MEGARA - City wall - 2004

General Information

Record ID

2219

Activity Date

2004

Chronologies

Antiquity - Classical - Hellenistic

Keywords

Fortifications - Tomb - Figurine - Lamp - Numismatics - Dress and personal ornament

Type of Operation

Excavation - Rescue excavation

Institution

Γ' Εφορεία Προϊστορικών και Κλασικών Αρχαιοτήτων (Γ' ΕΠΚΑ)

Localisation / Geographical Information

Toponym
Megara

Linked Record

2004

Report

Megara, City wall. P. Avgerinou (Γ’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports on excavation on three plots.

Junction of 21 Evpalinou and an unnamed street (O.T. 436, property of Chr. Koliali). (Figs 1:1, 2). The 15.9m long stretch of the proteichisma of the ancient city walls was preserved to seven courses with a total height of 3.17m, and was built of blocks of grey limestone in the isodomic system.

At the eastern side of the property and in contact with the outer north face of the proteichisma, a stairway of nine steps was preserved to a height of 2.4m (Fig. 3).

The fill of the wall produced domestic pottery (amphorae, lekanes), while utilitarian closed vessels (an amphora, a black-glazed drinking vessel, and black-glazed skyphos sherds) collected from the foundation ditch of the wall dated the construction to the second half of the fourth century BC.

A cluster of five tombs was excavated 13m north of the proteichisma (Fig. 4), containing bodies laid supine.

1: a child burial in a white limestone sarcophagus with a kotyliskos of the first half of the fifth century BC;

2: an adult burial in a cist grave of shelly limestone slabs, without goods;

3: a cist grave of limestone slabs containing 11 adult burials and one enchytrismos, the last dating to the sixth century. Pottery included a black-figure kotyle. Two bronze fibulae were found with burial 7, and an iron ring with burial 4. South of this tomb were parts of a fifth-century standing peplophoros figurine;

4: a white limestone sarcophagus containing two children; burial 2 had two bronze earrings, three animal figurines, and a black-figure lekythos of the fifth century BC;

5: a white limestone sarcophagus containing three adults; burial 1 had a bronze coin and an amphora of the late fourth-early third century BC; the other graves had two kyathoi and a miniature lamp of the second half of the fourth century BC; outside the south side of the sarcophagus was a pit containing bones.

47 Evpalinou Street (O.T. 439, Tsoliakou property). (Figs 1:2, 5) The proteichisma of the ancient city wall, oriented east-west, is the continuation of that found on the property of Chr. Koliali on 21 Evpalinou street, 78.5m away. A 9.08m long stretch was revealed of greyish limestone isodomic masonry five courses (2.4m) high. At the north face of the west section of the wall was a flight of five steps (Figs 6,7). The fills contained Late Classical domestic pottery.

11.3m north of the proteichisma, a parallel wall (1) in the same stone, preserved to three courses, appears to be a side wall probably of the same date (Fig. 8).

1 Evpalinou Street (O.T. 227, property of A. Papathanasiou and E. Stratioti). (Fig. 1:3). Excavation for the construction of a service station storage tank revealed part of an Early Hellenistic wall oriented northwest-southeast, of rectangular limestone blocks founded in bedrock. Southwest of the wall, a significant number of fragments of limestone blocks come from a destroyed cist tomb or sarcophagus. Above it was a pyramidal limestone grave marker. The fill contained domestic and West Slope pottery of the third century BC, as well as large conical and pyramidal loomweights.

Author

Robert PITT

Bibliographic reference(s)

AD 56-59 (2001-2004) Chr., 297-302.