ANCIENT SIKYON - 2004

Ancient Sikyon. ΕΡΓΟΣΕ excavations. The ΛΖ’ ΕΠΚΑ reports on continuing excavation for the construction of a high-speed railway line between Corinth and Kiato.

Dragatsoula (km marker 17+359-17+376: former Dousladzi property). Thirteen further fifth-century pit graves were found (all undisturbed), raising the total to 21. The new tombs 9-21 were pits opened in the bedrock, in two cases (11 and 17) covered with stone slabs. They were oriented east-west or north-south, and contained the inhumations of adults, women and youths, both highly contracted and extended. They contained one or more offering inside and over the grave. Offerings include red-figure lekythoi with women’s scenes, white-ground lekythoi with plant motifs, squat lekythoi, lekanides, skyphoi, kanthariskoi, phiales, small oinochoae, miniature amphorae, terracotta figurines (males, females, ‘temple boys’, satyrs, horses and riders, and birds), bronze and iron strigils, bronze rings, bronze mirror discs and a bronze spatula. The cemetery was defined on the south/southwest by a retaining wall.

Dragatsoula (km marker 18+850-17+130). An ancient quarry covered an area of 122x35m, with three main quarry faces exploited during the Archaic and Classical periods. Blocks measuring 1.4-0.85x0.5m were extracted. Fills removed contained plain and decorated Mycenaean, Geometric, Archaic and Classical pottery.

Palaiochori (km marker 17+472-17+497: former Tourgeli-Leonardou property). The discovery of four further intact Mycenaean tombs (tombs E-H) brings the total in this cemetery to eight. The tombs were cut into bedrock: no skeletal remains were preserved. Chamber tomb E (dromos 1.1x1m; oval chamber 1.73x1.07m inside) contained by the south wall an alabastron, a plain prochous and a terracotta spool, dated to Late Helladic IIIA1. Cist grave Στ was enlarged from a natural fissure in the rock. Tombs Z and H were stone-lined double cists with dromoi opened as well-like pits. Tomb Z contained a LH IIIA1 pithoid amphora, and tomb H an alabastron, a steatite conical button and a terracotta biconical spindle whorl, dating to LH IIIA1-2.