Water Management in Classical Athens Cis

Water
Management in Classical Athens:

Cisterns of the Classical Bathhouse on the Kerameikos Road in front of
the Dipylon

published in:

I.K. Kalavroutsiotis – A.N. Angelakis (eds.), International Water Association (IWA)
Regional Symposium on Water, Wastewater and Environment: Traditions and Culture
Patras Greece , ‐ March Patras p. ‐ .

Jutta Stroszeck*

*German Archaeological )nstitute in Athens, Fidiou, , GR‐ Athens
Jutta_stroszeck@hotmail.com

Abstract
The paper presents the results of a recent research project of the German Archaeological )nstitute in the
Athenian Kerameikos, conducted by the author. The focus of the project is on the water supply of a
classical bath house located in front of the Dipylon gate: There are two cistern systems of the fifth and
fourth century BC respectively, belonging to two subsequent and well‐dated building phases of the bath
house. The cisterns are large underground water reservoirs, each consisting of three chambers connected
by two tunnels. They are completely covered with highly polished hydraulic mortar. The study provides us
with an insight into the high standards of Athenian water management during the time of Socrates.

Key words: Athens, Kerameikos, Greek baths, cisterns, hydraulic mortar.

Introduction
)n , the Kerameikos excavation in Athens started a project aiming at the
understanding of water management and water installations on the archaeological site
situated in the center of Athens. Water management in ancient Athens is also the focus
of several Greek and international projects, f. ex.: the (ydra Project Agora Excavations ,
the Global Water Partnership Athens funded by the European Union and the
University of Athens fig. 1 .
IWA Regional Symposium on Water, Wastewater and Environment: Traditions and Culture.
Patras, Greece, 22-24 March 2014

Fig. 1 Athens, the ancient city below the modern city. Plan by ). Travlos, .

Systematic excavations being carried out here since , water management in this site
has only rarely been the focus of studies, although in almost every excavation season,
some kind of water management device has been documented fig. 2 . Therefore, the
project aims to complete the documentation and establish a chronology of the various
facilities related to water consumption: Wells, cisterns, freshwater and waste water
channels, and their connection with the on‐site buildings like the wellhouse at the
Dipylon Gate or the bath complex in front of the Dipylon along the Kerameikos road.

Fig. 2 Plan of the Kerameikos site by W. (oepfner . The area of the bathhouse is marked in red.

The first phase in this project is dedicated to the analysis of the water cisterns that
belong to the bathhouse in front of the Dipylon. The bath house had two main building
phases: )t was erected in the second half of the fifth century BC. After a destruction at the
end of the century, it was renewed with a different groundplan soon after.

Earlier Studies about the Athenian water management in antiquity
Modern research about the water supply of ancient Athens started in the th century,
when Athens became the capital of Greece and the population in the city grew rapidly:
As the architect Ernst Ziller put it in : „Athens, numbering 55‐60 000 souls, has a very
palpable shortage of water which is why he decided to „investigate, in which way the
ancient Athenians were provided with water, at a time, when their city amounted to
approximately 200.000 inhabitants and spent enormous quantities of water not only for
drinking, but also for baths and for many other necessities of a big city Ziller .
Research in this field was popular at the time. Among others, major studies about the
Athenian water ressources were written by Ernst Curtius, Wilhelm Dörpfeld and
Andreas Kordellás Curtius ; Curtius ; Dörpfeld ; Kordellas ;
Papageorgiou‐Venetas , ‐ . . )n more recent times, important works were
published by John Camp, Renate Tölle‐Kastenbein and Efstathios Chiotis Camp ;
Camp ; Tölle‐Kastenbein ; Chiotis .

Water in Athens
Fresh water in Athens is provided by the springs emerging from the slopes of the
Acropolis: the Klepsydra in the Northwest and the springs on the south side: in the
sanctuary of Asclepius and another a few meters further to the west. The richest springs,
though, were situated outside the city walls: the springs within the bed of the river
)lissos, the most powerful emerging to the southeast of the Olympieion – as well as the
springs of the river Eridanos, situated to the west and southwest of the Lykabettos hill.
Of the three main rivers in the attic plain, the Kephissos, the )lissos and the Eridanos,
only the Eridanos crossed the polis‐borders and passed through the city asty . The
water of the river was used for workshop activities like tanneries and for the irrigation
of fields outside the city, but within, the river was channelled and gradually built over.
Much like the )lissos today, it became forgotten over the centuries, because it wasn t
visible any longer.

Wells
During the classical period, the Athenians relied mostly on wells for their water supply.
Due to the local semi arid ‐ mediterranean climate hot summers; most rainfall during
the winter months , the groundwater level varies greatly during the year. There can be
differences in ground water level between summer and winter that come up to m and
more.
)n the Kerameikos, one can observe that the water supply of private houses and public
buildings such as the Dipylon gate and the Pompeion, as well as the larger sanctuaries,
relied mainly on wells.
Draughts are always a reason for social and structural changes. Two main phases of
aridity have been observed in Attica during antiquity: )n the th century BC, Athenians
dug many additional wells and deepened existing wells. During the th century, when
droughts threatened the population in the densely populated city, the Athenians built
many underground cisterns according to a building pattern that had developed over the
fifth century.
These cisterns are closed underground water tanks, with narrow openings in order to
prevent light incidence and to keep the water pure and clean and its temperature cool.
There is no published plan of all the excavated ancient cisterns in Athens so far, but
there must have been many of them.

Ancient cisterns in Athens
Many underground cisterns have been found in the area south of the Agora, where the
ground rises gently towards the Areopagus and in the rocky underground of the Kolonos
Agoraios to the west. (owever, the above‐ground buildings to which the cisterns once
belonged, were mostly poorly preserved, so that in many cases, dating the cisterns is
difficult and problematic.
Similar cisterns have been found also southwest of the Acropolis. (ere, at least two
cistern systems were connected to a public fresh water pipeline that carried water from
the springs of the )lissos to the city. The buildings to which these cisterns once belonged,
were again badly preserved. But in all probability, they had public character, since they
were authorized to use the public water supply.
)n the Kerameikos, cisterns have been found mainly within the living quarters inside the
city walls, in sanctuaries, and near workshops. A concentration of cisterns can be made
out around a bathhouse along the Kerameikos street in front of the Dipylon.

Bath houses in classical Athens
During the fifth and fourth century BC, a growing number of bath houses opened in
Athens. This development mirrors a change in society that was made possible by the
availability of water through the water pipeline established first by the Peisistratids in
the late th century BC and repaired after the Persian sack of Athens in BC. A
remark by Athenaios , b states that earlier bath houses in Athens were only
allowed outside the city, and this consists with the position of a bathhouse found in front
of the Piraeus gate in Athens, excavated by A. Andriomenou in Andreiomenou
, fig. pl. b ; another one mentioned in )G ) dated / BC to the
southeast, run by )sthmonikos, a third one near the Diochares gate to the east of Athens
)G )) , dated ca. ‐ BC and a fourth one in front of the Dipylon.

The Kerameikos Bath
This bathhouse was erected along the southwestern border of the Kerameikos street. )t
was found by Alfred Brueckner in . Kurt Gebauer and (einz Johannes excavated it
during the ies and they published the results in preliminary reports Gebauer‐
Johannes ; Gebauer‐Johannes ; Gebauer , but their early death ‐ both
died in the ies ‐ inhibited final publication for a long time.
This is why the cisterns of the bathhouse were selected as a starting point of the project.
The documentation of the ies allows us to separate two main building phases of the
bathhouse. )n each phase, the bath had both cisterns and a well. Due to the topographical
shift of the layout of the second building phase, the cisterns of the first and those of the
second phase can be easily separated and dated.
)n the earlier bathhouse green in the plan fig. 5 , the rooms were divided in two areas:
the rooms of the southeastern area were grouped around a large circular bathing room
Tholos, pyriaterion , the main characteristic feature of a Greek bath. To the northwest
there followed an open yard with a well and a system of chambers arranged around. The
cisterns Z , Z , Z concentrated immediately northeast of the circular bathroom.
When the bath was destroyed at the very end of the fifth century, the cisterns were filled
up. They were not reopened until the time of excavation.
The later bathhouse red in the plan fig. 9 was built soon after the Athenian civil war of
B. C. had come to an end. The round bathroom was kept in its place, but now an
open yard extended to the south and the auxiliary rooms were grouped to the south of
the yard. This change was necessary, because the northern part of the older bath had
been given to new use in BC: This area of the ruined bathhouse had been used for
the state burial of the Spartan allies of the Athenian antidemocratic party during the civil
war. Also, between the burial and the new bathhouse, a new street leading to the
Eridanos and the Sacred Street was established in the early years of the th century BC.
The former yard of the first bathhouse and the well of the first building phase were filled
up and covered by the street.

Cisterns of the first phase (fig. 3‐6)
The three cisterns of the first bathhouse were investigated in fig. 4 . From the
existing archive material, it was obvious that they belong to the bathhouse of the second
half of the fifth century. During excavation, they had been opened and cleaned, but their
documentation had not been completed. )n re‐excavating the fill, we realized that the
three cisterns were connected underground by two passages or tunnels, thus they were
part of a single system of cisterns. The first tunnel connects cistern Z to Z fig. 3 ,
while a second, smaller one, connects Z to Z .


Fig. 3 Tunnel between Z and Z Fig. 4 The cistern Z during excavation

Each cistern is cylindrical top diameters between , – , m and slightly flaring
from the top to the bottom about , from the surface . The circular floor of each
cistern chamber inclines a few centimeters towards the center. While the tunnel
between Z and Z runs more or less straight but for a small turn before the entry
into Z , the second tunnel, overall length , m performs a U‐Turn to the southeast
of the cisterns Z and Z .
According to the excavation photos, the openings were revetted in plaster covered by
hydraulic mortar. The capacity of this system was aproximately m .

Fig. 5 and 6 The Kerameikos bath, earlier building phase and cistern system Z ‐ ‐

Cisterns of the second phase (fig. 7‐10)
)n the early fourth century, during the second building phase of the bath, a new well was
dug south of the tholos. For additional water supply, a large underground cistern was
built out of sandy yellow limestone blocks. )t consisted of three bell‐shaped chambers Z
, Z , Z , connected by two tunnels. Z and Z were connected by a low
vaulted tunnel (: ; W: , ; L: , m, fig. 8 , while the second tunnel connecting Z
and Z , was m long, flat‐roofed and built of thick limestone slabs. At the point
where the tunnel meets the cistern walls, there is a pointed vaulted opening fig. 7 .

Fig. 7 view of cistern Z from the Fig. 8 The opening of tunnel Z – Z in cistern Z .
tunnel Z ‐

The overall capacity of this cistern system was m . The interior of the whole system
was again completely covered with hydraulic mortar. On top of the mortar, the surface
was covered with a highly polished coating a mixture of olive oil and mud, polished
probably with semiprecious stones or marbles, much like the Ta de lakt technique in
Morocco used until today .

Fig. 9 and 10 The Kerameikos bath, second building phase and cistern system Z ‐ ‐

1
I owe this comparison to G. Kuhn and I am grateful for that.
Comparison

Feature Old system New system
(Z 18, Z 21; Z 19) (Z 15, Z 16, Z 17)
Building technique Dug directly into the earth Mostly built in sandstone
from above, tunnels dug blocks in a large open
below ground excavation trench
Form of cisterns Cylindrical, flat floor, Bell‐shaped with narrow
constantly rising floor neck and round, deepened
levels from Z to Z to Z sink in the center, all
cistern floors have the
same level
Form of connecting tunnels Vaulted, dug underground One vaulted and dug
underground, the other
stone built in limestone
slabs, flat roof
(ydraulic mortar , % calcium carbonate , % calcium carbonate
Capacity m m
Function Rising floor levels from Z Rain water collected and
to Z to Z : water channeled to the mouths of
cleaning mechanism? Z and Z ,
Water supply through
public pipeline induced
into cistern Z .

Drawing mechanism Rope and bucket / Rope and bucket /
amphora from Z amphora from Z , later
also in tunnel Z – Z
near Z
Secondary modifications None ‐Additional drawing holes
near Z established.
‐Separating wall at the
entrance of the gallery
connecting Z and Z :
abandonment of this part;
‐Z and Z turned into
wells by opening a central
hole in the floor;
‐three main lifts of the
mouth of Z .
Period of use Mid to end of the th From the early th century
century BC BC to BC

A comparison between the two cistern systems shows similarities and also differences:
Among other things, in building method, structure, form, capacity and water supply.
While similarities are likely to occur because of tradition and because the feature in
question was useful in hydraulic engineering in the fifth and the fourth century, the
reasons for the differences will have to be studied further: )s it likely that we can
observe reactions on improved knowledge in hydraulic engineering? Can change be due
to other factors such as the wish to increase capacity? More well dated cisterns in
Athens will have to be studied before we can draw the right conclusions.

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