Archaeological Fieldwork Collaboration at Ambelakia Bay, Salamis 2016–20

The collaboration between the Ephorate of Antiquities of West Attica, Piraeus and the Islands and the Finnish Institute at Athens will be carried out over five years (2016–2020) and it will concentrate on mapping the unbuilt part of the harbour town of ancient Salamis which is currently on dry land at Ambelakia Bay. The project directors are Dr Stella Chrisoulaki, the Ephor of West Attica, Piraeus and the islands, and Dr Jari Pakkanen, the director of the Finnish Institute. The project uses non-destructive methods: in the sub-soil reconnaissance three different geophysical means are employed, and full three-dimensional georeferenced recording of the visible archaeological remains is done with total stations, aerial drone photography and photogrammetry. Excavations are not part of the programme at this stage. In the research area cleaning of visible and previously excavated architectural remains and vegetation will be carried out. The geographical and archaeological data is integrated using GIS, CAD and photogrammetry software.

The geophysical prospection is directed by Dr Apostolos Sarris of the GeoSat ReSeArch Lab of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies of the Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas. The research and training collaborators include Dr Ann Brysbaert, University of Leiden, and Prof. Boris Rankov, Royal Holloway, University of London. The archaeologist responsible for the fieldwork on behalf of the Ephorate is Ms Ada Kattoula. In 2016, postgraduate and undergraduate students from the Finnish universities at Helsinki and Turku and the University of Leiden in the Netherlands will be trained in three-dimensional archaeological documentation as part of the fieldwork. The fieldwork seasons in 2016 were carried out over one week in March and two weeks in June. They were financed by private donations from Finland and training funds of Dr Brysbaert’s ERC-funded project.

Methods

Ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity and magnetic gradiometry techniques were tested in 2016 and used in a complementary way for the geophysical prospection of the research area. Emphasis was on detailed mapping of the sub-surface features of the investigated areas and layout of the geophysical grids will be georeferenced using total stations.

The aerial survey of the research area is carried out using a radio-controlled drone. Free satellite data is used to create an initial digital elevation model of the wider study area. All architectural surveying and documentation is fully georeferenced and done with total stations and photogrammetry in three dimensions. These data are directly linked to GIS, CAD and photogrammetry software for further analysis already during the fieldwork season.

The Research Aims

The main aim of the systematic surface survey is to map the existing visible archaeological remains of the city and to find out which geophysical methods can be effectively used to record the sub-surface remains. Open questions on the layout of the ancient deme centre of Salamis include the following:The main aim of the systematic surface survey is to map the existing visible archaeological remains of the city and to find out which geophysical methods can be effectively used to record the sub-surface remains. Open questions on the layout of the ancient deme centre of Salamis include the following:

1) What is the spatial relationship between the archaeological remains which are currently visible on the surface?
2) Is it possible to find out the location of the civic centre of the town? Where is the agora? Were there monumental buildings? Especially, is it possible to detect the locations of the sanctuaries mentioned by Pausanias (1.35.3 and 1.36.1)?3)
3) Did the Classical town have a ‘Hippodamian’ grid design? If so, what were the dimensions of the city blocks? How large were the plots for the houses? What were the widths of streets?
4) Can the length of the possibly used grid module or foot-unit be detected on the basis of precise total station measurements and the only approximate geophysical data?
5) Can traces of the pre-Classical layout of the town be detected using geophysical methods?

Schedule of Work in 2016

The preliminary work at the site to establish the georeferenced grid system and the location of the visible city wall remains was carried out 23–30/3/2016. The main fieldwork season and the student training in three-dimensional documentation took place at Ambelakia 6–17/6/2016.