Apsidal temple?

GENERAL

The Oikonomos island is located in the SE part of the bay of Naousa, in the NE of the island of Paros. It is connected with Paros through a narrow sandbar. The earliest evidence from the site dates to the Submycenaean period with activity extending until the 7th c. B.C. An apsidal building almost at the center of the island might have served as a temple.

MONUMENTS

The apsidal building (14,4 m × 5,56 m) is oriented east-west with its entrance set to the W. The walls were preserved to a height of 0.90 m to 0.80 m and were constructed of huge stone blocks. The interior of the building was divided by a cross wall, preserved to a height of 0,46 m. At some point later, a second room, measuring 13.25 m × 3.27 m, appears to have been added against the south side.

FINDS

None.

CHRONOLOGY

The building cannot be precisely dated, since it has not been systematically excavated. The sherds collected from various locations of the site propose a foundation date to the late 8th or early 7th c.

IDENTIFICATION

The central position of the building, its dimensions, as well as its apsidal form, suggest that it might have been a temple or served communal practices. The lack of a systematic excavation does not allow for its secure interpretation.

RECORDS

Excavation Date: 1974-5

Institution/Excavator: Greek Archaeological Society/Schilardi D.V.

Excavation Type: Survey

REFERENCES

Primary Publications:

• Schilardi D. V. 1973. A Fortified Acropolis on the Oikonomos Island of Paros, AAA 6: 262
• Schilardi D. V. 1973. Paros, Report II: the 1973 Campaign, JFA 2: 90
• Schilardi D. V. 1974. Πάρος. Ὁ οἰκισμὸς Οἰκονόμου, Ergon 1974: 89-90
• Schilardi D. V. 1975a. Πάρος, Ergon 1975: 142
• Schilardi D. V. 1975b. Ἀρχαιολογικαὶ ἔρευναι ἐν Πάρῳ, Praktika 1975: 208

Secondary Publications:

• Gounaris A., 2005. Cult places in the Cyclades during the Protogeometric and Geometric periods : their contribution in interpreting the rise of the Cycladic poleis, Yeroulanou M., Stamatopoulou M. (eds), Architecture and Archaeology in the Cyclades, papers in honour of J.J.Coulton, Oxford, 41, 55, n° 102, 66
• Mazarakis Ainian, A., 1997. From Rulers’ Dwellings to Temples. Architecture, Religion and Society in Early Iron Age Greece (1100-700 B.C.), Jonsered (Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 122), 83-84, 239, 330
• Mermoz J. 2010. La vie religieuse des Cyclades de l’HR IIIC à la fin de la période archaïque, Lyon, PhD Thesis, 96-97
• Schilardi D. V. 1983. The decline of the geometric settlement of Koukounaries at Paros, Hägg R. (ed), The Greek Renaissance of the Eighth Century B.C.: Tradition and Innovation, Proceedings of the second International Symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens, 1-5 June 1981, Stockholm,181
• Schilardi D. V. 2002. The Emergence of Paros the Capital, Pallas 58: 229-240.