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131-702: Excavations of the ancient city began in the 1890s and have been conducted since 1964 by the Greek Archaeological Service (11th Ephorate of Antiquities) and the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece . The first evidence for human activity in the area of Eretria are pottery shards and stone artifacts from the late Neolithic period (3500–3000 BC) found on the Acropolis as well as in the plain. No permanent structures have yet been found. It

262-498: A dumpy level or total station by relation to the site temporary benchmark (abbr. T.B.M). Samples of deposits from contexts are sometimes also taken, for later environmental analysis or for scientific dating . Digital tools used by field archaeologists during excavation include GPS , tablet computers , relational databases , digital cameras , 3d laser scanners , and unmanned aerial vehicles . After high quality digital data have been recorded, these data can then be shared over

393-570: A prodomos (anteroom) and an opisthodomos (back section) arranged with two columns in antis; the cella (in Greek sekos was divided into three naves by two interior colonnades. After the destruction of the city by the Persians , the temple was repaired and remained in use; yet in 198 BC it was destroyed again, this time by the Romans, a fact which initiated the gradual abandonment and dilapidation of

524-594: A second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, taking an enormous (although oft-exaggerated) army and navy to Greece. Those Greeks who chose to resist (the 'Allies') were defeated in the twin simultaneous battles of Thermopylae on land and Artemisium at sea. All of Greece except the Peloponnesus thus having fallen into Persian hands, the Persians then seeking to destroy the Allied navy once and for all, suffered

655-544: A site plan , and then partially excavating those features ( sampling ). The approach is undertaken when a site is to be destroyed by development and no satisfactory method of preserving archaeological remains in situ can be devised or adequate funding and time have not been factored into development project planning to allow for a full archaeological investigation. This describes the use in excavations of various types and sizes of machines from small backhoes to heavy duty earth-moving machinery. Machines are often used in what

786-523: A building such as church to produce a "phase." A less rigorously defined combination of one or more contexts is sometimes called a feature . Phase is the most easily understood grouping for the layman as it implies a near contemporaneous Archaeological horizon representing "what you would see if you went back to a specific point in time". Often but not always a phase implies the identification of an occupation surface "old ground level" that existed at some earlier time. The production of phase interpretations

917-713: A complete change in Athenian foreign policy, neglecting the alliance with the Spartans and instead allying with her enemies, Argos and Thessaly . Megara deserted the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League and allied herself with Athens, allowing construction of a double line of walls across the Isthmus of Corinth and protecting Athens from attack from that quarter. Roughly a decade earlier, due to encouragement from influential speaker Themistocles ,

1048-586: A decisive defeat at the Battle of Salamis . The following year, 479 BC, the Allies assembled the largest Greek army yet seen and defeated the Persian invasion force at the Battle of Plataea , ending the invasion and the threat to Greece. The Allied fleet defeated the remnants of the Persian fleet in the Battle of Mycale near the island of Samos—on the same day as Plataea, according to tradition. This action marks

1179-464: A disastrous Persian-sponsored expedition in 499 BC, Aristagoras chose to declare Miletus a democracy. This triggered similar revolutions across Ionia, extending to Doris and Aeolis , beginning the Ionian Revolt . The Greek states of Athens and Eretria allowed themselves to be drawn into this conflict by Aristagoras, and during their only campaigning season (498 BC) they contributed to

1310-573: A force to capture the city of Byzantion (modern day Istanbul ). The siege was successful, but the behaviour of the Spartan general Pausanias alienated many of the Allies, and resulted in Pausanias's recall. After Byzantion, Sparta was eager to end its involvement in the war. The Spartans greatly feared the rise of the Athenians as a challenge to their power. Additionally, the Spartans were of

1441-414: A grouping of contexts and their associations are the purpose of the photography. Finds from each context are bagged and labeled with their context number and site code for later cross-reference work carried out post-excavation. The height above sea level of pertinent points on a context, such as the top and bottom of a wall are taken and added to plans sections and context sheets. Heights are recorded with

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1572-588: A hill to the northwest of Eretria city and counts among the most significant monuments of Evia island. Based on the findings, it is dated to the fourth century BC, the time when these characteristic burial monuments of the Macedonian type make their appearance in southern Greece after the descent of the Macedons. More Macedonian tombs were found in the wider area around Eretria, namely in the settlements of Kotroni and Amarynthos . The tomb of Erotes consists of

1703-735: A key event of 454 BC was the moving of the treasury of the Delian League from Delos to Athens. This is often seen as a key marker of the transition from alliance to empire, but while it is significant, it is important to view the period as a whole when considering the development of Athenian imperialism, and not to focus on a single event as being the main contributor to it. At the start of the Peloponnesian War , only Chios and Lesbos were left to contribute ships, and these states were by now far too weak to secede without support. Lesbos tried to revolt first, and failed completely. Chios,

1834-407: A means of dividing spoils of war. The members were given a choice of either offering armed forces or paying a tax to the joint treasury; most states chose the tax. League members swore to have the same friends and enemies, and dropped ingots of iron into the sea to symbolize the permanence of their alliance. The Athenian politician Aristides would spend the rest of his life occupied in the affairs of

1965-517: A pigsty onto it and drained the pigsty into the nettle patch. Later still, the original wall blew over and so on. Each event, which may have taken a short or long time to accomplish, leaves a context . This layer cake of events is often referred to as the archaeological sequence or record . It is by analysis of this sequence or record that excavation is intended to permit interpretation, which should lead to discussion and understanding. The prominent processual archaeologist Lewis Binford highlighted

2096-407: A portico with an Ionic façade, thus raising above the orchestra. This difference in heights was evened up by a vaulted underground gallery, leading through the scene to the centre of the orchestra; this was in all probability the "charonian stairway" (stairs of Hades ) allowing actors impersonating chthonic deities and the dead to appear and perform at the orchestra. Local poros stone was used for

2227-527: A precursor to the idealization and the force of the classical art. The entire composition supposedly featured chariots to Athena's right and left, one chariot presumably carrying Theseus and Antiope , while Hercules might ride the other, and the picture could be complemented by fighting Amazons and a dead warrior. The east pediment possibly narrated the Gigantomachy (fight of the Giants). The details of

2358-717: A result of this defeat, Eretria turned to colonisation. She planted colonies in the northern Aegean , on the coast of Macedon , in Italy , and in Sicily . It became an important city in the 6th/5th century BC mentioned by many famous writers and actively involved in significant historical events. The Eretrians were Ionians and were thus natural allies of Athens . When the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor rebelled against Persia in 499 BC, Eretria joined Athens in sending aid to

2489-648: A result, Persia would cease to pose a major threat to Greece for the following fifty years. From its inception, Athens became the League's biggest source of military power, while more and more allies preferred to pay the dues in cash. Athens began to use the League's funds for its own purposes, like the reinforcement of its naval supremacy, which led to conflicts between the city and its less powerful allies, at times culminating in rebellions, like that of Thasos in 465 BC. The League's treasury initially stood in Delos until, in

2620-414: A single vaulted chamber and a dromos (entrance passageway) of stone and bricks. The burial chamber is reminiscent of a residential room; it is built of poros stone plastered with white mortar. During the excavation were found two replicas of painted stone thrones bearing relief decoration. At the rear corners of the burial chamber were two marble bed-shaped sarcophagi . The tomb had been pillaged. Among

2751-409: A site into these basic, discrete units, archaeologists are able to create a chronology for activity on a site and describe and interpret it. Stratigraphic relationships are the relationships created between contexts in time representing the chronological order they were created. An example would be a ditch and the back-fill of said ditch. The relationship of "the fill" context to the ditch "cut" context

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2882-410: A site. There are two basic types of modern archaeological excavation: There are two main types of trial excavation in professional archaeology both commonly associated with development-led excavation: the test pit or trench and the watching brief. The purpose of trial excavations is to determine the extent and characteristics of archaeological potential in a given area before extensive excavation work

3013-564: A site. This data includes artifacts (portable objects made or modified by humans), features (non-portable modifications to the site itself such as post molds, burials, and hearths), ecofacts (evidence of human activity through organic remains such as animal bones, pollen, or charcoal), and archaeological context (relationships among the other types of data). Before excavating, the presence or absence of archaeological remains can often be suggested by, non-intrusive remote sensing , such as ground-penetrating radar . Basic information about

3144-426: A sub-group could be the three contexts that make up a burial: the grave cut, the body and the back-filled earth on top of the body. In turn sub-groups can be clustered together with other sub-groups by virtue of their stratigraphic relationship to form groups which in turn form " phases ". A sub-group burial could cluster with other sub-group burials to form a cemetery or burial group which in turn could be clustered with

3275-461: A symbolic gesture, Pericles moved it to Athens in 454 BC. By 431 BC, the threat that the League presented to Spartan hegemony combined with Athens's heavy-handed control of the Delian League prompted the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War ; the League was dissolved upon the war's conclusion in 404 BC under the direction of Lysander , the Spartan commander. Witnessing Sparta's growing hegemony in

3406-516: A temple floor that was thousands of years old. During early Roman periods, Julius Caesar's men looted bronze artifacts, and by the medieval period, Europeans had begun digging up pots that had partially emerged from erosion, and weapons that had turned up on farmlands. Antiquarians excavated burial mounds in North America and North-West Europe, which sometimes involved destroying artifacts and their context, losing information about subjects from

3537-461: A trench cut for a gas pipe in a road. In the US, a method of evaluation called a Shovel test pit is used which is a specified half meter square line of trial trenches dug by hand. Archaeological material tends to accumulate in events. A gardener swept a pile of soil into a corner, laid a gravel path or planted a bush in a hole. A builder built a wall and back-filled the trench. Years later, someone built

3668-437: Is "the fill" occurred later in the sequence, i.e., you have to dig a ditch first before you can back-fill it. A relationship that is later in the sequence is sometimes referred to as "higher" in the sequence and a relationship that is earlier "lower" though the term higher or lower does not itself imply a context needs to be physically higher or lower. It is more useful to think of this higher or lower term as it relates to

3799-408: Is an important station on the way to the south of the island. It has many taverns and a long beach promenade. The archaeological excavations are located on the northern edge of the modern town. The municipality Eretria was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following two former municipalities, that became municipal units: The municipality has an area of 168.557 km,

3930-409: Is an unrepeatable process, since the same area of the ground cannot be excavated twice. Thus, archaeology is often known as a destructive science, where you must destroy the original evidence in order to make observations. To mitigate this, highly accurate and precise digital methods can be used to record the excavation process and its results. Single context recording was developed in the 1970s by

4061-412: Is called salvage or rescue archaeology in developer-led excavation when there are financial or time pressures. Using a mechanical excavator is the quickest method to remove soil and debris and to prepare the surface for excavation by hand, taking care to avoid damaging archaeological deposits by accident or to make it difficult to identify later precisely where finds were located. The use of such machinery

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4192-475: Is largely based on the Law of Superposition . The Law of Superposition indicates that layers of sediment further down will contain older artifacts than layers above. When archaeological finds are below the surface of the ground (as is most commonly the case), the identification of the context of each find is vital to enable the archaeologist to draw conclusions about the site and the nature and date of its occupation. It

4323-543: Is not good practice. After removing a context or if practical a set of contexts such as the case would be for features, the "isolate and dig" procedure is repeated until no man made remains are left on site and the site is reduced to natural . "Strip, map and sample" is a method of excavation applied in the United Kingdom to preserve archaeological remains by record in the face of development threats. It involves machine stripping an area, plotting observed features onto

4454-486: Is often routine (as it is for instance with the British archaeological television series Time Team ) but can also be controversial as it can result in less discrimination in how the archaeological sequence on a site is recorded. One of the earliest uses of earth-moving machinery was at Durrington Walls in 1967. An old road through the henge was to be straightened and improved and was going to cause considerable damage to

4585-404: Is one of the first goals of stratigraphic interpretation and excavation. Digging "in phase" is not quite the same as phasing a site. Phasing a site represents reducing the site either in excavation or post-excavation to contemporaneous horizons whereas "digging in phase" is the process of stratigraphic removal of archaeological remains so as not to remove contexts that are earlier in time "lower in

4716-483: Is partially preserved, depicting her trunk with the Gorgoneion on the thorax; a superb work of art is the complex of Theseus and Antiope marked by sensitivity and softness of the form, internal force and clarity, despite the ornamental tendency obvious in the coiffures and the folds of their clothes. These sculptures are impregnated by the rules of archaic plasticity; the analogies are rendered in an innovative manner,

4847-414: Is the archaeologist's role to attempt to discover what contexts exist and how they came to be created. Archaeological stratification or sequence is the dynamic superimposition of single units of stratigraphy or contexts. The context (physical location) of a discovery can be of major significance. Archaeological context refers to where an artifact or feature was found as well as what the artifact or feature

4978-421: Is the role of specialists to provide spot dating information on the contexts being removed from the archaeological record. This can provide advance warning of potential discoveries to come by virtue of residual finds redeposited in contexts higher in the sequence (which should be coming offsite earlier than contexts from early eras and phases). Spot dating also forms part of a confirmation process, of assessing

5109-549: Is therefore unclear whether a permanent settlement existed at that time. The first known settlement from the Early Helladic period (3000–2000 BC) was located on the plain. A granary and several other buildings, as well as a pottery kiln, have been found so far. This settlement was moved to the top of the Acropolis in the Middle Helladic period (2000–1600 BC) because the plain was flooded by the nearby lagoon. In

5240-428: Is undertaken. This is usually conducted in development-led excavations as part of Project management planning. The main difference between Trial trenching and watching briefs is that trial trenches are actively dug for the purpose of revealing archaeological potential whereas watching briefs are cursory examination of trenches where the primary function of the trench is something other than archaeology, for example

5371-522: The Athenian Empire , where Athens established complete dominion and the allies became increasingly less autonomous. The alliance held an assembly of representatives in order to shape its policy, while the members swore an oath of loyalty to the coalition. The Delian League successfully accomplished its principal strategic goal by decisively expelling the remaining Persian forces from the Aegean. As

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5502-565: The Peloponnesian War broke out. Those who revolted unsuccessfully during the war saw the example made of the Mytilenians , the principal people on Lesbos . After an unsuccessful revolt, the Athenians ordered the death of the entire male population. After some thought, they rescinded this order, and only put to death the leading 1000 ringleaders of the revolt, and redistributed the land of the entire island to Athenian shareholders, who were sent out to reside on Lesbos. This type of treatment

5633-573: The Peloponnesian league . With the withdrawal of these states, a congress was called on the holy island of Delos to institute a new alliance to continue the fight against the Persians; hence the modern designation "Delian League". According to Thucydides, the official aim of the League was to "avenge the wrongs they suffered by ravaging the territory of the king." In reality, this goal was divided into three main efforts—to prepare for future invasion, to seek revenge against Persia, and to organize

5764-488: The Swiss Archaeological School . The most impressive monument of ancient Eretria, one of the oldest known theatres , lies in the western section of town, between the western gate, the stadium and the upper gymnasium; the temple of Dionysos was found at its south-west end. As indicated by the architectural remains of the scene, the initial construction phase followed the invasion by the Persians and

5895-637: The Trojan War . In the 8th century BC, Eretria and her near neighbour and rival, Chalcis , were both powerful and prosperous trading cities. Eretria controlled the Aegean islands of Andros , Tenos and Ceos . They also held territory in Boeotia on the Greek mainland. Eretria was also involved in the Greek colonisation and founded the colonies of Pithekoussai and Cumae in Italy together with Chalcis. At

6026-561: The museum of London (as well as earlier in Winchester and York) and has become the de facto recording system in many parts of the world and is especially suited to the complexities of deep urban archaeology and the process of Stratification . Each excavated context is given a unique "context number" and is recorded by type on a context sheet and perhaps being drawn on a plan and/or a section . Depending on time constraints and importance contexts may also be photographed, but in this case

6157-556: The Archaeological Service of the Ministry of Culture undertook further excavations in the wider area of the temple, which brought to light an additional complex of courtyards and rooms directly related to the sanctuary. This splendid house was built in ca. 370 B.C. and remained in use for about a century. It is distinguished by its floors, covered with elegant pebble mosaics representing mythological scenes: Nereids on

6288-591: The Athenian commander at Mycale, had furiously rejected this; the Ionian cities had been Athenian colonies, and the Athenians, if no one else, would protect the Ionians. This marked the point at which the leadership of the Greek alliance effectively passed to the Athenians. With the Spartan withdrawal after Byzantion, the leadership of the Athenians became explicit. The loose alliance of city states which had fought against Xerxes's invasion had been dominated by Sparta and

6419-774: The Athenians had also constructed the Long Walls connecting their city to the Piraeus , its port, making it effectively invulnerable to attack by land. In 454 BC, the Athenian general Pericles moved the Delian League's treasury from Delos to Athens, allegedly to keep it safe from Persia. However, Plutarch indicates that many of Pericles's rivals viewed the transfer to Athens as usurping monetary resources to fund elaborate building projects. Athens also switched from accepting ships, men and weapons as dues from league members, to only accepting money. The new treasury established in Athens

6550-497: The Athenians were not the old popular rulers they had been at first; and if they had more than their fair share of service, it was correspondingly easy for them to reduce any that tried to leave the confederacy. The Athenians also arranged for the other members of the league to pay its share of the expense in money instead of in ships and men, and for this the subject city-states had themselves to blame, their wish to get out of giving service making most leave their homes. Thus while Athens

6681-597: The Hellenes called Inaros and Amyrtaeus , who requested aid from Athens. Pericles led 250 ships, intended to attack Cyprus , to their aid because it would further damage Persia. After four years, however, the Egyptian rebellion was defeated by the Achaemenid general Megabyzus , who captured the greater part of the Athenian forces. In fact, according to Isocrates, the Athenians and their allies lost some 20,000 men in

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6812-404: The Ionian city-states which bordered it. The members of the Delian League were made to swear an oath of loyalty to the league and contributed mostly monetarily but in some instances donated ships or other forces. It was also the case that many democratic members of the League owed their freedom from oligarchic or tyrannical rule to Athens. Because of this, Athens gained an overwhelming advantage in

6943-445: The Ionians difficult to rule, eventually settling for sponsoring a tyrant in each Ionian city. While Greek states had in the past often been ruled by tyrants, this form of government was on the decline. By 500 BC, Ionia appears to have been ripe for rebellion against these Persian clients . The simmering tension finally broke into open revolt due to the actions of the tyrant of Miletus , Aristagoras . Attempting to save himself after

7074-618: The Late Helladic period (1600–1100 BC), the population dwindled and the remains found so far have been interpreted as an observation post. The site was abandoned during the Greek Dark Ages . The oldest archaeological finds date the foundation of the city to the Greek Dark Ages. The earliest surviving mention of Eretria was by Homer ( Iliad 2.537), who listed Eretria as one of the Greek cities which sent ships to

7205-573: The League through judicial decisions. Synoecism under the Athenian Empire was enforced by resolving matters of and between states in Athens by courts composed of Athenian citizens and enforcing those decisions through the Athenian military. In the first ten years of the league's existence, Cimon/Kimon forced Karystos in Euboea to join the league, conquered the island of Skyros and sent Athenian colonists there. Over time, especially with

7336-409: The League's vast territory. Furthermore, Pericles employed a number of offices to maintain Athens' empire: proxenoi , who fostered good relations between Athens and League members; episkopoi and archontes , who oversaw the collection of tribute; and hellenotamiai , who received the tribute on Athens' behalf. Athens's empire was not very stable and after 27 years of war, the Spartans, aided by

7467-692: The Persian king. During the fifth century BC the whole of Euboea became part of the Delian League , which later became the Athenian Empire . Eretria and other cities of Euboea rebelled unsuccessfully against Athens in 446 BC. During the Peloponnesian War Eretria was an Athenian ally against her Dorian rivals Sparta and Corinth . But soon the Eretrians, along with the rest of the Empire, found Athenian domination oppressive. When

7598-501: The Spartans defeated the Athenians at the Battle of Eretria in 411 BC, the Euboean cities all rebelled. After her eventual defeat by Sparta in 404 BC, Athens soon recovered and re-established her hegemony over Euboea, which was an essential source of grain for the urban population. The Eretrians rebelled again in 349 BC and this time the Athenians could not recover control. In 343 BC supporters of Philip II of Macedon gained control of

7729-551: The alliance, dying (according to Plutarch ) a few years later in Pontus, whilst determining what the tax of new members was to be. The Delian League, also known as the Athenian Empire, was a collection of Greek city-states largely based around the Aegean Sea which operated under the hegemony of Athens. This alliance initially served the purpose of coordinating a united Greek front against a perceived looming Persian threat against

7860-513: The archaeology. Rosemary Hill describes how Geoffrey Wainwright "oversaw large, high-speed excavations, taking bulldozers to the site in a manner that shocked some of his colleagues but yielded valuable if tantalising information about what Durrington had looked like and how it might have been used." Machines are used primarily to remove modern overburden and for the control of spoil . In British archaeology mechanical diggers are sometimes nicknamed "big yellow trowels". Archaeological excavation

7991-520: The area of the Agora. The hecatompedon (hundred-footer) apsidal edifice is the earliest in its type among those mentioned by Homer, and slightly after the hecatompedon temple of Hera on the island of Samos . It was flanked to the south by another apsidal building which also came to light: the so-called Daphniforio or "space with laurels" (7.5 x 11.5m) is the most ancient edifice in Eretria, related to

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8122-482: The back of a seahorse, legendary battles between Arimaspians and griffins , sphinxes and panthers . The building is a representative specimen of the Classical and Hellenistic domestic architecture. In the first century BC a funerary monument with a massive rectangular peribolos was erected over the ruins of the house. The monument was excavated between 1975 and 1980. The so-called " tomb of Erotes " lies on

8253-463: The blockade of Citium , though the fleet won a double victory by land and sea over the Persians off Salamis, Cyprus . This battle was the last major one fought against the Persians. Many writers report that a peace treaty, known as the Peace of Callias , was formalized in 450 BC, but some writers believe that the treaty was a myth created later to inflate the stature of Athens. However, an understanding

8384-514: The capture and burning of the Persian regional capital of Sardis . After this, the Ionian revolt carried on (without further outside aid) for a further five years, until it was finally completely crushed by the Persians. However, in a decision of great historic significance, the Persian king Darius the Great decided that, despite having subdued the revolt, there remained the unfinished business of exacting punishment on Athens and Eretria for supporting

8515-679: The city partial autonomy. During this time the city was governed by Menedemos who founded the Eretrian school of philosophy. After the Chremonidean War (267–262 BC) a permanent Macedonian garrison was installed. In 198 BC in the Second Macedonian War Eretria was plundered by the Romans. The admiral Lucius Quinctius Flamininus was joined by the allied fleets of Attalus I of Pergamon and of Rhodes, and used them in besieging Eretria. He eventually took

8646-457: The city were re-used as construction material; only a few (column) drums together with fragmented capitals and triglyphs remain from the superstructure of the monument. Of the sumptuous sculptural decoration survive only parts of the west pediment featuring in relief the fight of the Amazons (or Amazonomachy, a usual motif for the iconography at the time). The centre was occupied by Athena and

8777-462: The city with art and architecture. In order to maintain the new synoecism, Athens began using its greatly expanded military to enforce membership in the League. City-states who wished to leave the alliance were punished by Athens with force such as Mytilene and Melos . No longer considered her allies, Athens eventually began to refer to the members of the Delian League as "all the cities Athens rules." Athens also extended its authority over members of

8908-458: The city, but the Athenians under Demosthenes recaptured it in 341 BC. The Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, in which Philip defeated the combined armies of the rest of the Greeks, marked the end of the Greek cities as independent states. However, under Macedonian rule Eretria experienced a new period of prosperity which lasted until the 3rd century as attested by many inscriptions, by extensions to

9039-469: The colony of Amphipolis on the Strymon river. Thasos , a member of the League, saw her interests in the mines of Mt. Pangaion threatened and defected from the League to Persia. She called to Sparta for assistance but was denied, as Sparta was facing the largest helot revolt in its history. After more than two years of siege, Thasos surrendered to the Athenian leader Aristides and was forced back into

9170-433: The contexts position in a Harris matrix , which is a two-dimensional representation of a site's formation in space and time. Understanding a site in modern archaeology is a process of grouping single contexts together in ever larger groups by virtue of their relationships. The terminology of these larger clusters varies depending on practitioner, but the terms interface, sub-group, group and land use are common. An example of

9301-442: The destruction of the city by the Romans in 198 BC: it then acquired a larger external prodomos on ameliorated foundations and was surrounded by porticoes on three sides (north, south and west). Only the south-west end of the portico was covered by a roof. The columns were later replaced by a parapet. At the centre of the east forecourt was a portal facing the entrance of the sanctuary. Fifteen more edifices and auxiliary spaces lied to

9432-424: The development of the site may be drawn from this work, but to understand finer details of a site, excavation via augering can be used. During excavation, archaeologists often use stratigraphic excavation to remove phases of the site one layer at a time. This keeps the timeline of the material remains consistent with one another. This is done usually though mechanical means where artifacts can be spot dated and

9563-456: The early cult of Apollo in Delphi . At the centre of this edifice were preserved the clay bases supporting the laurel trunks that propped up the roof. In the early sixteenth century a second hecatompedon temple was erected through earth fills upon its Geometric predecessor, on a solid artificial terrace. This temple had wooden columns (six at the narrow sides and nineteen at the longer sides), and

9694-627: The end of the 8th century BC, however, Eretria and Chalcis fought a prolonged war (known mainly from the account in Thucydides as the Lelantine War ) for control of the fertile Lelantine plain. Little is known of the details of this war, but it is clear that Eretria was defeated. The city was destroyed and Eretria lost her lands in Boeotia and her Aegean dependencies. Neither Eretria nor Chalcis ever again counted for much in Greek politics. As

9825-544: The end of the Persian invasion, and the beginning of the next phase in the Greco-Persian wars, the Greek counterattack . After Mycale, the Greek cities of Asia Minor again revolted, with the Persians now powerless to stop them. The Allied fleet then sailed to the Thracian Chersonese , still held by the Persians, and besieged and captured the town of Sestos . The following year, 478 BC, the Allies sent

9956-470: The excavation process and in turn, limit the site's potential for revealing information for post-excavation specialists. Or anomalous information could show up errors in excavation such as "undercutting". Dating methodology in part relies on accurate excavation and in this sense the two activities become interdependent. Athenian Empire The Delian League was a confederacy of Greek city-states , numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under

10087-548: The expedition, while modern estimates place the figure at 50,000 men and 250 ships including reinforcements. The remainder escaped to Cyrene and thence returned home. This was the Athenians' main (public) reason for moving the treasury of the League from Delos to Athens, further consolidating their control over the League. The Persians followed up their victory by sending a fleet to re-establish their control over Cyprus , and 200 ships were sent out to counter them under Cimon , who returned from ostracism in 451 BC. He died during

10218-730: The faces and the clothes were coloured, thus rendering the depiction more vivid. Fragmented sculptures that may be part of the temple after the destruction by the Persians (warrior, Amazon and Athena's trunk) have been located in Rome . Today are visible only the foundations of the Post-Archaic temple, as well as remains of the Geometric temples uncovered in lower deposits. The temples in the temenos of Apollo Daphniforos were excavated between 1899 and 1910 by Κ. Kourouniotis . Further investigations were conducted by Mrs. I. Konstantinou and by

10349-487: The fact that the archaeological evidence left at a site may not be entirely indicative of the historical events that actually took place there. Using an ethnoarchaeological comparison, he looked at how hunters amongst the Nunamiut Iñupiat of north central Alaska spent a great deal of time in a certain area simply waiting for prey to arrive there, and that during this period, they undertook other tasks to pass

10480-570: The findings today exhibited in the New York Metropolitan Museum , are bronze vases and clay statuettes of Erotes (Amors), which inspired the tomb's conventional name. Above the tomb was uncovered a stone-built construction, probably the basis of a sepulchre. The monument was excavated in 1897 and is well preserved to date. Excavations carried out by the Greek Archaeological Service have revealed

10611-567: The first half of the 4th century BC, Athens went on to partly revive the alliance, this time called the Second Athenian League , reestablishing its naval dominance in the eastern Mediterranean . The Greco-Persian Wars had their roots in the conquest of the Greek cities of Asia Minor , and particularly Ionia , by the Achaemenid Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great shortly after 550 BC. The Persians found

10742-511: The first years of the independent Greek state. The new city plan was appointed by Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert . The modern town of Eretria is now a popular beachside resort. The historic and archaeological finds from Eretria and Lefkandi are displayed in the Eretria Museum , established by the Swiss School of Archaeology in Greece . The town can be reached from Skala Oropou , Attica by ferry or via Halkida by road. It

10873-574: The foundation and limestone for the parodoi (passageways), which sloped to the orchestra in order to diminish the difference in height with the cavea. The theatre seated 6,300 spectators and is reminiscent in form to the Theatre of Dionysos in Athens , after transformation of the latter in 330 BC. Following the destruction of Eretria by the Romans in 198 BC, it was rebuilt with lower quality materials and

11004-431: The great temple of Apollo , built around 510 BC; parts of a pediment were found in 1900, including the torso of a statue of Athena . Eretria was rebuilt shortly afterwards and took part with 600 hoplites in the Battle of Plataea (479 BC). The ancient writer Plutarch mentions a woman of Eretria, "who was kept by Artabanus" at the Persian court of Artaxerxes , who facilitated the audience that Themistocles obtained with

11135-417: The internet for open access and use by the public and archaeological researchers. Digital imaging or digital image acquisition is digital photography , such as of a physical scene or of the interior structure of an object. The term is often used to include the processing, compression, storage, printing, and display of the images. Finds and artifacts that survive in the archaeological record are retrieved in

11266-517: The island of Delos , where congresses were held within the sanctuary of the Temple of Apollo ; contemporary authors referred to the organization simply as "the Athenians and their Allies". While Sparta excelled as Greece's greatest power on land, Athens turned to the seas becoming the dominant naval power of the Greek world . Following Sparta's withdrawal from the conflict with Persia , Athens took

11397-596: The lead of the Hellenic alliance accompanied by several states around the Aegean and the Anatolian coast. The Delian League was formed as an anti-Persian defensive association of equal city-states seeking protection under Athens, as the latter wished to extend its support towards the Ionian Greek colonies of Anatolia. By the mid-fifth century BC, the alliance had developed into a naval imperial power, called

11528-638: The leadership ( hegemony ) of Athens , whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Plataea at the end of the Second Persian invasion of Greece . The League functioned as a dual –offensive and defensive– alliance ( symmachia ) of autonomous states, similar to its rival association, the Peloponnesian League . The League's modern name derives from its official meeting place,

11659-528: The league. As a result, the fortification walls of Thasos were torn down, and they had to pay yearly tribute and fines. Additionally, their land, naval ships, and the mines of Thasos were confiscated by Athens. The siege of Thasos marks the transformation of the Delian league from an alliance into, in the words of Thucydides, a hegemony . In 461 BC, Cimon was ostracized and was succeeded in his influence by democrats such as Ephialtes and Pericles. This signaled

11790-475: The limestone foundations and crepis of a circular building. It was erected in the fifth century BC in the Agora of the city, and underwent several modifications in the fourth and the third centuries BC. A circular bothros has also survived at the centre of the monument. In 1917, archaeologists uncovered traces of a gymnasium dating to the 4th century BC. A sanctuary dedicated to Eileithyia , had been placed in

11921-446: The main by hand and observation as the context they survive in is excavated. Several other techniques are available depending on suitability and time constraints. Sieving (screening) and flotation are used to maximize the recovery of small items such as small shards of pottery or flint flakes, or bones and seeds. Flotation is a process of retrieval that works by passing spoil onto the surface of water and separating finds that float from

12052-659: The monument until the first century BC. Some important sculptures were found and are displayed in the Chalcis museum. One of the Amazons was salvaged in antiquity and carried off to Rome. Several Niobids perhaps from the pediment of the temple were probably taken to Rome by Augustus including the dying Niobid and the running Niobid (now in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek). Unfortunately, the majority of architectural parts from this temple and other sanctuaries of

12183-531: The most famous battles in history. During the first invasion , Thrace , Macedon and the Aegean Islands were added to the Persian Empire, and Eretria was duly destroyed. However, the invasion ended in 490 BC with the decisive Athenian victory at the Battle of Marathon . After this invasion, Darius died, and responsibility for the war passed to his son Xerxes I . Xerxes then personally led

12314-409: The most important is set on a limestone block to the left of the prodomos (anteroom) before the cella. The temple of Isis was initially simple and oriented to the east, with a prodomos that was distyle (two-columned) in antis. The ceremonial clay statue of the goddess stood on a base within the cella. In front of the temple was the altar and nearby a small drain tank. The temple was reconstructed after

12445-542: The most interesting monuments of ancient Eretria is the Iseion, a temple sacred to the goddess Isis and other Egyptian deities . Situated to the south of the town, between the baths and the Lower Gymnasium or the palaistra (wrestling area) , it extends behind the small harbour, a detail that correlates the temenos with merchants who had their interests in Eretria. According to excavation and inscription testimonies,

12576-573: The most powerful of the original members of the Delian League save Athens, was the last to revolt, and in the aftermath of the Syracusan Expedition enjoyed success for several years, inspiring all of Ionia to revolt. Athens was nonetheless eventually able to suppress these revolts. To further strengthen Athens's grip on its empire, Pericles in 450 BC began a policy of establishing kleruchiai —quasi-colonies that remained tied to Athens and which served as garrisons to maintain control of

12707-417: The municipal unit 58.648 km. Excavations In archaeology , excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be conducted over a few weeks to several years. Excavation involves the recovery of several types of data from

12838-414: The north, considered by the excavators as places of purification. Among them was a courtyard and an andren (dining hall for male residents), while one room of the complex had a superb mosaic floor featuring lozenges. Excavations at the temenos sacred to Isis and other Egyptian deities were conducted in 1917 by the then Ephor of Antiquities for the island of Evia (Euboea), Ι. Papadakis. In recent years,

12969-473: The northwestern section of the building. Also, excavations in the area of the sanctuary found a well containing some 100 terracotta cups dating to the 3rd century BC. In 2018, new excavations in the area revealed more buildings. Modern Eretria was created in 1824 by refugees from Psara after the Destruction of Psara , who gave to their settlement the name "Nea Psara". The ancient name was revived during

13100-660: The past. Meticulous and methodical archaeological excavation took over from antiquarian barrow-digging around the early to mid-nineteenth century and is still being perfected today. The most dramatic change that occurred over time is the amount of recording and care taken to ensure preservation of artifacts and features. In the past, archaeological excavation involved random digging to unearth artifacts. Exact locations of artifacts were not recorded, and measurements were not taken. Modern archaeological excavation has evolved to include removal of thin layers of sediment sequentially and recording of measurements about artifacts' locations in

13231-436: The phase in the strata, for example modern pipework or the 16th-century bottles left by treasure-hunters at Sutton Hoo . Excavation initially involves the removal of any topsoil . A strategy for sampling the contexts and features is formulated which may involve total excavation of each feature or only portions. In stratigraphic excavation, the goal is to remove some or, preferably, all archaeological deposits and features in

13362-541: The power of Thebes in order to help hold the Athenians in check. Their return was blocked, and they resolved to march on Athens, where the Long Walls were not yet completed, winning a victory at the Battle of Tanagra . All this accomplished, however, was to allow them to return home via the Megarid. Two months later, the Athenians under Myronides invaded Boeotia, and winning the Battle of Oenophyta gained control of

13493-657: The rebels, because Miletus had supported Eretria in the Lelantine War. The rebels burned Sardis , but were defeated and the Eretrian general Eualcides was killed. Darius made a point of punishing Eretria during his invasion of Greece. In 490 BC the city was sacked and burned by the Persians under the admiral Datis . In retribution for the stout resistance, the victors killed all the male citizens and deported women and children barefoot to Arderikka in Susiana , Persia, forcing them into slavery. The Persians also destroyed

13624-434: The reconstruction of the city in the fifth century BC, whereas the fourth century BC marked the site's peak. A striking fact is the construction of the cavea (Gr. koilo , auditorium) on an artificial hill surrounded by numerous retaining walls, instead of taking advantage of the citadel's slopes. During the first building phase, the scene looked like a palace, disposed of five adjacent rectangle rooms and found itself at

13755-411: The reverse order they were created and construct a Harris matrix as a chronological record or "sequence" of the site. This Harris matrix is used for interpretation and combining contexts into ever larger units of understanding. This stratigraphic removal of the site is crucial for understanding the chronology of events on site. Stratigraphic excavation involves a process of cleaning or "troweling back"

13886-428: The revolt. The Ionian revolt had severely threatened the stability of Darius's empire, and the states of mainland Greece would continue to threaten that stability unless dealt with. Darius thus began to contemplate the complete conquest of Greece, beginning with the destruction of Athens and Eretria. In the next two decades, there would be two Persian invasions of Greece, occasioning, thanks to Greek historians, some of

14017-551: The rooms to the south of the parodos were then apparently decorated with colour mortars of the first Pompeian style . Unfortunately, most benches have been looted. There are still the impressive remains of the scene, especially the vaulted underground passage leading to the orchestra centre. Excavation of the monument was undertaken by the American Archaeological School, while the local Ephorate of Antiquities strived greatly for its restoration. Among

14148-515: The sacred temenos of Apollo, a religious centre and fundamental place of worship within the core of the ancient city, to the north of the Agora. According to the Homeric hymn to Apollo, when the god was seeking for a location to found its oracle, he arrived to the Lelantine plain. The first temple is dated to the Geometric period and was situated probably near the harbour, as the sea then reached

14279-406: The same level as the circular orchestra, leading to it via three entrances. At its peak (fourth century BC), the theatre suffered transformations and was shaped to a large extent in its present form. The cavea comprised eleven tiers divided by ten staircases. The circular orchestra was transferred for 8m to the north, and was lowered by 3m. The scene was amplified by two backstages connected through

14410-426: The sequence" before other contexts that have a latter physical stratigraphic relationship to them as defined by the law of superposition . The process of interpretation in practice will have a bearing on excavation strategies on site so "phasing" a site is actively pursued during excavation where at all possible and is considered good practice. An "intrusion" or " intrusive object " is something that arrived later to

14541-417: The soil processed through methods such as mechanical sieving or water flotation. Afterwards, digital methods are then used record the excavation process and its results. Ideally, data from the excavation should suffice to reconstruct the site completely in three-dimensional space. The first instance of archaeological excavation took place in the sixth century BC when Nabonidus , the king of Babylon, excavated

14672-440: The spoil which sinks. This is especially suited to the recovery of environmental data stored in organic material such as seeds and small bones. Not all finds retrieval is done during excavation and some, especially flotation, may take place post-excavation from samples taken during excavation. The use of sieving (screening) is more common on research-based excavations where more time is available. Some success has been achieved with

14803-500: The suppression of rebellions, Athens exercised hegemony over the rest of the league. Thucydides describes how Athens's control over the League grew: Of all the causes of defection, that connected with arrears of tribute and vessels, and with failure of service, was the chief; for the Athenians were very severe and exacting, and made themselves offensive by applying the screw of necessity to men who were not used to and in fact not disposed for any continuous labor. In some other respects

14934-404: The surface of the site and isolating contexts and edges which are definable as either: Following this preliminary process of defining the context, it is then recorded and removed. Often, owing to practical considerations or error, the process of defining the edges of contexts is not followed and contexts are removed out of sequence and un-stratigraphically. This is called "digging out of phase". It

15065-472: The temple was probably built in the fourth century BC and was surrounded by other edifices and auxiliary spaces. The initiation to the cult of Isis and the Egyptian deities occurred during the Hellenistic period by Greek merchants who came to Greece from Egypt after the unification of the then known world by Alexander the Great . Their worship in Eretria has also been attested by inscriptions, of which

15196-471: The time, such as the carving of various objects, including a wooden mould for a mask, a horn spoon and an ivory needle, as well as repairing a skin pouch and a pair of caribou skin socks. Binford notes that all of these activities would have left evidence in the archaeological record, but that none of them would provide evidence for the primary reason that the hunters were in the area; to wait for prey. As he remarked, waiting for animals to hunt "represented 24% of

15327-439: The total man-hours of activity recorded; yet there is no recognisable archaeological consequences of this behaviour. No tools left on the site were used, and there were no immediate material "byproducts" of the "primary" activity. All of the other activities conducted at the site were essentially boredom reducers." In archaeology, especially in excavating, stratigraphy involves the study of how deposits occurs layer by layer. It

15458-472: The town during a night-time assault during which the citizens surrendered. Flamininus came away with a large collection of art works as his share of the booty. Eretria became an object of contention between the Romans and Macedonians, but was given partial independence and experienced a new period of prosperity. Under the Romans, athletic contests for children and youths called the Romaia were held. In 87 BC it

15589-416: The use of cement mixers and bulk sieving. This method allows the quick removal of context by shovel and mattock yet allows for a high retrieval rate. Spoil is shoveled into cement mixers and water added to form a slurry which is then poured through a large screen mesh. The speed of this technique is offset by the damage it does to more fragile artifacts. One important role of finds retrieval during excavation

15720-412: The validity of the working hypothesis on the phasing of site during excavation. For example, the presence of an anomalous medieval pottery sherd in what was thought to be an Iron Age ditch feature could radically alter onsite thinking on the correct strategy for digging a site and save a lot of information being lost due to incorrect assumptions about the nature of the deposits which will be destroyed by

15851-524: The view that, with the liberation of mainland Greece, and the Greek cities of Asia Minor, the war's purpose had already been achieved. There was also perhaps a feeling that establishing long-term security for the Asian Greeks would prove impossible. In the aftermath of Mycale, the Spartan king Leotychidas had proposed transplanting all the Greeks from Asia Minor to Europe as the only method of permanently freeing them from Persian dominion. Xanthippus,

15982-509: The voting system conducted by relying on the support of democratic city-states Athens had helped into being. By 454 Athens moved the treasury of the Delian League from the Island of Delos to the Parthenon in Athens. Benefitting greatly from the influx of cash coming out of the 150-330 members, Athens used the money to reinforce its own naval supremacy and used the remaining funds to embellish

16113-536: The west and south sections of the walls and by many other private and public new buildings including the circus. From 318 to 312 BC King Cassander lived at Eretria and commissioned the painter Philoxenus of Eretria to paint the battle of Issus , of which the famous Alexander Mosaic in the Naples museum is a copy and the wall paintings in Phillip's tomb at Vergina are connected. From 304 BC Demetrius I granted

16244-420: The whole country except Thebes. Reverses followed peace with Persia in 449 BC. The Battle of Coronea , in 447 BC, led to the abandonment of Boeotia. Euboea and Megara revolted, and while the former was restored to its status as a tributary ally, the latter was a permanent loss. The Delian and Peloponnesian Leagues signed a peace treaty, which was set to endure for thirty years. It only lasted until 431 BC, when

16375-540: Was definitely reached, enabling the Athenians to focus their attention on events in Greece proper. Soon, war with the Peloponnesians broke out. In 458 BC, the Athenians blockaded the island of Aegina , and simultaneously defended Megara from the Corinthians by sending out an army composed of those too young or old for regular military service. The following year, Sparta sent an army into Boeotia , reviving

16506-488: Was finally destroyed in the First Mithridatic War and gradually declined further. Many remains of the ancient city can be seen today including: The temple of Apollo Daphnephoros is the most important and wider known monument of Eretria, featuring sparkling and sharp sculptures on the pediments, their postures well in advance of experiments in Athens of the time. Together with its enclosure it constituted

16637-434: Was increasing her navy with the funds they contributed, a revolt always found itself without enough resources or experienced leaders for war. The first member of the league to attempt to secede was the island of Naxos in c. 471 BC. After being defeated, Naxos is believed (based on similar, later revolts) to have been forced to tear down its walls along with losing its fleet and vote in the League. In 465 BC, Athens founded

16768-406: Was located near. Context is important for determining how long ago the artifact or feature was in use as well as what its function may have been. The cutting of a pit or ditch in the past is a context, whilst the material filling it will be another. Multiple fills seen in section would mean multiple contexts. Structural features, natural deposits and inhumations are also contexts. By separating

16899-458: Was not reserved solely for those who revolted. Thucydides documents the example of Melos , a small island, neutral in the war, though founded by Spartans. The Melians were offered a choice to join the Athenians, or be conquered. Choosing to resist, their town was besieged and conquered; the males were put to death and the women sold into slavery (see Melian dialogue ). By 454 BC, the Delian League could be fairly characterised as an Athenian Empire;

17030-401: Was subsequently covered with earth in order to build the later and most renowned of all temples in the city. Construction started at the late sixth century BC (520-490 BC) and the temple was perhaps still unfinished when the Persians razed the city in 490 BC. Poros stone and marble were the materials used for this Doric peristyle (surrounded by colonnades) temple (6 x 14 columns). It had

17161-531: Was used for many purposes, not all relating to the defence of members of the league. It was from tribute paid to the league that Pericles set to building the Parthenon on the Acropolis , replacing an older temple, as well as many other non-defense related expenditures. The Delian League was turning from an alliance into an empire. War with the Persians continued. In 460 BC, Egypt revolted under local leaders

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