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"Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Sarah Lima (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","Corinth","","Report","","","","During the second and third sessions of the 2008 season at Corinth, a contingent of Team Green excavated to the W of a 1960s-excavated courtyard within the greater area of North of Nezi. The area of excavation initially consisted of a rectangular space, roughly 6.0 x 9.0 m, bounded by four walls and subdivided by two smaller walls. The coordinates for this space fell between 1030 and1039 N, and 260 and 266 E on the Nezi gridding system. During the last week, the excavated area was expanded as far as 267 E.  The work team consisted of Billy Papanikolao (pickman), Vasilis Kollias (barrow man between 10.05.08 and 06.06.08), and Andreas Oikonomou (barrow man between 06.06.08 and 06.12.08). Alicia Carter and Guy Sanders oversaw the excavations.  ; ; History of Excavation; ; Corinth notebooks relate the extent of 1960s excavation activity in this area, which the excavators referred to as the western limits of the “1961 house.” Charles Williams (NB 253 from 1963) describes the northern and western walls bounding the space, noting that their deepest foundations appear to be Late Roman (Wall nos. 3 and 4, descriptions pp. 23, 26-27, and 29; drawn on pp. 10, 23, 16, 129). Williams also described uncovering the top of an E-W running wall that he called “Wall 6.” The foundations of a wall just to the N of Wall 6 were already visible to Williams when he was excavating, and that was given the name “Wall 5.” He excavated a deep deposit consisting of ash, carbon, mudbrick, plaster, and tiles on edge in the narrow space between the two walls, and speculated that this might represent foundations for a staircase. 2008 excavations around Walls 5 and 6 demonstrated that Wall 5, although truncated, continues eastward, and that the foundations of Wall 6 probably cut a surface much higher than where they rested when we began excavating. These observations make it more likely that the walls represent different phases of dividing the room(s) west of the courtyard, rather than a staircase. ; ; Each of the previously mentioned walls has been given a new number during the course of the 2008 excavations. The concordances between these numbers are: ; ; Wall 3, also given a 1960s number of Wall 58 (E-W wall bounding rooms to N, continues eastward from W limit at roughly 259 E) = Wall 5562; Wall 4 (N-S wall bounding rooms to W, runs from ca. 1039 to 1029 N = Wall 5724; Wall 5 (E-W wall abutting E facing section of Wall 5724, truncated to E) = Foundations: 5604, Wall Superstructure: 5603/5638; Wall 6 (E-W wall ostensibly bonding with Wall 5724, robbed out to E) = Wall 5725; ; The 1960s excavations were also responsible for the excavation of two pits within this space. One lay to the S of Wall 5725, and may have been discovered while excavators were attempting to locate the wall’s lowest limits. The other was located in the very SW corner of the area excavated in 2008, near the junction of Wall 5724 and the E-W wall running across the S limit of the room. This southern E-W wall does not appear to have a structure number corresponding to 1960s or 2008 excavations. This pit was excavated to the level of 84.80, which marks the top of a large cornerstone for an Ottoman building to the W. The construction of the Ottoman wall truncated part of Wall 5724. It is likely that 1960s excavators stopped when they reached the hard cornerstone and did not continue excavating within that space. ; ; 1960s excavations also identified a robbing trench for a large N-S running wall forming an eastern boundary between the courtyard to the E and its associated western room(s). That wall was labeled Wall 71; in 2008, the robbed wall was also given a number of 5473. The first top plan of this area for 2008 demonstrates the location and shape of each of the features described above, along with their elevations. ; ; The phasing of the walls begins with Wall 5562 and Wall 5724 which are demonstrably the earliest based on the depths of their foundations. Wall 5724 also has spatial and stratigraphic relationships with two other E-W walls to the W and N of the courtyard: Wall 5603/5638 (foundations = 5604), and Wall 5725. Wall 5725 appears to bond with Wall 5724 in multiple construction phases, making them contemporary. On the other hand, Wall 5603/5638 is a later reuse of a later foundation event, of which the upper limits do not survive. The robbing trench of Wall 5725 also has a relationship with the robbing trench of Wall 5473. Since the robbing trench of the E-W wall 5725 lies beneath the robbing trench of the N-S wall 5473, we surmise that Wall 5725 must have been robbed well before Wall 5473 was installed. ; ; Late Byzantine; ; Late Byzantine levels were excavated beneath Frankish fill just to the west of the junction between Wall 5562 and Wall 5473, and in the foundation trenches for Walls 5725 and 5724. These levels began at an elevation of approximately 84.85-84.99 to the S (fill 5768), and at an elevation of 84.75 to the N (top of foundation trench fill 5727, fill 5830).; ; The earliest features excavated during this season were the foundation trenches for N-S wall 5724 and E-W wall 5725. Because the walls appear to bond both at upper and lower levels, we expected to find a similar date for both foundation trenches. This proved to be the case, since the foundation trench cuts for Wall 5725 and Wall 5724 cut fill levels with dates in the first half of the 12th century (fills 5727 and 5768, respectively). Within the foundation trench of Wall 5724, a nearly complete jug and two-handled storage jar were recovered, possibly as an intentional foundation deposit within fill 5686. Unfortunately, the overlying levels 5547 and 5509 yielded pottery dating to the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, so the resolution of when the walls were definitively constructed remains rather coarse, within the range of early 12th-late 13th century.  ; ; When lower levels of Walls 5724 and 5725 were revealed during the excavation of the foundation trenches, it became apparent that each one has at least two phases of construction. The excavation of fill 5770 within the foundation trench for Wall 5724 revealed a change in soil strata that corresponded with a visible difference in the appearance of the wall coursing. If the foundation trench fill 5770 represents fill of a second lower foundation trench, then the earlier building event can be dated by a coin to 969-1030 or later. Further excavation is necessary to establish whether the lower level reached in the excavation of fill 5770 actually represents a foundation trench, since it would clearly cut a lower surface than the plastered surface exposed to the E of Wall 5724 at the end of excavations.; ; There also appears to be a robbing event that is Late Byzantine in date. The N-S oriented Robbing Trench 5791 runs from just S of the E-W Wall 5562 to a point where it meets with the robbed out section of E-W Wall 5725, at ca. 1035 N by 265 E. It underlies levels dated to the 12th century (5786), as well as one level dating to the 14th century (5586). The terminus post quem for its construction is context 5830, which dates based on coinage to 1140-1170. The rough terminus post quem from the fills yields dates in the early 12th century (fills 5790, 5840, and 5844). Although it cannot be definitively demonstrated that this robbing event took place during the 12th century as opposed to the 14th century, the dates from the fills seem to point primarily in that direction. The question of whether this is actually a robbing trench also remains open for discussion. The trench is thin, approximately 0.50 m wide, and runs alongside and over a series of small cobbles and tiles set into a line—possibly part of the unrobbed wall. This does appear to be somewhat unusual as a robbing event, though, since it seems more likely that they would have exposed the whole of the top of the wall. Further exploration to the E of the robbing trench as it exists now could be desirable for confirming or disproving the line that we have identified; it may instead represent a continuation of a debris surface that was exposed by Jody Cundy and Megan Thompsen their excavations in the room to the N of the 1960s courtyard. If we have identified a Late Byzantine robbing event of a N-S wall, then a shape emerges of a long rectangular room, bordered by Walls 5562, 5724, a robbed out N-S wall of cobble-tile construction (evidenced by Robbing Trench 5791), and probably also E-W cross wall 5725, which bonds with Wall 5724. The question of how the N room would have been accessed remains in question. ; ; It appears that this area once rested on a higher level than the open space to the E, since we have a difference of elevations at which use surfaces occur. In the courtyard to the E, there is a pebbled surface that appears to be truncated by some kind of division, since the pebbled surface does not occur within the area to the W. Instead, we have identified Late Byzantine foundation trenches cut into a level of Byzantine fill stratified above a plastered floor surface- the only surface that we definitively identified during the course of our excavations in this area. Note: this surface was not excavated in the 2008 season.; ; ; Frankish; ; Frankish periods are well represented to the W of the courtyard. Contexts with Frankish pottery occur between elevations from 85.62 (fill 5581) to ca. 84.55 to the N (contexts 5581, 5583, 5837, 5644), and relatively consistently between 84.95 (fills 5667, 5646; 5509 overlies and is still higher) and 84.55 to the S (fill 5744).; ; During this period, it appears that Wall 5725 was still in place, dividing the room into two halves. The N-S running wall that was robbed during the Late Byzantine period (Robbing Trench 5791) may or may not have been replaced at this time, which would leave the room open to the E. The date of the construction of Wall 5473 remains in question, but it probably would have replaced the earlier robbed wall. ; ; In the southern of the two western rooms, two pits were excavated. Pit cut 5767 was created at least as late as the mid 12th century (cutting fill 5768), and was filled in at least as late as the 2nd quarter of the 13th century (filled by 5754). It is SW in orientation, irregular in shape, and appears to have been truncated by the NE cornerstone of the Ottoman house to the W. Pit cut 5723 was excavated and filled in by the mid 13th century. It underlies fill 5667, which gives a terminus ante quem of mid-13th century for its filling; but the surface which the pit cuts (i.e., the plastered floor surface) has not yet been excavated, and refine the dating of this feature. Although these pits have been included in the summary of the Frankish period, it is possible that both of them are actually Late Byzantine in date. A great many features depend on their relationship with the white plastered floor surface, unexcavated as of 13.06.08. ; ; It would appear that during the 13th century, significant leveling activity took place in the room to the N of wall 5725. Several strata consisting of reddish brown fill with tiles were excavated from the area (contexts 5500, 5503, 5513, and 5494). These contexts lay at similar elevations, and reflect a late filling event that may have been associated with a change in function for the room. ; ; A pit was cut into these dumped fills (pit cut = 5498), and it then underwent subsequent filling activity that consisted of the dumping of various strata of debris and construction material inside of the pit (contexts 5516, 5497, 5491, 5481). Additionally, a stratum with a hard, white plaster consistency was deposited within the pit and spread across the majority of the room toward the E (contexts 5499, 5512, and 5537). All of these contexts have been dated to the last quarter of the 13th century and may represent a single filling event, utilizing different kinds of material.  Much later, perhaps as late as the 18th century, pit cut 5498 appears to have been utilized in the construction of a small wall spur (#5478), as a depression for setting the stones. ; ; Pit cut 5717 lay beneath the bottom boundary of 5498, making it the earlier of the two cuts; but the fact that it is filled by two Late 13th century fills must place its terminus of use not long before the construction of 5498. Since the surface that it cuts has not yet been excavated, it is impossible to say how long it has been in use. The fact that a pit was cut twice into the same location in spite of significant filling events suggests that it could be an important feature for establishing how this area functioned during the Frankish period. Three levels of mixed fill lay between the two cuts (5723, 5727, and 5744), one of which contained a gold ring of Roman date. The pit cut also truncates a small E-W wall spur (Wall #5875), which bonds with the highest courses of Wall 5724. This structure only continues for approximately 1.0 m, and its original extent may be revealed by further excavation, since we had not identified its bottom course as of the end of the 2008 season.; ; Fill 5723 also partially covered the Wall Foundations 5604, which lay beneath Wall 5603/5638. However, it is thought by the director that the foundations 5604 were originally cut into a much higher, later stratum. If they do actually underlie fill 5723, then their terminus ante quem is 1260 +/- 10. The cobble fill was also ostensibly overlain by cleaning pass 5547, which yielded pottery of the 3rd quarter of the 13th c. Even if we successfully determine the date of the foundations, it is nearly impossible to say what the date is for Wall 5603/5638, since there is no matrix of soil around the stones and their construction is definitely different from the cobbles of Wall 5604.; If these walls are Frankish, then their truncation must also be explained, as well as their function in a room where there was already an E-W dividing wall ( Wall 5725) in place. ; ;  A well was constructed in the N room during the second half of the 13th century. Unfortunately, the boundary for the top of the well cut was diffuse, making it difficult to definitively establish the time after which it was constructed. Although the director has speculated about a later level for the cut, I propose that the well was dug into fill deposit 5513, which has been dated to the 13th century. We know that the well was out of use and filled in by the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, since it is overlain by dumped fill 5512. Only a single layer of fill was excavated from the well, but there is more remaining if further excavation of that area makes further access practicable. ; ; In the S room, we uncovered what appeared to be a robbing trench for a N-S wall (Cut 5859). This robbing trench is oriented slightly differently from robbing trench 5791 in the N room, which dates to an earlier period. From the stratum that trench 5859 cuts (fill 5744), we know that it was created after the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. Overlying contexts 5735 and 5801 establish a terminus ante quem of 4th quarter of the 13th century for the robbing event. The trench is rather irregularly shaped and its limits were diffuse when we were first attempting to identify its path. In particular, we were puzzled by the fact that the trench did not appear to continue southward further than 1.5 m. If a wall did exist along that line, it does not appear to have been an extensive one. We are continuing to explore the potential boundaries of this wall to the S of cut 5859 (e.g., context 5870), and the possibility exists that its limits may be different from what we have currently identified. ; ; Dividing wall 5725 was also robbed (cut 5546) after the 3rd quarter of the 13th century and before the 4th quarter of the 13th century, if it is safe to assume that the trench was filled around the same time that it was cut. The wall was robbed to the E of where it intersected with both of the two aforementioned robbing trenches (5791 and 5859). The result was a truncation of the remaining exposed E-W running wall section, which remained in place between ca. 261-264.50 E. Therefore, the area to the W of the courtyard would have remained partially divided between N and S after the robbing. The robbing trench 5546 underlies the bottom of the robbing trench for Wall 5473, which presumably also means that the foundation event for Wall 5473 postdates the robbing of wall 5725. It remains in question to what extent these western room(s) were divided from the courtyard during the second half of the 13th century.  ;  ; Yet another robbing pit (cut 5719) was created to the E of Wall 5725 during the last quarter of the 13th century, probably for the purpose of robbing the lowest stones of the wall. It truncates robbing trenches 5791, 5546, and 5859, making it the latest of all four robbing events. There still remains some of this context to be excavated, since the boundary of the cut was diffuse where it overlay the wall 5725, and it was uncertain which strata belonged with the robbing event 5546 and which belonged with the later robbing pit (5719).; ; To the S, we explored the martyr of robbing trench 5893 (i.e., the robbing event of wall 5473). Our goal in examining the line of Wall 5493 was to determine where its W limits lay, so that we might be able to definitively determine whether or not there was ever a full length N-S predecessor further to the W that could have truncated wall 5725. While exploring the robbing trench fill, we also uncovered a foundation trench (#5894) for a later wall spur installation that cut into it. Since we know that the terminus post quem for the robbing event was 4th quarter of the 13th century at least (based on the fact that it overlies the robbing trench 5546 for E-W wall 5725), we also know that the foundation of the small wall spur must postdate that period. ; ; Conclusion; ; Excavation within the area to the W of the 1960s-excavated courtyard revealed Late Byzantine and Frankish construction events that indicate a consistent division of the space into N and S rooms. What remains unclear is whether those rooms were entirely separate and divided from each other, or whether access was readily available between them. According to the data set that we currently possess, it seems most feasible that Wall 5725 existed as a continuous E-W wall during the 12th century, dividing an area consisting of Wall 5562 to the N, Wall 5724 to the W, and another E-W wall to the S. There may or may not also have been a small N-S wall dividing the room to the N from the courtyard and the S room that was removed at this time, depending on how the evidence for robbing trench 5791 is interpreted; if it is regarded as a continuation of the tile deposit visible to the E, then that entire N area should be regarded as a continuous unit stretching from E-W. ; ; These walls may also have Middle Byzantine predecessors, but that question cannot be answered without further excavation below currently exposed levels. The presence of Middle Byzantine pottery within foundation trench fill pairing with a different kind of wall construction along similar lines (Wall 5724, fill 5770) suggests that this is at least a possibility. ; ; The Frankish period seems to have divided the courtyard space from the western space by robbing out Wall 5725 and installing a N-S running wall - possibly one that lay where putative robbing trench 5859 is located. The presence of a new N-S wall would explain the truncation of the E-W wall and the high elevation of Frankish fills within the W rooms. However, we have yet to locate an extensive N-S wall (or robbing event thereof) that would have functioned in this capacity.; ; ; ; ; I. Lotting registry; ; contexts saved: ; # 5481: fill of pit cut 5498, subpacking of wall 5478 (Frankish, 1300 +/- 10); # 5491: fill of pit cut 5498, subpacking of wall 5478 (Frankish, 1270-1280); # 5497: fill of pit cut 5498, subpacking of wall 5478  (Frankish, late 13th century); # 5499: Plaster pit lining (Frankish, 1280 +/- 10); # 5500: Stratum cut by pit 5498 (fourth quarter of the 13th); # 5547:  Fill between walls 5604/5603/5638 and wall 5725 (third quarter of the 13th); ; partial saves: ; # 5503: stratum cut by pit 5498 (fourth quarter of the 13th, needs final weights and counts); # 5512: plaster fill (third quarter of the 13th, needs final weights and counts); # 5516: clayey pit fill (c. 1300, needs final weights and counts); # 5667: fill cut by pit 5723 (mid 13th, needs final weights and counts); # 5675: fill of pit 5723 (mid 13th, needs final weights and counts); # 5686: fill of foundation trench 5718 for wall 5724 (early 12th, 1120 +/- 10); # 5703: fill of robbing cut 5719 (fourth quarter of the 13th, mini lot with 5708, frankish and loomweight held); # 5708: fill of robbing cut 5719 (fourth quarter of the 13th, mini lot with 5703); # 5735: dumped fill to W of 1960s excavated courtyard (fourth quarter of the 13th, needs final weights and counts); #5754:  stony fill within pit cut 5667 (second quarter of the 13th); (# 5778: soft fill within robbing trench 5791 (third quarter of the 13th, glaze ware held for lotting with 5798); # 5798: fill within robbing trench 5859 (fourth quarter of the 13th, saved for lotting with 5778); # 5870: fill to W of 1960s excavated courtyard (late 13th); # 5604: fill within cobble wall foundations; ; saved for mending: ; # 5558: fill covering and filling well 5806 (Frankish, mid-13th c.); ; ; II. Lotting groups for relevant features (saved contexts bolded) ; ; Pit cut 5498; 4th quarter of the 13th c., out of use by 1300; TPQs for construction: cuts 5503 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); 5513 (13th c., pottery); 5500 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); TPQs for filling events: 5516 (1300, pottery), 5499 (1280 +/- 10, pottery), 5497 (late 13th, NPD, pottery), 5491 (1270-1289), 5481 (1300 +/- 10, pottery); TAQs: overlying contexts unknown.; ; Pit cut 5717; 4th quarter of the 13th century; TAQ/TPQ: Underlies and is filled by 5627 (late, 13th, pottery); TPQ for filling: Filled by 5644 (late 13th, pottery); TPQ: cuts same reddish brown tiled surface as robbing trench 5491; TAQ: definitely overlain by 5503 (4th quarter of the 13th, pottery); ; Cut 5806 for well 5876 ; Constructed and filled by the 4th quarter of the 13th century; TPQ for construction: G.S. feels that level of cut unknown, so no definitive TPQ; ; TAQ for filling: out of use by 3rd quarter of the 13th century, because overlain by 5512 (=5499) (3rd quarter of the 13th c., pottery) and 5537 (2nd half of the 13th c., NPD, pottery);; TPQ for filling: Top fill and covering head: 5558 (mid 13th c., pottery), if cuts 5513, TPQ date is 13th century.; ; Robbing pit 5719 (E of Wall 5725); excavated and filled in the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TPQ for filling: Filled by 5703 (=5708), 4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery; ; TPQs for construction of trench: Robbing trench for 5725 is truncated by 5719;;  Robbing trench 5791 is truncated by 5719; 5719 cuts 5735 (4th quarter of the 13th); 5719 cuts 5746 (Frankish, 3rd quarter of the 13th c.); 5719 cuts 5837 (3rd quarter of the 13th c.); ; S. Robbing trench 5859; Excavated and filled in by the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TAQs for filling: 5744 overlies (3rd quarter of the 13th, pottery), 5735 overlies (4th quarter of the 13th, pottery), 5801 overlies (Frankish, 2nd half of the 13th century); cut by robbing pit cut 5719 (4th quarter of the 13th c., TAQ); TPQs for filling: Fill 5798 (Frankish, 4th quarter of the 13th century), 5808 (Frankish, 3rd quarter to mid 13th c.), 5812 (2nd quarter of the 13th, strat. relationship), 5816 (Late Byzantine, Late 11th), 5822 (Late Byzantine, early 11th/early 12th), 5858 (2nd quarter of the 13th, strat. Relationship); TPQs for construction: 5746 (3rd quarter of the 13th century, pottery), Plastered surface; or, if it cuts 5667, mid 13th, pottery; ; Cobble wall foundations 5604; Need to know level of top of cut to know TPQ; cobble fill overlain by 5547 (3rd quarter of the 13th c., rough TPQ); ; Pit cut 5723; excavated and filled in by the mid 13th c. ; TPQ for construction: Cuts plastered surface; TAQ for construction: Underlies 5667 (mid 13th c., pottery) ; TPQ for filling of pit: 5675 (mid 13th c., pottery); ; N. Robbing trench 5791 (N-S); 1140-1170 or later; TAQs for filling: 5786 overlies to W (Late Byzantine, 12th century), 5586 overlies to E (14th c.? or later); TPQs for construction of trench: cuts same level cut by well, same level cut by pit 5717; it’s a flat reddish brown tiled surface.; TPQs for filling:  5778 (3rd quarter of the 13th), 5790 (12th c., NPD), 5840 (Late Byzantine, 1090-1110), 5844 (Late Byzantine, 12th century); ; Pit cut 5767 (the SW corner pit); Constructed 1150+, filled in by 1250.; TAQ for filling: Contexts overlying cut unknown, filled at least as late as the mid 13th.; TPQs for construction: fill 5668 (mid 12th c., pottery) is cut by 5767; TPQ for filling: filled by 5754 (2nd quarter of the 13th century, pottery); ; III. Phasing of features based on pottery dates and stratigraphic relationships; ; Post-Frankish; Corner of Ottoman house (top of cut unknown); Corner of Ottoman house (top of cut unknown); E-W wall spur 5478: 18th century? No foundation for upper part of wall spur; ; E-W wall 5603/5638: Probable reuse of foundations 5604, so impossible to date; ; Foundations of 5604: need to know level of top of cut to know TPQ; cobble fill overlain by 5547 (3rd quarter of the 13th c., rough TPQ); ; ; Frankish; Foundation trench # 5894 for wall spur E of 5473: 4th quarter of the 13th century or later, strat. relationship; TPQ for filling event: fill 5892 (Late 13th, strat. relationship); TPQ for construction: cuts robbing trench 5893 (filled in by 3rd quarter of the 13th c. or later, pottery); ; Robbing trench # 5893 for wall 5473: 4th quarter of the 13th c. or later, pottery; ; TPQ for filling event: fill 5510, fill 5886 (3rd quarter of 13th), fill 5770 (Late 13th); TAQ for filling event: foundation trench 5894 cuts robbing trench 5893; TPQ: overlies cut 5446, which dates to the 4th quarter of the 13th century.; ; Robbing trench # 5546 for wall 5725: Excavated and filled in by the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TAQ for filling: 5837 (3rd quarter of the 13th, stratigraphic relationship); Underlies robbing trench for wall 5473 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); TPQs for filling: Filled after 5852 (Frankish, 3rd quarter of the 13th century); ; Pit cut 5717: 4th quarter of the 13th century; TAQ/TPQ: Underlies and is filled by 5627 (late, 13th, pottery); definitely overlain by 5503 (4th quarter of the 13th, pottery); TPQ for filling: Filled by 5644 (late 13th, pottery); TPQ for construction: cuts same reddish brown tiled surface as robbing trench 5491; ; Pit cut 5498: 4th quarter of the 13th c., out of use by 1300; TPQs for construction: cuts 5503 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); 5513 (13th c., pottery); 5500 (4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery); TPQs for filling events: 5516 (1300, pottery), 5499 (1280 +/- 10, pottery), 5497 (late 13th, NPD, pottery), 5491 (1270-1289), 5481 (1300 +/- 10, pottery); TAQs: 5516 (1300, pottery), 5494 (1275-1300, pottery); ; Robbing pit 5719 (E of Wall 5725): excavated and filled in the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TPQ for filling: Filled by 5703 (=5708), 4th quarter of the 13th c., pottery; ; TPQs for construction of trench: Robbing trench for 5725 is truncated by 5719;;  Robbing trench 5791 is truncated by 5719; 5719 cuts 5735 (4th quarter of the 13th); 5719 cuts 5746 (Frankish, 3rd quarter of the 13th c.); ; We underdug this context and there is still some martyr remaining. ; ; S. Robbing trench # 5859 for N-S wall: Excavated and filled in by the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TAQs for filling: 5744 overlies (3rd quarter of the 13th, pottery), 5735 overlies (4th quarter of the 13th, pottery), 5801 overlies (Frankish, 2nd half of the 13th century), cut by robbing pit cut 5719 (4th quarter of the 13th c.); TPQs for filling: Fill 5798 (Frankish, 4th quarter of the 13th century), 5808 (Frankish, 3rd quarter to mid 13th c.), 5812 (2nd quarter of the 13th c., stratigraphic relationship), 5816 (Late Byzantine, Late 11th), 5822 (Late Byzantine, early 11th/early 12th); TPQs for construction: 5746 (3rd quarter of the 13th century, pottery), cuts plastered surface.; ; Cut for well 5806: constructed and filled by the 4th quarter of the 13th c.; TPQ for construction: G.S. feels that level of cut unknown; I suggest that it cut level 5513 (13th century); TAQ for filling: out of use by 3rd quarter of the 13th century, because overlain by 5512 (3rd quarter of the 13th c., pottery) and 5537 (2nd half of the 13th c., NPD, pottery);; TPQ for filling: Top fill 5558 also covers head (mid 13th c., pottery); ; Pit cut 5767 (the SW corner pit): mid 13th; TAQ for filling: Contexts overlying cut unknown, filled at least as late as the mid 13th; if 5509 overlies, then the TAQ is the 3rd quarter of the 13th c.; TPQs for construction: 5668 (mid 12th c., pottery) is cut by 5767; TPQ for filling: filled by 5754 (2nd quarter of the 13th century, pottery); ; Pit cut 5723: excavated and filled in by the mid 13th c. ; TPQ for construction: Cuts plastered surface; TAQ for construction: Underlies 5667 (mid 13th c., pottery) ; TPQ for filling of pit: 5675 (mid 13th c., pottery); ; Late Byzantine; ; N. Robbing trench 5791 (N-S): 1140-1170 or later.; TAQs for filling: 5786 overlies to W (Late Byzantine, 12th century), 5586 overlies to E (14th c.? or later); TPQs for construction of trench: cuts same level cut by well, same level cut by pit 5717; it’s a flat reddish brown tiled surface, cuts 5830 (1140-1170); TPQs for filling: 5778 (3rd quarter of the 13th), 5790, 5840 (Late Byzantine, 1090-1110), 5844 (Late Byzantine, 12th century); ; N foundation trench, Wall 5725 (cut #5721): 1st half of the 12th century; TPQs: cuts 5727 (early 12th, NPD, pottery); TPQ for filling: 5727 (early 12th, NPD, pottery); 5711 (Late Byzantine, late 11th); TAQ for filling: 5547 (3rd quarter of the 13th c.); There are other fill levels to be excavated, but they may relate to an earlier phase of wall. ; Wall 5725 bonds with Wall 5724.; ; S foundation trench, Wall 5725 (cut # 5720): 1st half of the 12th century; TPQs for construction: Cuts (at least) 5768 (mid 12th c., pottery); ; TPQ for fillingFilled by 5680 (12th c., NPD, pottery); possibly we missed a 2nd layer of fill. ; TAQ for filling: to the best of our knowledge, overlain by 5509 (3rd quarter of the 12th c., pottery); Wall 5725 bonds with 5724.; ; Foundation trench, wall 5724 (cut # 5718): 1st half of the 12th century; TPQs: At least cuts 5768 (mid 12th c., pottery); TPQ; TPQs for filling: 5686 (1120 +/- 10 or early 12th, pottery); lower fill 5770 (969-1030, coin; late 10th/early 11th, pottery) may relate to an earlier construction event.; TAQS: to our knowledge, overlain by 5509 (3rd quarter of the 12th century, pottery); Wall 5725 bonds with 5724.","","Nezi Field 2008 by Sarah Lima (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","Western Suite of Rooms in the 1961 Byzantine House, Late Byzantine and Frankish Levels"
"Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by Sarah Lima (2009-05-25 to 2009-06-15)","","Corinth","","Report","","","","Sarah Lima; Session 3 ; End of Season Report; 15 June, 2009; ; Between the dates of May 25, 2009 and June 15, 2009 (Session III), our excavation team  comprised of Sarah Lima (recorder), Panos Kakouros (pickman), Panos Stamatis (barrow man), and Agamemnon (siever) continued investigating several rooms south of the courtyard of the Byzantine house previously excavated by Lattimore (NB 229) and Berg (NB 229) in the 1960s. In 2008, Panos Kakouros excavated in the same area with Anne Feltovich, Emily Rush, and Catherine Person recording; in 2009 session I, Dan Leon and Ben Sullivan recorded there; and in 2009 session II, excavations were conducted by Mark Hammond, Kierston Spongberg, and Sarah Lima. The aim for Session III was to understand the phasing of the three rooms where our team had worked - how the space had been manipulated to serve the needs of the people inhabiting and using the area, and how people would have moved from room to room at different times.  In particular, we were interested in reaching 10th century levels in order to understand the earliest phases of the rooms south of the courtyard area, which once served as the hub of the house.   ; ; During Sessions II and III, we worked in three rooms: the “Central Room” (in Session II summary, the “East Room”) bounded by walls 5483, 5403, 6027/6284/6300, and 6267/5631/5671 with foundations 6245 (271.10-277.70 E, 1027.70-1023.67 N); the “West Room” bounded by walls 5483, 5484, 5284, and 5519 (265.90-270.70 E, 1028.00-1023.65N); and the “East Room” bounded by walls 10078/10085, 6624, 6027/6285/6300, and 5341 (1027.24-1022.98 N, 281.50-277.62 E).; ; East Room; ; We began our work in the East Room by excavating a surface exposed by DB and BS during Session I 2009. A majority of the room, primarily the central and western portion, was excavated during the 1960s. Several deep pits cut most of the southern half of the room, and on the northern edge of the room, two deep pier cuttings cut the remaining surfaces from higher elevations, leaving just a thin balk available for excavation. Joanna Potenza and Ryan Boehm had recorded the removal of a threshold of the Frankish period on the northern boundary of the room [5919], which may have been in use along with walls 10077 and 10076 to the east and with walls 5552 and its superstructure 5922 to the west. While JP and RB did uncover a floor surface in contemporary use with the threshold on the northern side of the room’s boundary (5290), only floor surfaces predating the installation of the threshold were uncovered by BL and DB to the south, the final of which was 6080; the room was then left for future excavation. ; ; The first surface that we excavated was surface 6445, which was contemporary with the use of wall segment 6426. Excavation of 6445 revealed what may be the foundation trench for that wall. The closeness of the wall to the numerous pier cuts made excavation impossible without toppling the entire balk, so the foundation trench was not further explored; we made every effort not to include fill from near the wall in our subsequent deposits. ; Several subsequent surfaces, 6468 and 6488, were excavated, prior to uncovering a large built storage pit (cut 6557, fills 6495, 6466, and 6452 built components 6594 and 6558), which would have occupied the room during its 12th century phase. We decided to cease excavation of the balk at this point because the east-west wall segment 6624 had become pedestalled, and permission has not yet been obtained for its removal. ; ; We turned our attention to the eastern boundary of the room, removing wall and threshold 10085 and its underlying foundations (6475 and 6476). At the time that we excavated these contexts, we believed that 10085 was a separate construction from wall 10078, based both on the appearance of the foundations and on the style of the wall itself. We envisioned wall 10085 as installed especially to accommodate a much later threshold construction, as a part of already-existent wall 10078. However, upon excavating the section and seeing how deeply subfoundations 6476 lay (at an equal depth to the foundations of wall 10078’s), we concluded the opposite: that 10078 and 10085 were probably of contemporary construction. Further support for this idea is the fact that there were two surfaces (6451 and 6445 ) running against foundations, suggesting that the foundations predated those deposits. However, this was unclear at the time, since those surfaces were at significantly lower elevations than the wall sections in situ.  The pottery from foundations 6676 dated to the late 12th or early 13th century. ; ; The upper blocks used in the construction of remaining wall section 10078 are very substantial in size and appear to be reused Roman road blocks of the Late Roman period; one interesting feature of these eastern sections of wall is that one block that remains in situ appears to have been cut to corner westward about 4 m from the southern terrace wall 5341, dividing the room nearly in half (we assigned this wall the number 6522). We began excavating strata that were positioned around the place where the wall projected from the section, and the excavation of fill 6521 revealed the line of a long east-west robbing or foundation trench cut running nearly the lengh of the room (cut 6523). The reason that the foundation versus robbing cut identification remains ambiguous is that pit cuts have truncated that part of the room badly, so all that we can understand is that the wall existed, and that based on the foundations that were uncovered, it was a substantial, load-bearing wall.  I propose that wall 6522 functioned as a terrace wall and was the earlier Roman terrace wall that existed before wall 5341 was constructed immediately to the south in the medieval period for the same purpose. The evidence for this is that  it is set into reddish-colored colluvium above bedrock and rests at a lower level than the foundation trench 6509 for wall section 6027, which bounds the room to the west (foundation trench fills 6530 and 6506, covered by fill 6504). Further, the first medieval floor in the room immediately to the west is constructed right atop the red colluvium (this is a course pebble  floor that is only partially visible under paving stones 6190 and would have been in use with threshold 6285); there was no earlier phase of use of this space. This changes our impression of the construction of threshold 6285, excavated during Session II; we had envisioned the entire wall section comprised of 6300/6285/6027 to be earlier than the features of the East Room, but if the east-west wall 6522 once existed at an early period, holding back red colluvium on its south-facing side, there is no way that threshold 6285, given its physical position, could have been in use during that period for purposes of communicating with the East Room. However, after the east-west wall was robbed out (at whatever elevation and time that that event occurred), the East room would have received a new terrace wall to the south (i.e., the wall 5341, now in situ), and the space would have been expanded to the south(and therefore open for communication with the east room via threshold 6285). The best guess for when this event may have occurred is Late Byzantine, based on the scant amount of ceramic material available from foundation trench fill from 6530 and 6506 and overlying 6504; additionally, if the cut indicating the course of early east-west terrace wall 6522 is a robbing event, then the date of that event can be further narrowed to the 10th/11th century. Therefore the earliest medieval phase of this part of the house began with a massive reorganization of space and great effort spent at expanding the usable space by moving the Roman terrace wall 4 m to the south. ; ; Future Considerations ; ; The balk cannot be explored further until wall 6624 is documented and removed, since the wall is pedestalled as it currently lies. The relationship between the wall sections 6300, 6285, and 6027 is not yet fully understood, as foundation trenches have not yet been revealed for 6300 and 6285; recovery of foundation events for those sections could confirm or refute our speculations about how the East and Central Room construction sequences work. Another question worthy of further attention is whether wall 10078 truly represented the easternmost extent of the East Room or not; while the blocks that comprise the wall as it stands are extremely large, there does appear to be another wall running behind it; are there multiple eastern wall phases for this room? Finally, the section of 10078 immediately to the north of the cut for excavated foundations 6476 and 6475 for wall/threshold 10085 should be considered together with those construction events if and when it is removed. ; Western Room; ; The Western Room was excavated in 1960s excavations by Lattimore and Berg (NB 229, p. 180). As was the case in the East Room, this room featured several deep Frankish-period storage pits (labeled as “bothroi” in the 1960s notebooks) that truncated many of the earlier features within the room. In the case of the Western Room, those two storage pits (cuts 6380 and 6363 which terminated on bedrock) were confined in the southern half of the room. The space was further restricted by two large Frankish north-south wall sections, 5485 and 5490, which lay against north-south wall 5284. In 2008, AF and ER excavated within the Western Room, reaching levels that ran beneath wall 5490. Because permission had not been obtained from the Byzantine Ephoria to remove the two later wall sections, they were pedistalled so that excavation could continue east of them. Our efforts during Session II were focused on cleaning and investigating the previously-excavated storage pits, and on excavating contexts preserved in the balk under the walls once they were removed. We wanted to reveal and excavate the floor revealed by 6428 (=5887), which represented the same stopping point that AF and ER reached in 2008. Additionally, a Frankish period cooking pot was excavated from one of the surfaces that we excavated (surface: 6393, cook pot: 6397).; Our excavations of the surfaces to the north had, in turn, left a balk of higher elevation on the southern side of the room, since it was difficult to reach and excavate the thin deposits surrounding the two storage pits and running up against walls 5284, 5484, and 5483. In Session III, we began our excavations of the southern strata with fill 6439, uncovering the remaining fill of foundation trench 6427 (fill 6552) for wall 5284. 6439 was assigned a date of the 2nd or 3rd quarter of the 12th century on the basis of its ceramics, while the surface that was cut was 2nd quarter of the 12th century, dating the construction of wall 5284 to that period. This does not match the date of the foundation trench found on the other side of the wall by JC and NA in 2008; their foundation trench was dated to the 13th century by stratigraphic relationships. This situation  is worthy of further consideration in light of the potential shifting of dates posed by lower fills from this room (explained in more detail below). ; ; One goal in excavating the Western Room was to understand the nature of the robbing event that took place on wall 5519. The east-west wall 5519, which bounds the northern side of the Western Room, features a significant gap of approximately 1.5 m on its eastern side, near its junction with north-south wall 5519, bounding the eastern side of the room. It was our intention to compare the surfaces that we uncovered within the western room with the surfaces recorded to the north of 5519 by Scott Gallimore and Will Bruce during Session II of 2009. The last surface that they excavated to the north of 5519 revealed the edge of a cut that appeared to be part of the robbing event of the wall, and they expected that we would find a similar cut on our side beneath floor surface 6540 (84.54 MASL). We did not find a cut on our side of the wall, but other pieces of evidence suggest how the robbing event may have taken place, and how the use of the space may have changed after the removal of the wall section. Our investigations revealed that not only were our surface deposits below 6540 (i.e., surfaces 6572, and 6589) different in composition from those revealed to the north of the wall (beaten earth in the western room, pebbled and tiled surfaces in the courtyard), but their elevations were different as well, by approximately 0.50 m (surface deposit 6572, 84.49 MASL, and surface deposit 6589, 84.41 MASL). One possible explanation for this difference is that perhaps it was a threshold that was robbed from wall 5519, mediating between the space in the courtyard and the space within the Western Room. In that scenario, differences in elevations and in composition could be accounted for because the spaces were bounded by a wall, with communication between the two rooms offered by a door and possibly a step downward into the Western Room. After the section of 5519 (putatively a threshold) had been robbed, the space where the door had been would have still remained, allowing access into and out of the room, but the floor levels would have had to be brought to the same level to allow movement in and out. Fill 6628, underlying 6540, demonstrates how this would have been done; its location near the missing section of wall suggests that the threshold blocks were removed, and that the resulting hole was filled with tile and debris as a means of raising the floor level to accommodate the resulting height differences between the surfaces to the north and to the south. 6540, then, would represent the first surface in the Western Room after the putative threshold was removed. The pottery of 6540 dates to the 12th century, and its overlying fill deposits 5887 and 6428 are from the first half of the 12th century. ; ; The foundation trenches for walls 5483 and 5519/foundations 6575 were uncovered at lower elevations, below the level of both surface deposit 6572 and surface deposit 6589; these surfaces may be considered to have been in use with 5483 and 5519 wall sections after they were founded. Ceramics from all three surfaces date to the 12th century. As far as the sequencing of the walls of the room go, wall 5483 is stratigraphically the earliest, although the elevation of its foundation trench is almost identical to the lowest foundation trench of wall 5519 [cut 6677 at elevation 83.98 versus cut 6646 at 84.00 MASL]; since the upper courses of the walls appear to bond, it would make sense for their foundation events to have occurred at the same time. Wall 5519 does show evidence for at least two foundation events, indicating that it had an earlier phase on its eastern side (cut 6677, fill 6646) and a second phase to the west of that, cutting the earlier foundation (cut 6616, fill 6611, revealed by late Byzantine fill 6578). Finally, the foundation trench 6427 cut the foundation fill 6616 for wall 5519, indicating that that 12th century foundation event is a terminus ante quem for the other two sections. ; ; The earliest surface excavated was 6624, revealing a hard, light pinkish brown surface that appeared to be composed of the colluvium that has been observed to rest above bedrock levels throughout the North of Nezi area. This unnumbered and as yet unexcavated surface appears to have been cut by numerous features, including the earliest foundation trench for wall 5519 (trench cut 6647, fill 6646) and the foundation trench for wall 5483 (trench cut 6677, fill 6675), which came down onto bedrock. Additionally, the unnumbered pinkish brown surface was cut by a large ashy pit that was revealed in the northeastern corner of the room (pit cut 6645, fill 6639, overlying fill 6639), truncating both early foundation trenches in addition to cutting a much larger robbing trench cut 6665 (putative), to the south. Overlying surface 6624 has pottery from the 11th century, which would potentially provide a terminus ante quem for these earliest foundation events- but there is an inconsistency with the pottery from fills from the truncated east-west robbing trench 6665. Two fills from robbing trench 6665 (6649 and 6663) yielded joining coarse incised sherds of the mid-13th century, potentially shifting the dates of all of the previously discussed contexts (and other contexts from the room) two centuries later. This warrants a more detailed discussion of how the putative robbing trench was discovered, how we approached its excavation, and the potential scenarios by which these inconsistencies may be interpreted. ; ; The cut of the putative robbing trench 6665 was first noticed in the section of storage pit cuts 6380 and 6353 as a straight line appearing to run the length of the room from east to west. We noticed the cut before it was exposed in plan on either its northern or southern sides, and speculated variously about its length, suggesting at times that it ran all the way across the southern side of the room, and at other times that it was thinner in width, perhaps in connection with robbing cuts 6381 (for north-south wall 6157 visible below wall 5411) and with robbing cut 6674 (east-west cut, visible below wall 5284). In context 6587, the difference in strata to the north versus south of the cut line became more visible (but the cut was not revealed in plan), and immediately after, surface 6589 was excavated with knowledge that the strata south of the line of excavation were different from the surface that was excavated. In these contexts, the line of the cut may have been visible, but its full extent was not yet defined in plan, so it was left unexcavated. It was only visible as a straight line in the south-facing section of the two storage pit cuts, making it impossible to use the sections to try to determine its extent and shape; however, since virgin red colluvium had been cut for the construction of the two storage pits and had preserved their round shapes on all sides, it is certain that the cut could not have stretched completely across the southern half of the room at the levels we were excavating. What’s more, we were steered away from thinking that the cut related to cuts 6381 and 6674 by the fact that the cut continued further east past the point where it would have cornered to rob wall 6157. ; ; The cut became clearly exposed in plan after the excavation of surface 6624, cutting into the hard pinkish brown surface truncated by numerous earlier pits. The excavation of 6619 was an effort to find the southern line of the cut, but was unsuccessful, as was the excavation of fill 6631, which revealed the southern edge of pit 6645, making it stratigraphically later than the robbing trench cut 6665.  Pit 6645 cut into fill 6649 to the south, which was one of the aforementioned contexts in which one of two joining 13th century coarse incised sherds was collected. Three more fills south of the cut line, 6657, 6660, and 6663 (the other context from which a joining coarse incised ware was collected) were then excavated before the southern extent of the robbing event 6665 appeared clearly in plan, along with the foundation trench for wall 5483 (foundation cut 6677, fill 6675, overlying fill 6663). The excavation of lowest fill 6676 within cut 6665 revealed a hard, brownish yellow surface, likely the floor associated with an earlier architectural phase of which wall 6157 is part prior to the foundation of wall 5483, while the excavation of lowest fill 6675 within foundation trench 6677 revealed bedrock. ; There are at least three possible conclusions to draw from the stratigraphy as we have defined it and the ceramics that have come from these contexts, in light of the discrepancies we have discovered:; ; Scenario 1) The stratigraphy was excavated correctly and the dates of the ceramics from stratigraphically later contexts need to have their dates bumped up to account for their stratigraphic relationships. In support of this are findings from Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade’s 2008 records of the room directly west of the Western Room. While many of their upper strata were found to be 12th century, a Frankish strap handle was found at the bottom of a pit cutting lower strata in the room, thus altering the date of all overlying contexts. There is further support for this idea in the pottery from fill 6676, the bottommost fill of cut 6665; it dates to the 12th/13th century.  Finally, the fact that the 13th century levels were found in lowest stratified levels of the room, and were all excavated on the same day in a limited amount of time makes the possibility of contamination (e.g., through tumble or long-term exposure) less likely.; ; Scenario 2) We missed the line of the robbing trench cut 6665 at a higher elevation and needed to treat the fills within it as fills lying on each other within a cut, rather than relating them variously to surfaces to the north, potentially across the putative cut line. This would also mean that the final cut line that we identified after excavation of 6663 relates to another cutting event, and not to the line of the robbing event. Further supporting this scenario is the fact that a boundary was defined for the northern side of the cut as early as context 5343/5345 during session II; however, it remains that the entirety of the cut was not exposed until the excavation of context 6663. ; ; Scenario 3) The area was significantly disturbed by 1960s excavation events, in ways that we did not fully perceive while excavating during both Session II and Session III. In this scenario, the stratigraphy could have been cut in order to accommodate the excavation of pits 6353 and 6380. The cutting events involved could have been anything from half-sectioning, to creating steps out from the storage pit cuts during excavation to facilitate getting in and out of them, and to prevent the walls from collapsing. In this scenario, the fills we dug south of cut 6665 were actually backfill from the 1960s. In support of this scenario are two facts: A) 1960s records (NB 229, p. 180) mention that the southern portions of north-south walls 5490 and 5485 were removed in order to accommodate the excavation of the storage pit cut 6353; additional disturbance could have occurred at the same time. B) Contexts 6343 and 6345, excavated during Session II, uncovered a cut in the same place that the cut 6665 begins to the west, and at the time that we were recording it, it was speculated that the cut might have been for a half-section created to facilitate 1960s excavations within the Western Room; if that small cut represents the beginning of cut 6665, we would be able to place it significantly later in our stratigraphic understanding of the room. ; ; Future Considerations ; ; Pit 6645, cut 6665, and foundation trench cut 6677 which were the last contexts recorded cut the unnamed pink surface revealed by 6624 to the north, but 6665 and 6677 also cut a smaller level of fill revealed by 6660 in the southeastern corner of the room. Provided that these fills are not found to belong to very early levels truncated by an erroneously defined cut, the fill in the southeastern corner should be prioritized for removal in 2010. Likewise, the fill of robbing event 6381, heretofore only visible in the northern and southern facing sections of pit 6380, but revealed by the excavation of fill 6676 and cut 6665, should be exposed in plan and removed. After those contexts are excavated, it will be possible to consider exploring beneath the pink surface. ; ; Conclusions; ; The way that the discrepancy between the Frankish lower fills and the Byzantine upper fills is interpreted has implications for the way that the courtyard area is phased, since one of the questions that this excavation addresses is how the area changes through time, and when those changes take place. One scenario is that construction activities occurred in two phases: the 10th/11th century, and the 13th century, with less activity in the 12th century. A second possibility is that development was steady and gradual, occurring from the early Byantine through the Frankish period. ; Until the lower Frankish fills were uncovered in the West Room, that space showed strong evidence for some early activity (evidenced by the robbing events 6381 and 6674 visible below walls 5411 and 5284, as well as the early surface uncovered below pit cut 6665, predating wall 5483), a great deal of construction  activity in the 12th century, and subsequent Frankish building activity as well.   ; ; The levels in the East Room are early and definitely reflect “phase one” constructions of the 10th and 11th centuries, prior to a subsequent restructuring of the room that involved relocating the southern terrace wall to open the East Room for communication with the Central Room via threshold 6285. There is little evidence for 12th century activity in the East Room as it currently survives, but the eastern wall section that we removed, 10085, featured foundations (6575, 6576) that contained 12th/13th century pottery, supporting the idea of Frankish period reuse of the space. ; ; The Central Room, like the West Room, features up to three phases of development. The earliest floor surfaces there are directly on top of the red colluvium soil, meaning that they are quite early and probably date to the 10th century, and the east-west wall 6120 would have divided the room. The walls 5483 and 5631/6425 date to the 10th/11th century as well, and would have represented part of the room’s expansion, since 5631 lies further north. Then, the Central Room opened up to the East Room via the construction of 11th century threshold 6285, expanding movement still further; subsequently, the threshold was blocked off by fills 6278 and 6277, and Frankish constructions such as walls 5552 and 5553 would have constricted the Central Room again.","","Nezi Field 2009 by Sarah Lima (2009-05-25 to 2009-06-15)","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","Final Report 2009 - rooms south of the courtyard of the Byzantine House, first  phase of the Byz House"
"Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Thanos Webb (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","Corinth","","Report","","","","The following is a summary of excavations of Frankish and Late Byzantine levels by the Green team in North of Nezi in the 2008 season.  Our area lies directly N of the courtyard of the Byzantine house.  The excavation area is defined in the north by a scarp created during 20th century excavations of the south Stoa (1046.50 N), in the south by EW running wall 5562 (NB 230 wall 58-G; 1039.10 N), in the E by NS running wall 5430 (NB230 wall 77; 276. 50 E), and in the W by a NS running scarp (260.00 E) created by earlier excavations (see NB 253 p. 141).  ; ; In the first session from April 7th to April 23th, Amit Shilo and Thanos Webb oversaw the excavation of an area defined to the north by 1044.50 N, to the south by 1038.75 N, to the east by 264.50 E, and to the west by 260.00 E.  In the second session from  May 15th to 23rd, Christina Kolb, Sarah Lima (for the first week), and Thanos Webb oversaw the excavation of an area defined in the north by 1044.50 N, in the south by 1039.00, in the east by 276.50 E, and in the west by 261.50 E.  In the third session from May 26th to June 13th, Thanos Webb oversaw the excavation of an area defined in the north by 1046.50 N, in the south by 1038.75 N, in the east by 268.60 E, and in the west by 260.00 E.  We worked under the supervision of excavation director Guy Sanders, assistant field director Alicia Carter.  We excavated with Thanasis Sakellariou as pickman and Kostas Arberoris as shovelman and barrowman.  ;      Our main objective at the start of the excavation season was to get a better understanding of the interface between our area and the Byzantine courtyard immediately to the south. An EW running wall (5562) was the southern limit of our area and the northern limit of the room N of the courtyard of the 1961 Byzantine house (the excavation of the courtyard was summarized by Jody Cundy and Megan Thomsen, as well as Sarah Lima).  A secondary objective was to determine whether our area was interior or exterior space.  In order to accomplish these objectives and maintain the open area excavation methodology, we sought to remove all the trench martyrs left by previous excavations.  In practice this meant we were constantly moving to the top of next martyr in order to stratigraphically bring these later deposits down to the earlier phases exposed in the 1960’s. Interpretation of our area was often tricky. In some cases, using the 1960’s excavation notebooks proved helpful in explaining the presence of remaining martyrs and scarps.  In most instances, however, we were unable to connect the information recorded in old notebooks with what we saw in the field.  The 1961 notebooks that relate to our area are 230 and 235 and they were kept by Steven Lattimore.  The 1963 notebook that relates to our area is 253 kept by Charles K. Williams. This summary will be presented in two sections beginning with the area excavated west of wall 5677 and followed by the area east of wall 5677.; ; Area W of wall 5677 (Agora SW-H, NB253, Room 2E, p.23ff.); In this area we excavated this season a robbing trench, a sequence of floor levels with an associated hearth and dry storage pithos.  This area is bounded to the E by wall 5677 (NB253 1-H), that is composed of random courses of rough-hewn blocks and tile with punctuated with rectangular orthostates.  To the N is wall 5842 (NB253 2-H) which appears to abut wall 5677 to the E and continues westward outside of our excavation area.  To the S is the EW wall 5562 (NB253 3-H and NB230 58-G) that is abutted by the NS wall 5677 and continues eastward to roughly 270 E, where it meets the NS wall 38-G. The N-S running martyr he created is the western most extent of our area (260.00 E).; C.K. Williams first excavated this area in 1963 (NB 253), revealing three floor levels and a storage pithos (Corinth photos v. 18, page 42; neg, 63.9.24).  The half exposed pithos was still in situ when we started excavating.  The edges of stepped floors left by Williams had eroded over the past 45 years into a slumped mound.  Excavation this season began with the removal of the fill of a robbing trench in wall 5677 (fill 5181;cut 5195).  It appears to be the robbing of only one block from this wall.  Then a series of fills into which the robbing trench was cut were excavated on the W side of the wall (5219, 5223, 5225, 5227).  The removal of these fills revealed floor 5229, which corresponds with Williams’ floor 1 (NB253 p.129).   Floor 5229 appears to be associated with both wall 5677 and wall 5842. Floor 5229 and floor 1 both show signs of extensive burning (NB 253,p. 28).  We reserved a sample for flotation from context 5229 to recover any potential carbonized botanicals.  Beneath floor 5229 is another floor 5234. It is likely that context 5234 is the same as Williams floor #2 (NB 253 p.129). Floor 5234 also abuts both wall 5677 and 5842.  The pithos that abuts wall 5842 appears to still be in use when floor 2 (5234) is laid down.   The removal of floor 5234 revealed another floor 5841 through which a hearth pit (5838; 5839; 5849) was cut.  There was another floor beneath 5841, deposit 5860 in which the pithos was sunk (cut 5851; 5850).  Beneath this floor were several lenses of fill (5872, 5879, 5885).  Deposit 5885 was dumped fill consisting of large cobbles and fragmented roof tiles.  Within the deposit’s matrix in the southeastern corner where walls 5677 and 5678 meet, a cache of over 50 iron objects was discovered.  The iron objects include: large nails, bent and broken iron strips, broken and folded over knives, and one object with a series of small holes which we are unable to determine its function.  Most significant perhaps are the multiple examples of door-lock hardware.  Cover plates with keyholes, square boxes which would hold the locking mechanism along with a keyhole, and hinges in various stages of completion.   This marks the end of excavation in this area this season, although deposit 5885 remains unfinished.  Further excavation in this area might reveal the foundation trenches for walls 5677, 5842 and 5562 and clarify the function of the installation 5888.; ; Area E of wall 5677; ; Like the area W of wall 5677, the area E of the wall is bounded to the S by the EW wall 5562.  The boundary to the N is an excavation scarp at 1046.50 N, and to the E by the NS wall 5430 at 277.00 E.   The area appears to belong to a building adjacent to the 1961 Byzantine house. Excavation in this area this season revealed several robbing trenches and large pits, a roof-tile-built pithos and several floors. The latest features in this area are two NS walls, or perhaps foundations for walls, that overlie the earlier contexts.  Permission to dismantle wall 5430 and 5394 has been requested.  We excavated two sequential floors that abutted wall 5677 (5172=5186, 5189=5202). They date to the Frankish period.  Cutting these floors was a deep, Frankish pit (5169) that destroyed part of a Late Byzantine roof tile-pithos (Corinth Photographs v. 18: page 36, neg. 61. 27. 5.).  The roof tile pithos (5504) was then backfilled in the Frankish period.  A few modern sherds contaminated the first layer of fill (5165) and subsequent fill levels (5167 and 5496) were dated to the Frankish period.  The last Frankish fill (5496) within the pithos contained three complete dog skeletons.  Underlying the Frankish fills within the roof tile-built pithos was a final Late Byzantine fill (5505).  This fill was not completely excavated because it served as internal support for roof tile-built pithos.  ; Another Frankish pit (5758) was discovered near the scarp of the South Stoa.  Half of the pit had been removed when the South Stoa was excavated.; Frankish EW wall 5678 made of stone-rubble construction and has no bonding material.  Since no foundation trench has been discovered, it is possible that 5678 is the rubble  foundation for a wall rather than the wall itself.  The construction of the 5678 is earlier than the digging of Frankish pit 5169.  Also, 5678 cuts an earlier Byzantine robbing trenches 5714 and 5802.  ; ; Four Byzantine pits dating to the 12th were excavated (5629, 5595, 5776, 5772).  The fill of the pit 5772 produced redeposited 11th century material and is dated by stratigraphy to the 12th century.  Two of the pits 5629 and 5595 were large and similar in size being two meters in diameter and over a meter deep.  Their fills were different;  5595’s fill (5567) was mostly dirt with only 15% inclusions.  In comparison, 5629 had 50% inclusions.  Whereas the fill of 5629 represents what we would expect to find in a refuse pit, pit 5595 appears to have a different use that remains obscure.; The pits 5772 and 5776 distinguish themselves on account of the majority of their fill was made up of ash.  These are interpreted as pits for the disposal of burned material, whether from hearths, cooking or industrial operations.; A roof tile-built pithos (5504) was also discovered.  It appears to have been built while Late Byzantine floors 5528 and 5525 were in use.  Its 12th century fill (5505) was disturbed by the later digging of Frankish pit 5169.; Two Late Byzantine NS robbing trenches (5714 and 5802) were also discovered.  5714 is cut into the rubble and tile fill of 5712.  It abuts NS Byzantine wall 5677 and is cut by EW Frankish wall 5678.  At the base of 5714, two marble floor tiles were found in situ.  The fill over these tiles dates to the Middle Byzatine period (late 10th/11th npd).  These tiles appear to be from the same marble-tile floor as 5710.  Also, it is possible that this marble tile floor appears in the scarp of the cut for the roof tile-built pithos (5504).; A large NS robbing trench (5802) cuts the floor revealed by 5531.  It abuts wall 5562 in the south and is cut by pit 5629 in the north.  This deep and long robbing has four large, cut blocks at its base and what appears to be a Roman cistern on its east-facing side.;  ; The two of the walls in the area have not been phased (NS 5677, and EW 5562).  Foundation trenches have yet to be found in any of the areas excavated thus far.  As for walls NS 5394 and NS 5430, their dates are also contingent on the discovery of foundation trenches.  At the moment, it appears that wall 5562 predates all the walls in our area.","","Nezi Field 2008 by Thanos Webb (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","Area North of the 1961 Byzantine House, Frankish through Modern levels"
"Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Jody Cundy and Megan Thompsen (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","Corinth","","Report","","","","The following is a summary of excavations in three areas in North of Nezi: the courtyard of a Byzantine house, the room north of the courtyard, a room south west of the courtyard and a suite of rooms south of the room south west of the courtyard. ; The courtyard of the Byzantine house uncovered in the 1961 season in Agora SW-G by Steven Lattimore (Room 12 NB 230; NB 235) and Agora SW-F by Willam Berg (NB 229) was further excavated all three sessions of 2008.  Excavation of the courtyard was overseen in the first session by Josh Geiske and Laurie Kilker from April 11th to the 23rd, with Cleomenes Didaskalou picking and Vasilis Kollias as barrowman.   In the second session, from May 15th to 23rd,, Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade took over excavation of this area, with Thanasis Notis as pickman and Andreas Oikounomou as barrowman and siever.  In the third session Megan Thomsen replaced Nate Andrade and excavation of the courtyard continued from May 26th to June 13th. The courtyard extends from 1027.85 to 1035.70 N and from 265.20 to 273.5 E. The room North of the courtyard was excavated by Nathaniel Andrade and Jody Cundy in the second session.  It extends from 1035.4 to 1039.4 N and from 265.5 to 270.6 E and was included in Room 12 by Lattimore (NB 230 p.170).  ; The room southwest of the courtyard and rooms south of it were excavated in 1963 as Agora SW-J under the supervision of Daniel Geagan (NB 254; 262).  They were further excavated in the first session of 2008 by Matthew Baumann and Nathaniel Andrade, working with Thanasis Notis as pickman,, Vasilis (Bill) Papanikolao as shovelman and Andreas Oikonomou as barrowman.  Excavation in this area continued in the second session with Jody Cundy replacing Matthew Baumann. The area extends from 1020.00 to 1030.50 N and from 262.00 to 266.00 E.; The goal of excavation in these areas is to clarify the relationships between the various walls in North of Nezi, in particular their phasing, and to isolate the walls and spaces of the Byzantine house for later consolidation and presentation to the public.; This report will be divided both thematically and chronologically. ; ; COURTYARD OF THE 1961 BYZANTINE HOUSE:; Post-Byzantine:; The post-Byzantine levels of the courtyard were excavated by Steven Lattimore in 1961 (NB 230; 235).  Though it is not profitable to summarize all the levels previously excavated here, the features and deposit that have direct bearing on those excavated this season will be briefly discussed.  A marble wellhead, capping the built well 61-9  (NB 230 well #2), was identified on the 15th of May, 1961 at an elevation of 86.85 (NB 230 p.103, 151, 159-60, 170, 176, 180, 193-4, 196; NB 235 p. 16, 27-8, 33-44; neg. 61-6-17; 61-6-19; 61-6-20, photo log 18, p.30) .  The well-head was subsequently removed on  May 27th, 1961 (NB 230, p.167).  Lattimore’s excavation of the fill of well 61-9 (renamed structure context 5864) produced Turkish material, including a coin (61-507).  He interpreted the resting surface of the well-head as a Turkish courtyard (strosis 85.246, NB 230 p. 170).  While it is clear that well #2 was in use in the Turkish period, the date of the construction of the earliest phase of well 61-9 (5864), and the tunnels and vaulted chamber associated with it are earlier. Lattimore detected and excavated the fill of a circular cut around well 5864 (61-9), which produced mid-thirteenth century material lotted as 827 (NB 230 p.176). ; Excavation in 2008 began with the removal of two segments of a pi-shaped terracotta drain (structure 5213) and the vertical stones that lined the exterior of the drain wall. According to the excavation notes of William Berg (NB 229, p.192), the drain, which extended from 1034.16 to 1034.72 N and 271.66 to 272.84 E, with a top elevation of 85.16 and bottom 85.01, was associated with well 61-19 (5864).  The terracotta segments are individually 0.58m in length, 0.26 in width and 0.12 in height.  Though not evident at the onset of the 2008 season, the Travlos plan of the area (1963) shows the course of the drain extending eastward beyond the north-south rubble foundations (wall 5649) to a length equal to its westward extent. A photograph of the newly exposed drain confirms this (61-15-4, vol.18 p.25) and shows the drain overlying the rubble foundations 5649. The foundations for the terracotta drain were removed as contexts 5780 and 5847.  Although no pottery was collected from the removal of the drain segments and the excavation of the foundations produced no precisely datable sherds, the association between the terracotta drain and wall 5649 indicates that the drain was the latest feature in the courtyard left from the 1961 excavation campaigns.  ; Wall 5649 is the rubble foundations of a NS wall with three blocks from the first course preserved at a top elevation of  (@@) and bottom of (@@), extending from 1033.75 to 1035.75 N and 273.31 to 274.20 E.  Wall 5649 abuts the earlier EW wall 5741 (NB 230 wall 59) to the north and the NS wall 34 (NB 229) to the south.  Wall 5649 is interpreted as a blocking off of the entrance corridor to the courtyard from the East.  Permission to dismantle wall 5649 is awaited and it is expected that Frankish or later material will be recovered from that operation.  ; In the first session, a martyr left from the 1961 excavation campaign was excavated. It extended northward from wall 61 (structures 5883 and 5882) from 1030.68 to 1035.19 N and 271.25 to 273.53 E.  The preservation of this strip of unexcavated layers is likely due to the later wall 57 (NB 230, p.166), which overlaid them.  Lattimore established the leveling point GG at 85.515 on a stone in this wall (NB 230, p.166).  William Berg describes the excavation west of wall 34 (NB 229, p.156), he encountered a hard surface at 84.46 and changed baskets to continue down to a clay surface at 84.06 and then to earlier levels (NB 229, p.167).  From this it can be conjectured that the martyr was produced as a result of the pedestalling of wall 57-G and the preservation of leveling point GG.  This can be clearly seen in a post-season photograph of sections F and G (61-27-2, vol.18 p. 35).  Wall 57-G, however was not present at the opening of the 2008 season.  Excavation of the martyr began with a cleaning pass (5191, top elevation 85.25), and concluded with deposit 5264 (bottom elevation 84.91).  Of the thirteen contexts excavated in the martyr (...), the combination of root action and the truncation of the deposits made interpretation of the layers problematic.  Although these deposit produced mostly 12th century pottery, they are likely best understood as part of Lattimore’s strosis 85.246 (NB 230 p.164; 173), which produced the coins 61-794, -795, -795, and was lotted as 1961-827.  Strosis 85.246, was assigned a Frankish date.; Likely contemporary with the rubble wall 5649 that closes off the East entrance to the Byzantine courtyard are two pier rubble foundations identified by Lattimore as part of the EW wall 61.  The West pier foundations (structure 5784) have a top elevation of 85.14 and bottom of 84.59 and occupy the space from 1030.13 to 1030.72 N and 271.49 to 272.19 E. The pier foundations 5784 abut the eastern edge of the north wall of the staircase 5783 (NB 230 61).  The east pier foundations abut wall 34 (NB 229).  They are comparable in terms of elevation and dimensions with the west ones (5784).  Extending between these pier foundations and overlying them was a rubble wall, interpreted by Lattimore as part of wall 61-G, but it has eroded away since it was exposed in 1961.; Further enclosure of the Byzantine courtyard in the Frankish (or later) period is evidenced by the EW rubble wall 5508 (NB 230 wall 61).  Wall 5508 has a top elevation of 85.13 and bottom elevation of 84.80 and extends from 1030.20 to 1030.85 N and 265.85 to 269.65 E, and is composed of two random courses of rough-hewn blocks in reuse and fieldstone. Like the pier foundations 5784, wall 5508 abuts the north wall of the staircase 5783.  Permission to dismantle wall 5508 is awaited and, like wall 5649, expected to produce Frankish or later material.  ; Lattimore uncovered the remaining blocks of a NS wall 71 (renamed 5473) and the fill of the robbing trench for the rest of the wall (NB 235 p.19).   Wall 5473 (NB 235 71) has a top elevation of 85.73 and bottom elevation of 84.72 and extends from 1038.90 to 1037.56 N and 266.10 to 265.31 E. The robbing trench extends from 1037.56 to 1027.90 N and 265.55 to 266.70 E.   The robbing trench, which produced Frankish material, also lotted as 837, is clearly visible in a 1961 post-season photograph (61-26-6, vol 18, p.36).  More of the fill of this robbing trench was detected in the stretch south of wall 5508 (wall 61-G) and was excavated as deposit 5510 with a top elevation of 84.86 and bottom elevation of 84.67.  Consistent with lot 837, it produced Frankish material and was lotted as 2008-52.  It is imagined that wall 71 (5473) formed the west boundary of the level identified as strosis 85.246 by Lattimore.; Just west of well 61-9 (5864) is another EW wall (5443) of unknown function.  It extends from 1033.63 to 1032.95 N and 265.68 to 267.01 E.  Wall 5443, composed one large ashlar block in reuse and random coursed fieldstone, has a top elevation of 85.03 and bottom elevation of 84.57.  It seem that the fill of the foundation trench for wall 5443 was partially excavated in the 1961 campaign, and although no reference to the wall or this trench has been recovered from the excavation notes, the cut of the trench is discernable in the 1961 post-season photograph 61-27-4 (vol. 18, p.36).  The fill of the foundation trench was further excavated as deposit contexts 5550 and 5824 this season.  Though the highest level at which the cut was made for the construction of this wall is unknown, it was at least as high as the fill over highest of a series of pebble surfaces associated with the late Byzantine phase of the courtyard (5298, el. 84.99), to be discused below. The fill of the robbing trench for wall 71 presumably overlaid the western portion of wall 5443 and the foundation trench associated with it or truncated both.  Excavation of the fill of the foundation trench for wall 5443 revealed that this wall is built on top of an earlier structure (wall 5906) that also will be discussed below.;     In the portion of the courtyard that extends southward from the later curtain wall 5508, further enclosure of the space is evidenced by the NS wall 5360.  It extended from 1027.91 to 1030.29 N and 263.94 to 265.59 E with a top elevation of 85.26 and bottom elevation of 84.92.  Wall 5360, which consisted of a single course of rough hewn stones abutted the earlier EW wall 5411 to the S and EW wall @@ to the N.  The dismantling of wall 5360 produced Frankish pottery, lotted as 2008-51 including a Brundisi  proto-majolica bowl with a blue chevron pattern. The fill of an EW robbing trench 5506, that extends from @@ to @@ and produced Frankish material, demarcates the southern extent of the courtyard of the Byzantine house.  Of the Frankish levels associated with wall 5508 and 5360, only a single soft lens abutting wall @@, context 5527 (lot 2008-53) remained at the onset of the 2008 excavations. William Berg reports the excavation of hard fill in the area enclosed by wall 5360 (NB 229 wall 39), 5508 (61-G) to wall 34-F (NB 229, p.190) as basket 18 of the 8th of June (lot 61-680).  The removal of basket 18 revealed a surface at an elevation of 84.97 that is associated with a series of stairs rising from W to E.  ; ; Late Byzantine:; The late Byzantine courtyard of the 1961 house extends from the EW walls 5463 and 5741 in the N to walls 5411 and 5519 at it southern limit, from a NS wall indicated by the robbing trench @@ at the western edge, presumably to wall 34-F as the eastern boundary forming a regular rectangle.  The intrusion of later features, such as well 5864 and walls 5508, 5649 and 5543, discussed above as well as earlier excavation, in particular the removal of the deposits that abutted wall 34-F in the SE corner of the courtyard, complicate an understanding of the relationships between the deposits in the courtyard.  Nevertheless, it is possible to suggest the following:  the courtyard is characterized by succession of layers of pebbly and tile cobbled surfaces with evidence of leveling repairs, suggesting continuous use throughout the 12th century.  In this summary, I hope to be able to relate the various surface deposits to one another, to the features of the courtyard (wall 4442, wall 5906 and the EW drain 5863) and to points of communication with the adjacent rooms of the house (thresholds 5462, 5463 and @@)..; It is possible to phase the features associated with the courtyard of the 1961 Byzantine house in the following chronological sequence:; 1.    Walls 5463 and 5741, together with the threshold 586 are the earliest features; 2.    The courtyard installation (possible staircase foundations) wall 5906; 3.    Associated with the same stratum:; a.    The N wall of the staircase 5783; b.    The EW stone-lined drain ; 4.    Threshold with step 5462; 5.    Wall 5442; 6.    Wall 5443; It is worth noting, however, that the sequence of surfaces and repairs in the courtyard of the 1961 Byzantine house reflects continuous use over a period of about 100 years from the 11th through Early 12th centuries according to the pottery dates.; The primary characteristic of the deposits in the courtyard is the superimposition of surfaces.  On the basis of the sequence of floors, it can be said that the latest preserved surface in the courtyard was composed of flat lying roof tile fragments and cobbles excavated in 2 parts: surface 5300 is the segment N of  the EW wall 5508 (61-G) and surface 5630 (lot 2008-70).  Beneath the surface 5300=5630, was another tile-cobbled surface.  The portion N of wall 5508 (61-G) was excavated as deposit 5324 while the portion South of the wall remains to be excavated next season when wall 5508 is dismantled.  The tily surface 5324 transitioned gradually to a hard packed dirt surface excavated as deposit 5327.  Beneath the tile and cobble surface 5324 was a series of shallow lenses and pebbly patches intended to level depressions in the courtyard surface coordinated between deposits 5679 and 5685 (5633; 5634; 5635; 5657; 5661; 5664; 5668; 5669; 5672; 5674; 5665 lotted as 2008-69).;     In the NW corner of the courtyard where the robbing trenches 5549 and @@ intersect, a lens of dumped construction debris 5398 appears to coordinate with the leveling patches under the tile and cobble floor 5324.  Under this lens of debris was the pebble surface 5564 (top elevation 84.84).  It abutted wall 5463 and was cut through by the trench for robbing portions of that same wall (robbing trench fill 5545 and 5852; cut 5549).  The pebble surface 5564 also preserved some cement (5560), which lay on it, presumably residue from the mixing of this material for a construction project. ; Beneath the pebbly surface 4464 was another patched pebbly floor (patch 5565, pebbly surface 5566) and beneath it two more hard packed surfaces..  Because of the cut around well 61-9 (5864) and the cut of the foundation trench for wall 5543, the pebbly surfaces 5564 and 5566 and the dirt surfaces 5616 and 5618 are truncated and their relationship with the deposits on the E side of well 61-9 (5864) must be reconstructed. ; Preserved under pedestal of the terracotta and stone-lined drain (5213) in the NE corner of the courtyard was another sequence of pebble surfaces that continue under the NS rubble foundation (5649 ), 5291, 5293, 5641, 5645 and 5656.  These likely continued northward to meet the north wall of the courtyard 5741 (NB 230 wall 59) but were truncated by excavations in the 1960’s.   Due to comparable elevations and sequence of layers, the surfaces W of the cut for well 61-9 (5864) are imagined to represent the same stratigraphic sequence as those W of the well. ; The sequence of patched pebble surfaces in the NW and NE corners of the courtyard seem to be replicated in the area just N of wall the EW wall 5508.  The sloping surface 5679, surface 5683 (lotted as 2008-67), pebble patch and surfaces 5726, 5730 and 5757.  The foundation trench for the NS wall 5442 cut through a lens of fill 5728, overlying 5730 and abutting 5726.  The NS wall 5442 extends from 1031.83 to 1033.56 N and 267.09 to 267.66 E with a top elevation of 84.95 and bottom elevation of 84.43. The random courses of roughly hewn limestone blocks and a spoliated marble molding abut the EW wall 5443 to the N, forming a corner.  Like wall 5443, wall 5442 appears to be built on an earlier structure.  The function of the walls 5442 and 5443 is not clear.; The pebble surface 5291(?), pebbly surface 5697 and packed dirt surface 5651are cut by an EW trench that extends from under wall 5649 up to the cut around well 61-9 (5864).  This trench appears to mark the clearing out of an earlier EW drain with built stone walls (5863) that follows the same course as the later terracotta drain (5213).  The fill of the drain-clearing trench, deposits 5288, 5289, 5646 and 5908, was lotted as 2008-58. ; Deposit 5697, likely contemporary with the pebble surface 5656, is the resting surface of a limestone step associated with a threshold 5462 in wall 59-G (between wall 5463 and 5741).  The surface 5697 was overlain by 5696, which continued underneath the blocks of the threshold 5462 (1034.93 to 1035.72 N and 268.68 to 270.19 E; top el. 85.08 and bottom el. threshold 84.87, step 84.63).  The raising of the threshold and addition of the step likely marks the raising of the floor in the room N of the courtyard.  The threshold 5462, removed on May 29th, and the coordinated surfaces  (5697, 5656, 5651) appear to be contemporary. ; Under the pebbly surfaces 5697 and 5656 was another uniform surface extending between the drain-clearing trench (cut 5673) and wall 59-G (wall 5741 and threshold 5865), (deposits 5737, 5742 and 5800). Into this surfaces a large pit filled with ash and construction debris was cut (cut context 5702: 1034.08 to 1035.59 N; 268.89 to 272.42 E, top el. 84.72 bottom el. 84.04).  The differentiated fills of the pit, deposits 5699, 5704, 5705 and 5716, were lotted as 2008-59.  ; With the removal of the surface 5751, a series of lenses and patches (5690, 5691, 5692, 5694, 5709, 5748, 5756) and the martyr 5771, a rather continuous surface extending from the N wall of the staircase 5883 the line of the EW drain 5863 was revealed.  The material produced from the excavation of this surface, coordinated between deposits 5773 and 5764, was lotted as 2008-66. ; The excavation of the surface coordinated between 5773 and 5764 revealed an earlier pebbly surface 5803.  Through the surface 5803 S of the drain and 5799 (and perhaps 5797), a shallow linear cut was made outside the N and S line of the built stone drain (cut context 5781, 1033.31 to 1034.10 N, 269.85 to 271.91 E, top el. 84.65, bottom el. 84.56).  This cut appears to be intended for the laying of cover-slabs for the drain that were subsequently robbed out.   The foundation trench for the N wall of the staircase 5783 (NB 230 wall 61-G) was also cut through surface 5803.  The fill of the foundation trench 5795, lotted as 2008-65, was only partially excavated this season; it remains unexcavated where it continues under the rubble pier foundations 5782 and the pedestalled wall 5508. The build courses of limestone blocks and tile stringers that make up N wall of the staircase 5783, first exposed by Lattimore on Date (NB 230 p. wall 61-G) extend from 1030.08 to 1030.68 N and 269.77 to 271.52 E with a top elevation of 85.23 and bottom elevation of 84.39.  The foundation trench fill 5795 was slightly over-dug, revealing an earlier EW wall on top of which wall 5783 is built.  These blocks are also visible in the bottom of a rectangular pit E of the staircase (1029.00 to 1030.25 N and 270.60 to 271.25 E, top el.84.41, bottom el. 84.25) excavated as deposit 5518.  The pit fill 5518 abutted the N wall of the staircase 5783 to the N, the NS wall 38-F (NB 229 p.188) to the E, the rubble packing of the staircase to the W, and the unexcavated layers into which the pit cut 5521 was made to the S.  Excavation of the pit fill 5518, lotted as 2008-55, produced an iron adze (MF-2008-6), an iron ladle (MF-2008-3) and scalloped door plaque with keyhole and latch cuttings (MF- 2008-4).  ; The tops of the stones forming the walls of the drain 5863 (1032.83 to 1034.68 N and 269.35 and 273.60 E top el.84.60 bottom el.84.31) are flush with the surfaces 5823, 5836 and the unexcavated deposit beneath 5799.  Because no cut was discernable outside the line of the stones that line the drain, it is imagined that the walls of the drain 5863 were built directly against the walls of trench cut for its construction.  The drain 5863 appears to continue under wall 5649 into the eastern entrance corridor and the western extent is truncated by cut around well 61-9 (5864) with which the drain does not communicate.  The fill of the drain was excavated as deposits 5592 and 5651.;      The removal of the surface 5902, coordinate with the surfaces 5900 in the NW corner of the courtyard, revealed the foundation trench fill 5905 for the EW wall 5906 on top of which wall 5443 was built.  Both wall 5906, which extends from 1032.91 to 1033.53 N and 265.36 to 267.01 E  (top el. 84.61; bottom el. 84.23), and its foundation trench are truncated to the west by the robbing trench for the NS wall that form the W boundary of the courtyard (cut 5859).  Wall 5906 appears to be part of a courtyard installation of unknown function, perhaps the foundations for a staircase. Another pebble and packed earth surface 5956, 5857 and 5851, picked out with patches 5817, 5819, 5833 and the shallow ash filled pit 5829, was revealed by the removal of the surfaces 5803 and 5815 south of the line of the drain.  A patch of cement (deposit 5827) that is likely residue for cement mixing in the courtyard for a construction project in the house was also revealed.  The surface in the NE part of the courtyard excavated as deposits 5900 and 5902 likely corresponds to the surfaces S of the line of the drain excavated as deposits 5803 and 5815, which in are contemporary with the superimposed surfaces 5823 and 5961 in the NE.  The excavation of the surface 5823 produced a bronze ring with incised decoration (MF-2008-23).; The removal of the surface 5868 in the NW corner of the courtyard revealed the foundation trench fill 5873 running along the south face of wall 5741 (59-G). Wall 5741, also revealed by Lattimore (NB 230 p.178) and built of courses of roughly hewn blocks with tile stringers and half a spoliated column drum, extends from 1035.41 to 1036.52 N and 270.08 to 275.80 E  (top el. 85.16, bottom el. 84.12).  Excavation of the fill of the foundation trench 5873, revealed that wall 5741 incorporates and is built onto the earlier NS wall 38-G (NB 230 p.95), which forms the E wall of the room N of the courtyard, and with which wall 5741 forms a corner.  The gap between wall 5463 and 5741 represents the doorway that allows for communication between the area of the courtyard and the room N of the courtyard. It is punctuated by a block with a doorjamb cutting, structure 5865.  The surface 5868 is likely contemporary with the surface 5909 in the NE corner of the courtyard as the removal of this surface revealed the fill if the foundation trench that runs along the south face of wall 5463 and the trench for the robbing out of part of that wall (5549).  This foundation trench remains unexcavated.  Wall 5463 extends from 1034.95 to 1035.81 N and 265.58 to 268.81 E (top el. 85.16; bottom el. 84.15.  The eastern portion of wall 5463 was revealed by Lattimore on May 12th, 1961 (NB 230 p.95) and the western portion was revealed by the removal of the fill of the robbing trench 5545 and 5852.  The EW robbing trench 5549, filled by 5546 and 5852, truncates the earlier NS robbing trench 5859. ; The surface 5909 in the NW corner of the courtyard, coordinated with the surfaces 5868 in the NE and the pebble surfaces south of the drain 5851, 5856 and 5857 (lotted as 2008-61) likely represent the first phase of the use of this area as a courtyard associated with the EW wall 5463 and 5471 and the threshold 5865.  The removal of these surfaces mark the end of the pebbly surfaces appropriate to an outdoor area and reveal the foundation trench for the earliest wall associated with the floors above.; ; ROOM NORTH OF THE COURTYARD:; Directly N of the courtyard and in communication with it through two successive thresholds is a room bounded to the N by the EW wall 5562 (58-G NB 230), to the E by the NS wall 38-G (NB 230) to the S by the EW wall 5463 and 5741. The W boundary of the room is likely wall 5473 (71-G NB 230) in the Frankish period that is later largely robbed out (NB 235 p.19).  It is possible that before the construction of wall 5473 (71-G) the room extended westward all the way to the NS wall 5724 (260.12 to 261.59 E), though a NS robbing trench 5830 (264.66 and 265.42 E) presents another candidate for the western boundary of the room.  This season the room was excavated between the NS robbing trench 5830 and wall 38-G running W to E and wall 5562 (58-G) and the N face of 5463 running N to S, except a few deposit that communicate with the courtyard to the S via a threshold. Lattimore reports ceasing excavation in Room 12, which includes both the Byzantine courtyard and the room N of the courtyard at the strosis 84.765 (NB 235 p. 178).  Excavation in this room began with the removal of what appeared to be a wheelbarrow ramp from the excavation in the 60’s abutting wall 5473 and wall 5562 (deposits 5459, 5461 and 5465).; The later of the two thresholds between wall 5463 and 4741 (5462), which overlaid the latest deposits in the room, was removed and subsequently revealed an earlier threshold (5865).  A series of floors and leveling fills (5569, 5570, 5571, 5572, 5585 and 5587) were removed.   The excavation of 5572 and 5585 revealed a small area of tile cobbling where wall 5473 (71-G) abuts wall 5562 (58-G).  The tiles can be seen to continue westward underneath wall 5473 (71-G). Both deposits 5585 and 5587 were martyred during excavation. to prevent contamination from the scarp to the west.  These martyrs remain to be excavated at a later date. The removal of the fill 5587 revealed a chunky layer of broken tile and marble as well as cobbles, because this deposit runs underneath the tile floor along wall 5562, excavation of this fill is delayed until wall 5473 (71-G) can be removed. ; The removal of the fills and floors of higher elevation in the west part of the room was followed by the excavation of a trench along the N face of wall 5463 (fill 55573; cut 5574).  The removal of the fill of this trench revealed second cut at a lower elevation, which appeared to be the foundation trench on the N side of wall 5463 (5910).  The fill of the lower cut was excavated as deposit 5613.  The level at which the cut was made and width of the trench are comparable with the foundation trench on the S side of wall 5741 (5874).   However, the cut seems to end at 267.6 E and does not extend along the length of wall 5463.  Further excavation of the deposits to the west is necessary to clarify the issue. ; A series of small pits and trenches were excavated on both the N and S sides of Wall 5463 (5712, 5721, 5725, 5904, 5898, 5610, 5557).   Their function is unknown.  A larger pit filled with cobbles and boulders that abutted wall 38-G was also isolated and excavated (5583, 5584). ; Two more lenses of fill were excavated in this room 5578 (lotted as 2008-60) and 5800.  Resting on the fill 5800 was a block with three rectangular cuttings, possibly for a small tripod, it was removed as structure 5809 and placed on top of wall 5562 (58-F).; The threshold 5865 consists of a rectangular block with doorjamb cutting set in the gap between the walls 5471 and 5463.  The block rests on a surface that slopes to ward the S into the area of the courtyard.  The courtyard floor 5800, which bridged both spaces also assures communication between the lower courtyard surface and raised floor of the room N of the courtyard.  This like explains the addition of a step in the later threshold (5462).; ; ; ; ; ROOM SW OF THE COURTYARD:; Daniel Geagan conducted excavations in this area (Agora SW-J) in the 1963 season (NB 254; 262).  The room bounded by wall 50-J to the N, wall 51-J (structure 5360) to the E, wall 52-J to the S (structure 5285, 5411; 5866) and truncated by the foundations for Turkish  wall 2-J.  Geagan dicovered a built pithos (pithos #1) in the center of the room (NB262 p.35, 38-9).  The elevation of the mouth was reported as 84.664.  He excavated this room down from 84.91 to a floor level at 84.663 (Fill A; lot 1293; NB 262 p.36) and notes a foundation trench along the N face of wall 52-J (structure 5285, 5411, 5866) but does not excavate it.  In the 2008 season, we removed the backfill in this room, revealing the floor described by Geagan.; ; FRANKISH BASEMENT WITH IRON OBJECTS:; Immediately south of the room SW of the courtyard of the 1961 Byzantine house is an adjacent room bounded to N by wall 52-J (structure 5285, 5411; 5866), to the E by wall 49-J (structure 5284), to the S by wall 23-J (structure 5216). ;  Geagan excavated this room in the 1963 season down to a floor at 84.377.  He left a martyr along the NS wall 5284 (49-J) that wrapped along half the stretch of the EW wall 5411 and it is this martyr and floor that we excavated this season after removing the backfill from the area.  A post-season photograph (63-18-25, vol.19 p.8) shows the extent of Geagan’s excavation of the room.; Excavation of the stratigraphic deposits in this area began with the removal of structure 5285 (1027.33 to 1027.77 N; 263.70 to 264.80 E;  top el.85.18 bottom el. 85.03).  Structure 5285 is the filling-in of a doorway that communicated with the room to the N.  The removal of structure 5285 revealed a plaster floor that covered the threshold block and doorjamb cuttings of the earlier doorway (5415).  The removal of this surface revealed a packed dirt floor (5416), which also covered the doorjamb cuttings.  Beneath the floor 5416 was another floor 5429 that appears to be associated with the threshold (structure 5866).  The structure 5866 consists of a threshold block set in a gap punched through the earlier EW wall 5411.  On either side of the threshold block are rectangular cuttings for the insertion of wooden doorjambs.  These are cut into blocks that belong to the earlier wall 5411.   ; Beneath the floor 5429 were a series of fills (5432, 5441, 5448, 5452, 5453).  This sequence of leveling fills appears to correspond to Geagan’s fill G (lot 1289; coins 63-340, 63-340a; NB 262, p.56 #14 and 19 for notes; NB 254 p.182 for section).  The removal of these fills revealed an ashy floor (5456).  The removal of the ashy floor (5456) and two lenses of leveling fill beneath it (5458, 5460) revealed a layer of fill with many rooftile inclusions.  The broken tiles were reserved during excavation to look for joining fragments, but the mixed tile types and lack of joins indicated that this lens (5472) was re-deposited destruction debris rather than a destruction layer.  The tile layer 5477 appears to correspond to Geagan’s fill G2 (lot 1290; coin 63-351; NB 262, p.67 #3 for notes; NB 254 p.182 for section).  The tile-filled layer was cut through by the foundation trench (cut 5471; fill 5466) for the NS wall 5484. ; Wall 5484 (49-J), which extends from 1023.80 to 1027.20 N and 265.32 to 265.80 E  (top 85.77; bottom 84.31), was uncovered by Geagan on May 29th (NB 262 p.55-55).  Beneath the tily layer was another layer of fill (5477).  The fill 5477 corresponds to Geagan’s fill H (lot 1291; NB 262, p.70 #7 for notes; NB 254 p.182 for section).  The excavation of the fill 5477 produced a glass bead necklace (MF-2008- 18) and revealed a packed dirt floor 5891 (el. 84.35).  This is the same floor (el. 84.377) that Geagan exposed in the SW corner of the room and ceased excavation in 1963 (NB 262 p70).  An iron axe (MF-2008-9), iron spearhead (MF-2008-8), iron sickle (MF-2008- ), a handle and a nearly complete coarse mug (C-2008-7) were found in situ next to three articulated goat vertebrae in the NW corner of the room where the EW wall 5411 is truncated by the Turkish wall 2-J (5217).  The objects were removed as context 5507.  A shallow pit (5890) cut through the floor 5891. The fill was excavated as deposit 5889 and produced a base fragment of a zeuxippus bowl. The removal of the floor 5891 revealed a NS robbing trench, likely associated with a roman wall 62-J (NB 262 p.156 ff.).  The fill of the robbing trench remains unexcavated.  The bottom of the EW wall 5411 (52-J) has not yet been reached, nor has a foundation trench for this wall been isolated along its S face.  Wall 5411 extends from 1027.28 to 1027.89 N and 262.64 to 265.88 E (top el. 85.73).  It is abutted by wall 5284 with which it forms a corner, and truncated to the W by the Turkish wall 2-J (5217).; Wall 5216 (23-J) runs EW from 1023.24 to 1023.88 N and 263.00 to 265.60 E.  It is built against wall 5284 and on to wall 32-F (NB229, p.181), which runs along the same orientation as 5216, and is truncated by the Turkish wall 2-J to the W.  Geagan excavated the foundation trench for wall 5216 on the S side of the wall (lot 1408; NB 262, p.15 #15-16; p.26 #16 for notes; NB 264, p. 182 for section, disturbance V).  ; Because of the elevations of the fill 5477 and floor 5891, which both produces Frankish material, and the lack of a foundation trench on the N side of wall 5216, this space is interpreted as a basement.; ; ROMAN WALLS: ; ; Late Roman; The walls whose foundation trenches we have excavated have been dated to the Late Roman Period.  The foundation trench of 5218 was excavated in two discrete deposits (5221, 5235).  The upper layer was dated by pottery and coinage to the 5th and 6th centuries and the lower one to the 4th. In any case, the deposits from this foundation trench show that Wall 5218 was constructed during the Late Roman Period, no later than the end of the sixth century C.E. This interpretation supplements the previous work done by Heidi Broome-Raines, who gave the trench for the E face of this same wall in the room N of room F,West a Late Roman date based on a coin deposited in it from the late 4th century (context 5060). This coin gives a secure terminus post quem for the trench and wall. The pottery and coin finds from the west side of the wall locate this trench and its wall within the fifth or sixth centuries. Geagan also reports excavating the foundation trench for wall 5218 (wall 22-J NB254, p.146 #16 for notes; p.197 for section; lot 1389), though it appears that he excavated on the portion S of wall 5215 (56-J=38-E). ; ; Middle Roman; The Middle Roman period is represented in our area by the fills bounded by Walls 5216 (NB 254 23-J), 5218 (NB 254 22-J), 5215 (NB254 56-J=38-E), and 5217 (NB254 2-J) and starting securely at 85.47 El. (5248).   None of the these wall abut or bond with one another, however walls 5218 and 5215 are separated by gap that appears to be a doorway emphasized with an orthostate and likely belong to the same phase of use.   There were many contexts below 5248 that were all Middle Roman and seemed to be associated leveling fill (5248, 5266, 5277, 5311, and 5320).  After taking only a thin layer off we started to come down on a large secondary deposit of tile (5311 lotted as 2008-46).  This along with the contexts below it down to 85.02 El. (5320 lotted as 2008-47), where we stopped digging, turned up dates to 300 +/- 25 CE.  This all seems to be part of a leveling fill. ; A pit (Fill 5171, 5183 (lotted as 2008-44), 5351, 5350, 5331; cut 5175) containing material dating to the first half of the fourth century CE was filled along the north face of Wall 5215. The excavation of the pit fill 5331 (lotted as 2008-45) produced a plastic terracotta lamp (L-2008-1), a seated muse figurine fragment (MF-2008-24) and a fragment of a terracotta comic mask.  Beneath the pit fill the foundation trench for wall 5215 was detected and excavated (fill 5352; 5254 cut).  The E edge of the foundation trench for wall 5215 (cut 5354) is formed by an ashlar limestone block.  This block is on the same orientation as Geagan’s NS wall 62-J (NB 262 p.197 for cross-section) exposed on the S side of wall 5215. A similar block is visible in the bottom of the foundation trench for the EW wall 5216.  Both blocks are in alignment with an unexcavated NS robbing trench N of wall 5216.","","Nezi Field 2008 by Jody Cundy and Megan Thompsen (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","1961 Byzantine House, Courtyard and Surrounding Rooms at Modern through Late Byzantine Levels"
"Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Joseph Lillywhite, Joel Rygorsky, Matthew Sears, Martin Wells (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","Corinth","","Report","","","","We, Joseph Lillywhite, Joel Rygorsky, Matthew Sears and Martin Wells, continued excavation in the entirety of Nezi Field from May 5 – June 13th, 2008.  This report will summarize our own findings, while also incorporating those of Alexis Belis and Christina Gieske, who excavated during Session I of the 2008 season.   The shape of our excavation area was somewhat irregular; its maximum coordinates ranged from 993.98 N to 1015.43 N and from 255.41 E to 279 E.   In the area of the Nezi Field 2007 excavations we resumed excavation where the 2007 team of Lina Kokkinou and Angela Ziskowski left off, the northern edge of which is an irregular escarpment left by the excavations of 1936 and 1961; in the northwestern area of Nezi Field, the northern edge of which is also an irregular escarpment formed by 1960’s excavations, we take up where Alexis Belis and Christina Gieske, who excavated from April 7th-April 26th, 2008, left off; south of where AB and CG excavated, our excavation began at a ground level revealed by a bulldozing operation.  Both of these latter two regions border the first on their eastern edge.  The bulldozing operation in the southwestern portion of Nezi Field was undertaken because the 2007 excavations proved that Nezi field had a deep disturbed agricultural stratum. This context was carefully dug by hand in 2007, but at a great cost of time. Therefore, this season, the excavation area was extended in order to find more of the structures uncovered in 2007, and to save time, the agricultural levels were removed by machine. The northwest area, where AB and CG excavated, was not bulldozed because it was known that it contained the continuation of the E-W running Early Modern property boundary wall (excavated to the east with B64 in 2007) and we wanted to record this structure (wall 243) properly before removal. We worked under the supervision of director Guy Sanders and assistant field director Alicia Carter. We excavated with Panos Stamatis (pick man), Sotiris Raftopoulos (shovel man/barrowman) Kleomenes Didaskalou (pick man), and Vangelis Kollias (shovel man/barrowman).; ; Our objective was to reach the level of the 2007 Nezi Field excavations, in order to continue the investigation of Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine remains uncovered there. In the process of excavation to reach these earlier levels, we discovered evidence of Early Modern and Modern activity. The overall goal of the Nezi Field excavations has been to show the relationship of this entire area to the previously excavated area to the north (North of Nezi). ; ; This final report for the 2008 ASCSA Corinth Excavations in Nezi Field describes our interpretation of the stratigraphy encountered in our excavation area.  ; ; LATE BYZANTINE (1059-1210); The earliest contexts found to date in Nezi field date from the Late Byzantine period.  ; ; Two fills, 408 and 424 are datable by pottery to the Late Byzantine period, specifically to the last quarter of the 12th century CE.  Both of these fills are bounded on the east by wall 332, while 408 is bounded to the south by wall 365, and 424 to the north by wall 366.  On this basis, we tenuously interpret these three walls as having been constructed prior to these fills, making them Late Byzantine or earlier in date.  If subsequent excavation in this area reveals associated floors or foundation trenches, more accurate and precise dating should be pursued.  Context 371, which lay immediately to the west of where 408 was deposited, also was dated by pottery to the 12th century; however, 371 was overlain by a context whose pottery dated to the early Frankish period (401), leading us to the interpretation that both of these fills have been disturbed by a process of natural deposition, and thus are not related to the usage period of these walls.; ; Walls 332, 365, and 366 are part of a series of walls that form two rooms (one bounded by walls 305, 306, 332 and 365, the other bounded by walls 365, 306, 332 and 366).  Based upon the appearance of the walls, it seems that walls 305, 365 and 366 all abut wall 306, which leads us to believe that wall 306 should be no later than contemporary with walls 365 and 366, i.e. wall 306 should be dated no later than Late Byzantine, last quarter of the 12th century CE.  Circumstantially, it also seems appropriate to tentatively date wall 305 as contemporary to walls 306, 365 and 332, since these four walls together form a room.  It should be noted, however, that no contexts have yet been found inside this room that can be dated to the Late Byzantine period.; ; An area that will need further examination is that revealed beneath deposit 325, a tile filled destruction layer that directly overlaid a floor in the SE corner of the excavation.  The floor ran up to wall 316 to the W and 311 to the E.  There are no securely dated deposits of the Late Byz. In this area but for 325 (see below), which may turn out to be Frankish after the floor is excavated.  It is likely, however, that both wall 316 and 325 were constructed in the Byzantine Period.  More excavation is needed.; ; One other context was excavated that was datable by pottery to the Byzantine period.  A pit (cut =386), filled by context 385, was a small pit cut into the silty layer of natural deposition that seems to have lain over all of Nezi field (both the 2007 area of excavation and that which we excavated in 2008).  While its pottery does date to the Byzantine period, we believe this is impossible stratigraphically.  Since the pottery recovered from this pit comprises a total of only four coarseware sherds, we interpret the cutting of this pit as an activity much later than the Byzantine period.  The digging and filling of this pit will be able to be more accurately dated when the surrounding fill it cuts is excavated.; ; FRANKISH (1210-1458 CE); ; A multitude of various contexts seem to indicate that Nezi Field was the site of sustained activity during the Frankish period.; ; One distinct area of Frankish activity can be reconstructed in the southwestern area of Nezi field.  Discussed above was a tentatively dated Late Byzantine room bounded by walls 305, 306, 365 and 332.  Excavation of a later floor partially bounded by the limits of this room, fills underneath this floor, and a trench cut for the partial robbing of wall 305 allow us to speculate on the usage of this area during the Frankish period.  Floor 374, which lay partially directly beneath a layer of silty natural deposit (=301) and partially below a small extent of patchy surface(277) datable to the 13th century AD (npd), was bounded by walls 305 and 306 to the south and west, but overlay walls 332 and 365 to the north.  The pottery associated with floor 374 is datable to the early 13th century CE, perhaps around 1230.  Thus, we interpret this floor as part of an early Frankish partial re-usage of the earlier Late Byzantine room.  The contexts below floor 374, however, are somewhat problematic in their pottery dates.  There was some discussion in the field as to whether this context was truly a floor, however, since it was such a hard surface of relatively uniform clayey matrix with 3 small pits were dug into its surface (350, 353, 356) it seems likely that our interpretation of its being a floor is correct. ; ; Two of the three contexts excavated below floor 374 are consistent with our interpretation of the phasing of this part of the site; fill 387 dates to the second quarter of the 13th century, and the patch of red surface excavated as context 378 has a pottery date of early 13th century.  The other (389), however, has been dated by pottery to anywhere between 1250-1340.  Thus, our pottery here is somehow contaminated, the dating of the pottery needs to be re-evaluated, the construction of the floor needs to be pushed back to after 1250, or our entire interpretation needs to be rethought.  It seems that, when floor 374 was put in, the original northern and eastern boundaries of the room (walls 365 and 332) were built over, thus creating a larger space bounded to the west and south by walls 306 and 305.  The northern and western boundaries of this early Frankish space, however, are indeterminate, since floor 374 was not bounded by any visible structures to the north or west.  Cut into floor 374 were a series of three small pits, all placed just north of wall 305 and running along its bearing E-W.  These pits (352, 354 and 357) were all quite shallow, and their fills (350, 353, 356) gave no precise clues about their purpose.  We tentatively interpret these as small garbage pits cut into floor 374, but their alignment along the line of wall 305 does suggest the possibility that these may have been post holes used in the support of some structure for which we have no other evidence.  Unfortunately, the pottery from two of the three pits was lost during a particularly windy day at the pot sheds, and the third did not contain pottery that gave a definitive date. In the second half of the 13th century, wall 305 was partially robbed out by cut 304.  This cut had two distinct fills, 303 and 381, the first of which is datable by pottery to the third quarter of the 13th century, and the second less precisely to the second half of the 13th century.  Our interpretation, based upon stratigraphy and pottery dates, is that wall 305 was partially robbed out after floor 374 fell out of use.; ; The other room discussed above, bounded by walls 365, 306, 366 and 332, has no Frankish floors.  Above 408 and 424 we found two distinct Frankish fills.  331, which has a pottery date of early fourteenth century (?) overlaid 360, which has a pottery date of second quarter of the 13th century.  Below 360 was uncovered wall 332, the eastern wall of our putative Late Byzantine room; this again points to a discontinuance of usage of this room in the Frankish period.  Also below 331 was fill 368, which was of indeterminate Frankish date.  Cut into fill 368 was pit 431, whose fills (336 = 338) date to the mid thirteenth century.  At the bottom of this pit, we discovered a well or cistern head (346), which had pottery datable the second quarter of the 13th century associated with.  It is unclear to what period this structure 346 should date.  A linear stone feature only partially exposed this season may be a stone built drain that is running roughly N-S up to the mouth of the structure – this may suggest it is a cistern rather than a well.; ; Another area where we see Frankish activity is in the area bounded by wall 313 to the east and 332 to the west.  Fill 394, bounded on either side by these two walls, was the lowest context we removed from this area; its pottery date is Frankish, first half of the 13th century.  Below this fill, we came down onto a reddish clay floor, which ran all the way from wall 313 to wall 332, and further to the northwest in a strip that runs along the eastern edge of wall 332. This floor is truncated in the south by pit 310, so we are unable to know its southern boundary.  Its northern boundary is unclear, as it seems to be disturbed to the north by fill 398 (datable by pottery to the second half of the thirteenth century), although we cannot find a cutting at the interface of the two fills, so we cannot explain the disturbance as another pit.  We believe further excavation in this area will reveal more information about the limits and usage of this space, but it does seem clear that we are dealing with some sort of built space in usa before the middle of the thirteenth century CE.  This unexcavated floor upon which fill 394 sits is thus likely either early Frankish or Late Byzantine, and is bounded by both walls 313 and 332. ; ; Above fill 394, we excavated what we interpreted as a rough surface (358), the pottery date of which was also first half of the 13th century.  Above surface 358, we excavated other Frankish contexts: 340 and 344 were rough surfaces dating to the first quarter of the 13th century, and 348 was a lens of blackish fill, whose date is unfortunately unknown due to an accidental post-excavation contamination of the pottery collected with the context.  Directly overlying surface 340 and surface 358 was context 280, dating to the last quarter of the 13th century and abutting a small semi-circular structure (283).  At the SE corner of 280 a small ash deposit (281) and its underlying debris (284), date to the Late Frankish period. The fill inside the semicircular structure, which was directly to the W of the small ashy deposit but not abutting it, dated to the late 13th century, while the fill beneath it (deposit 288) dated to 1280 +/-10 years.  All of these contexts seem to post-date the usage of wall 332, since surface 358 and fill 348 partially covered wall 332.  In contrast, both surfaces 340 and 350 abutted wall 313, leading us to believe that wall 313 was in use when these surfaces were constructed and used.  The southern boundary of surface 358 was cut by pit 310.  The fill of this pit (308) has a pottery date of second quarter of the thirteenth century.  Pit 310, however, is later, and should post-date the usage of surfaces 358 and 340, since pit 310 also cuts fill 302 (=314), which has a pottery date of the last quarter of the 13th century.  Thus, in this area, we believe we have evidence of Frankish activity (340, 348, 350, 394) from the first half of the 13th century, which included a re-use of wall 313.  The cutting of pit 310 sometime during or after the last quarter of the 13th century may indicate a terminus ante quem for the destruction or abandonment period of this space.; ; Directly south of this area, just west of and over top of wall 316, we discovered more evidence of Frankish activity in Nezi Field.  Of Frankish contexts, we found here only fill or destruction levels, i.e. no contexts directly associated with usage periods.  328 was the earliest context we uncovered here; this fill sat directly on top of courses of stone foundations for two walls, 316 and 305.  The pottery date of 328 is the first half of the 13th century.  On top of this fill, we seem to have encountered destruction debris, which was excavated as contexts 285, 287 and 321.  These contexts were full of tiles and large boulders, which we speculate may have fallen from wall 316 or been dumped here upon the collapse of some other structure(s).  The pottery of this destruction debris dates to the second half of the 13th century.  Context 318 was laid on top of 328, and seems to be a small lens of dumped fill; its pottery date is third quarter of the thirteenth century, and may be related to some sort of post-destruction/abandonment leveling activity.  Context 289 overlaid all of these fills, and is the last deposit of Frankish date in this area; its pottery date is also third quarter of the 13th century.  It is interesting to note that the deposition of 328 on top of the foundations of walls 316 and 305 (pottery date = second half of the 13th century) post-dates the pottery dates of surfaces 340 and 358 to the N (pottery dates = first half of the thirteenth century); perhaps the abrupt truncation of these surfaces, as well as the surface below context 394, is related to the destruction of the superstructures of walls 305 and 316?; ; One of the main goals of excavation in the eastern area of Nezi field (E of robbing trench B54, wall 313, and wall 313) was to remove the overlying contexts of a very large Boney Ashy Layer (BAL).  This deposit is cut by the apsidal structure and underlies much of the Frankish/Late Byzantine deposits in the area.  It was revealed beneath deposits 432, 407, 373, 364, 355, 359, and parts of floor 337 in the northern/central area of Nezi field.  Further excavation is needed to precisely identify the limits of the BAL which will certainly be an excavation priority in 2009. ;  ; Directly E of wall 316 no part of the BAL was uncovered, but there were several areas of Frankish activity.  The most notable are the fills above and around the late Byzantine tile filled destruction debris of 325, which sat atop a floor that extended up to wall 316 at its NE corner, bordered by wall 299, pit cuts 290, and 310 to the N, and the edge of the excavated area to the E and S.   This area also has several natural deposits dating to the Late Byzantine period but their dates are tenuous and could change with further excavation (see above).  ; ; Wall 399, projecting from the eastern edge of excavation, must date to the Frankish period or later, as deposit 375, which dates to the 2nd ¼ of the 13th century, runs beneath it to the S, and possibly the BAL to the N.  Other than the terminus post quem for wall 299, dates for most of the deposits in this part of the site are difficult to fix precisely. The cobble fill of 375 was cut by pit 297 and its fill 292, which dates to the last ¼ of the 13th century or later, as well as pit 293, filled by 291.  Above 375 was a series of fills also dating to the 13th century: 309, 296, and 294.  In this area, however, E of wall 311 several late Byzantine deposits were also uncovered in very close proximity to the Frankish material: deposit 384 also goes beneath wall 299, 380 is bordered by wall 311 to the W and cut by pit 297 to the E, 382 sits directly against the S portion of wall 311, 383 is a small red patch perhaps related to the floor beneath 325, and 388 is an erosional fill that continues into the eastern edge of excavation. Of these Byzantine deposits it is 388 that is best dated, as it had a moderate amount of pottery dating to the 2nd ¼ of the 12th century.  ; ; Just to the S and W of wall 311 deposits continued to be of various dates, with 377 dating to 13th century and 379 abutting it, dating to the 12th.  Deposit 312, which runs into the southern edge of excavation, overlaid deposits 379 (Late Byz.) and 323/322 (Frankish).  The entire area should be clarified when the clay floor revealed beneath 325, 300, and 390 is excavated.  Overall most deposits were small and did not provide much evidence indicating precise dates.  As 375, the largest and most securely dated (2nd ¼ of the 13th century), sat directly above 388, it is likely that all of these small fills and depositional layers date to the Frankish period.  ; ; What does seem clear, however, is that the area E of and abutting wall 316, was disturbed in the Frankish period. The loose rocks of deposit 300, which dates to the early 14th century, were revealed by the bulldozer and sat directly upon the floor mostly revealed beneath 325.  The large context 302/314 overlaid 325 in parts but also ran up to the missing eastern section of wall 316 and dates to the 4th ¼ of the 13th century.  Indeed all contexts abutting the E section of wall 316 date to the Frankish period (307, robbing trench 315/319, 317, 320, 322, and 324) except for 325.; ; A Frankish pit, 286/290 was sunk through both the floor revealed under 325 and the silty fill of 302. The upper fill of this pit (286) should then date no earlier than 302, or the 4th ¼ of the 13th century.   Pit 290 was not completely excavated, however, and its interpretation may change when the bottom layers of fill are examined.  Just to the east of 290 is pit 310 (see above).  Between these two pits (and cut by them) were fills 326 and 327, both dating to the Frankish period.  At the northern edge of 290 parts of a wall are visible running E-W.  This wall had parts of floor 337, inside the apsidal building, running over it.  It seems clear that after the floor beneath 325 was covered in destruction collapse a long period of deposition and natural processes affected the area.  As there is no robbing or foundation trench yet identified for wall 316, the debris and fills over and to the E of the missing eastern half of the wall were most likely deposited after the wall was removed or collapsed.  More excavation is needed to determine this hypothesis.  To the E of wall 311 there are no surfaces and much of the material may have been due to natural processes (esp. 388) or a later leveling operation, perhaps associated with the BAL.  If the Late Byz. Pottery dates of deposits 380 and 382 prove correct then wall 311 must date no later than this, but more excavation is required.; ; Within a room of the apsidal structure bordered to the W by wall 313, the east by wall 334, and the N by wall 335, we excavated a floor (337) and a series of fills S of cut B71 from the 2007 excavations.  Above this floor a few contexts, 329, 330, and 333, must date to the Frankish period, as 337 contained pottery from the 2nd ¼ of the 13th century.  Floor 337 abutted wall 313 to the W, 335 to the N, and 334 to the E.  To the south pit 290 seems to have cut floor 337, as parts of the floor were visible resting atop the E-W wall at the N edge of the cut.  Just beneath floor 337, S of pit B191 (2007 excav.), more of the BAL was revealed along with a reddish layer that may go beneath it.  Wall 334 cuts through the BAL as can be seen in the scarp of robbing trench B216 (2007 excav.).  E of pit B191 and W of wall 334 a series of fills produced a mixture of dates.  Just beneath the floor and over the BAL, fills 359 and 355 yielded a Late Byzantine date for their pottery. However, 339 and 341 abutting them in the NE corner, while containing only late Byzantine pottery, were stratigraphically later than 351, which dated to the 2nd ½ of the 13th century.  Therefore 339 and 341 must be Frankish. The same can be said for 342, which overlies wall 347, but 343 rests against this wall and dates to the Frankish period.  Deposits 345 and 349, furthermore, rest partly over 343, and thereby date to Frankish times.  ; ; All other deposits in this area, 361, 362, 363, 364, 367, 369, 372, and 373 are small and insecure regarding their dates.  Surfaces 361, 363 and 367 may have been misinterpreted in the field as they seem to be part of a series of fills cut into the BAL rather than true surfaces.  Cut 370 was only identifiable when a red matrix was discovered beneath deposit 364 that seems to go beneath the BAL to the S.  The BAL, in addition, seems to be laying within some of this cut, namely, that to the W of the exposed area and beneath deposit 364.  More excavation is needed to clarify these relationships.; ; Between the N edge of the apsidal structure and the baulk left by the 1936 excavations at the extreme N edge of Nezi field, a pit (cut 430), a series of destruction debris layers, possible natural deposits, and floors were excavated around wall 420.  Pit cut 430 was sunk into part of wall 420 and probably dates to the Frankish period, though it has not been completely excavated.  From this pit we removed 9 layers of fill that followed a pattern of a central slumping in the central portion (in this case extending to the southern edge) and a softer lens draping over the harder central cone.  A hard clayey layer was left at a higher elevation when excavation ceased.  The harder central cone slump consisted of contexts, 427, 423, 422, 421 (which was pure clay), and 418.  The softer strata around these included possibly 428, although parts of 427 seemed to overlie it, 419, and 417. The top layer of fill within pit 430 was 416.  To reveal the cut of this pit several layers had to be taken off (412, 414) and around (415) wall 420.  These were of firm to hard compaction and possibly related to the destruction debris to the N as they were composed mainly of clay and degraded mudbrick. They might be the result of weathering of the walls in this area – the building material being washed off the walls and pooling on the surface below.  ; ; Excavation N of wall 420 began with an obvious destruction layer intermingled with clay slumping and erosional deposition from a structure that we were not able to identify.  Above the tile layer 395 several clay fills (391,393) and some erosional debris (392) were removed, all dating to the 2nd ¼ of the 13th century.  395 was bordered to the south by a much disturbed robbing trench, 396, revealed in 2007.  Some of the tiles associated with 295 were visible in the bottom of robbing trench 396.  It was clear that there was a series of overlying phases of destruction.  S of 395, deposit 397 also represents a tile destruction layer that was visible in robbing trench 396, but its pottery dated to the Late Byz. Period.  Deposits in the area that are stratigraphically earlier than 397, however, provide Frankish dates.  These include 399, 400, 404, and 402 (another tile collapse).  The earliest of these, 402, dated from the late 12th to the mid 13th century. Cleaning E and N of wall 420, deposit 403, also yielded a date in the mid 13th century.  Beneath 395 a small patch of soil, 413, at a higher elevation than the Frankish layers around it, dated to the late Byzantine period but with very little pottery.  It will most likely be dated to the Frankish period after further excavations needed to fully decipher this area and its relation to the BAL are carried out.; ; Near the E edge of robbing trench B54 (2007 excav.) and the N limits of Nezi field, what may be either floor surfaces or erosional debris were revealed.  These contexts (425=433) were the same fully rounded pebble mixture with a few boulders projecting above their strosis.  There is no structure associated with the surface so it may be erosional.  Whatever the case, 433/425 dates to the 1st ¼ of the 13th century and so the stratigraphically later fills in the area, 404, 405, 406, 409, and 410 must all be after this date.; ; South of wall 420  deposit 432, which abuts the wall and sits directly on a portion of the BAL, dated to the 2nd ½ of the 13th century.  To the E, N, and overlying parts of 420, deposit 429 was ceramically dated to the 12th century but not precisely datable.  It stands to reason, then, that 429 should be re-dated to after 432 and is therefore Frankish.; The only deposit that cannot be proven Frankish at this time is 407, just NE of the apsidal structure.  This sat directly upon the BAL and will need further investigation before a precise date can be given.  The fact that 375 ran beneath wall 299 in the S edge of the trench, however, that the BAL seems to run up against the N face of 299, and that the cleaning pass of the BAL, 267, yielded a Frankish date, strongly suggests that the BAL is Frankish.  If this is correct 407 would need to be dated to the Frankish period.  More excavation is needed.; ; NATURAL DEPOSIT:  POST-FRANKISH TO EARLY MODERN; ; Above the various Frankish levels uncovered in Nezi field during the 2008 excavation season, we encountered throughout the area thick silty deposits that consistently contained pottery of various time periods.  Our current interpretation of all these contexts is that they are natural deposits created by the erosion of soil from further uphill over the course of hundreds of years.  Implied in this interpretation is that in these areas of Nezi Field, very little non-agricultural activity occurred between the end of the Frankish and beginning of the Early Modern periods.  We dealt with these deposits on an ad hoc basis, not fully realizing with what we were dealing until near the very end of the season.  Some were removed as cleaning contexts (e.g. 264 and 267), while others were excavated more carefully and are entered into to our Harris matrix (=257, 260, 262, 273, 278, 301, 371, 401, 411).  As a consequence of the random nature of these deposits, the pottery dates from context to context can vary widely, e.g. 371 has a pottery date of 12th century CE, 411 of Ottoman II, and 257 of 19th century CE.  ; ; EARLY MODERN; ; In the northern portion of the excavation area, the earliest feature is a pit (Context 248), which cut through a yet unexcavated layer containing lime and pebbles used for cement mixing. Because of the large boulders present in the fill of the pit, it seems possible that the superstructure of the N-S portion of Structure 243 was destroyed and placed in the pit. AB and CG dug one lense of fill in this pit (247), which was early 20th century CE according to its pottery date.  We dug three more lenses of fill in this pit (249, 251 and 252), two of which had pottery dates of Early Modern, and one of which had a pottery date of Frankish.  We discontinued excavation in this pit, in large part because its northern edge had been disturbed during the course of the 1960’s excavations carried on North of Nezi Field.  We were not confident that we were digging in sequence, and we took the decision to delay excavation inside this pit until such time as the contexts surrounding it could be better defined, which did not happen during the 2008 season.  We support the original presumption of AB and CG that it seems likely that this pit was contemporaneous with the construction of the Giambouranis house located just north of Nezi field because of the unexcavated layer containing construction debris (the lime and pebbles). ; ; Sometime after pit 248 was cut a cementy fill layer, represented by contexts 250, 252, 265, and 274 was deposited, the pottery from which dated to the late 19th-early 20th centuries.  This cementy dumped fill layer was found in pit 248 and was also cut by the laying of the E-W wall 243.  Wall 243 is represented chronologically by its cuts, 272 for the E-W portion, and 276 for the N-S return.  The lower fills for the cuts, 268, 269, and 275 (the N return foundations), contained flecks of the cementy fill through which they were dug.  The foundation course, 266, was exposed during the beginning of the 2007 excavations while searching for the foundation trench.  Pottery from the foundation courses of wall 243 dates to the 1st ½ of 19th century, but as this wall cut through the cementy dumped fill it must date to the late 19th/early 20th century.  Sometime after the original construction of wall 243 a S return, 244, was added, but not bonded.  An aerial photograph from 1909 does not show the southern extension and the pottery dates to early modern NPD.  A more precise date is not attainable.; ; A water pipe, 258, cut 261, was punched through wall 243 sometime in the late 19th, early 20th century.  The sections of repair to the superstructure of wall 243, 253 for the superstructure, 254 cementy fill beneath 253, and 255 (concrete directly over water pipe 258), provide this date, as does the packing over the pipe to the S, 256, and the fills for the installation of the pipe (259 and 263).  Notably the silty fill in this area, 257, 260, and 262, through which the pipe was cut, also date to the early modern period (and so too that to the E of 243, deposit 273).  The pipe itself (258) brought water from somewhere S/SE of Nezi to the Giamboranis house, and extended from the N edge of the excavation area to the south as far as wall 306 (see above), which it overlaid for several meters.  North of wall 243 the pipe sat upon the cementy dumped fill (274), which also seemed to have been deposited over the pipe. Clearly the cementy dumped fill was too soft to preserve any sort of cutting.  53 sections of pipe are preserved varying in length from 0.30-0.36m. with a thick layer of lime incrustation inside.  Male ends were generally pointed north except for the portion in the repaired section of 243, where the pipe was deposited at a slightly higher elevation.  ; ; Beneath the cementy dumped fill and just N of wall 243 a small oval pit, cut 271 filled by 270, must predate the wall and the pipe.  Very little pottery in this pit emerged, but what did exist dated to late Frankish (late 13th) times.  The chronological relation of this pit to 248 is unclear at this time and needs further excavation.  ; ; One other area of early modern activity is 279, a small ashy deposit revealed by the bulldozer W of 313.  This patch was too small to suggest any conclusions with confidence.  ; ; CONCLUSIONS; ; While many of the walls uncovered in the 2008 excavation season will most likely prove to be of Late Byzantine or earlier date, there is little evidence of securely dated Pre-Frankish activity in the Nezi field.  In the western half of excavation, what appear to be three small rooms with shared cross-walls yielded a few Late Byzantine deposits but the period of construction or first use phases have not yet been revealed.  These rooms, bounded by N-S wall 306 to the W and 332 to the E, are divided by the E-W walls 366 in the N, 365, and 305 in the S.  On the last day of excavation what may be another wall appeared N of 366 that could prove to be part of the same complex.  Wall 376, which runs W of 306, is in line with wall 305 to the E and may prove to be another room of this structure.  It should be noted, however, that while several pre-Frankish fills were found inside these rooms (371, 408, 424) nothing unearthed conclusively indicated a Byzantine period of use.  ; ; To the E of wall 316 the only possible period of Late Byzantine activity is deposit 325 and the floor revealed beneath it and deposits 300, and 390.  This area may prove to be another Late Byzantine building, bordered by wall 316 to the W, 311 to the E, and the wall visible in the N face of pit cut 290 to the N (the edge of excavations limits our knowledge of any southern delineation.  Indeed north and on top of the wall in pit 290 was floor 337, which dated to the 2nd ¼ of the 13th Century.  Most of the SE area is heavily disturbed and eroded, however, with fills primarily dating to the Frankish period.  More excavation is needed.; ; In the central and north sections of Nezi field activity centered around trying to define the limits and relationships of surrounding contexts to the Boney Ashy Layer (BAL), which is visible inside, to the E, and to the N of the apsidal building.  The BAL may be part of a Frankish leveling operation across most of the E ½ of Nezi field.  A Frankish date is suggested for the BAL by deposit 375, a large fill layer at the SE edge of excavation that could be seen to run beneath the S face of wall 299.  The N face of 299 appears to have the BAL poured up against it.  A cleaning pass probing the limits of the BAL also yielded a Frankish date.  Notably the E wall of the apsidal structure, 334, cuts through the BAL, making everything contextually associated with this structure Frankish.  The floor and fills generally followed this rule, although many deposits beneath floor 337 north and east of pit B191 were small and insignificant, sometimes giving late Byzantine pottery dates.  Stratigraphically, however, this area should date to the Frankish Period.  One exception, which may well prove itself Byzantine, is cut 370, discovered beneath deposit 364, which itself was one of a series of disturbances into the BAL.  More excavation is needed.; ; Pursuing the N limit of the BAL led us to a series of destruction and fill layers N of wall 420.  These all can be tentatively dated to the Frankish Period, although a few small deposits did not have pottery past Late Byzantine.  Much tile and clay destruction collapse was removed near the Northern limits of Nezi field which extended S as far as wall 420.  The pit that removed part of 420, while not fully excavated, will probably prove Frankish as well, though this is by no means certain.  Running against the S face of 420 and sitting in part over the BAL was deposit 432, which dated to the late 13th century.  Although more excavation may show the BAL also present N of 420, a red layer beneath the E portion of 432 seems to go under the BAL, suggesting that perhaps wall 420 is the Northern limit.  Before excavating the BAL more excavation is needed to the N and E of 420, explorations should be carried out in the N room of the apsidal structure, and several patches to the E, left by the 2007 excavations, should be removed.  ; ; Evidence of modern activity came primarily from the NW corner of Nezi field and dates to the end of the 19th/early 20th century.  These included a wall and several pits cut through the silty erosional debris that was mostly removed by bulldozer to the S.  The E-W wall 243 was removed with its bonded N return and later, unbonded, S extension.  This wall 243 was cut through a layer of soft concrete fill (250) that sat above the silty debris and ran into pit 248.  Through this wall was punched a pipe (258) that was preserved running S as far as the possible Byzantine wall 306.  Another pit (271), shallow and with little pottery, was found beneath the concrete fill but the relationship of this pit to the larger 248 requires further excavation.","","Nezi Field 2008 by Joseph Lillywhite, Joel Rygorsky, Matthew Sears, Martin Wells (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","Early Modern through Late Byzantine levels in Nezi Field"
"Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2008 by Alexis Belis, Christina Gieske (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-26)","","Corinth","","Report","","","","EXCAVATION SUMMARY; ; We, Alexis Belis and Christina Gieske, from April 7-26, 2008, began excavation in the northwest area of Nezi Field that was located west of the 2007 Nezi Field excavations. Our portion of the 2008 excavation area was artificially defined by the southern scarp of the 1960’s H.S. Robinson excavations to the north, the western scarp of the 2007 excavation to the east, and an area bulldozed in preparation for future excavation to the south. The western limit follows the western line of the bulldozed area. The corners of our excavation area are as follows: SW corner - E255.41 and N 1010.10, NW corner - E255.46 and N1014.29, NE corner - E262.97 and N1013.69, and SE corner - E262.82 and N 1010.07. The area south of our excavation area was bulldozed because the 2007 excavations proved that this field had a deep disturbed agricultural stratum. This context was carefully dig by hand in 2007, but at a great cost of time. Therefore, this season, the excavation area was extended in order to find more of the structures uncovered in 2007, and to save time, the agricultural levels were removed by machine. Our portion was not bulldozed because it was known that it contained the continuation of the E-W running Early Modern property boundary wall (excavated to the east with B64 in 2007) and we wanted to record this structure properly before removal. We worked under the supervision of Guy Sanders, Alicia Carter, James Herbst, and Ioulia Tzonou-Herbst. We excavated with Panos Stamatis (pick man), Christos Barelas (shovel man), and Sotiris Raftopoulos (barrowman). ; ; Our objective was to reach the level of the 2007 Nezi Field excavations, in order to continue the investigation of Turkish, Frankish, and Byzantine remains uncovered there. In the process of excavation to reach these earlier levels, we discovered evidence of Early Modern and Modern activity. The overall goal of the Nezi Field excavations has been to show the relationship of this entire area to the previously excavated area to the north (North of Nezi). ; ; This final report for the first session of the ASCSA Corinth Excavations describes our interpretation of the stratigraphy encountered in our excavation area. At the end of the first session, the level of our area was still slightly higher, about 10cm, than that of the 2007 excavation, and excavation will continued here in the second session.; ; ; EARLY MODERN (1831-1949 AD); ; The earliest feature in this period is a stone built property boundary wall (Structure 243). The wall runs E-W across our excavation area, and it turns a corner in the NE section of our area and then runs N-S for 1.92 meters where it is truncated by previous excavation in the 1960s. A later stone wall (Structure 243) abuts the corner of Structure 243 on the south side. This later wall runs N-S, turns a corner in the SE section of the excavation area, and then continues east for 0.93 meters where it was excavated in the 2007 season as Basket 64. Structure 244 is also a property boundary. Structure 243 divided the stratigraphy of our excavation area, and as a result, the stratigraphic relationships between the north and south side were unable to be determined at this point as we have not excavated to the depth of the bottom of the wall. The north and south portions of the excavation area will be discussed in turn.; ; In the southern portion of the excavation area, the stratigraphy shows evidence of agricultural activity, mostly plowing and clearing of the field for plowing. The lowest layer was a plow zone (Context 240). An exterior surface (Context 239) rested on top of this layer, perhaps associated with a house in this field. Several layers related to agricultural activity (Contexts 233, 232), consisting of dumped stones and pebbles, lay over the plow zone and exterior surface.; ; In the northern portion of the excavation area, the earliest feature is a pit (Context 247), which cuts through a yet unexcavated layer containing lime and pebbles used for cement mixing. Because of the large boulders present in the fill of the pit, it seems possible that the superstructure of the N-S portion of Structure 243 was destroyed and placed in the pit. However, since the first session ended leaving Context 247 unfinished, the exact relation between the creation of the pit and the destruction of the superstructure was unable to be determined. It seems likely that this activity was contemporaneous with the construction of the Giambouranis house located just north of Nezi field because of the unexcavated layer containing construction debris (the lime and pebbles). ; ; Above the pit and unexcavated layer of lime and pebbles was a thin layer of fill (Context 246), most likely related to the use of the Giambouranis house. The two contexts above this thin fill (Contexts 242 and 241) have two potential explanations. Either they consist of debris from the destruction of the Giambouranis house (ca. 1920’s or 1930’s), supported by the presence of roof tile fragments, or they could be dumped material from the previous archaeological excavations to the north (ca. 1930’s), supported by the presence of fragments of worked marble. Context 241 was such a small deposit that it was difficult to determine whether or not it was the same as Context 242. ; ; An additional layer (Context 231 = 236 =B4) of soil overlay Structure 243 on both the north and south side, indicating the final phase of use of this structure as the property boundary. Most likely, this layer was created as a result of agricultural activity. This layer predates the later phases of fencing (Structures 235 and 234) that continue to mark the property boundary of Nezi field.; ; MODERN (Post-1950 AD); ; Two phases of cement foundations (Structures 235 and 234), which were used to anchor a series of posts supporting chain-link fencing, indicated modern activity in this area. This fencing served as a property boundary and roughly followed the line of the previous stone wall (Structure 243). Although our investigation of these fence post foundations uncovered no clear indication of their relative dating, the 2007 excavation findings indicated that the larger foundation slabs (Structure 234 = B16) were later than the small foundations (Structure 235 = B17). Of the foundations excavated in 2007, some of the larger foundations were cemented over the smaller ones. ; ; A tree pit (Context 237, Cut 238) was also revealed during excavation. Due to bulldozer activity south of our excavation area, the pit was truncated to the south. As a result, it is likely that the tree pit was dig at a higher level than the level where we first noticed it. Although in our excavation area it physically lay below layers that dated to the Early Modern period, it seems most probable that it belongs with the modern orchard currently visible in Nezi field.; ; CONCLUSIONS; ; The first session of excavation has shown two phases of activity, Early Modern and Modern. It is clear that in the Early Modern period agricultural activity dominated south of Structure 243 and in the area north of Structure 243, activity associated with the construction, inhabitation, and destruction of the Giambouranis house and possibly archaeological activity. In the Modern period, a different type of agricultural activity existed – orange orchards rather than a plowed field. Throughout both periods, the property boundaries remained consistent, as indicated by the multiple structures following the same line.; ; A few features, mostly likely from the Early Modern Period, were visible at the end of excavation though unexplored. These include a clay water pipe, the layer of lime and pebble for cement mixing north of Structure 243, and a separate patch of soil with lime inclusions south of Structure 243. It is clear that the layer of lime and pebbles post-dates Structure 243 because this layer runs up against the north face of the wall. This layer also overlies the clay water pipe, visible both to the south of Structure 243 and in the north scarp of our excavation area. The clay pipe seems to post-date Structure 243 because in the area where the pipe passes through the wall, the foundations stones have been removed in order to accommodate the installation of the pipe. On the south side of the wall, the soil with lime inclusions appears to be cut by the laying of the pipe, and therefore unassociated with the layer of lime and pebbles north of the Structure 243. The clay water pipe may be a drainage pipe for the Giambouranis house, and the layer of lime and pebbles could be construction debris from the building of the house. Further excavation is needed to ascertain the relationship of these three features.","","Nezi Field 2008 by Alexis Belis, Christina Gieske (2008-04-07 to 2008-04-26)","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","Early Modern and Modern contexts in the extension of the Nezi Field excavation"
"Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by William Bruce, Scott Gallimore (2009-04-27 to 2009-05-15)","","Corinth","","Report","","","","North of Nezi (Green) Report 2009 Session II: Scott Gallimore & Will Bruce; ; The following summarizes results of excavation during the second session of 2009 at Corinth in three areas north of Nezi Field in the area previously excavated in the 1960s under the direction of H.S. Robinson: the courtyard of the Byzantine house, the room immediately northwest of the courtyard, and the room immediately west of the courtyard. ; ; The excavations in all three areas were supervised by Guy Sanders (director) and Alicia Carter (field director). Our pickman was Athanasios Magourakis; our shovel-man was Panos Stamatis; our wheelbarrow-man was Sotiris Raftopoulos. For two days (April 29-30) Tasos Kakouros took over as our pickman, while Athanasios Magourakis was away. We began by resuming excavation in the room northwest of the courtyard, where we left off at the end of session one. This room is located between E260.90-E264.60; N1034.85-N1038.75. We excavated this room during the first session of 2009 (April 14-16), and it was previously excavated during the second and third sessions of 2008 by Sarah Lima, and in 1961 by Charles Williams (notebook 253). We then moved to the room immediately west of the courtyard, which is located between E261.10-E264.60; N1030.80-1034.90. This room was previously excavated during the second and third sessions of 2008 by Sarah Lima, and in 1961 by Charles Williams (notebook 253). Overlapping stratigraphy compelled us to move excavation into the southern area of the courtyard, which comprised E264.40-E270.50; N1027.90-N1033.40. This area was excavated in all three sessions in 2008, the first session by Josh Geiske and Laurie Kilker, in the second session by Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade, and in the third session by Jody Cundy and Megan Thomsen. This area was identified in 1961 as Room XII and was excavated by Steven Lattimore (notebook 230, 231), and by William Berg (notebook 229). The goal of this year’s excavation is to expose the walls and features of the Byzantine house for future consolidation and presentation. Our report will be organized chronologically by room.; ; ROOM NORTHWEST OF COURTYARD (April 27); Late Byzantine:; An important deposit containing a very unusual number of white-ware kettles was revealed resting on a earth floor in the room NW or the courtyard much like deposit 6129, which overlay it (excavated during Session I). The white-ware kettle deposit was concentrated between E263-264.50; N1037.5-1038.70 and comprised 75-76% of the pottery recovered from this deposit by weight. We determined, based on handles, that there must be a minimum count of 33 vessels. Almost none of these kettles showed any signs of use or burning. We tentatively hypothesized that this deposit represented a newly received shipment (in a box or cabinet?) temporarily stored in this location. The date for deposit 6145, based on the white-ware kettles, can be very accurately estimated at 1100 ±10, which serves as one of our best dating criteria in this area. ; ; The removal of this deposit brought us to the level upon which the white-ware kettles likely stood; however, we decided against excavating this context, as it would have required us to partially dismantle well 5876, a later feature which had been pedestalled. Levels contemporary with the white-ware deposit were also encountered in the southern area of the room. The level of the southern area of the room, based on the pottery recovered from cleaning 6150, made us confident that it was late 11th - early 12th century, and thus roughly contemporary with the northern half. In the south area, several fills of late-Byzantine date (6151, 6153, 6154) had been deposited for an upper floor level, likely excavated in the 1960s since no floor is noted in this area from the 2008 excavations. These fills covered a small semicircular cut (6156), the fill of which (6155) was serving to backfill a tile-built storage pithos. The pithos was truncated by wall 5725. Wall 5725  has not yet been approved for removal by  the Byzantine Ephoria, but an application should be made in the future, since this structure post-dates the contexts to its north. ; ; ROOM WEST OF COURTYARD (April 27-May 4); Frankish:; We moved into this room in hopes of clarifying the construction date of wall 5725 and determine its relationship to the contexts in the room immediately to the north. ; ;  A series of floors and sub-floor leveling fills were excavated in this space. The fills (6159 + cut 6161, 6162) appear to represent levelings for an unidentified floor, perhaps excavated in the 1960s, since no upper floor surface was noted during the 2008 excavations. Revealed by removal of these fills were two isolated patches of floor, one (6163) in the northeast corner, and the other (6165) in the northwest corner. These two patches perhaps represent the same floor surface, but were kept separate in the Harris matrix, since their elevations do not correspond. Associated with this floor were twelve leveling fills: (6167, 6174, 6176, 6179=6182=6185, 6189, 6192, 6203, 6178, 6207, 6214, 6218, & 6236). These floors and fills were laid up against wall 5725 because they overlay its unexcavated foundation trench. Context 6165 was cut by the foundation trench (5720) for wall 5762 in the west. Thus, this floor surface, if the same, postdates wall 5725, but predates wall 5762.The fills raised the level of the room approximately 30 cm., suggesting that, during the Frankish period, it was customary to construct a thick substructure before laying a floor. ; ; The removal of one of these fills (6203) revealed two distinct courses of wall 6228 (previously labeled 50kj in the 1960s records). The top courses (structure 6206) were much more crudely built and had no associated foundation trench. A mid-late 12th century sherd embedded in the soil matrix of upper courses made it clear that it was a later construction and thus we removed it on April 30th. During the 12th century the inhabitants may have added to the height of the wall on account of the rising floor level created by the addition of fills and floors.;  ; The floor level revealed by the removal of all of the aforementioned twelve fills was context 6237. We were able to excavate one fill below this floor (6239), but we ran into difficulty because robbing trench (6350) located immediately east of this room truncated the surface beneath fill 6239 (as yet unexcavated), and thus we had to shift our focus to the southern half of the courtyard. ; ; In a pit in this room, located in the southern part and truncated by the northeast corner of the Ottoman house, we discovered a small extension of the cut and unexcavated fill, which we excavated as context 6214 (cut 6215). This pit was excavated in the 1960s, but we have not yet identified which of the 1960s notebooks refers to it.; ; Magourakis believed he could discern the cut and fill of the the foundation trench of wall 5725 in the east scarp of Bothros 9 (NB 235, p.19), which disturbed most of it. Bothros 9 appears to be of Frankish date, based on Guy Sanders’ examination of the lot pottery (Lot 837). This foundation trench cut should be revealed approximately 0.10 m. below the current surface, so at an elevation around 84.45. ; ; COURTYARD (SOUTHERN PORTION) (May 4-May 15); Frankish:; We began by removing wall 5508, which dates between the late 13th and early 14th centuries and was pedestalled in 2008 as permission to remove it had not yet been received, making it by far the latest feature in this immediate area. The construction of this wall limited access between the courtyard and the space in front of the rooms immediately to the south. The only point of access after the construction of wall 5508 was in the southwest corner of the courtyard. Directly beneath wall 5508 was a tile fill (6243), which we related to the uppermost context in this part of the courtyard excavated in 2008 (5300). These equivalent contexts were likely leveling fills for a courtyard surface which had been excavated in the 1960s. We encountered another fill (6244) directly below the wall, for which we were not able to find an equivalent context from the 2008 excavation. Below these fills were the remains of two separate surfaces composed primarily of tile fragments. The first of these (6246) can be equated to the 2008 context 5324 in the courtyard and 5630 in the area south of wall 5508. The second (6250) was found directly below 6246 and likely equates to 2008 context 5685. A pattern emerged with respect to these numerous fills and surfaces whereby only shallow fills were laid down in between the numerous surfaces constructed in this part of the house. This is demonstrated by the next surfaces encountered, 6253 and 6259=6260=6262, for which the subsurface leveling fills (6265, 6266, 6268) only seemed to raise the surface level by approximately 6 cm. Another contemporary fill, 6280 which consisted primarily of cobbles and boulders corresponding directly to a 2008 context, 5674 was laid on surface 6289. ; ; The removal of the above fills and surfaces succeeded in also identifying the lowest levels of structure 10112 which was abutted on its eastern end by wall 5508. Structure 10112 was a Frankish addition and had the appearance of a large platform and may have served as a bench. Directly beneath structure 10112 was a fill (6281) which may have served to level the existing surface to accommodate the construction of this feature. Removal of fill 6281 revealed a cut (6283) along the southern and western boundaries of where 10112 had laid which had two overlying fills (6282 and 6287) and overall this could have represented some type of drainage feature. 6283 cut into two superimposed pebble courtyard surfaces (6355 and 6356).; ; Structure 10112 also overlay several more surfaces and fills to the south (surfaces 6271, 6293, 6289, 6290, 6295; fills 6304, 6316, 6294, 6298). These surfaces lay upon a series of foundation trenches. The first (6314, cut 6135) was the foundation trench on the northern side of wall 5285. Initially, this caused some confusion, since we believed this wall to be Byzantine. However, with the later excavation of pit 6409, abutting the north side of wall 5285, we found another foundation trench at a lower elevation from the wall’s construction, whereas 6314 proved to be evidence of a later addition. Next we excavated foundation 6322 (cut 6323), which was truncated in the south by foundation trench 6314. 6322 was the western foundation trench for wall 6313. Most of the wall appears to have been robbed out at a later period (robbing trench 5510). However, the discovery of foundation trench 6391 (cut 6392) on the south flank of the standing remains of wall 6313 proved that this wall is an older structure, and that foundation trench 6322, which was originally thought to be for this wall and the robbed portion, was in fact for an extension of the wall to the south. The robbing trench (5510) thus represents the removal of the later extension. ; ; Foundation trench 6322 truncated a small foundation trench (6331, cut 6332) for one of two piers placed at the southwest corner of the courtyard. The pier structure is context 6319. North of this pier is a second pier block (6337) with a contemporary foundation trench (6335, cut 6336). These piers appear to have been made for an entrance into the courtyard, a hypothesis confirmed by the fact that a threshold (6347) was uncovered beneath tile fill 6346, which was associated with an earlier wall and entrance. These features were initially believed to be connected with wall 6375, but this relationship is doubtful because the piers run NW-SE, whereas wall 6375 is exactly N-S.; ; Cut by the foundation trenches of the two piers was a surface (6339) and its leveling fill (6342). A small round posthole (6340, cut 6341) below 6342 was cut into surface 6344 directly north of pier 6319, which may represent the earliest Frankish attempt at a door partition into the courtyard from the southwest. These deposits may represent our earliest Frankish phases, but our pottery does not allow us to firmly determine whether they are early Frankish or Late Byzantine.; ; Late Byzantine:; The surface (6344) cut by the round posthole and a tile fill directly beneath it (6346) may be the latest Byzantine features in this area. They were laid upon the aforementioned threshold (6347), which indicates that the southwest entrance from the Frankish period had a predecessor in the Late Byzantine period. ; ; Also beneath fill 6346, was a series of fill contained within cut 6362: (6349, 6354, 6366, 6367, 6389, 6390). Several of these fills first appeared to be part of robbing trench 6350 for NS wall 6375.  Wall 6375 was revealed by the removal of these fills and, at one point, defined the boundary between the courtyard and the room immediately to the west. The north and south ends of wall 6375 were marked by thresholds 6347 in the south, and 6320 in the north, which was revealed in 2008 by the removal of context 5855. However, it was determined that cut 6362 truncated cut 6350 and that the associated fills were in fact part of the later cut (i.e. 6362). Cut 6362 also truncated two other features in this area. The first was a large bothros located in the western half of the courtyard, south of wall 6072 (fills 6372 & 6376, cut 6377). We have not yet ascertained the function of the bothros, but it seems likely that it is contemporary with the construction of wall 6375. The second, defined by cut 6385, was the foundation trench (6384) for wall 6072 in the western part of the courtyard. This foundation trench can be dated to the first half of the 12th century by stratigraphic relationships. On the north side of wall 6072 there was also a foundation trench identified in 2008 (5905, cut 5907), but it was determined that this was the foundation trench for the upper courses of this wall labeled structure 5443, and dated to the 13th century by stratigraphic relationships. ; ; Investigations of stratigraphic relationships of the contexts in the area directly south of wall 6072 also led us excavate a deep pier foundation, context 6359 (similar to those in rooms to the east and southeast), Excavation of components of this pier had occurred in session one as foundation deposit 6069 for wall 5442. At the bottom of this feature was a cobble fill, which was first believed to be a continuation of one of the fills within cut 6362, but the cobbles were confined to the area of the cut (6061=6055) first defined for foundation 6069. This second foundation (6359) was very deep and terminated at the bottom at what appears to be a Roman wall. Thus, we determined that this feature was a pier foundation, and that the area west of this was roofed at this time, and not part of the open-air courtyard. This hypothesis is supported by 6359’s alignment with wall 6318 to the south, which possibly is another small pier foundation. Its foundation trench (6328, cut 6329) was very deep and could not be fully excavated. It was cut by fill 6399 which was below the fills contained within cut 6362. The stratigraphy, however, suggests that 6359 is later than 6318 and would have been constructed at a time when the occupants of the house wanted to roof part of the courtyard.; ; Abutting wall 6313 and revealed by the fills contained with cut 6362 was another series of fills (6399, 6401, 6395) covering the area south of wall 5508. These fills were relatively deep (ca. 15-25 cm.) and appear to either represent episodes of dumping or leveling fills for surfaces at a higher elevation. Beneath these fills was a large semicircular bothros (6409, cut 6410) abutting the north side of wall 5285. A possible parallel for this bothros can be found on the north side of the courtyard abutting wall 5741, and is a semicircular bothros designated as context 5704 (cut 5702). It was also determined that bothros 6409 truncated a smaller bothros (6418, cut 6419) in almost exactly the same location. This smaller bothros truncated the foundation trench for wall 5285, which demonstrates that the wall was in place at the time these bothroi were dug, and that they likely do not extend into the room in the south, as was originally hypothesized.  ; ; Bothros 6409 also cut into a large reddish fill (6276=6423) which covered much of the area south of wall 5508. Two foundation trenches, however, cut this reddish fill. The first (6275, cut 6272) was located along the southern face of staircase 6296, which itself abuts the southern face of wall 5783. This staircase lay directly upon fill 6276=6423 and thus dates to the late 11th or early 12th century. This feature was pedestalled in order to be able to continue excavation, and will likely not be removed in the future, since it would have to be rebuilt when the house was consolidated for presentation to the public. The second (6301, cut 6302) is the western foundation trench for wall 5783, which appears to be contemporary with the northern foundation (5795, cut 5796) trench for this wall excavated in 2008. Beneath fill 6276=6423 was another fill context, 6429, which was cut into a pebble surface. ; ; CONCLUSION:; All three of the areas excavated by Team Green during the second session are components of the Byzantine house under investigation in the area north of Nezi Field. They represent three independent, but interconnected spaces which appear to have undergone substantial modification during their use. Our excavations this session have clarified many aspects of the construction history in this area of the house. It appears now that the rooms immediately northwest and west of the courtyard were divided during the Byzantine period by wall 5725, and may have originally been one large space. The relationship between the courtyard and the room immediately to the west has also been clarified by the excavation of robbing trench 6350 for wall 6375. When wall 6375 was removed during the Late Byzantine Period (early-mid 12th century) this opened the courtyard to the west and made obsolete threshold 6320. The removal of this wall seems contemporary with the pier foundations 6359 and 6318, which represent a roofing of part of the courtyard, thus diminishing the open-air area of the courtyard. Access to the courtyard was reduced during the late 13th or early 14th century with the construction of wall 5508, which left only an entrance at the southwest as a point of access. ; ; We made substantial progress in linking the southern part of the courtyard with the rest of the courtyard space to the north with the removal of wall 5508. Further excavation will be needed to bring these two areas down to contemporary levels. Excavation will also be needed in the rooms immediately to the west and northwest in order to make contemporary these three areas of the house, in particular the west room, which is still at Frankish levels. It is also important to clarify the relationship of wall 5725 to the construction history of these two rooms and determine whether it should be removed.","","Nezi Field 2009 by William Bruce, Scott Gallimore (2009-04-27 to 2009-05-15)","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","Nezi Session 2, 2009"
"Corinth:Report:Nezi Field 2009 by spongberg hammond lima (2009-05-20 to 2009-05-21)","","Corinth","","Report","","","","We, Sarah Lima (SL), Mark Hammond (MH) and Kiersten Spongberg (KS) excavated North of Nezi between April 27, 2009 and May 15, 2009 (session II), focusing on the rooms bounded by walls 5483, 5403, 6027/6285/6300, and 6267/5631/5671/6245 (271.10-277.70 E, 1027.70-1023.67N) (east room); and walls 5483, 5484, 5284, and 5519 (265.90-270.70E, 1028.00-1023.65N)(west room).  These rooms are both located north of Nezi Field, south of the courtyard in the center of the Byzantine House previously excavated by X. Lattimore (NB 229) and X. Berg (NB 229) in the 1960s.   Records from more recent excavation in these spaces are available from Dan Leon and Ben Sullivan in 2009, and Anne Feltovich, Emily Rush, and Catherine Person in 2008.  The goal in both of these rooms was to reach the 10th century levels and come to a better understanding of the architectural development of the house in its different phases of use; this was accomplished in the east room, and 12th century levels were reached in the west room.  The director was Guy Sanders; assistant field director Alicia Carter; and pickman Panos Kakouros.; ; The following summary documents the findings of session II in the 2009 excavation season in the two rooms in which we excavated.  Each room will be initially treated individually and the conclusion will attempt to relate these rooms to each other and the area of the North of Nezi excavations as a whole.; ; East Room; ; This room has previously been described as being bounded by wall 5553 to the east and wall 5552 to the north; DL and BS completed the excavation of these walls in session I.  Two particular features were our main focus: the floor/surface areas and the north and east walls.  ; ; Phasing of walls:; 1) wall 5403 bounds the southern side of the room (foundation trench fill 5818, mid-10th); 2) wall 5483 bounds the western side of the room and abuts wall 5403(foundation trench fill 5779 late 10th-11th); 3) wall 5519 caps the northern end of wall 5483 and bonds with it (ca. 10th-11th century). ; 4) wall 6300/6285/6027 (terminus ante quem 10th century) abuts and does not bond with wall 5403. ; 5) wall 5631/5671/6245 (ca. 10th-11th century on the basis of stratigraphy); ; Our first priority was to remove remaining later walls that had caused disturbance in earlier floor surfaces and walls.  After walls 5553 and 5552 (2nd half of the 13th century) had been excavated, there was one section remaining that had been incorporated as part of wall 5552 as well (6181 (2nd half of the 13th century)) and this was one of the earliest structures removed.  6181 had been bonded to a series of foundations and remaining wall segments, including 5965 (2nd half of the 13th), 6172, 6171, 6183, and 6187 (all the rest- ca. 12th century).  These wall and foundation segments were laid against wall 6027 (terminus ante quem late 11th-early 12th century) which was left as a martyr by DL and BS to preserve the cut for pier 6065, which truncates the northeast corner of the room.  These walls were found to cover even earlier disturbance within the room, in the form of robbing trenches 6227 (fill 6169) and 6226 (fill 6166) which robbed out portions of east-west running wall 6120 and north-south running wall 6027.  The robbing trenches also destroyed the relationship between paving stones 6190 and the wall series bounding the room on the eastern side (6027/6285/6300).  ; Another later feature that disrupted earlier phases was pier foundation 6249.  We have labeled this feature as a pier since it is similar to other features within the house that also seem to be piers (i.e. 6359 and 6318 excavated by Scott Gallimore and Will Bruce in the courtyard).  When these excavations had been completed, the paving stones (6190) were partially exposed, as well as east-west wall 6120.  We were also able to more clearly see a blocked threshold in wall series 6027/6285/6300 (blocking stone 6277 and fill 6278 with threshold 6285).   These sections of walls were found to be in contemporary use and formed the length of the eastern boundary of the room (pre- late 10th century on the basis of stratigraphy).  The relationship between this section of the wall and the floors uncovered that may be contemporary will be discussed below.  Only the un-numbered un-excavated surface revealed by the excavation of context 6292 was found to be contemporary with the use of threshold 6285.  The same surface goes beneath paving stones 6190, which project above and partially covered over the threshold platform, and which are slated for removal in the future.  ; ; Similarly, in the northern wall sections, there were later series of wall-phases and thresholds disturbing earlier features.  AF and CP, in their report, discuss the series of four thresholds being moved gradually westward over time.  The earliest thresholds were further to the east than the later thresholds.   There is the possibility of a fifth threshold beneath 5671 (the only threshold remaining in-situ; ca. 11th century) which is un-excavated and un-numbered.   We removed these thresholds in the following order: 5648 (late 11th- early 12th century), which, although representative of an earlier phase was removed first because it was loose because covering fills had been excavated around it; 5647 (late 11th- early 12th century), the latest phase and top most threshold; 5670 (late 10th/11th century) (with foundation fill 6238 and 6242).  The previous belief (by AF, ER, and CP) that 5670 putatively was constructed from robbed out stones from the west of 5648 needs reconsideration given the new information (dating) that we now have.  The removal of these thresholds was accompanied by the removal of the western-most wall segment of wall 5631 with foundation course 6233 (late 10th/11th century).  After excavation of these contexts, underlying wall 6245 was still in-situ and of similar construction and running on a clean line with wall 5631.  Therefore, it is our interpretation that walls 6245, 5671, and an eastern section of 5631 were in contemporary use as the original northernmost boundary of this room (late 10th-11th century).  While we were examining wall 5631 we noticed a section that seemed different in construction and clearly laid on the existing section of wall 5631; this section was given its own structure number, 6267 (fill for its foundation trench 6079 dates to late 11th century).  The same structure also abuts north-south wall section 6027 to the east, making it later than both walls.; ; A series of surfaces were excavated to the north and south of wall 5552 which was excavated in session 1 and exposed wall 6120 below it.   These surfaces were in contemporary use before being divided by wall 5552   In the interest of observing the contents of each stratum we sampled the contents of each surface for flotation.  Our pickman, Panos, realized in 2008 that the nature of the surfaces suggested that they were exterior surfaces, constructed by irregular compacting and patching as opposed to large-scale labor-intensive construction events.  AF, ER and CP excavated a series of floors that were contemporary with later threshold constructions (5670, 5648, and 5647).  The series of floors that we have excavated are in contemporary use with northern wall sections 5671, 5631 and 6245.  The excavation of fills 6140, 6160 and 6152 revealed surfaces 6168 and 6164 (late 11th- early 12th century), in contemporary use.  Following this, there was a series of other surfaces including 6211 and 6258 (both late 10th- 11th century) to the north; and 6270 (11th century), and the surface revealed by 6292 (un-numbered and un-excavated) just to the south of 6120.   6270 (overlaid by fill 6256 (11th century)) and 6258 (overlaid by fills 6222 and 6213) were visible in the scarp (visually marked by their whitish colored “Frankish” clay) created by the construction of wall foundation 5552(#???), and are the same surface.  Surface 6211 offered support for the idea that this room was part of an outdoor area since the accumulation of pebbles was located directly south of threshold 5671 and could have been indicative of removal of debris from an inside area.  The excavation of surface 6258 revealed a number of things about the phasing of the room: first, the foundation trench 6261 for the insertion of threshold 5671 was revealed indicating that the threshold was installed prior to the construction of that surface; second, 6258 was the last surface to be uncovered in association with the northern wall, while, to the south of east-west wall 6120, further surfaces were recovered at a lower elevation, which means that surface 6258 was the first surface associated with the room when it was bounded to the north by wall 5671/5631/6245 and the surfaces south of wall 6120 are in use in the room when it was bounded to the north by wall 6120. This changing and reorganizing of space marks a major phase change in the development of this part of the house.  Therefore, threshold 6285 is earlier than threshold 5671.    ; ; West Room; Previous excavation in this room was conducted in the 1960s, and also by AF, ER, and CP in 2008.  ; ; Phasing of walls (AF, ER, CP):; 1) Wall 5484 (ca. mid-tenth), same as wall 5403 to the east and 5216 to the west.; 2) Wall 5519 (pre-late 10th-11th century on the basis of stratigraphy).  Although 5484 and 5519 have not been related stratigraphically, it is believed that 5484 is the exterior wall and therefore before the interior wall 5519.; 3) Wall 5483 (late 10th- 11th century), built against walls 5584 and bonds with 5519.  Although no foundation trenches have yet been found in this room, foundation trench 5779 on the east side of wall 5483 is above the foundation trench for wall 5403=5484 (foundation trench 5818). ; 4) Wall 5490 (3rd quarter of the 12th century), superstructure of wall 5485. ; ; The first objective was to remove walls 5490 and 5485.  North-south running wall 5490 was the superstructure above foundation 5485.  These walls were not removed in 2008 because permission had not yet been granted.  This structure was truncated by one of two large storage pits in the southern half of the room (previously described as a “bothros” in NB 229 page 180ff, “Bothros I”). Structures 5490 and 5485 were the first contexts to be removed because they were the latest features in this area and were preventing the further removal of other fills and surfaces in the room.  Another objective was to find the foundation trench for western wall 5284 which was being blocked from excavation by these later walls, as well as by fill 6334 in between walls 5485 and 5284.  ; ; ; Fill accumulated inside the western storage pit was removed, some likely being1960s backfill (context#) as well as a context composed of large boulders that perhaps had tumbled from a nearby wall.    The pit continued down and fills 6352 and 6353 (1300 +/- 10) were removed before the base of the cut was found.  Field notes from NB 229, pg. 180ff. record that the pit was not fully excavated in the 1960s. The pit cut through a thick layer of reddish colluvium before cutting bedrock. The fact that pit was cut somewhat into the bedrock suggests that it was a storage pit as it was too far into bedrock for asimple rubbish pit, and not far enough through the bedrock to have been a well that reached water. ; ; Similarly, in adjacent storage pit 6380, we reached an unexcavated fill (6372 (2nd quarter of 13th century)) and continued our excavations down into bedrock, revealing a similarly flat-bottomed round storage pit.  Remains of wall 6157 and foundation trench 6379 still remain in the south profile of cut 6380 beneath wall 5484.  In the north profile of 6380, one can observe the remains of robbing trench 6381. It is clear that the construction of pit 6380 truncated robbing trench 6381 which was used to remove a section of north-south wall 6157 which rested in foundation trench 6379.  Neither wall 6157 nor robbing trench 6381 are currently visible on the surface, but we expect to reveal them through excavation this season.; ; When AF, ER, and CP excavated the surface levels, they left a martyr along walls 5485 and 5519 to preserve stratigraphy and prevent contamination from the material in the walls. We excavated the martyr first which revealed a series of surfaces and sub-surfaces.  Two ash pits (6406 and 6407) cutting floor 6411 were uncovered, one of which revealed a built hearth of tiles (structure 6413).  A layer of tile and redeposited destruction debris (6415 (12th century)) was also uncovered below floor 6408.  A posthole (6432) was uncovered cutting 6428, as well as a possible patching surface against 5519 (fill 6437).  Additionally, the foundation trench fill on the south side of wall 5284 was revealed and excavated (cut 6427); the foundation trench for this wall had already been revealed on the north side (foundation trench 5466) in a previous season by Jody Cundy and Nate Andrade.  Our foundation trench matched theirs in elevation and composition.; ; As we excavated these surfaces and sub-surfaces in the martyr we tried to equate our contexts with the contexts previously excavated by AF, ER, and CP on the eastern side of the room.  Leveling fill 6415 (12th century) was found to be equal to 5682 on the basis of elevation, composition and inclusions.  6428 (12th century) was equal to 5887, again, on the basis of elevation and composition inclusions.  We excavated the entire martyr revealing a continuous floor over the surface of the room, disturbed by the two storage pits and a foundation trench.; ; East Room Conclusions; ; In this room, we met our objective of reaching late 10th to early 11th century levels.  The excavation in this room seems to be complete, except for paving stones 6190 towards the eastern side, west of threshold 6285, which are yet to be removed.  Further consideration may need to be given to threshold 5671 because it seems to be of a later date (ca. 11th century on the basis of stratigraphy) than threshold 6285; we reached this conclusion because the threshold 5671 cut the floor- this is supported by the face that the last of the series of floors was contemporary with 6285 (laid against), while it was earlier than (below) 5671.  Additionally, it may be possible that there is yet another threshold underneath 5671; this possibility could be further explored in later seasons. ; It seems that this area was likely an outdoor space, on the basis of the hard packed surfaces, the pebbly surface near the threshold (5671), and the accumulation on the floor surfaces.  We are unsure of the nature of the surface that is only partially revealed and runs beneath paving stones 6190; but this will be revealed by the next team to excavate in this room.  ; ; ; ; West Room Conclusions; ; In this room, we managed to get the levels of the surfaces down to the same level (ca. 12th century) by removing a martyr.  This room has now been completely rid of 1960s backfill.  The surfaces covering the rest of the room, however, have been left in a good starting point for the next team.  The next team should begin their excavation in the southwest corner of the room, continuing to bring the martyr (not associated with the floor surface contexts; a separate martyr) around the storage pit down to the level of the other surfaces.  The cleaning of this context was the last thing we completed (cleaning 6436).   ; This room seems to have, at some point, been used for storage, on the basis of the two storage pits.  These storage pits are later than most of the other features of the room, and likely cut a higher surface than the ones preserved.  Guy Sanders mentioned that it may be possible that this room was a basement space in its earlier phases; although this conclusion cannot be tested until the room has been excavated further.","","Nezi Field 2009 by spongberg hammond lima (2009-05-20 to 2009-05-21)","","Corinthia | Ancient Corinth | Central Area | Nezi Field","Yellow Session 2 Summary"