The Olynthos Project 2014-2019: Season 2016
Excavation: Research excavation
Fieldwork was split over two seasons in April and July 2016 with four objectives: to excavate further house B ix 6 on the North Hill; to continue field survey beyond the fenced archaeological site to the south, north and; to extend investigation to the South Hill, which is thought to be the core of the original settlement and is the least well-understood part of the city; and to create a new plan of the site in order to better integrate new data. Surface collection provided a wider chronological range of material than recovered so far from any other area of the site: alongside typical pottery of the earlier fourth century bc, significant amounts of earlier material were recovered across the hill, both local and imported. Three small test trenches were located to investigate various anomalies detected by geophysical survey. All three revealed that the upper deposits on the South Hill are deeper and more mixed than those on the North Hill, with evidence of fourth-century bc occupation, plus residual finds of sixth-century bc date, and possibly earlier. The main aim of the excavation on the North Hill was to extend our knowledge of the organisation of space in the final phase of occupation of house B ix 6 by laying out eight new trenches. These improved our understanding of how the house articulated with its surroundings; its layout; the distribution of activities within; and of the destruction of the superstructure. A major feature of the organisation of internal space was a courtyard surfaced with large cobbles, with a linear edge, perhaps marking the transition to an area with a shed roof.
Active from /04/2016 to /08/2016.