GERAKAS - 2007

Athens, Gerakas, Kentro, Gargettou St. (O.T. 689, property of S. Polydorou). D. Christodoulou (B’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports on the discovery of a Late Classical farmstead (Figs 1,2,3). Its walls have carefully laid stone foundations and mud-brick superstructure. Its floors are of beaten earth. A well was found in the courtyard. Two fragments from a stone sarcophagus had been used as construction material (Fig 4). The rooms were entered via the NE side of the courtyard. A structure is tentatively identified as a staircase. It is unclear whether there was a second floor. If there was one, then it only extended over part of the farmstead. A small, schematic figurine of a female form missing its head was found in the area identified as the staircase. Finds from one of the rooms include loom weights, sherds from plain ware and three shallow basins (one of which was found at the entrance of one of the rooms). The mouth of a pithos or a well was found in another room, which could have been the farmstead’s storeroom.

Two deposits were excavated north of the farmstead. They contained fragments from pithoi, lead clamps, loom weights, sherds from fine ware and plain ware, shells and charcoal. Some of the sherds are decorated with palmettes, lotus flowers, rosettes and other motifs. Two bronze coins with the head of Athena were found west of the deposits.

A structure for the containment of water was found near the farmstead. It consisted of two, parallel retaining walls. Few finds were excavated from between the walls, while numerous destruction layers were found outside of these. The destruction layers contained sherds from plain ware, basins, pointed amphorae, table ware and cooking pots.

Finally a pi-shaped structure was found. It could have been a deposit, since numerous pottery sherds were found in it (pointed amphorae, handles with stamps, sherds with comb decoration and an unguentarium with traces of black paint).