A Country House in Attica

Author(s): John Ellis Jones

Source: Archaeology, Vol. 16, No. 4 (DECEMBER 1963), pp. 276-283
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41667379
Accessed: 01-06-2015 06:31 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Archaeological Institute of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Archaeology.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Viewofthehousetakenfrom southwest.
theDemawall,looking

A House in Attica
Country

The house here described was discovered in 1955 during a field

survey of the Dema wall and excavated in 1958 and 1960 by
three students of the British School of Archaeology at Athens:
J. E. Jones , Lecturer in Classics at the University College of
North Wales, L. H. Sackett, faculty member of Groton School,
Massachusetts, and recently Assistant Director of the British
School, and A. J. Graham, Lecturer in Ancient History at the
University of Manchester. A full publication of the site appears
in The Annual of the British School at Athens 57 (1962).

276

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
By JohnEllis Jones

Some thirty years ago, whenAmericanexcavators used and abandonedlong beforethe wall, itself
uncovered muchof thetown-plan of ancientOlynthus antique,was built.
in theChalcidicepeninsulain northern Greece,they
producedevidenceen masseforthe typesof houses Excavation showed thatthehousewas neatlylaid
in whichGreeksof the Classicalperiodlived. They out,in plan a rectangular building,withthenorthern
defineda particular type of house which had in the side, clearly the rear, close to the edge of a little
northhalf a roofedtransverse block comprisinga dried-upvalley and the frontfacing open level
row of roomsset side by side and frontedby a ground.The houseis widerthanit is deep,havinga
colonnadeor half-walled corridortermed(froman- frontageof 72 feetand a depthof 52 feet.Of its
cientliterary evidence) the pastas, and in the south buildingmaterialsonlythe stonesof its foundation
halfan opencourtoftenflanked byotherrooms.Most walls and tile fragments fromits roofsremain;the
of the houseswere square,fittedinto standard-size restwas perishable - mud-brick and timber. Thewalls,
plots in the city'sgrid-plan, but some were larger, built of field-stones, some few roughly dressed, are
being wider than they were deep. The excavators 18 inches wide and 20 inches high where preserved
forecast thediscovery of housesof thistypeelsewhere to thefullheightof thesocle.The houseincludesthe
in mainlandGreece,especiallyAttica,wherehitherto following:fiveroomsalongthenorthside (two with
no clearexamplehad beendiscovered. While Ameri- clearlydefineddoorwaysin theirsouth walls), a
can excavations in theheartof Athenshaverecovered sixthroomfronting the easternmost of the fiveand
the plans of some blocksof Classicalhouses,these itselfwitha door withraisedthresholdin its west
are a littleearlierin date,in somecases squarebut wall, a seventhroomin the southeastcornerof the
considerably smallerand in othersirregular in shape; house (narrowerand clearlya vestibuleof sorts,
they show a generalsimilarity to the Olynthian type havinga widefrontdoorand a narrower side doorto
in the arrangement of roomsparatactically around theexterior),a largeopen areabetweentheserooms,
a court,withoutrevealinga really characteristicin the centraland southpartsof the house,an iso-
pastas-block. (For one smalland irregular Athenian latedroomin thesouthwest corner, witha doorfacing
house, see Archaeology 13 [I960] 234-40: "The east, and an open-fronted area between thisand the
House of SimontheShoemaker.")Outsidethe city, westernmost of the rearroomscontaining a solitary
scattered homesteads in the Suniumarea and at the dressedlimestone base fora woodencolumn.
villagesiteat Draphi,in thefoothills of Mt. Penteli- Not everylengthof wall is well preserved. As the
cus,again show littleevidence of this type remains lie close to the surface- they had been dis-
particular
of house. A site recentlyexploredin the country coveredin the firstplace becausesome stoneswere
northwest of Athensseemsto offer theclosestparallel seen in line above the ground - theyhad been dis-
thusfar. turbedby plowingand erosion,particularly along
This house lies eightmiles fromAthenson the the southface of the house. The displacement of
crestof thebroadpass betweenthe plainsof Thria stonesis sufficient to obscurethepositionand formof
and Acharnaeand below the northern flankof Mt. somedoorwaysand suggestthatnotall theinforma-
Aegaleus'long ridge. Today the visitorfindsthesite tionvitalto completetheplan now remains.Nor can
bleak and exposed,but he is compensated by the robbingor salvagingbe discounted. This housepro-
longviewssouthwest to thebayof Salamis.The thin ducedveryfewhouseholdfurnishings and nonecom-
of
sprinkling pineshigherup on Aegaleusmay re- plete (so unlike some houses at Olynthus,sacked,
mindhim thatin earliertimesthisarid scenecould firedand abandonedin a day). Significantly enough,
havebeenas pleasantly greenas thepass of Daphne the tile scatterrepresents onlya smalland unusable
on theotherside of themountain.Littleremainsof proportion of thetilesrequiredto rooftherooms: the
thehouseto catchtheeye; it has beenrazedand the restmusthavebeencarriedawayforre-use.
sitepartiallyplowed.But immediately impressive is Within the house the floorsare throughout of
the dry-stone rampartbarricadingthe whole pass earthand generally featureless.In themiddleof one
againstintrusion fromthewest.This is knownto the of thenorthern roomswas founda shallowoval pit,
localinhabitants as theDema or "Link,"forit closes lined withthinstonesand tile fragments and filled
a gap in the naturalrampartof mountains.The witha grayishdeposit.It mighthave been a hearth,
houseis situatedimmediately in frontof thiswall, perhapsa pit to hold a brazierratherthanan open
and so forconvenience it has beennamedtheDema fire,as the liningshowedno signs of burning.A
House,thoughit wouldappearto have beenerected, similarpitwas foundin a houseof thefourth century
277

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Above:Plan of thehouse.In theinset:
east room showingrebuiltcross-wall.
plan (A) and front
Right:reconstructed
(B) withcourtwallremoved
elevation to
showthepastas
.

278

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 The finds from excavation were paltry,much
fragmented and widelyscattered.Nothingof great
value to the ownerswas included,or at least no
valuablethatcouldhavebeenreadilytakenawayand
nonethatmightnot easilyhave been brokenduring
use or suddenflight.Thereweremanyfragments of
roof-tiles,of two kinds - the thin,curved Laconian
type,concaverain-tiles and convexcover-tiles, with
streakyred-to-black glaze on the exterior,and the
thickerCorinthian type,flatrain-tiles witha yellow
washon theexterior. The latterweremorenumerous ;
fromjoiningfragments theirindividualsize was re-
coveredas nearly27 x 22 inches.The largerhouse-
hold furnishings wererepresented by fragments of a
plain marblewashbasinsome 32 inchesin diameter,
once fittedonto a columnarstand,some foot and
bowlfragments of a similarobjectin terracotta made
all in one piece,a fewbitsof a bathtub glazedred-to-
black inside and severalfragments of at least five
large storagejars (pithoi). These seemed to be the
debrisnot of a household'snormalbreakagebut of
an abandonment of thehouseand itsheavierfixtures,
The northrangeof roomsseenfromthewestend,with forthemarblebowl and bathshowedsignsof care-
theDemawallin thebackground.
ful repairwithlead clampsafteraccidentalfracture.
The smallerfindswereveryscarce - two clayloom-
weights,two clayspindlewhorls,a brokengrinding
stoneand a largepebbleusedas a hammer.
By contrast, a considerable quantityof pottery was
House continued
Country found,all in shatteredcondition.Atticred-figured
B.c. at Draphi in Attica,therewith sides builtup ware was represented by fragments of wine-mixing
high and with a largestoragejar built in besidethe bowls, one a so-called bell krater with banquetand
hearth. maenad scenes (very similarto the work of the
Anotherinteresting internalfeatureis the higher painterCleophonof thelaterfifthcentury B.c.) and
leveland cruderconstruction of thewall betweenthe twocolumnkraters withpanthers and ivypaintedon
easternmost of the rearroomsand the roomwhich the rims.There were also a weddingvase (lebes
frontsit. This wall, overlying sherdand tile debris gamikos ) and somepaintedcups.Of Atticblack-glaze
and the remnants of an earlierwall, combineswith therewas an interesting collectionof tableware- cups,
theceramicevidenceto suggesta late and partialre- goblets,jugs,wine jars,oil flasks,salt-cellars, lamps
occupation of thehouseaftera longperiodof disuse. and liddedbowls- and of coarsewaretheusualrange
Outsidethe rectangular block of the house were of kitchencookingand storageequipment.Apart
uncovereda smallsquareroomabuttingagainstthe froma veryfew earlierpieces,thebulk of thisma-
southeastcornernear the house door and a roughly terialcan be readilydatedto thelastthirdor quarter
builtcurvingfoundationrunningfromthe rear of of the fifthcentury B.c., while a smallergroupbe-
thisto therearcornerof thehouse,perhapsenclosing longsto themiddleyearsof the fourthcentury B.c.
a smallstoragecompound.Becauseno well cameto The potterydates the house to the tempestuous
lightwithinthe house or its annexes,a searchwas period of the great Peloponnesianwar between
madeforthewater-supply and led to thediscovery of Athensand Sparta(431-404 b.c.). Sincein thevery
a water-channel, traceablebyrock-cut sectionsand by firstyear of the war the SpartansinvadedAttica,
a "crop-mark" of thistlesleadingtowardthe house passingfromThria to Acharnaeby thisveryroute
froma stream bed (now dry) at thefootof Aegaleus; along the foot of Aegaleus,and for the next ten
thisappearsto passundertheDema wall intoan area yearsmade or threatened incursions,it is unlikely
of deepersoil. Its courseand termination were not thata house built before431 b.c. would continue
foundagainnearerthehouse,and itsconnection with to standor,at least,to be occupiedthereafter. More-
thelattermustremainprobablerather thanproven. over,therewas onlyone mainperiodof use, and it
970

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Stonecolumnbase in theareain frontof the
northernroomsshowingthe circulartop (30
cms.diameter)
andtheroughly rectangular
part
oftheblockbelowfloorlevel.

The roomin thenorthrangewithovalpit,showing

the
doorwaystillblocked.

A deeplycutsectionof thewater-channel
nearitssource,
a stream
bed now dry,whichrunsdownthenorthfaceof Aegaleusand
hereinterrupts
thelineof theDemarampart.
280

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 arounda largeopen court.It had a porticoor colon-
Country House continued
nade,butof whatform? A littlelean-toon thenorth
would accordbest with the ceramicand historical side of thesouthwest -
cornercell? A uselessfeature
evidenceto place thisin the eightyears'lull in the whyshadea north wall! If therewas a largeportico
fightingafterthePeaceof Nicias (421-413 B.c.) and betweenthe two westernmost rooms,whywas the
to associatetheend of it withthewholesaleSpartan columnplaced so far to one end? (An Athenian
andThebanravagingof Atticain thesecondphaseof houseon theslopesof theAreopagushavinga simple
thewar. porticohad thesinglecolumnplaced sensiblyin the
The latersherdsand thehintof roughrebuilding middle.) Could thesinglebase foundbe thesurvivor
in theeastendof thehousesuggests a briefsquatters' of a rowalongthefrontof therearrooms? Indeedit
occupation of the site, perhaps before or duringthe could; it standsneatlyin line withthesouthwall of
buildingof the Dema rampart, whichwould finally the frontroomat theeastend, and the distancebe-
necessitatethelevelingof anystructure as closeto the tweenis exactlysix timesthegap betweenthe base
wall as this. That construction veryprobablyfell and thewestwall of thehouse- justenoughroomto
withinthe fourthcenturyb.c., and on groundsof fitin fivemorecolumns.This is architecturally sound;
historicalprobabilityit can be assignedto theperiod thefrontporticoshadesand protects thesix northern
of intensemilitaryactivityunder Lycurgusand rooms,summer and winter, and makesa roofedliving
Demosthenes(ca. 337-336 b.c.). Welcomesupport blockin the northhalf of thehouse.The Athenian
for thatview was providedby a sherdprisedout Xenophon himselfdeclared that a decent house
fromtherampart fill,a black-glazed datable shouldbe cool in summerand warmin winter,face
salt-cellar
byparallelsto themid-fourth century b.c. southso thatthewintersun shinesintoitspastasand
the midsummer sun throwsa shade, and have its
What the original appearance of thehousemay livingroomssituatedto enjoyjust theseadvantages.
have been is difficult to decidewithcertainty, espe- He added thatthe partfacingsouthshouldbe built
ciallysincenotall theclueshavesurvived. But it was up higher,thatfacingnorthlower,so as to catchthe
a largehouse,well set out, roofedwithCorinthian wintersun and avoid the winterwinds; clearlyhe
tileswhichwerenotso oftenusedforprivatehouses: speaksas a Greek,used to housesturnedinwardto
it is unlikely
thatit consistedof a mererowof cells thecourt,notoutwardto thestreet or field.

Left:Westhalfof thehouse;therocky at thesouthwest

outcrop corner a flooron twolevels.Right:
wouldnecessitate
Northeast
cornerrooms,withovalpitanddoorway in narrow
cleared room,rebuilt wallbetween
dividing end-rooms(see
inset
onplan)andcleared
doorwayoffront withmassive
end-room jambsandraised
threshold.
281

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
282

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Viewof thehousesitefromthewestend,December a thirdphaseof the
1962,illustrating
- a "squatters'
dwelling occupation"
bygypsies.

containinga central"hearth,"the vestibuleand the

House continued
Country southwestcornerroom.These are neithersufficiently
Was thisDema housebuilthigherin anypart?It largenor suitableforuse as bedrooms.Wherewere
is not impossible:Athenianauthorsfrequently refer thelatter?Upstairsclearly,probablyoverthe north-
to secondstories,and at Olynthus manyhouses,par- ern rooms,witha corresponding galleryin frontof
thelargeronesof comparable
ticularly floorarea,had them.What then of the southwestand southeast
them,as indicatedbytheflatstonebases of thenow cornerrooms? Was theformer a mereshed? Perhaps,
vanishedwooden staircases.True, no staircasewas butmorelikelynot,forits east wall is in line with
foundhere,but thatis not conclusive.Were extra that of the westernmost northroom and suggests
roomsrequired ? It will be easierto answerthisif we some connection - verylikelyan extensionacrossto
can pin downthefunctions of theeightroomsfrom it of themainportico,and evena galleryand room
examples elsewhere. The northwest cornerroomwas above.The latter - thevestibule- had a shed
probably
perhapsthe diningroom(andron), for its size and roofsetagainsta blankwall at thenorthend,and on
squareshapewithdoorwayset to the leftwould ac- the southjust clearingthe heightof the frontdoor
commodate verynicelysevenone-mancouchesaround (set perhapspurposely to one side) and balancedby
thewalls.The largecentralroommayhavebeen the the lean-toroofof the littlesquare annex outside.
livingroom-kitchen (often at Olynthusflankedby Less probablyit too carrieda room over it and a
narrowercookingor cooking-and-bathing cubicle) gabledroof.
and thetwootherlargeroomsalongtheeastwall of To completeour conjecturalrestoration we need
the house,whichmay originallyhave opened into to picturethe roof coveredin part with yellow
eachotherthrough a bayrather thana door,mayhave Corinthianrain-tilesused with darker Laconian
beenworkroom and storeroom. Thereareleftthetwo cover-tiles and in partwiththefullLaconiansystem,
narrowroomsin therearrange,thewesternprobably the outerdoorwaysand windowsclosedwith verti-
openingto the"living-room kitchen"and theeastern callyplankeddoorsand shutters, and thebrickwalls
lime-washed for protection.The house we shall set
in the greenshade of treesand we shall people it
(Oppositepage) Reconstructions of theDemahouse:A, with a fairlyprosperousAthenianfamilyand its
withshedroofoverthevestibule; B, withan alternativeservants,
formof roofbalancing thesuggested appearanceof the enjoyingthecountry lifein a newhomefor
- unforeseeably
a short -
short
westwing. periodofpeace.

283

This content downloaded from 128.192.114.19 on Mon, 01 Jun 2015 06:31:24 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions