Agora Deposit: D 16:11
Title:   Casting pit
Supervisor:   Laura Gawlinski
Category:   Pit
Description:   Bronze foundry north of bridge on Piraeus street, east of Great Drain.
Keyhole-shaped bronze casting pit, cut into bedrock.
2016: Continuation of the excavation of a rectangular pit with foundry debris, first excavated in 1949. Earlier material published by Mattusch, Hesp. 46 (1977): 374.
Pit cut into bedrock at west and north; fill continues beneath later wall (“Wall A”) at east. Appears to be cut into fill at south, but that area is disturbed by a modern water pipe from the landscaping of the Agora. Pit is 2.58m long (N-S), at least 1.35m wide; 0.66m at narrow north end; 1.36m deep. We reached a maximum depth of 59.781m by the end of the 2016 season, but more remains to be excavated.
2017-2018: Upper level disturbed by modern water pipe at southwest and Wall A (probably Hellenistic) at east. Oriented north-south: 2.58m long; 1.35m at widest point; 0.66m at narrow north end; 1.36m deep. Three steps cut into bedrock at north. Seven standing mudbricks line the bedrock wall at south, surrounding a ceramic stand, hand-formed on a cut bedrock base. An iron rod projects from the center, traces of pouring channel at top, originally connected to some of the mold fragments.
Medium-packed fill contains copious ceramic fragments from metal casting operation(s). Includes many molds, some retaining the shape of their casted object, several pieces quite large. Much vitrification; some charcoal and bronze debris. Very little pottery: most is archaic or earlier, but some sherds may go down towards the middle of the 5th c. BC. No evidence that casting took place in the pit itself.
No catalogued finds in 2016.
Notes:   Old grid: ΟΟ:58/Ε
The grid is often marked incorrectly as D/14,15-16/2,3 in older documents.
Bibliography:   Hesperia 89 (2020), pp. 627-628, fig. 32, n. 43.
    Hesperia 46 (1977), p. 374.
    Hesperia 19 (1950), p. 330.
Chronology:   Late 6th-early 5th c. B.C.
(Late Archaic/ Early Classical)
Date:   1 July 1949
15 July-5 August 2016
15 July-5 August 2017
15 June-4 August 2018
Section:   ΟΟ
Grid:   E/2,3-16/3,6
Elevation:   60.579-59.117m.
Masl:   59.117-60.579m.
References:   Publication: Hesperia 19 (1950)
Publication: Hesperia 46 (1977)
Publication: Hesperia 89 (2020)
Images (11)
Lot: ΟΟ 475
Lot: ΟΟ 489
Notebooks (5)
Notebook Pages (11)