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The
OSU Excavations at Isthmia - 2000 Preliminary Report
Work at the
Ohio State University Excavations at Isthmia focused primarily on
study of materials excavated in previous seasons. This study period
began on May 10 and ended on August 12, 2000.
The primary
goal of the 2000 season was study of material from the Roman Bath
in preparation for publication of this important building. Scott
Nash (Mercer University) was at Isthmia for the first part of the
season, continuing his work on the Roman pottery, which he and Richard
DeMaris (Valparaiso University) are supervising. The bulk of that
pottery has now been studied and a preliminary catalogue prepared;
what remains is the further analysis of the stratigraphic contexts,
drawing, and photography.
Jayne Reinhard
(Carthage College, Wisconsin, and the University of Minnesota) continued
her study of the decoration of the Roman Bath. She made important
breakthroughs in the understanding of the interior of the building,
especially the marble furniture documented by several surviving
pieces. There is now considerably greater understanding of the wall
decoration as well as some new information about the exterior appearance
of the building. Ms. Reinhard was assisted by Andrew Reinhard, who
carried out an ambitious program of photographic recording, focused
mainly on the fragments of the decorative program of the Bath. In
addition, Ms. Reinhard was assisted by Dana Moore, who made drawings
of some of the anta capitals and other architectural decorative
elements from the Bath.
Fikret Yegul
(University of California, Santa Barbara) spent a month at Isthmia,
continuing his study of the architecture of the Bath. Last year
he completed the architectural description of about half of the
building and during the 2000 season he was able to complete the
rest of this basic work, that will form the core of the ultimate
publication of the complex. Professor Yegul re-examined several
of the hypotheses for the chronology of the building advanced in
previous years, and these all seemed supported by the accumulation
of additional evidence. In addition, he developed his ideas about
the religious symbolism and practices associated with the building,
especially the cult of the boy-god Palaimon/Melikertes.
Julie Apley
(Ohio State University) continued her work on the 3-dimensionial
reconstruction of the Roman Bath. She had especially productive
discussions with Jayne Reinhard, who was able to provide her with
important details about the interior of the Bath. Examples of the
work being done by Ms. Apley can be seen at http://www.cgrg.ohio-state.edu/~japley/isthmia.html.
Joseph Rife
(Cornell University) continued his work toward publication of the
Late Roman and Byzantine burials from Isthmia. His work this summer
involved further investigation of the stratigraphy of the burials
and their finds, important considerations for determining their
date. He also investigated certain details from the skeletal remains,
including post-mortem deterioration and the incidence of caries,
with interesting and important results. He also continued the photographic
documentation of the burials. A major undertaking of the 2000 season
was the formulation of a long-term plan for the conservation and
archiving of the photographic resources of the project, along with
plans for digital production of photographs for publication and
public display. This project is under the direction of Daniel Curtis,
a professional photographer from Minnesota, who drew up the complete
plan and made considerable progress in the archiving of photographic
negatives from previous seasons.
Many groups
visited the site this past season, including the Friends of the
National Archaeological Museum, as well as many school groups and
the summer sessions of the American School. Cooperation continued
with the University of Chicago Excavations at Isthmia toward a plan
for the conservation and presentation of the site and the possibility
of an improvement of the public displays in the Isthmia Museum.
Timothy E. Gregory
20 October 2000
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