The former is the length of the Roman foot used at Corinth. The latter is the length of the Hellenistic foot attested at Isthmia and recognized by Oscar Broneer. To the north and east of this area are rubble remains and evidence of a pebble floor. The pottery is consistent with that in the rest of the building, i.e. a collapse dated to the end of the 5th century CE.

Area C
Excavations in area Ca began in the northwest corner of the basilica to the north of the north wall of the north aisle and adjacent to the east wall of the calcidicum. The northern portion of this area had been dug during the 2016 season. The fill in this area, comprising largely gravel and sand, is quite unstable. Frequently, the baulks that had been excavated the day before collapsed overnight. The area excavated to the south of the north nave wall excavated in the 2023 had significant collapse during the winter and ti was determined too risky for students to excavate. Efforts were redirected to the north end of the calcidicum starting where it was a confined space within three walls. In the 2016 season this area had also been partially excavated and a portion of an earlier floor had been exposed. Starting at the north end, the excavations moved southward to reveal more of the earlier (Augustan) period floor, and more of the floor was found to the west and south. 

The excavation of the southwest corner of the basilica began in 2023 and continued this season. The excavation of the western wall revealed that the tile crown present to the north is missing from the southern section. This is likely due to erosion or the removal of the superstructure blocks during scavenging. On the exterior face and roughly opposite where the south nave wall joins the west wall, fragments of a mortar floor were found. Roughly one third of the grid is covered by the remains of this floor. At the west end of the grid, is a basin made of field stone and lined with a mortar base.

Area D
The southernmost segment of the outer diameter was extended from what was accomplished during the 2023 season by first extending to the east and then to the west. In the excavation of the eastward extension a 20th century bullet casing was found ca. 75 cm below surface indicating that this area is a disturbed fill apparently created when this area was bulldozed during preliminary work for the access road to the beach. It would seem that after the still visible cut was made and the cemented remains of the structure were encountered, the road was moved ca. 20 m to the west to avoid and preserve the structure. The most noteworthy find within this fill was likely a bronze, barbed arrowhead. A significant battle, the Battle of Lechaeum, was fought, in part, in this area during the Corinthian War.

The expansion to the west revealed what may be one of the radial spur walls projecting from the center room. By the end of the season, a ca. 12.5 m length of the outer wall had been exposed and ca. 5.7 m of façade. In both areas Greek and Hellenistic pottery were a constant presence. 

In the geoprospection survey of the mausoleum, there was a rectangular projection towards the southwest from the outer wall. The projection looked as if it was a porch and entrance to the mausolum. The southern parotid was targeted as a starting point. Three complete blocks and a block disappearing into the baulk were discovered projecting from the outer wall. These blocks rest upon a tile bedding which rests upon coursed, cemented rubble. At approximately the same level as the base of the parotid, the top of a tile grave was found (Fig. 3). The skeleton of a ca. 17 year old female was found along with 18 iron nails, 9 on either side of the skeleton, all of which but one were standing vertical, suggesting a wooden coffin. The contents of the burial can be dated to the first century BCE - first century AD. A trench was opened to excavate the new section of the outer wall down to its foundations to provide more data to date the construction of the mausoleum. Much of the pottery recovered in these efforts dates to the 2^nd century BCE and especially along the exterior face of the outer wall. A notable find within the interior and inside of the outer wall was a 4^th to 5^th century CE Gazan amphora close to the surface (Fig. 4). The vessel had been sawn round the shoulder and the upper part reattached. One small bone was apparent in the soil within the vessel. Large pottery deposits of fragments of storage vessels were found beyond the inner face of the outer wall but within the interior of the building. Spot dating indicates a chronological range of Greek (mostly 4th century BCE) through Hellenistic and Early Roman through Late. In addition, to the plaster and revetment fragments found throughout Area D, a large amount of seashell was found, oysters in particular.