The Athenian Agora: Excavations of 1989-1993

Abstract

T HIS REPORT PRESENTS the archaeological results obtained during five seasons of excavations in the Athenian Agora, which were conducted by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. The area under investigation lies in the modern city block to the west of St. Philip's Square and is bounded by Hadrian Street on the south and Hastings Street on the north. Initial exploration of the largest single property in that block, City Block 1370/7, had been carried out from 1980 to 1982. During the period here under review, that area was expanded by the acquisition of two properties, City Block 1370/26 and 1370/27, located on Hadrian Street to the west and east, respectively, of the section excavated in the early 1980's. The north side of the excavation was further enlarged by the purchase of a third property, City Block 1370/8, which lies on Hastings Street just west of the earlier excavation. 1 In terms of the topography of the ancient city, the recent excavations covered an area around the northwest corner of the Agora (Figs. 1, 2). On the south, the area bordered the edge of the Panathenaic Way, and it was bisected by a street running from north to south that passed the southwestern end of the Stoa Poikile and separated that building from the Sanctuary of Aphrodite Ourania just to the west. The acquisition of three pieces of real estate enabled exploration of three different areas in the vicinity of these venerable monuments. It was possible to undertake further clearing of the Sanctuary of Aphrodite and the remains to the west of it, as well as to open up an area immediately in front of the Stoa Poikile. The large property on Hastings Street yielded up a first glimpse of the private and commercial buildings that lined the eastern side of the north-south street behind the Painted Stoa.