DOI article:
Waldstein, Charles: [Excavations and discoveries at Eretria, 1891-1895]
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.8681#0122
110
A TOPOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF EBETBIA.
line is an accumulation, made up apparently of sea-sand, rising to per-
haps 2—3 metres above the water-level at the highest point. Mention
is made by ancient writers of the two harbors of Eretria. So it seems
beyond question that where this little pond now is enclosed by the two
arms of the city-walls was once the innermost fortified harbor of the
Eretrians. Here, as in so many other instances, the action of wind and
waves has completely altered the character of the coast, and filled up
the old harbor.
At 2, as mentioned above, all trace of the wall is lost. At L, it
again appears, and from this point throughout the remainder of the
circuit, both of the lower town and of the acropolis, the main line is
traceable with perfect certainty. We counted ourselves very fortun-
ate that the study of the walls offered problems enough to render the
work most interesting, and that at the same time the remains were
sufficient to restore, with a good degree of certainty, the ancient lines
of the city.
From / to L, there existed beyond question a wall. Between these
points to-day extends a highly cultivated field. In it a few stones are
scattered about, and there are remains of foundations of buildings, per-
haps constructed of stones from the city-wall; but, in the main, all
traces which were above the surface have been removed entirely, both
because desired for building purposes, and because they formed an ob-
struction to tillage. In a pit near J, was found a short bit of well
laid stone substructure; but neither the character of the work nor
the direction in which it extended seemed to warrant the conclusion
that it was a portion of the city-wall. The line from J to L, as laid
down on the map, shows how the wall, which must have crossed this
interval, may have run. Three facts furnish the reason for choosing
this particular course. At J and K are the foundations of what in
later times were certainly buildings, but which anciently may have
been towers. The stones look as if they had once belonged to the
citv-walls. The present dimensions of these foundations are, how-
ever, not what we should expect to find in foundations for wall-towers.
In the line K—L, we find other foundations; in one case it may be the
remains of a square wall-tower, in the other is recognized, by its di-
mensions and the character of the work, a round tower similar to the
two already described. This last, at O, may be said to fix the line of
wall as passing this point.
A TOPOGRAPHICAL STUDY OF EBETBIA.
line is an accumulation, made up apparently of sea-sand, rising to per-
haps 2—3 metres above the water-level at the highest point. Mention
is made by ancient writers of the two harbors of Eretria. So it seems
beyond question that where this little pond now is enclosed by the two
arms of the city-walls was once the innermost fortified harbor of the
Eretrians. Here, as in so many other instances, the action of wind and
waves has completely altered the character of the coast, and filled up
the old harbor.
At 2, as mentioned above, all trace of the wall is lost. At L, it
again appears, and from this point throughout the remainder of the
circuit, both of the lower town and of the acropolis, the main line is
traceable with perfect certainty. We counted ourselves very fortun-
ate that the study of the walls offered problems enough to render the
work most interesting, and that at the same time the remains were
sufficient to restore, with a good degree of certainty, the ancient lines
of the city.
From / to L, there existed beyond question a wall. Between these
points to-day extends a highly cultivated field. In it a few stones are
scattered about, and there are remains of foundations of buildings, per-
haps constructed of stones from the city-wall; but, in the main, all
traces which were above the surface have been removed entirely, both
because desired for building purposes, and because they formed an ob-
struction to tillage. In a pit near J, was found a short bit of well
laid stone substructure; but neither the character of the work nor
the direction in which it extended seemed to warrant the conclusion
that it was a portion of the city-wall. The line from J to L, as laid
down on the map, shows how the wall, which must have crossed this
interval, may have run. Three facts furnish the reason for choosing
this particular course. At J and K are the foundations of what in
later times were certainly buildings, but which anciently may have
been towers. The stones look as if they had once belonged to the
citv-walls. The present dimensions of these foundations are, how-
ever, not what we should expect to find in foundations for wall-towers.
In the line K—L, we find other foundations; in one case it may be the
remains of a square wall-tower, in the other is recognized, by its di-
mensions and the character of the work, a round tower similar to the
two already described. This last, at O, may be said to fix the line of
wall as passing this point.