Hogarth, David G.; Smith, Cecil Harcourt [Contr.]: Excavations at Ephesus: the archaic Artemisia: Text (London, 1908)

44 The Archaic Artemisia of Ephesus.

distributed freely throughout the stratum, as at the north-west of the Basis,
and within the Basis itself. The only precious metal found at the west end
was foil, evidently detached from cores of ivory, wood, or bronze. In only
one spot, however, did we find any remains tending to explain these "pockets."
On the north side of the area appeared the remains of a sort of cist built of
small stones, and sunk in the bottom stratum. It contained only two
electrum coins and a crystal bobbin ; but the ivory statuette, bearing vases
in its hands and a pole and hawk on its head, was found just outside the cist.
The jewellery, so frequent in the Basis and found also in lesser quantity
immediately outside, failed in the western area.

Running across the centre of the west Primitive wall, a roughly built
conduit, bedded on earth and evidently belonging to the Croesus Temple, was
opened out (see p. 263). Wood's pitting at this point had disturbed all the
strata above the lowest, and allowed much foul ooze, full of decayed vegetable
matter, to soak into the denuded belt which has been described as running down
the centre of the cella. The south centre of the area also was partly denuded
of Croesus foundations, much disturbed, full of foul deposit, and unproductive.

When all the open space in the western part of the early area had been
exhausted, I had certain high-lying Primitive foundations, which had all
been measured and photographed, destroyed in order to investigate the
earth below them, and make assurance doubly sure that the stratum productive
of small objects continued beneath. The result was quite conclusive. Five
electrum coins, a scarab set in silver, a gold horn, several electrum hairpins, an
electrum plaque, and the ivory plaque figured on pi. xxvi. 6, besides objects
of less importance, were found in the bedding of the wall nearest to the
southern face of the Basis. In view of the information to be obtained, I had
no hesitation in destroying these foundation structures, since they lay much
below the level of ground-water even at the driest season. Their sites are in
fact now flooded many feet deep, and will probably never again be seen by
human eyes.

The early area cast of the Basis remains to be described. It proved less
productive both of structures and small antiquities than the western area,
although fortunately its main divisions and boundary were equally clearly
marked. The denudation and disturbance of strata observed immediately
west of the Basis were much more thorough on the eastern side. The
Croesus foundations had been ripped up entirely from this part of the early
area, except along a narrow belt on the northern flank, and only there were the
underlying clay and earth found by us intact. Elsewhere the lower stratum had