Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project Field Report 2023 (20 min)

Presenters

Paul D. Scotton, California State University Long Beach; Georgios Spyropoulos, Corinthian Ephorate of Antiquities; and Angela Ziskowski, Coe College

Abstract

The Lechaion Harbor and Settlement Land Project returned to the field in 2023 under a continuing permit granted by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sport. This project is focused upon delimiting the ancient harbor and settlement, documenting the occupation of the site and its structures across all periods, refining site formation studies to better understand the changing coastal environment, and determining more precisely the abandonment of the site and the reasons why.

Geoprospection to the south of the inner harbor was conducted and revealed a continuation of the dense array of structures revealed previously. The area to the north and west of the excavation grapheion was also surveyed and revealed two large structures. Coring to a depth of 13 m was done immediately to the north of the Roman civic basilica found during previous seasons. The last five meters were strata of mud and clays from a time when the area was marsh and included plant matter. The study of the shell and glass recovered is ongoing but already significant. Murex processing has been documented and with it the production of purple dye. The glass recovered to date extends into the Hellenistic period but in Roman contexts.

The excavation of the three structures to the south and east of the inner harbor previously under study continues. In the northwest corner of the site a new area was opened and revealed a circular structure 30 m in diameter with an inner room ca. 15 m in diameter. In this room were found fragments of a sarcophagus. Late republican ceramics dating ca. 70–50 B.C.E. were found in three of the four areas under excavation, suggesting that the harbor was in use after the destruction of Corinth in 146 B.C.E. and prior to the founding of the Roman colony in 44 B.C.E.