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Home , Acrocorinth, Acropolis, Ancient Corinth, Corinth, Lerna

ANCIENT : THE GYMNASIUM AREA Author(s): JAMES WISEMAN Source: Archaeology, Vol. 22, No. 3 (JUNE 1969), pp. 216-225 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41668000 Accessed: 07-07-2015 18:35 UTC

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This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions The land of Corinth steps up from the sea at Lechaeumin two plateausto the base of the moun- tain , .The of the cityin Roman times,and perhaps duringthe Greek pe- ANCIENT riod as well, lay on the upper plateauin a hollow between the hill of the archaic and the slopes of Acrocorinth.It is on this upper shelf, CORINTH and especiallyin and near the ancientagora , that excavationsfor the most part have been concen- THE GYMNASIUM AREA tratedsince 1896 when the AmericanSchool of Classical Studiesbegan workin Corinth. The only major excavationson the lower plateau before By JAMES WISEMAN 1965 involved the theater, at the south and near the ascent to the agora, and an area at the north edge wherethe Asklepieionand the Fountain of werediscovered. The tvall of the Classical and Hellenistic city ran along the northedge of the plateau in the vi- cinityof the fountainand, accordingto , who visited the cityin the second centuryafter Christ,the "Old Gymnasium"and a Temple of were nearby.Three columnbases visiblenot far to the southwestof Lerna had for manyyears been thoughtto be partof the gymnasium,and a low elevationjust west of Lerna, wherea number of Late Roman burials were discovered in the 1930's, has often been designated on Corinth " plans as the Hill of Zeus." Only a few test trenches,however, had been dug in earlieryears so thatlittle was known with precisionabout the greatexpanse betweenthe theaterand Lerna. The Universityof Texas, underthe auspices of the AmericanSchool of Classical Studies at Ath- ens, has been excavatingin a large area southand southwestof Lerna each summersince 1965. The main purposes of the excavationswere to deter- minethe natureof the buildingto whichthe three visible columnbases belonged,to locate the gym- nasium,and, in general,to clarifythe topography and historyof thisnorth district of the city. The new excavationshave been surprisingboth in the natureand varietyof some of the discov- eries, even while they have confirmedour sup- position concerningthe general location of the gymnasium.This account of some of the more GeneralPlan of Corinth,central area, showing the importantresults of the firstthree seasons is, of environsof the GymnasiumArea. See detailof course,tentative the completionof the GymnasiumArea on page218. CourtesyAmerican pending Schoolof Classical Studies at . excavationand studyof the entirearea. 216

This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Generalview of excavations. In the foreground appear the excavations inthe Gymnasium Area, in thecenter the Agora while Acrocorinth, theancient , dominates the scene.

Underlying almost the entirety of the gym- joins thesmall group of knownpatterned sauceboats. nasiumarea at Corinthis a deposit of the Early Architecturalremains of the EarlyHelladic period Helladic II Period (ca. 2500-2200 B.c.) when the have so far been scanty.Portions of two low stone- sauceboatwas the most characteristicceramic form. and-mudwall socleshave been discovered in addition The gymnasiumand otherlater constructions cut into to a large rectangularcutting in bedrockwhich may the EarlyHelladic layerand the generalthinness of oncehave been coveredby a house.It is a reasonable soil has contributedto the disturbanceof theseearly hypothesisthat this area was partof an EarlyBronze remains,but it has been possibleto dig a few small Age village that stretchedalong the edge of the areas of pure Early Helladic deposit.These areas plateauand lookedout on the Gulf of Corinthonly haveproduced quantities of potsherds,many of which a few kilometersto the north.Water was available havebeen mended into whole or nearlywhole vessels ; in hollows (such as Lerna) along the face of the obsidianand flintblades; terracottaloomweights and cliffbelow them or in wells,such as theEarly Helladic animal figurines;a veined marblecylinder and a wellfound some years ago furtherwest at Cheliotomy- claybutton seal withan intricatelinear design. One los. A naturalravine within the presentexcavation of the sauceboatshas a row of hatchedtriangles area, too, affordedeasy access to the fertilecoastal paintedon therim of its creamybuff interior and so plain. 217

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Detailedplan of the Gym- nasiumArea, Corinth.

Findsdating to the Greek Period of Corinthhave mousporos Doric building,almost certainly a temple. been widelyspread over the site.The supplytunnel Duringthe 1966 seasona largepart of the base for forLerna Reservoirs III-V crossesour excavationarea thetemple's central acroterion was recoveredfrom the and one of our taskshas been to excavatethe tunnel fourthmanhole. Cuttings for Corinthian are and its manholes.Work has progressednow to the preservedat thebottom of thevertical face requiring fifthmanhole, ca. Ill m. southwestof Lerna,and tiles0.731 m. wideand covertiles 0.279 m. wide. the main tunnelstill continuesto ascendin the di- rectionof Acrocorinthat whose base the fountain Bits and pieces of thetemple have appeared in every mayhave its source.The fifthmanhole, which was season. By the end of the 1967 season a total of clearedin 1967, is above a complicateddistribution thirteen guttae had been discoveredin variousparts area thatreflects the competenceof the buildersas of the site.A typicalgutta from a mutuleis 0.06 m. hydraulicengineers. The water coming from the high and has a maximumdiameter of 0.70 m. A southwest(Channel D) could be distributedamong numberof columnfragments (one flutewidth meas- threeseparate channels: Channel A, whichleads to ured 0.253 m.) appearedin 1966 and in the first ReservoirV ; ChannelC, whichproceeds to thenorth- seasonof excavationenough of a corniceblock was east witha floorat about the same level as thatof foundto enableus to restorethe entireblock and so ChannelsA and D; and ChannelB, whosefloor lies computethe interaxialspacing of the columns,4.74 1.41 meterslower than the floorof the manholeand m. The greatarchaic temple at Corinthhad a maxi- leads to the northwest.Both ChannelsB and C have muminteraxial spacing of only4.02 m. theirentrances partially blocked by stuccoedplaques The fragmentsof thecolumn and epistyleon which so thatthe waterin the tunnelnormally had to rise ProfessorW. B. Dinsmoor,of the AmericanSchool above the level of the block beforeeither channel of ClassicalStudies at Athens,based his reconstruction could be used. The plaque of ChannelB, however, of the "largesttemple in the Peloponnesos"(Hes- had a hole nearits bottom that, before it was plugged peria, SupplementVIII, 1948, 104-115) are built in antiquity,allowed water to enterthat channel even into a late Romanfortification wall withinthe area if the supplywas low. A "trap" in the formof a of our presentexcavations and we have had the hump0.40 m. highin ChannelA, ca. 7 m. beyondthe opportunityof enlargingthe old area of excavation manhole,caught the silt and debrisand allowedonly aboutthese fragments in orderto examinethem more the clearestwater to proceedto Lerna.The destina- closely.Professor Dinsmoor estimated an interaxial tionsof ChannelsB and C are stillto be investigated. spacingfor the temple of 5.438/5.773m. ; thefigure, In additionto muchpottery, especially of thefirst/ of course,is based mainlyon the restoredepistyle. secondcentury after Christ when the tunnelseems to All the materialhas not yet been assimilatedand have gone out of use, the excavationof the tunnel studied,but it does seem unlikelythat two such has producedsome importantfragments of an enor- enormoustemples would have been locatedin one 218

This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions An EarlyHelladic II sauceboatfrom the Gymna- siumArea at Corinth.The exterioris coveredwith the dark,slightly lustrous paint common during thisperiod, but the row of hatched triangles painted on its rimputs it witha smallgroup of known patternedsauceboats. A distributioncenter in the water supply system forthe Fountain of Lerna. (Corinth drawing, 662)

Partof theLate Romanfortification wall in whichfragments of a colossalDoric buildingwere reused.The enormousblock in the foregroundis an epistylefragment that was roundedin antiquity,per- hapsto enableit to be moreeasily moved to its new position.

Restoreddrawing of the soffit of a corniceblock from a large Doricbuilding. The cornice block permitted the computation ofthe interaxial spacing of the columns of this building. 219

This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions The "domedbuilding" from the north.An earlierstuccoed basin is visiblein the right foreground.

Doric columnin place on the stylobatenear the east end of Gymnasium.View fromnorth. 220

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PorosDoric capitals in thetrench of the rearwall of the South Stoa of the Gymnasium.

area and still have escaped commentin antiquity. The possibilitythat all the fragmentsare fromone buildingmust be considered.As yet,no traceof the foundationshas cometo lightand thelocation of the temple,or ,remains a mystery. The Hellenistic gymnasiumis also elusive.There is stilllittle more than probability on whichto base the suppositionthat the gymnasiumin Romantimes occupiedthe site of its predecessor.A circularde- pressionin the earththat was lined withwatertight stuccoand had beencut through by a buildingof the EarlyRoman period, may have constituteda shallow, communalbath for the earlierathletes as was sug- gestedin 1965. This large basin has a diameterof 2.57 m. and is 0.416 m. deep. A circularpit nearby mayhave beenused forthe heating of water,since it was filledwith several layers of burnedmaterial. But littleelse has beenfound to indicatea bathingestab- lishment,or an earlygymnasium. Betweenthe sack of Corinthin 146 B.c. and the refoundingof the cityas a Romancolony in 44 B.c. thereis no traceof lifeor deathin whatwe mightnow referto as the GymnasiumArea. Earlyin the new lifeof thecity some industrial works of a temporary naturewere established in thevicinity of thecircular, stuccoedbasin, and aboutA.D. 100 constructionon a large scale was begun. The buildingsincluded a domedstructure and an immensegymnasium complex. A massiverubble concrete foundation, ca. 5 m. thickon a cornerdiagonal, was laid for the domed buildingthat may have been part of a bath. The foundationsare nearlysquare on the exterior,14.8 X 15.6 m.,but circular on theinterior with a diameter offto the east. Also at thisend of the stoa the last of 11.4 m. The circularfloor area was paved with threeinterior columns (at least) wereconnected by a terracottatiles that are, for the mostpart, the same partitionwall. Thereis a shortereast stoa,examined as thebricks used withcement in theconstruction of so faronly by trialtrenches, that joins thesouth stoa the walls. The foundationeverywhere descends to at an acuteangle and runsnorth into the Asklepieion bedrockwhich, at the northwestcorner, was nearly area.The widthof thisstoa is aboutthe same as that twometers below floor level. of the southstoa and it, too, had an interiorrow of Onlyca. 1.5 m. northof the domedbuilding, and columnsand a waterchannel in frontof the steps. begunnot long afterits companion,is the southstoa The northstoa of the gymnasiummay be identified of thegymnasium. The stoafaced north, opening onto withwhat the excavatorsof the Asklepieionand the theexercise ground through a Doric colonnaderaised Fountainof Lernareferred to as the "RomanBuild- threesteps above a waterchannel whose courseis ing overthe Ramp,"though with some modification interruptedat intervalsby small settlingbasins. The of its description.The back wall of the northstoa stoa was 14.15 m. wide and had a row of interior wouldhave restedon thenorth wall of theramp that columns,only the bases for whichare preserved.It descendedto Lernafrom the Sanctuaryof Asklepios was threeof thesebases that, being visible, first drew and the interiorcolumns would have stood on the our attentionto the site. The floorof the stoa was southwall of the ramp.Partition walls withinthe probablyof earth. ramp,perhaps installed to help retainthe earthfill beneaththe floorof the stoa, were thickenedas At the east end of the southstoa a large under- buttressesagainst the south wall and markthe interval grounddrain carried the waterfrom the gymnasium of the interiorcolumns. The stylobateof the north

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stoawas probablyonly one stepabove the level of the courtyard.This is indicatedby the narrownessof its foundation,but mightbe expectedsince the ground risesto thenorth. The northstoa may have terminated abovethe entrance court to Lernawith some arrange- mentallowing access to thefountain below. The back wall of the east stoa would have been 94.5 m. longand thatof thesouth stoa at least158.0 m. The westend of thesouth stoa, however, is prob- lematic.The buildinggenerally is badlypreserved and was muchpillaged in antiquity,so thatconclusions aboutits natureare stilltentative. But thereare some indicationsthat the westend of the gymnasiumwas not completed.Capitals from the columnsof the façadeof the stoa were reusedin a late rubblewall built over part of the line of the back wall of the stoa.It is onlyat theeast end of thesouth stoa that a single column fragmentremains in place on the stylobate.

Late in the first century afterChrist, bronze workersmoved into the area. A greatpit was dugnear the west end of the gymnasiumsouth stoa and at least one bronzestatue of a drapedfigure was cast there.A vastnumber of themould fragments for the statuehave been foundalong withnumerous bronze patches,drippings and slag. Studyof this material should provide much new informationabout the techniqueof makinglarge bronze statues during the Partof a mouldin place in a bronzecasting pit. The large imperialperiod. crudebricks on theleft lined the interior face of the pit. The bronzecasting pit may be connectedwith a cisternand waterchannel network nearby that went outof use in thethird century after Christ. A building thathad a floorof terracottatiles and a long,narrow "tank" paved with diamond-shapedtiles is in the samearea and it, too,may have beenconnected with the bronzefoundry. The thinnessof soil, combined withthe extensivepillaging, has made it difficultto separatechronologically some of the later Roman buildingsin thearea. Most of the buildingsin the vicinitywere laid in ruinsduring the fourth century after Christ, probably in the earthquakesthat caused extensivedamage throughoutthe cityin A.D. 375. The threatof the invasionof theGoths under Alaric in A.D.395, how- ever,brought a dramaticand greaterchange to the area. The ruinedbuildings, and perhapseven some not previouslydestroyed, provided material for a hastilyconstructed wall, partlyalong the line of the southstoa, that was intendedto blockoff the ascentfrom the coastalplain to the plateauof the formergymnasium. It was intothis wall thatthe architecturalfragments that ProfessorDinsmoor at- Restoredperspective drawing of the east area tributedto the Doric werebuilt. The ofthe cemetery ofLerna Hollow. gigantic temple

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This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions A lekythosand jug fromGrave 81.

effortsof thedefenders, however, were in vain; Alaric suchlamps have been foundin theexcavation of the and hisarmy sacked the city. cemetery.The tombscut in bedrockexhibited also a varietyof form,one having steps in the entrance The old fortification wall, or at leastpart of it, shaft,another with three chambersopening from becamea segmentof the line thatmarked the south one verticalentrance. One of the long, rectangular limitof a vastburial ground that we havecome to call tombs,an ossuary,had sidesthat had beenbuilt up of the Lerna Hollow Cemetery.The earliestgraves in brickand mortarand coveredon the interiorwith a theGymnasium Area date to the end of the 4th cen- coarsebrown stucco. turyand it is temptingto supposethat they belong to The tile gravesoccasionally contained a or a thevictims of theGothic invasion. piece of bronzejewelry, while the more elaborate A numberof differenttypes of burialshave been tombsfrequently contained vases. There can be no discoveredduring the excavations.One of the most separationof the personsburied into Christiansand commonof theseis thetile grave, in whichLaconian paganson thebasis of funeralgifts, since crosses were rooftileswere stacked tent-like over the body and the foundetched on the stuccoof tombswith vases in ends closedeither with broken tiles or, occasionally, themand on one finejug, probablyof the early6th a fragmentfrom a largevase. Bodies in suchburials, century,there is an incised cross with the letters and almostall the skeletonsin whatevertype of "alpha" and "omega" framingthe leg. Tombstones sepulcherused in thiscemetery, were placed with their consistingof shortepitaphs carved on small marble feet to the east. Infantswere normallyburied in plaquesoften accompanied the burials, probably being coarse,brown amphoras. Other types of burialswere set into the stuccoof the mound. The lettersare long,rectangular tombs cut in the softbedrock and usuallyrudely cut and thewords often misspelled. coveredwith stone plaques, or rock-cutchamber tombs ProfessorJ. LawrenceAngel of the Smithsonian withan archedroof entered by narrow, vertical shafts. Institutionrecently examined thirty-three of the skele- Bothof thelatter types of tombswere used bothfor tons fromthe cemeteryand his findingsindicate, primaryburials or as ossuariesfor secondaryburials. amongother things, an interestingvariety of types. Manygraves of all typeswere found to have above One female,age ca. 55 years,whose tile gravewas thema semi-cylindricalmound of earth,covered with excavatedin 1965,has Negroidfacial features as does stucco.One area excavatedin 1967 was especially anotherfemale skull found in the same cemeteryin well-preservedand it becameclear during the excava- 1937 and also examinedby Professor Angel. tionthat visitors to thecemetery had oftenleft a small Two earthquakesand a plagueduring the first half terracottalamp, filled with oil and burning,sitting on of the sixthcentury nearly depopulated the cityand top or to the side of the grave mound.Numerous the cemeteryitself went out of use, partof the old

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This content downloaded from 128.83.205.78 on Tue, 07 Jul 2015 18:35:21 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions TheApsidal Building from the east. The rolled lead tablet was found in thesetting trench, part of which is visiblein the foreground.

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findshave comefrom it. A greatvariety of bothfine and coarsepottery types is representedand marble sculpturefragments have been found,including part of the head and mostof the rightarm of a youth, probablyan athlete.A lifesizeterracotta mask was also foundin the dump.The grotesquefeatures and plasticmodelling of the mask made it one of the moreexciting small finds of the1967 season. The apse is facedon the outside,towards the east, withlarge marble slabs that were reused from another, earliermonument, perhaps an exedra.A small test trenchrevealed that the setting trench for the marble blockswas cut into a pebble courtyardthat extends somedistance to the east.The few findssuggest that the buildingwas erectedin the late fourthor fifth centuryafter Christ. The settingtrench also yieldedwhat may prove to be one of themore significant finds of the season.A rolled lead tablet containingmany lines of tiny, cursiveGreek script had been tossedinto the setting trenchduring the buildingof the apse. Rolled lead tablets,pierced or unpierced,usually record curses and ourtablet may well do thesame. Such lead curses, however,are customarilyfound in wells that had Life-sizeterracotta mask found in gone out of use in antiquityand none,so faras I am thedebris over the Apsidal Building. aware,has everbefore been discoveredin the setting trenchof a building.Curse or not,we can reasonably thelead tablet to at leastsome wall thatfailed to hold Alaricfinally collapsing onto expect eventually yield the nearit. The areaof the was filled specificinformation about the curiousapsidal con- graves cemetery structionwith which it was found. in and levelledoff for planting in the yearsthat fol- lowed and no later buildingsof consequenceare known. Somewhatto thesouth of thebronze area foundry JamesWiseman was bornin NorthLittle Rock, Arkan- mentionedabove, a greatrefuse dump that probably sas in 193 1 He receiveda B.A. fromthe University of continuedin use until afterthe middleof the 6th Missouriand an M.A. and Ph.D. in ClassicalArchae- has century,covered an interestingapsidal constructionology from the University of Chicago.Since I960 he of theLate Roman The about0.7 been teachingat the Universityof Texas at Austin period. dumpitself, wherehe is now an AssociateProfessor. Since 1965 he and overan areasome 12 m. in m. deep spread length, has beenthe Directorof the Universityof Texas Ex- is of considerableinterest since a numberof significant cavationsin AncientCorinth, .

THE amanus region, turkey Highlights of the ByU. BahadirAlktm OCTOBER DOODLING AT ByRodney S.Young issue Of . _ , . _ _ _ _ , THE PRIMAPORTA STATUE OF AUGUSTUS,Part II ARCHAEOLOGY

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