AGHIOS IOANNIS RENTIS - 2008

Aghios Ioannis Rentis, Themidos and Polykratous streets (O.T. 234, property of the Foundation of the Hellenic World). M. Petritaki (ΚΣΤ’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports on the discovery of roads, burials and a farmstead. One of the roads dates in the Geometric period and has retaining walls on both sides (Fig 1). The following finds were recovered from the area of the road: glazed sherds, bones, shells, obsidian blades, a bronze arrowhead, fragments from glass vessels, fragments from green glass panes, and a Late Roman coin (341-346 A.D.). The road appears to have fallen out of use in the Classical period, since 2 fifth-century B.C. child burials were excavated on top of its retaining wall. The first child burial had been placed in a terracotta larnax together with two 5^th c. B.C. lekythoi and a Corinthian, miniature kotyle. The second burial was an inurned cremation in an amphora. The amphora’s lid was a stone. The amphora contained remains of bones, a lekanis with its lid, a black-glazed kotyle and a blue glass-bead. South of these burials and alongside the Geometric road another 2 burials were excavated dating in the Geometric period (a pyre and a cist grave). Further south another, 3^rd c. A.D. burial was found (Fig 2). It contained 10 intact and broken vessels, which include a trefoil-lipped oinochoe and part of a second one, 2 cooking pots, and 2 lamps.

The Γ-shaped farmstead attests to two periods of use, a Hellenistic and a Roman one (2^nd-3^rd c. A.D.) (Fig 3). Its west wing consists of four, adjoining rooms facing a central courtyard. The walls and the floors in the rooms point clearly to the building’s 2 phases of use. The rooms contained an amphora toe (2^nd-3^rd c. A.D.), amphora sherds, sherds from cooking pots, fragments from glass vessels, shells, bones, lead clamps, nails, obsidian blades and a coin (350 or 330 B.C.). The east wing of the farmstead consists of two rooms, which are interpreted as storerooms or stables. The rooms contained similar finds to those excavated from the west wing and numerous fragments from lamps. A pi-shaped drain ran in the courtyard. The farmstead’s entrance looked to the east, towards a large enclosure and another road (Fig 4). The enclosure contained storerooms dating in the Hellenistic period. Six large rooms and few smaller ones were excavated. One room was used for the storing of wine and another of oil. A third is identified as a small wine press, serving the needs in wine of the farmstead. Finally, the road adjacent to the enclosure attests to three phases of use. The earlier one is in the Geometric period, since this road appears to have crossed the aforementioned, excavated Geometric road.