PKey Report

PK	C7730
TITLE	Solygeia: Sanctuary and Tombs
WGS84	37.847537° N, 22.976052° E
Accuracy	50 m.

LAT/LON	37.847537, 22.976052
LON/LAT	22.976052, 37.847537

DMS

37° 50' 51.1332" N

22° 58' 33.7872" E

W3W	unswerving, constructing, congas
UTM	34 S, 673859.25, 4190739.08
EGSA87	409764, 4189105

Elevation m	93
Elevation feet	305.1
Region	Corinthia

GENERAL SITE TYPE Cult

TYPE

1. Artifacts. Verdelis and Broneer [1962], 184 'Pottery and terracotta figurines were discovered by school children on the slope of a low, rocky eminence some three hundred yards west of the village.', ' ... more than fifty terracotta figurines. Most of these represent female deities or worshipers ; many are rare examples of early Corinthian coroplastic art.'

2. Cult. Verdelis and Broneer [1962], 184 'Many of the finds are clearly votive in character, testifying to the existence of a nearby sanctuary.'

3. Pottery. Verdelis and Broneer [1962], 184 ' ... a large temple deposit containing about one thousand vases ... '

4. Sanctuary. Simpson [1981], 37 'An archaic sanctuary was later found about 50 m to the north (of the chamber tombs, rhc)), ... '

5. Settlement. Verdelis and Broneer [1962], 184 ' ... the modern town occupies the site of the ancient city of Solygeia ... ', pg. 192: ' ... the settlement probably goes back to a still earlier period, at least to the beginning of Middle Helladic times.'

6. Settlement. Wiseman [1978], 56 ' ... west of Galatáki where Verdelis excavated are covered with remains that indicate an extensive settlement in Mycenaean, ... times.'

7. Temple. Morgan [1999], 475 'Ca. 50 m north of the chamber tombs (C953, rhc) is an apsidal "temple" ... '

8.    Tomb.   Verdelis and Broneer [1962], 185    'The small hollow which came to be used as a temple depository had first served as the chamber of a Mycenaean tomb.'

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. Middle Helladic: (2000 BC - 1600 BC)

    a.    Verdelis and Broneer [1962]: 192, ' ... the settlement probably goes back to a still earlier period, at least to the beginning of Middle Helladic times.'

2. Late Helladic: (1700 BC - 1050 BC)

    a.    Verdelis and Broneer [1962]: 185, ' ... had first served as the chamber of a Mycenaean tomb.'

    b.    Wiseman [1978]: 56, ' ... an extensive settlement in Mycenaean, ... times.'

3. Late Helladic I: (1700 BC - 1635 BC)

    a.    Verdelis and Broneer [1962]: 185, ' ... five vases of Late Helladic I times (1600-1500 B.C.).'

4. Early Iron Age: (1200 BC - 960 BC)

    a.    Morgan [1999]: 475, 'EIA+'

5. Late Geometric: (760 BC - 700 BC)

    a.    Verdelis and Broneer [1962]: 188, 'The earliest pottery found in the temple shows that the original construction is to be dated in the last years of the Geometric period (seventh century B.C.).'

6. Archaic: (700 BC - 480 BC)

    a.    Morgan [1999]: 475, 'This was established ca. 700 and probably dedicated to Demeter ... '

    b.    Simpson [1981]: 37, 'An archaic sanctuary was later found ... '

NOTES

1.  Simpson [1981] 37 cautions against supposing that there was a sanctuary or cult here earlier than the Archaic. ' ... the absence of any late Mycenaean or Dark Age finds makes it unlikely that there was any cult here previously.'

2.  Solygeia is Galataki. Verdelis and Broneer [1962], 184: 'The ancient name was not Galataki but Solygeia ... ', and 'That the modern town occupies the site of the ancient city of Solygeia has been suggested by scholars in the past; the identification has now been definitely confirmed through the results of excavations which I carried on in 1957 and 1958.'

3.  The location was determined by, from the marked location, reproducing in Google Earth the landscape in the photograph of the temple ruin in Verdelis and Broneer [1962] 186.'

4.  Fowler and Stilwell [1932] 98 are also of the opinion that Galataki is Solygeia: ' ... the site of the present village (Fig. 65) is the most probable site for the ancient Solygeia, as being the most natural site for a settlement in this part of the plain.'

5.  See the informative old photographs in Stroud [1971].

rhc

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Fowler and Stillwell [1932]: Fowler, Harold North and Richard Stillwell. Corinth; Introduction, Topography, Architecture. American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1932, '', Online here.

2. Morgan [1999]: Morgan, Catherine. Isthmia VIII; The Late Bronze Age Settlement and Early Iron Age Sanctuary . The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Princeton, New Jersey, '22 Galataki (Solygeia); EIA+', pg. 475.

3. Simpson [1981]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'A 76 Galataki', pg. 37. Online here.

4. Stroud [1971]: Stroud, Ronald S.. ‘Thucydides and the Battle of Solygeia’, California Studies in Classical Antiquity (4); University of California Press, 'Solygeia Hill and Village', pg. 235. Online here.

5. Verdelis and Broneer [1962]: Verdelis, Nicholas M. and Oscar Broneer. ‘A Sanctuary at Solygeia’, Archaeology (15:3) 184-192. 1962, 'A Sanctuary at Solygeia', pg. 184. Online here.

6. Wiseman [1978]: Wiseman, James. The Land of the Ancient Corinthians. Paul Aströms Förlag, Göteborg, Sweden, '5. Solygia', pg. 56.

PHOTOS AND IMAGES

Reproduction in Google Earth of Verdelis and Broneer [1962] 186, with origin at 37.847540° N, 22.975781° E on an azimuth (red line) of 262.66°.
Verdelis and Broneer [1962], 'A Sanctuary at Solygeia'

Verdelis and Broneer [1962] 186
Verdelis and Broneer [1962], 'A Sanctuary at Solygeia'