Thelpousa - 2024

Ewdoksia Papuci-Wladyka (PAIA) reports on the first excavation season of a three-year project (2024-2026) conducted by a Polish-German-Greek research team, under the auspices of the Polish Archaeological Institute at Athens in Thelpousa, Arcadia, Greece.

Thelpousa was an Arcadian polis located approxi- mately 25 km east of ancient Olympia in the lower Ladon valley north of the modern village of Toumbitsi (Fig. 1). The origins of Thelpousa, situated on the left bank of the river, date back to the Archaic period. In the mid-2nd century AD, Pausanias (Paus. 8, 25, 3) described the “city built on a large hill” as largely “deserted”, noting that its agora, formerly located at the centre of the urban area, was now lying at its periphery. The 2024 excavation focused on the Roman building in Thelpousa, with a view to better understand it's function, architecture and date. (Fig. 1)

In trench T.II, a heavily damaged floor with two distinct construction techniques: river stones set in mortar and vertically placed tiles bonded with soil was uncovered. These may indicate repairs or different phases of use. Layers of rubble suggest the building collapsed gradually. A reused limestone block bearing a possibly funerary inscription was found in the north wall; its lettering suggests a Late Hellenistic or Early Roman date. Evidence also indicated possible later use of the ruins as shelter for shepherds and animals. In trench T.IV, a previously unknown wall was discovered connecting the western ends of the building’s projecting walls (antae). The wall was damaged and inclined westward. Excavation revealed some pottery associated with the building’s use. In test trench TT.IV, the team identified the foundation trench of the building’s southern wall. Pottery and a lamp fragment found near the wall date to the late 1st or early 2nd century AD. The wall foundation measured approximately 0.35 m in height and showed two construction sections with different amounts of mortar. T

The team recovered 619 pottery sherds, of which 117 were diagnostic. The material spans the Hellenistic to Late Roman periods, predominantly comprising plain wares and tableware, with some imported examples. Other finds included tiles, bricks, bones, shells, glass fragments and unfinished stones associated with the building’s masonry. (Fig. 3)