Archaeology Magazine - September 1948 - 50

ARCHAEOLOGY

170

Agora Excavations, 1948. Offerings from the
CREMATION
BURIAL
OF A WOMAN,
C. 900 B.C. THE
CHARRED
bones of the woman were placed in the
LARGE
WHICHWASCLOSED
BY THESMALL
AMPHORA,
GLOBULAR
WITHTHEBONES
PYXIS.ALONG
PLACED
WERE
HERJEWELRY,
COMPRISING
CLOAK
OF
PINSANDBROOCHES
EARRINGS
OFELECTRUM,
ANDHERSMALL
TABLE
BRONZE,
KNIFEOF IRON. IN A SHALLOW
PIT ABOVE
THEURN
WERE
REMNANTS
OFTHEFUNERAL
FIGSANDBONES
PYRE:
OFFOWL
FROM
THEFUNERAL
19 VASES
SOME
(OF
FEAST,
WHICHTHREE
ARESHOWN
OF
HERE),ANDTWOPAIRS
TERRACOTTA
SHOES.
The style of the pottery is transitional between
Proto-Geometric and Geometric. This fact, comBINED
WITHTHENUMBER
ANDVARIETY
OFTHEOFFERTHEPRESENT
GROUP
MAKES
ONEOFTHEMOST
QUITE
INGS,
INFORMATIVE
OF ITS KINDFORTHISDARKPERIOD
OF
Athenian history.
Agora Excavations, 1948. Terracotta shoes from the cremation BURIAL
OFA WOMAN,
C. 900 B.C. IT HASBEENPROPOSED
THAT
PLACED
IN GRAVES
IN
WERE
FORTHEUSEOFTHESOUL
SHOES
FROM
ITSLONG
OFTHE
WANDERING
TOTHEKINGDOM
THISWORLD
Dead. In any case, the terracotta shoes of this period seem
IN MINIATURE.
TOBEFAITHFUL
COPIES
OFREAL
OFLEATHER,
SHOES
The uppers were apparently cut from one piece; the single
BYA GROOVE
SEAM
RUNNING
FROM
TOPTOBOTTOM
OF
ISINDICATED
THEINNER
THERE
SIDEOFTHEOPENING
IN FRONT
SIDE.AT EACH
ANDBULGES
ATAPPROPRIATE
ARETWOEYELETS
FORTHELACES;
ANDOUTER
THEPROTRUSION
HEIGHT
INDICATE
ONTHEINNER
SIDES
OFTHEANKLE
ARETHICK
ANDHARD-WEARING.
THESOLES
BONES.
REFLECT
THEACTUAL
NO DOUBT
TERRACOTTA
THESE
MINIATURES
STOUT
WALKING
BOOTS
OFTHEPERIOD.
Similar shoes have been found in a grave at Eleusis.

children and a mug of late Helladic
in date.i Another grave, the cremation burial of a woman of ca. 900 b.c.,
was richly furnished with some
twenty vases of the finest early Geometric style, assorted jewelry in
bronze and electrum, and two pair of
heavy walking boots in terracotta: a
wise provision for the long journey
to the underworld.
"In the bottom of the valley to the
west of the Areopagus were uncovered
four modest dwellings of the fifth and
fourth centuries B.c., the best preserved houses of that period known in
Athens. They are dwarfed in scale
and in the lavishness of their appointments by houses of the second and
third centuries A.D. on the adjacent
slopes of Kolonos.
"A public building of the fifth century b.c. that is gradually coming to
light at the west foot of the Areopagus may well prove to be a law-court
or dikasterion (a number of bronze

ballots were found in its vicinity).
"Outstanding among the individual
finds of the season is a nude torso of a
standing youth, almost certainly from
the east pediment of the Hephaisteion
("Theseum").
Interesting also are
two Roman portraits in marble, one a
youth of the Augustan period, the
other a boy of the third century A.D.
A fine lamp of the third century carried a very touching representation of
the Ransoming of Hektor.
"The problem of the permanent
Agora Museum must once more be
reconsidered. The appearance of so
many ancient foundations in the originally proposed site to the west of the
Areopagus practically rules out that
area. As an alternative proposal, consideration is now being given to the
idea of rebuilding the Stoa of Attalos
to house the museum and at the same
time to make intelligible to the public a first-rate example of this very

characteristic type of Greek civic architecture.
"In the comparative peace that follows the digging season, all members
of the staff are busily engaged in preparing material for publication."
British Institute

at Ankara

The June, 1948, number of Antiquity contains a brief account of the
inauguration, on January 15, 1948, of
a British Institute of Archaeology in
Ankara, Turkey, under the direction
of John Garstang, veteran explorer
of the Near East and excavator. The
institute is to form a research center
for British students of Anatolian archaeology, anthropology, and ethnology. One scholarship of £300 has
been made available for 1948-49.
Further information may be obtained
from the honorary secretary, Miss
Kathleen
Kenyon, c/o Institute
of Archaeology, Inner Circle, Regent's Park, London, N. W. 1.

Archaeology Magazine - September 1948

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - September 1948