Today is my last in the area so the plan is to head up to the Iliokastro plateau. I will revisit G1 and G2 and then drive up the mountain to G10, G11, and G12. I will reiterate a few of the transects at G2 and I hope to take a video walk through the deserted mining town of Old Metaleia.

I just walked to the top of Magoula sta Ilia G1 (as designated by Verification 1981) and was greeted by twelve field mice who chose to run all over my legs; a great way to start the day.

On the way up to the Magoula I filmed a video walk. Along the way I noted a slab of square cut worked limestone in one of the lower terraces. Upon reaching the top of the hill I walked to the west of the Greek survey column into the large field cairn covered by maquis. In the middle of the cairn there was a large rectangular block of carved blue/grey limestone ashlar that appeared to have been thrown out of a linear trench. There are two other worked stones below this one.

Across the center of the summit and to the east were also several lines of wall stones. I will video much of the area on the top, take a panorama, and conduct a sound sample near the rubble cairn in the west.

Sound footage at 9:37 am.

The cairn with the upturned block of limestone is @ N 37° 25.706 E 023° 16.065.

The rectangular block of limestone ashlar is finely carved with a smooth upper face. Its dimensions are .39m x 1.06m x .28m. The other faces are roughly finished. One end of the block has been broken off while the other end tapers out with 16cm of rough carving. The two stones set in the ground appear to be in situ. The stone cairn may have been built up around some internal structure…

I attempted to flip over the stone in the unlikely event that there was an inscription on the underside of the stone. With a little back behind it I managed to do so. The lower face was also rough-cut. A scorpion underneath was a bit unhappy that I disturbed and otherwise excellent residence.

Panorama 1 taken in the northwest @ N 37° 25.711 E 023° 16.061.

Panorama 2 taken in the northwest @ N 37° 25.693 E 023° 16.073.

Panorama 3 taken in the northwest @ N 37° 25.709 E 023° 16.104 near potential monumental base.

I will shoot some video footage of the summit and take a video walks back to the car.

I just completed some video work around the summit and I noted the wall lines, which are exposed. The entire summit appears to be encircled by a much larger line of stones, which are set in the exposed bedrock in places and mixed in with modern terracing. The summit may have been fortified… The modern terracing has fallen into disrepair.

I took a video walk back down to the car in a zigzag pattern to the southeast.

While leaving the magoula I became party to the slaughter of a sheep from the herd off the northern flank of G1. I filmed the shepherd cut the throat and dress the carcass. I helped heave the animal onto a hook hanging from the tree. The smell became nauseating after a short time.

I have driven up to ancient Eileoi designated as G2 and was surveyed by the AEP Verification Team on July 19, 1981 (refer to the 1:5000 map). Just after the junction of the roads from the south I pulled off the road at a point where some walls of red limestone were exposed in the roadway. I conducted a video walk from here up the main road. I turned into the fields to the left just south of the southeast tower. I walked up and over the southwest tower and filmed some of the abandoned structures constructed against the wall just east of the southwest tower. The lower half of the rear walls of these two structures is comprised of the large ashlar blocks of the city fortification wall. These structures have made convenient use of the wall line. I noted in my video walk the linear piles of bulldozed cut blocks of limestone in the area between the southeast and southwest.

I will now reiterate transect 1 from 19/7/81 which was conducted by the AEP Verification Team 1981.

The southeast tower is located @ N 37° 27.852 E 023° 16.664.

The southwest tower is @ N 37° 27.864 E 023° 16.561. I took a panorama here.

I took another panorama @ N 37° 27.830 E 023° 16.699 near the wellhead at the top of the ravine.

I just completed the reiteration of transect 1. I filmed the entire transect as a video walk and a portion of it as a video transect.

I have just driven to the disserted mining town of Old Metaleia. I took some footage of the upper potion of the turn near the old church. I shot a panorama @ N 37° 27.459 E 023° 17.399.

It is already 2:15 and as it is my last day I am going to forego G10—G12 and return to Ermioni for lunch and some documentation I still hope to conduct around town.

6:00pm. In my haste to get to the sites I had hoped to revisit today, I missed the Verification 1981 notes on G1. They divided the site into G1A and B. The magoula proper was designated as “A” while a group of “conspicuous large blocks that has been taken for some years as the possible Demeter sanctuary mentioned in Pausanias” was denoted as “B” (Verification 81, 149). G1B is described as located at the southeast edge of the magoula. It is most unfortunate that I missed this area. Nevertheless, I did notice that the view from the magoula was quite encompassing and takes in Ermioni as well as G10 and Kastro G2 proper (Eileoi).

Go back to August 20, 2003

Forward to August 22, 2003

August 21, 2003 log entries

Return to Summer 2003 field notebook

Return to the Multiple fields and the Argolid Exploration Project home