Excavations were carried out in the Athenian Agora from June 10 to August 2, 2002, with a team of up to 34 students and six supervisors, supplemented by an indoor staff of fifteen individuals (see group photo). Work was conducted in three areas: at the northwest corner of the Agora (Sections BE and BΖ), along the Panathenaic Way (Section Σ), and just south of the Eleusinion on the northern slopes of the Acropolis (Section ΕΛ). The project is part of the ongoing excavations of the Athenian Agora by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, in collaboration with the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI).

Section BΖ

In the northwest corner we continued down, exploring the transition between the 10th/11th AD Byzantine settlement and the late Roman remains which underlie it. Most of the features of the Medieval settlement had been known, but our understanding of several was refined by this season's work. The large plastered cistern found last season (J 2:20) was dismantled and proved to have been lined with mud-bricks, and a paved platform was encountered around the mouth of well (J 2:18) in Room B. A large coarse-ware jar buried under the floor in the corner of Room D contained the skeletal remains of an infant (J 1:4). The Byzantine walls, made of assorted stones and tiles set in mud, have a fair admixture of ancient material built in, including some very large blocks. Several of the marbles, though fragmentary, clearly come from funerary monuments (columnar grave monuments, sarcophagus lids, grave reliefs), which must have been brought in from beyond the city walls, some 500 meters to the northwest.

A large coarse-ware jar buried under the floor in the corner of Room D.

Terracotta water channel and large rectangular settling basin.

Three terracotta figurines.

A mould for an alpha-globule lamp.

The late Roman walls, recognizable from their lower levels and the use of a lime mortar, should tie in with similar walls found to the southeast. Thus far no clear plan or obvious function has been identified for the Roman remains, though a terracotta water channel and large rectangular settling basin were found in what should be a courtyard around well J 2:18, which seems to have been in use in both the Roman and Byzantine phases. Floor levels, thresholds, and the well all seem to fall fairly consistently between 53.25 and 53.75 masl for the latest Roman floors. An assortment of small terracottas was found in the area, both reliefs and figurines; similar pieces, dating from early Hellenistic to late Roman times, have been a common find in the immediately adjacent area. A mould for an alpha-globule lamp (ca 100 AD) was also encountered, but generally there are no signs of kilns or other industrial activity which would suggest that the material was actually being made in the vicinity.

Marble Head.

A late Roman pit in the area produced one of the more interesting finds of the season, the marble head of a long-haired, heavily bearded individual wearing a rolled and twisted fillet ornamented with some sort of central medallion or jewel. Such fillets are often interpreted as indicating that the individual depicted is a priest, though the unusually long locks and somewhat idealized features perhaps suggest that we are dealing here with a deity or barbarian, rather than a portrait. The carved pupils of the eyes and the deep drilling of the hair indicate that we are fairly far along in the Roman period for the date of the piece.

Section BE

In the adjacent area we explored various levels in, around, and under the Classical Commercial Building. This section was most directly affected by the torrential downpour on Monday July 8th, causing us to alter our plans for the season somewhat. Thirteen centimeters of rain fell in about 2 hours, leaving this trench under as much as two feet of water until Craig Mauzy resurrected our overworked pumps. The fill under a pedestaled wall became completely saturated, causing the wall above to collapse.

Skeleton AA 362a.

Despite these difficulties, a round shaft lying under the south wall of the Classical Commercial Building was partially excavated. It seems to be a well (J 3:8), dating to the Protogeometric or early Geometric period (ca. 1000-900 BC) making it the earliest evidence of habitation in this area north of the Eridanos River. In the upper part of the well we encountered the well-preserved skeleton of a robust young man, loosely flexed, lying on his right side. A preliminary analysis of the bones by Professor Maria Liston suggests that he was 30-35 years old, muscular, and must have suffered from severe back pain. The pose and the full complement of bones in their correct relative position suggest that the burial was intended rather than accidental and that after its collapse and/or abandonment the upper part of the well was deliberately used as a grave (J 3:9). We reached a depth of about 2 meters, at which point the regular collapse of soft, saturated bedrock from the sides of the shaft persuaded us to cease operations.

Panathenaic Way

A small trial trench was opened up along the east side of the Panathenaic Way, to the west of the bema in front of the Stoa of Attalos. Earlier excavations in the area had been carried down to the late Roman levels, but not earlier. It is clear that the width and course of the road varied somewhat over the centuries. The southwest side of the street is well defined in the Hellenistic and Roman periods by a handsome stone gutter, but the northeast edge is generally far less well defined. In places the maximum width of the road can be measured where it is limited on either side by buildings, but its full width has not been determined where it passes through the open square. We hoped to find the ancient shoulder and therefore the edge of the road, and several hard-packed surfaces were encountered, though further digging will be necessary before we can confidently restore the width and history of the Panathenaic Way, the major street of Athens, its main processional way, and the training-ground for the cavalry.

Eleusinion

Work continued also in the area just south of and uphill from the Eleusinion. Here the depth of fill has left almost no surviving architectural remains, and our understanding of the use of the area in antiquity (residential, sacred, industrial?) will probably have to come from wells, cisterns, and/or other deposits in pits in the bedrock. This season we excavated more of a well first encountered last season, though we have not yet reached the bottom. It was 1.15 m. in diameter and over 12 meters deep, cut through hard bedrock and unlined. The fill seems to date late 6th/early 5th BC and produced a bronze measure for dry goods, the skeletons of several dogs, a fair number of loom weights, assorted fragments of painted pottery, and the palmette finials of a stone altar.

Palmette finials of a stone altar.

Black Figure pottery sherd.

Scraping bedrock also resulted in the surprise of the season: a handsome, well-preserved, marble portrait head, apparently of a priest (cf. Portrait of an Imperial Priest). The portrait is life-size, showing a male with abundant curly hair and a light beard. On his head he wears an elaborate diadem or crown, decorated with eight small busts, either cuirassed or togate. Such crowns, adorned with busts, are usually interpreted as an indication that the individual was a priest, most often of the imperial cult. A fair number of examples are known from Asia Minor, but few if any from Greece. In all, some 21 examples are known, dating from the 1st to the 4th centuries AD, with more than one example reported from Ephesos, Aphrodisias, and Perge. They are worn by both priests and priestesses, on both busts and full statues; at least some are adorned with deities and may not be for imperial cult. The number of busts varies considerably, from as few as one to as many as fifteen. In addition to the 21 examples of portraits wearing such crowns, they appear in another 55 instances on coins, sculpted reliefs, and the like, again almost exclusively in Asia Minor. The appearance of such a rare, substantial, and well-preserved example from Athens is therefore noteworthy.

Marble Portrait Head.

Small bust from diadem.

While many of the known examples combine both members of the imperial family and deities, the new portrait seems to portray all mortals, increasing the probability that he is in fact a priest of the imperial cult. It is unclear whether the busts represent a single generation of the imperial family or the lineal descent through eight generations, or a combination of the two. The absence of any female figures perhaps suggests the busts are arranged dynastically rather than as a family group. The figures are small but relatively well cut and detailed. All the heads seem to be bearded; the fourth figure from the left has a round object decorating the center of his cuirass, apparently a gorgoneion. The appearance of the device should help further to date the piece. The gorgoneion appears on the cuirass of the large imago clipeata in the pediment of the outer propylon at Eleusis (often identified as Marcus Aurelius), on several marble portraits of Marcus Aurelius, and on a gold bust of Septimius Severus found at Plotinoupolis in 1965, now in the Komotini museum. Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Commodus all had particularly close ties with Athens, and it is perhaps to within their reigns in the late 2nd century AD that we should date this portrait of a priest of the imperial cult. The piece shows signs of obvious reworking in the area of the beard, suggesting the portrait was recut to serve as the likeness of a second individual, presumably in the 3rd century AD.

We anticipate that next season will see the continuation of excavation in all these areas. We also plan on opening up a new area to the east, where we have acquired a building which should be ready for demolition in a matter of weeks. Other properties overlying the Painted Stoa are in the process of expropriation. In the Stoa of Attalos we continue to make good progress in making the Agora archives available electronically, and we have completed most of the transfer of the metals to our new climate-controlled storage facility.

John McK. Camp II
August 2002