: Naxos isl.
GENERAL
Rural sanctuary of the marble quaries. It is situated on the slopes above the springs of Phlerio and opposite the main ancient quarries. The sanctuary was founded within a quarry of primitive form.
MONUMENTS
Temple, Temenos wall, Other Cult buildings, Other buildings
In the late 8th c. the sanctuary consists mainly of an enclosure wall at north and a sacral oikos, built against a large marble lump, which seemed to have a prevailing character. East of the first oikos a second one is built in the 3rd quarter of the 7th c. Further down the slope, were found two unroofed compartments with ritual pits. These compartments were arranged along an extension of the temenos wall to the west and south. In the course of the first half of the 6th c. an earthquake or a landslide caused damages to the sanctuary. The temenos wall and the two oikoi were repaired. The second oikos in its second phase of use it served for the preparation of the food (ritual meals?). A complex of room at the south may have served for the accommodation of those who practiced the rites or even for the preparation of ritual meals. Between the entrance of the sanctuary to the south and the older oikoi remains of a marble temple of the 6th c. were found. At that time the aforementioned complex of rooms must have been abandoned and demolished.
1. TEMPLE (second half of the 6th c.)
Orientation: N
Dimensions: 3x4 m
Materials: Marble
Comment: the temple was entirely made of marble. The south side of the lower part of the building was made out of one block.
Architectural Form: Rectangular
Roof Components: Tiles
Features: votive column (at the northeast corner of the temple a base for a votive column was found in situ
2. TEMENOS WALL
Orientation: NW-SE
Materials: granodiorite, marble
Comment: The rough monolithic threshold of the entrance is presereved in situ.
Architectural Form: Curved
Description: The temenos wall limited the sanctuary to the north. It had an entrance at the E. At a later stage it was extended, curving to the west and south.
Comments: It was adjacent to a huge freestanding marble lump, which seems to have a prevailing feature in the area
3.OTHER CULT BUILDINGS
3.1. Oikos I (late 8th c.)
Orientation: S
Dimensions: 5x4 m (inner space)
Materials: Stone, Marble, Wood
Comment: The stone walls were 0,70 m wide. Two marble bases for wooden supports were found at the central axis of the building.
Architectural Form: rectangular
Roof type: Possibly flat
Features: Basin, Supports
Description: The cult building consists of one room, with two supports for the roof at its central axis. After the damages, caused by an earthquake or a landslide at the first half of the 6th c, the building took a form of a Greek Γ.
One of the two marble basins, found at the sanctuary, was used as building material in the wall of the second phase of the first oikos. It is thought to be a basin for libations, set inside the oikoi during the first period of the sanctuary.
Comments: West of the oikos, at a nearby terrace, a sacrificial pyre was found. The pit of the pyre consisted of a thin marble slab, on the top of which a quadrangular marble block was set. The excavator believes that this pyre is evidence of the performance of a chthonian cult.
3.2. Oikos II (third quarter of the 7th c.-end of the 6th c?)
Orientation: S
Dimensions: 6,45 m (W), 3,30 m. (S), 6,35 m (E), 3 m (N)
Materials: Marble
Comment: The walls, 0,50 m wide, were made of marble. The threshold, the doorjambs and the lintel of the entrance were monolithic. The door was hung from the jambs.
Architectural Form: irregular parallelogram
Description: The second oikos was unified with the first one. The west wall of the first oikos and its NW corner were demolished and rebuilt as a common wall of the two buildings. Under the floor and under the central axis of the second oikos was found the sacrificial pyre, which is contemporary to the first oikos. After the damages, caused by an earthquake or a landslide at the first half of the 6th c, a heap of stones covered the quadrangular marble and the pyre under its floor, while a bench was built around it. This setting may imply a chthonic or mystic cult. Ashes and bones were found in its rear compartment, suggesting that in its second phase of use the second oikos served for the preparation of food (ritual meals?).
Comments: The entrance of Oikos II constitutes a primitive form of the monumental entrance characterising the fourth Temple of Hyria, the Temple at Sangri, the Temple of Apollo at Palatia and the Oikos of the Naxians on Delos.
3.3. Compartments at the W of the oikos II (7th c.)
Two rectangular rooms, possibly unroofed
Features: altar
Description: Two unroofed, but closed with doors, compartments were found at the west of the second oikos. They contained in their corners altars and on their floor pyres, covered with circular thin slabs. The pyres, found on successive levels, contained animal bones, remains of metal objects and sherds. Sometime in the 6th c. the doors were closed with walls and the compartments transformed to a kind of adyton.
Comments: The compartments possibly served for the performance of cult activities in the honor of a chthonian deity (or hero?).
4. OTHER BUILDINGS
Orientation: S
Architectural Form: Rectangular
Description: At the S of the sanctuary it has been discovered a complex of rooms, extending to the east of what seems to be the entrance to the sanctuary.
Comments: This complex of rooms may have served to accommodate visitors or the keepers of the sanctuary, as well as for the preparation of ritual meals.
FINDS
Clay Vessels
Lamp (unfinished, of marble)
Metal objects
Figurines of a standing or a sitting female goddess
Sculptures (kouroi, unfinished votive sphinx)
Other objects (marble votive columns, fragments of marble basins)
Animal bones: Unspecified
Comments: The marble basins are shallow and quadrangular. One was found out of context, while the second one was used as building material in the wall of the second phase of the first oikos. It is thought to be a basin for libations, set inside the oikoi during the first period of the sanctuary.
DATE
Late Geometric/Archaic (8th-6th c. B.C.). The overall period of use of the site dates back to the Late Bronze Age and reaches down to the Roman period.
IDENTIFICATION
Most of the marble objects found in the sanctuary are unfinished. The big number of this type of objects in relation to the number of the finished works suggest their interpretation as dedications of quarrymen, who must be the main dedicators of the sanctuary. The excavator suggests the cult of an unknown female divinity, as well as that of the local mythological heroes, Otos and Ephialtes.
RECORDS
Excavation Date: 2000-2006
Institution/Excavator: Greek Archaeological Service/Lamprinoudakis V. K.
Excavation Type: Systematic
REFERENCES
Primary Publication:
- Lambrinoudakis V. K. 2005. A new early Archaic building on Naxos. Some thoughts on the Oikos of the Naxians on Delos, BAR 2005: 79-86
Secondary Publications:
- Lambrinoudakis V. K. 2001. The emergence of the city-state of Naxos in the Aegean, Lentini C. (ed), The two Naxos Cities : a Fine Link between the Aegean sea and Sicily, 14-30 June 2001 University of Athens, 6-31 July Archaeological Museum of the Island of Naxos, Palerme, 2001:13-22
- Philaniotou O. 2001. New evidence for the topography of Naxos in the Geometric period, Lentini Costanza M. (ed), The two Naxos Cities : a Fine Link between the Aegean sea and Sicily, 14-30 June 2001 University of Athens, 6-31 July Archaeological Museum of the Island of Naxos, Palerme, 2001: 90
