Elis 1969: The Peneios Valley Rescue Excavation Project: British School at Athens Survey 1967 and Rescue Excavations at Kostoureika and Keramidia 1969

by John Ellis Jones, Ourania Kouka

Overview

In the 1960s a great new barrier dam was built across the Peneios Valley in Elis in the N.W. Peloponnese to create an artificial lake for irrigation purposes. In 1967 the Greek Archaeological Service organised a preliminary survey of the areas to be affected and also asked all the Foreign Archaeological Schools to assist and allocated specific sections to each. The British School at Athens sent a small team in late 1967 to survey part of the south-west fringes of the area to be flooded; this team identified many sites and opened test-trenches at six of them. In 1969 further work was undertaken in that area for the British School: a small team from Birmingham University and from Bangor undertook excavations at two of the identified sites, 'Kostoureika' and 'Keramidia'. This account describes the results in detail. 'Kostoureika', identified as a likely Hellenistic 'villa' proved structurally disappointing (the 1967 test-trench had located the only surviving wall), but revealed a deposit of Early Helladic pottery, which supplements very usefully evidence for early occupation in the north-west Peloponnese. 'Keramidia' proved to be a site occupied, at least at times, from the Hellenistic to the late Roman imperial period.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784912307
Publisher:	Archaeopress Publishing
Publication date:	02/12/2016
Pages:	190
Product dimensions:	8.03(w) x 11.42(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Foreword iii

Acknowledgements v

Introduction 1

British School at Athens Survey, 1967 2

British School at Athens Excavations, 1969 3

Kostoureika 5

Kostoureika I 5

Kostoureika II 10

Kostoureika III 14

Kostoureika IV 15

Finds 15

Keramidia 17

Keramidia I and II 17

Trial Trenches 34

Conclusions 37

Finds 40

'Keramidia Hill' 40

Conclusions 44

Finds 45

'Kostoureika Hut' 46

'Farmhouse Ridge' 47

Catalogues of Finds 56

Introduction 56

Catalogue I Kostoureika Early Helladic (KTR EH) 60

The Archaeological Evidence: Elis in the Early Helladic Period 60

KTR EH Small Finds (KTR EH SF) 61

KTR EH Pottery 62

Early Helladic Pottery - Classification 62

Wares, Shapes and Decoration - 63

CHRONOLOGY 84

CONCLUSIONS 87

Catalogue II Kostoureika Hellenistic (KTR H) 88

KTR H Small Finds (KTR H SF) 88

KTR I + II H Pottery 90

Decorated Relief and Painted Ware (PI - 7) 90

Peg-Leg Cups (Elean Beakers) (P8 - 27) 94

Glazed / Semi-Glazed Plates, Saucers, Shallow Bowls (P29-41) 98

Other Glazed and Semi-Glazed Forms (P42-P53) 101

Plain Kitchen and Storage Vessels 105

Amphorae / Pitchers (P61-P70) 107

Various Plain Ware Pots (P71-P86) 110

Cooking Ware (P87-P109) 112

Grill Fragments (P101-P109) 117

Catalogue III Kostoureika III and IV 118

(Cat. Nos. 1-11) 118

Catalogue IV Keramidia 121

Coins 121

Small Finds 128

Lead Items 131

Glassware 132

Terracotta 134

Stone 135

Slag 135

Tiles 136

Pottery 136

Fine Wares 136

Decorated Ware 136

Black-glaze Ware 138

Elean Beakers (Peg-leg Cups) 140

Various bg. shapes 142

Handle frs 144

Lamps 145

Red Fabric Ware (African Red Slip Ware) 147

Groups of Sherds from KER I, Room F 150

Small Bowls of Hellenistic Date 152

Lekanai and Bowls, rim frs: P.82-P.95 153

Flasks, Jugs, Pitchers, Amphorae: rim, upper body and handle fragments 156

Amphorae and Pitchers: rim, body, handle and base fragments 160

Jugs, Pitchers, Amphorae, Storage Amphorae: Base Fragments 163

Lids 166

Cookpots 167

Pithoi and Storage Tubs: P.195 - P.204 175

Storage Tubs 178

Tiles 178

Catalogue V: 'Keramidia Hill' (KER.HILL / KH) 181