







The Olynthos Project Field Survey 2014-2019: Season 2015
Survey: Systematic fieldwalking survey
Fieldwalking yielded information about the landscape east of the North Hill of the ancient city. One of the clearest results was the discovery of a high density of artefacts in fields near Agios Nikolaos, a church dating from the 12th century ad excavated by Robinson. Materials commonly found in the vicinity of this church included amphorae with combed decoration, green, brown and white glazed pottery, and bricks and tiles with visible chaff inclusions. This material represents the clearest evidence for Byzantine occupation yet discovered by the Olynthos Field Survey. A second result was evidence for productive activities on the east slope of the North Hill. Slag, misfired potsherds, loom weights, a brick mould and fired clay were all noted here, although this evidence remains tentative until verified by further study. In contrast with the more northerly area surveyed last year, when a distinctive concentration of material was found at some distance from the city, the density of all artefacts observed was highest in the fields closest to the ancient site, including the slopes of the North Hill outside the boundary fence. Density decreased as the slope diminished, suggesting that in this part of the city the boundary lay at the bottom of the slope, although due to the low visibility in some of these fields, further investigation is required to confirm this interpretation.
Active in 2015.