The British School at Athens December an institute for advanced research 2018 From the Director It is a great pleasure to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with this fourth issue of our newsletter offering up to date news of our activities to all who share our passion for study of the Hellenic world in all aspects and all periods. A year ago I wrote that ‘[t]he wall John Bennet (L) around our premises is a highly porous welcomes visitors, including HMA Kate membrane, through which many Smith (R) to the pass…’. At that time I could hardly have BSA as part of ‘The imagined that we would be looking British Open Day’ back on how that ‘porosity’ allowed 6,500 to visit our garden between Both these collaborations received are available to view on our recently mid-September and mid-November positive media coverage and raised the redesigned website. to experience the NEON organisation’s BSA’s profile here in Athens considerably. The website redesign is part of our City Project 2018 ‘Prosaic Origins’, an Alongside these events, our regular Development programme, about which exhibition of sculpture by Andreas programme in Athens and the UK there is more below, including a reminder­­ Lolis. The sense of loss generated by continued. One highlight for me was a of how to sign up to our new tiered sup- what now seem like empty spaces is performance at the BSA of the Odyssey — porter structure in effect from 1 January mitigated by the knowledge that a in two hours — by UK-based storytellers 2019. I offer warm thanks to all who have physical catalogue is in preparation as Hugh Lupton and Daniel Morden, part already chosen to continue their support a permanent memento. of a conference From Homer to Hatzi- at any of our three levels — Friends, The UK Embassy was our partner in Yavrouda — Aspects of oral narration Pendlebury or Director’s Circle — or, another collaboration that took place in the Greek tradition organised by indeed, have pledged a legacy and thus on 4 November: ‘The British Open Day’. the Danish Institute at Athens; the become members of our 1886 Society. Visitors signed up for guided tours of storytelling performance was made We hope you find this newsletter the Ambassador’s Residence, former possible through the generosity of BSA both enjoyable and informative. Please home of Eleftherios Venizelos, and the supporter Nicholas Petmezas. All our feed back reactions and suggestions to: BSA’s Upper House, Hostel and Library, events — past and future — are listed [email protected]. and Fitch Laboratory. at the end of this newsletter and many John Bennet BSA Fieldwork 2018 Archaeology remains an important aspect of the BSA’s activities and we were delighted to contribute two papers (by Fitch Laboratory Director, Evangelia Kiriatzi, and Knossos Curator, Kostis Christakis) to the recent conference Φιλό-ξενη Αρχαιολογία: Foreign Archaeological Schools and Institutes in Greece, organised by the Ministry of Culture and Sports as part of the celebration as the European Year of Cultural Heritage. The accompanying exhibition Moments from the Work of the Foreign Archaeological Schools in Greece, displayed in the Fetihiye Mosque, was also enriched by extensive material from the BSA’s Archive. This summer we again enjoyed lectures at Knossos in June, July and September on peripheral and palatial centres in prehistoric Crete, Catholic Map showing religious orders in Venetian Herakleion and locations the travels of Mercy Money-Coutts Seiradaki, of BSA while those in London in November heard Fieldwork an impressive lecture on recent finds from and Study 2018 the Thessaloniki Metro works. The British School at Athens 2018 – December Fieldwork continued in 2018 at Olynthos, which our major fieldwork took place Universities of Leicester, Liverpool, Dhaskalio and Kato Kouphonisi, Knossos — Dr Dimitris Athanasoulis (Cyclades), Michigan (Classics Department and and Koutroulou Magoula. There were also Dr Alexandra Charami (Boeotia), Mr Kelsey Museum), Oxford, UCL, McDonald study seasons for the Kenchreai Quarries Ioannis Kanonidis (Chalkidike & Mount Institute Cambridge, Cyprus Institute, Project, Knossos (KULP and Gypsades), Athos), Dr Konstantinos Kissas and Dr All Souls and Merton Colleges Oxford, Lefkandi, Mycenae and Palaikastro. Yiota Kassimi (Corinthia), Dr Efthymia Delmas Foundation, Gerda Henkel We are most grateful to Dr Maria Karantzali (Fthiotis & Evrytania), Dr Stiftung, Society of Antiquaries of London, Andreadaki-Vlazaki, Secretary General Vassiliki Sythiakaki (Hera kleion), Dr American Philosophical Society, EZ-dot, of the Ministry of Culture & Sports, Alkistis Papadimitriou (Argolid), Drs Pari Cosmote, A.G. Leventis Foundation, the Drs Eleni Korka and Polyxeni Adam- Kalamara and Angeliki Simosi (Euboea), Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Blue Star Veleni, successive Directors General of Mrs Evangelia Pantou (Laconia), Mrs Ferries, plus many private donations. Antiquities, and to Dr Elena Kountouri, Chryssa Sofianou (Lasithi), and Dr Stella Further information on these projects Director of Prehistoric & Classical Chrysoulaki (Piraeus & the Islands). will appear in Archaeology in Greece Antiquities, as well as to the numerous In addition we recognise the generous Online and Archaeological Reports, and colleagues in the Ministry who make financial support for projects from a wide we will report again on research and our archaeological work possible. In range of bodies, including: the Institute other activities of the Fitch Laboratory particular, we thank those in charge for Aegean Prehistory, Loeb Classical and the Knossos Research Centre in the of the Ephorates of Antiquities in Library Foundation, Brown University, June 2019 newsletter. entered from the street on Olynthos 2018 the south via corridor I, and space h is now identified as Bettina Tsigarida (Ephorate of Antiquities an andron, on the basis of its of Pella), Zosia Archibald (Liverpool) position and other features, and Lisa Nevett (Michigan) report on a although we have not located fifth season of this collaborative project a plaster or mosaic floor. seeking to recover a uniquely detailed The western boundary wall picture of Greek households as social of the house is very well and economic units, within their broader preserved with a well-built urban and regional settings. socle surviving to a height Goals for the 2018 season on the of at least five courses in North Hill were to continue investigation places, acting as a terrace to of house B ix 6, working towards retain the soil beneath the completely revealing its final occupation floors — at a higher level — of phase and investigating the range and neighbouring house B ix 4 to distribution of activities taking place the west. The southern edge there; re-opening of Test Trench 3 of the pastas roof can now be (TT03) in order to clarify the character of seen to have been supported activities along the northeast periphery by a series of three columns of the hill; and continued investigation or posts, for which square of the organisation of settlement and the lime stone bases survive. distribution of activities across the hill Within the B ix 6 pastas, through continued surface collection on traces of a north–south wall the eastern and southern parts of the hill running between the central not previously investigated. base and the south wall now The picture of the layout of house B ix appear to result from a re con- 6 in its final phase is now more coherent. figuration of this area after the Satellite image of the North and South hills, showing areas excavated in 2018. D. Stone As hypothesised in 2015, the house was original con struction, perhaps Sketch-plan and photomosaic of house B ix 6 at the end of the 2018 season. F. Stefanou/D. Stone 2 www.bsa.ac.uk The British School at Athens 2018 – December Left: Satellite photograph showing grid squares collected in 2018 in relation to those in previous years. D. Stone Right: Satellite photograph showing units collected in the Lower City in 2018 and in previous years. D. Stone seeking to accommodate an area with noted in 2014 with non-residential probably belonging to earlier buildings a considerable natural slope. The main activities, notably three beehives and a destroyed and re-used to fill the area. room of the oikos unit (f) can now be seen complete grinding stone with a lateral When this deposit was removed a semi- to have been entered from the pastas via a lead clamp still attached to one side. circular ash-like deposit came to light, doorway towards its western end. Within f Surface collections were carried out on an installation or hearth, dating to a rectangular structure of baked clay was a total of 80 30 × 30m grid squares (0.07 the Archaic period, before the Persian partially revealed, which may have been km2) on the hill. The material indicated destruction. Investigation of the pit used for some kind of manufacturing or dense settlement across the hill in showed that it was lined with stones and processing (the absence of ashes or signs Antiquity and the majority of the pottery was cut down into an earlier, larger pit, of burning suggests that it was not a was dated to the Classical period. itself cut down into deposits extending hearth). Finally, the flue (b) was apparently On the South Hill, work continued under the second paved street. not entered directly from f as no trace of a in trench TT23, started in 2017 to Beyond the confines of the archaeo- doorway was found in its west wall. investigate the potential date at which logical site field walking continued in One of the outstanding questions con- the grid was established. GPR data had 2018 over an area of 1.11 km2 (a total cerns the range of identifiable activities, indicated the existence of early deposits of 297 units) of the Lower City.