ATHENS - Hill of the Nymphs - 2000

The Sanctuary of the Nymphs has long been known from a rupestral inscription near the Athens Observatory: hιερὸν Νυμφ[ῶ]ν Δέμο (IG I³ 1065). M. Dourou (Α’ ΕΠΚΑ) reports that excavations in 2000 on the summit of the Hill of the Nymphs revealed further evidence here for the cult. Two votive deposits at the southwest of the sanctuary were investigated within cuttings in the rock. Deposit I contained around 800 fragments of pots, and many bird figurines, while the surrounding area also produced numerous votives from the end of the Geometric to the fifth century BC. Further north, clearing the area around the inscription revealed three rectangular cuttings for dedicatory stelai, and another rectangular hole possibly for a small altar; the fill of the area contained Archaic to Byzantine pottery. Deposit II (2.1m long, 1.2m wide, and 1.13m deep) contained figurines and pottery, tiles, and animal bones (mainly birds and goats). Pottery consisted mainly of skyphoi, kotyloi, phialai, kylikes, oinochoai, lekythoi, plates, and domestic vessels such as chytrai, lekanai and amphorae. The largest volume of pottery dates between the second half of the 6th century until 480BC.
350 mould-made figurines represented at least 150 different types, many with traces of burning: seated female figures, characteristic of Attic workshops, standing female figurines of the Acropolis Korai types (end of 6th century to 460BC), and fragments of a handmade circular base for dancing figurines of the 6th century. One fissure in the rock near the deposit contained a quantity of sea shells (cerithium vulgatum) used by fishermen as bait, and commonly offered in shrines of the Nymphs. Microscopic study of organic material revealed leather and fabrics which had accompanied the offerings.

A new inscription was discovered 1.5m southwest of Deposit II: [..]ΝΕΙΔΟΝ. The Attic letters date around the middle of the 5th century BC and could be the name of a genos, perhaps ΚΟΝΕΙΔΟΝ for Κονειδών.