PALLANTION - 2009

Pallantion. S. Fritzilas (ΛΘ’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports on results from a series of test trenches opened in connection with the management of Lake Takka, which extend for ca. 500m along the north-south axis of the ancient city on the lower plain. Archaic to Byzantine occupation was confirmed, with most pottery dating to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

A major part of the city wall (ca. 3.2m wide) was found 500m from the acropolis. Only the foundations are preserved (with cut-stone faces surrounding a rubble core): the superstructure was mud brick. At the north end lay the remains of a tower destroyed at the end of the fourth century BC and rebuilt slightly to the south. This likely followed the campaign of Polyperchon in the Peloponnese in 318, when Megalopolis was beseiged and Pallantion also fell. The city wall fell into disuse in Roman times: a Late Antique potter’s workshop was built over it, associated with a kiln, much pottery and masses of clay.

A 24m-long stretch of the central arterial cobbled road (3.6-4.2m wide, with wheel ruts) ran east-west, parallel to the city wall. Beside it was a Hellenistic public stoa - a Γ-shaped building with north and east wings forming an angle of the agora (the closed north wall faced onto the street). The north wing was 6.1m deep and at least 23m long (it continues beyond the expropriated area) no internal subdivisions. It had a compacted clay floor which bore evidence of the fire which destroyed it in Late Antiquity. On the north side were foundations for a staircase to an upper storey. Remains of the roof included stamped tiles (some marked ΔΑΜΟΣΙΟΣ with a similar stamp to that used in the reroofing of Temple C on the acropolis) and an acroterion. The main entrance to the stoa lay in the north part of the east side, with two subsidiary entrances to the north wing directly from the road. Marble spolia from the building were re-used in a paved surface in front of the colonnade.

A fifth- to fourth-century Archaic-Classical level was located at several points beneath the Hellenistic building, along with parts of five rooms from the north wing of a previous but similar stoa complex. The Hellenistic stoa complex was designed anew above its predecessor and did not reuse the earlier foundations. The Archaic-Classical complex was larger and built of better materials: the comparative decline in Hellenistic times may be attributed to a progressive reduction in the city’s manpower and resources following the foundation of Megalopolis, the conscription of its male citizens, and the sack of 318. Pottery from the later stoa complex dates from the late Classical to Late Roman periods: during this period, the use of the internal spaces of the east wing changed and in Roman times its colonnade was enclosed to create a new front room with a floor in opus spicatum.

Water management on the plain of Pallantion dates back to the Mycenaean period, with evidence of wells for irrigation, and management of sink-holes and of the waters of Lake Takka. Similar installations were found at several locations during rescue excavation for the construction of the Tripolis-Kalamata motorway. Significant stretches of the road south to Asea and Megalopolis were found at Kalogeriko and Dema, plus parts of its northern extension towards Mantineia on the plain close to Pallantion. Beside the arterial road were tombs of Pallantian citizens. Multiple surface levels confirm the road’s longevity. Close by and above it was a 37m-long stretch of bedding track for the transport of stone from the extraction sites using wooden pallets (chelones).