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gmerican Ocboo!of Classical Stubiesat Itbtens

EXCAVATIONS AT PHLIUS IN 1892

IN March, 1892, my brother Charles M. Washington and I under-

took some preliminary excavations at the site of Phlius, south of

Sicyon. The work was confined almost entirely to the acropolisand lasted for only one week; the intended further excavation was

never carried out, nor was any report made to the American School

at Athens, at which we were students. My notebook has recentlycome to light and, as no other digging seems to have been done on

the site, it may be of interest to put on record the results of our

modest excavations.

The site of Phlius has been visited and described by many trav-

elers,' so that only a brief description is needed here. The acropolis

0:11::-000a:,.-;SU - = . ; ; !

FIGURE 1.-ACROPOLIS OF PHLIUS.

occupied the lower end of a spur that runs west from Mt. Tricera-

num,on the east bank of the

Asopus.A

deepnotch isolates the

acropolis from the rest of the ridge. The acropolis is about 700

metres long, 70 to 80 metres across at its widest part, and its highest

(eastern) point is about 85 metres above the surrounding plain,where lay, mostly to the south, the ancient city of Phlius. From

its highest (east) end the ridge descends gently toward the west,

being broken into two steps, of which the central one is the larger.A narrow terrace runs along the northern slope. The south slope is

steep, and a curved embayment in this toward the western end is

probably the site of the theatre. I am indebted to Mr. W. J. Lloyd,of the Topographic Branch of the U. S. Geological Survey, for hav-

ing had made for me the sketch (Fig. 1) based on a rough sketch map1See J. G. Frazer,Pausanias's Descriptionof Greece,Vol. III, 1898, pp. 77-81.

American Journal of Archaeology, Second Series. Journal of the 438Archaeological Institute of America, Vol. XXVII (1923) No. 4.

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EXCAVATIONS AT PHLIUS

in my note book. A plane-table map of the ridge and vicinity is

lost.

Remains of the polygonal city wall are present at the east end,where there is a tower, whence they run down hill to the south.

Apart from this, there were few ancient remains visible on the

acropolis. The most important are: an angle of the building on thenorth terrace (1, Fig. 1); a threshold (3), 2.70 m. long and 0.88 m.

wide, on the central plateau; an upright part of a Doric columnnortheast of this (2); and a few Doric capitals and drums near the

chapel of Panagia Rachiotissa (Virgin of the Rocks) (5), which

stands on a lower step forming the west end of the ridge. South-west of this chapel, in the plain below, is a rectangular area, about25 m. square, outlined by remains of walls and with column drums

projecting at regular intervals within; this is known as rT HaXTrL,the Palace (6). Over the site of the city proper, to the south, are

many walls, cut blocks, and some column drums; but the study ofthis portion was postponed.

Trenches sunk in the highest, easternmost part of the ridge struckbedrock at a depth of about one metre, without revealing any walls.

The only find here was the upper part of a small standing terra-cottafigurine, which is of the Tirynthian Argive type, and which closelyresembles many of the figurines found at the Argive Heraeum.1The body is flat, with the breasts slightly indicated, and the armsare represented by long knobs which curve inward. The nose is

pinched out, the eyes are represented by small disks, the hair is

arranged in narrow flat plaits, one falling in front of each shoulderand four down the back. There are flat circular earrings, and a

single, simple necklace,which

bears an ornament on the breast.On the head is a plain cylindrical stephane. This object is, I think,now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Near the southwestern corner of the main, central plateau therewas uncovered, at a depth of 40 cm., a rectangular base (4, Fig. 1)built of roughly squared "poros" blocks; this base is 4.50 m. long(east-west), 1.90 m. wide, and 0.30 m. high. Only the north andeast sides are smoothly finished, so that it is to be supposed that the

base, and hence the monument upon it, faced toward the north.

Nothing was found in the trenches which were sunk to bedrockaround this base, except an unfluted column drum of limestone, 1.17m. long and 0.88 m. in diameter. Trenches dug around the thresh-

1C. Waldstein, et al., The Argive Heraeum, II, 1905, pp. 19-22, pl. XLII, Nos.5, 10, 12.

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HENRY S. WASHINGTON

old near the centre of this plateau revealed no connection with any

building, and the same result followed from digging around the

fragment of a Doric column, 1.12 m. long and 0.44 m. in diameter,which projected from the ground to the northeast of the threshold

(2). Other trenches sunk over this central part of the ridge also

yielded nothing, and bedrock was met with at depths of from less

FIGURE.-TERRA-COTTAARGOYLEROM EMPLE FAESCULAPIUS?): PHLIUS.

than 1 to nearly 2 metres, while bare rock projects above ground

at several points.Some trenches were dug on the lowest step of the ridge at the west

end, where stands the chapel of Panagia Rachiotissa, in the walls of

which are several Doric capitals and drums and a triglyph, whilesome Doric drums and capitals lay on the ground near by. The

digging here was brief because the priests objected to our working in

the sacred precinct. Solid rock was met with at depths of about 40

cm., the soil being very thin. The only object found was the righthalf of a terra-cotta lion's head gargoyle or water spout, which had

been split medially (Fig. 2).1 The piece is 17 cm. long and 14 cm.in its greatest width. Its style is more realistic and the head

evidently belongs to a later period than the lion's head water-spouts

1 The object is now in the Boston Museumof Fine Arts (No. 98.162), and I ammuch indebted to Dr. C. H. Hawesfor a photographof it.

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of the Argive Heraeum. While the decision as to its date must be

left to archaeologists, I would hazard the suggestion that it belongsto the first half of the fourth century B.C.

The walls on the north terrace proved to belong to a small build-

ing, the remains of which were fully uncovered. (1, Fig. 1). A

plan and section of this are given in Figures 3 and 4. The buildingfaces east, but I have no record of its exact orientation. The north

wall is 6.30 m. long (exterior), the west wall 7.45 m., while the southwall is only 5.72 m., about half a metre of its east end having been

apparently destroyed.

The construction is well seen in the west wall, which is the bestpreserved. At the bottom, 1.70 m. below the present surface, begins

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FIGE.NL.i

FIGURE 3.-NORT BUILDING. Whitelimestone; dotted poros

FIGURE 3.- NORTH BUILDING. White=limestone; dotted= "poros."

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HENRY S. WASHINGTON

the foundation wall, which consists of three courses of rather roughlycut blocks of "poros" stone.1 The upper course is the best finished

and is 31 cm. high; the second is somewhat rougher, but smoothed onthe outer face, and is 40 cm. high; while the blocks of the lowestcourse are very roughly worked and are 50 cm. high. The widthof the north foundation wall is 80 cm. over most of its length;that of the west wall is 60 cm., and that of the south wall is about40 cm.

The cella wall proper, which rests on this foundation, consists ofslabs of white limestone, cut smooth on the exterior, and carrying

a fillet, 9 cm. wide, along the upper outer edge. These slabs are 74cm. high and 37 cm. thick at the base; their length is somewhat

variable, but is generally about 2.50 m. Three of these slabs extend

J'" . - .S*f',1;6- b'?

FIGURE4.-NORTH BUILDING:SECTIONEAST-WEST.

along the entire length of the west wall, two along the south wall,while only one is left at the west end of the north wall.

The central slab of the west wall presents a peculiar feature. Itsinner (east) face is cut down obliquely and evenly from a distance of25 cm. from the outer edge, the sloping plane surface extending to

the inner lower edge, as shown in the section, Figure 4. I have beenunable to conjecture the purpose of this very peculiar cutting, forwhich I can recall no parallel in the ancient Greek buildings thatI have seen.

The north foundation wall is continued around the east side for adistance of 2.20 m., and at this corner is a recess formed byprojectingblocks, as shown in Figure 3. At the centre of the east side is a

square base of "poros" stone, the top of which is on a level with thatof the foundation walls. The south

wall,which is

onlyone-half

aswide as the north wall, shows on the inside three small projectingblocks of "poros." My notes leave me in doubt as to its easterntermination, but I have restored it conjecturally as continuing

1See Appendix1 for a descriptionof "poros" stone.

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around the corner, like the north wall. If this be the correct restora-

tion the building would appear to have had a double entrance or, at

least, one broad entrance divided by a column.In front of the sloping surface in the central block of the west wall,

and at a distance of 45 cm., is a base of "poros" blocks, about 2 m.

long and 0.60 m. wide. Its upper surface is 50 cm. lower than the

top of the limestone slabs, so that it rises 25 cm. above the level of

the top of the poros foundation walls. This is, presumably, the

base of an altar or of the cult statue. The only objects found in the

building were a few terra-cotta cones, such as were used for weaving.After

havingcleaned out the

buildingand laid bare the

walls,inside

and out, we refilled the excavation at the request of the owner of the

land.

Trenches sunk in different directions from the building showed

nothing, except to the south. Here were found four Doric column

drums, about 45 cm. in diameter, laid side by side, with blocks of

stone between them. At the south end of this row of drums there

was uncovered a roughly built arch, of very late (possibly Byzantine)

period, 1.10 m. wide, which would appear to have supported a flight

of steps to the central plateau above.The building described above presents, as has been said, some

notable peculiarities. It is wider than it is long; the walls are of

different thicknesses; it appears to have a double entrance or one

divided by a single column; while the entrance is centrally placed,the altar (?) seems to be a little off centre; the purpose of the slopingcut inner surface of the central slab of the west wall is enigmatical;the fillet at the top of the first course of the cella wall is unusual.The fact that no columns were found

(exceptthose to the south

which are too wide for the walls) and that the walls (except that onthe north) are too narrow for columns indicate that it was a simplecella with a single column in antis, like some of the treasuries at

Delphi.A little digging was also done at the spot called TO IIaXarL (the

Palace) in the plain southwest of the chapel of Panagia Rachiotissa.Here a rectangular space, about 25.50 m. east and west by aboutthe same north and south, is inclosed by walls which projected above

the soil. The area was planted in grain'at the time, but lower drumsof columns, regularly spaced, were to be seen within the inclosure.Permission could not be obtained to dig within this area, but severalwalls of various ages were uncovered immediately to the west of it,when the work was brought to a close.

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HENRY S. WASHINGTON

INTERPRETATION

Pausanias1mentions four sacred

buildingson the

acropolis;a

grove and sanctuary dedicated to Ganymeda or Hebe "of awful

and immemorial sanctity," a temple of Hera "on the left as we quitthe sanctuary"' (of Ganymeda); a temple of Demeter and Kore; and

finally, "going down from the acropolis we pass on the right a tem-

ple of Aesculapius." He also says: "Below this temple is a theatre,and not far from it is a sanctuary of Demeter with ancient stone

images."I would suggest that the North Building (Fig. 3, 1) is the "sanc-

tuary" of Ganymeda or Hebe. This would be the first temple metwith by Pausanias, who was coming southward from Sicyon. The

temple of Hera probably lay in the upper, extreme eastern point of

the acropolis. This position harmonizes with its lying on the left as

we leave the sanctuary of Ganymeda, and the terra-cotta figurine,with its stephane, closely similar to those of the Argive Heraeum,leads one to think that a temple of Hera was situated near by. The

temple of Demeter and Kore probably lay in the central part of the

ridge, and the threshold found here may have belonged to this build-

ing. The temple of Aesculapius we may safely consider, with

Frazer, to have occupied the spot on the western end of the ridgewhere the chapel of Panagia Rachiotissa now stands. The rather

numerous architectural fragments found here point clearly to the

existence of a Doric temple near by, and this position agrees well with

the statement of Pausanias that this was the last temple he passedon going down from the acropolis. The large rectangular walled

inclosure, with regularly spaced columns over the interior, r6 IIaXart,

near and below the chapel, I would identify with the "sanctuary ofDemeter with ancient seated images." Its location fits in with

what Pausanias says of it, and the general resemblance of its plan tothat of the sacred inclosure at Eleusis makes a connection with the

worship of Demeter very plausible. This is rendered the more

probable by the later statement of Pausanias (II, 14, 1) that "thePhliasians themselves admit that they imitate the rites of Eleusis."

In conclusion, it may be said that, for a minor site, further excava-tions at Phlius would probably reveal some results of interest.

There appears to be little left of ancient buildings over much of the

acropolis and, as we learn from Pausanias and Xenophon that therewere considerable areas of groves and corn land, it is probable thatfew buildings existed there. The depth of soil is also not great.

1Pausanias, II, 13, 3 ff. I follow the translation of Frazer.

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However, the neighborhood of the North Building and the area

around the chapel would probably repay digging, and the largeinclosure of Tr6HaXdarLhould also be excavated.

APPENDIX: "POROS" STONE

A few words may be said regardingwhat is, or should be, meant by the term

"poros" stone and the differencesbetween it and "limestone." "Poros" (7roplin modern Greek) is a somewhat indefinite term for a rock that is much used inGreecefor a commonbuildingstone, the use of whichgoesback to a highantiquity.It is a variety of limestone, but differs from ordinarylimestone in the followingcharacters. It is very finelyarenaceousormarly;most often of a pale creamcolor,

also light yellow or light gray; somewhatgranularbut rather soft and friableandeasily cut with a knife, especially when first exposedin the quarry. In this last

quality (but not in origin) it resembles the various volcanic tuffs of the Roman

Campagna, and to this ease in working it owes its extensive use as a buildingstone, especiallyforfoundations and otherarchitectonicpartsthat arenot exposedto view. Even when hardenedby exposureit is much more readily cut with aknife than is an ordinary limestone, and the non-petrographicarchaeologistwillnot go far astray if he calls by the name of "poros" any such easily cut, finelygranular, yellow, light cream or gray, dull-lusteredand somewhatroughbuildingstone, which effervesceswith dilute hydrochloricacid or with acetic acid (strong

vinegar) and usually leaves a finemuddy residue.I have unfortunatelyno specimensof "poros"at hand,but some thin sectionsof

specimens of "poros" collected by me at several localities and excavations inGreece show that the rock is microscopicallyof an extremely fine-grained exture,composedof very minute uniformlysized anhedralgrainsof calcite,with here andtheresomelargerones of quartz,and considerableclayey matter. The specimensexaminedby me show no evidence of stratificationor remainsof fossils. I havenever specially studied the origin of "poros" but such observations as I made,both of the naturaloccurrenceand of the petrographiccharacters,have led me tothink that much "poros" resembles the Roman travertine in being a calcareoustufa

(not a volcanic tuff), produced by the chemical precipitation of calciumcarbonate, and not derived, as are the ordinary limestones, from more or lessworkedover organicremains.

Ordinarylimestone is usually much more compact than "poros," decidedlyharder,and with a smootherfracture;it is easily scratchedbut cannotusually becut with a knife. The grainof limestone is apt to be somewhatcoarserthan thatof "poros," it frequently shows signs of stratification,and often contains fossilremains,eithervisible to the nakedeye or discoverableby the microscope. Muchlimestone again is more or less crystalline, showing small glistening surfaces hereand there. This crystalline, or rather sub-crystalline,texture is evidence of theeffect of metamorphism, hroughwhich limestone

maybe

changedeventuallyto a

wholly crystalline marble, of either fine- or coarse-grained exture.The "poros" stone is one of the chiefformations of the later Tertiary (Miocene

or Pliocene)in Greece and it occurs at many places in the Peloponessus; whereaslimestoneproper n Greece s mucholder,beingalmostwhollyeitherearlyTertiary

1Alfred Philippson, Der Peloponnes,Berlin, 1892, pp. 408, 416.

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446 HENRY S. WASHINGTON

(Eocene) or Cretaceous.1 The "poros" which was used at Phlius probably came

from the immediate neighborhood, as the surrounding region is mostly later

Tertiary, while the limestone blocks probably came from some quarry to the westor southwest, where there are Eocene and Cretaceous limestone beds.

HENRY S. WASHINGTON.GEOPHYSICALABORATORY,

WASHINGTON,. C.

1Philippson, op. cit. pp. 390 ff.; R. Lepsius, Geologievon Attika, Berlin, 1893, pp.23 ff.

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