ISTHMIA - 2013

Isthmia, sanctuary of Poseidon. E. Gebhard (ASCSA/Chicago) reports on continuing study.

Late Archaic and Classical Pottery (550-300 BC). Analysis of three main ceramic assemblages revealed their function in the sanctuary and patterns of change from the Early Iron Age to the Hellenistic period. Dedications were found primarily (1) in fills predating the fire of ca 460-450 BC within and around the Archaic Temple, (2) in terracing along the north side of the temple terrace, and (3) in the middle and upper levels of the Great Circular Reservoir. In the area of the Long Altar the decline in dedications and feasting-related pottery suggests an earlier change in ritual behavior, well before destruction of the Archaic Temple. The primary assemblages of vessels related to feasting which predate the fire were found at the bottom of the Great Circular Reservoir. Further material related to feasts came from two dining caves used in the late fifth and fourth centuries BC and from the sanctuary of Demeter in the Sacred Glen.

The Rachi Settlement. Details of house remains (beam holes, cut scarps, thresholds, steps, and drains) on the south side of the ridge indicate that occupation was more extensive than previously thought. While the settlement on top of the ridge is arranged on a linear plan, structures on the south slope were cut into the bedrock and accommodated to the contours and levels of the hillside as is more characteristic of a nucleated settlement. Comparison of the fourth- and third-century BC domestic pottery of the Rachi with that from the city of Corinth showed a higher proportion of vessels made outside Corinth, particularly non-Attic and non-Corinthian black glazed table wares, perhaps reflecting the location of the settlement on the Isthmus. For example, the canteen, a very unusual ceramic shape, is present in the settlement in three different shapes, each made in a different fabric.