DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.749#0014
ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION
9
most important investigations before the advent of winter, the
cold of which is as disagreeable to the modern as to the an-
cient laborer.1 The men dug on Sundays, feast-days, and
even on Christmas, for, great as the superstition of the Greeks
certainly is, it yields to their ambition and their love of
money.
Notwithstanding all the efforts made to hasten the work
after the arrival of funds, it was still found impossible to bring
the investigations to an entirely satisfactory conclusion by the
end of the second season. The removal of the deep earth
accumulated beneath the Agora had occupied the busiest
months of the year, and had required more time than could
have been foreseen in laying out the work. As has been ex-
plained, the small force of men employed during September
and October had been able to accomplish but little. And yet
it was the intention of the promoters of the undertaking, as
well as the great desire of those intrusted with its execution,
to leave nothing henceforth to be done upon the site of Assos.
Therefore, in a letter addressed to the committee of the
Archaeological Institute shortly before the suspension of the
excavations in December, 1882, it was recommended that
the work should be prosecuted during a third season, — as
long as was permitted by the irad'e, which had been granted
in May, 1881, for a term of two years.
Much remained to be freed from earth before the investi-
gations could be regarded as absolutely thorough, and the
recovery of the ancient city as complete as it could be made.
Upon the Agora it was necessary to remove a mass of debris
accumulated between the Stoa and the Bouleuterion, south of
the great flight of stairs, in order to determine the character
of the monument there existing,—which subsequently proved
to be the chief bema of the town. The ends of the reservoir,
also, and the juncture between it and the Stoa, were yet to
be examined. The unique importance of the market-place
at Assos rendered the thorough investigation of all points in
its vicinity a matter of the greatest moment. As it had al-
ready proved to be the most complete and interesting Greek
Agora known, no stone should be left unturned which could
throw further light upon the arrangement and appearance of
the buildings surrounding it. Equal in importance and ex-
tent was the work still to be done upon the fortifications of
the city. No digging had hitherto been attempted at several
of the gates in the walls. They were constantly used by the
Turkish inhabitants of Behram, and it was thought advisable
to defer the trouble which must arise from any interference
with these thoroughfares until towards the close of the under-
taking. At the Gymnasium, work remained sufficient to
occupy a large body of men for two or three weeks; the same
was the case with the main street of the city, between the
great eastern gate and the Agora. The exceptionally well-
preserved ruins of a structure in the lower town, called, upon
the map of the first year, a Roman portico, had not been ex-
amined at all. And, finally, the investigations at the Street
of Tombs were incomplete, there still remaining, at some dis-
tance from the city walls, a mausoleum, which subsequently
proved to be among the most interesting structures of its kind.
To this it must be added, that no photographs fit for publica-
tion had been taken during the past summer, as the gelatine
was frilled by the great heat; and also, that no professional
epigraphist had yet visited the site to examine those inscrip-
tions which could not be carried away at the close of the
work.
1 See Hesiod’s fine description of the rigors of Lenaion (midwinter) in the
Works and Days., 504—563.
The recommendation was adopted by the committee, and
the requisite funds were promptly subscribed by a number of
gentlemen interested in the progress of the work. It was
soon learned by telegraph from Boston to Assos that ample
means had been provided for the continuation of the excava-
tions during a third season.
During the first three weeks and a half of December, the
staff of men, gradually decreasing in number from twenty-
three to twelve, was employed in the Street of Tombs. But
the progress was not rapid, as many rainy days interfered
with the work, and water stood deep in the pits and trenches.
On the 26th of the month Mr. Koldewey and Mr. Clarke
left the site for Athens. Digging and sledging went on for
ten days longer, under the superintendence of Mr. Bacon, after
which time the investigations were suspended for the winter.
Mr. Clarke returned to the Troad alone, on the 28th of
January, 1883. The beginning of the digging was delayed
for more than a week by the slowness of the Kaimacam of
Aivadjik in appointing a successor to the official supervisor
of the work, who was prevented by illness from resuming his
functions. The post was ultimately assigned to Hadji Chris-
tos, the Greek merchant living at the port, who was of great-
est assistance to the expedition.
With eighteen men, all that could be brought together at
this time of the year, work was commenced at that structure
of the lower town designated upon the plan of the first Re-
port as a Roman portico. As the excavations advanced, this
proved to be the atrium of a large palace-like dwelling.
With exception of the Christian churches and the Turkish
mosque, it was the building of latest date examined at Assos ;
but it was well constructed, and, in design, proved of interest
as exemplifying the persistent retention of Hellenic forms
late into the ages of Roman rule. It furnished an additional
example of the civic architecture of the Greeks, the develop-
ment and adaptability of which is so well shown by the
monuments of Assos.
During February the work was carried forward under great
difficulties. The 10th of the month was the coldest day of
the year, and a fortnight later there were long-continued
storms of hail and snow, which put a stop to all digging.
Nevertheless, it was found possible to advance the excavation
of the Atrium so rapidly as to allow a part of the gang to be
transferred to the Stoa, and to the small buildings at the west
of that building, — thus preparing the way for the further
surveys of Mr. Koldewey, who arrived at Assos on the 1st
of March. The digging at the Atrium being by that time
entirely completed, all the men, now over forty in number,
were employed in the vicinity of the market-place and among
the tombs. In both of these fields the work was richly re-
warded: at the Stoa, Heroon, and Greek Bath, by finding
inscriptions and architectural fragments which went far to-
wards solving the various problems of arrangement and con-
struction presented by these edifices; in the Street of Tombs,
by the discovery of the finest figurini vases and coins obtained
during the entire course of the excavations.
Mr. Bacon having returned to the site early in April, all
the workmen were, during this last month of the undertaking,
engaged in the Street of Tombs. The number of laborers
was maintained at the maximum of forty-five until the 24th
of April, when the Easter holidays caused the usual break in
the ranks of the Greeks. The minor Greek festivals were
not permitted to interfere with the work, which was prose-
cuted with the utmost diligence, all the men being employed
on Sundays whenever showers had caused any considerable
interruption during the week.
9
most important investigations before the advent of winter, the
cold of which is as disagreeable to the modern as to the an-
cient laborer.1 The men dug on Sundays, feast-days, and
even on Christmas, for, great as the superstition of the Greeks
certainly is, it yields to their ambition and their love of
money.
Notwithstanding all the efforts made to hasten the work
after the arrival of funds, it was still found impossible to bring
the investigations to an entirely satisfactory conclusion by the
end of the second season. The removal of the deep earth
accumulated beneath the Agora had occupied the busiest
months of the year, and had required more time than could
have been foreseen in laying out the work. As has been ex-
plained, the small force of men employed during September
and October had been able to accomplish but little. And yet
it was the intention of the promoters of the undertaking, as
well as the great desire of those intrusted with its execution,
to leave nothing henceforth to be done upon the site of Assos.
Therefore, in a letter addressed to the committee of the
Archaeological Institute shortly before the suspension of the
excavations in December, 1882, it was recommended that
the work should be prosecuted during a third season, — as
long as was permitted by the irad'e, which had been granted
in May, 1881, for a term of two years.
Much remained to be freed from earth before the investi-
gations could be regarded as absolutely thorough, and the
recovery of the ancient city as complete as it could be made.
Upon the Agora it was necessary to remove a mass of debris
accumulated between the Stoa and the Bouleuterion, south of
the great flight of stairs, in order to determine the character
of the monument there existing,—which subsequently proved
to be the chief bema of the town. The ends of the reservoir,
also, and the juncture between it and the Stoa, were yet to
be examined. The unique importance of the market-place
at Assos rendered the thorough investigation of all points in
its vicinity a matter of the greatest moment. As it had al-
ready proved to be the most complete and interesting Greek
Agora known, no stone should be left unturned which could
throw further light upon the arrangement and appearance of
the buildings surrounding it. Equal in importance and ex-
tent was the work still to be done upon the fortifications of
the city. No digging had hitherto been attempted at several
of the gates in the walls. They were constantly used by the
Turkish inhabitants of Behram, and it was thought advisable
to defer the trouble which must arise from any interference
with these thoroughfares until towards the close of the under-
taking. At the Gymnasium, work remained sufficient to
occupy a large body of men for two or three weeks; the same
was the case with the main street of the city, between the
great eastern gate and the Agora. The exceptionally well-
preserved ruins of a structure in the lower town, called, upon
the map of the first year, a Roman portico, had not been ex-
amined at all. And, finally, the investigations at the Street
of Tombs were incomplete, there still remaining, at some dis-
tance from the city walls, a mausoleum, which subsequently
proved to be among the most interesting structures of its kind.
To this it must be added, that no photographs fit for publica-
tion had been taken during the past summer, as the gelatine
was frilled by the great heat; and also, that no professional
epigraphist had yet visited the site to examine those inscrip-
tions which could not be carried away at the close of the
work.
1 See Hesiod’s fine description of the rigors of Lenaion (midwinter) in the
Works and Days., 504—563.
The recommendation was adopted by the committee, and
the requisite funds were promptly subscribed by a number of
gentlemen interested in the progress of the work. It was
soon learned by telegraph from Boston to Assos that ample
means had been provided for the continuation of the excava-
tions during a third season.
During the first three weeks and a half of December, the
staff of men, gradually decreasing in number from twenty-
three to twelve, was employed in the Street of Tombs. But
the progress was not rapid, as many rainy days interfered
with the work, and water stood deep in the pits and trenches.
On the 26th of the month Mr. Koldewey and Mr. Clarke
left the site for Athens. Digging and sledging went on for
ten days longer, under the superintendence of Mr. Bacon, after
which time the investigations were suspended for the winter.
Mr. Clarke returned to the Troad alone, on the 28th of
January, 1883. The beginning of the digging was delayed
for more than a week by the slowness of the Kaimacam of
Aivadjik in appointing a successor to the official supervisor
of the work, who was prevented by illness from resuming his
functions. The post was ultimately assigned to Hadji Chris-
tos, the Greek merchant living at the port, who was of great-
est assistance to the expedition.
With eighteen men, all that could be brought together at
this time of the year, work was commenced at that structure
of the lower town designated upon the plan of the first Re-
port as a Roman portico. As the excavations advanced, this
proved to be the atrium of a large palace-like dwelling.
With exception of the Christian churches and the Turkish
mosque, it was the building of latest date examined at Assos ;
but it was well constructed, and, in design, proved of interest
as exemplifying the persistent retention of Hellenic forms
late into the ages of Roman rule. It furnished an additional
example of the civic architecture of the Greeks, the develop-
ment and adaptability of which is so well shown by the
monuments of Assos.
During February the work was carried forward under great
difficulties. The 10th of the month was the coldest day of
the year, and a fortnight later there were long-continued
storms of hail and snow, which put a stop to all digging.
Nevertheless, it was found possible to advance the excavation
of the Atrium so rapidly as to allow a part of the gang to be
transferred to the Stoa, and to the small buildings at the west
of that building, — thus preparing the way for the further
surveys of Mr. Koldewey, who arrived at Assos on the 1st
of March. The digging at the Atrium being by that time
entirely completed, all the men, now over forty in number,
were employed in the vicinity of the market-place and among
the tombs. In both of these fields the work was richly re-
warded: at the Stoa, Heroon, and Greek Bath, by finding
inscriptions and architectural fragments which went far to-
wards solving the various problems of arrangement and con-
struction presented by these edifices; in the Street of Tombs,
by the discovery of the finest figurini vases and coins obtained
during the entire course of the excavations.
Mr. Bacon having returned to the site early in April, all
the workmen were, during this last month of the undertaking,
engaged in the Street of Tombs. The number of laborers
was maintained at the maximum of forty-five until the 24th
of April, when the Easter holidays caused the usual break in
the ranks of the Greeks. The minor Greek festivals were
not permitted to interfere with the work, which was prose-
cuted with the utmost diligence, all the men being employed
on Sundays whenever showers had caused any considerable
interruption during the week.