Megara - 2010

Megara, Agia Laura Street (O.T. 243, plot of I. Valta). Maria Tsichli (Γ ΕΠΚΑ) reports on the excavation of an underground storage area (the ‘Megaron’), comprising rectangular units (Fig. 1 and 2) supported by four walls (Fig. 3). The initial phase of construction dates to the second half of the fourth century B.C., and the second (including repair of Walls 3 and 4) dates to the 3^rd-1^st centuries B.C. Pottery and finds from the area indicate continued use from the early Hellenistic period to early Roman times (2^nd half of the 4^th century B.C. to early 1^st century AD), after which the area was abandoned owing to fire.

From inside the basement a large number of sherds were collected, mainly from unpainted ceramics: lekanes, amphoras, oinchoiae, pointed toe amphoras, and jugs dating to the 2^nd and 1^st centuries B.C.; shallow earthen mortars, and black-figure skypoi and kantharoi of the mid 2^nd century and early 1^st century B.C.; kantharoi with geometric designs and masks of the mid 3^rd century B.C.; plaques with red glaze from the last quarter of the fourth century B.C and some of the later 2^nd century B.C.; loom weights of the 3^rd century B.C.; lamps from the 4^th century B.C. through the 1^st century B.C. and 1^st century A.D., some with stamped bases; coins of the 3^rd and 2^nd centuries B.C.; and a few seashells. A headless relief plaque of Cybele found here (Fig. 4) indicates that the basement was not just for storage, but also for ritual activity.