The Neolithic Settlement [1 ed.] 9781621390275, 9780876613078

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ler na volu m e v i I

the N eolithic Set t l emen t

The Venus of Myloi (399)

lerna a preclassical site in the argolid RE S ULT S OF E XCAVATION S CON DUCTED B Y THE AMERICA N S CHOOL OF CLA S S ICAL S TUDIE S AT ATHE N S

VOLUME VII

THE Neolithic Settlement BY

Elizabeth Courtney Banks

With an appendix on fauna by David S. Reese

THE AMERICA N S CHOOL OF CLA S S ICAL S TUDIE S AT ATHE N S PRI NCETON, N E W J ER S E Y 2 015

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens gratefully acknowledges the support of James H. Ottaway Jr., Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees, in the production of this volume.

© The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 2015 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data (Revised for vol. 7) American School of Classical Studies at Athens.  Lerna, a preclassical site in the Argolid.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  Contents: v. 1. The fauna / N. G. Gejvall—v. 2. The people / J. L. Angel—v. 3. The pottery of Lerna IV / Jeremy B. Rutter—v. 4. The architecture, stratification, and pottery of Lerna III / Martha Heath Wiencke—v. 5. The neolithic pottery from Lerna / Karen D. Vitelli—v. 6. The settlement and architecture of Lerna IV / Elizabeth Courtney Banks—v. 7. The neolithic settlement / Elizabeth Courtney Banks. 1. Lerna, Greece. I. Title. GN778.22.G8A43 1969 938.8 75-324986 ISBN-13: 978-0-87661-307-8 (v. 7) typography by ascsa publications 6–8 charlton street, princeton, new jersey printed in the united states of america by thomson-shore, incorporated, dexter, michigan

In memory of Saul S. Weinberg “Mr. Neolithic”

Preface and Acknowledgments

I

n initiating the excavations at the promising prehistoric site of Lerna in the Argolid (Greece), John Caskey set as one of his primary goals the exploration of the remains of the Neolithic period, which, in 1952, was barely known in the Peloponnese (Caskey 1954: 4, 29). As the excavation proceeded, the unexpected discovery of the House of the Tiles commanded much of Caskey’s attention, and the large area occupied by the House limited where his exploration of the Neolithic levels could be pursued (see below, Plans 1, 2). Uncontaminated Neolithic strata were found in 1954 in long trial trench J (Caskey 1955: 46–47), and in the 1955 and 1956 seasons what came to be the largest segment of the Neolithic settlement explored was opened in the southwestern portion of the mound in Areas JA and JB. These areas yielded significant deposits of what Caskey took to be stratified remains of successive Early Neolithic (EN) and Middle Neolithic (MN) settlements with scattered sherds of later Neolithic material (Caskey 1956: 170–171; 1957a: 154–160). Because the J sediments were on the sloping surface of the periphery of the mound, in 1957 Caskey opened trenches and pits AP, BD, BE, and HTN more toward its center, which yielded material comparable to that found earlier but also included a Final Neolithic (FN) grave (Caskey 1958: 136–139). A final small probe into Neolithic deposits was carried out in trench JC in 1958, where another Final Neolithic grave was found (Caskey 1959: 204–205). Caskey was convinced that the important Neolithic material from Lerna required prompt publication, and it was his intention that he himself would publish it as the first archaeological volume in the Lerna series, volumes I and II having been devoted to the fauna (Gejvall 1969) and the human skeletal remains (Angel 1971). To that end, he and Elizabeth Gwyn Caskey did much of what they thought would be the final review of the Neolithic pottery (Vitelli 2007: 2), and Caskey began to draft a text describing the stratification and architecture. The Neolithic small objects Caskey offered to me for publication in his volume, as a complement to the study of the Bronze Age objects that had served as the subject of my Ph.D. dissertation (Banks 1967). In the spring of 1974, when I was on research leave at the University of Cincinnati, Caskey was working on his Neolithic manuscript, but his unfortunate illness had begun to take its toll, and my offer to assist him ultimately resulted in my taking on the work that appears as this volume. A plan to present together in a single volume the architecture, objects, and pottery, responsibility for the last of which was assigned to K. D. Vitelli, and which has been presented by her in Lerna V, The Neolithic Pottery (Vitelli 2007), foundered on conflicting priorities and expectations. A preliminary study of the Lerna Neolithic chipped stone was undertaken by Perry Bialor, who, however, was unable to complete the work. A comprehensive study of the lithics was made by Janusz Kozłowski and his collaborators at my invitation (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996). Maciej Pawlikowski, a member of the Kozłowski team, identified

viii

Preface and Acknowledgments

the rocks of which the polished stone tools were made. Curtis N. Runnels included the Neolithic grindstones of Lerna in his Indiana University dissertation (Runnels 1981). The drawings of the objects for this volume are the work of Velissarios Anagnostopoulos, Iro Athanasiades, and Roxana Docsan. I am particularly grateful to Roxana for picking up the drawing where the others left off and for arranging the plates; she is in no way responsible for inconsistencies in orientation and drawing style, which reflect the varied “hands” that produced the original pencil drawings. As I pursued my work on the Neolithic architecture in the 1970s, I followed the approach of Caskey in his incomplete draft manuscript, available in the Lerna archives at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA); he had, by the time I inherited his work, covered the J areas (Areas JA and JB here and elsewhere, unless otherwise noted) from virgin soil to what was then being called Middle Neolithic Lerna II C. The passage of some 40 years, however, during which the experience I gained in preparing my publication of the Lerna IV settlement (Banks 2013), and the volume of information that was accumulating about the Greek Neolithic, necessitated a more comprehensive approach. Moreover, Vitelli’s study of the pottery and its context radically altered our view of the Lerna Neolithic stratigraphy. As a result, what follows is not what Caskey envisaged, and any reference by Vitelli (2007) to my Caskey-based draft, which I had shared with her many years ago, should be considered obsolete. Rather, I have returned to the field and pottery notebooks, the excavators’ annual reports, and the architect’s plans to construct my text; all these original documents are available in the Archives of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, under the supervision of Natalia Vogeikoff-Brogan, Archivist (www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/archives). There are details, particularly of interpretation, regarding which Vitelli and I are not in full accord and most of these are noted in the text, but her basic conclusions about the pottery sequence are solid and should form the basis of any future study of the Lerna Neolithic. I am grateful to her for permission to include in this volume the plans she prepared for her own study, plans that have been altered and/or augmented by Roxana Docsan to reflect my interpretation of the evidence. Certainly I must first acknowledge my debt to the late John Caskey for including me in the Lerna project and for allowing me to continue his work on the Neolithic. That much of what he did in all aspects of his Lerna work was indefatigably supported by the late Elizabeth Gwyn Caskey is known and gratefully acknowledged by all of us who have been engaged in Lerna work in the field at Myloi, in the museums of Corinth and Argos, and in the library and the study; without her work our results would be much poorer. Elizabeth Tucker Blackburn has aided us all, providing indispensable photographic and archival material; she also prepared the first composite phase plans of the J areas on which Caskey relied when he was preparing his text on the Lerna Neolithic. I am especially indebted to her for sharing with me her study of the Neolithic burials of Lerna, which she undertook in connection with her University of Cincinnati dissertation, which focused on the many Middle Helladic graves found at the site (Blackburn 1970). Without Mary Eliot’s careful record of her fieldwork in Areas JA and JB this volume would not have been possible, and I learned much from her in our days in the hot sun at Myloi and the wintry chill of the Corinth Museum, where she taught me all I know about pots. David Reese has provided not only an important study of the Lerna Neolithic faunal material in Appendix III of this volume, a complement to that of his study of the Lerna IV bone and shell in Lerna VI (Reese 2013a), but he also assisted me in the Argos workroom with the identification of the bones on which the bone tools of all periods were made. The skill and precision of Roxana Docsan in the production of the illustrations of this volume will be evident to all who use it; for me, our friendship through the years of our

Preface and Acknowledgments

ix

Lerna collaboration has been one of the supports that has made the completion of the work possible. She is my rock. Martha Heath Wiencke, Director of the Lerna Publications Project, provided a useful critique of an early draft of the architectural and stratigraphic portion of this text and aided in the securing of funding for the production of the illustrations. And, finally, though he was not involved intimately in the development of this volume, as he was in that of my volume on the Lerna IV settlement and its architecture (Banks 2013), I felt Jeremy Rutter’s critical eye at my back every step of the way. It is always a pleasure to acknowledge the assistance of the Greek Archaeological Service for our work in the field at Myloi and in the museums of Corinth and Argos. Through the years the staffs of the Nauplion Ephoreia and the Argos museum with whom we have worked have been generous with their support of our endeavors, and we offer them our warm thanks. The directors of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens since Jack Caskey’s tenure, especially Jack L. Davis during my most recent time in Greece, have provided Lernaeans with a hospitable base for our work. Without the quiet diplomacy of the School’s former Administrator, Maria Pilali, the Lerna project long ago would have foundered in the rough seas of acquiring permissions, making special requests, and securing general logistical assistance that a successful international project requires. The School’s archivist, Natalia Vogeikoff-Brogan, who, with her staff, has organized and made easily available all the original records of the Lerna excavation, has been an invaluable colleague. Support for this volume was provided by the Fulbright Commission, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Kansas, the Mediterranean Archaeological Trust, and the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP). Only recently did I learn that the anonymous “Lerna” line item in the ASCSA budget for many years represented one of many generous gifts to the School made by Lloyd Cotsen, the Lerna field architect and entrepreneur supreme. Without his careful stone-for-stone drawings of the architecture and his financial support this volume and those preceding it in the series would not have been possible. James H. Ottaway Jr. again deserves special thanks for his long-term interest in and financial support of Lerna and its publications. The Lerna series would not be sustainable without his generosity and goodwill. At the University of Kansas, invaluable technical advice and support was provided by Paula Courtney, Pam LeRow, and Gwen Classen, the three Graces of the Digital Media Services Office of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and by Sarah Goodwin Thiel of the University’s Center for Digital Scholarship. Lars Leon, Director of the University of Kansas Libraries interlibrary services division, and his dedicated staff relentlessly tracked down many of the essential books and articles unavailable out here on the prairie that appear in the bibliography. Finally, the editorial staff of the American School’s Publications Office, particularly Michael Fitzgerald, Carol Stein, and Colin Whiting, and the Publications Committee’s anonymous reviewers, deserve my thanks for their assistance and comments, which contributed much of value to the final product. The dedication is to Saul S. Weinberg, one of the early interpreters of the Greek Neolithic. It was with Saul that I began my archaeological career at the University of Missouri at Columbia, at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, and on his excavation at Episkopi on Cyprus. His enthusiasm for the ancient world, Midas-like, could turn a stone to gold, and he opened the way for me to a life quite different from what I had ever imagined. I hope this volume would please him.

CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

xiii

LIST OF TABLES

xvii

ABBREVIATIONS

xix

  1 Introduction and organization

1

  2 The Settlement in Areas JA and JB

5

  3 The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

91

  4 Unphased Neolithic

157

  5 Mixed Fill

163

  6 The Burials

175

  7 The Minor Objects

181

  8 Concluding Discussion

259

Appendixes I. Walls and Buildings

273

II. Lot List

277

III. The Fauna, by David S. Reese 289 ConCordances I. Inventory and Catalogue Numbers

309

II. Lithics Illustrations in KozŁowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996 and Inventory/Lot Numbers

313

References

319

Index

329

Plates

Illustrations

Frontispiece The Venus of Myloi (399)

Plans 1. Site plan 2. Trench plan showing Neolithic and Mixed Fill deposits 3. Area JA–JB: clay pits in virgin soil 4. Area JA–JB: hut W-1 5. Area JA–JB: platform W-2 and hearth pits HP-1 and HP-5 6. Area JA–JB: hearth pits (lower level), burials 1a, 1b, and 2, and Gully 7. Area JA–JB: hearth pits (upper level), burials 3a and 3b, and Gully 8. Area JA–JB: wall W-4 and Buildings W-5 and W-8 9. Area JA–JB: Building W-12 and wall W-16 10. Area JA–JB: Buildings W-17 and W-31 11. Area JA–JB: Buildings W-24 and W-36, and wall W-37 12. Area JA–JB: Building W-38 13. Area JA–JB: Building(?) W-41, enclosure wall W-43 and related walls, and burial 4 14. Area JA–JB: yard W-48 and ash pits 15. Area JA–JB: ash pits AP-1–AP-8 16. Trench AP: wall W-53 17. Trench AP: Building W-54 18. Trench AP: complex W-56 19. Pit BD: clay pits, burial 5 20. Pit BD: Building W-60 21. Pit BD: platform W-63 22. Pit BD: Buildings W-64 and W-65 23. Pit BD: Building W-67 24. Pit BD: ash pits AP-9–AP-11 25. Pit BE: Buildings W-69 and W-70 26. Pit BE: Buildings W-72 and W-74 27. Pit BE: Building W-76 and socles W-77 and W-78 28. Pit BE: Building W-79 and yellow clay floor 29. Pit BE: Building W-83 30. Pit BE: ash pits AP-12–AP-15 31. Trench JC: southern part of trench JC north, with Ler FN burial 8, and trench JC with Ler MN burial 9

6 7 10 15 19 23 24 38 46 52 56 66 70 79 83 92 94 96 99 104 107 109 113 120 127 131 133 135 139 141 153

xiv

Illustrations

Sections

1. Area JA–JB: northwest–southeast section through AX2.8 2. Area JA: north–south section at ca. E 11/12 3. Trench AP: north–south section through center of trench 4. Pit BD: west-northwest–east-southeast section through center of original pit and wings 5. Pit BE: west-northwest–east-southeast section through center of pit

9 39 92 99 125

Figures (all photos by J. L. Caskey) 1. Area JA–JB: trial trench in virgin soil 2. Area JA–JB: clay pits CP-1–CP-8 in virgin soil with Gully and level columns 3. Area JA–JB: sections of clay pit CP-4 4. Area JA–JB: workman clearing around level column in clay pit CP-4 5. Area JA–JB: hut W-1 6. Area JA–JB: platform W-2 with intrusive hearth pit HP-1, and section of hearth pit HP-1 7. Area JA–JB: hearth pit HP-3, and plan and section 8. Area JA–JB: hearth pit HP-6 9. Area JA–JB: hearth pits HP-7 and HP-8, and plan and sections 10. Area JA–JB: hearth pit HP-9 before clearing, with scattered clumps of stones, and section 11. Area JA–JB: burial 1a 12. Area JA–JB: burial 3a 13. Area JA–JB: the Gully, with level columns 14. Area JA–JB: Building W-5 15. Area JA–JB: Building W-8 16. Area JA–JB: room W-12a 17. Area JA–JB: section showing relationship of socles W-7 and W-12 18. Area JA–JB: rooms W-17a/24a, W-17d, W-24d, and W-24e 19. Area JA–JB: room W-17a, with collared jar L.1051 near socle W-17 20. Area JA–JB: room W-17b, hoard of celts at W-19 21. Area JA–JB: walls W-31 and W-34 of Building W-31/W-36, with storage pit SP-4 22. Area JA–JB: Building W-38 23. Area JA–JB: figurine 399 as found under fallen stones, and with fallen stones removed 24. Area JA–JB: “Dachshund” L.271 as found east of W-46, with W-43 25. Area JA–JB: burial 4 in Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1053 26. Area JA–JB: stone-ringed bothros at southeast corner of yard 48 27. Area JA–JB: general view of ash pits with surrounding earth cut away 28. Area JA–JB: ash pit(?) AP-2 at top of level column 29. Area JA–JB: ash pits AP-3, AP-4, and AP-6 30. Area JA–JB: ash pit AP-3, and section 31. Area JA–JB: ash pit AP-4, and section 32. Area JA–JB: ash pits AP-6, AP-7, and AP-8, and sections of AP-6 and AP-8 33. Trench AP: wall W-53, and elevation of north face 34. Pit BD: burial 5 35. Pit BD: Building W-60 with Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1385 36. Pit BD: platform W-63 37. Pit BD: walls W-64, W-65, W-66, and W-67, with storage pit SP-10 38. Pit BD: Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1362 between wall W-64 and later storage pit SP-11 39. Pit BD: storage pit SP-10 with Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1381 40. Pit BE: Buildings W-69 and W-70

8 11 11 11 16 20 25 26 26 26 28 29 33 39 41 47 47 53 53 53 58 67 71 73 74 78 84 85 86 86 87 88 92 102 105 107 109 114 115 127

Illustrations 41. Pit BE: Building W-79 and walls W-81 and W-82 west of wall W-79, with possible posthole 42. Pit BE: yellow clay floor with possible posthole southeast of wall W-79 43. Trench HTJ: burial 6 44. Trench HTN: burial 7 45. Trench JC: burial 8

xv 136 137 144 147 154

46. Stone grindstone(?) and handstone(?) (18, 19) 183 47. Examples of major stone celt types (26, 29, 31, 32, 35–37) 187 48. Incised lines on triangular stone celt sides (43, 44, 46) 188 49. Stone celt hoard of room W-17b (38–48) 191 50. Examples of stone pounder/rubber types (71, 72, 75–77, 84, 86, 94, 100, 102, 107, 109) 199 51. Stone pigment source(?) (121) and miscellaneous polishers (122, 123, 125) 206 52. Stone sling bullets (126, 127, 129) 207 53. Stone ear studs (139, 140) 210 54. Stone pendants (141–143, 145, 146) 211 55. Stone seal (149) 214 56. Examples of bone awl types (154, 159, 172, 187, 189, 191, 204, 211, 212, 220, 224, 225, 238, 242) 216 57. Examples of bone awl types (157, 160, 167, 170, 182–184, 192, 202, 222, 230, 244, 252) 217 58. Examples of bone scraper/polisher types (270, 273, 283, 286) 229 59. Examples of bone scraper/polisher types (261, 277–279) 230 60. Terracotta sling bullets (307–309, 311, 312) 237 61. Examples of terracotta polisher types (332, 333, 335–338, 352) 241 62. Examples of terracotta whorl types (357–359) 244 63. Terracotta spools/pestles (365, 366) 247 64. Terracotta pendant (368) 247 65. Terracotta figurines: small standing female (398, 400, 401, 407, 408) 251 66. Terracotta figurines: elephantine leg/pot and figure on chair(?) (397, 403) 253

PlaTES (following page 332) 1. Stone celts: Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1 2. Stone celts: Ler MN 2 3. Stone celts: Ler MN 3 4. Stone celts: Ler MN 3 5. Stone celts: Ler MN 3 6. Stone celts: Ler MN 3–4 7. Stone celts: Ler MN 4, Ler MN 4–6, Ler MN 5, Ler MN 6 8. Stone celts: Ler MN 6, Ler MN Unphased 9. Stone celts: Ler Mixed Fill 10. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler EN–MN 11. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 1 12. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 2 13. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 2 14. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 2, Ler MN 3 15. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 3 16. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 3–4, Ler MN 4 17. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 4–6, Ler MN 5 18. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 5 19. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 6

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Illustrations

20. Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN Unphased, Ler Mixed Fill 21. Miscellaneous stone tools 22. Stone pigment source(?) and miscellaneous polishers 23. Stone sling bullets 24. Stone prestige objects: vessels and ear studs 25. Stone prestige objects: pendants 26. Stone prestige objects: seal and beads 27. Bone awls: Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1 28. Bone awls: Ler MN 2 29. Bone awls: Ler MN 3 30. Bone awls: Ler MN 3–4, Ler MN 4, Ler MN 4–6 31. Bone awls: Ler MN 5, Ler MN 6 and FN 32. Bone awls: Ler MN 6 and FN 33. Bone awls: Ler MN Unphased, Ler Mixed Fill 34. Bone scraper/polishers: Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1, Ler MN 2 35. Bone scraper/polishers: Ler MN 3, Ler MN 4, Ler MN 4–6 36. Bone scraper/polishers: Ler MN 5, Ler MN 6 37. Bone scraper/polishers: Ler MN 6, Ler MN Unphased, Ler Mixed Fill 38. Miscellaneous bone objects 39. Antler and shell objects 40. Terracotta sling bullets: Ler MN 2, Ler MN 3–4, Ler MN 5 41. Terracotta sling bullets: Ler MN 5 42. Terracotta sling bullets: Ler MN 6, post-Neolithic Ler III 43. Terracotta polishers: Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1 44. Terracotta polishers: Ler MN 2 45. Terracotta polishers: Ler MN 3, Ler MN 4, Ler MN 4–6, Ler MN 5 46. Terracotta polishers: Ler MN 6, Ler Mixed Fill 47. Terracotta whorls and perforated discs 48. Terracotta spools/pestles and pendant 49. Terracotta figurines (small standing female): Ler MN 3–4, Ler MN 6 50. Terracotta figurines (small standing female): post-Neolithic Ler III–IV, Ler IV 51. Terracotta figurines (elephantine legs/pots) 52. Terracotta figurines (seated/reclining[?] figure, figure on chair[?], head on long neck, and cruciform torsos) 53. Miscellaneous terracotta fragments: legs, handles, and spools

Tables

1. Correlation of Lerna Neolithic Phases with Franchthi Ceramic Phases 2. Burial Features III.1. MNI of Main Neolithic Food Mammals According to Gejvall 1969 III.2. MNI of Main Neolithic Food Mammals According to Reese III.3. Sheep/Goat Cut Bones III.4. Sheep/Goat Burned Bones III.5. Pig Cut Bones III.6. Pig Burned Bones III.7. Sheep/Goat/Pig Cut Bones III.8. Sheep/Goat/Pig Burned Bones III.9. Cattle Cut Bones III.10. Cattle Burned Bones III.11. MNI of Domestic and Wild Vertebrates



4 176 290 290 291 291 292 293 293 294 295 295 300

Abbreviations

GENERAL ABBREVIATIONS AP ash pit AX2.5, AX2.8 surveyor’s grid points BO bone CL combined lot COP arsenical copper CP clay pit Diam. diameter D. depth DSR David S. Reese EH Early Helladic EN Early Neolithic FCP Franchthi Ceramic Phase FN Final Neolithic FNB Field Notebook fr(r). fragment(s) Gejvall Gejvall 1969 H. height HP hearth pit H-R Hartenberger and Runnels 2001 J, J Areas Areas JA and JB (not including 1954 trench J unless specified) JLC John L. Caskey Koz. Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996 L. length LC. Lerna carbon

LN Late(r) Neolithic max. maximum MH Middle Helladic MN Middle Neolithic N-GG Nils-Gustav Gejvall NHG Noel H. Gale NI not inventoried NK not kept NP not preserved NR not recorded Obs. obsidian p. preserved PNB pottery notebook PPNB Pre-pottery Neolithic B Reese David S. Reese Runnels: Runnels 1981 SH shell SP storage pit ST stone TC terracotta Th. thickness UD undiagnostic Vitelli Vitelli 2007 W. width W-00 numbered wall Wt. weight

LITHICS ABBREVIATIONS B blade Bb/N blade broken from the notch BD denticulated blade Bfb bifacially retouched blade Bfp bifacially worked point Bfs bifacially worked sickle Bft fragment of bifacially retouched tool BK backed blade bl(s). blade(s) Bl/Sg blade with sickle gloss

Br burin Bs burin spall bt(s). bladelet(s) C core Ch chunks and pebbles Es end scraper Es/RB end scraper on retouched blade F flake Fd denticulated flake Fl./Ch. flint/chalcedony/chert

xx

Abbreviations fT

fragment of underdetermined retouched tool NB notched blade NF notched flake P perforator P/Bf bifacially retouched perforator Pp unifacially worked pedonculated point R. radiolarite RB retouched blade RF retouched flake

sf/fr small flake/fragment Sg sickle gloss on different types of tools ShP shouldered piece SpP splintered piece SpP/b splintered piece on blade SpP/f splintered piece on flake Tr truncation Tr + BK truncated and backed blade TrK Kostienki truncation Trp trapeze

FAUNAL Terms Mammals Bos Bos primigenius Canis Canis vulpes Capra Cervus Lepus Ovis Ovis/Capra Sus Vulpes

Bolinus Bos taurus (domestic cattle) wild cattle Canis familiaris (dog) N-GG’s term for Vulpes Capra hircus (goat) Cervus elaphus (red deer) Lepus europaeus (hare) Ovis aries (sheep) Ovis aries/Capra hircus (sheep or goat) Sus scrofa (wild and domestic pig) Vulpes vulpes (fox) (N-GG as Canes vulpes or Canis vulpes)

Reptiles Testudo

Testudo hermanni (tortoise)

Fish Argyrosomus regius meagre Johnius hololepidotus old name of Argyrosomus Thynnus thynnus tuna

Birds Accipiter Accipiter gentilis (goshawk) Anas platyrhynchos mallard Anas querquedula garganey Anser Anser anser (graylag goose) Ardea Ardea cinerea (heron) Grus Grus grus (crane) Phalacrocorax carbo cormorant

Invertebrates Acanthocardia Arca Barbatia barbata

Acanthocardia tuberculata (rednosed cockle) Arca noae (ark shell) ark shell (N-GG as Arca b.)

Bolinus brandaris (dye murex), formerly Murex brandaris Cardium N-GG term for Cerastoderma glaucum Cerastoderma Cerastoderma glaucum (cockle) (N-GG as Cardium) Cerithium Cerithium vulgatum (cerith, horn shell) Conus mediterraneus (cone shell) Conus Cyprina N-GG term for Glycymeris Dosinia Dosinia lupinus (artemis shell) (N-GG as Docinia) Glycymeris Glycymeris insubrica (dog cockle) Gryphaea fossil oyster Helix Helix figulina (land snail) Hexaplex Hexaplex trunculus, formerly Murex trunculus Lucina N-GG term for Ruditapes Lunatia N-GG term for Helix Luria Luria lurida (cowrie) (called Talparia l. + Cypraea l. by N-GG) Murex/murex one of several gastropods of the Family Muricidae Mytilus Mytilus galloprovincialis (mussel) Ostrea Ostrea edulis (oyster) Patella aspera limpet Patella caerulea limpet (N-GG as coerulea) Patella ferruginea limpet Pholas Pholas dactylus (date shell) Pinna Pinna nobilis (pen shell) Ruditapes Ruditapes decussatus (carpet shell; formerly Tapes decussata) Spondylus Spondylus gaederopus (spiny or thorny oyster) Stramonita haemastoma oyster drill (formerly Thais) Talparia former name of Luria Tapes Tapes decussata (former name of Ruditapes decussatus) Thais former name of Stramonita Venus Venus verrucosa (venus shell)

Abbreviations

Faunal Abbreviations acet. acetabulum (of pelvis) ad. adult alv. alveolus(i) An. antler ant. anterior art. articulation Ast. astragalus asym. asymmetrical At. atlas (neck vertebra) Ax. axis (neck vertebra) bu. burned C. canine Cal. calcaneus Car. carapace (of Testudo) carpomt. carpometacarpus Diam. diameter dist. distal dP deciduous premolar epiph. epiphysis F fused Fe. femur Fi. fibula fr(r). fragment(s) of a specific bone gl. glenoid (part of scapula) H. height (mm) Hc. horncore Hu. humerus I incisor inf. infant io. infraorbital j. juvenile JF just fused l. left L. length (mm) lg. large lo. lower m. medial/middle M1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 permanent molar (upper and lower) m1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 deciduous molar (upper and lower) Ma. mandible max. maximum Mc. metacarpus med. medium

MNI minimum number of individuals mo(s). month(s) Mp. metapodial Mt. metatarsus Mx. maxilla nb. newborn oc. occipital (skull bone) P1, 2, 3 1, 2, 3 premolar (upper and lower) Pa. patella path. pathological pce(s.) piece(s) Pe. pelvis Ph. phalanx post. posterior pr. proximal Premx. premaxilla pres. preserved r. right Ra. radius Ri. rib S. Stockholm Sc. scapula sh(s). shaft(s) Sk. skull sm. small so. supraorbital sp(s). spine(s) subad. subadult T. thickness (mm) Ti. tibia (tibiotarsus for bird) Tm. tarsometatarsus UF unfused Ul. ulna unbu. unburnt up. upper uw. unworn Ve. vertebra ven. ventral W. width (mm) w. worn Zy. zygoma → N-GG symbol for erupting tooth 1/1 N-GG symbol for erupted tooth

Botanical Terms Arbutus unedo wild strawberry Ficus carica fig Pinus pine

Prunus stone fruit Quercus oak Vicia faba fava bean

xxi

1

 INTRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION

I

n the text that follows, the remains from Areas JA and JB are presented first with the occasional inclusion of a trench J feature (Chap. 2), then those from the supplementary trenches and pits (Chap. 3). Separate chapters are devoted to the Unphased and the Mixed Fill lots (Chaps. 4, 5). With each chronological unit are lists of the associated pottery, objects, lithics, animal bones, and shells. Following discussion of the architecture and stratigraphy and a brief chapter bringing together features of the burials (Chap. 6), presented in numerical sequence in the text, is the catalogue of minor objects organized chronologically by material (Chap. 7). We conclude in Chapter 8 with a summary discussion of the nature of the Neolithic settlement and its architecture and the activities of the earliest Lernaeans. Table 1 presents the correlation of the Lerna Neolithic pottery phases with the Franchthi Ceramic Phases (FCP), and Table 2 the features of the burials. In three appendixes are: (I) a listing of walls with text and field names, references to page and plan numbers in this volume, and their orientations and levels; (II) a listing of the pottery lots presented here, with their new and old phasing, context, and page numbers on which the contents of the lots appear; and (III) a commentary on the fauna by David S. Reese. Concordance I provides the correlation of inventory and catalogue numbers of the minor objects; Concordance II gives the inventory and/or lot number(s) of the lithics published by Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski (1996) and the page numbers on which they are listed or discussed in the present work. In the identification of socles and buildings in the text and on the plans and sections, we have followed the practice agreed upon for the publication of the Bronze Age material, consecutive numbering (W-1, W-2, etc.), so as to avoid the complications of identifying walls from different areas by their area/trench names and by the inconsistent lettering/numbering systems that were used in the field. On the plans the wall after which a structure is named is underlined. In Lerna V Vitelli chose to use the field designations for the walls; in Appendix I these are correlated with our numerical sequence. Pottery vessels and fragments that were entered into the Lerna inventory are cited by Vitelli and in this volume with the original inventory number, e.g., L.58 (cf. Vitelli 2007: 155–156). With a few exceptions, the pottery is listed as it is presented by Vitelli, in the larger phased groups into which it had been sorted in earlier studies (Vitelli 2007: 2–4, 139). We cite the pots and sherds by the Vitelli figure number and alphabetic identifier, e.g., Vitelli 2007: 187, fig. 1:a, easily associated with the descriptive text on the facing page. More precise citations by pottery lot number for the objects, lithics, bones, and shells have been employed in the listing of those materials. In the lists of the objects themselves, those regarded as dating to other than the Neolithic period are presented last, in parentheses. The minor objects of copper, stone, bone (including antler and shell), and terracotta cata-

2

INTRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION

logued in this volume are designated by a boldface number (e.g., 150). In the lists of shells, dimensions are in millimeters. An excavation number like L5.100 identifies the hundredth item entered into the inventory of objects in 1955. Grindstones were numbered consecutively through all the seasons and bear an “LS.00” number, e.g., LS.58. For abbreviations used in the detailed context descriptions, see the list of abbreviations, pp. xvii–xx. In the catalogue of objects (Chap. 7), typologies have been established where feasible, with each entry giving the state of preservation; dimensions; a brief description of the object and comparanda if any; and reference to significant earlier listing or publication of the piece. Figures within the catalogue have been arranged to illustrate the most characteristic varieties and well-preserved examples of the different classes of objects rather than presenting the objects in strict numerical order. Two groups of objects have been published previously and are available online through JSTOR. The triangular terracotta plaques we call tangas appear in Hesperia 46 (Banks 1977), where each has a sequential catalogue number along with its excavation inventory number. We list them here with the other terracotta objects, and incorporate them into the numerical sequence of Chapter 7 with references to the Hesperia catalogue numbers, descriptions, figures, and plates. The lithics were published in Hesperia 65 (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996), where the pieces are grouped by period and phase, but not identified individually by inventory or pottery lot number. In the present work the lithics are a category separate from the other objects, and they are identified by the relevant pottery lot number and the excavation inventory number assigned when a piece was entered into the excavation inventory; none are included in the catalogue of objects. A concordance to the inventory and lot numbers of the pieces in the figures and illustrations in the Hesperia article is provided in Concordance II of this volume. It should be noted that Kozłowski conducted his study with the now-outdated phasing then available, but he has seen and approved of the comments on the lithics in the Concluding Discussion (see below, pp. 265–267). The nature and the presentation of the faunal material in the text and Appendix III require some explanation. The original study of this material was done by N.-G. Gejvall and published as Lerna I (1969). As Reese points out in Lerna VI (2013a: 421–467) and here in Appendix III (p. 289), Gejvall was highly selective in the bones he recorded and published. This became evident when Reese found and examined in the Old Museum of Ancient Corinth a selection of the original lots of fauna material that had not been discarded and that are now in the Argos Museum; this included the shells, all of which were originally stored in Solna but are now lost, as well as a small quantity of fauna still in Stockholm. So, not only are Gejvall’s dates for much of the faunal material incorrect, being based on a pre-Vitelli chronology, but part of the results of his statistical analyses—for example, the minimum number of individuals (MNI)—was based on incomplete data. Since so many of the original Neolithic bone lots are still available, we have listed the contents of each, as provided by Reese, in the primary text following Gejvall’s counts. The detailed analysis of all the material appears in Reese’s appendix. The identifications of botanical remains from Lerna are those of M. Hopf. Most of these were published in her 1961 and 1962 articles, but a few are available only in her notes stored in the Lerna archives. This seems to be an appropriate place to address some of the difficulties presented by the Lerna Neolithic material, which is being published so long after the work in the field ended. Vitelli has outlined the problems she faced in publishing the pottery, of which only a very small sample remained for her examination; she found particularly frustrating the excavators’ practice of combining pottery lots (CL in the text) in post-excavation study, a process

INTRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION

3

she somewhat confusingly refers to as “lotting” (Vitelli 2007: 2–4, 139). It should be noted, however, that M. Eliot, the excavator of Areas JA and JB—which are so important for the understanding of the Lerna Neolithic—exercised considerably more restraint in this practice than most of the excavators of other areas; for her it was unusual to combine more than three or four lots, whereas for others of us, the number rose to 10, 15, and sometimes more. In retrospect, the practice of combination was, in many cases, inadvisable, yet much still can be learned about Neolithic Lerna from the record as we have it. Another Lerna practice, this time in the field, that created problems of interpretation was that of excavating down through a room or building into an earlier level while the later socles were left standing on little “pillars” of earth. Since buildings were often constructed in close sequence, separating floor levels (indicated on plans as one or two levels underlined, e.g., +2.73 in room W-5a on Plan 8) was not always effectively achieved in the field, and material from the earth under the socles was difficult to associate with the stratum with which it belonged. Often a location for a lot had as its reference points socles of one or two levels above. This may cause some confusion to readers in the citations of lot descriptions with which we associate the objects, lithics, bone, shell, and botanicals. These “pillars” of earth are to be distinguished from the often tall level columns that appear in some of the photographs (e.g., Figure 2) that represent small sections of unexcavated earth with a fixed level marker on the top surface, left in position to facilitate for the architects and archaeologists the locations of walls and other features that were to appear on the plans. In general, the methodology of the Lerna excavations in the field and in subsequent study was far from the rigorous, scientific approach of contemporary work. Participants, some with no prior excavation experience, were given considerable latitude in what they they recorded and how. That much valuable information was gathered owes a great deal to the skill of the Greek workmen, especially those from the American School’s excavation at Corinth and their foreman, Evangelos Lekkas. What today’s scholars look for in an excavation report often will not be found in this volume or others in the series. For example, the rationale for changing lot numbers in the field, or how walls were dismantled, varied from area to area. Moreover, the specific findspots of individual objects were normally recorded only in the case of particularly interesting pieces (e.g., figurine 399). We have done our best with the data available, and we entrust the unexcavated portions of the site to future scholars who can bring new resources and new insights to further illuminate the life of the ancient Lernaeans of all periods. The chronological sequence presented here should be considered highly tentative, but it seemed necessary to abandon the now obsolete “Lerna I” and “Lerna II” designations of the Caskey publications, which Vitelli has demonstrated are inherently flawed, and to present a framework internally consistent for the Lerna Neolithic and linked to the Franchthi sequence. Vitelli has provided the necessary Franchthi associations in her commentary on the Lerna pottery (Vitelli 2007: passim and 130, table 9.1), and we have utilized them to provide a coherent sequence across the various areas, trenches, and pits (Table 1). That more work at Lerna needs to be done to test the validity of the sequence will be evident to those who read Vitelli’s volume and this one. The sequence offered here should be considered a starting point for future study.

4

INTRODUCTION AND ORGANIZATION

Table 1. Correlation of Lerna Neolithic Phases with Franchthi Ceramic Phases (FCP) Lerna Neolithic Phase

Franchthi Ceramic Phase

Ler EN–MN (6100–6000 [cal.] b.c.)

J Areas: Ler EN–MNa J Areas: Ler EN–MNb FCP 1, FCP 1/2

J Areas: Ler EN–MNc Pit BD: Ler EN–MN Pit BE: Ler EN–MN Ler MN 1–6? (6000–5600/5500 [cal.] b.c.)

Ler MN 1

J Areas: Ler MN 1

Trench AP: Ler MN 1a

FCP 2.1

Trench AP: Ler MN 1b Pit BE: Ler MN 1 Trench HTJ: Ler MN 1 Ler MN 2

J Areas: Ler MN 2a



J Areas: Ler MN 2b

Pit BD: Ler MN 2a

FCP 2.1–2.2

Pit BD: Ler MN 2b Pit BE: Ler MN 2a Pit BE: Ler MN 2b Pit BE: Ler MN 2c Ler MN 3

J Areas: Ler MN 3a



J Areas: Ler MN 3b.1 and 3b.2

just before FCP 2.3

Trench AP: Ler MN 3? Ler MN 3–4 Pit BD: Ler MN 3–4

FCP 2.2–2.3

Pit BE: Ler MN 3–4? Ler MN 4

FCP 2.3

J Areas: Ler MN 4

Ler MN 4–6 Pit BE: Ler MN 4–6 (with Ler FN contamination)

No FCP equivalent

Ler MN 5

J Areas: Ler MN 5

FCP 2.3–2.4

Pit BD: Ler MN 5a Pit BD: Ler MN 5b Ler MN 6

J Areas: Ler MN 6 (with Ler FN contamination)

Pit BD: Ler MN 6 (with Ler FN and EH contamination)

FCP 2.4–2.5

Trench HTN: Ler MN 6 (with Ler FN and EH contamination) Ler FN (4200 [cal.] b.c.)

J, BD, and BE ash pits Burials 7 and 8

FCP 5.2

2

 THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

W

hen excavation began at Lerna in 1952 at the foot of Mt. Pontinus at the south ern edge of the modern village of Myloi, the freshwater spring Amymone ran through the village into the sea (Plan 1). The neighboring fields were planted with a variety of crops, sheep and goats passed to and fro on their way to pasture, and the main road from the Argolid to the Peloponnese cut through the village before rising into the mountains of Arkadia. The obvious attractions of the site drew settlers to it from the Neolithic period, when a small farming village was established here, probably at the transition from the Early Neolithic (EN) to the Middle Neolithic (MN), as was the case elsewhere in the Peloponnese (Alram-Stern 2005: 184). The site continued to be inhabited throughout much of the Bronze Age to late Mycenaean times. Fresh water and land available for farming were necessities for early agricultural communities throughout the Aegean, and Lerna had both, as well as access to the sea and routes inland, both north to the Corinthia and beyond, and southwest into the Peloponnese. With the basic resources necessary for self-sufficiency, the early Lernaeans also acquired obsidian in some quantity from Milos, but the raw materials for their pots and the bulk of their stone and bone tools and ornaments were produced from materials available in the region. A few ready-made objects, such as marble bowls and ear studs, were imported. Owing to the exigencies of the excavation noted above, the only substantial portion of the Neolithic village of Lerna explored was at the southwestern portion of the mound, in Squares D–E/g. In the first year of the excavation, 4.00 × 2.00 m trench E was dug to see if Neolithic remains might be found here. Unfortunately the trench yielded only what came to be known as “Mixed Fill,” so-named from the mixture of Neolithic and Early Helladic (EH) II sherds that it produced from near the surface to ca. +1.35 meters above sea level, where excavation was terminated (Caskey 1954: 28; Wiencke 2000: 22, section 5). Long trench J, 24.50 × 1.50 m, which was excavated in 1954, provided the first significant information about the presence of Neolithic architecture in this area (Caskey 1955: 46–47, pl. 13:e). Encouraged by the trench J results Caskey in 1955 laid out Area JA, which was opened to the northwest from the northern portion of trench J (Caskey 1956: 170–171, pl. 42:b), and in 1956, Area JB to the northwest of JA (Caskey 1957a: 154–160, figs. 5, 6, pls. 46, 47). Plan 2 shows the configurations of all these trenches and areas, with those shaded that yielded Neolithic material.

Area JA–JB The conjoined area, JA–JB, oriented WNW–ESE, formed approximately a square, measuring 13.50 × 14.00 m. Below 0.10–0.20 m of plowed earth, the top levels were +6.36 at the northeast, +6.31 at the northwest, +4.95 at the southeast, and +4.75 at the southwest. Reasonably pure Neolithic sediments appeared at ca. +4.40/4.20 under mostly EH II sediments. Above the Neolithic deposits and, in some places, over early EH II deposits, the

6

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

B b

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

SPRING

b

c

c

DA

d

d DB.1

e

L

K

BD

BC

H

g

h C

D

DC.1

DE

f

BE A

J F

B

BF

B

M

e

D

C

f

DD

G tr. J

E

N1

AA 0

F

G

10

H

g N2

N h

20 m

I

Plan 1. Site plan

Plan 1. Site Plan excavators found stony red, yellow, and brown earth that yielded both Neolithic and EH II sherds of the Mixed Fill, found in the first season in trenchLEGEND: E to a depth of some 4.00 m, down to ca. +1.35 (see above, p. 5). The Fill dropped abruptly at the south edge of solid WWIIatGun strata in Area JA–JB, where it was traced as low as +2.45. It would appear that some point Emplacement early in EH II some alterations in the configuration of the surface of the mound were made that resulted in the creation and deposition of the Mixed Fill (Caskey 1954: 28; 1955: 46; 1956: 169–170; 1957a: 153, 155, 156, fig. 5:14; Wiencke 2000: 22, 23, 25, 29–31, Railroad35–40, sections 5, 6, 8; Vitelli 2007: esp. 13–14, 135–138; and see below, pp. 163–173). As excavation was pursued here, the area under study was gradually reduced Fence in size. At the north, elements of the EH II defensive system were left in situ for public view. Excavation into the lower Neolithic levels at the east was restricted because the socles of small MN at 1m Building W-5, with a probable floor level at +2.73, were left exposed for Contours the inspection of intervals visitors to the site (Caskey and Blackburn 1997: 2–3, 7, fig. 1:1), and the sediments beneath it could not be explored. Furthermore, a ditch, called by the excavators “the Gully,” had been dug into virgin soil early in the Middle Neolithic period, our Ler MN 1; it had cut into the lowest Neolithic sediments and extended into the unexcavated platform of earth left to support Building W-5. And, at the sharp drop into the Mixed Fill, solid Neolithic sediments

t he settlement in areas ja and jb

G

F

E

D

7

H

e

e

D

BD

BD

f

BF BI

BC

DE HTY

B3

B7

HTJ

B2

HTV

BL B1

BE

B8

BB

BW B

f

BE

HTN

BA

HTZ

BH

HTX

B4 B5

B10

B9

HTW

A

JB

g

N

AP

B6

A

HTS

g

JA GL

J

GK

GP

JC E

AD

AC

GG GC

GA

GF

GB

AA AB

AF G

GE

GM GI

Trench J

GO

GJ

GD

GQ AE

0

GN

5

10

15

F

h D

20m

h E

F

G

H

Plan 2. Trench plan showing Neolithic (shaded) and Mixed Fill deposits (hatched)

Plan 2. Trench Plan with Neolithic Deposits (shaded) and Fill Deposits (hatched) Highlighted were cut offMixed in a curving line from the southeast to the northwest. By the time virgin soil was

reached at an average level of +1.50, only a roughly rectangular space ca. 8.00–8.25 m long (WNW–ESE) and 4.25–4.75 m wide was beingMAXIMUM examined.ELEVATIONS OF NEOLITHIC DEPOSITS/FEATURES: The Neolithic sediments in Areas JA and JBMAJOR rested on a very uneven surface of virgin soil ranging from 3.00 m to 3.75 m in thickness (CaskeyJ Areas 1957a: 156). As he studied the pottery (with Trench J): +4.40 - 4.30 from these sediments, Caskey interpreted the Neolithic deposit as divisible into two parts, Trench JC: +4.55 with a dividing line at ca. +2.75; the lower part he considered to be Early Neolithic and the Trench AP: +2.35 upper, Middle Neolithic with a little unstratified later Neolithic mixed in toward the top Pit BD: +4.45 (Caskey 1957a: 156–160). It was on the basis of that sequence that he began to prepare his Pit BE: +4.48 final publication. Virtually no stratified Neolithic material was known in the Peloponnese Trench HTN: W +3.85, C-W +4.00, C-E +4.30, E +4.50 at the time of Caskey’s analysis, so it is not surprising that his conclusions require substantial modification in the light of subsequent work. Most significant has been that of Vitelli, whose careful publication of the Franchthi Neolithic pottery (Vitelli 1993, 1999) established a Neolithic sequence for the southern Argolid and provided a guide for her study of the Lerna Neolithic ceramics (Vitelli 2007).

8

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Vitelli’s analysis of the Lerna Neolithic pottery indicates that most of the material from virgin soil to Caskey’s proposed dividing line between EN and MN falls chronologically into two parts, that from virgin soil up to ca. +2.00, which may date to late EN transitional to MN, and that above to ca. +2.50, which she would date to early MN, or FCP 2.1 in Franchthi terms (Vitelli 2007: 8, 130, tables 1.3, 9.1); we call the former Ler EN–MN and the latter Ler MN 1.

Ler EN–MNa in JA–JB (formerly “Earliest J” and I.J.A; Vitelli: 14–16) Clay Pits CP-1–CP-8 in Virgin Soil Virgin soil at the site appeared as a fairly homogeneous deposit of red clay with mostly small stones throughout, but no cultural material. A narrow trial trench dug into hardpan in Area JA to a depth of 0.80 m yielded no objects or organic material (Fig. 1). What Zangger has called “Pleistocene paleosols” at Lerna is comparable to the “Pleistocene Red” or “Basal Red” of the Franchthi Paralia (Wilkinson and Duhon 1990: 37–38; Zangger 1993: 36). The surface of this hardpan at Lerna was reported by the excavator to be uneven, reaching as high as +1.80, but with with an average level +1.53/1.44 (Section 1). From it clay had been extracted to form what appeared in the excavation as pits in virgin soil (Fig. 2), clay that Caskey suggested was used for various activities in the settlement, such as construction (Caskey 1957a: 160), and clay mortar did appear in some of the MN structures and as the lining of MN and Final Neolithic (FN) pits. He found similar pits in his supplementary excavation at Eutresis (Caskey and Caskey 1960: 161, pl. 42:c). Rodden suggested the same purpose for EN pits at Nea Nikomedeia (Rodden 1962: 270, fig. 2), as did Wijnen for those at Sesklo (Wijnen 1992: 57), and the practice has been observed farther east in PPNB Nevalı Çori (Hauptmann 1999: 71). Absolutely nothing found in and around these pits suggested that they had ever served as sunken floors for wattle-and-daub huts, as claimed for the pits at neighboring Dendra in the Argolid (Protonotariou-Deïlaki 1992: 104–109). The pits that resulted from this digging filled up with small stones and soft gray earth that contained little pottery and only a few small objects and lithics, along with small quantities of animal bones and shells (Caskey 1957a: 160). The only constructed feature at this level was a small black-clay-lined basin, the circumference of which was contiguous with that of one of the large pits (Plan 3). These clay pits (CP) were irregularly circular, ovoid, and elliptical in plan, with one often contiguous with or intersecting another; sometimes the area adjacent to a pit or between two pits was lower than the pit top levels and a shelflike depression formed, so that the whole area had a very uneven surface. The same kind of stepping or shelving was reported in what appear to have been very similar pits in virgin soil at Ayioryitika and appears in the illustration of those at Dendra (Protonotariou-Deïlaki 1992: 106, figs. 1–3, pl. 18; Petrakis 2002: 25–26). It is likely that the hardpan was exploited in a random fashion by various members of the community, some starting pits afresh, others Figure 1. Area JA–JB: trial trench expanding pits already under excavation. in virgin soil, from northwest

0.00

+1.00

+2.00

+3.00

+4.00

+5.00

NW

20

D

SP-8

1

3

4

AP-2

red clay

CP-4

*burial 4 HP-9

6

CP-1

W-1

W-2

pebbles

W-38

W-48

7

9

W-21

W-49 W-41

Gully

bricks

W-4

399

W-42

8

Schematic Section 1. J Areas: NW - SE through AX2.8

Section 1. Area JA–JB: northwest–southeast section through AX2.8. Scale 1:60

water

5

AX 2.8

W-9 small stones

W-36 W-32

AP-3

clay pit in virgin soil

AP-6

2

E

W-7

bothros

10

W-12

W-24 W-17

11

13

yellow clay

W-6

W-14

W-19 celt hoard

W-26

12

SE

10

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

D

E 20

15

10

5

5

CP-7 posthole

+1.49 ____ +0.86

CP-6

JB

+1.49 ____ +0.60 (water at +0.76)

g 10

+1.49 ____ +0.70

(water at +0.76) +1.45 ____ +0.72

clay-lined basin +1.35 ____ NR

CP-5

CP-8

JA

CP-2 CP-4

+1.53 / 1.41 _________ +0.76

CP-3

no levels recorded

AX2.8

AX3.0

+1.53 ____ +0.96

AX2.5

CP-1

+1.65 ____ +1.36 / 1.31

JB JA room W-5 a

15

Gully

Plan 3. Area JA–JB: clay pits in virgin soil. Scale 1:100

Plan 3. Ler EN-MNa in J: Clay Pits (CP) in Virgin Soil The largest of the pits preserved, CP-4, measured 2.60 × 1.70 m, with a maximum depth of 0.77 m, and the smallest fully excavated pit for which dimensions were recorded, CP-1, was ca. 1.40 × 1.15 m in diameter and a maximum of 0.34 m deep. The sides of the pits were vertical or in-sloping and sometimes slightly undercut, and the bottoms were generally shallowly concave, but uneven. A section of the northeast side of CP-4 shows the irregular depressions on the bottom where clay had been scooped out (Fig. 3, upper). A photograph of a workman excavating in the same pit gives a good idea of how the prehistoric digger might have looked “at work” (Fig. 4). The fill of the pits was described as gray and stony, becoming darker and muddier as excavation proceeded to the water level, which was reached at +0.76 in this area, water seeping into the bottom of pits CP-5, CP-6, and CP-8. Finds were few, predominantly lithics, with a few bone tools, some animal bones and shells, and occasional bits of charcoal. The pits are listed here with their dimensions and a description of the nature of the fill, moving from east to west. The small quantity of pottery and the bones and shells recovered from all the pits were put together by the excavator into CL J 894 (see Vitelli 2007: 14–15).

Ler EN–MNa in JA–Jb

11

Figure 2. Area JA–JB: clay pits CP-1–CP-8 in virgin soil with Gully at lower

right and level columns at center and left, from southeast

NW

SE

+1.53

W

E

+1.41

Figure 3. Area JA–JB: sections of clay pit CP-4. Scale 1:50

0

1

2m

Fig. 1. Sections of Clay Pit CP-4

Figure 4. Area JA–JB: workman clearing around level column

in clay pit CP-4, from west

12

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

CP-1 Plan 3, Section 1, Fig. 2 Squares E 6–7/g 11–12. Ovoid, expanding east and south where cut off by Gully. Max. Diam. 1.40 × est. 1.15 m; D. 0.29–0.31 m (+1.65–1.36/1.31) Dark stony earth, very muddy and loose. J 812 in CL J 894: a few joins in L.1143 (see below, p. 16); BO tools 154, 260–262; obsidian blade L6.1079. See below, p. 14, for probable hearth just above.

CP-5 Plan 3, Fig. 2 Squares E 3–5/g 8–9. Irregularly ovoid. 2.15 × 1.55 m; D. 0.79 m (+1.49–0.70) Dark stony soil; burned patch with carbonized material, lumps of hard yellow clay; water at +0.76. J 816 in CL J 894: ST pounder/rubber 71; BO awl 155; lithics L6.1085–L6.1088 (included here are lithics from CP-5–CP-8. Shelflike depression off northwest side intersecting CP-6, probably remnant of earlier pit.

CP-2 Plan 3, Fig. 2 Squares E 6–7/g 9–10. Irregularly circular. Diam. ca. 1.35 m; D. 0.57 m (+1.53–0.96) Soft muddy fill, lowest 0.30 m darker and stonier; bits of charcoal. J 813 in CL J 894: lithics L6.1080–L6.1082 (Koz: fig. 4:5, 7, ill. 1:6).

CP-6 Plan 3, Fig. 2 Squares E 2–4/g 6–8. Ovoid? Max. p.L. 1.40 m; max. p.W. 2.00 m; D. 0.89 m (+1.49–0.60) Extending into unexcavated baulk to north. Mostly gray stony soil; water at +0.76. Shelflike depression between this pit and CP-7.

CP-3 Plan 3, Fig. 2 Squares E 6–7/g 9–10. Circular. Diam. 0.60 m; levels NR, described as “shallow” (FNB XLII: 135) Stiff gray fill with some animal bones.

CP-7 Plan 3, Fig. 2 Squares E 1–2/g 6–7. Teardrop-shaped, in-sloping sides. Max. L. 1.50 m; max. W. 1.35 m; D. 0.63 m (+1.49–0.86) Large stone at +1.41; layer of sandy soil at +1.24. Joined with CP-8 by shallow depression with spreading sides in which posthole(?) of Diam. 0.30 m, depth NR.

CP-4 Plan 3, Section 1, Figs. 2–4 Squares E 4–6/g 9–11. Irregularly ovoid. Ca. 2.60 × 1.70 m, with angular extension at southwest periphery ca. 0.75 × 0.90 m; D. ca. 0.65– 0.77 m (+1.53/1.41–0.76) Gray and stony with bits of black, brownish, and whitish matter and one-quarter basket of bones; water at +0.76. No lot: TC polisher 321; lithics L6.1513–L6.1515 and pieces found with these. Shallow black-clay-lined basin contiguous with north periphery, top at +1.35, bottom and contents NR, the one “constructed” feature of this level.

CP-8 Plan 3, Fig. 2 Squares D 20–E 2/g 8–10. Irregularly elliptical, steeply in-sloping sides. P. max. Diam. 2.50 m; D. ca. 0.73 m (est. +1.45– 0.72) Gray and muddy stony fill; water at +0.76.

The same kind of soft stony fill found in the clay pits also accumulated above them to a level of ca. +2.20 at the west, where it was left relatively undisturbed by later activity, and to ca. +1.85 farther east, where the first Neolithic construction was observed. Nothing suggested to the excavator that this soft stony material was laid deliberately, and it probably developed gradually in the area in the normal course of the early life of the settlement. A patch of black ash at +1.59 in the northwest might have been the remnant of an ad hoc hearth. All the pottery from this level was combined by the excavator into one lot, CL J 893, in which were included, as Vitelli notes, some intrusive sherds from Mixed Fill lot J 780 in CL J 893 (Vitelli 2007: 16). As with the clay pits, there were a few objects (bone awls 156– 158) and some chipped stone, both obsidian and flint/chalcedony, and animal bones and shells.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Vitelli evaluated the pottery from the clay pits and the sediment just above as roughly the equivalent of FCP 1 and FCP Int. 1/2 (Vitelli 2007: 15–16, 130), and we classify both together as Ler EN–MNa.

Ler EN–MNa in JA–Jb

13

Clay Pits in Virgin Soil (CL J 894) Pottery Lime-ware cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 1:c Lime-ware bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 3:c, h Lime-ware frr.; Vitelli: fig. 5:a, b Sandy-ware bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:h, i Objects ST pounder/rubber 71; p. 201 BO awl 154; p. 219 BO awl 155; p. 219 BO scraper/polisher 260; p. 231 BO scraper/polisher 261; p. 231 BO scraper/polisher 262; p. 232 TC polisher 321; p. 241 Lithics Obs.: F 12 (L6.1086, Koz.: fig. 3:2), B 9 (L6.1079 [Koz.: fig. 4:4], L6.1080 [Koz.: fig. 4.7], L6.1514, L6.1515, Koz.: figs. 4.9, 5:2), Bb/N/Sg 1, Pp 1 (L6.1087 [Koz:. ill. 3:2]), RB 4 (Koz.: ill.: 2:3, 5, 6, 10), RF 1 (Koz.: ill. 2:11), SpP/f 2 (L6.1085 [Koz.: ill. 3:11], L6.1088 [Koz.: ill. 3.3]), Tr 3 (L6.1081 [Koz.: ill. 1:6]), sf/fr 6 Fl./Ch.: B 3 (L6.1082 [Koz.: fig. 4:5], L6.1513), sf/fr 2 Bones and Shells (large bag) Gejvall (12 bones, 2 shells): Sus 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 M2 (1/1), 1 Ti. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Mx. fr. (M2?→, l.), 2 Ma. frr. (r., 1/1; M2→?) Bos primigenius 5 (2 female MNI): 1 so. (ad.; Gejvall: 31, pl. VIII:1; S.), 2 Mx. frr. (ad.; Gejvall: 31), 1 Fe. head (UF epiph., gnawed; Gejvall: 31, 81, pl. VIII:3; S.), 1 Ph. I (F; Gejvall: 31, pl. VIII:2; S.) Anser 1: coracoid (Gejvall: 48, pl. XXI:1; S.) Ostrea 1, Murex 1 Reese (68 specifically identifiable bones, 125 fragments total: 27 cut, 13 bu.; 2 shells):

Sus 5: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ma. fr. (no teeth, 5 pces.), 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 1 dist. Ti. (UF, cut down length except at dist., rather lg.), 1 Cal. (ad., center fr., l.)Ovis/Capra 24: 1 Mx. fr. (P3 alv., M1 w., M2 w., M3 alv., l.), 1 M1 (uw.), 1 M2 (w.), 4 Ma. frr. (P1 alv., P2–3, M1 broken, M2 w., M3 w. except for last loph, partly bu. black, r., 3 pces.; alv. only, l., 2 pces.; coronoid + condyle processes, r., 2 pces.; side fr.), 2 low. P (1 ad., w., bu. gray), 1 dP3 (w.), 1 M1 (slightly w.), 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 1 lo. M fr. (bu. gray), 1 At. fr. (cut down center), 2 Sc. frr. (F, cut through gl. on l. side, l.; side fr., complete length, cut along spina, l.), 3 Pe. frr. (1 acet., l.; 2 ilium frr. [1 l.]), 1 dist. Ti. + sh. (F, broken, cut down length), 2 Mc. (F, bu. brown/black, l.; broken dist., bu. brown/black, r.), 1 pr. Mt. (bu. brown), 1 dist. Mp. (F) Sus or Ovis/Capra 21+: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Sc. fr. (side), 1 Pe./acet. (cut along bone, r.), 1 Ti. sh. (cut along sh., r.), 2 Ve. sp., 15 Ri. frr. (5 heads [3 cut], 1 bu. black [2 pces.]), 19 shs. (9 cut down length, 1 bu. black) Bos primigenius 17+: 1 so. (ad.; Gejvall: 31, pl. VIII:1; S.), 1 Sk./Mx. fr., 2 Mx. frr. (ad.; Gejvall: 31), 3 Ma. frr., 1 Sc. (F, cut down length through gl., partly bu. black), 1 pr. Hu. fr. (UF, cut through below pr., bu. black/brown), 1 Ra. sh. (gnawed), 1 Fe. head epiph. (partly bu., gnawed; Gejvall: 31, 81, pl. VIII:3; S.), 1 dist. Ti. (F, cut through in two directions, bu. black), 1 Ph. I (F; Gejvall: 31, pl. VIII:2; S.), 2 Ve. (UF, cut down center; 1 JF, 1 F, lg. cut on side of bone in two directions, 3 pces.), 2 Ri. frr. (1 bu. black, 2 pces.), 5 shs. (3 cut down sh.), 2 fragments Anser 1: pr. coracoid (Gejvall: 48, pl. XXI:1; S.) Ostrea 1 (46 × 43), Hexaplex 1 (badly w. + bored, growths inside, 57 × 41, small hole on up. spire 5)

Sediments Immediately above Clay Pits in Virgin Soil to ca. +2.20 at West, +1.85 toward East (CL J 893) Pottery Lime-ware cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 1:a, b, d Lime-ware bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 3:a, b, d, j Lime-ware medium–large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 4:a Lime-ware deep bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 6:a, c Ungritted-ware bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 8:a, d Ungritted-ware bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 9:f, h Ungritted-ware small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 11:h Ungritted-ware saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 12:e Ungritted-ware base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 13:d Ungritted ladle(?) handle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:f Objects BO awl 156; p. 219 BO awl 157; p. 219 BO awl 158; p. 220

Lithics Obs.: F 8 (Koz.: fig. 3:5, 8), B 6 (L6.1052 [Koz.: fig. 4:2], L6.1053 [Koz.: fig. 5:1], Koz.: fig. 5:7), Bs 1 (L6.1051 [Koz.: ill. 3:1]), SpP 2 (Koz.: fig. 5:8, ill. 3:6), SpP/b 2 (Koz.: ill. 3:12, 13), SpP/f 1(Koz.: ill. 3:16), sf/fr 9 Fl./Ch.: Bl/Sg 1 (L6.1054 [Koz.: ill. 2:9]), Es 1 (Koz.: ill. 1:5), sf/fr 1 Bones and Shells (large bag) Gejvall (17 bones, 2 shells): Sus 5: 2 Sk. frr., 1 l. Mx. fr., 1 l. Ma. fr. (M2→), 1 Ti. fr. Ovis/Capra 7 (2+ MNI): 4 r. and 3 l. Ma. frr. (r.: 1 M1→, 3 j.; l.: 1 1/1, 2 j.) Bos 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Ast.

14

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Bos primigenius 1: pr. Ra. (F, broken, worked, deep waisting below pr. + butchery marks; Gejvall: 31, 81, table 50, pl. VIII:4; S.)

Testudo 1: Car. fr. Arca 1, Murex 1

Ler EN–MNb in JA–JB (formerly I.J.B; Vitelli: 16–17) Early Activity Area with Hut W-1 and Hearth The first evidence of any structure or work area in this section of the Neolithic settlement is associated with the upper portion of the stony layer at the east in Squares E 6–7/g 9–12 (Plan 4). Here W-1, a narrow, undulating line of small to medium stones (and one fragment of brick) in a single course ca. 0.20 m wide, ran NNW–SSE for ca. 2.00 m from a mass of hard yellow clay at +1.71 at the north edge of the excavated area (Squares E 6–7/g 10–13). At the south the stones curved around to the west to a form a semicircular enclosure ca. 0.75 m in diameter (Fig. 5). The earth within the circle was dark and ashy, and was no doubt rightly called a hearth by the excavator (FNB XLII: 129). This feature lay directly above CP-1 (Section 1), separated from it by a mass of stones in dark loose earth that merged into the fill of the pit proper. Probably the soft bothroid material of the pit sank in the course of time, leaving a hollow in which stones were used as fill and which then was ringed with more stones for use as a cooking place. More patches of yellow clay and black earth were traced east of W-1 to an almost uniformly yellow layer at +1.70 (CL J 891); dark soil in this same area from +1.90–1.84 should probably also be associated with W-1 ( J 797). Perhaps the stones of W-1 served to define some kind of rough wattle-and-daub hut that provided limited protection from the elements in inclement weather. That flint knapping was one of the activities carried out here is suggested by the presence of L6.25, a tablet removed from an obsidian blade core (Caskey 1957a: 160, pl. 49:g; Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 301, fig. 2), and the largest chalcedony blade in the Lerna collection, laterally retouched L6.78 (Caskey 1957a: 160, pl. 49:f; Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 339, ill. 1:8), both from CL J 891 along with stone pounder 72, other lithics, and bones and shells. Since it is likely that chalcedony, unlike obsidian, which was regularly worked at the site, was imported in the form of blanks (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 300), we may have here the temporary “workshop” of an itinerant knapper who carried with him in his toolkit an occasional blank in an exotic material (Perlès 1992: 149). South of hut W-1, along the southern border of the area across JA and into JB at +2.07– 1.66/1.58, was a broad band of a hard red sediment (dissolved brick?) that was removed in CL J 890. From this sediment came most of the 43 sherds of L.1143, a Lime-ware medium– large bowl, the surfaces of which are worn and pitted; a few sherds of this bowl came from EN–MNa lot J 812 in CL J 894 (see above, p. 12; Vitelli 2007: 14–15, 17). Badly burned celt 25, its surface flaking from exposure to extreme heat, came fom the same lot, along with a few lithics and a small quantity of animal bones, one apparently worked. A mass of 10 Arca shells found about 1.75 m west of W-1 at +1.86 ( J 799; see below, p. 21) was associated with it by the excavator in the field; the level proved too high to ensure the association, however, and the lot was subsequently associated with material from the level just above. The shells do, however, provide more documentation of the early activity of the Neolithic Lernaeans in this general area. Although the hut was probably of wattle-and-daub, there is possible evidence that bricks were already being used somewhere in the settlement at this early period, since what was reported as a hunk of brick had been inserted into the line of W-1. The eastern portion of hut W-1 was cut off by the later digging of the Gully in Squares E 6–10/g 9–14 (see below, pp. 32–35). At the west the edge of the Gully at the north was a mass of dissolved red brick in which was discernible the shapes of a few bricks set on edge

Ler EN–MNB in JA–Jb

D

15

E 20

10

5

15

5

hard yellow and red earth (exact location uncertain)

stony soil soft soil

hard yellow +1.71 clay ____ brick +1.76

g 10

W-1 ___

postholes

+1.66/1.62

AX2.8

AX2.5

red bricks 7

gray hearth

larg

e st

one

s at

hard red sediments

+1.5

AX3.0

15

room W- 5 a

Gully

Plan 4. Area JA–JB: hut W-1. Scale 1:100

Plan 4. Ler EN-MNb in J: Hut W-1 that reached as high as +1.88. This could be taken as the earliest evidence of a western barrier for the ditch, which appeared in more distinct form in the next level above, where the level of the bricks reached as high as +2.10 (see below, pp. 32–33, where the nature and possible function of the ditch is discussed). Two “postholes” in this earlier mass (one 0.17 m in diameter, 0.10 m deep, the other 0.15 × 0.15 m) might be construed as evidence of some kind of wooden palisade, but they more likely were gaps formed in the dissolution of the bricks and “helped” into the form of postholes by the excavation workmen. It is not totally clear from the excavation record in what lot this brick mass and bricks were removed, but it is possible that they were included with the material above the “floor” of hut W-1, CL J 891. If this brick was associated with the later digging of the Gully, any material found in it could have been a contaminant in CL J 891. Farther west, most of the area was occupied by the stony fill that had accumulated above the clay pits. At the north in Area JB were some isolated patches of hard red earth—more dissolved brick(?) (CL J 892). From this red sediment came celt 26 and 24 of the 28 joining fragments of L.1142, a Lime-ware saucer, others coming from the Gully (Vitelli 2007: 17).

16

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Figure 5. Area JA–JB: hut W-1, from northeast

A brownish black patch with stones at the northwest ( J 794) in Squares E 4/g 7–8 probably should be considered as related to hearth pit HP-5 of the level immediately above (see below, pp. 22–23).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi The sherds from this level exhibited features comparable to FCP 1 and FCP 1/2 (Vitelli 2007: 17, 130), like the levels just below and above it, and we designate the phase Ler EN–MNb. Sediments Associated with Early Activity Area at ca. +2.00/1.90–1.85/1.70 ( J 794, J 797, CL J 890–CL J 892) Pottery Lime-ware cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 1:e, f Lime-ware basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 2:b, d Lime-ware saucer L.1142; Vitelli: fig. 2:c Lime-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 3:g Lime-ware medium–large bowl L.1143; Vitelli: fig. 4:b

Lime-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 5:c Lime-ware deep bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 6:f Lime-ware hole-mouth jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 7:b Ungritted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 11:k Sandy-ware rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:j Lime-ware base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:k

J 794: JB. Red-Brown Fill with Black at North at ca. +1.95/1.93–1.90/1.85 Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L6.1048, L6.1049 [Koz.: fig. 5:3]), sf/fr 2 Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L6.1050 [Koz.: fig. 4:6])

Bos 1: Cal. fr. Lepus 1: Fe. fr. Murex 1

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (8 bones, 1 shell): Sus 1: Sc. fr. Ovis/Capra 5: 1 M3 (1/1), 1 l. Ma. fr. (j.), 1 Hu. fr., 2 Ra. frr.

Reese (30 specifically identifiable bones, 55 fragments total: 16 cut, 7 bu.; 1 shell): Sus 3: 1 lo. P (ad.), 1 Sc. (F, l.), 1 Mp. III/IV (UF, sm.) Ovis/Capra 16 (3 MNI): 1 M3 (uw., r.), 1 ant. Ma. (P1 alv., l.), 1 Ma. condyle + coronoid processes

Ler EN–MNB in JA–Jb

(l.), 1 Ax. (UF, probably cut along odontoid process + on either side of centrum), 1 dist. Hu. (F, partly bu. gray, r.), 2 pr. Ul. (2 F, 2 l.), 1 Pe./ ilium fr. (young, partly bu. gray), 1 Fe. sh. (young), 2 dist. Ti. (UF, gracile, partly bu. black; F, cut down length except at dist., l.), 1 pr. Mt. (cut down length [lacks ven.]), 1 dist. Mt. (F, cut down length except at dist.), 1 pr. Mp. (cut down length), 1 dist. Mp. (UF, gracile, bu. black, 2 pces.), 1 Mp. sh. (cut down length)

17

Sus or Ovis/Capra 8+: 1 Sc. fr. (side, 2 pces.), 1 Ve. (UF), 2 Ve. sps. (1 cut down side + bu. gray), 4 Ri. frr. (1 head; 2 have joins), 14 shs. (7 cut down length [1 bu. black])Bos 2+: 1 Cal. (lacks dist., ad., cut across, r., 2 pces.), 1 Sc. or Pe. fr. (2 pces.), 1 sh. (cut down length, 2 pces.) Canis 1: pr. Fe. fr. (F, l.) Bolinus 1 (no apex, has sps. + dist., open body, L. 59+)

J 797: JA. Dark Soil West of Line of Bricks at East to AX2.8 at ca. +1.90–1.84 Lithics Obs.: F 5, sf/fr 3 Fl./Ch.: F 1, B 1 (L6.1056 [Koz.: fig. 5:5])

Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Sk fr., 1 Sc fr. Bos 1: Mc. fr., and fragments Cardium 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 1 shell):

CL J 890: JA. Dissolved Brick Mass at South Running across Area JA into Area JB at +2.07–1.66/1.58 Objects ST celt 25; p. 192 BO awl (NI, noted below) Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 4 (L6.1073, L6.1074, L6.1076), Es 1 (L6.1543 [Koz.: ill. 1:4]), SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 3:10) Fl./Ch.: F 1 (L6.1077 [Koz.: fig. 3:1]), RB 1 (L6.1078 [Koz.: ill. 1:7]) Bones (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone): Ovis/Capra 1: M3 (1/1)

Reese (11 specifically identifiable bones, 40 fragments total: 5 cut, 2 bu., 1 worked): Ovis/Capra 9+: 2 Ma. frr. (no teeth, bu. black at m. + post. dist., r., 5 pces.; coronoid + condyle processes, r.), 1 P, 1 M1, 1 M2, 1 M3 (broken, uw.), 1 Pe./ acet. fr. (cut through ischium sh., r., 3 pces.), 1 Ve. (F), 1 Ri. fr., 5 shs. (3 cut down length), 1 fragment (cut) Bos 1: Ri. fr. (9 pces.) Worked Ovis/Capra Ti. sh. (broken below pr., comes to point [now broken] on sh. toward dist. end, smoothed dist.; before point, bu. gray, L. 95.75, pr. W. 26.25 × 21.25; not seen by Banks)

CL J 891: JA. Red-Brown Sediment at Hard Yellow Clay Associated with W-1 at ca. +1.90–1.70 Objects ST pounder/rubber 72; p. 201 Lithics Obs.: F 10 (L6.25 [Koz.: fig. 2], Koz.: fig. 3:3, 4, 10), B 3 (L6.1075 [Koz.: fig. 4:10]), Br 1 (Koz.: ill. 2:13), SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 3:9), sf/fr 2 Fl./Ch.: F 3, RB 1 (L6.78 [Koz.: ill. 1:8]) Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (9 bones): Ovis/Capra 9: 1 M3 1/1, 3 r. and 1 l. Ma. fr. (all 1/1), m3 (1/1), 3 Hu. frr. (1 bu.) Reese (55 specifically identifiable bones; 97 fragments total: 22 cut, 9 bu.): Sus 1: Sc. fr. (body, ad.) Ovis/Capra 28 (2 MNI): 1 M2 (broken), 1 M3 (w., l.), 4 Ma. frr. (dP2, dP3 w., M1 uw., M2 alv., r.; dP1–3 alv., r.; P1 alv., P2–3, M1 all w. + ad., r.; ant., broken

alv., bu. gray, l.), 2 post. Ma. (coronoid process, broken; condyle process, broken, l.), 1 dP3 (r.), 1 lo. P, 1 M2 (ad.), 2 M3 (r.; somewhat w., l.), 2 Sc. (very sm., broken gl., l.; F, broken, l.), 3 dist. Hu. (3 F; JF ven. side, cut down length above art., bu. gray, r.; JF ven., smaller, more gracile, r.; bu. black, l.), 1 Ra. (pr. F, dist. UF, l.), 1 dist. Ra. (UF, recently broken), 1 dist. Ra. (broken, cut down sh., bu. black), 2 pr. Ul. (UF, r.; broken, l.), 1 pr. Fe. (head F, cut down length between head + trochanter majus, l.), 1 dist. Ti. + sh. (F, l.), 2 Ti. shs. (2 cut down length, 1 l.), 1 pr. Mt. Sus or Ovis/Capra 23+: 1 Sk. fr. (cut), 3 Mx. frr., 1 Sc. fr. (side, bu. gray), 3 Ve. frr. (centrum, F; body; sp., partly bu. gray), 15 Ri. frr. (1 head, 1 bu. black), 26 shs. (15 cut down length [2 bu. gray]) Bos 3: 1 Ma. fr. (side, 4 pces. [2 join, 1 cut down length]), 1 Ra. sh. (cut down length in two directions, 3 pces.), 1 Sc. or Pe. fr. (2 pces.)

18

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

CL J 892: JB. Red Brick at North at +2.00–1.42/1.40 Objects ST celt 26; p. 192 BO: worked canine (NI, noted below) Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L6.1042 [Koz.: fig. 5:6]), RB 1 (L6.1057 [Koz.: ill. 2:4]) Bones and Shells (two small bags) Gejvall (10 bones): Sus 2: 1 l. fr. and 1 r. Ma. fr. (both M2→) Ovis/Capra 7: 1 M1 (1/1), 1 M3 (1/1), 2 Sc. frr. (1 j.), 1 Ul. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Cal. Bos 1: Hu.(?) fr. Reese (32 specifically identifiable bones; 61 fragments total: 17 cut, 5 bu., 1 worked): Sus 8: (2 MNI): 7 Ma. frr. (no teeth, 1 r., 1 l., 1 has M3 hole [older]), 1 Cal. (UF, recently broken, r., dist. W. 19.5) Ovis/Capra 19+: 2 Sk. frr., 1 Ma. fr. (coracoid process), 1 M1 (broken, ad.), 1 M3 (bit w., partly bu.

gray, l.), 1 lo. M. (open roots), 2 Sc. frr. (1 UF, r., 3 pces; 1 F, cut through corocoid process + through m. gl. on angle, r., 3 pces.), 1 Hu. sh., 1 Ra. (all F, cut down length in two directions), 1 Ra. sh. (cut down length), 1 pr. Ul. (broken, l.), 1 Ul. sh. (cut down length), 1 di Ti. (F, 1.), 1 Pe. fr. (cut through acet., l.), 1 Cal. (UF, recently broken), 1 dist. Mc. (F, cut down ven. sh. above art. + through m. of 1 condyle from ven. side), 1 Mt. (UF, broken pr., slender), 1 dist. Mp. (F, ½ condyle, cut down center of bone, bu. black), 5 shs. (4 cut down length) Sus or Ovis/Capra 3+: 3 Ri. frr., 10 shs. (4 cut down length [3 bu. gray]) Bos 1+: 1 Ve. sp. (cut through lo. part), 1 sh. (cut across on angle + down length) Worked Sus 1: lo. C. fr. (subad. male, cut down center through W/T, L. 43.75, W. 9 × 5.25; not seen by Banks)

Ler EN–MNc in JA–JB (formerly I.J.C; Vitelli: 17–18) Early Activity Area with Stone Platform W-2 While most of Area JA–JB continued gray and stony, again at the east, in the area above W-1, there was evidence of some kind of purposeful activity (Plan 5, Section 1). In Squares E 4–7/g 11–13 was a triangular area with its preserved apex to the west; it was well defined by a line of medium-sized stones preserved to a length of ca. 3.00 m at the north, with a more straggling line of stones preserved to a length of ca. 1.75 m forming its southwest leg. The space was paved with closely packed stones and a few fragments of brick with a top level of +2.11; the stones were preserved primarily in the apex at the west. We identify this platform/ work station as platform W-2 (Fig. 6). A similar accumulation of stones appears in Pit BD (see below, p. 107), and at Kouphovouno a cobbled paving in front of a MN room is called a “working area” (Whitley et al. 2007: 25, fig. 24). Near the middle of the platform’s north edge was a possible posthole with a diameter of 0.17 m and a depth of 0.30 m. A sample from the hole’s black fill was kept as LC.34 (Lerna Carbon 34, Lerna archives). A small sample, it was initially rejected by the 14C laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania Museum (annotation on list of samples sent to E. Ralph with her list of samples tested dated December 24, 1959, in the Lerna archives), but subsequently was sent to Teledyne Isotopes for analysis (sample I.9947), as noted by Vitelli (2007: 18, n. 13). With reference to the date reported there (7585 ±125 B.P./6700–6050 [cal.] b.c. [at 2 sigma]), it should be noted that when the sample was collected in 1956, 14C testing was fairly new and proper measures for protecting samples from contamination were not always observed. The Lerna 14C samples were placed in unsealed cardboard boxes in which they were transported to the Corinth Museum, where they were stored in an environment with no climate control. Only after some time were they wrapped in aluminum foil, so that possibility for contamination was strong, and the date reported should be treated with considerable caution. A hearth pit, HP-1, from the next higher level had broken into the triangular stone surface that faded out east of the pit and probably was cut off when the Gully was dug.

Ler EN–MNC in JA–Jb

E

D

5

20

19

15

10

5

HP-5 line of bricks postholes?

g

hard red with shapes of bricks

10 AX3.0

red brick

AX2.5

AX2.8

+2.11 ____ +2.00

platform W-2 solid mass of small stones

HP-1 small stone fill

room W- 5 a

15

Gully

Plan 5. Area JA–JB: platform W-2 and hearth pits HP-1 and HP-5. Scale 1:100

Plan 5. Ler EN-MNc in J: Platform W-2

Dark earth around the cooking hole and presumably associated with it was excavated separately ( J 782), but unfortunately was included by the Caskeys and so, of necessity, by Vitelli with this level. Perhaps the stone platform had served as a limited workplace, and then the whole JA–JB area was used by members of the community when the hearth pit was introduced here as a common feature shortly thereafter. Found beneath the platform when it was removed ( J 799) was soft brown earth in which lay the Arca shells mentioned above (p. 14). More dissolved clay, brick fragments, and possible postholes were found in association with the level of the stone platform. In the east, in Squares E 7–8/g 8–11 along the edge of the Gully, just above the mass of brick and brick fragments mentioned above and continuing farther to the southwest, was a line of bricks, the dimensions of which were not recorded; their highest elevation was +2.10. Three stones that cut diagonally across the line of bricks had no obvious functional relationship with it. If these bricks and dissolved clay were associated with the later installation of the Gully, their removal at this level, not clearly

20

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

documented in the record, would have caused some contamination of the pottery. Possibly an intrusion of the Gully fill was a stony mass noted in the southeast corner of Area JA at +1.99–1.90 and removed in lot J 777, and so another possible source of contamination in the pottery from this level. Another possible mass of dissolved brick, this one of irregularly circular contour with a maximum diameter of ca. 2.15 m, was found in Squares E 4–6/g 9–11 at datum point AX2.8. It was described by the excavator as composed of “burnt brick red soil” ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: 40), with, at the north, a very hard mass in which were preserved the contours of large bricks, the measurements of which were not recorded. The surface was very uneven, ranging from +1.80–2.16 with an average level of +1.85. Two possible postholes were located near the east periphery of the mass. How this material came to be deposited here is unknown ( J 801 and CL J 889). From these lots came several objects of stone: pounder/ rubber 73, polisher/rubber 122, sling bullets 126 and 127, and stone ear stud 139; also, two bone tools, awl 159 and scraper/polisher 263, and a possible tusk/scraper (264) came from these sediments, along with lithics, bones, and shells. In much of the area farther west, patches of hard red were mixed in gray and stony soil, the latter comparable to that found below, in, and above the clay pits; the excavator noted this was the first indication of the kind of sediment found in the clay pits ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: 41). The associated finds were noted above in CL J 893. Worthy of note is a roughly rectangular mass of red brick at +2.11/1.77 in Square E 2/g 10–11, just at the point where the solid strata give way to the Mixed Fill ( J 781 in CL J 877, see below, p. 161), a position more distinctly marked just above by a single row of stones, W-3 (see below, p. 27).

NNE

SSW +2.20

0

0.5

1m

Figure 6. Area JA–JB: platform W-2 with intrusive hearth pit HP-1,

from section ofPit hearth pit HP-1 Fig.east-southeast, 2. Section and of Hearth HP-1

Ler EN–MNC in JA–Jb

21

More dark stony sediment from the Mixed Fill (see below, p. 164) was removed from the northernmost corner of Area JB, but was recognized by the excavator as contaminated and combined with other lots from this area in MN Unphased CL J 877 (see below, p. 161).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi While the bulk of the pottery from this phase was relatively undistinguished, it is of interest to note that we have from here, among the objects, less common stone artifacts: sling bullets (126, 127), a polisher that would have been suitable for pot burnishing or fine finishing of skins (122), and one (139) of the two marble ear studs from the site, certainly an import. As with the pottery from the sediments below to virgin soil and in the clay pits, the sherds from this level Vitelli found comparable to those from FCP 1 or Int. 1/2, which appears to be the time when the site began to be inhabited (Vitelli 2007: 18, 130). We designate the level as Ler EN–MNc. Sediments Associated with Platform W-2 at ca. +2.20–1.90 ( J 777, J 782, J 799, J 801, CL J 889) Pottery Lime-ware cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 1:g Lime-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 3:f Lime-ware deep bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 6:g Ungritted (variant) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 9:j Ungritted Monochrome Painted bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 10:a

Ungritted Pattern Painted large(?) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 10:h Ungritted (variant) base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 13:e Pebble-Tempered bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 15:b

J 777: JA. Dark Stony Patch in Southeast Corner of Area JA at ca. +1.99–1.90 No objects, lithics, bones, or shells reported

J 782: JA. Black in Area of Stone Platform W-2 at ca. +2.20–2.10 Lithics Obs.: F 7 (Koz.: fig. 3:7, 9), B 2 (L6.1034 [Koz.: fig. 5:4], L6.1035 [Koz.: fig. 4:3]), Es 1 (Koz.:

ill. 1:2), Es/RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 1:3), SpP/b 1 (Koz.: ill. 3:4), SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 3:14), sf/fr 8 Fl./Ch.: F 1, sf/fr 1

J 799: JA. Removal of Platform W-2 at +2.11–1.86 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 7 shells): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 M2 1/1, 1 Ra fr. Bos 1: Ma. fr. Arca 7 Reese (3 specifically identifiable bones, 5 fragments total: 2 cut; 10 shells):

Ovis/Capra 2+: 1 M2 (uw., 2 pces.), 1 pr. Ra. (F, cut down length), 1 sh Bos 1: Ma. coronoid fr. (cut through m.) Arca 10 (8+ MNI) (5 r.: H. 12, 23.5, 51.5 [opening below umbo]; 5 l.: 55 × 17 [opening below umbo], 74.5 × 23.5 [opening below umbo], 2 broken [H. 17.5, ca. 19], 3 holed)

J 801: JA. Removal of Red Brick North of AX2.8 at +2.11–1.84 Objects ST polisher 122; p. 207 ST sling bullet 126; p. 208 BO scraper/polisher(?) (NI, noted below) BO (An.) handle(?) (NI, noted below) Lithics Obs.: F 3, B 6 (L6.1061 [Koz.: fig. 4:11], L6.1062 + L6.1063 [Koz.: fig. 4:1], L6.1064–L6.1066), SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 3:8), sf/fr 1 Fl./Ch.: C 1 (L6.1072 [Koz.: ill. 1:1]), BD 1 (L6.1071 [Koz.: ill. 3:15]), Bl/Sg 2 (L6.1067

[Koz.: ill. 2:7], L6.1070 [Koz.: ill. 2:8]), RB/Sg 1 (L6.1068 [Koz.: ill. 2:2]), TrK/Sg 1 (L6.1069 [Koz.: ill. 2:1])

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones and fragments): Sus 1: Cal. fr. (j.), and fragments Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ti. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Cervus 1: Sc. fr. (j.) Grus grus 1: Tm. (lacks dist.; Gejvall: 48, 97, pl. XXI:6; S.)

22

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Reese (12 specifically identifiable bones, 24 fragments total: 5 cut, 1 bu., 2 worked): Sus 1: Cal. (UF, r.) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ma. coronoid process (2 pces.), 1 Mt. (F, 8 pces.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 4+: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ve. (UF), 1 Ve. sp. fr., 1 Ri. fr., 6 shs. (3 cut down length) Bos 1: Sc. (F, cut through tuber scapulae, r., 12 pces.) Lepus 1: dist. Fe. (F, bu. black, l.)

Grus 1: pr. Tm. + sh. (Gejvall: 48, 97, pl.XXI:6; S.) Worked Ovis/Capra Ra. gouge (lacks pr., F dist., worked on angle at pr. but now broken, much smoothed down along sh., 3 pces., r., L. 157, pr. W. 17 × 13.75, dist. W. 25.75 × 20.25; not seen by Banks) Worked Cervus An. handle(?) (has recent break, 2 nicely worked sides, 3 pces., L. 77+, W. 32+; not seen by Banks)

CL J 889: JA–JB. Removal of Burned Red Brick around AX2.8 at +2.19–1.90 Objects ST pounder/rubber 73; p. 201 ST sling bullet 127; p. 208 ST ear stud 139; p. 211 BO awl 159; p. 220 BO scraper/polisher 263; p. 232 BO scraper/polisher(?) (NI, noted below) BO tusk tool(?) 264; p. 232 Lithics Obs.: F 5, B 1 (L6.1030 [Koz.: fig. 4:8]), NF 1 (Koz.: ill. 2:12), SpP 1 (Koz.: ill. 3:5), SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 3:7), sf/fr 4 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (8 bones; 4 shells): Sus 3: 1 Hu. fr. (j.), 2 Mc. Ovis/Capra 1: M2–3 (1/1) Bos primigenius 1: Ast., damaged (Gejvall: 31, 82, table 55, pls. VIII:5, IX; S.) Bos 3: 1 l. Mx. fr., 1 Ma. fr., 1 m3 (1/1) Ostrea 2, Arca 1, Murex 1 Reese (49 specifically identifiable bones, 83 fragments total: 23 cut, 10 bu., 2 worked; 4 shells): Sus 7: 3 post. Ma. frr. (tooth alv.; dist.; condyle process [probably cut through]), 1 Ul. sh. (cut down

length, bu. gray), 1 Fi. sh. (bu. black), 1 Mt. IV (UF, l.), 1 pr. Mt. V (cut through pr., l.) Ovis/Capra 19: 1 Premax. (l.), 1 M1 (uw., open roots), 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 1 M3 (broken), 1 ant. Ma. (l.), 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 1 dist. Hu. + sh. (UF, l.), 1 Ra. sh. (bu. gray), 3 Ul. shs. (1 l.), 4 Pe. frr. (ilium, cut through body on angle, l.; 3 ilium/ischium frr., cut), 1 pr. Mc. (cut down length below pr., r.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 15+: 7 Sk. frr. (2 oc. condyles [1 bu. gray]), 1 Ve. sp. fr., 7 Ri. frr. (1 head, 1 smoothed on one side, 1 in 3 pces., 1 in 2 pces.), 19 shs. (13 cut down length [3 bu. black, 2 bu. gray], 1 bu. gray) Bos 6+: 1 Premax. (ad., l.), 1 up. P, 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 1 M3 (uw., open roots), 1 Ma. condyle process (cut through lo. part + through bone to ant., l.), 1 Ph. 2 (F), 1 sh. (cut down length), 1 fr. Bos primigenius 1: Ast. (butchered + has 4 cut marks; Gejvall: 31, 82, table 55, pls. VIII:5, IX; S.) Ostrea 2 (2 MNI) (63 × 54; 68.5 × 45), Arca 1 (l., 62.5 × 22.25, holed below umbo, vermetids inside), Hexaplex 1 (dist. columella + body) Worked Sus or Ovis/Capra 1: sh. gouge tip (recent breaks, L. 30.5+, W. 10+; not seen by Banks)

Ler MN 1 in JA–JB (formerly I.J.D, E; Vitelli: 18–21) Hearth Pits HP-1–HP-10, Patches of Pebbles, and Wall W-3 Activity in this southwestern section of the settlement continued to accelerate, probably over a short period of time. As noted above, a feature of the level immediately above that of platform W-2 had intruded into that stony surface in the form of one of the lower of a series of pits, called “hearths” by the excavator and filled with soft black sooty earth, hearth pit HP-1 (Plan 5). These pits were found across Area JA–JB from north to south over most of its central and eastern sections. They were grouped by the excavator into a lower level with tops at ca. +2.00–2.25 and an upper level, the highest at +2.56 (Plans 6, 7). Some were set off by stones at the top, others had a lining of stones, red clay, or sherds. They varied in contour: a few were conical, most had shallowly concave or flat bottoms, where the record is clear. The average diameter was 0.50 m, and most were ca. 0.20 m deep; conical HP-5 reached a depth of 0.65 m. They did not have the form of the traditional circular hearth with a clay border around a floor of heat-retaining pebbles. They recall the “fire-pits” of EN and MN Achilleion, though without the hard mortar lining and never grouped in a platform (Gimbutas, Winn, and Shimabuku 1989: passim, esp. 46–47, fig. 4.22). Adjacent HP-4 and

Ler MN 1 in JA–Jb

23

E

D 10

5

20

15

5

HP-5

HP- 6

+2.20 ____ +1.55

+2.25 ____ +2.15

HP-3

+2.13 ____ +2.03

HP-4

+2.11 ____ +1.95

g

*

burial 2

10

+2.28

AX3.0

*

HP-2

lamb skeleton at +1.56

burials 1a (+2.20), 1b (+2.28)

X

AX2.8

AX2.5

+2.23 ____ +2.10

brown

HP-1

+2.20 ____ +2.01

15

room W- 5 a Gully

Plan 6. Area JA–JB: hearth pits (lower level), burials 1a, 1b, and 2, and Gully. Scale 1:100

Plan 6. Ler MN 1 in J: Hearth Pits (HP), Lower Level, Burials 1a, 1b, 2, and Gully HP-5 were anomalous. The limits of both were difficult to isolate, as the earth was becoming damp at this level and colors and textures difficult to identify. The former appeared to be nothing but an extended area of small stones in dark earth. The latter may not have penetrated as deeply as the excavator’s final report suggests, +1.55 ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: 39), a level inconsistent with that reported in FNB XXLII: 109, a more reasonable +1.64, where the excavator notes the difficulty of establishing limits in damp soil (FNB XLII: 89). In the area of HP-7, HP-8, and HP-9 and to the south a layer of powdery grayish black ash some 0.10 m thick was found at ca. +2.45–2.35, probably material from the clearing of the pits for continued use ( J 731, J 755). HP-1 (lower level) Plans 5, 6, Fig. 6 Squares E 5–6/g 12. Max. ext. Diam. (including surrounding stones) 0.70 m; Diam. of pit ca. 0.50 m; D. 0.19 m (+2.20– 2.01)

Dug into small stones of platform W-2, with some stones placed obliquely at rim. Fill of dark sooty earth; almost directly beneath HP-7. Sherds added to J 778 in CL J 889 in preceding level (see above, p. 22).

24

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

D

20

E

5

10

15

5

Burials 3a, 3b

large flat stone

+2.30, +2.20

+2.46

*

g 10

Mixed Fill

HP-10 W-3

+2.72 ________ +2.40/2.25

HP-9

+2.56 ____ +2.36

AX3.0

+2.50 ____ +2.30

brick AX2.5

AX2.8

HP-8 +2.55 ____ +2.15

HP-7 +2.49 ____ +2.29

stones +1.90

15

room W-5 a

Gully

Plan 7. Area JA–JB: hearth pits (upper level), burials 3a and 3b, and Gully. Scale 1:100

Plan 7. Ler MN in J: Hearth Pits (HP), Upper Level, Burials 3a and 3b, Gully HP-2 (lower level) Plan 6 Square E 4/g 11. Max. ext. Diam. 0.45 m; D. 0.13 m (+2.23–2.10) Circle of red clay at top within which sooty black earth.

HP-4 (lower level) Plan 6 Squares E 3–5/g 8–9. Max. Diam. 1.50 m; D. 0.16 m (+2.11–1.95) Atypical: spreading mass of soft stony gray earth. J 768: BO awl 161 and scraper/polisher (NI).

HP-3 (lower level) Plan 6, Fig. 7 Squares E 6/g 8–9. Max. ext. Diam. 0.75 m; Diam. of pit 0.50 m; D. ca. 0.10 m (+2.13–2.03) Ringed at top with slightly in-sloping flat slabs; straight sides, flat bottom. Fill of sooty black earth. Almost directly above was flat slab at level of later pits, top at +2.46, resting on shallow deposit of small stones in brown earth.

HP-5 (lower level) Plan 6 Squares E 4/g 7–8. Max. Diam. 0.85 m; D. 0.65 m (+2.20–1.55) Unlined conical pit with thin coating on walls of black or grayish earth. Soft dark and red fill under layer of stones at +2.37–2.24. J 770: fragments of Lime-ware medium–large bowl (Vitelli: fig. 4:c), ST pounder/rubber 74, BO awl 162, two fragments of obsidian.

Ler MN 1 in JA–Jb

25

W

E

+2.18

+2.13

soft black earth

red earth

red earth 0

0.5

1m

Figure 7. Area JA–JB: hearth pit HP-3, from south, and plan and section

Fig. 3. Section of Hearth Pit HP-3 HP-6 (lower level) Plan 6, Fig. 8 Squares E 2–3/g 7. Max. Diam. 0.55 m; D. 0.10 m (+2.25–2.15, top of stones to +2.41). Lined in part with red clay and in part with two upright slabs at east that extended above edge of pit. Fill of dark earth. J 765 in CL J 887 HP-7 (upper level) Plan 7, Fig. 9 Square E 5/g 12. Max. Diam. ca. 0.40 m; D. 0.20 m (+2.49–2.29) Almost directly above HP-2. Partially lined with bottom half of coarse pot or pithos. Fill of soft dark earth within and above pit. J 731: lithics only. HP-8 (upper level) Plan 7, Fig. 9 Squares E 4–5/g 12. Diam. 0.50 m at top, diminishing to ca. 0.20 m at bottom; D. 0.40 m (+2.55–2.15)

Conical with sides of upper 0.20 m lined with flat slabs, many triangular in shape and including grindstone fragments, lower 0.15 m unlined. Stones on top of fill of black sooty earth, changing to red earth at bottom. CL J 886: grindstone 9, grindstone fragment (NK). HP-9 (upper level) Plan 7, Section 1, Fig. 10 Squares E 5–6/g 10–11. Max. ext. Diam. 0.75 m; D. 0.20 m (+2.50–2.30) Red-clay lined with one flat slab extending through clay at one point of circumference. Fill of dark earth and small stones with stony layer at top. HP-10 (upper level) Plan 7 Squares E 5/g 9–10. Diam. 0.50 m; D. 0.20 m (+2.56–2.36) Hollow dug into red stratum filled with loose stony earth and topped with stones.

Though all these pits were called “hearths” when they were found, the features, while described as having dark earth/sooty fills, are not identical in form and composition. Most involve a hole dug in the ground to an average preserved depth of. 0.15 m, with two deeper pits at 0.40 m (HP-8) and 0.65 m (HP-5). All but HP-5 had some kind of definition at the top (red clay, stones) or, once, a lining in the form of a pot bottom. None has the typical hearth form like that described for, e.g., Servia: “a discrete area of clay and pebbles, blackened with ash and charcoal, sometimes surrounded by a ridge of fired clay” (Ridley, Wardle, and Mould 2000: 92), and “les foyers à plat” (Papadopoulou and Prévost-Dermarkar 2007: 127–128). Hearths of this sort, with their heat-retaining pebbles, were no doubt used for both heating and the cooking of various foods: the direct roasting of meat, the boiling of meat, pulses, grains, and so on (see Papadopoulou and Prévost-Dermarkar 2007: 124–126

26

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Figure 8. Area JA–JB: hearth pit HP-6, from south

E

W

HP-7

dark black earth +2.49

dark soft earth

red

black sooty earth

HP-7

HP-8

red

HP-8

0

0.5

1m

Figure 9. Area JA–JB: hearth pits HP-7 and HP-8, from northwest (left), and section of

hearth pit HP-7 and plan and section of hearth pit HP-8 (right)

Fig. 4. Sections of Hearth Pits HP-7 (left) and HP-8 (right) HP-9

NW

SE

+2.50

0

0.5

Figure 10. Area JA–JB: hearth pit HP-9 before clearing, with scattered

5. Section clumps of stones, from south (left), andFig. section (right)

1m

of Hearth Pit HP-9

+2.55

Ler MN 1 in JA–Jb

27

for various methods of cooking). Only one hearth that appears to have been of this type was found at Neolithic Lerna, but apparently it had not been used before being abandoned (see below, p. 126). The Lerna hearth pits, particularly the deeper ones, might have served for the slow cooking of foods embedded in coals, perhaps produced in fires nearby, that ultimately were reduced to the sooty deposits described as their fill. Valamoti has suggested boiling and simmering in hot ashes as a possible cooking method in the Neolithic, a process that could explain, at least in part, the limited number of cooking pots found in some Neolithic contexts (Valamoti 2007: 97–98). The pits of shallower depths perhaps were used as receptacles for embers retained for the kindling of fires as needed, which would allow the settlers to avoid the time and trouble of starting each fire from scratch (Yakar 1991: 261). At Achilleion the fire pits were sometimes found in association with typical hearths and could have served this purpose (Gimbutas, Winn, and Shimabuku 1989: 53). Whatever their function(s), the Lerna hearth pits seem unsuitable for any activity requiring live fire. Probably serving as ad hoc fireplaces were clumps of stones ca. 0.25 m in diameter above soft black earth found mostly in the eastern part of the area, with top levels at ca. +2.45, and so to be associated with the upper group of hearth pits (Fig. 10, Plan 7). Small bonfires likely were set first and the stones then laid on the embers to hold the heat for cooking; each group of stones might have been used only once. Two of these small stone piles were found above the Gully: one in Square E 9/g 10 at +2.43, the second in Square E 9/g 12 at +2.21; the latter consisted of a single flat slab and a scatter of smaller stones. Farther west was another pile at +2.50 in Square E 8/g 9, and another to the southwest in Squares E 6–7/g 9 was small, with a top at +2.42. Probably to be considered with these ad hoc fireplaces was a stone slab, 0.56 × 0.70 m, set over a mass of small stones in Squares E 6/g 8–9; the top of the slab was measured at +2.46. It lay almost directly above HP-3 of the lower level of hearth pits. It was removed in lot J 758. The association of all these features in an open space suggests communal activity involving food, whether as an aspect of ordinary daily life or special feasting occasions. These features were associated with red and reddish brown sediments that ran across JA and JB from ca. +2.00 to +2.50 (CL J 886, CL J 887, CL J 888). There were several patches of yellow clay at +2.64/2.54, and in the north central part of the area lumps of brittle orangered clay were found at +2.50/2.45–2.33. Only at the southwest was there any architectural definition of the area, a line of stones, W-3, in Squares E 1–2/g 9–11 (Plan 7). Based at +2.40/2.25, the loosely laid, medium-sized stones with a width of ca. 0.20 m in a single course curved slightly from southeast to northwest and lay at the dividing line between solid Neolithic sediments and the Mixed Fill to the southwest. The date of this socle and also of W-37 at a higher level (see below, p. 59) is problematic (Vitelli 2007: 19). If the stones were set to mark the limit of the Mixed Fill, the socles should be associated with the time of the creation of that fill, early in EH II. If, however, they marked some boundary—of a natural feature of the landscape or of some part of the Neolithic settlement—then they should be associated with the other features at the levels at which they were found. That a fragment of a brick, already mentioned, was found just below W-3 was perhaps just a coincidence (see above, p. 20).

Burials 1–3 Probably set into these sediments from a higher level were three (or five) burials (burials 1–3), all apparently simple pit burials with no sign of a built cist or pithos in any case; they can be dated no more closely than post–Ler MN 1 (Plans 6, 7, and Chap. 6; see also Vitelli 2007: 19–21, 131–132).

28

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Figure 11. Area JA–JB: burial 1a, from south

Burials 1a and 1b Burial 1a was found in Square E 8/g 9 (Fig. 11), the bones resting at ca. +2.20 (Caskey 1957a: 155, fig. 5:29, 159; Angel 1971: 39, 222 Ler). The skeleton was struck by a workman’s pick in the course of the excavation, and many bones were removed before cleaning and recording. What remained included an incomplete left arm and hand (flexed to the face?), a fragment of the pelvis, and some ribs and vertebrae (see FNB XLII: 82 for excavator’s sketch). Angel comments only on the bones of the arm and hand and the vertebrae. These he identified as the remains of a young woman (25–35 years old) who, according to E. T. Blackburn (pers. comm.), was probably lying on her left side with her head (not found) to the southeast, so that the orientation was northwest–southeast. To the north of these bones at +2.28 was burial 1b, represented only by a few unmeasurable fragments of the left mandible (unfused) and right scapula of a fetus or premature infant (6–7 fetal months; Angel 1971: 40, 222a Ler). These might be the remains of a mother and child who died at the premature birth or miscarriage of the infant, but nothing in the available record can confirm this possibility. These bones and those of burial 2 were found when lot J 761 was being excavated. Celt 28, which came from this lot, had no obvious connection with the bones, and the sherds of J 761 were combined into CL J 886.

Burial 2 Located in Square E 3–4/g 10–11 (Caskey 1957a: 159; Angel 1971: 40, 224 Ler, 128, table 14), the few preserved bones of this burial, which did not include the skull, rested at +2.28. The remains were probably those of a female who died shortly after birth. Found when lot J 761 (which, as just noted, yielded celt 28) was being dug, the celt probably is no more likely to be associated with burial 2 than with burial 1. No special arrangement of the meager remains was detected, and it is not impossible that the tiny girl had been exposed right after her birth.

Ler MN 1 in JA–Jb

29

Figure 12. Area JA–JB: burial 3a, from north

Burials 3a and 3b Human remains found in Square E 2/g 8 might have been a double burial, one skeleton, 220 Ler (burial 3a), fairly well preserved, the other, 221 Ler (burial 3b), represented only by disarticulated bones scattered to the east of it (see FNB XLII: 50 for a sketch showing the relationship of the remains; Caskey 1957a: 159, pl. 49:c). In the field, after the skull of 220 Ler was removed, the earth under the fragile bones remaining was undercut and paraffin poured beneath to keep the bones in situ until they could be examined by Angel in the Corinth Museum. Resting at ca. +2.30, the skeleton of burial 3a (Angel 1971: 39–40, 220 Ler, 128, table 14, pls. I, XXII) appears to be that of a girl of ca. 10 years old, lying on her left side and tightly flexed with her head bent down to the chest and her hands to the WNW (Fig. 12). E. T. Blackburn (pers. comm.) estimated that the right leg was bent 70° at the hip, the left ca. 30°, with the knees at an angle of ca. 10°. The arms were bent acutely at the elbow with the right hand resting beneath the skull, which was cracked in the course of the excavation, the left hand just in front of it. Caskey, noting that the head appeared to have been pushed forward, suggested that both hands might originally been placed in front of the head (Caskey: undated draft MS in Lerna archives). The scattered bones of burial 3b found at +2.20, just east of burial 3a, were identified as those of a male ca. 33 years old (Angel 1971: 39, 221 Ler, pl. XXVI); whether they were associated originally with those of burial 3a or were remnants of a separate burial that had been disturbed is impossible to determine. Recognizable fragments in the scatter included a forearm with fragments of a hand, part of a clavicle, and a rib; other fragments in the field drawing, in form and position, appear to be from the lower extremities. Angel discussed only the bones of the right forearm and hand of the skeleton that were closest to the girl’s burial. A familial relationship between the pair cannot be documented on the basis of the evidence available (contra Vitelli 2007: 131–132). A fragmentary bone scraper/polisher (265) and some chipped stone found in the earth around and under the burial ( J 750) seem unlikely offerings to the dead, but rather material that found its way into the earth used to cover the skeletal remains.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi In her review of the pottery from this level Vitelli concludes that the bulk of the material was the equivalent of FCP 2.1, though there was intrusive material of late MN and even Bronze Age date (Vitelli 2007: 22, 130). We designate it Ler MN 1.

30

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Also included in the sherds associated with the sediments from the primary area excavated from the hearth pit phase were those from modern drainage trenches dug east and north of Building W-5: J 746, J 820, and J 867; these proved to be of mixed date, including FN, and were of little stratigraphic significance (Vitelli 2007: 23). The variety of objects increased at this level and included grindstone 9 and fragments; celts 28 and 29; haematite pigment source/polisher 121; another stone ear stud, 140; Hexaplex pendant 298; terracotta polisher 322 and spool 365; and typical bone awls and scraper/polishers 164–169 and 265. Sediments Associated with Hearth Pit Phase (Including Drainage Ditches around Building W-5) at ca. +2.15–2.50 ( J 731, J 746, J 750, J 755, J 758, J 768, J 770, J 820, CL J 867, CL J 886–CL J 888) Pottery Lime-ware cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 1:h, i Lime-ware cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 2:a, e, f Lime-ware medium–large bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 4:c Lime-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 5:d Lime-ware deep bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 6:b, d Lime-ware hole-mouth jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 7:a, d, i Sandy-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 5:f Ungritted-ware bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 8:b, c, e, h, i Ungritted-ware (variant) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 9:c Ungritted-ware Monochrome bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 10:c Ungritted-ware Pattern Painted bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 10:g Ungritted-ware cup/small bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 11:a–d

Ungritted-ware saucer and basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 12:b, d, h, j Ungritted-ware bases; Vitelli: fig. 13:h–j, l–n Ungritted-ware (variant) rim/base; Vitelli: fig. 14:a Ungritted-ware (variant) Painted(?) rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:c Pebble-Tempered bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 15:a, c Pebble-Tempered gouged bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 16:f, g Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 27:g Patterned Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 55:a Patterned Urfirnis saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 58:k Patterned Urfirnis convex bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 61:a Patterned Urfirnis askos fr.; Vitelli: fig. 68:c Patterned Urfirnis tall-necked jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:u

J 731: Hearth Pit HP-7, Black above and within Pit at +2.49–2.29 Lithics Obs: B 3 (L6.995, L6.996), RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:7), SpP/b 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:20)

J 746: East of Wall W-6, Removal of Yellow Clay and below at +2.88/2.66–2.78/2.66 Objects TC perforated disc 363; p. 246 Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L6.1001, L6.1002), SpP/b 1 (L6.1000 [Koz.: ill. 5:16]) Fl./Ch.: F 1 (L6.1003)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6+ bones): Ovis/Capra 6 (2 MNI): 1 Ma. fr., 1 Sc. fr., 4 Mc. frr., and fragments

J 750: Around Burials 3a, 3b Objects BO scraper/polisher 265; p. 232

Lithics Obs.: SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:7) Fl./Ch.: Tr 1 (L6.1101 [Koz.: ill. 4:5])

J 755: Black in Southeast Associated with Hearth Pits HP-7–HP-9 at +2.45–2.35 Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L6.1015), Bs 1 (L6.1016 [Koz.: ill. 4:20]), RB 1 (L6.1014 [Koz.: ill. 4:6])

J 758: Removal of Flat Stone at +2.46 Bones and Shells A few small unidentified fragments, discarded

Ler MN 1 in JA–Jb

31

J 768: Hearth Pit HP-4 at +2.11–1.95 Objects BO awl 161; p. 220 BO scraper/polisher fr. (NI)

J 770: Hearth Pit HP-5 at +2.04–1.65 Objects ST pounder/rubber 74; p. 201 BO awl 162; p. 220

Lithics Obs.: 2 “chips” recorded, lost

J 820: Dark and Stony Patch in Modern Drainage Ditch North of Building W-5 at +2.64–2.34 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL J 867: Modern Drainage Ditch East of Building W-5 at +2.35–1.86 Objects BO awl 163; p. 220

Lithics Obs.: B 3 (L6.1097–L6.1099), SpP/b 1 (L7.824 [Koz.: ill. 5:21]), sf/fr 1

CL J 886: JA–JB. Hard Red Sediments around AX2.8 at ca. +2.50–2.18 Objects ST grindstone 9; p. 185 ST grindstone fr. (NK) ST celt 28; p. 192 ST celt 29; p. 192 BO awl 164; p. 220 BO awl(?) 165; p. 220 BO scraper/polisher 266; p. 232 TC spool 365; p. 247 Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 13 (L6.1011, L6.1013, L6.1020, L6.1022–L6.1024), SpP 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:5), SpP/b 2

(L6.1012 [Koz.: ill. 5:18], Koz.: ill. 5:6), SpP/f 2 (Koz.: ill. 5:19, 23), Trp 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:16), sf/fr 4

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (16 bones, 5 shells): Sus 3 (2 MNI): 1 Pe. fr. (j.), 1 Mc. fr., 1 Ast. (ad.) Ovis/Capra 10: 1 l. Ma. fr. (1 M1→), 2 M3 (both 1/1), 2 Sc. frr., 3 Hu. frr. (1 j.), 2 Mt. frr. Bos 1: M3→ (lg.) Lepus 1: Pe. fr. Argyrosomus 1: l. Premx. (L. 101.75; Gejvall: 49, pl. XXII:1, as Johnius hololepidotus; S.) Ostrea 5

CL J 887: JB. Red-Brown Sediment at Northwest at +2.37–2.12 and Dark Fill of Hearth Pit HP-6 Objects BO awl 166; p. 220 BO awl 167; p. 220 Lithics Obs.: 3 “chips” recorded by excavator, lost Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 7 shells): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Fe. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Anas platyrhynchos 1: Ul. (Gejvall: 96, table 116) Arca 7 Reese (11 identifiable bones, 14 fragments total: 2 cut, 2 bu.; 7 shells):

Ovis/Capra 10+ (2 MNI): 2 Sk. frr. (2 oc. condyles, r., l.), 1 dist. Fe. (F, l.), 2 dist. Ti. (UF, r.; F, cut on angle in lo. sh., bu. black at dist., l.), 1 Mt. sh., 1 Mp. sh., 1 Ve. sp. fr., 2 Ri. frr., 3 shs. (1 cut down length, 1 largely bu. gray) Anas platyrhynchos 1: pr. Ul. + sh. (r.) (Gejvall: 96, table 116) Arca 7 (6+ MNI) (6 r. holed below umbo: 56 × 16+, 56 × ca. 20, 57.5 × 20 [vermetids inside], 57 × 22 [vermetids inside], 61 × ca. 19, 64 × 23; l.: not complete, opening below umbo) (Human: 1 clavicle, 2 Mp., 1 other)

CL J 888: JA–JB. Brownish Sediment above Red at East at +2.33–1.97 Objects ST haematite pigment source/polisher 121; p. 206 ST ear stud 140; p. 211 BO awl 168; p. 220 BO awl 169; pp. 220

SH pendant 298; p. 236 (see Hexaplex, below) TC polisher 322; p. 241

Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L6.1025, L6.1026)

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THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (7 bones, 4 shells): Sus 1: Sk. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M3→, 2 r. Ma. frr. (1 j.) Bos 3: 1 Hu. fr., 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ast. Cardium 2, Ostrea 1, Arca 1 (Human: many bones) Reese (35 specifically identifiable bones, 90 fragments total: 23 cut, 16 bu.; 5 shells): Ovis/Capra 13 (2 MNI): 1 M3 (uw., broken), 2 ant. Ma. frr. (P1 alv., r.; ad., older than r., bu. gray, l.), 1 lo. P (ad.), 1 Ax. (UF, w.), 1 pr. Hu. head (UF), 1 pr. Ra. (F, probably cut down dorsal side below pr. end, l.), 1 dist. Ra. (UF, bu. gray, r.), 1 Ra. sh. (cut down length), 2 pr. Ul. (1 UF, 1 broken, 2 l.), 1 Ti. sh. (cut down length, bu. gray, l.), 1 dist. Mc. (F, bu. gray) Sus or Ovis/Capra 12+: 6 Sk. frr. (1 bu. gray), 1 Ve. (UF, 2 pces.), 5 Ri. frr. (2 heads [1 bu. gray],

1 bu. gray), 26 shs. (12 cut down length, 5 bu., 1 in 2 pces.), 1 fragment (bu.) Bos 10+: 1 Hc. fr. (w. tip), 1 Ma. condyle process (l.), 1 Sc. fr. (side, ad.), 1 dist. Hu. (F, cut in half + also down dorsal side of art. on l. side, l.), 1 Pe./ acet. fr. (has ilium, cut along ven. side of ilium + acet. [on l. side] + through pubis, bu. gray, l.), 1 Ast. fr. (recently broken, pr. end of lateral side, ad., r.), 1 pr. Ph. 2 (F, recently broken, ad.), 1 Ve. sp. fr., 2 Ri. frr. (1 head), 11 shs. (1 UF, recently broken; 1 in 2 pces.; 6 cut down length [2 bu., 1 black, 1 gray]) Cerastoderma 2 (2 MNI) (r., lg., 45.5 × 41.5 asym.; sm. fr.), Ostrea 1 (63 × 50), Arca 1 (l., opening below umbo, 58 × 15.5), Hexaplex 1 (waterworn, m. + dist. end, carved down 26 × 25, hole on up. part l.; 298)

The Gully As the excavation of the sediments to virgin soil in Area JA–JB progressed, the excavator noted at the eastern edge of Area JA a distinct difference in the color and consistency of the soil from ca. +2.25 that appeared to correlate with a line, mostly of dissolved brick, running northeast–southwest from the north edge to the south edge of the excavated area. The top of the brick remains was first noted at ca. +2.25/2.20 in the form of two fragmentary bricks at the northeast, and at lower levels appeared primarily as dissolved bricks, but with the outlines of individual bricks traceable at various points (for the brick at the lower levels, see above, pp. 14, 19). East of the brick the soil was brown, sometimes sandy, with streaks of white, yellow, and black. At the north the skeleton of a young lamb was found at +1.56 ( J 793 in CL J 897). As these sediments were removed, the ditch that came to be called the “Gully” emerged in Squares E 7–10/g 10–15, traceable to a maximum width of 2.10 m at the east, where it continued into the baulk of earth left to support Building W-5, and north and south beyond the limits of the excavation (Plans 3–7, Section 1, Fig. 13; Vitelli 2007: 21–23). The Gully was ca. 1.60 m deep and, like the clay pits (see above, pp. 8–13), cut into virgin soil to a level of +0.72–0.67; the water level was reached at ca. +0.76. From the east side of the Gully at the baulk left beneath Building W-5, a great mass of small stones cascaded diagonally west across the ditch from a top level of ca. +1.95 at the south, +1.73 at the north, and underneath the small stones at the east considerably larger stones were found, their tops at +1.87 at the south, +1.44 at the north. In a schematic section produced by Caskey as he was preparing his manuscript on the Lerna Neolithic, these large stones are arranged in rough courses, each one extending farther west than the one above, in the fashion of a retaining wall (Lerna archives), and we adapt the Caskey configuration in Section 1. The line of these stones was not straight but undulating, curving east at the north and around to the west at the south. Of major importance are the Gully’s date and function. Clearly the diggers of the ditch had cut down through the sediments of the earliest levels in the area, cutting off a portion of clay pit CP-1, but the ditch appears to have been filled in by the time the easternmost of the ad hoc fireplaces were set at the level of the later hearth pits (see above, p. 22). Moreover, as noted above, the brick “barrier” at the east edge of the Gully reached to a height of about +2.25/2.20, comparable to the top levels of the lower hearth pits. So it is

Ler MN 1 in JA–Jb

33

likely that the Gully was dug in the earlier part of the hearth-pit phase and was filled in by the time of the digging of the later pits. The evidence of the sherds does not contradict this chronology. In Vitelli’s analysis, the sherds from the hearth-pit phase and the Gully, though presenting some problems, are datable broadly to early MN or FCP 2.1, our Ler MN 1 (Vitelli 2007: 23, 130). Given the presence of similar ditches at other Neolithic sites where the evidence is fuller, it would appear that the Lerna early MN ditch was dug to define the limits of the whole settlement or some part of it, the main portion of which probably lay to its east. With so little of the feature preserved, it is difficult to interpret its original form. Was what we found what was originally produced? Were the larger stones at its east side the base of a substantial defensive wall of which we have only the lower portion, the Figure 13. Area JA–JB: the Gully, with level columns at ditch a kind of moat outside of it? Were the right, from west-northwest small stones piled up as additional support for the base of the wall or were they tossed in from above to help fill the ditch when the wall went out of service? Or was the ditch merely meant to keep domestic animals in and wild animals out of the settlement, the large stones a retaining wall to keep the settlement side of the Gully stable? To a list of simple functional uses of early Neolithic ditches Perlès adds a symbolic one, noting that early sedentary villagers appear to have taken comfort in delimiting in some way the inner space of their new communities (Perlès 2001: 175, n. 6). Certainly nothing in the meager excavated remains of the Lerna Gully can be used to document the likelihood of Neolithic warfare recently hypothesized by Runnels et al. (2009). The brick “barrier” on the west edge of the ditch is more difficult to assess. It was not recognized as a barrier per se in the course of the excavation, but was referred to as a line of dissolved brick in which outlines of bricks were discernible and in which a couple of possible postholes were found filled with dark earth, possibly the remnants of burned wooden posts (see above, p. 15). In the JA–JB 1956 annual report the “barrier” appears on plan 26, in its earliest stage at the level of socle W-1, as an irregular mass of dissolved brick with a couple of faintly articulated bricks visible, into which were dug two postholes. This mass was concentrated on what ultimately was seen to be the northwestern edge of the Gully, with a straggling line of dissolved brick continuing to the southwest to the end of the solid strata of Area JA. The contour of the mass at the northwest was undulating, with a maximum width of ca. 1.25 m at the northern border of the area, a minimum of 0.50 m, and a top level at +1.88 (see above, p. 14). At the next higher stratum, recorded on plan 25 in the same report, at the level of platform W-2 the brick appears as a regular band ca. 0.25 m wide with clearly articulated bricks at the northeast, the top of the highest at +2.10 (see above, p. 15). On the last plan in the report in which this feature is reported ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: plan 23), the mass appears as two irregular hunks of brick at the northeast; the top level was recorded as +2.25 (see above, p. 32). Rather than having been deliberately laid as a barrier

34

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

for the Gully, the brick seems more likely to have had accumulated gradually in this location as a stockpile/dump at the periphery of the settlement, where clay had been extracted from virgin soil from early in the life of the settlement, and was cut through when the ditch was dug. That the top level of the “barrier” correlates with the top level of the later hearths might have nothing to do with a functional relationship between “barrier” and Gully, but this might rather indicate that, at the time the Gully fell into disuse and was filled in, this area of the site was changing in character, as the settlement expanded in this direction and was no longer considered an appropriate place for the stockpiling/dumping of clay. Certainly no clues to the function of the Gully are provided by the objects retrieved from the excavated sediments: bone tools 170–172 and 267, and of terracotta, polishers 323–325 and figurine(?) leg 410. The only find of interest was a Spondylus shell pendant, 299. The sediments were, however, rich in sherds, and from them Vitelli concluded that the Gully was dug and filled in very early in MN, her FCP 2.1, our Ler MN 1 (Vitelli 2007: 23, 130). The Gully at ca. +2.05/1.93–0.72/0.67 ( J 817, J 818, CL J 895–CL J 897) Pottery Lime-ware patterned bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 7:j Ungritted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 8:j Ungritted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 9:b Ungritted-ware Pattern Painted bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 10:f Ungritted-ware cup/small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 11:g

Ungritted-ware base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 13:k Ungritted-ware rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:d Serpentine-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:g Gouged-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 16:a, b Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 65:c (For commentary on this pottery, see Vitelli: 21–23.)

J 817: JA. Dark and Stony Earth East of Line of Red Brick at +1.18–1.12/0.96 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

Lithics Obs.: F 1 (L6.1089), B 1 (L6.1090)

J 818: JA. Soft Stony Earth to Hardpan at +1.12/0.96–0.72/0.67 Objects BO perforated awl (needle/toggle?) 170; pp. 220– 221 BO scraper/polisher 267; p. 232

Lithics Obs.: F 6 (L6.1096), B 2 (L6.1092, L6.1094), Br 1 (L6.1091), RB 1 (L6.1093), SpP/b 1 (L6.1095), SpP/f 1, sf/fr 6 Fl./Ch.: Ch 1

CL J 895: JA. Band of Sandy Earth East of Red Brick at +1.93/1.83–1.61 Objects BO awl 171 BO tool(?) (NI, noted below) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments; 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 1: Mc. fr., and fragments Bos 1: Ma. fr. (ramus), and fragments Ostrea 1

Ovis/Capra 4+: 1 Sk. fr., 1 lo. M (broken), 2 Ri. frr., 4 shs. (1 cut down length [bu. gray], 2 bu. gray) Bos 3+: 1 post. up. Ma. (M3 alv., cut across below teeth), 1 pr. Fe. sh. (l., 2 pces.), 1 Ri. fr. (bu. black/brown), 1 fragment (bu. black/white) Ostrea 1 (probably waterworn, 53 × 47.5, has offcenter hole 8 × 6) Possibly worked Ovis/Capra dist. Ti. (F, r., sh. smoothed, broken; not seen by Banks)

Reese (8 specifically identifiable bones, 21 fragments total: 2 cut, 5 bu., 1 possibly worked; 1 shell):

CL J 896: JA. Dark Sediment and Small and Large Stones East of Line of Red Brick at +1.95/1.73–1.57/1.53 Objects TC polisher 323; p. 241 TC leg(?) 410; p. 256

Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L6.1058, L6.1059), NB 1 (L6.1060 [Koz.: fig. 6:3])

Ler MN 2A in JA–Jb

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 1 bu.; 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M3 (1/1, bu.), 1 Ti. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Bos 1: Hu. fr. Ostrea 1 Reese (16 specifically identifiable bones; 41 fragments total: 4 cut, 4 bu.; 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 7: 1 M2 (bit w., up. third bu. black), 1 dist. Ra. (UF, thin), 1 Pe. fr. (F, l., 2 pces.),

35

1 dist. Ti. (F, bu. black, l.), 1 dist. Mc. (1/2, F, cut through, bu. gray, 3 pces.), 2 Ve. sp. (1 cut at upper end and bu. black) Bos 9: 5 Sk. frr., 1 Ma. coronoid process, 1 dist. Hu. (F, cut down dorsal face of art., cut through dist., cut down ven. side of sh. through art., and cut down sh. on angle, l.), 1 Pe. fr. (17 pces.), 1 Ri. fr. (cut down length) Ostrea 1 (65 × ca. 40)

CL J 897: JA. Brown Soil East of Line of Bricks at +2.05/1.93–1.18 Objects BO awl 172; p. 221 SH pendant 299; p. 237 TC polisher 324; p. 241 TC polisher 325; p. 241 Lithics Obs.: F 12 (L6.1083, L6.1084), B 4 (L6.1043, L6.1044), Bb/N 2, BK 1 (L6.1038), Ch 1, NB 1 (L6.1046 [Koz.: fig. 6:4]), P 1 (L6.1045), RF 1, SpP/f 4, Tr 1 (Koz.: ill. 13:15), sf/fr 11 Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L6.1047), Bl/Sg 1 (L6.1039), sf/fr 2 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 3 shells): Sus 2: 1 r. Ma. fr. (1/1, wild?), 1 Ast. Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M2 (1/1), 1 Ra. fr. (nb.), 1 Ti. fr. Bos 1: Mt. fr. Cardium 1, Murex 1 (see SH, above, for Spondylus pendant 299) Reese (21 specifically identifiable bones, 43 fragments total: 16 cut, 4 bu.; 3 shells):

Sus 3: 1 Ma. (M2 [broken, w.], 1 M3 [broken, uw., lg., L. 30, W. 19], r., 5 pces.), 1 Ul. sh. (cut down length), 1 Ast. (r., L. 41.25, W. 22.5) Ovis/Capra 9 (2 MNI): 1 P3 (w.), 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 1 Hu. (all UF, l.), 1 Ul. (all UF, l.), 1 Pe./ acet. fr. (cut through ven. acet., partly bu. black, l.), 1 pr. Fe. (F head, cut before trochanter majus + across bone on angle below head, bu. black, l.), 2 dist. Ti. (2 F, possibly cut down length to art., l.; has lo. sh., cut across m. sh.; on angle, gnawed on m. sh., l.), 1 Ti. sh. (bu. gray, r.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 5+: 1 Sk. fr., 4 Ri. frr., 10 shs. (5 cut down length, 1 bu. gray) Bos 4+: 1 Ma. coronoid process (cut through dist.), 1 pr. Mt. (cut down length), 1 Ve. fr. (cut through lengthwise), 1 Ri. fr., 2 shs. (2 cut down length), 1 fr. (cut) Cerastoderma 1 (r., 25.25), Ostrea fr. 1 (medium/lg.), Bolinus 1 (broken dist., 45 × 60+). (see SH, above, for Spondylus pendant 299)

J 793 in CL J 897: Material Omitted from CL J 897 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall: Ovis/Capra: whole skeleton of nb.(?) lamb (03m→) Reese (43+ specifically identifiable bones, 60+ fragments total: Ovis/Capra (just over 1 year of age) 42+: Sk. frr., 1 Ma. fr., 12 teeth (2 dP3, uw., open roots, r., l.),

1 Hu. (all UF), 1 dist. Hu. (UF), 1 pr. Ul. (UF), 2 dist. Fe. (2 UF), 2 Ti. (2 UF pr., UF dist., 1 JF dist.), 2 Cal. (2 UF), 2 Ast., 1 Mc. (UF, 2 pces.), 2 Mt. (2 UF), 1 Mp. (UF), 7 Ph. (2 UF, 4 JF), 5 Ph. 2 (4 UF, 1 JF) (all S.)

Ler MN 2a in JA–JB (formerly I/II.J; Vitelli: 33–35) Level of So-Called Pebble Pavement Around and above the later hearth pits mostly reddish sediments were laid down that reached a level of ca. +2.70; above this was a black stratum 0.02–0.10 m thick called by the excavator “Black Stratum 8” (see below, p. 44, [CL J 883, Ler MN 2b]), on which the first substantial Neolithic buildings in this part of the site were constructed. Caskey believed that a pebble layer at ca. +2.75 marked the dividing line between the earlier and later deposits, with EN below and MN above (Caskey 1957a: 160). Further study has demonstrated, however, that nothing that could be construed as a solid paving could be identified (Vitelli 2007: 33–34). What apparently led Caskey to posit the existence of this layer was an extensive patch of

36

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

small stones, 0.10–0.20 m thick, in dark earth found in Area JB just to the east of and under later socle W-9, in Squares E 3–5/g 9–10 (see below, Plan 8), at ca. +2.68–2.56/2.43 ( J 718; see also J 709; pp. 36, 42). This was related to a small dark and stony patch in the eastern section of the area at +2.52 in Square E 8/g 11, and to what was said to be a definite stony layer in the drainage trenches dug to the north and east of Building W-5 ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: 36); only in the north drainage trench was this layer documented in the field record, where dark stony soil was recorded at +2.64–2.34 in lot J 820. This lot and that from the east drainage ditch (CL J 867), in which only dark earth was noted, were reported with the preceding level (see above, p. 35). Round clumps of stones in the central section of the area the excavator thought might be related to the “pavement,” even if they lay at a lower level than the stony patches (+2.50–2.42).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi In the early stages of the study of the Lerna Neolithic, hypothesizing a stony divider between what was then considered EN and MN on the basis of spotty evidence is understandable. Now that closer analysis by Vitelli has demonstrated that MN pottery was in use at least by the time of the hearth pit phase (Vitelli 2007: 22), we can evaluate the stony patches as chance accumulations of pebbles, some perhaps used as ad hoc hearths (see below, p. 84). Vitelli considers the pottery from this level essentially early MN, but with some later contamination (Vitelli 2007: 34–35, 130), roughly comparable to FCP 2.1/2.2, our Ler MN 2a. Reported here is the pottery, including Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1147 and Patterned Urfirnis basin L.1245, along with other finds from sediments just below the earliest substantial architectural remains: bone awls 175 and 176 and the earliest stone discoid pendant found at the site, 141. Among the sherds is material found in the removal of some of the walls that, as was the Lerna practice, was reported with the level just below (Vitelli 2007: 34; see above, p. 3). From this point forward the area under excavation was an approximately rectangular space ca. 15.50 m long and 5.00 m wide, aligned roughly WNW–ESE. Level of So-Called Pebble Pavement at ca. +2.70–2.30 ( J 708, J 718, J 721, CL J 884 CL J 885) Pottery Lime-ware cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 1:l Lime-ware saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 2:h Lime-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 3:i Lime-ware medium–large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 4:d Sandy-ware deep bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 6:e Ungritted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 8:g Ungritted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 9:d Ungritted-ware small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 11:j Ungritted-ware base frr.; Vitelli: fig. 13:c, g, o Ungritted Painted Ware rim frr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:b, e

Gouged bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 16:c, d Monochrome Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 24:l Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1147; Vitelli: fig. 26:a Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 34:a Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 36:c Coarse Urfirnis frr. with relief pellets; Vitelli: fig. 47:a–d Patterned Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 55:b Patterned Urfirnis basin L.1245; Vitelli: fig. 58:a Patterned Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 66:a, b, d

J 708: JB. Removal of Room W-8 at +3.20–2.70 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

Lithics Obs.: 2 F

J 718: JB. Stony Patch below Black Stratum 8 at +2.68–2.56/2.47 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 1 (L6.988), sf/fr 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6+ bones, 2 shells):

Sus 2: Sc. frr., and fragments Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Ra. fr. (j.), 1 Ul. fr., 2 Ti. frr., and fragments Ostrea 2

Ler MN 2B in JA–Jb

37

J 721: JB. Removal of Foundation Course of Wall W-9 at +3.02–2.60 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL J 884: JA–JB. Red above So-Called Pebble Stratum at +2.66–2.54 Objects ST pendant 141; p. 212 Lithics Obs.: F 6, B 7 (L6.990, L6.991, L6.1008–L6.1010), NF 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:4), RF 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:3), SpP/b 2 (Koz.: ill. 5:17, 22), SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:9), sf/fr 6 Fl./Ch.: sf/fr 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 l. Ma. fr. (1/1), 1 Ti. fr. Bos 1: M1 (w. down)

CL J 885: JA–JB. Reddish Sediment across JA–JB at +2.58–2.30 Objects BO awl 175; p. 221 BO awl 176; p. 221 Lithics Obs.: B 3 (L6.1004–L6.1006), P 1 (L6.1551 [Koz.: ill. 4:17]), SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:8), Tr 1 (L6.998 [Koz.: ill. 4:4]) Fl./Ch.: Bd/Sg 1 (L6.1007 [Koz.: ill. 4:12])

Bones and Shells (medium bag, partly burned) Gejvall (6 bones, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M3 (1/1), 1 Hu. fr., 1 Mc. fr. (nb.) Bos 3: 1 Hu. fr. (j.), 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ast. (ad.) Ostrea 1 (Human: bone fragments)

Ler MN 2b in JA–JB (formerly II.J.A; Vitelli: 35–36) Wall W-4 The earliest evidence of construction at this level was a fragment of a stone socle, W-4, in Squares E 7–9/g 12–13 (Plan 8, Section 1). The socle, exhibiting a slight curve and oriented northeast–southwest, was composed of one to one and one-half courses of mostly large stones 0.40–0.50 m wide. With bottom levels of +2.63(N)/2.43(S), the socle had been set into the black sediment called by the excavator “Black Stratum 8” (CL J 883), which was traced over much of the area under excavation. When the stones were removed, a patch of stony ground (a portion of the so-called pebble pavement, see above, p. 35) east of its northeast end was fully exposed, under which was sooty black earth and a few stones clustered around a flat slab at +2.21, one of what we consider to be ad hoc cooking places associated with the upper level of hearth pits (see above, p. 27). Temporally the hearth pits appear to have been followed closely by the first solid architecture. No floor was found with socle W-4, which is apparently the remnant of a structure of which no other traces were preserved.

Building W-5 Walls W-5–W-7

Substantial remains were preserved of two roughly contemporary structures, Building W-5 at the southeast in Squares E 10–14/g 12–16 and Building W-8 in Squares E 1–5/g 6–10 at the northwest. The latter appears to have been at the western edge of the settlement, since just beyond it, firm Neolithic deposits were clearly distinguishable from the Mixed Fill that had been deposited here in later times (see below, p. 172). Building W-5 originally consisted of at least two rooms, of which only one, which we call room W-5a, was reasonably well preserved; a small section of a possible second room, room W-5b, lay parallel to the first to the southeast (Plans 3–8, Sections 1, 2). Oriented with its longer axis NNE–SSW, the northeast, southeast, and northwest stone socles of

38

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

D

E

20

15

10

5

5 +3.04 ____ +2.74

W -1 0

hearth

+2.95 _____ +2.70

SP-4

room W-8b

+2.85 ____

+3.05 ____ +2.85

+3.20 ____ +2.91

-9 W at sto ma of ave nes ll +2 rag .6 e 5

W-11

g

___ W-8

room W-8a

s

10 AX3.0

+3.18 ____ +2.72

AX2.5

AX2.8

+2.97 ____ NR

+2.78 ____ +2.63

+2.58 ____ +2.43

W-4

___ W-5

+2.83 ____ NR

+2.86

W-7 +2.99 ____ NR

15

mealing table +2.96 ____ NR

Pit room W-5a +2.73 ___

+2.80 ____ NR

bench? +2.89 ____ NR

___ +2.76 W-6

room W-5b

+2.95 ____ NR

Plan 8. Area JA–JB: wall W-4 and Buildings W-5 and W-8. Scale 1:100

Plan 8. Ler MN 2b in J: Wall W-4, Buildings W-5 and W-8

Building W-5 were well preserved, and a few stones of the southeast socle made clear that we had the full extent of the space (Fig. 14). The socles were conserved in situ as an exhibit for visitors to the site as a characteristic example of Middle Neolithic architecture (Caskey and Blackburn 1997: 2–3, fig. 1.1, 7). The socles of room W-5a enclosed a space ca. 4.50 m long × 2.00 m wide, ca. 9.00 m2. In northeastern socle W-5, large elongated slabs were laid end to end with the addition of overlapping small stones set mostly on the inner face and occasionally at the interstices to a width of ca. 0.30 m. The socle continued for a short distance beyond southeast socle W-6, suggesting the presence of the second room, room W-5b, of which only a small portion could be excavated. In southeastern socle W-6, elongated medium- to large-sized stones were laid in a single row with their long axes perpendicular to the line of the socle and a few smaller stones placed at the interstices; the width was ca. 0.30 m. A gap of ca. 0.50 m near the southwestern end of the socle might have marked a doorway between the rooms. Only a couple of stones projecting in at right angles from the southeast and northwest socles provided evidence for the termination of the room at the southwest.

Ler MN 2B in JA–Jb

11

12

13

39

14

15

16

N

S

+4.00 W-43

W-24

+3.00

W-17 W-12 W-7

JJ W-18

pot stand

W-13 Mixed Fill

mealing table

+2.00

unexcavated Section 2. Area JA: north–south section at ca. E 11/12. Scale 1:50

Schematic Section 2. Area JA: N - S ca. E 11/12

Figure 14. Area JA–JB: Building W-5, from northeast

As preserved, northwest socle W-7 was somewhat less solid than the other two, with both large and smaller slabs somewhat unevenly laid with their longer axes parallel to that of the socle and with smaller stones both between and on the inner side of the larger ones to a width of ca. 0.30 m. Along the outside edge of the socle was a row of small stones at a slightly higher level than the primary socle, possibly to hold in position a small earth baulk that might have been added as reinforcement for it, though such a baulk was not observed by the excavator. Stones clustered outside the northwest corner of the structure were probably fallen. All these socles were preserved to a height of one to two courses, with three courses in situ in W-7 at the northwest corner. At about the center of the long walls, single large stones projected into the room for ca. 0.25 m. On the west the stone was bonded with those of the socle and was surrounded in the interior by a few small stones. Approximately opposite, a large stone was set down contiguous with the east socle. Perhaps these stones marked the position of a light, screenlike partition that divided the room into two approximately equal spaces. The projections are not substantial enough to have supported the weight of posts and crossbeams, as were those

40

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

at other sites (Petrakis 2002: 26 and sites noted there). We assume that mud brick rested on the socles, though no bricks or brick fragments were found in position. Since the building had at least two rooms side by side, a flat roof seems more likely than a pitched one, associating this structure and others and others at the site within an agglutinative tradition in which rooms were added as required (see esp. Buildings W-12 and W-17, below, pp. 45, 51). Inside the room, evidence for a hard clay floor was traced at ca. +2.73, just above the base level of the stone socles; the material immediately above the floor to +2.85 was excavated in lot J 742, above which, from +2.88–2.78, was the material in lot J 728. The main activity area in the room appears to have been located in its northwest corner. Here, projecting from, but not bonded with, the west wall in Squares E 11–12/g 13 was a stone platform 0.90 m long × 0.60 m wide, originally at least two courses high, with a top at +2.86. Larger stones formed the border on three sides, smaller ones filled the interior space. Grindstone/handstone(?) 10 was found in the adjacent corner, and the platform might have served as a mealing table. Retrieved from near the grindstone at +2.77 were 15 fragments of a large round-bottomed bowl or jar, its lower portion coated with streaky red Urfirnis paint, its upper portion decorated with dark Urfirnis paint on a light-colored ground or slip (PNB PAH 27: J 742, field no. J6.174). Possibly this vessel originally held ground grain. The grain to be ground was perhaps stored in a shallow circular pit found just south of the platform. Approximately 0.28 m in diameter, the pit was of hard red and yellow clay, apparently lined with the bottom of a large pot (PNB PAH: 25, field no. J6.173) that rested on a bed of small Lime-ware sherds, which, in turn, were bedded in yellow clay. The vessel had a red-polished slip on the exterior, which was worn from use on the bottom, and an uncoated interior (PNB PAH: 26). Also from this area was half of a small bowl or cup described by the excavator as being solidly coated with Urfirnis paint, grayish yellow on the exterior, grayish in the interior, with an estimated rim diameter of 0.11 m (PNB PAH 27: J 742, field no. J6.175; possibly Vitelli 2007: fig. 26:b). Approximately opposite the platform close to the east wall was a line of stones ca. 0.75 m long with a top at +2.85 that possibly represented the base for a piece of furniture, possibly a bench, the stones covered with skins and/or brush. The Neolithic tendency to concentrate features along walls so as to keep the central space clear has been noted by Souvatzi (2008: 47), and a comparable efficient ordering of similar features has been noted in Sesklo A houses (Andreou, Fotiades, and Kotsakis 2001: 263). There were only a few finds apart from the grindstone and the pots noted above in what the excavator identified as the floor deposit of room 5a in Building W-5 and what lay immediately above it ( J 728, J 742). However, material that the excavator appears to have associated with a late stage of the structure’s use was found in lot J 722; it came from below Building W-12, which lay directly above Building W-5 at +2.98–2.83 (Plan 8), seemingly too low for association with the later structure; the close succession of buildings in this area made it difficult to separate their floor levels. Vitelli considered this lot a probable source of contamination here (Vitelli 2007: 35). Included in J 722 were a stone sling bullet (129), two bone awls (177, 178), and a little chipped stone. As noted above, W-6 probably was an internal wall separating room W-5a from room W-5b. A thick (ca. 0.10 m) layer of yellow clay was found in room W-5b, with a base at +2.66. Its exact function is unclear. It ran beneath north socle W-5 and could have been laid to serve as a base for the socle and as the floor of the room; yellow clay in the foundation course of a socle is known elsewhere at the site (see below, p. 47, Building W-12). Over the yellow was a dark gray sediment full of small stones and shells ( J 737); the latter were not kept for further examination and identification, but, if the are marine shells, they would provide evidence of the exploitation of the sea for food, which is well documented in other Neolithic deposits at the site (see Appendix III, p. 306). No floors or streets were found either to the north or south of the building ( J 743, J 821).

Ler MN 2B in JA–Jb

41

Figure 15. Area JA–JB: Building W-8, from northwest

Building W-8 Walls W-8–W-11

No contemporary construction was observed in the space of some 6.50 m between Building W-5 and Building W-8, which, oriented northwest–southeast, was built at what appeared to have been the western edge of the settlement in Squares E 1–5/g 6–10 (Plan 8, Section 1, Fig. 15). Room W-8a, of which all four socles were preserved, enclosed a space of ca. 3.15 m2 (2.50 × 1.25 m). The southeast socle extended beyond its junction with the preserved southwest socle, so that it seems likely that there was at least one additional room in the original structure. Northeast socle W-8, which sloped down toward the west, was ca. 0.25 m wide and composed of a single row of large stones in two courses for ca. two-thirds of its length at the southeast, the remaining portion constructed of smaller stones piled together somewhat irregularly. Smallish stones in a straggling line close to the northeast face of the socle were possibly fallen but resemble those along the outer face of W-7, which we have suggested might have been part of a reinforcement for the socle (see above, p. 39). Southeast socle W-9 was substantial, with a width of ca. 0.35 m, brought to 0.40 m along most of its length by small stones that were packed against its southeast face. The socle proper consisted of a foundation course of large stones packed with yellow clay with a second course of small- to medium-sized stones. Yellow clay was a common binding material for all the socles of the building and possibly also for parts of its superstructure, since masses of it were found inside the structure. Beneath and east of the socle was a large patch of small stones in dark loose earth that cleared to +2.78, which has been mentioned above (see above, p. 36) in connection with the alleged “pebble pavement.” In the related lot J 709 two unusual sandstone tools were found, wedge 119 and a possible retouchoir, 120. Mostly large slabs made up northwest socle W-10, which was much like W-8 in size and composition. Southwest socle W-11 was only ca. 0.15 m in width and one course high; composed of mostly small stones, it appears more suitable as a base for a light interior partition than for an exterior weight-bearing wall and indicates the presence of a second room to the southwest, room W-8b. Again we assume a brick superstructure and a flat roof. No clear floor was found in room W-8a, only the lumps of yellow clay mentioned above; CL J 865 included material from inside the room at about the level of the base of the socles and outside of it to the west. Complete grindstone 11 and two fragmentary grindstones (NK) were found at ca. +2.85 and probably mark the approximate floor level. With the grindstones

42

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

were found two stone spheres (76, 77) that probably were used with them for grinding of grain or some other substance. Also from CL J 865 came a fragment of one of the enigmatic terracotta triangular plaques, 369. Outside the northwest corner in a space formed by a short extension of the northwest wall and two upright stones set perpendicular to it was a hearthlike deposit of sooty black earth at +2.70 on which were fragments of a large Urfirnis bowl (PNB PAF 194–195: J 701 in CL J 865, field no. J6.100). No street or floor level was found north of the room ( J 686), nor was a floor level traced southwest of W-11 in what was surely a second room, room W-8b. The sediments between Buildings W-5 and W-8 were removed in J 741, CL J 882, and CL J 883. The last removed across JA–JB was what the excavator called “Black Stratum 8,” the level on which the structures of this phase were constructed; J 741 and CL J 882 peeled off a red layer (dissolved brick?) west of Building W-5. The combined lots yielded a fair number of objects, including grindstone fragments, stone celts (31, 32) and pounder/rubbers (78–81), stone bead 150, bone tools 179, 180, 268, and 269, and a quantity of specialized lithics; there was also a fragment of another terracotta triangle, 370. The nature of the assemblage suggests that the space between the structures served as a common workplace for their inhabitants and possibly the locus for communal feasting. If we had more of the settlement available for study, it might have looked much like MN Sesklo A, with freestanding houses separated by ample open areas (Kotsakis 1996: 49; Andreou, Fotiadis, and K. Kotsakis 2001: 263). Lots J 740 and CL J 866 included with those of this level were associated with the removal of stones of socles of the next phase above. J 722 has already been mentioned as a lot that might have been better assigned to the next higher level.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Vitelli found the bulk of the Urfirnis sherds available to her from this level to be generally comparable to FCP 2.1–2.2 (Vitelli 2007: 34–35, 130). We have designated the phase Ler MN 2b to indicate that the buildings postdated the level of so-called Pebble Paving, Ler MN 2a, on which Buildings W-5 and W-8 were constructed. Sediments Associated with Buildings W-5 and W-8 at ca. +2.85–2.65 ( J 686, J 709, J 722, J 728, J 737, J 738, J 740–J 743, J 821, CL J 865, CL J 866, CL J 882, CL J 883) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis saucer and basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 24:h, j, k Monochrome Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 26:b–e Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 32:b Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 33:a Andesite carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 37:k Early Monochrome Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 39:c, e Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 41:a Monochrome Urfirnis collared bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 42:a, b Coarse Urfirnis vessel frr.; Vitelli: fig. 49:a, b

Patterned Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 55:c–i Patterned Urfirnis saucer and basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 58:b, c, e–i, l, m Patterned Urfirnis small convex bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 61:b, e, f, k Patterned Urfirnis piriform bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 62:a Patterned Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 63:a Patterned Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 66:c Patterned Urfirnis triangle frr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:a, b Patterned Urfirnis vessel fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:p Patterned Urfirnis vessel(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:x Monochrome Urfirnis “Dachshund”(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 71:a FN coarse handle; Vitelli: fig. 95:c

J 686: JB. North of Building W-8 at +3.04–2.80 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 709: JB. Small Stony Patch beneath and East of Building W-8 at +2.87–2.78 Objects ST wedge 119; p. 206 ST retouchoir(?) 120; p. 206

Ler MN 2B in JA–Jb

J 722: JA East. Removal of Floor of Room W-12a at +2.98–2.83 Objects ST sling bullet 129; p. 208 BO awl 177; p. 221 BO awl 178; p. 221

Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L6.989), sf/fr 1

J 728: JA. Above Floor of Building W-5 at +2.88–2.78 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 1, RF 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:12), sf/fr 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 1 shell):

Sus 1: Ra. fr. (bu.) Ovis/Capra 1: Mc Ostrea 1

J 737: JA. Cleaning of Yellow Stratum East of Wall W-6 at +2.83–2.67 Bones and Shells Shells NK

J 738: JA. Removal of Wall W-16 at +3.12–2.90 Objects TC polisher 328; p. 242

J 740: JA. Removal of Foundation Course of Building W-12 at +3.09–2.95 Objects TC polisher 329; p. 242 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 1, SpP/f 1 Fl./Ch.: RB/Sg 1 (Koz.: ill. 9:11)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments): Ovis/Capra 2: Sk. frr., and fragments Shells NK

J 741: JA East. Red Sediment between Black Strata 7 and 8 in Location of Wall W-16 at +2.77–2.66 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 1 shell): Sus 2: 1 M?→, 1 Ma. fr. Ovis/Capra 2: 1 03m (1/1), 1 M1→ to 1/1

Bos primigenius/transitional taurus(?) 1: M3 (1/1) (Gejvall: 31, 80, table 47) Cardium 1

J 742: JA. Floor Deposit of Room 5a in Building W-5 at +2.85–2.73 Objects ST grindstone/handstone(?) 10; p. 185 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 2, Bb/N 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:3), RB 1 (L6.999 [Koz.: ill. 8:11]), sf/fr 4

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Ast., 1 Mc. fr., 1 Ph. I Ostrea 1

J 743: JA. North of Building W-5 at +2.70–2.64 Objects TC polisher 330; p. 242

J 821: JA. South of Building W-5 at +2.60–2.47 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL J 865: Room W-8a and West of Wall W-11 at +3.04–2.74/2.68 Objects ST grindstone 11; p. 185 ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 76; p. 201

ST pounder/rubber 77; p. 201 TC triangular plaque 369; p. 249

Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 5

43

44

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments, 1 shell):

Ovis/Capra 1: r. Mx. fr., and fragments Murex 1

CL J 866: JA East. Removal of Walls W-12–W-15 at +3.39–2.85 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) Lithics Obs.: F 1, sf/fr 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M1, 1 M2, 1 M3 (1/1) Bos 1: Pe. fr.

CL J 882: JA–JB. Reddish Sediments West of Buildings W-5 and W-12 between Black Strata 7 and 8 at ca. +2.97/2.84–2.77 Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 78; pp. 201–202 ST pounder/rubber 79; p. 202 ST pounder/rubber 80; p. 202 ST bead 150; p. 214 BO awl 179; p. 221 Lithics Obs.: B 1, Bd 1 (L6.997 [Koz.: ill. 10:5]), Bfp 1 (L6.978* [Koz.: ill. 12:6]) *This is an arrowhead characteristic of EH Lerna, and Kozłowski suggests it is an intrusion in this context (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 322) Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (15 bones, 4 shells): Sus 8: 1 lacrymal, 1 Sc. fr. (nb.), 3 Ra. frr. (2 j.), 3 Ul. frr. (1 j.) Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M3→, 2 l. Ma. frr. (1 M1→, 1 M3 1/1) Bos 4: 3 Sk. frr. (forehead, short-horn type), 1 Ph. I Ostrea 2, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 1

Reese (53 specifically identifiable bones, 142 fragments total: 7 cut, 15 bu.; 5 shells): Sus 16 (3 MNI): 1 lacrymal (S.), 2 Sc. frr. (nb.; ad., probably cut through corocoid process), 3 pr. Ra. (2 UF, 1 F), 2 Ul. frr. (2 l.), 1 dist. Ra. (UF), 4 Pe. frr. (2 l., 1 cut through acet., 1 in 2 pces.; 1 r., partly bu. black), 1 pr. Ti. (UF), 1 Ti. sh., 1 Cal. (broken pr.) Ovis/Capra 20 (3 MNI): 2 ant. Ma. frr. (no teeth, 2 l.), 1 M3 (somewhat w.), 1 M1, 1 M3 (uw.), 1 At. (1/2), 2 Sc. frr. (1 l.), 1 dist. Hu. (F, l.), 1 dist. Hu. fr., 2 pr. Ul. (1 cut across pr., bu. gray/black; 1 F, diseased/boney growth), 2 Pe. frr. (probably join, l.), 1 pr. Ti. (UF), 3 dist. Ti. (2 UF, 2 MNI by size; 1 F, bu. gray, r.), 2 pr. Mt. frr. Sus or Ovis/Capra 12: fragments bu. black Bos 5+: 1 Sk. fr. (forehead, short-horn type, 3 pces, now joined; S.), 1 Ph. 1 (F, 2 pces.), 3 Ri. frr., 5 shs. (3 cut down length, 1 with 7 deep wide cut marks) Ostrea 2 (43 × 44, marine growth inside, w.; 44 × 35+, acided), Spondylus 1 (up. fr., waterworn), Ruditapes 1 (r., 52 × 33.5), Hexaplex 1 (apical fr., med./ lg.)

CL J 883: JA–JB. Black Stratum 8 across Areas at ca. +2.84/2.79–2.68/2.63 Objects ST grindstone, 2 joining frr. (NK) ST celt 31; p. 192 ST celt 32; pp. 192–193 ST pounder/rubber 81; p. 202 ST “bola” 2 (NK) ST tool 1 (NI) BO awl 180; p. 221 BO scraper/polisher 268; p. 232 BO scraper/polisher(?) 269; p. 232 TC spool 366; p. 247 TC triangular plaque 370; p. 249 Lithics Obs.: F 3, B 8 (L6.979, L6.980, L6.982, L6.983, L6.985), Bd 1 (Koz.: ill. 10:6), Br 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:6), NB 1 (L6.981 [Koz.: ill. 10:13]), P 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:4), RB 1 (L6.986 + L6.991 [Koz.: ill. 10:4]), RF 1 (L6.987), SpP/f 2 (L6.1541, Koz.: ill. 13:2), sf/fr 2 Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L6.984)

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (11 bones, 1 bu.; 2 shells): Sus 5: 1 Sk. fr., 1 r. Mx. fr. (j.), 1 l. Ma. fr. (1/1), 2 Sc. frr. (1 j. nb. [sic]) Ovis 2: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M2→), 1 M3 (1/1) Bos 3: 1 M3→ (bu.), 2 Hu. frr. Testudo 1: Car. fr. Cardium 2 Reese (57 specifically identifiable bones, 111 fragments total: 16 cut, 6 bu.; 2 shells): Sus 10: 1 Sk. fr. (oculus), 1 Mx. fr. (C. root, P1–3, M1 uw., subad., r.), 2 Ma. frr. (M3 alv., r.; condyle process, ad.), 1 I (subad.), 2 Sc. frr. (F, ad., r.; fan, r., 1 MNI), 1 Ul. (broken pr. [recent], robust, l.), 1 Mc. III (UF, L), 1 Mt. IV (UF, r.) Ovis/Capra 11+ (2 MNI): 1 Mx. fr. (no teeth), 1 Ma. (dP1–3 w., 1 M1, 1 M3 uw.), 1 pr. Ra. (F, broken), 1 dist. Ra./Ul. (F, l.), 1 Ra. sh. (bu. black), 1 pr. Ul. (UF, l.), 1 Pe. fr., 2 dist. Ti. (F, cut down

Ler MN 3A in JA–Jb

length, r.; F, r.), 1 dist. Mt. (F), 1 Ph. 1 (F, thin, eroded), 3 shs. (1 bu. gray/brown) Sus or Ovis/Capra 18+: 4 Sc. frr. (1 sm. + l.), 1 Ra. sh., 2 Ve. sp. frr., 11 Ri. frr. (1 head), 21 shs. (10 cut down length, 1 slightly charred) Bos 16+: 4 Sk. frr. (2 base of hc.), 1 M3 (uw., open roots, slightly bu. black at crown + slightly charred on lingual side, r., 2 pces.), 1 Mx./Ma. side fr., 1 dist. Hu. (F, cut down through art.

45

parallel to sh., r., max. W. 84.5, 2 pces.), 1 Ul. sh., 1 Fe. sh. (cut down length), 1 dist. Mc. (F, cut down length in m.), 1 Mp.(?) sh. (bu. black/ brown), 1 Ph. 3 (2 pces.), 1 Ve. (UF, lg.), 1 Ve. sp. fr., 2 Ri. frr., 12 shs. (1 cut down length, 1 bu. black/gray, 1 in 2 pces.) Sm. mammal: 1 Sc. (w. gl.) Testudo 1: Car. fr. (edge) Cerastoderma 2 (2 MNI) (2 l.: 25 × 27, 25.5 × 27)

Ler MN 3a in JA–JB (formerly II.J.B; Vitelli: 36–38) Building W-12 Walls W-12–W-15

In the next-higher level, multi-roomed Building W-12 was built almost directly above and in part into the socles of the earlier Building W-5, an indication of a close sequence of Neolithic structures that we observed at several places on the site and which has been documented in the Middle Neolithic elsewhere, e.g., at Sesklo (Tsountas 1908: 85–86) and Otzaki (Milojčić 1983: 12). The practice of vertical rebuilding on the same spot in mud brick has been associated with the residents’ desire “to emphasize the unity and importance of the household in the present; and rebuilding in situ to emphasize the deep ancestry of the household” (Halstead 1999: 88). It is likely that Building W-8 to the west continued to be used, at least for some time, along with this later building. Oriented NNE–SSW, Building B-12 was preserved as a three-room structure: two rectangular rooms side by side sharing party wall W-13 (rooms W-12a and W-12b) and “fronted” by a third room or porch to the northeast (room W-12c) from which they were separated by W-15 (Plan 9, Sections 1, 2, Fig. 16). How far building extended to the northeast and southeast is unknown. The sturdy northwest socle, W-12, lay in part above the east edge of W-7 of the preceding phase, diverging from it toward the northeast. The socle was formed by setting two courses of large stones to the east of earlier socle W-7, filling the space between them with cobbles, and laying a top course two to three stones wide above them (Fig. 17; see FNB XLII: 34). Since the stones of the base course of W-12 were not laid absolutely parallel to those of W-7, the new socle varied in width from 0.50 m to 0.65 m. This socle defined the northwest limit of room W-12a and joined at a right angle with the southwestern socle, W-13, which closed off the parallel rooms W-12a and W-12b. Socle W-13 consisted of two–three courses of mostly large stones at room W-12a, smaller stones at room W-12b, with an average width of 0.35 m to 0.25 m. At its northwestern end a few stones were found that apparently had slipped off the edge toward the Mixed Fill. Whether these were merely fallen or marked a continuation of the building in this direction is uncertain. Perpendicular to W-13 was socle W-14, which separated the two parallel rectangular rooms and was more substantial than the usual interior socle. It lay on top of the east socle of Building W-5 and was composed of two courses, the stones laid two across, where fully preserved, to a width of 0.40–0.45 m. The socle of W-15 closed off room W-12a at the northeast with a double row of mostly small stones in one to two courses with a width of 0.20–0.25 m; a few stones that appeared to curve off of this socle at the northeast might have been fallen. At room W-12b socle W-15 continued as a single row of large stones. Room W-12a, the one room of the building that could be fully excavated, exhibited some interesting features. With a length of almost 2.85 m and a width of 1.50 m, the room covered

46

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

D

E 20

10

5

15

5

Building W-8

SP-4

g 10

AX3.0

AX2.8

SP-2

AX2.5

+3.12 ____ +2.98

room W-12c

W-16 +3.04 ____ +2.72

+3.07 ____ +2.87

hearth

+2.87 ___

W-12 ____

red-clay-lined pot stand +3.28 ____ +2.98 +3.35 ____ +2.98

15 stones slope down over the edge of the Neolithic deposits

+3.24 ____ +3.09

W-15

+3.35 ____ +3.05

room W-12a +2.98 ___

W-13

+3.31 ____ +2.90 +2.87 ___

room W-12b

W-14

+3.28 ____ +2.78

+3.33 ____ +3.13

Plan 9. Area JA–JB: Building W-12 and wall W-16. Scale 1:100

Plan 9. Ler MN 3a in J: Building W-12 and Wall W-16

ca. 4.30 m2. At about mid-length, stones projecting from the side walls—that at the east large and running through the socle, that at the west set flush against it—perhaps marked the position of a light partition, as was suggested for a similar configuration in underlying Building W-5 (see above, pp. 39). A hard grayish floor was traced at ca. +2.98. As in Building W-5, the focal point of activity was the northwest corner. Here was a hearthplace marked by a horseshoe-shaped construction of stones, open to the inside of the room, with a maximum length of 0.50 m and width of ca. 0.35 m, top at +3.07 and bottom at +2.87, within which was a deposit of fine whitish gray ash. Just to the southwest of the hearth was a shallow red-clay-lined depression ca. 0.40 m in diameter with a preserved depth of ca. 0.10 m from +2.98. It seems too shallow to class with the storage pits (SP), which appear in higher levels, and it might have served as a support for a large pot or even as a place for the grinding of grain. From above the floor came a fragmentary grindstone, stone tools, including fine celt 35, pounder/rubbers 86 and 87, and terracotta polisher 339 ( J 700). The possible association with this room of lot J 722, assigned by the excavator to the preceding phase, has been mentioned above (p. 40).

Ler MN 3A in JA–Jb

47

Figure 16. Area JA–JB: room W-12a, from south-southwest

WNW +3.40

W-7

ESE W-12

+3.30 +3.20 +3.10 +3.00 +2.90 Figure 17. Area JA–JB: section showing relationship

of socles W-7 and W-12. Scale 1:20

Fig. 6. Section showing relationship The other two rooms of the building, which could not excavated to their full extent, of socles W-7 at left, W-12 at be right offered little of consequence. In room W-12b, traces of yellow clay at +2.87 might have been the remnants of a floor. There were no finds ( J 723). Likewise without finds was room W-12c, where a possible floor level was measured at +2.87 ( J 725). Of some interest here were a few stones projecting into the room at the northeast end of W-12; they might have been the beginning of the end wall of the room or might have marked the position of an internal partition in a much larger room, as we have suggested for room W-5a (see above, p. 39). A single socle northwest of Building W-12, W-16, was found in Squares E 9–10/g 10–12. Oriented northwest–southeast, it curved north into the north baulk of the area; just south of the baulk the socle was interrupted by a storage pit from a higher level (SP-2). With a width of 0.40–0.45 m the socle was composed in its northern two-thirds of a double row of large slabs preserved in one to two courses, to the southeast of much smaller stones laid three across. Patches of grayish black soil were found to the north of it at +2.90, slightly below the level of the stones, and the excavator was unsure if this represented a floor. Both the bottom level of the stones of the socle and of the ashy level were lower than the levels of socle and floor of adjacent Building W-12, and W-16 might have represented some phase prior to it not otherwise documented. From north of the socle and just above the patches of dark soil lot J 683 was excavated and yielded L.1064, an almost complete Urfirnis cup (either patterned or with a painted mark), two grindstone fragments (NK), a bone awl (188), lithics, and a few bones. Included with the material from this red sediment was that from storage

48

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

pits SP-1 and SP-2 from the succeeding level, Ler MN 3.b; the objects found in them are noted there under the J 683 rubric, which is entered in that phase as well as this (see below, p. 63). No other structures appear to have been constructed anew in this phase. Building W-8 might have continued to serve, though the excavator did not include it as a feature of the phase ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: plan 18). The socles of W-8 were apparently still visible to the builders of the next structure here, Building W-31, since they constructed their socles directly upon them. The material from the area outside of Building W-12 came from four combined lots at levels appropriate for association with it, three from what the excavator called “Black Stratum 7” and one from a red stratum below “Black Stratum 6” of the succeeding phase. Black Stratum 7 was excavated in the western part of the area (CL J 879), south and west of the socles of Building W-8 of the preceding phase; from its central section (CL J 880); and from the southeast (CL J 881). The three joining fragments of L.1711, a Monochrome Urfirnis collared bowl, were found in CL J 880. The red layer of CL J 863 lay above these. The objects from these sediments were mostly bone awls (189–192) and scraper/polishers (271–273), but several fragments of terracotta triangular plaques were found in red stratum CL J 863 (376–379) and another (380) from the black stratum excavated in CL J 880. The other lots reported from this phase were associated with the removal of socles from the next phase above.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Although noting that there were joins in the pottery from this phase with lots from above and below it and suggesting that crosscutting of deposits might have occurred, and also observing that some later material was present, Vitelli would place the pottery from this subphase chronologically just before FCP 2.3, our Ler MN 3a (Vitelli 2007: 38, 130). Sediments Associated with Building W-12 at ca. +3.60–3.00 ( J 661, J 679, J 680, J 683, J 694, J 700, J 723, J 725, CL J 863, CL J 879–CL J 881) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 21:f Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 22:c Monochrome Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 23:g Monochrome Urfirnis saucer and basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 24:b, g, m Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 36:k Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 37:d Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 41:c, h Monochrome Urfirnis collared bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 42:c, e, h Monochrome Urfirnis collared bowl L.1711; Vitelli: fig. 42:d

Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 48:a Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 49:c Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 51:d Patterned Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 55:j–l Patterned Urfirnis large bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 60:a, b Patterned Urfirnis small convex bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 61:g, h Patterned Urfirnis piriform bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 62:e Patterned Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 63:b [Patterned Urfirnis (or Monochrome Urfirnis with painted mark) cup L.1064; Vitelli: fig. 66:f] Patterned askos fr.; Vitelli: fig. 68:b Patterned Urfirnis triangle frr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:c–e Monochrome Urfirnis triangle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:g

J 661: JA. Dark Sediment below Possible Floor of Room W-24d at +3.18–2.96 Lithics
Obs.: B 1 (L6.956), Bl/Sg 1 (L6.955)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments): Sus 1: Hu. fr., and fragments (Human: bones)

J 679: JA. Removal of Socles W-21, W-22, W-24, W-28–W-30 of Rooms W-17d, W-24d, W-24e at +3.54–3.04 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

Ler MN 3A in JA–Jb

49

J 680: JB. Removal of Walls W-31 and W-36 at +3.67–3.07 Objects ST pivot 23; p. 186

J 683: JA. North of Wall W-16 at +3.05/3.02–3.00 and Clearing Storage Pits SP-1 and SP-2 of Ler MN 3b Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) BO awl 188; p. 222

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones): Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Ra. fr., 2 Pe. fr., 1 Mc. fr.

Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 3 (L6.965), SpP/b 1 Fl./Ch.: Tr 1 (L6.966 [Koz.: ill. 7:2])

J 694: JA. Removal of Walls W-17–W-20 at +3.48/3.43–3.29/3.19 Objects ST grindstones, 4 frr. (NK)

J 700: JA. Sediment above Floor of Room W-12a at +3.08–2.92 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) ST celt 35; p. 193 ST pounder/rubber 86; p. 202 ST pounder/rubber 87; p. 202 ST tools, 2 frr. (NK) TC polisher 339; p. 243

Lithics Obs.: B 2, RB 2 (L6.976 [Koz.: ill. 7:12], L6.977) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone): Cervus 1: An. base, many frr.

J 723: JA. Sediment above Floor of Room W-12b at +3.00–2.92/2.87 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 725: JA. Room W-12c at ca. +2.95–2.88 above Possible Floor at +2.87 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL J 863: JA–JB. Red Stratum beneath Black Stratum 6 at ca. +3.05–3.00/2.89 Objects BO awl 189; p. 222 BO awl 190; p. 222 TC triangular plaque 376; p. 249 TC triangular plaque 377; p. 249 TC triangular plaque 378; p. 249 TC triangular plaque 379; p. 249 Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 6 (L6.962–L6.964), Bd 1 (Koz.: ill. 9:12), Bfs 1 (L6.973 [Koz.: ill. 13:1]), RB 1 (L6.971 [Koz.: ill. 9:5]), SpP/b 1, SpP/f 2 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (11 bones, 2 shells): Sus 4: 1 r. Mx. fr. (M3→), 1 r. Ma. fr. (j.), 2 Mc. frr. (both j.) Ovis/Capra 5: 1 Sc. fr., 1 Ul. fr., 2 Ti. frr. (1 j.), 1 Mc. fr. (j.) Bos 2: 1 Ph. II, 1 Ph. III Lucina(?) 2

Reese (58 specifically identifiable bones, 103 fragments total: 10 cut, 5 bu.; 2 shells): Sus 7 (2 MNI): 1 Mx. fr. (ad. M1 below, M2 slightly w., 1 M3 uw., r.), 1 Ma. fr. (toward ant., no teeth, young), 1 post. dist. Ma. fr. (ad.), 1 lo. C. (young male), 1 I (young ad.), 1 Mp. II/V (UF, bu. black), 1 Mp. II/V (F) Ovis/Capra 22 (2 MNI): 1 post. Ma. (condyle process, l.), 2 Sc. (2 F, 2 r.), 2 dist. Hu. shs. (r., l.), 5 Ra. shs. (1 cut down length, 3 broken down length), 1 pr. Ul. (broken, r.), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (cut through just to r. of acet., l.), 1 pr. Fe. ( JF, cut down sh. between head + trochanter majus, r.), 2 dist. Fe. epiph. (2 UF, r., l.), 1 Fe. sh. (sm.), 2 dist. Ti. (2 F, r. [bu. light black]), l.), 1 Ti. sh., 1 dist. Mc. + sh. (UF, partly bu. gray), 1 dist. Mt. + sh. (UF), 1 pr. Mp. fr. (cut down length) Ovis/Capra/Cervus 1: Ph. (F) with hole in up. dorsal side (L. 43.75, hole 10 × 6.75) Sus or Ovis/Capra 19+: 2 Ve. sp. frr., 17 Ri. frr. (1 has deep cut mark + 6 closely grouped parallel cut marks, 1 bu. gray), 28 shs. (2 cut down length)

50

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Bos 9+: 1 Sk. fr., 1 pr. Hu. head (UF), 1 Hu.(?) sh. (cut down length), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (cut through center + along ven. parallel to bone), 1 Mp. sh. (cut down length), 1 Ph. 1 side/dist. (broken), 1 Ph. 2 (F, robust, pr. W. 30, depth 41.75), 1 Ph. 3

(not very old, recently broken), 1 Ri. fr. (partly bu. black), 1 sh. Ruditapes 2 (2 MNI) (2 r.: 38 × 25.5, 45.5 × 31.5) (Human: Ax., Ve., Ve. fr.)

CL J 879: JB. Black Stratum 7 South of Wall W-10 and West of Wall W-9 at +2.90–2.64 Objects ST pounder/rubber 88; pp. 202–203 BO awl 191; p. 222 BO awl 192; pp. 222–223 BO scraper/polisher 271; p. 232 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 4 (L6.974, L6.975), RF 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:10), SpP 1, sf/fr 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 6 shells) Sus 1: Ti. fr. Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Sc. fr., 1 Mt. fr. Bos 2: 1 Ti. fr., 1 Mt. fr. Ostrea 2, Arca 1, Cyprina(?) 1, Murex 2

Reese (7 specifically identifiable bones, 46 fragments total: 2 cut, 1 bu.; 6 shells): Sus 1: Ti. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Sc. fr., 1 Cal. (F, hole made in m. body from both sides), 1 pr. Mt. fr. Sus or Ovis/Capra 1: fr. (bu. black) Bos 2: 1 pr. Ti. fr. (F, cut down length), 1 pr. Mt. fr. (cut down length) Ostrea 1 (78 × 56+, acided), Spondylus 1 (up., 61 × 50+, acided), Arca 1 (l., marine growth inside, 64.5 × 25.5), Glycymeris 1 (waterworn, 55 × 52), Hexaplex 1 (open body, 60), Bolinus 1 (fresh, 70 × 45)

CL J 880: JA–JB Central. Black Stratum 7 at ca. +3.05–2.88 Objects TC triangular plaque 380; p. 249 Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L6.972), NB 1 (Koz.: ill. 10:11) Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 1 shell): Sus 1: M3 (1/1) Ovis/Capra 1: l. Ma. fr. (M1?→) Bos 2: 1 M2 (1/1), 1 Ph. II Canis 2: Mc. Murex 1 Reese (51 specifically identifiable bones: 101 fragments total: 13 cut, 10 bu.; 2 shells): Sus 4: 1 Sk. fr. (post., cut), 1 Mx. fr. (M2 much w., M3 much w., l.; M3 L. 30.75, W. 19.25), 2 Ma. frr. (condyle process; dist. post.)

Ovis/Capra 13 (2 MNI): 1 ant. Ma. (P1–2 w., young ad., l.), 1 At. (UF), 1 Sc. gl. fr. (F, bu. black, l.), 1 Sc. fr., 1 dist. Hu. (UF, broken), 1 pr. Ra. (F, cut through up. sh. on angle, r.), 2 Ra. shs., 2 dist. Ti. (UF; F, l.), 1 Ti. sh. (cut down length), 1 Cal. (broken dist., l.), 1 Mp. sh. (cut down length) Sus or Ovis/Capra 26+: 5 Sk. frr. (1 bu. black), 4 Sc. frr. (4 body), 1 Ve. sp., 16 Ri. frr. (1 head [bu. black), 29 shs. (7 cut down length [4 bu. black], 3 bu. black) Bos 6+: 1 M2 (w., 2 pces.), 1 Ma. fr. (side), 1 dist. Fe. sh. (lg.), 1 Ph. 2 (F, robust, pr. W. 35.25), 1 Ve. (broken, cut through lo. sp.), 1 Ri. fr., 6 shs. (1 cut down length, 1 quite lg., 1 in 2 pces.), 2 fragments Canis 2: 1 Mc. III (F, l.), 1 pr. Mc. IV Ruditapes 1 (fr., r.), Hexaplex 1 (dist., med./lg.) (Human: dist. Mp. [F])

CL J 881: JA–JB. Stony Black Stratum 7 at Southeast near Building W-5 at ca. +3.00–2.75 Objects BO scraper/polisher 272; pp. 232–233 BO scraper/polisher 273; p. 233 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 1, sf/fr 2 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 1 shell): Sus 1: Ul. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 1: l. Mx. fr. (w. down) Bos 2: Fe. (2 pces., ad.) Testudo 1: Car. fr. Anas sp. 1: Ul. Ostrea 1

Reese (17 specifically identifiable bones, 34 fragments total: 1 cut, 1 bu.; 2 shells): Sus 4: 1 Sc. fr. (young), 1 Ra. sh. fr. (young), 1 Ul. sh. (young), 1 Ve. fr. (young) Ovis/Capra 1: Mx. fr. (P3–M1 w. down, l.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 6: 1 Ve. sp. (2 joining pces.), 5 Ri. frr. Bos 4: 1 pr. Fe. fr. (head F, cut behind head), 1 Fe. sh., 2 Ve. sps. Testudo 1: Car. fr. (edge, bu. gray/brown) Anas sp. 1: Ul. fr. (S.) Ostrea 1 (acided, 61 × 41), Ruditapes 1 (fr.)

Ler MN 3B.1 and 3B.2 in JA–Jb

51

Ler MN 3b.1 and 3b.2 in JA–JB (formerly II.J.C; Vitelli: 39–44) Building W-17 Walls W-17–W-23; storage pits SP-1, SP-2

The phase that succeeded Ler MN 3a in this area was possibly the longest, and certainly the richest in finds, of the Neolithic at Lerna. Two buildings were excavated, each with an earlier and a later stage of construction; they lay in the same general relationship to one another as did earlier Buildings W-5 and W-8, one to the east, one to the west, with a work/communal gathering area between them. We distinguish the two architectural stages as Ler MN 3b.1 and Ler MN 3b.2, but, since all the pottery saved was put into a Ler II.J.C combination by the Caskeys in their final study, Vitelli was unable to make fine distinctions between earlier and later. Earlier Building W-17 lay just above and rested on portions of the socles of underlying Building W-12, demonstrating the continuing close succession of inhabitation here; like the earlier building, this one extended east and north into unexcavated baulks (Plan 10, Sections 1, 2). The portion of the structure excavated appeared to follow the general plan and orientation of Building W-12, with the addition of an almost square room that was attached to the southwestern portion of the northwest wall. We use the same sequence of alphabetic designations applied to the rooms in the earlier structure, calling the addition room W-17d (Fig. 18). Room W-17a was bounded by socles W-17–W-19. All were ca. 0.55 m wide and were composed of mostly medium-sized stones loosely laid two irregular rows in one to two courses. At the positions of the projecting spurs of the building below the socles were slightly thickened, perhaps indicating the position of another partition or perhaps simply representing an effort to integrate the earlier projections into the fabric of the new socle. A large gap at the northwest end of the room might have marked a doorway, the eastern side of which appears to have been reinforced with additional stones; a patch of yellow clay at the west side of the gap was perhaps a fragment of a threshold. The narrow room measured ca. 2.50 × 1.00/1.25 m, some 2.50/3.15 m2. On a hard grayish layer near socle W-17 at +3.18/3.08 were Patterned Urfirnis collared jar L.1051 (Fig. 19) resting against two stones (the excavator suggested that a shell found inside it originally might have served as a lid: FNB XXXVI: 126), a complete grindstone (13) and fragments of three others (NK), and five obsidian blades, including L6.935–L6.937. Vitelli suggests the jar is an anachronism in this context and may have been an heirloom (Vitelli 2007: 42). If, as suggested above (p. 45), siting one building on top of another was a family’s effort to establish local priority, the keeping of a favored piece of crockery from the past could be considered part of the same tradition. This material came from J 642 in CL J 857 at +3.42–3.18; the remaining material in the combined lot came from J 623 in CL J 857, at +3.57–3.52, and is best associated with the room directly above, room W-24a (see below, p. 56). From just below this hard level lot J 668 was excavated, but it yielded only a fragment of stone pounder 90. To the southeast of room W-17a lay the northwest end of room W-17b of which, apart from the shared socle W-19, only a fragment of the northeast socle, W-20, was excavated at the east baulk of the area; in form W-20 was comparable to the socles of room W-17b, but with a width of 0.40 m. No trace of a socle was found extending from W-20 to the southeast, where there was a steep drop-off into the Mixed Fill, noted by Vitelli as a source of contamination in the pottery from this level (Vitelli 2007: 40–41). In the southwestern part of the room an irregular mass of yellow clay, on which lay patches of brittle red clay, sloped down from the east face of socle W-19 from +3.48–3.20 (for sketch, see FNB XXXVI: 137). On the clay was found a hoard of 11 celts (38–48; Fig. 20) and a stone pounder/rubber (93). All the celts

52

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

D

E

20

5

10

15

5 +3.78 ____ +3.23

___ W-31

W-33 +3.44 ____ NR

+3.74 ____ +3.24

room W-31a

SP-4 +3.10 ____ +2.70

g 10

AX3.0

_____

+3.25 / 3.19

W-34 room W-31b

W-35

+3.53 ____ +3.28 +3.67 ____ +3.24

_____

+3.32 / 3.29

W-32

+3.32 ____ +3.12

SP-2

AX2.8

+3.15 ____ +2.69

+3.32 ____ +3.06

15

____

ca. +3.06

W-22

+3.20 ____ +3.07

+3.04 ____ +2.60

room W-17c

____

ca. +3.20

room W-17d

W-21

SP-1

W-23

SP-5

+3.46 ____ +3.06

+3.32 ____ +3.06

AX2.5

+3.43 ____ +3.28

W __-_1_ 7

+3.44 ____ +3.17

W-20

+3.44 ____ +3.29

room W-17a

room W-17b

+3.20 ____

+3.48 ____ +3.26

W-19 celt hoard W-18 L.1051

+3.44 ____ +3.24

____

+3.18 +3.08

Plan 10. Area JA–JB: Buildings W-17 and W-31. Scale 1:100

Plan 10. Ler MN 3b.1 in J: Buildings W-17 and W-31 fall into Stroulia’s category of “larger” celts in the Franchthi repertory and, in fact, all except 47 and 48 were over 0.07 m in length (Stroulia 2003: 16; 2010: 71). All showed evidence of use and some were reworked, but there was none of the production refuse observed here like that found at Neolithic Makri (Souvatzi 2008: 183–184). Possibly the Lernaean who lived here had a part-time specialty in celt production and repair, conducted elsewhere, and made celts available to other residents of the settlement. Associated with the same period of use of the room were fragments of a small grayish Urfirnis bowl above yellow clay at +3.30 (PNB PAF: 122–123, field no. J6.65), a bone scraper/polisher (275), and three grindstone fragments ( J 654, CL J 861); one of the grindstone fragments probably came from one of the socles demolished in J 654 to access the section of the floor on which some of the celts were found. Although only a small portion of the northeastern section of the complex, which we call room W-17c, was available for excavation, it appeared to be an undivided area running southeast from the northeast continuation of socle W-17, as in the underlying building. Whether it is a room, porch, or court is uncertain. It yielded a black sediment at ca. +3.20

Ler MN 3B.1 and 3B.2 in JA–Jb

W-24e

W-17d

W-24d

W-17a/24a

Figure 18. Area JA–JB: rooms W-17a/24a, W-17d, W-24d, and W-24e, from east-southeast

Figure 19. Area JA–JB: room W-17a, with collared jar L.1051

near socle W-17, from southeast

Figure 20. Area JA–JB: room W-17b, hoard of celts at W-19, from east

53

54

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

but with considerable variation in its top level, which sometimes appeared over a brittle red sediment. From these sediments, which were excavated in one lot ( J 657), came celt 36, the elephantine leg of steatopygous figurine or anthropomorphic pot 397 at +3.09, four fragmentary grindstones, and a few lithics and bones. A darker sediment below was tentatively associated with this room by the excavator, but it seems too low (to +2.91) for a convincing association ( J 681). It yielded only a celt, 37, and a few bones. The annex to the building was room W-17d at the southwest, almost square, 2.50 × 2.00 m, with an estimated interior area of 5 m2. Of the new socles only W-21 at the northwest was preserved for any appreciable length; that at the southwest, W-22, had lost its southeast end to the disturbance of the Mixed Fill, and the northeast socle, W-23, was represented only by a few stones projecting at a right angle from socle W-17. Socle W-21 was 0.40–0.50 m wide, loosely constructed of a single row of medium-sized stones supplemented by small stones on either side. It was preserved to a height of three or four courses. Socle W-22 was less substantial as preserved, only a single row of medium-sized stones with a width of ca. 0.20 m; as many as two courses were in position. At the northeast, socle W-23 was represented only by a single large slab and a few surrounding stones, but had a width of ca. 0.40 m. The northwest corner of the room was lost to later storage pit SP-5. In reporting the interior disposition of room W-17d and its finds the excavator noted that a grayish sediment, first noticed at +3.28, continued to ca. +3.06, where patches of yellow clay were observed ( JA–JB 1956 annual report, 26). The pottery lots recovered from these sediments were reported as CL J 860 ( J 640, J 662), which cannot be considered a closed deposit in any strict sense, as Vitelli has pointed out (2007: 40–43). Lot J 662 was described as being from an area south of socles W-30 and W-28, socles of the successor to Building W-17, Building W-24 (see below, Plan 11), at a top level of +3.48 and a bottom level of +3.20. It was in the digging of this lot that socle W-22, the southwest socle of room W-17d, was identified, so the lot presumably included sherds from outside the room proper. With this lot the excavator associated fragmentary pots Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl L.1037, Patterned Urfirnis saucer L.1139, and Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1146 (FNB XXXVI: 141), listing them among the inventory of room W-17d. Of the three, L.1139 and L.1146 were well enough preserved that the excavator gave them field numbers J6.73 and J6.72, respectively (FNB XXXVI: 140–141). From just below +3.20 came two fragments of marble bowl 138. The second lot combined into CL J 860 was J 640, described as coming from south of and below the bottom level of socle W-39 of Ler MN 4 at +3.48–3.28, a area that included a part of room W-17d, but extended beyond its southwest corner into the empty space between Building W-17 and Building W-31. Associated by the excavator with this lot and with room W-17d were two fragmentary pots, Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup L.1036 and Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1038, along with grindstone 14 and fragmentary stone pounder 92. Both vessels were identified in the field and assigned field numbers J6.52 and J6.53, respectively (FNB XXXVI: 125). Other fragmentary vessels associated by the excavator with room 17d and assembled largely from sherds of CL J 860, identified in the workroom but not in the field, were Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1712 and bowl L.1716. Most problematic of the vessels associated by the excavator with room W-17d was Patterned Urfirnis bowl L.1244, restored from a mosaic of fragments from chronologically mixed lots. If most of the vessels, some larger, some smaller, associated by the excavator with room W-17d were, in fact, part of its inventory, the assemblage may represent some kind of communal store, comparable to the celt hoard of room W-17b in another part of the same structure. Outside the building, approximately in the angle formed by W-17 and W-23, which perhaps formed a kind of courtyard, were two red-clay-lined storage pits, SP-1 and SP-2. Storage

Ler MN 3B.1 and 3B.2 in JA–Jb

55

pit SP-1 was ca. 0.65 m in diameter, with a depth of 0.44 m from +3.04. Though sherds were few, whole Patterned Urfirnis cup L.1064, found at the bottom of the pit, was associated with it by the excavator. Unfortunately the few sherds from this pit and from SP-2 were put into lot J 683, the general Ler MN 3a lot being excavated when they were being cleared. Vitelli noted the problem but considered it appropriate to retain the Caskey assignment of the small vessel with the earlier pottery (Vitelli 2007: 37, n. 2); we have listed it below with the other pottery from this phase, but in brackets. Storage pit SP-2 was about 0.70 m in diameter, with a depth of 0.46 m from +3.15. Two oval depressions were observed in the clay at the sides of the pit; the excavator suggested they might have supported a bar laid across the top ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: 26). In addition to a couple of sherds, which were not kept separate but added to earlier lot J 683, the pit yielded a reworked bone awl, 195. Clay-lined pits of this sort have a long history in Near Eastern contexts, where they were frequently associated with grains (Aurenche 1981: vol. 1, 257–261). In the Lerna Neolithic settlement they might have held the seed corn needed for the next sowing, ground grain, and any foods needing protection from moisture and insects. Unless large storage vessels fell victim to the excavation discard practices (Vitelli 2007: 79), they were not abundant in Middle Neolithic Lerna, and the clay-lined pits would have been an important element in food storage for the community.

Building W-24 Walls W-24–W-28; storage pit SP-3

The second stage of Building W-17, which we designate Building W-24, followed the general lines of the earlier structure, except that room W-17d was replaced by a squarish unit pushed farther to the northwest that was divided into two rooms, W-24d and W-24e (Plan 11, Sections 1, 2, Fig. 18). Room W-24a lay, in general, above room W-17a. Toward the southwest, socle W-24 was a loose construction of two to three rows of medium-sized stones in two courses set just above socle W-17, with small stones along its northwest edge at the south; the width was ca. 0.45– 0.50 m. There was an abrupt jog to the northwest at its bonded juncture with the southwest wall of the annex (W-28), after which it continued northeast in a straight line, resting just northeast of the outer face of underlying W-17; at the north baulk of the area the socle angled off abruptly to the southeast, the few stones here possibly the remnants of a socle closing off a northeast room. To the southeast, socles W-25 and W-26 followed the presumed lines of their counterparts from the previous level. No stones were preserved at the southwest end of room W-24a; a stepped east–west retaining wall of indeterminate date ( J J) over 5.00 m long set in along the scarp of the Mixed Fill with a top at +4.15 apparently was responsible for the destruction of the socle that might have been expected here. Socle W-25 closed off room W-24b as a loosely laid line of medium-sized stones preserved to a width of 0.25–0.28 m and a height of one to two courses. Socle W-26 consisted of a single line of medium-sized stones ca. 0.20 m wide with a gap of ca. 0.50 m toward the northwest that might have marked a doorway between the two rooms. Only a few stones of the northeast socle that closed off both rooms, W-27, were found in position and appeared to have been of the same constructional form and size as those just described. Room W-24a measured ca. 2.75 × 1.50/1.75 m, ca. 4.15/4.80 m2. A hard level at +3.43, which appeared also in room W-24c, might have represented the floor of the room, and a patch of yellow clay in a gap in socle W-27 at +3.45 perhaps marked the threshold of a doorway into room W-25c. A cluster of small stones projecting from socle W-24 into the room near its midpoint again could have marked a partition, but the fact that no corresponding

56

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

D

E

5

20

15

10

5 W-31 W-33

room W-36a

SP-4

_____

g

+3.44/3.42

10

+3.56 ____

+3.74 ____ +3.50

W-36 ___

room W-36b

+3.53 ____ +3.08

W-29

AX2.8

AX3.0

+3.65 ____ +3.32

____ +3.34

+3.34 ____ +3.01

+3.62 ____ NR

+3.64 ____ +3.04

+3.54 ____ +3.04

SP-3

W-37

room W-24e

+3.54 ____ +3.06

SP-5 W-28

room W-24d

AX2.5

W-30

+3.56 ____ +3.06 ____ +3.38 +3.70 ____ +3.20

room W-24c

+3.43 ____ +3.61 ____ +3.46 W-2 7 +3.55 ____ +3.40 +3.70 ____ +3.54 ____ ____ W-24 +3.58 +3.24 +3.43 ____

+3.70 ____ +3.41

15 room W-24a

W26

W-34

+3.60 ____ +3.40 +3.73 ____ +3.53

+3.50/3.47 ________

room W-24b

W-25

Plan 11. Area JA–JB: Buildings W-24 and W-36, and wall W-37. Scale 1:100

Plan 11. Ler MN3b.2 in J: Buildings W-24 and W-36 and W-37

projection was found opposite makes this less likely. The material found in lot J 623 in CL J 857 (see above, p. 51) seems best associated with this room. Included here are bone awl 196 and bone awl-scraper/polisher combination(?) 197, and the lithics listed with CL J 861, exclusive of five obsidian blades including L6.935–L6.937 ( J 642 in CL J 857). Very tentatively to be associated with this room were ca. three-quarters of L.1140, a Monochrome Urfirnis saucer, and L.1733, a large fragment of a Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl (see Vitelli 2007: 42, for dissent). The former was found during the removal of socle J J at the southern end of room W-24a from +3.82–3.50 ( J 649); most of the sherds of the latter were from J 594 and found in a sediment of soft earth and bones and shells at +3.60–3.48 that lay above lot J 640 (see above, p. 60). In the portion of room W-24b preserved, most of the ground had been removed in an early campaign in this area, but a hard patch was observed at +3.50/3.47 that probably marked the level of the floor. A patch of clay at +3.56 found in the gap in northwest socle W-26 possibly was a remnant of a threshold. No separate lot was recorded for this room. In room W-24c the only recorded find on the hard level traced at +3.43 was a large rectangular brick (or two smaller square bricks fused) of red clay, 0.50 × 0.25 m, with a top level of

Ler MN 3B.1 and 3B.2 in JA–Jb

57

+3.55, suggesting a thickness for the brick of ca. 0.10–0.12 m (CL J 856). This provides support for the view offered above (p. 40) that these structures had mudbrick superstructures. The lithics found here were reported with those from CL J 857. The annex to Building W-24, rooms W-24d and W-24e, extended to the northwest of the northeastern half of socle W-24, which served as its northeastern boundary (Fig. 18); the interior as preserved was ca. 2.5 m. The southwestern border was socle W-28, the northwestern border, W-29. The northeastern section of the addition lay beyond the limits of the excavation. These socles were composed of stones of breccia mortared with red clay. About 0.25–0.35 m in width, the socles were one or two stones across, depending upon the size of the stones, and, owing to the stability provided by the clay packing, stood five–six courses, or ca. 0.50 m, high. A fragmentary cross-wall, W-30, which ran NNE–SSW and divided the space into two rooms of not quite equal size (W-24d ca. 1.00 m wide, W-24e, 1.50 m), was similarly constructed but with a single row of small stones and a width of ca. 0.20 m; eight rough courses were preserved in position. No sure floor level was found in either room, but a stiff red sediment flecked with gray and green, representing what the excavator considered a habitation deposit, was traced to an ashy level at ca. +3.38 in room W-24d and at +3.34 in room W-24e. Only a few lithics were retrieved from this sediment in both rooms ( J 626). Excavation below these levels proceeded to some patches of yellow clay at ca. +3.18, possibly the remnants of earlier floors, and from the sediment between the possible floors came a grindstone fragment (NK), a stone pounder (91), a few lithics, a few animal bone fragments, some shells, and several human bones, probably from a displaced burial (CL J 858, CL J 859). Near the northeast socle (W-30) of room W-24e was red-clay-lined storage pit SP-3, ca. 0.52 m in diameter, which extended from +3.34, the level of the ashy floor, to +3.01; the few sherds found in the pit were not kept separate. After the removal of some stones south of room W-24d the area was excavated from +3.45 to +3.25 in lot J 660. Bone awl 194 and terracotta triangular plaque fragment 384 were the primary finds.

Building W-31 Walls W-31–W-35; storage pit SP-4

As open space separated Buildings W-5 and W-8 in Ler MN 2, so too in Ler MN 3 a similar disposition was found. At the west was a building that had essentially the same plan, oriented NNE–SSW, throughout Ler MN 3b.1 and Ler MN 3b.2, but two distinct construction phases and two floor levels; we designate the earlier structure Building W-31, the later Building W-36, after the earlier and later forms of the southeast socle. The full area of neither building was preserved: at the northeast both extended into the baulk of the excavation, and at the southwest was the slope into the Mixed Fill. Serving in essentially the same form for both Ler MN 3b.1 and Ler MN 3b.2 were northeast socle W-31, a few stones of northwest W-33 (no name), and interior cross-wall W-34. Preserved only in the earlier stage of Building W-31 were the southeast socle, W-32 (Section 1), and a few stones of what appears to have been an interior cross-wall or wall setting off a possible porch at the southwest, W-35 (Plan 10). Southeast socle W-32 was renewed as W-36 for the second stage of use, and small stone socle W-35 appears to have fallen into disuse. The total interior space defined by the preserved socles was ca. 2.75 m wide, and the estimated length 3.25 m, or ca. 8.95 m2. As embedded in the north baulk of the area, W-31, like all the major socles here, was composed of breccia packed with red-clay mortar; three courses of small and medium stones in a single row ca. 0.20 m wide were visible, but at least one or more parallel rows of stones were left unexcavated in the baulk, so the socle was at least some 0.40 m wide. Southeast socle W-32

58

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

W-31

W-34 SP-4

Figure 21. Area JA–JB: walls W-31 and W-34 of Building W-31/W-36,

with storage pit SP-4, from southwest

was 0.40–0.50 m wide with fairly large- to medium-sized stones laid in two irregular rows to a height of two courses; a third poorly preserved course with small stones along the outer face at the southeast was difficult to separate from the socle of the next stage here, W-36. Near the northwest corner of the excavation were a few stones of what appeared to have been an exterior socle of comparable construction, W-33; a single stone might indicate that the line continued to the southwest. Interior cross-wall W-34 was a somewhat uneven construction of mostly small stones 0.20–30 m wide, but was preserved five–six courses high (Fig. 21). The socle of a possible second interior cross-wall separating another room or porch, W-35, at the southwest was preserved only as a tenuous line of elongated small stones laid in two parallel rows to a width of ca. 0.20 m. Hard-packed yellow clay, found only in scattered patches, was used for the floors of this building and its successor. In the northeastern part of the earlier building, which we identify as room W-31a (ca. 3.75 m2), the earlier grayish yellow floor was traced in patches at +3.25/3.19, with a slope down to the west. In a tumbled mass of large and small stones above this level were found a fragment of a white marble bowl (137), a lug handle reused as a polisher (341), a triangular terracotta plaque fragment (385), three fragmentary grindstones (NK) along with a flint blade (L6.959), and a few fragments of animal bone ( J 674). The floor itself and the sediments below it were excavated to +3.04 in J 776, which the excavator associated with this phase and which yielded only terracotta polisher 342 and a few lithics and bones. To the southwest, the yellow clay floor in room W-31b (ca. 5.00 m2) was more tenuous, found inside the projected juncture of W-32 and W-35 and in a narrow strip south of W-35; it was measured at +3.32/3.29 under a red sediment excavated in J 639. The floor was removed in J 666, and just below in a dark stony sediment (CL J 864) grindstone 15 was found. The top of another red-clay-lined storage pit, SP-4 was detected at +3.10, and, though this was slightly below the level of the floor, the excavator thought the pit was best associated with this building rather than the one below; it seemed likely that the top was broken away in later activity in this area. The maximum diameter of SP-4 was 0.64 m, and it tapered from a top at +3.10 to a rounded bottom at +2.70. Among very few sherds recovered was the best preserved of the terracotta triangular plaques, 386 ( J 675).

Ler MN 3B.1 and 3B.2 in JA–Jb

59

Building W-36 Walls W-31, W-33, W-34, W-36

In the later stage of the use of this building, which we have designated Building W-36, socles W-31, W-33, and W-34 continued to serve and W-32 was rebuilt as W-36. Again two rooms were preserved: W-36a and W-36b. Where it closed off room W-36a at the northeast, W-36 was composed of a single course of large stones irregularly massed with small stones at the interstices, to a maximum width of 0.65 m; farther to the southwest only the exterior faces of small stones in a neat line were preserved in position (Plan 11, Section 1, Fig. 21). As in earlier Building W-31, the floors of Building W-36 were of yellow clay traced only in isolated patches. In room W-36a the yellowish floor at ca. +3.56 was removed in J 634 to reveal a layer of small stones embedded among large stones. In room W-36b the patchy yellow floor was measured at +3.44/3.42 and was found under a red sediment excavated in J 615. Associated with the latter was a large quantity of cockle shells (NK). A red sediment that reached as high as +3.61 was removed from above both rooms in J 613; it yielded stone pounder/rubber 89. In the open space between the buildings of both subphases, sherd-rich red and black or dark sediments were removed from ca. +3.30–3.00 in J 648, J 651, J 655, J 664, and CL J 862. The material in CL J 862 came from Black Stratum 6 at ca. +3.15–2.99. Dark Stratum 5, dug above this in J 655, reached to +3.25/3.15, and Dark Stratum 4, J 651, included material to +3.30/3.28. Lot J 648 was associated with a thin sediment described variously as “red” or “paler” just above, between Black Strata 3 and 4, to +3.35/3.33; this sediment was difficult to separate from Black Stratum 4 and probably could have just as easily been assigned to the next higher phase. In J 664 was material from a “prophylactic cut” made between +3.25 and +3.10 at the south edge of the area in an effort to avoid contamination of the solid strata by the Mixed Neolithic–EH Fill. Several fragmentary inventoried pots from these lots had joins from other areas, some from this phase and some from both earlier and later phases. In this group were Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1227, Patterned Urfirnis collared jar L.1242, Monochrome Urfirnis collared jars L.1713 and L.1714, and Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1715. There were mostly utilitarian objects recovered from these sediments (stone polisher 123, bone tools 193, 198, 274, terracotta polisher 340), but there were several fragmentary terracotta triangular plaques (381–383, 387; the largest and heaviest of all the triangles was 381, part of which, 390, was found in a Ler MN 4 context—see below, p. 69, J 659). Among the faunal material was a striking quantity of shell, Cerastoderma (51 MNI) and Helix (ca. 120), in so-called Black Stratum 4 ( J 651). As suggested above (p. 42), this open area might well have served as a shared workplace/communal gathering place for food preparation/consumption for the inhabitants of the buildings on either side of it. The other lots included in this phase were primarily from the removal of walls of the subsequent phase. From J 649 came Monochrome Urfirnis saucer L.1140.

Wall W-37 In Squares E 3–4/g 12–13 was a line of three stones, W-37, running northwest–southeast that appeared to define the border between Neolithic sediments to the north and Mixed Fill to the south; the top of the largest stone was measured at +3.63, whereas no bottom level was recorded (Plan 11). Like W-3 (see above, p. 27), its date is problematic.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi In her analysis of the pottery from this complex phase, Vitelli saw many contradictions for which she believes field procedures were largely responsible (e.g., the cross-cutting of strata, inadequate separation of earlier and later subphases, and so on). Despite her reservations, however, she thought that most of the Urfirnis pottery from the phase was datable in

60

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Franchthi terms to just before FCP 2.3 (Vitelli 2007: 44, 130), as was that from the level below, Ler MN 3a. The phase of earlier Buildings W-17 and W-31 we designate as Ler MN 3b.1, that of later W-24 and W-36, Ler MN 3b.2, the pottery from both of which was reported together. Sediments Associated with Buildings W-17, W-24, W-31, W-36 at +3.00–3.50 ( J 594, J 613, J 615, J 626, J 634, J 639, J 645, J 648, J 649, J 651, J 654, J 655, J 657, J 660, J 663, J 664, J 666, J 668, J 671, J 674, J 675, J 681, J 683, J 776, CL J 856–CL J 862, CL J 864) Pottery Lime-ware bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 19:c, d Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1714; Vitelli: fig. 20:e Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 21:b, d, g Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1712; Vitelli: fig. 21:c Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1713; Vitelli: fig. 22:b Monochrome Urfirnis basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 23:a, b Monochrome Urfirnis saucer L.1140; Vitelli: fig. 24:a Monochrome Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 26:f, h–n, p–t Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1146; Vitelli: fig. 26:g Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 29:a, c, e–h, o, p Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup L.1036; Vitelli: fig. 29:k Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1715; Vitelli: fig. 29:m Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 30:k Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 32:c–e Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 33:c Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 35:b Monochrome Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 36:b, h, j Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 37:a Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1733; Vitelli: fig. 37:b Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1227; Vitelli: fig. 37:c Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1716; Vitelli: fig. 37:e Early Monochrome Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 39:d, g, h Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 40:a

Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl L.1037; Vitelli: fig. 41:b Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 41:g Monochrome Urfirnis collared bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 42:g, i Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 44:a, b Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 48:e Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 49:e Coarse Urfirnis handle frr.; Vitelli: fig. 50:d, e Patterned Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 54:a–d Patterned Urfirnis collared jar L.1051; Vitelli: fig. 54:e Patterned Urfirnis collared jar L.1242; Vitelli: fig. 54:f Patterned Urfirnis saucer L.1139; Vitelli: fig. 57:f Patterned Urfirnis saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 58:d Patterned Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 60:e Patterned Ungritted small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 61:l Patterned Urfirnis piriform bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 62:b, c Patterned Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 63:c, d Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 65:a, e–g Patterned Urfirnis bowl L.1244; Vitelli: fig. 65:b Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1038; Vitelli: fig. 65:d [Patterned Urfirnis cup L.1064; Vitelli: fig. 66:f] Patterned Urfirnis askos fr.; Vitelli: fig. 68:d Patterned Urfirnis triangle frr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:f, l Monochrome Urfirnis triangle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:i Monochrome Urfirnis “Dachshund” fr.; Vitelli: fig. 71:d Monochrome Urfirnis ladle(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 71:g Later Neolithic patterned (Group 9) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 76:h FN coarse lug; Vitelli: fig. 95:h

J 594: JA. Soft Earth with Shells above Floor of Room W-17d South of Wall W-39 at +3.60–3.48 Lithics Obs.: Br 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:8), sf/fr 3 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments, 3 shells):

Ovis/Capra 3+ (2 j. MNI): 1 l. Ma. fr. (M1 1/1, M2→), 2 Sc. frr. (1 inf.) Cardium 1, Arca 1, Murex 1

Ler MN 3B.1 and 3B.2 in JA–Jb

61

J 613: JB. Red Sediment above Rooms W-36a and W-36b at +3.61–3.56/3.52 Objects ST pounder/rubber 89; p. 203

Lithics Obs.: B 1, Bb/N 1 (L6.909 [Koz.: ill. 11:2]), Bs 1, SpP/fr 1

J 615: JB. Red Sediment in Room W-36b at +3.52–3.44/3.42 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall: Few hundred of Cardium shells (NK)

J 626: JA. Sediment above Rooms W-24d and W-24e at +3.57–3.38 Lithics Obs.: SpP 1, sf/fr 1 Fl./Ch.: F 1 (L6.1621, not seen by Kozłowski)

J 634: JB. Floor of Room W-36a at +3.56–3.48 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

J 639: JB. Red Sediment South of Wall W-34 (Room W-31b) at +3.44/3.42–3.30 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

Lithics Obs.: B 2, SpP 1

J 645: JA. Removal of Socles W-38–W-40 at +3.80–3.39 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 1 shell): Sus 1: Mc. fr.

Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Hu. fr., 1 Fe. fr. Ostrea 1

J 648: JA–JB. “Paler”/Red Sediment in Center and West between Dark/Black Strata 3 and 4 at +3.33/3.35–3.30/3.26 Objects TC triangular plaque 381, with 390 in Ler MN 4, J 659 (see below, p. 69); p. 249

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ti. fr. Cardium 1

J 649: JA. Removal of Socles J J (Post-Neolithic) and W-28 at +3.82–3.50 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone): Ovis/Capra 1: l. Ma. fr. (M3→)

J 651: JA–JB. Black Stratum 4 between Walls W-29 and W-34 at +3.30/3.28–3.25/3.23 Objects ST discoid polisher 123; p. 207 TC polisher 340; p. 243 TC triangular plaque 382; p. 249 TC triangular plaque 383; p. 249

Sus 5 (2 MNI): 2 l. Sk. frr., 1 l. Mx. fr., 1 Hu. fr., 1 Fe. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 3 (2 MNI): 2 l. Ma. frr. (1 j.), 1 Sc. fr. Vulpes 1: Pe./acet. fr. (Gejvall: 88, table 77; S.) Cardium some 100, Ostrea 1, Murex 1

Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 3 (L6.944, L6.946), RF 1 (L6.945), SpP/f 1 Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L6.943, not seen by Kozłowski), RB 1 (L6.948 [Koz.: ill. 9:1]), RB/Sg 1 (L6.947 [Koz.: ill. 7:10])

Reese (32 specifically identifiable bones, 47 fragments total: 2 cut, 2 bu.; 226+ shells): Sus 7: 3 Sk. frr., 1 ant. Mx. fr. (P1–2, male, l.), 1 dist. Hu. (F [JF on ven.], r., 2 pces.), 1 dist. Ra. (UF), 1 Ti. sh. fr. Ovis/Capra 12 (3 MNI): 4 Ma. frr. (2 ant. l., both lack teeth, 1 younger, 1 ad.; coronoid + condyle processes), 1 Sc. fr. (F, r.), 1 pr. Ra. (F, l.), 4 Pe./

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (9 bones, 100+ shells):

62

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

acet. (3 r., 1 cut through acet., 2 join), 1 Ast., 1 Ph. 1 (F, bu. gray) Sus or Ovis/Capra 12+: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Fe. sh., 10 Ri. frr. (1 cut head), 1 sh. (bu. black) Vulpes 1: Pe./acet. fr. (broken; Gejvall: 88, table 77; S.) Cerastoderma 102 (51+ MNI) (48 l.: 16 × 17.5, 16.5 × 18.5, 17 × 18.5, 17 × 18.5, 18 × 19.5, 18 × 20, 19.5 × 20.5, 19.5 × 21, 19.5 × 21, 19.5 × 22, 20 × 20.5, 20 × 21.5, 20.5 × 21.5, 20.5 × 22, 20.5 × 22, 21.5 × 21+, 21.5 × 23, 22 × 23, 22 × 24, 22.5 × 24, 22.5 × 25, 23 × 25.5, 23 × 26, 23 × 26+, 23.5 × 25, 24.5 × 25, 24.5 × 26, 25 × 28, 25.5 × 27.5, 26 × 26+, 26.5 × 29, 27 × 26 [bu., acided], 27 × 28.5, 27 × 29.5, 28 × 31.5,

28.5 × 31, 28.5 × 33, 29 × 34, 30.5 × 35, 31 × 32, 33 × 36, 33.5 × 34, H. 17.5, H. 18, H. 21, H. 23, H. 29, W. 17.5; 49 r.: 15 × 16.5, 16 × 17.5, 17 × 18, 17 × 18, 17.5 × 18.5, 17.5 × 19, 17.5 × 19, 17.5 × 19.5, 18 × 20, 18.5 × 20.5, 18.5 × 20.5, 18.5 × 21, 19 × 18.5, 19 × 20, 19.5 × 20, 20 × 21.5, 20.5 × 22.5, 20.5 × 23, 20.5 × 23, 21 × 22, 22 × 24.5, 22 × 24.5, 22 × 24.5, 22.5 × 25, 22.5 × 23, 23 × 25, 24 × 26, 24.5 × 26, 25.5 × 19.5, 25.5 × 26+, 26 × 26+, 26 × 28.5, 26 × 29, 27 × 29.5, 27.5 × 28.5, 27.5 × 30, 28.5 × 31, 29 × 31, 29 × 33, 31 × 32, H. 19, H. 21, H.  1.5, W. 27, 5 frr.), Ruditapes 2 (1+ MNI) (r., 44.5 × 20; fr.), Ostrea 1 (63.5 × 53.5), Hexaplex 2 (1 MNI) (dist., fresh, acided; body frr.), Helix ca. 120

J 654: JA. Removal of Socles W-25–W-27 at +3.61–3.40 (Clearing to Hoard of Celts) Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

J 655: JA–JB. Center and West, Dark Stratum 5 at +3.25/3.23–3.15/3.12 Objects ST grindstones, 4 frr. (NK) BO awl 193; p. 223 BO scraper/polisher 274; p. 233 TC polishers, 2 frr. (NI) Lithics Obs.: B 6 (L6.952, L6.953), RB 1 (L6.951 [Koz.: ill. 7:8]), SpP/f 1, sf/fr 4 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (13 bones, 2 shells): Sus 5 (2 MNI): 2 l. Ma. frr. and 1 r. (l., M1→, M1 1/1; r., M1 1/1), 2 Ul. frr. (1 j.) Ovis/Capra 7: 1 Hc. fr., 2 Sk. frr. (j.), 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (r.: 2 M3), 1 Mc., 1 Mt. (j.)

Bos 1: Hc. fr. Cardium 1, Venus(?) 1 Reese (16 specifically identifiable bones, 102 fragments total: 2 cut, 4 bu.; 2 shells): Sus 6 (2 MNI): 1 Mx. fr., 2 Ma. frr. (1 dP4 w. down), 1 pr. Ul. fr. (ad.), 1 pr. Mp. III/IV, 1 Mp. III/IV (F) Capra 1: Hc. fr. Ovis/Capra 7 (2 MNI): 1 Ma. fr. (P1–3 w., M1 w., M3, bu. gray, r.), 1 pr. Ul. (F, but has line), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (cut through acet.), 1 dist. Ti. (F, l.), 1 Mc. (F), 2 Mt. (UF; F, partly bu.) Bos 2: Pe./acet. frr. (1 cut) Acanthocardia 1 fr. (bu., 43+ × 43+), Ruditapes 1 (once in Solna, now lost)

J 657: JA. Above Floor of Room W-17c East of Wall W-24 North at +3.41–3.22–3.12/3.09 Objects ST grindstones, 4 frr. (NK) ST celt 36; p. 193 TC figurine/pot leg 397; p. 254

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones): Sus 2: 1 Sc. fr. (ad.), 1 Hu. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Ra. fr., 1 Pe. fr., 1 Mc.

Lithics Obs.: F 1 (Koz.: ill. 6:4), B 1 (L6.950), RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 7:9)

J 660: JA–JB. Central beneath Stones South of Room W-24d at +3.45–3.25 Objects BO awl 194; p. 223 TC triangular plaque fr. 384; p. 249

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 M3 (1/1), 1 Ul. fr. Venus(?) 1

J 663: JB. Removal of Socle W-34 at +3.74/3.65–3.53 Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L6.957)

Ler MN 3B.1 and 3B.2 in JA–Jb

63

J 664: JA–JB. Center and West, Prophylactic Cut at South Edge at +3.25–3.10 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 666: JB. Room W-31b at +3.32/3.28–3.25/3.10 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones and fragments): Sus 1: Hu. fr., and fragments Ovis/Capra 1: Ti. fr. Bos 1: M3→ or 1/1 (broken) Vulpes 1: l. Ma. fr. (Gejvall: 39, 87, table 75, pl. XVIII:4; S.)

Reese (7 specifically identifiable bones, 11 fragments total: 2 cut, 1 bu.): Sus 1: dist. Hu. (broken, cut down length) Ovis/Capra 1: pr. Ul. (UF, l.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 4: shs. (1 cut down length) Bos 4: 1 M3 (very slightly w., broken), 3 Ri. frr. (1 bu. black/gray) Vulpes 1: Ma. fr. (C. alv., M1 roots, l.; Gejvall: 39, 87, table 75, pl. XVIII:4; S.)

J 668: JA. Room W-17a at +3.18–3.08 Objects ST pounder/rubber 90; p. 203

J 671: JA. Room W-17d or just beneath at +3.20–3.05 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments): Sus 1: Sc. fr., and fragments

J 674: JB. Removal of Stones North of Wall W-34 from +3.43 to Floor at +3.25/3.19 Objects ST grindstones, 3 frr. (NK) ST bowl fr. 137; p. 210 TC polisher 341; p. 243 TC triangular plaque fr. 385; p. 249

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments): Sus 1: Ma. fr., and fragments Ovis/Capra 1: Sc. fr. (nb.)

Lithics Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L6.959)

J 675: JB. Red-Clay-Lined Storage Pit SP-4 at +3.10–2.50 Objects TC triangular plaque 386; p. 249

J 681: JA. Floor(?) (Black Earth) of Room W-17c at +3.15–2.91 Objects ST celt 37; p. 193

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments): Sus 1: Sc. fr., and fragments

J 683: Red-Clay-Lined Storage Pits SP-1 and SP-2 Objects BO awl 195; p. 223

J 776: JB. North of Line of W-35 in Room W-31a at +3.25/3.19–3.04 Objects TC polisher 342; p. 243 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 2, B 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments): Sus 1: Ul. fr. Ovis/Capra 2: 1 03m (1/1), 1 Ra. fr., and fragments

CL J 856: JA. Floor Deposit and Floor Level of Room W-24c at +3.67/3.57–3.41 Material from this lot listed with that of CL J 857

64

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

CL J 857: JA. Sediments Associated with Rooms W-17a and W-24a at +3.57–3.18 Objects ST grindstone 13; p. 185 ST grindstones, 3 frr. (NK) BO awl 196; p. 223 BO awl-scraper/polisher combination(?) 197; p. 223 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 9 (L6.917, L6.935–L6.937), NB 1 (L6.918 [Koz.: ill. 10:14]), Tr 1 (L6.920 [Koz.: ill. 7:7]), sf/fr 2 Fl./Ch.: Bl/Sg 1 (L6.919), RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 7:11), Tr + BK/Sg 1 (L6.921 [Koz.: ill. 12:8]) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (9 bones): Sus 2: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M1→), 1 Ti. fr. (j)

Ovis/Capra 4: 2 Sc. frr., 2 Hu. frr. (j.) Bos 3: 2 Sc. frr., 1 Ri. fr. Reese (20 specifically identifiable bones, 59 fragments total: 1 cut, 2 bu.): Sus 3: 1 Ma. fr. (dP4, M1 behind + below, l.), 1 Pe./ acet. (UF, r.), 1 Ti. (all UF) Ovis/Capra 8 (2 MNI): 2 Sc. frr. (2 F, 2 r. [1 in 2 pces.]), 2 dist. Hu. frr. (2 UF, 1 l.), 1 dist. Fe. (UF, 2 pces.), 1 dist. Ti. (F, l.), 1 pr. Mp., 1 dist. Mp. (F) Sus or Ovis/Capra 1+: Ti. sh., 1 sh. (cut down length), 2 bu. frr. Bos 8: 1 Sc. (F, almost complete, l.), 7 Ri. frr. (2 join)

CL J 858: JA. To and Through Possible Floor of Room W-24d at +3.46–3.18 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 3, sf/fr 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments, 2 shells): Ovis/Capra 2: Sc. frr., and fragments Lucina(?) 1, Murex 1

CL J 859: JA. Ashy Floor of Room W-24e at +3.35 and below at +3.35–3.04 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 91; p. 203 Lithics Obs.: B 1, NB 1 (L6.949 [Koz.: ill. 11:1])

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones): Ovis/Capra 1: Ti. fr. (j.) Testudo 1: sternum fr. (Human: many bones)

CL J 860: Possible Floor Deposit of Room W-17d at +3.48–3.20 Objects ST grindstone 14; p. 185 ST pounder/rubber 92; p. 203 ST bowl, 2 frr., 138; p. 210

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (12 bones, 5 shells): Capra 12: 6 Sk. frr., 3 l. and 3 r. Ma. frr. (l., M2→, 2 (1/1); r., 1 M2→, 1 1/1, 1 ?) Cardium 3, Murex 2

CL J 861: JA. Room W-17b East of Socle W-19 at +3.50–3.00 Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) ST celt 38; p. 193 ST celt 39; p. 193 ST celt 40; p. 193–194 ST celt 41; p. 194 ST celt 42; p. 194 ST celt 43; p. 194

ST celt 44; p. 194 ST celt 45; p. 194 ST celt 46; p. 194 ST celt 47; p. 194–195 ST celt 48; p. 195 ST pounder/rubber 93; p. 203 BO scraper/polisher 275; p. 233

CL J 862: JA–JB. Central and West, Dark Stratum 6 at +3.15/3.13–2.99 Objects BO awl 198; p. 223 TC polishers, 2 frr. (NK) TC triangular plaque 387; p. 249 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 1 (L6.961, not seen by Kozłowski), P 1 (L6.1552 [Koz.: ill. 11:5]), sf/fr 2 Fl./Ch.: RF 1 (L6.813)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 1 shell): Sus 1: lacrymal fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 2 Sc. frr., 1 Fe. fr. (j.) Bos 1: Fe. fr. Canis 1: Ma. (Gejvall: 14, 61–62, table 2, pl. I:3; S.) Murex 1

Ler MN 4 in JA–Jb

Reese (15 specifically identifiable bones, 49 fragments total: 5 cut, 3 bu.; 1 shell): Sus 7: 1 lacrymal fr. (S.), 1 I (ad.), 1 Ma. fr. (side), 1 M2 (uw., open roots, lg.), 1 Ul. (UF pr., cut through dist.), 1 Pe. fr. (r., 2 pces.), 1 Fe. sh. (UF trochanter majus, cut through head + through dist., bu. gray toward pr.) Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Ma. fr. (coronoid process), 2 Sc. frr. (2 F, 2 cut through coracoid process, r., l.), 1 Ph. 1 (UF, cut through dist.)

65

Sus or Ovis/Capra 1: Sc. fr. (body, bu. gray) Sus or Bos 1: sh. (bu. black) Bos 1: dist. Fe. (F, very lg., 3 pces.) Canis 1: l. post. Ma. fr. (M1–2, M3 alv., smaller dog) (Gejvall: 14, 61–62, table 2, pl. I:3; S.) Hexaplex 1 (columella + dist., L. 46+), and shells recorded from SP-1 (NK) (Human: Ul., very small [baby])

CL J 864: JB. Dark Stony Sediment beneath Room W-31b (South of Wall W-34 and West of Wall W-9) at +3.25/3.10–2.90 Objects ST grindstone 15 ST grindstone fr. (NK) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 1 shell): Sus 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ma. fr. (m., ad.), 1 Hu. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 1: M1 (1/1) Cervus 1: Mc. fr. Ostrea 1

Reese (12 specifically identifiable bones, 39 fragments total: 2 cut, 4 bu.; 1 shell): Sus 4: 1 Sk. fr., 1 ant. Ma. fr. (I alv., ad.), 1 Hu. fr. (young, bu. gray), 1 pr. Ul. (broken, r.) Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Ma. fr. (coronoid process), 1 M1 (bit w., 2 pces.), 1 Sc. fr., 1 Mp. sh. Sus or Ovis/Capra 2: shs. (1 bu. black, 1 bu. gray) Bos or Cervus 1+: 1 Ra. sh., 2 shs. Cervus 1: Mc. fr. (F, bu. gray) Spondylus 1 (up., sm., 49 × 42)

Ler MN 4 in JA–JB (formerly II.J.D; Vitelli: 44–46) Building W-38 Walls W-38–W-40; storage pits SP-5, SP-6

The configuration of the settlement in this area, which had followed a consistent pattern through the preceding phases, underwent a significant change at this time, when megaroid Building W-38, oriented north–south, was built, in part above the earlier central open space, in part above the western section of Building W-24 (Plan 12, Section 1, Fig. 22). Three socles of the structure were preserved: a substantial portion of west socle W-38 and fragments of south socle W-39 and interior cross-wall W-40. Preserved for a length of ca. 4.00 m before being cut off at the north baulk of the area by a storage pit (SP-7) set in from a higher level, west socle W-38 had a maximum width of 0.70 m at the south, but the outline was irregular and uneven, especially at the north, with small and large stones mixed together indiscriminately; as many as three courses were preserved in some places. South socle W-39 was of comparable construction ca. 0.55 m wide, but with somewhat more regular faces. The socle of east–west cross-wall W-40 was only 0.20 m wide, composed of a single row of small stones preserved to a height of one to two courses. A break in this socle toward its west end, about 0.35 m wide, might have marked a doorway from room W-38a to room W-38b to the north. The minimum preserved interior area of the incomplete structure is ca. 7.40 m2 (3.30 × 2.25 m). In room W-38a an extraordinary floor was found, unlike the plain clay floor found in most buildings in the Lerna Neolithic settlement. Yellowish white in color, it was hard and cement-like, laid fairly evenly to a thickness of ca. 0.02 m, with a top level at +3.64. No sample of the floor was saved for analysis, but this surface calls to mind a thick, hard floor from Neolithic Nea Makri, which, upon analysis, was determined to be composed of an asbestos marl imported from the Pikermi/Rafina area (Aranitis 1991). This type of plastered floor is well known in early Near Eastern contexts (Aurenche 1981: vol. 1, 159–161). Resting on the floor somewhere near the center of the room was a large stone slab with a maximum width of 0.50 m; its precise location was not plotted. The stone was cracked into several pieces, of

66

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

D

20

5

10

E

15

5

SP-8

SP-7

+3.60 ____ +3.12

+3.60 ____ +3.40

g 10

SP-6 +3.58 ____ +3.25

room W-38b

+3.80 ____ +3.40 AX3.0

+3.58 ____

AX2.8

W-38 ____

W-40

room W-38a

+3.70 ____ +3.40 AX2.5 +3.69 ____ +3.40

SP-5

+3.64 ____ +3.79 ____ +3.49

+3.55 ____ +2.97

+3.85 ____ +3.55

W-39

15

Plan 12. Area JA–JB: Building W-38. Scale 1:100

Plan 12. Ler MN 4 in J: Building W-38 which the lowest in the center sank to +3.49 (for drawing of stone, see FNB XXXVI: 112). It would appear to be the only possible evidence found for a roof support in this or any other Neolithic building at Lerna, perhaps a base for a vertical post that supported a ridgepole. If an independent structure, Building W-38 might well have had a double-pitched roof. A large red-clay-lined storage pit, SP-5, appeared to have been set in the southeastern part of the room at the same time the floor was, the rounded top edge of the pit in one place even with the floor. With a maximum external diameter of ca. 1.00 m, the pit was 0.58 m deep from +3.55. Apart from a few bones, the only object in the fill was small spheroid stone 98 ( J 632). Unfortunately, walls of the next phase represented in the area were set down onto this floor, and the disturbance resulting from this construction made the identification of any floor deposit almost impossible. It seems worth noting, however, that in the earth immediately above the floor, under and amid fallen stones from the walls of this phase and the next, the striking terracotta figurine, 399, was found. It lay at +3.64, the level of the floor, and the notation in FNB XXXVI: 79 reads “Ground on which fig. was lying: Hard white floor.” For reasons that were apparent to the excavator in the field and/or in subsequent study, the

Ler MN 4 in JA–Jb

67

W-39 W-40 W-38

Figure 22. Area JA–JB: Building W-38, from west-northwest

figurine was dated to the following phase (CL J 848). The hard floor itself and the sediment just below to +3.56/3.52 were removed in CL J 851. Some stones in the southwestern corner of the room that perhaps extended below W-39 were removed in lot J 659, in which the only object found was a fragment of terracotta triangular plaque 390, the larger part of which came from the phase below (cf. 381). The hard floor found in room W-38a did not appear north of the cross-wall in room W-38b. The only evidence for the floor level there was the top level of another red-clay-lined pit in the room, SP-6, at +3.58. Ca. 0.60 m in diameter, this pit was 0.33 m deep. In the fill was a fragment of Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl L.1067 ( J 622). The sediment removed from room W-38b in CL J 852 from +3.58–3.45 can hardly be considered a floor deposit; it yielded only ca. one-third of Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1229, in which joins from Ler MN 3b lot J 594 were recorded, along with bone awl 208, obsidian blade L6.913, and a few bones and shells. East of the preserved section of Building W-38, no sediments were traceable where the socles of the next phase intruded, destroying the area. The only lot associated with this area was J 607, which included the material retrieved in the removal of the later socles; several joining fragments of Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1718 were recorded with this lot (see below) and might have been associated with Building W-38.

Storage Pits SP-7, SP-8 Red-clay-lined SP-7 appears to have cut off W-38 at its north end and to have itself been disturbed by the sinking into it of an ordinary unlined bothros from the level immediately above. Possibly SP-7 belongs to a late stage of Ler MN 4. Approximately. 0.75 m in diameter, it was preserved to a depth of ca. 0.20 m (+3.60–3.40) and contained only a few bones and shells ( J 624). In the central section of the area and west as far as W-36 of the preceding phase, lot J 625 and CL J 855, red and black sediments, respectively, were removed from ca. +3.50–3.35. In the black sediment were joining fragments of large Patterned Urfirnis bowl L.1717 and Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl L.1719. Other finds from the lots were of stone (celt 54, pounder/rubbers 96, 97, polisher 125) and bone (awls 209–211, scraper/polisher 276); there were a few lithics, along with bones and some shells.

68

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

In the removal of later Neolithic socles W-43, W-46, W-47 (see below, Plan 13), and EH II socle W-8, fragments of about one-half of Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1718 (mentioned above) were found at +3.67 in lot J 607 beneath EH II socle W-8 (Wiencke 2000: 12, plan 3; 46). Possibly to be associated with this level or the one next above was SP-8, another red-claylined pit, located near the west edge of the area in Squares E 1/g 8–9. Depressed circular in contour, it had a maximum exterior diameter 1.00 m and was 0.48 m deep from +3.60. In the stiff red clay fill that cleared from a soft dark layer in the bottom were found only some coarse sherds ( J 638).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi As usual, Vitelli found the sherds from this level mixed, but with a fair quantity of material comparable to FCP 2.3, our Ler MN 4 (Vitelli 2007: 46, 130). Sediments Associated with Building W-38 at +3.50–3.70 ( J 607, J 622, J 624, J 625, J 632, J 638, J 659, CL J 851, CL J 852, CL J 855) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 22:i, j Monochrome Urfirnis saucer and basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 24:f, i Monochrome Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 27:b, c Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1229; Vitelli: fig. 27:k Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 29:d, i, j Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 33:d Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 34:f Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 35:a, e Monochrome Urfirnis bowl and cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 36:a, d, e

Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1718; Vitelli: fig. 37:g Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl L.1719; Vitelli: fig. 41:e Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 44:c Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl L.1067; Vitelli: fig. 45:a Coarse Urfirnis rim frr.; Vitelli: fig. 48:b, f Patterned Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 56:h Patterned Urfirnis large bowl fr. L.1717; Vitelli: fig. 60:c Patterned Urfirnis large bowl; Vitelli: fig. 60:d Patterned Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 63:e, f Monochrome Urfirnis “Dachshund” frr.; Vitelli: fig. 71:b, c

J 607: JA. Removal of Socles W-43, W-46, W-47, and EH II W-8 East at +3.94–3.57 Objects TC polisher 343; p. 243

Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L6.908)

J 622: JA–JB. Storage Pit SP-6 at +3.58–3.25 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone): Bos 1: Ri. fr.

J 624: JA–JB. Storage Pit SP-7 at +3.60–3.40 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone, 2 shells): Bos primigenius/transitional taurus(?) 1: M3 (1/1) (Gejvall: 31, 80, table 47) Ostrea 2

Reese (1 bone total; 2 shells): Bos taurus 1: M3 (w. down) (Gejvall: 31, 80, table 47) Ostrea 2 (2 fresh, 56 × 51, 59.5 × 43+)

J 625: JA–JB. Central and West between Buildings W-38 and W-36, Red Sediment beneath Black Stratum 2 at +3.52–3.46 Objects ST celt 54; p. 195 ST pounder/rubber 96; p. 203

ST pounder/rubber 97; p. 203 BO scraper/polisher 276; p. 233

Ler MN 4 in JA–Jb

Lithics Obs.: B 6 (L6.922–L6.924, L6.926, L6.928), SpP/b 1 (L6.1545), sf/fr 1 Fl./Ch.: B 1, RB 1 (L6.925), SpP/f 1 (L6.927)

69

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 4 shells): Sus 2: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M2→?), 1 Hu. fr. Ovis/Capra 2: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (M3→) Ostrea 4

J 632: Storage Pit SP-5 at +3.55–2.97 Objects ST pounder/rubber 98; p. 203 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 2 shells):

Sus 1: Sc. fr. Ovis/Capra 1: Mt. fr. Cardium 2 frr.

J 638: Storage Pit SP-8 at +3.60–3.12 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 659: JA–JB. Removal of Stones South of Room W-24d at ca. +3.52–3.45 Objects TC triangular plaque fr. 390, with 381 in Ler MN 3b.1 and 3b.2, J 648 (see above, p. 61); p. 249

CL J 851: JA–JB. Stratum 4 Associated with Floor of Room W-38b and below at +3.64– 3.56/3.52 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments, 3 shells):

Ovis/Capra 3: 1 r. Ma. fr. (1/1), 2 Sc. frr., and fragments Ostrea 1, Murex 2

CL J 852: JA–JB. Room W-38b, West, at +3.58–3.45 Objects BO awl 208; p. 224 Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L6.913)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments, 2 shells): Sus 2: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (M2→), and fragments Cardium 1, Lucina(?) 1

CL J 855 (Including J 631): JA–JB. West and Central, Black Stratum 3 at +3.50– 3.33/3.35 Objects ST polisher 125; p. 207 BO awl 209; p. 224 BO awl 210; p. 224 BO awl 211; p. 224 Lithics Obs.: B 5 (L6.910, L6.939–L6.942), Br 1, Bs 1 Bones and Shells (two small bags) Gejvall (10 bones, 5 shells): Sus 6: 1 Sk. fr.*, 4 Mx. frr. (M3→; P1–3, M1–2, M3 not fully up; Gejvall: 22, 23, 72, table 18, pl. IV:9; S.), 1 C.* Ovis/Capra 3: 1 l. Ma. fr. (1/1), 1 Pe. fr.*, 1 Mc. fr.* Canis 1: r. Ma. fr. (no teeth, ad.; Gejvall: 14, 61–62, table 2, pl. I:2; S.) Cardium 2*, Lucina 2, Murex 1 *These bones and shells, included in J 631, were unavailable for restudy

Reese (19 specifically identifiable bones, 57 fragments total: 1 cut; 6 shells): Sus 4: 1 Sk. fr., 2 Mx. frr. (C. bit broken, P1–4, M1 much w., M2 bit w., M3 not fully up/w., r. [Gejvall: 22, 23, 72, table 18, pl. IV:9; S.]; 1 P4 uw., 1 M1 much w., 1 M2 uw./broken, 1 M3 uw. + mainly below, r.), 1 C. Ovis/Capra 10: 1 l. Ma. fr. (lacks P1–2, M3 erupting, has coronoid + condyle processes, l., 5 pces.), 1 At. (complete), 1 dist. Hu. fr. (cut down length), 1 pr. Ul. (UF, r.), 2 Pe. frr. (1 F, l.), 1 dist. Ti. ( JF, l.), 2 Mc. frr. (1 pr. l., 1 pr.), 1 Mt. sh. fr. Sus or Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ve. sp. fr., 1 Ri. fr. Bos 1: Ri. fr. Canis 1: r. Ma. fr. (no teeth, ad., r.; Gejvall: 14, 61–62, table 2, pl. I:2; S.) Cerastoderma 2, Ruditapes 2 (2 MNI) (28.5 × 37.5), Hexaplex 2 (2 MNI) (body fr.; dist./columella, no apex, open body)

70

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

D

5

20

10

E

15

5

AP-7

bothros +3.80 ____ +3.60

g 10

AX3.0

AX2.8

+4.01 ____ +3.65

+3.50

*

approximate location of burial 4 and L.1053

399 +3.93 ____ +3.60

W-41 ___

AX2.5

+3.69 ____ +3.86 ____ +3.76

W-45

W-44

+3.98 ____ +3.88

W-42

___ W-43 W-47

+4.03 ____ +3.93

JJ

15

+3.87 ____ +3.57

+3.57? ____ +3.83 ____ +3.58

W-46 L.271

Plan 13. Area JA–JB: Building(?) W-41, enclosure wall W-43 and related walls, and burial 4. Scale 1:100

Plan 13. Ler MN 5 in J: Enclosure Wall W-43 and Related Walls, Burial 4

Ler MN 5 in JA–JB (formerly II.J.E; Vitelli: 46–48) Building(?) W-41 and Wall W-42 The next MN phase saw another change in the configuration of the eastern end of Area JA– JB, with the introduction of a confusing tangle of Neolithic socles in Squares E 8–13/g 11–15 (Plan 13, Section 1) and the intrusion at the northeast of EH socles, one of which (W-8) actually incorporated stones of Neolithic socle W-41 (Wiencke 2000: 12, 46, plan 3). That this phase followed closely upon the preceding one is indicated by the discovery that W-41 was set down on red clay, probably dissolved brick, which lay just above the yellowish white clay floor of Building W-38. Running approximately north–south, the socle was composed of stones of various sizes in one to two rows with a width of 0.30–0.35 m and was preserved to a height of two courses. At its north end, where it was incorporated into an EH socle that intruded here, were a few stones that appeared to form a corner to the east with what was perhaps a cross-wall (not numbered). In the angular space delimited by these socles was a patch of gray flooring at +3.69. On it were two stone pounders (102, 103), a stone pendant (144), a terracotta polisher (345), and a few lithics. These were in CL J 849,

Ler MN 5 in JA–Jb

71

which included not only the sediment just above the floor and the floor itself, but also material from the removal of the socles. The eastern part of this building was probably cut off by the construction of the possible enclosure represented by socles W-43 and W-44. Just 2.00 m to the west of W-41 were a few stones of socle W-42, also set down just above the hard floor of room W-38a. This appeared to be the remnant of a wall running barely NNW– SSE and so not precisely parallel to W-41. It was preserved as a single line of elongated stones ca. 0.20 m wide with two courses in position, and it might have been a remnant of some kind of light construction. It is of interest primarily because it was between this socle and W-41 that the extraordinary terracotta figurine 399, the Venus of Myloi, was found lying at +3.64 under two stones, probably fallen from the socle (Fig. 23). As noted above, the excavator recorded that the figurine rested on or just above the floor of room W-38a, but considered it an artifact of this phase, not that of the floor (see above, pp. 66–67). The figurine came from lot J 578, which was combined with lot J 586 into CL J 848, which cleared the central section of the area west of W-41 on either side of W-42 from +3.92–3.64. Sherds of Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1243 were found near the figure and came from the two lots combined in CL J 848. Also from this combined lot, as well as from lots of earlier phases, were the nine sherds that mended into a substantial portion of L.1232, a Monochrome Urfirnis carinated collared bowl. It is worth noting that in the removal of socle W-48, part of which lay just above and along the line of W-42, almost all of large Monochrome Urfirnis bowl L.773 was found ( J 417).

Figure 23. Area JA–JB: figurine 399 as found under fallen stones, from north

(above), and with fallen stones removed, from northwest (below)

72

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Enclosure Wall W-43 Walls W-43, W-44

The most imposing socle of this phase was W-43, one of the largest and sturdiest of any in the Neolithic settlement, which, with W-44 (Plan 13, Section 2), possibly formed part of an enclosure at the west edge of what we assume were the more the more heavily populated areas of the settlement and set off the whole settlement or some part of it. Running WNW– ESE, the socle was ca. 0.65 m wide and preserved to a height of two courses; it continued into the east baulk of the area. The southwestern face was composed of closely packed large slabs, some as long as 0.45 m; against them on the northeast were two rows of small to medium-sized stones. The stone was reported by the excavator to be conglomerate (FNB XXXVI: 95). Of similar, if slightly less substantial, construction was socle W-44, which, running north– south, appeared to meet W-43 at an obtuse angle and continued north–south to a point near the north baulk of the area, where EH activity interrupted the Neolithic strata. Unfortunately the juncture of the two socles at the southwest was disturbed by the digging of a bothros from the next higher level; some of the stones from the socles apparently were left in position and were supplemented by additional stones to form the base for the smaller stones that formed the top of the pit at the level next above (see below, p. 78). Socle W-44 was preserved to a width of ca. 0.55 m, with slabs on the west face and a row of small stones loosely laid on the opposite face; only a single course was preserved in position. It may not be irrelevant to note that the Gully was dug in this general area of the site earlier in the life of the settlement and that there was no substantial settlement to the west of it, as is the case in this phase. It would appear that there was limited substantial construction to the west in this part of the settlement at its beginning and here again toward its end. As noted in connection with the Gully, the evidence here is too slight to posit a defensive wall and the likelihood of Neolithic warfare (see above, p. 33). If the interpretation of W-43 as an enclosure wall of some sort is correct, the space within the angle facing to the north and east baulks of the area would have been inside the settlement or the part of the settlement being delimited here. Unfortunately this was an area disrupted by an EH intrusion, and the sediments removed from it yielded no floor/street levels or inventoriable objects, chipped stone, bones, or shells (CL J 850).

Possibly Related Socles W-45–W-47 A narrow line of stones, W-45 ran NNE–SSW from the juncture of of W-43 and W-44 (Plan 13). Only 0.20 m wide, it was composed of a single course of mostly small stones in a single row and seems too slight to be considered a substantive component of the W-43/W-44 enclosure. It is perhaps the only remnant of some small structure set within the enclosure walls. Two socle fragments extended from the southern face of socle W-43, but, as preserved, were not contiguous with it. Socle W-46, which ran NNE–SSW, was apparently originally quite substantial, with two rows of fairly large stones preserved in two courses with a width of ca. 0.60 m. The bottom level of W-46 was consistent with that of W-43; it perhaps served as a buttress to the more substantial socle if the two were actually associated. Lying just east of socle W-46, at +3.86 was L.271, the Monochrome Urfirnis “Dachshund” rhyton (Fig. 24). Unfortunately this interesting piece was found in the 1954 excavation of trench J (CL J 102), when its broader context had not yet been established (Caskey 1955: 47, pl. 23:d; Vitelli 2007: 92, 101). Even more tenuous was the relationship between socles W-43 and W-44 and socle W-47. Any structural connection that might have existed between the socles was broken by the intrusion of the stone-ringed bothros at the juncture of W-43 and W-44, as noted above.

Ler MN 5 in JA–Jb

73

Figure 24. Area JA–JB: “Dachshund” L.271 as found east of W-46,

with W-43 at upper right, from south-southeast

Extending almost directly south from the intruding bothros and its encircling stones, where it was difficult to separate the socle stones from those of the bothros, socle W-47 was merely a straggling line of medium-sized stones in a single course that might have been only 0.25 m wide. The bottom level of the socle would suggest that it was laid down later than W-43 and W-44 and probably had no connection with them. Between socles W-46 and W-47 and extending southwest to later retaining wall J J at the edge of the Mixed Fill, a reddish sediment with many shells was found at +3.57, the identity of which as a floor was questioned by the excavator (FNB XXXVI: 83, J 582). Certainly it was well below the bottom level of W-47, but it might have been contemporary with W-46. Apart from the shells and some bones, the only object found in this space was a fragment of a grindstone (NK). Perhaps we had here an outdoor ad hoc workplace where food was prepared/eaten, and subsequently built over. In the space south of socle W-49 of the next phase above (see below, Plan 14), in the southeast corner of the trench, along the edge of the solid strata at the southeast, CL J 453 was excavated. The inventoried finds were Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1721, bone awl 219, terracotta sling bullet 304, and flint blade L5.685; there were a few bones and some shells. West of socle W-42, which lay just below W-48 of the next higher phase (Section 1), was Black Stratum 2, which extended into Area JB where a reddish sediment was found, probably dissolved brick from the underlying socles of Buildings W-31 and W-36. From these black and red sediments came CL J 451, CL J 452, and CL J 853, which included ca. one-half of marked Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup L.1035, and CL J 854. Combined lots J 451 and J 452 were confined to the west edge of Area JA before Area JB was opened; in both the sediment was red at the south over dark soil, and at the north, mostly dark soft soil. Both CL J 853 and CL J 854 removed Black Stratum 2 and the red sediment above it in the central and western sections of the combined areas. There were few finds apart from lithics and bones and shells, an indication that this part of the site did not see much activity.

74

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Burial 4 It was into these sediments, just west of socle W-42 in approximately Squares E 5/g 10–11, that burial 4 (lot J 617 in CL J 854) had been set (Plan 13, Section 1, and Chap. 6; see also Vitelli 2007: 47, 131–132). Resting on its side at +3.50, its mouth to the south, was Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1053, which contained the bones of a late-term fetus (Caskey 1957a: 159, pl. 48:f; Angel 1971: 41, 223 Ler [incorrectly dated as LN]). The burial evidently had been disturbed, since some bone fragments were found outside the vessel, some inside (Fig. 25). Only small pelvis and leg fragments were found at the bottom of the pot, possibly close to their Figure 25. Area JA–JB: burial 4 in Patterned Urfirnis original position. In the soil that filled the carinated bowl L.1053, from southeast vessel were some vertebrae and other bone fragments, with cranium fragments near the top. Additional small cranium fragments had spilled to one side outside the pot. Only the cranium fragments were available to Angel. We assume that the burial urn was placed in a pit and earth filled in around and above it, with the possible disturbance of the tiny body at the time of burial, though no evidence of a pit was observed by the excavator. At the north baulk of the area in Squares E 6–7/g 8–9 was a shallow pit/unlined bothros (top +3.80, bottom +3.60, est. Diam. ca. 1.00 m) that might have belonged to this phase, but could have been dug from a much higher level (bothros 2 in Vitelli 2007: 171, plan 12). That it cut into part of red-clay-lined SP-7 is probably coincidental, since the form and contents of the two pits were quite distinct (contra Vitelli 2007: 45). The bothros was full of sherds and small stones in dark earth and yielded a small quantity of bones and shells ( J 595).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Though including both earlier and later sherds, the material from this phase includes a substantial quantity of pottery that Vitelli considers comparable to FCP 2.3–2.4, our Ler MN 5 (Vitelli 2007: 48, 130). Sediments Associated with Enclosure W-43 and Neighboring Socles at +3.70–4.00 (CL J 102, J 417, CL J 451–CL J 453, J 567, J 582, J 595(?), CL J 848–CL J 850, CL J 853, CL J 854) Pottery Lime-ware cooking pot fr.; Vitelli: fig. 18:b Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1721; Vitelli: fig. 22:a Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 22:h, k, l Monochrome Urfirnis saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 24:e Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1243; Vitelli: fig. 25:c Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 29:l Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup L.1035; Vitelli: fig. 29:n Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 32:f, g

Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl L.773; Vitelli: fig. 35:c Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 36:f Monochrome Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 36:g Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 37:f, h Monochrome Urfirnis pirifirm bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 41:f Monochrome Urfirnis carinated collared bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 43:a, e Monochrome Urfirnis carinated collared bowl L.1232; Vitelli: fig. 43:b Monochrome Urfirnis “Dachshund” L.271; Vitelli: fig. 71:e

Ler MN 5 in JA–Jb

Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 44:e Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 48:d Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 49:d Coarse Urfirnis handle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 50:c Patterned Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 59:h Patterned Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 63:g–m Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 65:h

75

Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1053; Vitelli: fig. 65:k Patterned Urfirnis strainer vessel fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:v Patterned Urfirnis pinch pot fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:y Later Neolithic patterned (Group 7) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:e FN coarse large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 92:b

CL J 102: Trench J. J-3 South, South of Socle W-43 at +4.00–3.65 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (8+ bones and fragments, 12 shells): Sus 2: 1 l. Mx. fr. (M1), 1 r. Ma. fr. (1 M1→)

Capra 3 (2 MNI): 1 Sk. fr., 2 Sc. frr. Bos 3: Ri. fr. and fragments Cardium 2, Lucina(?) 5, Murex 5

J 417: JA. Removal of Wall W-48 at +4.29–3.83 Objects TC sling bullet 303; p. 238

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Hu. fr. (j.), 1 Ti. fr.

CL J 451: JA. West of Wall W-48 South at +4.09–3.92/3.84 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (6 bones):

Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Hu. fr., 2 Fe. frr. (j.) Cervus 3: Sc. frr.

CL J 452: JA. West of Wall W-48 North at +4.09–3.94/3.90 Objects (EH II BO rib awl L5.423, Banks 1967: 448–449, no. 1237) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (7 bones, 4 shells):

Capra 2: Hc. frr. Ovis/Capra 5 (2 MNI): 2 l. and 3 r. Ma. frr. (l., 2 M2→; r., 1 M1→, 2 M2→) Cardium 1, Ostrea 1, Murex 2

CL J 453: JA. South of Wall W-49, East and West at +3.83–3.68 Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) ST “bola” (NK) BO awl 219; p. 225 TC sling bullet 304; p. 238

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 21 shells): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M3 1/1), 2 Ti. frr. Cardium 7, Lucina 12, Ostrea 1, Murex 1

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 1, B 1 Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L5.685)

J 567: JA. Clearing of Winter’s Accumulation before Start of 1956 Campaign No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 582: JA. South of Wall W-43 and East of Wall W-47 at +3.74–3.57 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 29 shells): Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Fe., 1 Ti., 1 Mc., 1 Mt. fr. (all j.) Cardium 29 Reese (11 specifically identifiable bones, 23 fragments total; 29 shells): Ovis/Capra 11 (2 MNI): 1 dist. Hu. fr. (r., 2 pces.), 1 Ra. (UF dist., F pr., r.), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (l., 2 pces.),

2 pr. Fe. (2 UF + 1 UF head epiph., 2 l.), 1 dist. Fe. (UF + epiph.), 2 dist. Mc. (2 UF, 1 in 2 pces.), 1 pr. Mt., 1 dist. Mt. (UF), 2 Ri. frr. Cerastoderma 28 (16+ MNI) (12 l.: 16.5 × 18, 17 × 19, 18 × 20, 19 × 20.5, 21.5 × 23, 22 × 22+, 22 × 24.5, 22.5 × 25, 23.5 × 24.5, 23.5 × 25, 23.5 × 26, 26.5 × 26+; 16 r.: 17.5 × 18.5, 18 × 19, 19 × 20, 19.5 × 21, 20 × 22.5, 20.5 × 22, 22 × 23, 22 × 24.5, 22 × 25, 23 × 24, 23 × 25.5, 23.5 × 24, 24 × 26, 26 × 28, H. 25+, W. ca. 30), Ruditapes 1 (l.: H. 23)

76

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

J 595: Unlined Bothros Dug into Storage Pit SP-7 at +3.80–3.60 (EH II Contamination) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 3 shells): Sus 2: 1 Ra. fr. (j.), 1 Ti. fr. (j.)

Bos 1: M3 (1/1, lg., mesio-dist., W. 40) Cardium 1, Pinna 1, Murex 1 fr.

CL J 848: JA. Central Section West of Wall W-41 at +3.92–3.64 Objects TC female figurine (Venus of Myloi) 399; p. 254 Lithics Obs.: B 6 (L6.880, L6.888), NB 1 (L6.889 [Koz.: fig. 6:2]), sf/fr 3 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 4 shells): Sus 1: Ra. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 r. Ma. fr. (M1→), 1 Sc. fr. Bos 1: Ri. fr. Cardium 1, Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 1

Reese (7 specifically identifiable bones, 14 fragments total: 1 cut; 7 shells): Sus: 2: 1 P (w., young), 1 Ra. fr. (UF pr., broken dist.) Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Ma. fr. (r.), M1 (broken), 1 Sc. (F, r., 4 pces.), 1 dist. Mt. + sh. (UF), 1 Ph. 1 ( JF) Bos 1: Ri. fr. (cut through head) Cerastoderma 1 (r., 24 × 26), Ostrea 2 MNI, Ruditapes 3 (2 MNI) (2 r., 1 l. fr.), Hexaplex 1 (dist. + part of body)

CL J 849: JA. Building W-41, Above Floor, Floor, and Removal of Wall W-41 and CrossWall at +4.01–3.69/3.55 Objects ST pounder/rubber 102; p. 204 ST pounder/rubber 103; p. 204 ST pendant 144; p. 213 TC polisher 345; p. 243 Lithics Obs.: B 3, Tr 1 (Koz.: ill. 13:14) Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L6.907) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments, 4 shells):

Sus 1: l. Mx. fr. (M2→) Ovis/Capra 1: M3 (1/1), and fragments Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 2 Reese (5 specifically identifiable bones, 24 fragments total; 7 shells): Sus 2: 1 Mx. fr. (M2 just erupting, l.), 1 Ph. 1 (UF) Ovis/Capra 1: M3 (slightly w.) Bos 2: 1 dist. Ti. fr. (UF), 1 Ph. 3 (broken) Ostrea 1 (74+ × 55+), Ruditapes 4 (2 MNI) (2 r.: 47 × 33.5, broken 28.5; l.: 28, fr.), Hexaplex 2 (dist. end, dist. part body)

CL J 850: JA. Stratum Associated with Enclosure W-43 North of Wall W-43 at +3.75–3.69 and North of Wall W-43 and East of Wall W-44 at +3.69–3.59 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL J 853: JA–JB. Red Stratum beneath Black Stratum 1 West of Wall W-38 at +3.70/3.65– 3.57 and Red beneath Sooty Earth at West at +3.89–3.70 Objects TC polisher (NI) Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 7 (L6.882), Br 1 (L6.881), Es 1 (L6.894 [Koz.: ill. 13:6]), RB 1 (L6.901), P 1 (L6.902 [Koz.: fig. 6:5]), sf/fr 4 Fl./Ch.: RB 1 (L6.895) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (7 bones, 24 shells): Sus 3: 1 l. and 1 r. Mx. frr. (l., M3→; r., P3→), 1 Ti. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 3 r. Ma. frr. (1 P1–3→, 1 M2→, 1 M3→, 1 1/1) Accipiter 1: carpomt. (Gejvall: 48, 96, tables 33, 116, pl. XXI:8; S.) Cardium 7, Ostrea 4, Lucina(?) 10, Murex 3

Reese (17 specifically identifiable bones; 63 fragments total: 1 bu.; 23 shells): Sus 2: 2 Mx. frr. (P3 erupting; M1–2 uw., M3 hole, both r. + probably join) Ovis/Capra 10 (4 MNI): 3 Ma. frr. (dP1–3; P1–3 erupting, M1–2; P2–3, M1–3, 3 r.), 1 dP3 (r.), 2 pr. Ul. (1 UF, 1 F, 1 r., 1 l.), 1 Ti. (all UF), 1 dist. Ti. (F, partly bu. gray), 1 Mt. (F, complete), 1 Ph. 1 (UF) Bos 3: 2 Ma. frr. (coronoid process; condyle process), 1 sh. Canis 1: Sc. fr. (F) Accipiter 1: carpomt. (broken tuberositas metacarpi II, r.; Gejvall: 48, 96, tables 33, 116, pl. XXI:8; S.) Cerastoderma 7 (7 MNI) (l.: 32 × 35, 36 × 41.5 asym.; r.: 28.5 × 30.5 [acided], 32 × 36 [hole at umbo, acided], 33.5 × 37 [acided], 34 × 38.5, 36.5 × 35+

Ler MN 6 in JA–Jb

[hole at umbo, acided]), Ostrea 3 (3 MNI) (56.5 × 49, 59.5 × 66 [acided], 84 × 74), Spondylus 1 (up., w., probable beach specimen, 60.5 × 55.5), Ruditapes 9 (5+ MNI) (l.: 28, 30

77

[acided], 40 × 27, 40+ × 27; r.: 38 × 25.5, 42 × 29, 45 × 29, 43 × 32, ca. 46 × ca. 32 [acided]), Bolinus 3 (L. 55, 56.5, 62+ [missing apex])

CL J 854: JA–JB. Black Stratum 2 West of Wall W-38 at +3.70/3.65–3.61, and East of Wall W-34 and West of Wall W-38 at +3.61–3.57 Objects TC polisher 346; p. 243 (TC calf head on handle of L6.178 Monochrome Urfirnis spoon, not seen by Vitelli) Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 3, RB 1 (L6.914, not seen by Kozłowski), SpP 1, sf/fr 3 Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L6.915), Br 1 (L6.916 [Koz.: fig. 6:8])

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 7 shells): Sus 2: 1 l. Mx. fr. (M1→), 1 Ra. fr. Ovis/Capra 1: l. Ma. fr. (M1→, M3 1/1) Cardium 1, Lucina 2, Ostrea 3, Murex 1

Ler MN 6 in JA–JB (formerly Lerna II.J.F, G; Vitelli: 48–51) Yard W-48 and Addition Walls W-48–W-52

In the next phase we see, architecturally, a repetition of the configuration of phase Ler MN 4, a single large unit, W-48, in approximately the same location as earlier building W-38, in Squares E 6–10/g 8–13. Oriented NNW–SSE, the structure was internally at least 5.00 m long and 3.50 m wide, a minimum preserved area of almost 17.50 m2. Preserved was much of the northwest and southeast socles, W-48 and W-49. A few stones of what we call W-50 extended north from W-49 at the southeast corner of the area and might have been an interior crosswall in what we will call yard W-48, a remnant of another structure, or, more likely, merely fallen stones. The corner of W-48 and W-49 had slipped over the edge of the steep drop to the Mixed Fill. All these socles were narrow as preserved, composed of a single row of medium-sized stones 0.30–0.35 m wide with one, occasionally two, courses in position. The stone-ringed bothros mentioned above (pp. 72–73) was dug into lower levels grazing W-47 in Lerna MN 5, with the stones at the top contiguous with the corner of W-49 and W-50 in E 10–11/g 13–14. The flimsiness of the socles and the size of the area enclosed suggests that the superstructure was light and possibly defined an unroofed area, perhaps a yard for animals, surrounded by a fence of sturdy reeds for which the stones provided some stability. Possibly here at the edge of the settlement was a pen where animals from several families were kept for the night (Souvatzi 2008: 154). It is not without interest that all animals bones found in the attached bothros were of sheep and goats ( J 591). A hard level with patches of gray and black ash (ad hoc hearths?) at +4.16 probably marked the floor level of yard W-48; Monochrome Urfirnis ring base L.776, with an X painted on the underside, was found at +4.07 and most probably belonged to the same floor. The floor and sediments below to +3.83 were removed in CL J 450; one-third of Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl L.1722, a few lithics, and some bones and shells were the primary finds here. South of the building, sediments from the same levels were removed in CL J 449 and yielded, along with a small quantity of bones and shells, ca. one-half of Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup L.862, terracotta sling bullet 317, and terracotta whorl 357. Just west of W-48 a small quantity of bones and shells came from J 389. Since this structure follows in a sequence of MN structures in this general area of the site and the bulk of the associated pottery is in MN fabrics, we consider it to be an artifact of the

78

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

latest Middle Neolithic represented at the site and not associated chronologically with the ash pits farther west, which were clearly Final Neolithic in date (see below, pp. 82–89). At some point after the original construction of yard W-48, small room W-48a (a shepherd’s shelter?) was built inside its southwestern corner, in part by adding a few stones to existing exterior socles W-48 and W-49, in part by laying new socles inside the structure. We consider this a minor modification of yard W-48 and not evidence of a chronologically distinct phase. Consequently, we have combined in a single list the pottery reported by Vitelli as Lerna II.J.F and II.J.G, which she compares to FCP 2.4–2.5, though with FN and EH contamination (Vitelli 2007: 49, 51, 130). To form room W-48a a few medium-sized stones were laid on the stones of W-48, and four widely spaced medium-sized elongated stones were set on W-49. With the addition of new socles W-51 and W-52 was created an irregular room, approximately 1.50 m on a side, in the southwest corner of yard W-48. Socle W-51 consisted of a single row of small stones one course high; the stones of W-52 were slightly larger and set in a single row with one to three courses preserved in position. Both socles were ca. 0.20 m wide. No floor was detected in the small room. The sediment within the southeastern corner of the main space from +4.16–4.10 was combined with the material from the removal of socles W-50 and W-52 in CL J 448, from which no significant finds were recorded. Excavation within the corner defined by W-48 and W-51 likewise yielded nothing of consequence ( J 386).

Stone-Ringed Bothros The stones surrounding the mouth of the stone-ringed bothros that interrupted the juncture of lower socles W-43 and W-44 were difficult to distinguish from those socles and socle W-49 (Plans 13, 14, Sections 1, 2, Fig. 26). There appear to have been two primary layers of stones surrounding mouth of the pit: the base layer of larger stones recorded on Plan 13 with socles W-43 and W-44 of the preceding phase, and the smaller stones around an aperture of ca. 0.80 m at a top level of +4.11. Below a harder level at +3.86, the soft bothros fill began at ca. +3.80 and continued to +3.09, but yielded no objects or lithics, only exclusively Ovis/Capra bones with two shells ( J 591).

Figure 26. Area JA–JB: stone-ringed bothros at southeast corner of yard 48, from south

Ler MN 6 in JA–Jb

D

5

79

E

20

5

AP-8

15

10

AP-5 AP-4 upper and lower AP-7 AP-6

g

____ W-48 AP-3 AP-2

10 AX3.0

W-51

+4.19 ____ +4.01

+4.46 ____ +4.16

+4.16 ____

yard W-48

AX2.8

AX2.5

AP-1

room W-48a

W-52 +4.40 ____ +4.23

+4.11 ____ +3.76

W-50

+4.29 ____ +3.91 +4.29 ____ +3.84

W-49

bothros

top +4.11

JJ

15

Plan 14. Area JA–JB: yard W-48 and ash pits. Scale 1:100

Plan 14. Ler MN 6 and FN in J: Yard W-48 and FN Ash Pits (AP) The sediments that were removed to uncover the socles of this phase constituted the first reasonably pure Neolithic deposits reached in this part of the site; the EH contamination was not extensive. A red layer at +4.37–4.16 in Area JA was removed in CL J 447; it yielded few objects but included sufficient sherds to produce fragments of Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1725 and Monochrome Urfirnis askos(?) L.1727. The corresponding red sediment in the eastern part of area JB was removed in CL J 843 and yielded Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1726 and some animal bones and shells. A soft spot found in the southwest corner of Area JA in the process of digging this red sediment was not considered to be a bothros by the excavator; in the loose fill were two stones celts, 58 and 59, and a small quantity of bones and shells ( J 345). Beneath this red stratum in the western part of Area JA and spreading into the eastern portion of Area JB was Black Stratum 1, removed in CL J 845. Sherds were abundant and included those of marked Monochrome Urfirnis piriform jar L.1724. In the same lot were a bone scraper/polisher (280) and fragments of two terracotta triangular plaques, only one of which was inventoried (393), along with lithics, bones, and shells.

80

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi In these upper MN levels Vitelli found some correspondences with FCP 2.4 and FCP 2.5 (Vitelli 2007: 49–51, 130). We suggest for Ler MN 6 a time when FCP 2.4 was yielding to FCP 2.5. Yard W-48 was the latest MN structure built in this area of the site. But as Vitelli has demonstrated, the MN pottery from the site does not, upon comparison with MN material from elsewhere, prove to be the latest product of the period, and she suggests that the site was abandoned by the end of the Middle Neolithic (Vitelli 2007: 72–73, 132). However, evidence of FN activity, in addition to isolated sherds, was documented in the area west of the yard in the form of clay-lined pits, though no contemporary architectural remains were uncovered. The same situation holds in pits BD and BE, where the Neolithic levels were tested and comparable clay-lined pits and FN burials were found, but no architecture (see below, pp. 119, 140). Clearly then, there was a hiatus in Neolithic activity at the site that extended from the later, but not latest, MN to middle FN with only a slight trace of any LN activity (Vitelli 2007: 109–110, 115–116, 132). Sediments Associated with Yard W-48 at +4.00–4.30/4.40: ( J 345, J 386, J 389, J 420, CL J 447–CL J 450, J 591, CL J 843, CL J 845) Pottery Sandy-ware cooking pot fr.; Vitelli: fig. 18:a Lime-ware cooking pot fr.; Vitelli: fig. 18:f Lime-ware saucer and bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 19:a, f, g Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 22:e, g, n, o Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1725; not illustrated Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1726; Vitelli: fig. 25:a Monochrome Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 25:d Monochrome Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 27:d–f, h, j, l–o Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup L.862; Vitelli: fig. 29:b Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 30:l Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 36:i Monochrome Urfirnis carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 37:i, j Monochrome Urfirnis large carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 38:a–c Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 40:b, d Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl fr. L.1722; Vitelli: fig. 40:e Monochrome Urfirnis piriform marked bowl L.1724; Vitelli: fig. 41:d Monochrome Urfirnis marked ring base L.776; not illustrated Scribbled Urfirnis bowl(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 52:b Pattern-Burnished Urfirnis frr.; Vitelli: fig. 53:a–c, f Patterned Urfirnis piriform bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 62:d, f–i

Patterned Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 63:n–q Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 65:i, j Patterned Urfirnis askos frr.; Vitelli: fig. 68:k, m Patterned Urfirnis strainer vessel fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:w Monochrome Urfirnis askos fr.; Vitelli: fig. 70:a Monochrome Urfirnis askos(?) L.1727; Vitelli: fig. 70:c Monochrome Urfirnis asymmetrical vessel fr.; Vitelli: fig. 70:f Scratch-incised bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:h Bead and rib bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:o Later Neolithic gray burnished (Group 1) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 73:e Later Neolithic gray burnished (Group 1) handle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 73:j Later Neolithic patterned (Group 2) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:a Later Neolithic patterned (Group 3) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:k Later Neolithic patterned (Group 4) jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 75:h Later Neolithic Ungritted Manganese patterned (Group 7) jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:a FN coarse base frr.; Vitelli: fig. 86:a–f, h FN coarse large jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 87:c FN coarse large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 91:b FN coarse large bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 92:c, e FN coarse(?) base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 95:j FN Heavy Burnished small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 78:j FN Heavy Burnished large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 81:c FN Heavy Burnished rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 82:b

J 345: JA. Hollow of Dark Earth in Southwest Corner of JA at +4.37–4.20 Objects ST celt 58; p. 196 ST celt 59; p. 196

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ti. fr., 1 Mt. fr. Murex 1

Ler MN 6 in JA–Jb

81

J 386: JA. Yard W-48 in Angle of Walls W-48 and W-51 at +4.20–4.16 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 shells): Cardium 3, Lucina(?) 1

J 389: JA. West of Wall W-48 at +4.17–4.09 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 4 shells): Sus 1: Sc. fr.

Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ra. fr. (nb.), 1 Cal. (nb.) Ostrea 1, Murex 3

J 420: Removal of Stones of Stone-Ringed Bothros at Southeast Corner of Yard W-48 at ca. +4.11–3.86 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones): Sus 4: 1 Sc. fr., 2 Ra. frr. (1 j.), 1 Ti. fr. (j)

CL J 447: JA. First Cuts into Neolithic at +4.37–4.16 See also Wiencke 2000: 74, for this lot.

Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) (EH II BO rib awl L5.352) Lithics Obs.: B 1, NB 1 (L5.683), Tr 1 (Koz.: ill. 13:12) Fl./Ch.: B 1, RB/Sg 1 (L5.673 [Koz.: ill. 13:17])

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (9 bones and fragments, 54 shells): Sus 1: Hu. fr. (j.), and fragments Ovis/Capra 4: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M2→), 1 M3 (w. down), 1 Mc. fr. (j.), 1 Mt. fr. (j.) Bos 4: 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Mc. fr., 1 Ri. fr. Cardium 40, Lucina(?) 2, Arca 1, Murex 11

CL J 448: JA. Yard W-48, Addition in Angle of Walls W-49 and W-52 at +4.16–4.10, and Removal of Wall W-52 and Stones Added to Wall W-49 at +4.80–4.10 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL J 449: South of Yard W-48, South of Wall W-49 at +4.16–3.87 and Corner of Later Socles J J and J (Not Illustrated) (Trench J) at +3.96–3.83 Objects TC sling bullet 317; p. 239 TC whorl 357; p. 245 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 16 shells): Sus 1: Sk. fr. Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Mc. fr., 1 Ph. I Bos 1: M2 Cardium 5, Ostrea 2, Lucina 6, Murex 3

Sus 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ul. sh. (young, bu. gray/black) Ovis/Capra 4: 2 post. Ma. frr. (coronoid + condyle processes), 1 dist. Mc. fr. (F), 1 Ph. 1 (F) Bos 1: Ma. fr. (M2 erupting) Canis 1: Cal. (bu. gray/black) Cerastoderma 7 (4+ MNI) (3 r.*: 27 × 32, 24 × 27, 32; 3 l.*: 28, 32 × 34.5, 1 fr. [* articulate]), Ostrea 1 (66+ × 69), Ruditapes 5 (3 MNI) (l. 47 × 31.5; 2 r.: 28 × 20.5, ca. 34), Hexaplex 2 (44 × ca. 32 [broken lip], 70.5 × 57), Bolinus 1 (63, open side)

Reese (8 specifically identifiable bones, 13 fragments total: 2 bu.; 16 shells):

CL J 450: JA. Yard W-48 at +4.16–3.83 Objects ST “ball” (NI) Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs: F 1, B 4

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (9 bones and fragments, 20 shells): Ovis/Capra 3+: 2 Ti. frr., 1 Ast., and fragments Bos 6: 1 l. Mx. (1/1), 1 Ax. fr., 2 Ph. II, 2 Ph. III Cardium 17, Ostrea 1, Murex 2

J 591: Stone-Ringed Bothros Fill in Yard W-48 at +3.80–3.09 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments; 2 shells ):

Ovis 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 M2 (1/1), and fragments Murex 2

82

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Reese (28 specifically identifiable bones, 36 fragments total; 2 shells): Ovis/Capra 28: 4 Hc. frr., 12 Sk. frr., 1 M1, 1 M2, 2 Ma. frr. (side; condyle process), 1 M2 (w.), 1 pr. Hu.

(UF + epiph., 3 pces.), 1 pr. Mc. fr. (l.), 1 Ve. (UF), 1 Ve. sp., 3 Ri. frr. Hexaplex 2 (2 dist. ends, 1 open body, 2 med.)

CL J 843: JB. East Side, First Cut into Neolithic at +4.31–4.17/4.15–4.12 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 12 shells): Sus 4: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Sc. fr. (j.), 1 Ul. fr., 1 Ti. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 1: l. Mx. fr. (1/1)

Thynnus thynnus 1: Ve. fr. (bu., gray) (Gejvall: 49; S.) Cardium 2, Ostrea 4, Arca 1, Pinna 1, Murex 3, Cyprina(?) 1

CL J 845: JA–JB. Black Stratum 1 at +4.17–4.15/4.12–3.71 Objects BO scraper/polisher 280; p. 233 TC triangular plaque 393; p. 250 TC triangular plaque fr. (NK) Lithics Obs.: F 3, B 16 (L6.874, L6.875, L6.877, L6.878, L6.883–L6.887), Es 1 (Koz.: ill. 13:10), NB 2, P 1 (L6.876), RB 1, SpP/f 1, Tr 1 (Koz.: ill. 13:13), sf/fr 8 Fl./Ch.: Ch 1 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments, 12 shells): Sus 1: l. Mx. fr. (M2→) Ovis/Capra 1: l. Mx. fr. (j.) (1/1) Bos 1: Ma. fr. (ad.) Cardium 9, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 2

Reese (13 specifically identifiable bones, 67 fragments total; 3 bu.; 13 shells): Sus 1: Ma. fr. (M1 uw., M2 mainly up, l.) Ovis/Capra 11: 1 Mx. fr. (has P1–3, l.), 2 Sc. (2 F, r., l.), 1 dist. Hu. (F), 1 pr. Ul. (UF), 1 dist. Ti. (UF) attached to Ast., 1 pr. Mc., 2 Mc. (UF; F), 1 dist. Mt. ( JF), 1 Ph. 1 ( JF)Sus or Ovis/Capra 3: shs. (3 bu. black) Bos 1: Ma. fr. (ad.) Cerastoderma 9 (9 MNI) (r.: 28.5 × 30.5 asym., 29 × 33 asym., 33 × 33+, fr.; l.: 25 × 28 [acided], 26 × 30 asym. [acided], 26.5 × 26.5 asym., 33 × 36.5 asym., 33.5 × 36 asym.), Ruditapes 2 (1+ MNI) (l., 30, broken; r., broken), Hexaplex 2 (2 MNI) (dist. body + columella, columella + body [acided], 2 body frr. [acided]) (Human: dist. Hu. [F])

Ler FN Ash Pits AP-1–AP-8 in JA–JB (Vitelli: 117–126, 133–135) As noted above, FN sherds appeared as intrusive material in many MN lots. The source of the contamination can only be conjectured, but might have been associated with disturbances of the MN sediments by EH II activities that displaced FN material into the lower levels. Certainly no FN pottery was found in a stratified context anchored by any kind of building. Rather, the only built features of FN date anywhere on the site were one FN burial (see below, p. 153) and the red-clay-lined pits, which we call “ash pits” (AP), though they might well have served more than one function (Plans 14, 15, Section 1; and see Vitelli 2007: 117–126, 133–135). These pits first were first recognized in the eastern section of Area JB, as the first cuts into reasonably pure Neolithic sediments were made in a hard bright red layer with yellow and black patches (see above, p. 82, CL J 843). Ultimately seven pits with clearly defined features were documented, with traces of another, all in an area that reached from the western section of Area JA to the west edge of Area JB (Fig. 27). The easternmost pits were found at the western edge of a black, ashy deposit rich in Neolithic sherds, Black Stratum 1 (see above, p. 82, CL J 845). Those at the far west were excavated from brownish earth that included an admixture of EH wares as the strata slipped off in this direction (CL J 842, Mixed II–III; see Wiencke 2000: 73–74). The sequence of activities in the area presented by Vitelli (2007: 120–121 with n. 13) was not observed by the excavator in the field and cannot be documented specifically in the existing record. Comparable ash pits were found in pits BD and BE (see below, pp. 119, 140).

Ler FN Ash Pits AP-1–AP-8 in JA–JB

83

JB EH Walls

JA AP-8

+4.17 ____ upper +3.99

EH

AP-5

s

+4.01 ____ +3.87

+4.10 ____ lower +3.94

Wa ll

+4.25 ____ +3.86

pebbles

N

+3.96 +3.82 ________ +3.62/3.60

brownish earth

AP-7 +3.89 ____ +3.68

+4.23 ____ +3.63

AP-6

AP-4

AP-3 +4.19 ____ +3.72

+3.64 ____ +3.40

black full of sherds

AP-2 +4.31 ____ +3.75

Mixed Fill

AP-1 +3.92 ____ +3.75

0

1

2m

Plan 15. Area JA–JB: ash pits AP-1–AP-8. Scale 1:40

The Area JA–JB pits usually were recognized initially as rings of red clay within which was “hard-packed grayish, or atNeolithic least darker, or groups Plan 15. Final Ashearth Pits (AP) in J of stones” ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: 14). The hardened red clay proved to be the preserved edge of a solid lining in each pit that varied in thickness from 0.04 m to 0.13 m, with an average approaching 0.10 m. Most of the pits were ca. 1.00 m at the top across an irregularly circular plan; a few were smaller, with diameters from 0.60 m to 0.75 m. In section they displayed different profiles: some had approximately straight sides that curved into broad, flattish bottoms, others a rounded bowl shape. Where the top edge of a pit was preserved it was nicely rounded off, but in most cases the top of a pit had been removed by subsequent activity in the area. Only AP-6 with a depth of 0.60 m, and AP-3, which had a depth of 0.47 m, appeared to have been preserved to their full extent; AP-4, at ca. 0.40 m, was perhaps preserved to close to its full depth. An average depth of ca. 0.50 m seems a reasonable norm for the pits.

84

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

The same or approximately the same locations were often used twice for the pits; below five of the seven well-preserved pits, traces of a second similar one was found. The top of the highest pit was measured at +4.31, the bottom of the lowest at +3.40; the majority fell between ca. +4.20 and +3.60. Clearly all the pits were not set in at the same time, but the evidence available does not allow for fine chronological distinctions among them. The period of creation and use of all the pits no doubt was relatively short. As Vitelli has pointed out for Franchthi, the fabric of the FN large pots, such as those found in Lerna AP-3, was friable and poorly baked, and the pots were probably made and used locally and not designed for long-term use (Vitelli 1999: 65). In terms of function, the pits are difficult to categorize. The care given to the lining of the sides and bottom suggests that they were meant for something more than ephemeral use. The excavator tentatively suggested they were “storage pits” ( JA–JB 1956 annual report: 14). But some contained an ashy fill and one a fill described as “sooty,” which suggests a use in some way, perhaps indirectly, associated with fire (contra Vitelli 2007: 121). Since they were deeper than the hearth pits (see above, p. 25), we suggest that they might have served primarily as receptacles for warm coals and ashes from nearby fires, and could have been used for slow cooking. We designate them as ash pits to distinguish them from the red-clay-lined storage pits of earlier levels. The strange “scuttles” or “drums” (L.1148, L.1149) that were found in fragments in one of the pits (AP-3) might have been used for carrying coals and ashes from fireplace to pit in a communal cooking/work area. Stones

Figure 27. Area JA–JB: general view of ash pits with surrounding earth cut away, from west-northwest

Ler FN Ash Pits AP-1–AP-8 in JA–JB

85

laid in the top of a pit (e.g., AP-6) might have served both as a marker of location and as insulation for the ashes below. In the case of AP-3, which was stuffed with stones and the sherds of several large coarse vessels (some of which were exposed to fire after breakage [Vitelli 2007: 123] and were possibly gathered from a nearby cooking place), the pit took on the character of a typical bothros for rubbish disposal. A desire for neatness, for cleaning up before moving on, is as, or more(?), likely an explanation for their deposition than the suggestion that they were deliberately deposited to serve as a marker of “social rupture” (contra Vitelli 2007: 133–134). AP-1 Plans 14, 15 Squares E 6/g 10–11. Only traces of bottom preserved: red-clay rim around gray earth. Max. p.Diam. ca. 0.60 m; p.D. 0.17 m (+3.92– 3.75) Very few sherds, not kept separate; no other finds. AP-2 Plans 14, 15, Section 1, Figs. 27, 28 Squares E 4–5/g 10–11. Mostly red clay with distinction between lining and fill not clearly defined; not certainly an ash pit. Max. Diam. ca. 0.75 m; D. 0.56 m (+4.31–3.75) Black soil full of sherds between this pit and AP-3. AP-3 Plans 14, 15, Section 1, Figs. 27, 29, 30 Squares E 3–4/g 9–10. Straight-sided pit with flat bottom ( JA–JB 1995 annual report: section on drawing no. 12) set into Black Stratum 1 to depth of 0.27 m (+3.92). Traces of earlier pit below, down to +3.72. Max. Diam. ca. 1.05 m; D. 0.47 m (+4.19–3.72); wall Th. 0.06–0.13 m Packed with sherds mixed with stones at top (FNB XXXVI: 74); fragments of at least eight large coarse vessels, including inventoried pots L.1141, L.1148, L.1149, and six FN Heavy Burnished (HB) bases, some of the sherds showing clear evidence of post-breakage exposure to fire ( J 588; Vitelli 2007: 122–123). Another 33 Neolithic sherds recorded in J 596 from red-clay lining itself. No other finds. AP-4 Plans 14, 15, Figs. 27, 29, 31 Squares E 3–4/g 7–8. Upper pit: Slightly splaying sides with rounded transition to irregularly undulating flat bottom. A few stones off center on preserved top. Max. Diam. ca. 1.10 m; Max. p.D. (interior) 0.39 m (+4.25–3.86) Patch of stones to northwest between this pit and AP-5. Lower pit: Below and not quite coincident with later pit, which was cut into it. Very shallowly concave bottom, sooty black earth fill. Max. est. Diam. 1.20 m; Max. p.D. (exterior) 0.20–0.22 m (+3.82–3.62/3.60)

From removal of both pits 33 sherds, including FN polychrome bowl fragment L.1061, bone tools 227, 228, a few lithics, one piece of bone (Bos rib) and one shell ( J 590). AP-5 Plans 14, 15, Fig. 27 Squares E 3–4/g 6. Basin-shaped red-clay lining filled with white ashy earth with single stone on bottom (FNB XXXVI: 74). Not fully excavated, extending into north baulk of area. Nothing suggested to the excavator that this was anything other than the usual ashy deposit associated with other hearthlike features at the site (see Vitelli 2007: 121, n. 14, 133). Est. max. Diam. 0.60 m; p.D. 0.14 m (+4.01–3.87) Ca. 30 sherds, primarily burnished coarse, most probably from same pot, whitened from contact with ash, and a few lithics ( J 584).

Figure 28. Area JA–JB: ash pit(?) AP-2 at

top of level column (center), from west

86

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

Figure 29. Area JA–JB: ash pits AP-3 (right), AP-4 (rear),

and AP-6 (left), from south

S

N +4.19

rth

wn

ea

black stratum

black stratum

o

br

red-clay lining 0

0.5

1m

Figure 30. Area JA–JB: ash pit AP-3, from south (above), and section (below)

Fig. 7. Section of Ash Pit AP-3

Ler FN Ash Pits AP-1–AP-8 in JA–JB

SSW

87

NNE

+3.82

hard red-clay linings

0

sooty black earth

0.5

unexcavated

+4.25

1m

Figure 31. Area JA–JB: ash pit AP-4, upper (depression at left) and

lower (right), from west-northwest (above), and section (below)

Fig. 8. Section of Ash Pit AP-4, upper and lower AP-6 Plans 14, 15, Section 1, Figs. 27, 29, 32 Squares E 1–2/g 9–10. Almost straight sides, rounded bottom; traces of second “floor” at +3.94 noted by excavator, not fully described. Traces of earlier pit below, not quite coincident. Cut off by intrusion of EH II fused fill. Mixed Neolithic–EH II lot J 589 reported in Wiencke 2000: 73–74. Stones layered in brown earth at top, grayish white earth fill (FNB XXXVI: 47). Diam. ca. 1.05 m; D. 0.60 m (+4.23–3.63) Among stones, two grindstone fragments (NK), bone awl/needle/toggle 226, EH II TC whorl L6.47, a few lithic artifacts, with two bones added to same lot. Ca. 50 sherds, of which ca. one-third EH. AP-7 Plans 14, 15, Fig. 32 Squares D 20–E 1/g 8–9. Upper pit: Southwest periphery damaged by stones intruding at edge of Mixed Fill. Brownish fill in center with a few stones at preserved top. Max. p.Diam. 1.10 m; p.D. 0.21 m (+3.89–3.68)

Lower pit: Directly beneath later, showing as ashy gray earth within red clay circle. Diam. NR; p.D. 0.24 m (+3.64–3.40) From interior, 23 Neolithic sherds ( J 585); from clay lining, 27 Neolithic sherds ( J 597); no other finds. Between this pit and pit AP-8 a patch of pebbles at +3.96. AP-8 Plans 14, 15, Fig. 32 Squares D 20–E 1/g 5–6. Extended into unexcavated baulk at northwest corner of area. Upper pit: Straight sides curving into flat bottom. A few stones concentrated in center at preserved top. Max. p.Diam. 1.00 m; p.D. 0.18 m (ca. +4.17–3.99) Lower pit: Straight sides curving into flat bottom, gray fill. Est. Diam. 0.90 m; p.D. 0.16 m (+4.10–3.94) Small quantity of sherds, three bones, and three grindstone fragments ( J 598).

88

THE SETTLEMENT IN AREAS JA AND JB

NW

SE W

red clay

red-clay lining grayish white earth

unexcavated

stones in brown earth

+4.23

E +4.17 +4.10

gray fill red-clay lining

brown earth

0

0.5

1m

0

0.5

Figure 32. Area JA–JB: ash pits AP-6 (right foreground), AP-7 (left), and AP-8 (rear), from south-southeast (above), and sections of AP-6 (below, left) (below,of right) Fig.and 10.AP-8 Section Ash

Fig. 9. Section of Ash Pit AP-6

1m

Pit AP-8

The ash pits here and those in pits BD and BE, along with two FN graves, one in trench HTN and the second in trench JC (see below, pp. 119, 140, 147, 153), and isolated sherds attest to the participation of Lerna in the changes observed all over Greece in the long Final Neolithic period. In Franchthi terms, the FN pottery found at Lerna is the equivalent of FCP 5.2, about the middle of the period (Vitelli 2007: 125–126, 130). Like Franchthi, Lerna falls in the larger zone of the so-called Attic-Kephala Culture first isolated by Renfrew and now seen to encompass Euboia, the Cyclades, Central Greece, and the whole of the Peloponnese (Alram-Stern 2007: 1–2). As described by Demoule and Perlès (1993: 389), southern Greece saw changes in settlement patterns, with more emphasis on animals and with transhumance arising alongside more traditional sedentary communities (see also Dousougli 1992: 277).

Ler FN Ash Pits AP-1–AP-8 in JA–JB

89

The Lerna ash pits might have been dug during a comparatively brief stay of transhumant pastoralists who came to water their animals at the stream before moving to or from upland pastures. Perhaps they built no permanent structures but lived in the open, leaving behind only the pits and the burials of two of their number who had died during their visit. Whether they had any sort of permanent settlement on some part of the site not yet excavated, only future exploration can reveal. Ler FN Ash Pits from +3.40 to +4.31 ( J 584, J 585, J 588–J 590, J 596–J 598) Pottery FN Patterned polychrome bowl L.1061; Caskey 1957a: pl. 48:a, c; Vitelli: fig. 75:g FN Heavy Burnished bases; Vitelli: fig. 86:a–f FN coarse large jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 87:a–c FN coarse large jar L.1141; Vitelli: fig. 88:a

FN coarse large jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 88:b, c FN coarse large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 89:b FN coarse large jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 91:c FN coarse large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 92:a FN coarse large “drum” L.1148; Vitelli: figs. 93, 94:b FN coarse large “drum” L.1149; Vitelli: fig. 94:a

J 584: JB. Clearing Ash Pit AP-5 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 1 (and 1 fr., lost)

Bones and Shells Shells NK

J 585: JB. Clearing Ash Pit AP-7, Interior of Lower No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 588: JB. Removal of Ash Pit AP-3, Interior of Upper No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 589: JB. Removal of Ash Pit AP-6 Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) BO awl(?) 226; p. 226 (EH II TC whorl: Banks 1967: 486, no. 1220 [L6.47])

Lithics (II–III, not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: 1 P (L6.1550) Fl./Ch.: 1 RB (L6.890), 1 RF (L6.891)

J 590: JB. Removal of Ash Pit AP-4, Upper and Lower Objects BO awl 227; p. 226 BO awl 228; p. 226 Lithics Obs.: F 1, Es 1 (L6.1549 [Koz.: ill. 13:11]), sf/fr 1 Fl./Ch.: Es 1 (L6.892, not seen by Kozłowski)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone, 1 shell): Bos 1: Ri. fr. Ostrea 1

J 596: JB. Ash Pit AP-3, Clay Lining of Upper No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 597: JB. Removal of Ash Pit AP-7, Clay Lining of Lower No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 598: JB. Removal of Ash Pit AP-8, Interior of Lower Objects ST grindstones, 3 frr. (NK) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones):

Ovis/Capra 1: M2 (1/1) Bos 1: Ri. fr. Vulpes 1: l. Ma. fr. (P3, P4 alv., M1 unw., M2 roots) (Gejvall: 87, table 75; S.)

3

 The Settlement in the Supplementar y Trenches and Pits

Trench AP Trench AP was laid out in the northwestern section of Square G/g and excavated in 1957 (Caskey 1958: 136, 139). Oriented approximately north–south, the trench was ca. 4.00 m long and 2.00 m wide (Plan 2). The hope of finding throughout the trench a full sequence of Neolithic sediments under those of Early Helladic date was frustrated, since the Mixed Neolithic/Early Helladic Fill noted in the J areas and elsewhere (for detailed discussion, see below, pp. 164–173) was found in the central and northern sections of the trench. In the central 2.00 m the fill appeared as high as +3.56 and continued to ca. +2.35 m. To the north the stony fill began at ca. +3.00 and continued below the water level, here reached at +0.64. Neolithic strata in the south were excavated, along with those that appeared under the fill in the center at +2.35, to +0.65, just above the water level.

Ler MN 1a in AP (formerly I.AP.1; Vitelli: 27–28) Wall W-53 The earliest architectural element excavated in trench AP was W-53, a substantial socle that ran northeast–southwest across the southern end of the trench (Plan 16, Section 3; Vitelli 2007: 27–28). Based at +0.79, the socle was preserved at the west to about five courses to a maximum height of ca. 0.60 m, and rested for the most part on large flat stones laid in two parallel rows; above were mostly smaller stones, but with the sporadic incorporation of larger ones (Fig. 33). Much clay was said to have been found among the stones, which we take to be the residue of clay mortar, a common feature of Lernaean Neolithic architecture. With a width of ca. 0.50 m and of substantial construction, the socle appears large for an ordinary house and is reminiscent of socle W-43 in the J areas, which we suggest might be the base of an enclosure wall of some sort. Moreover, it is of the same date as the Gully, which we have suggested might have served to delimit the settlement or some part of it (see above, p. 72). South of the socle a red-brown sediment at +0.92/0.88 might have marked a ground level here; above this was a stony sediment at +1.07/1.12. The sediments from +1.20 to the lower ground level were removed in CL A 455, which yielded only a single flake of obsidian. To the north of W-53, a small mass of stones, of medium and small size, was found in the corner between the socle and the west baulk of the trench at +1.13. Below these a carbon-flecked layer of red and yellow clay and stones marked a possible floor/ground level at +1.05–0.95. Sediments above this level north of W-53 to +1.21/1.16 were removed in CL A 457; the possible floor itself and the stony fill below were excavated in A 456. In the former lot there were no finds. Lot A 456 yielded stone pounder 75, a few lithics, and some bones and shells. The sediments from +1.46 to +1.20 between this phase and that next above, which included material from the removal of socle W-53, were removed in CL A 458,

92

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

NN

SS

+4.00 +4.00 II W-29 EHEH II W-29 EHEH II II II floor EHEH II floor W-3 W-3

+3.00 +3.00

l li l l F iF e de d iMx i x M

yellow clay yellow clay

W-58 W-58

+2.00 +2.00

orange clay orange clay

HP-12 HP-12

W-57 W-57 HP-11 W-54HP-11 W-54

unexcavated unexcavated

yellow clay yellow clay

+1.00 +1.00

W-53 W-53

water water

Section 3. Trench AP: north–south section through center of trench. Scale 1:50

0.00 0.00

Schematic Section Trench AP: through Center Trench Schematic Section 3.3.Trench AP: NN - S- S through Center ofof Trench

N

Mixed Fill

mass of small stones with floor(?) below at

NE

W-53

SW +1.38

+1.16 ____ +0.79

+1.05/0.95

+0.79 +1.38 ____ +0.79

+0.92/0.88 ________

Plan 16. Trench AP: wall W-53.

0

Scale11:50

2m

Plan 16. Ler MN 1a in AP: Wall W-53

0

0.5

1m

Figure 33. Trench AP: wall W-53, from northwest (top),

and elevation of north face (bottom)

Trench AP

93

from which came a few bones and shells and a fragment of charred Pinus sp. (Hopf 88-V, Lerna archives; Hopf 1962: 16, 18).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Caskey’s review of the sherds associated with this phase led him to believe that it should be dated late in the Early Neolithic period and so documented the presence of substantial EN architecture at the site (Caskey 1958: 139). However, Vitelli’s analysis of the material available to her indicated a very early MN date, with some sherds comparable to FCP 2.1, though with some contamination, probably from the Mixed Fill to the north (Vitelli 2007: 28, 130). We designate this level as Ler MN 1a to distinguish it from the following level, Ler MN 1b, the sherds of which were of the same general Ler MN 1 date. Sediments at ca. +1.50–0.90 (CL A 455–CL A 458) Pottery Lime-ware saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 2:i Lime-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 5:e Ungritted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 9:a

Ungritted Monochrome Painted bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 10:e Ungritted-ware basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 12:i

CL A 455: Possible Floor Deposit South of Wall W-53 at ca. +1.20 through Stony Fill to +0.92/0.88 Lithics Obs.: F 1

A 456: Removal of Possible Floor North of Wall W-53 from +1.05/0.95 through Stony Fill to +0.93/0.86 Objects ST pounder 75; p. 201 Lithics Obs.: F 2 (1 with CL A 457) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 7 shells): Sus 2: 1 Sk. fr. (2 pces.), 1 Pe. fr. Ovis/Capra 1: l. Ma. fr. (teeth 1/1) Canis 1: l. Hu. and sh. (ad.; Gejvall: 14, 16, 67, table 6, pl. I:1; S.) Lepus 1: Ti. fr. (Gejvall: 92, table 100, pl. XVII:2; S.) Cardium 5 Reese (13 specifically identifiable bones, 18 fragments total: 2 cut, 3 bu.; 7 shells):

Sus 3: 2 Sk. frr. (oculus, post.; both S.), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (l.) Ovis/Capra 7: 1 Ma. fr. (M3 uw., r., 5 pces.), 6 teeth (1 in 3 pces.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 1+: 1 Ri. fr., 2 shs. (1 cut down length + bu. black, 1 cut down length + bu. gray/black) Canis 1: dist. Hu. + sh. (F, ad., l.; Gejvall: 14, 16, 67, pl. I:1; S.) Lepus 1: dist. Ti. (F, bu. black; Gejvall: 92, pl. XVII:2; S.) Cerastoderma 6 (5+ MNI) (l.: 19.5 × 22.5 asym., 28+; r.: 20 × 22.5, 22.5 × 25.5 asym., 27 × 30 asym., 33 × 35.5 asym.), Ruditapes 1 (fr.)

CL A 457: Above Possible Floor Deposit North of Wall W-53 at +1.21/1.16–1.05/0.95 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL A 458: Sediments between Wall W-53 and Building W-54 at ca. +1.46–1.20 and Removal of Wall W-53 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 2 shells); Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Sc. fr. (j.), 1 Pe. fr. Cardium 2 Reese (3 specifically identifiable bones, 6 fragments total: 2 cut; 3 shells):

Ovis/Capra 3+: 1 Sc. (F, quite sm., r.), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (probably cut through ischium near acet., r.), 1 Ri. fr., 1 sh. (cut down length) Bos-sized 1: fragment Cerastoderma 3 (2 MNI) (2 r.: 25.5, 27.5; l.: 27.5)

Botanicals Pinus sp. (Hopf V-88, Lerna archives; Hopf 1962: 16, 18)

94

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Ler MN 1b in AP (formerly I.AP.2; Vitelli: 28–29) Building W-54 and Hear th Pits HP-11, HP-12 Walls W-54, W-55, and hearth pits HP-11, HP-12

The next architectural level in trench AP was marked by the corner of a structure defined by two socles, W-54 and W-55, the earlier floor of which was found at ca. +1.45 (Plan 17, Section 3; Vitelli 2007: 28–29). East–west socle W-54 had a base course of mostly large stones with small stones at the interstices; above both large and small stones were used, the latter in two rows. Six to seven courses to a maximum preserved height of +0.67 at the west were preserved of the socle in which considerable clay mortar was employed; the width varied from 0.30 m at the east to 0.35 m at the west. Socle W-54 ended at the east ca. 0.25 m before a possible intersection with north–south socle W-55, which extended into the east baulk of the trench and could not be excavated to its full extent. A mass of small stones, possibly fallen, possibly laid down at a late stage in the socle’s use, filled the space between W-54 and W-55; the original opening seems small for a doorway. Socle W-55 was preserved to a height of ca. 0.50 m. A line of three stones parallel to it ca. 0.30 m to the west was not identified by the excavator as a socle, and has not been entered into the socle inventory here or shown on the plan; the stones possibly served as a support for the front edge of a piece of furniture, such as a bench, along the wall of the room. Socle W-54 appeared to have been an interior cross-wall, since the same thick (0.08– 0.10 m) yellow clay floor was found adjacent to it on either side at ca. +1.50. The sediments above these floors were excavated in lots A 459 (north) and A 460 (south), which were virtually devoid of finds. A second yellow clay floor was traced south of socle W-54 at +1.73/1.61 (A 461). Above this to ca. +2.04, where yellow clay was found below socles of the next higher phase, there was mostly brown earth, from which came two pivot stones (NK) and a few pieces of obsidian; this sediment was removed in A 463 and included material from the dismantling of socle W-57. Extending into the south baulk of the trench was HP-11, a red-clay-lined hearth pit comparable in form to those found in the J areas; its estimated diameter was 0.85 m. A large stone and patch of hard earth at the northwest edge at ca. +1.89 appear to have marked the top of the pit; within the circle of its red clay lining were several layers of small stones that began at +1.72, with a thick layer of yellow clay below at +1.66; a black layer ca. 0.02 m thick, presumably wood ash, lay at ca. +1.50. N Mixed Fill The bottom was measured at +1.35/1.30. A sample for 14C testing, Hopf 89-V, was taken from the pit but proved on examination to be clay (described as Lehm in the Lerna archives). Only a few sherds were retrieved +1.85 ____ W-55 +1.35 from the pit, but it did yield the possible HP-12 +2.20/2.10 ________ leg of a stone mortar reused as a pounder +1.73/1.61 (upper floor?) ______ +2.00/1.90 +1.56/1.50 (lower floor?) _________ (118), a unique find at Neolithic Lerna, and a small quantity of bones and shells (CL A 462). +1.70 ____ W-54 ____ +1.37 North of socle W-54 the encroachment +2.03 ____ +1.36 +1.73/1.61 ________ (upper floor) of the Mixed Fill disturbed the sediments. +1.47/1.42 ________ (lower floor) Traces of two possible floors were identiHP-11 fied here by the excavator in the removal +1.89 ________ +1.35/1.30 of CL A 464, which yielded fragmentary stone celt 30 and small quantities of lithics, Plan 17. Trench AP: Building W-54. 0 1 2 m bones, and shells. The lower possible floor, Scale 1:50

Plan 17. Ler MN 1b in AP: Building W-54

Trench AP

95

at +1.56/1.50, was of yellow clay; another at +1.73 was suggested by traces in it of an arc of red clay that the excavator called “hearthlike” (FNB XL: 167). Since this is directly below a fragmentary, somewhat atypical hearth pit, HP-12, it is possible that we have here the construction of these features one above another, as we saw in the J areas (see above, p. 23). Only the lower portion of HP-12 was preserved, consisting of a basinlike bottom of orange clay ca. 0.70 m. in diameter with a depth of ca. 0.20 m from its top edge at ca. +2.20/2.10. A gray ashy fill with stones in the center covered the bottom of the pit. Stratigraphically the pit is difficult to place. Certainly it is later than HP-11, and it may represent a feature intermediary between Building W-54 and the W-56 complex that succeeded it.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi The pottery from this level was meager, but Vitelli thought an early MN date was possible and noted some gouged bowl fragments comparable to those in the J areas from Ler MN 1 (Vitelli 2007: 29, 130); this is also the period of the J hearth pits, and we have assigned this level a Ler MN 1b date. Sediments Associated with Building W-54 at +2.00–1.50 and Hearth Pits HP-11 and HP-12 (A 459–A 461, CL A 462–CL A 464) Pottery Lime-ware cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 1:j, k

Gouged bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 16:e Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 32:a

A 459: Possible Floor Deposit North of Wall W-54 at +1.56/1.50–1.46/1.37 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

A 460: Possible Floor Deposit South of Wall W-54 at +1.73/1.61–1.47/1.42 Lithics Obs.: F 1

A 461: To Possible Floor South of Wall W-54 at +1.80/1.75–+1.73/1.61 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 1 shell): Sus 2: 1 Hu. fr., 1 Cal. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 2 Fe. frr., 1 Mc. I fr. Cardium 1

Ovis/Capra 5: 1 dist. Hu. (F, cut down length above art. + closer to r. side, r., 2 pces.), 1 prox. Fe. head (broken, bu. gray), 1 Cal. (UF, lacks prox. [recent break], l.), 1 Ph. 1 (UF), 1 Ri. fr. Cerastoderma 1 (r.: 28)

Reese (5 specifically identifiable bones, 6 fragments total: 1 cut, 1 bu.; 1 shell):

CL A 462: Hearth Pit HP-11 at +1.89–1.35/1.30 Objects ST mortar leg(?) 118; p. 205 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 1 shell): Sus 1: Cal. (j.) Ovis 3: 1 dist. Ti. and sh. (Gejvall: 77, table 39; pl. V:1; S.), 1 r. Ast. (Gejvall: 77, table 40, pl. V:2; S.), 1 Cal. (Gejvall: 77, table 41, pl. V:3; S.) Cardium 1 Reese (12 specifically identifiable bones, 22 fragments total: 4 cut; 1 shell):

Sus 1: Mt. II (UF) Ovis/Capra 8 (2 MNI): 1 dist. Ra. (UF, broken), 1 pr. Ul. (F, cut down length + cut through ven. pr. on angle, r.), 1 dist. Ti. + sh. (F, r.; Gejvall: 77, table 39, pl. V:1; S.), 1 Ast. (2 cut marks on dorsal lateral side, sm., r.; Gejvall: 77, table 40, pl. V:2; S.), 1 Cal. (F, l.; Gejvall: 77, table 41, pl. V:3; S.) (all articulate), 1 Cal. (UF, l.), 1 Mp. (UF, 1/2, sm.), 1 Ph. 1 (UF, sm.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 3+: 3 Ri. frr. (2 join), 7 shs. (2 cut down length) Cerastoderma 1 (l.: 32 × 28 asym.)

A 463: Sediment South of Wall W-54 at +2.04–1.80/1.75 Objects ST pivots, 2 (NK)

Lithics Obs.: B 3, NB 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:15)

96

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

CL A 464: Sediments and Floors North of Wall W-54 at +1.98/1.92–1.56/1.50 Objects ST celt 30; p. 192 Lithics Obs.: F 1, SpP/b 1, SpP/f 1, sf/fr 3 Fl./Ch.: B 2, Ch 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5+ bones, 1 bu., 9 shells): Sus 1: Ast. (bu.) Ovis/Capra 3+: 1 Ma. fr., 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ph. I, Ri. frr. Testudo 1: Car. fr. Cardium 8, Lucina(?) fr. 1

Reese (9 specifically identifiable bones, 20 fragments total: 5 cut, 7 bu.; 9 shells): Sus 1: Ast. (bu. gray/brown, r., L. 34.25) Ovis/Capra 1: Ma. fr. (condyle process, l.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 6+: 1 Sc. fr. (F, gl. fr., bu. gray, r.), 1 Ve. sp. fr. (side), 4 Ri. frr. (1 cut head, 1 bu. black, 2 join), 8 shs. (2 cut down length [1 bu. gray], 1 cut on angle, 3 bu. gray), 1 fragment (cut, bu. black) Testudo 1: Car. fr. (edge) Cerastoderma 8 (7 MNI) (r.: 24 × 24+, 29 × 30.5, 29.5 × 31.5 asym., 29.5 broken, 30.5 × 29 asym., 33.5 × 34 asym.; l.: 33.5 × ca. 35; 1 fr.), Ruditapes 1 (l.: 2 pces.)

Ler MN 3(?) in AP (formerly II.AP.A; Vitelli: 66–67) Complex W-56 Walls W-56–W-58, storage pit SP-9

The latest Neolithic architecture found in trench AP was an agglutinative complex of very small spaces poorly defined by irregular socles of inconsistent construction preserved to a height of one to two courses that probably were not all built at the same time; the assemblage was aligned roughly north–south, the northern portion no doubt cut off by the intrusion of the Mixed Fill. The core of the preserved remains consisted of three socles: north–south socle W-56, and east–west socles W-57 and W-58 (Plan 18, Section 3). Socle W-56 ran south from the edge of the Mixed Fill for ca. 2.00 m, where it was bonded with W-57, which extended to the west baulk of the area. About in the middle of the space defined by these socles was the other east–west socle, W-58, which also extended into the west baulk of the trench. Socle segments extending from W-58 were difficult to interpret and are discussed below. Socle W-56 displayed different constructional techniques north and south of W-58. To the north it was a socle of irregular outline composed of quite small stones packed together two or three across to maximum width of N ca. 0.25 m. To the south it was more subMixed Fill stantial, with a width of ca. 0.35–0.40 m, composed of stones small to medium in W-59 +2.06 ____ size two or three across. It was bonded at its W-56 _____ +1.93 room room juncture with socle W-57, the stones of which +2.00 ____ W-56b W-56c +1.85 +2.23 ____ were laid in two rows, medium sized to the +1.96 W-58 exterior, small to the interior, to a width of +2.33 ____ +2.33 ____ +2.07 ca. 0.30 m. Two large slabs at the south edge +1.97 of W-57 might have provided added stability +2.13 ____ room +1.96 to the socles or served as the base for an outW-56a yellow clay door bench. Socle W-58 consisted mostly of +2.20 +2.12 ____ W-57 +1.94 large, flat stones at the east and center with +2.22 ____ a maximum width of ca. 0.30 m, and at the +2.08 limit of west of small stones that curved to the northSP-9 Mixed Fill +2.19 ____ in uppermost west into the west baulk of the trench; these +1.94 Neolithic deposits stones the excavator took, with a line of three 0 1 2m stones (W-59) extending NNE from about Plan 18. Trench AP: complex W-56. Scale 1:50 the midpoint of W-58 into the Mixed Fill, to

Plan 18. Ler MN ?3 in AP: Complex W-56

Trench AP

97

form a kind of apsidal space. A single large stone appeared to continue the line of W-58 to the east beyond socle W-56, suggesting that the structure had at least one other room to the east. No certain floors were found with these socles. The excavator did, however, identify a mass of yellow clay extending over the eastern two-thirds of room W-56a with a top at ca. +2.20 (FNB XL: 160; trench AP 1957 annual report: north–south section). More yellow clay was found under the adjacent socles, and it seems likely that these flimsy rooms might just have been set down in an area where yellow clay, liberally used in the structures here, was stockpiled. All the material found within the limits of all the rooms of this complex was combined in CL A 465. Included were stone celt 49 and polisher 124, bone awls 199 and 200, a flint blade, and a small quantity of bones and shells. The highest Neolithic in the trench from +2.33/2.10 above these socles was excavated in lot A 467, which yielded no finds. The only feature of interest at this level outside the building was a variant of the kind of storage pit seen elsewhere at the site; we identify it as SP-9. Embedded in the baulk of the trench at its southeast corner, the lower portion of large gouged bowl L.1451 was found set into a hole lined with red clay 0.04–0.05 m thick; its southern half was covered with flat slabs. The top of these slabs was measured at +2.19, and the bowl, with a maximum preserved diameter of 0.36 m, rested in the lining at +1.94. In the dark earth within the bowl were a few sherds and shells (NK) (A 466).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Since little pottery from this level was available to Vitelli except L.1451, on the basis of the pottery notebook record she could be sure only that it was MN, but did observe some features that were datable from FCP 2.1–2.3 (Vitelli 2007: 66–67, 130). We make a tentative assignment to Ler MN 3, the period in which the red-clay-lined storage pits are common features in Areas JA–JB. Sediments Associated with Complex W-56 at +2.30–2.00 (CL A 465, A 466, A 467) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 39:a

Coarse Urfirnis large gouged bowl L.1451; Vitelli: fig. 45:c

CL A 465: Sediments in All Rooms of Complex W-56 at +2.20–1.92 Objects ST celt 49; p. 195 ST polisher(?) 124; p. 207 BO awl 199; p. 223 BO awl 200; p. 223 Lithics Fl./Ch.: B 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 6 shells) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ti. fr., 1 Ri. fr. Bos(?) 1: Ra. fr. Cardium 1, Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 2, Murex 2

Reese (3 specifically identifiable bones, 9 fragments total: 3 bu.; 6 shells): Sus or Ovis/Capra 2+: 1 prox. Fe. (UF head, partly bu. black), 1 Ri. fr., 4 shs. (1 bu. gray, 1 partly bu. gray) Bos 1: Ra. sh. (3 pces.) Cerastoderma 1 (r.: 31 × 29.5+ asym.), Spondylus 1 (up., w., collected dead, sm., 43+ × 29.5), Ruditapes 2 (1 MNI?) (l.: 1; r.: 1), Hexaplex 2 (71.5 × 63; 39 × 30.5)

A 466: Storage Pit SP-9, Large Gouged Bowl L.1451 and Its Contents in Southeastern Corner of Trench AP at +2.06–1.94 Bones and Shells Shells (NK)

A 467: Sediment Associated with Late Stage of or after Complex W-56 at +2.33/2.10– 2.24/2.20 No recorded objects, lithics, bones, or shells

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Pit BD The most productive of the tests into Neolithic sediments toward the topographical center of the mound was Pit BD, dug in 1957 into trench BD in the northeastern quarter of Square E/f, just north of the House of the Tiles (Caskey 1958: 136–138). It was laid out as a rectangle 4.90 m long and 2.50 m wide, oriented ESE–WNW at the juncture of Areas BD and BA (Plan 2). In the course of the digging, the northern 2.50 m was extended to the east and west by “wings,” each 1.50 m long, and the southern end was gradually stepped in to facilitate earth removal. As a result of these modifications, at the level of virgin soil the pit measured ca. 5.50 × 2.50 m oriented ESE–WNW; a small projection from the south-central edge was a remnant of the original pit left as part of a ramp for the excavation’s wheelbarrows. Fairly pure Neolithic sediments appeared at ca. +4.40/4.30 and continued to virgin soil, which here was reached as high at +1.34. Since the preserved top edge of an FN ash pit here, AP 11, was found at +4.45 and, in adjacent trench HTN, FN burial 7, presumably set in from a higher level, rested at ca. +4.00, it appeared that the full depth of the Neolithic deposit was not preserved in Pit BD, its upper layers having been removed by Early Helladic builders for the constructions they set down into the Neolithic sediments here (Wiencke 2000: 86, section 13).

Ler EN–MN in BD (formerly I.BD.1; Vitelli: 24–25) Clay Pits in Virgin Soil and Clay Pit CP-9 The physical appearance of virgin soil in Pit BD was comparable to that in the J areas: a red palaeosol interrupted by pits, some of which reached below the water level, here measured at +0.66. In the east wing the top level of this hardpan was +1.34/1.23, at the west +1.29 (Plan 19, Section 4; Vitelli 2007: 24–25). A broad ditchlike depression ca. 2.00 m wide ran approximately north–south through the firm red earth just west of the center of the area. The bottom of the ditch was uneven, with an average level of +0.74. At its southeast corner a cluster of three intersecting pits, like the clay pits found in virgin soil in the J areas, extended to +0.59, just below the water level here. The dimensions of the clay pits were not recorded by the excavator, but the drawings and section in FNB XX: 118 and attached to the Pit BD 1957 annual report indicate diameters of 0.60–0.75 m and preserved depths of ca. 0.30 m; they have not been numbered for this volume. Traces of two or three less well-defined clay pits were noted in the northeast corner of the ditch. It seems likely that the area was first exploited for clay by the digging of pits and then by what appeared as the ditch, which opened up a considerable area and cut off the tops of earlier pits. A few isolated stones dotted the surface of the ditch and the surfaces of the two “plateaus” to the east and west of it. In the northeast corner of the pit the surface was pitted with shallow channels and small depressions. A small test trench dug into virgin soil to a depth of 0.10 m yielded no cultural material, as was the case in Area JA (see above, p. 8). In the northwest corner large clay pit CP-9, with a diameter of over 1.50 m, sloped down from +1.70 at the west, +0.80 at the east, and reached well below the water level of +0.66, where the fill became too muddy to allow its complete evacuation; at the top of the pit the soft fill had sunk to produce a natural cavity ca. 0.20 m deep. This pit is considerably larger than the typical clay pit, though perhaps it served the same purpose. It appears to have been dug from a level higher than those of the features just discussed, but the sherds from its fill (BD 613), which included a good deal of ash, were combined by the Caskeys with those from the cuts just above virgin soil, where the sediment was dark and stony (BD 561, BD 614, CL BD 615). Apart from bones and shells, the finds from all these lots are few and include miniature stone celt 27, stone sling bullet 128, and bone awl 160; an antler fragment, not seen by the author, is said by Reese to have been worked as a handle (see below, p. 100). From BD 614

Pit BD West West Wing Wing

+5.00 +5.00

99

Pit Pit BDBD

East East Wing Wing

WNW WNW

ESE ESE level level of ash of ash pitspits

+4.00 +4.00 W-65 W-65 W-63 W-63

SP-10 SP-10

W-60 W-60

+2.00 +2.00

+1.00 +1.00

W-67 W-67

platform platform

+3.00 +3.00

dark dark sediments sediments clayclay pit in pit in virgin virgin soilsoil

CP-9 CP-9

ditch ditch

water water

0.00 0.00 Section 4. Pit BD: west-northwest–east-southeast section through

center of original pit and wings. Scale 1:50

Schematic Schematic Section Section 4. 4. PitPit BD: BD: WNW-ESE WNW-ESE through through Center Center N of of Original Original Pit Pit and Wings Wings clay pitsand CP-9

+1.34/1.23

+1.70(W)/0.80(E) _____________ below +0.66

+1.65

stones

ditch +0.74

burial 5 +1.63

+1.84

clay pits

+1.29

yellow clay

* unexcavated

0 Pit BD: clay1pits, burial 5.2Scale m 1:50 Plan 19.

came part of a Prunus pit or Quercus acorn (Hopf 1961: 239, 49-V; 1962: 4). Among the bones of CL BD 615 were two human skull fragments, possibly the remnants of a disturbed burial. As in the J areas, we seem to have an area exploited for its clay early in the life of the settlement. Plan 19. EN-MN and MN 2a in BD: Clay Pits (CP) and Burial 5

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Vitelli has noted the difficulty of interpreting the mixed sherds from this level and has indicated that, apart from some Urfirnis sherds, the pottery could be dated EN or MN (Vitelli 2007: 25, 130). Given the similarity of the features in virgin soil in this area to those in the J areas, a transitional Ler EN–MN date seems reasonable.

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Sediments from Pits in Virgin Soil and above at +1.45/1.40–0.59 (BD 553, BD 561, BD 613, BD 614, CL BD 615) Pottery Lime-ware rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 7:c Ungritted-ware small cup L.1384; Vitelli: fig. 11:e Ungritted-ware (variant) cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 11:f Ungritted-ware saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 12:a

Ungritted-ware (variant) basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 12:k Ungritted-ware base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 13:f Lime-ware base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:l Patterned Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 67:b

BD 553: Shoveled Earth from BD 613, BD 614, and BD 552 and BD 554 in CL BD 615 Lithics Obs.: F 2, Br 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:18), Bs 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:19)

BD 561: Stones at East to Virgin Soil at +1.64–Virgin Soil Bones and Shells Reported with CL BD 615

BD 613: Clay Pit CP-9 Objects BO (An.) handle(?) fr. (NI, noted below; not seen by Banks) Lithics Obs.: B 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments): Ovis/Capra: 1: Mt. fr. (j.), and fragments Cervus 1: horn fr. Anas platyrhynchos 1: carpomt. (Gejvall: 96, table 116, pl. XX:3; S.) (Human: Ra. fr.) Reese (20 specifically identifiable bones, 24 fragments total: 3 cut, 12 bu.):

Sus 1: pr. Mt. III/IV (ad., probably cut across + down below pr.) Ovis/Capra 6: 2 Sk. frr. (2 oculus, 2 bu. gray), 1 ant. Ma. fr. (bu. black), 1 dist. Ma. fr., 1 dist. Hu. sh. (probably cut down length, bu. black), 1 Mt. (UF, sm., partly bu. black) Sus or Ovis/Capra 10: 1 Sk. fr. (bu. gray), 2 Ve. sp. (1 side, 1 up. [partly bu. gray]), 7 Ri. frr. (1 head, bu. gray; 4 bu. gray; 2 join [unbu.]) Bos 1: Sc. or Pe. fr. 1 (cut down length) Anas platyrhynchos 1: carpomt. (broken tuberositas metacarpi II; Gejvall: 96, table 116, pl. XX:3; S.) Worked Cervus 1: An. handle(?) (cut dist. end and cut down length, L. 85.25, max. Diam. 19.25 at worked end; not seen by Banks)

BD 614: BD East at +1.40–1.30 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 M2 (1/1), 1 Pe. fr. Sus (wild) 1: Ul. fr. (j.) Reese (6 specifically identifiable bones, 12 fragments total: 4 cut): Sus 1: lo. C. (ad. male)

Ovis/Capra 4: 1 post. Ma. (dist. + condyle process, r.), 1 M2 (uw.), 1 Ra. sh., 1 Pe./acet. fr. (l.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 4: shs. (3 cut down length) Bos 2: shs. (1 cut down length) Sus (wild) 1: pr. Ul. (broken, subad., r.)

Botanicals Fragment of Prunus(?) pit or Quercus acorn (Hopf 1961: 239, 49-V; 1962: 4)

CL BD 615: BD West and Center at ca. +1.45–Virgin Soil Objects ST miniature celt 27; p. 192 ST sling bullet 128; p. 208 BO awl 160; p. 220 BO pin(?) fr. (NI, noted below) Lithics Obs.: F 3, B 3 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (9 bones, 11 shells): Sus 1: Hu. fr. (j.)

Ovis/Capra 7: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. fr. (M1–3, all 1/1), 2 Hu. frr., 2 Ra. frr., 1 Ti. fr. Bos primigenius 1: Ph. I (Gejvall: 31, 83, table 59, pl. VIII:6; S.) Cardium 8, Ostrea 3 (Human: 2 Sk. frr.) Reese (49 specifically identifiable bones, 109 fragments total: 44 cut, 24 bu.; 12 shells): Ovis/Capra 22 (3 MNI): 3 ant. Ma. frr. (3 r., P1–2, cut across below teeth, bu. black; P1–3 alv., M1 alv.; P1–3 alv.; 3 MNI), 1 Ma. coronoid process (cut off

Pit BD

at dist., very heavily curved [diseased]), 1 M1 (w.), 1 dist. Hu. + sh. (UF, r.), 2 dist. Hu. (2 F, 1 cut down length, mainly bu. gray but bl. in one area, r.; l.), 1 pr. Ra. (F, bu. gray, l.), 3 dist. Ra. (3 F, 2 l. [1 cut down length, 1 bu. gray]; r., bu. gray), 1 pr. Ul. (F, cut down ven. side, l., 2 pces.), 2 Ul. shs. (2 cut down length [1 partly bu. gray, 2 pces.]), 2 Pe./acet. (UF, cut through end of ilium + probably also through acet., bu. black, l.; F, bu. gray, r.), 1 pr. Fe. trochanter majus (F, bu. black), 1 dist. Ti. (F, r.), 1 dist. Mt. (F, partly bu. gray), 1 pr. Mt. (cut down length, 2 pces.), 1 pr. Mp. (cut down length) Sus or Ovis/Capra 26+: 1 Sk. fr., 2 Sc. frr. (body, bu. gray; side), 1 Hu. sh. (very sm., cut on angle

101

above dist., l.), 2 Ti. shs. (cut down length, bu. gray; r.), 1 Ve. (UF), 2 Ve. sps. (1 cut through up. part), 17 Ri. frr. (1 head, probably cut, 5 bu. [3 black, 1 gray/black, 1 gray], 2 join), 37 shs. (22 cut down length [1 bu. black, 3 bu. gray]), 1 fragment (bu. black) Bos primigenius 1+: 1 Ph. 1 (F, r.; Gejvall: 31, 83, table 59, pl. VIII:6; S.), 7 shs. (7 cut down length [1 bu. gray/black]), 1 fragment Cerastoderma 8 (7 MNI) (5 l.: 27 × 28 asym., 27 × 32.5, 30 × 31 asym., 38 × 42.5 asym., 40 × 40 asym.; 3 r.: 27 × 29.5, 27 × 30, fr.), Spondylus 2 (2 MNI) (lo., 49.5 × 43; fr. bored on both ends [collected dead]), Ostrea 1 (67 × 42, 2 natural holes on r. side 2.5 × 3.5), Ruditapes 1 (r. fr.)

Ler MN 2a in BD (formerly I/II.BD; Vitelli: 53–54) Sediments below Building W-60 at +1.40/1.45–2.00 As noted above, clay pit CP-9, with a preserved top at +1.70 (Section 4), was dug from a level higher than the early ditch in virgin soil and probably represented the latest exploitation of this area for clay. The only possibly built features that might be associated with this level were groups of stones in the east wing (Plan 19). At +1.95 one group of stones formed a kind of circle (not shown on plan), and below them at +1.65 was another group held together with yellow clay; at the very east edge of the wing was an elongated cluster of stones at +1.84 that extended into the baulk. The two lower groups of stones are shown in dotted lines on Plan 19. The sediments associated with these features in the east and toward the center of the pit were excavated in CL BD 611 from +1.95–1.40; the only object found was bone awl 181. At ca. +1.70 a dark sediment appeared that continued without apparent differentiation into clearly separable strata until interrupted by features at a much higher level that were set down onto and into it; at the east this sediment reached as high as +3.00/2.90. For the lots associated with the upper portion of this sediment, see below, pp. 104, 105.

Burial 5 Burial 5 was found in the southwest corner of the west wing of Pit BD, the skeleton resting at +1.63 (Fig. 34 and Chap. 6). Though no burial pit was surely detectible in the damp earth here (Pit BD 1957 annual report: 4; Caskey 1958: 138, pl. 38:a), we assume that the body was set in from a higher level; it lay partly beneath W-61, a socle of a building just above, the bottom level of which was +2.16. The relationship of burial to wall is impossible to determine with the evidence available. If we are to judge from the locations of other Neolithic burials at the site, the socle was built over the grave and not set beneath it during the period of the structure’s use (Vitelli 2007: 25). The skeleton was that of a child of about four years of age, possibly female (Angel 1971: 40, 237 Ler, pl. I). The flexed body had been interred on its right side, the head to the northeast, facing northwest, with the hands before the face; the legs were bent ca. 45° at the hips, 120° at the knees (E. T. Blackburn, pers. comm.). Directly to the northeast of the skull was Ungritted-ware small cup L.1384, upside down as found. Like the sherds from CP-9, this pot and those from the lots associated with the clearing of the burial (BD 569, BD 570) were put in CL BD 615, which included material from the sediments of west and central BD trench from +1.45 to virgin soil (see above, p. 100). They might better have been associated with CL BD 612, which removed the sediments from ca. +2.01–1.86/1.77 from the level at which the grave was first observed to the floor level of the first building in

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Figure 34. Pit BD: burial 5, from northeast

the trench, W-60. Though L.1384 has been listed above (p. 100), we add it to the catalogue below in square brackets.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Francthi The pottery from CL BD 611 and CL BD 612 Vitelli considers early MN, comparable to FCP 2.1– 2.2, though with some possible contamination (Vitelli 2007: 54, 130). We designate this Ler MN 2a, to distinguish it from similar material with Building W-60 just above, Ler MN 2b. The associated Ler MN 2a material was primarily chipped stone, bones, and shells; among the bones was a single fragment of a human skull, presumably from a disturbed burial. Sediments below Building W-60 at +2.00–1.45/1.40 (CL BD 611, CL BD 612) Pottery Lime-ware saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 2:g Lime-ware basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 2:j Lime-ware(?) frr.; Vitelli: fig. 7:f, h Ungritted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 8:f [Ungritted-ware small cup L.1384; Vitelli: fig. 11:e]

Ungritted-ware (variant) saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 12:g Ungritted-ware painted base frr.; Vitelli: fig. 13:a, b Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 28:s Patterned Urfirnis saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 59:a Patterned Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 67:a Patterned Urfirnis askos fr.; Vitelli: fig. 68:a

CL BD 611: BD East at +1.95–1.40 Objects BO awl 181; pp. 221–222 Lithics Obs.: B 3, Bl/Sg 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:11), Es 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:1) Fl./Ch.: sf/fr 1 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (12 bones, 2 shells): Sus 4: 1 I1 (1/1), 1 Pe. fr., 2 Mp. frr. Ovis/Capra 6: 1 M2 (1/1), 1 M3 (1/1), 1 M2→, 1 Sc. fr., 2 Pe. frr. Bos 2: 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ve. fr. Ostrea 1, Helix 1 (Human: Sk. fr.)

Reese (52 specifically identifiable bones, 94 fragments total: 27 cut, 21 bu.; 2 shells): Sus 5: 1 I (young), 1 Pe. fr. (bu. gray, r.), 1 Mc. III (UF, l.), 1 Mt. III (UF, bu. gray, l.), 1 dist. Mp. III/IV (UF, bu. gray) Ovis/Capra 24 (3 MNI): 3 Mx. frr. (3 lack teeth), 1 M2 (uw., open roots, r.), 1 M3 (uw., open roots, r.), 2 ant. Ma. frr. (1 has M2 [ad.], 2 bu. gray, 2 l.), 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 1 Sc. (F, l.), 1 Ra. (all F, cut through dist. on angle, r., 2 pces.), 1 dist. Ra. (broken, probably cut on angle at dist.), 3 Pe. frr. (2 acet., 2 l., 1 has cut mark through acet., 1 cut through acet. and cut through ischium, bu. blue/gray, 2 pces.; ilium or ischium fr.), 1 pr. Ti., (F, cut down length in

Pit BD

2 areas), 1 dist. Ti. (UF, sm., l.), 2 dist. Ti. (2 F, 2 l., 1 bu. black, 1 partly bu. black at dist.), 1 Cal. (broken dist., l.), 1 pr. Mt. (cut down length, bu. black), 3 pr. Mp. frr. (2 cut down length, 3 bu. gray), 1 Mp. sh. (cut down length) Sus or Ovis/Capra 20+: 2 Sc. frr. (2 side, 1 bu. black), 2 Ve. sp. (2 bu. gray), 16 Ri. frr. (1 with head,

103

1 bu. black, 2 with joins), 20 shs. (1 UF, 14 cut down length [3 bu. gray, 1 bu. black]) Bos 3+: 1 pr. Hu. (UF, cut down length on ven. side), 1 Ve. sp. (cut across up. part, bu. gray), 1 Ri. fr., 5 shs. (3 cut down length, 1 in 2 pces.), 1 fragment Ostrea 1 (67 × 48), Helix 1 (trace of color)

CL BD 612: Sediments Preceding Building W-60 in and below Floor and below Walls at +2.01–1.86/1.77 Lithics Obs.: B 3 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (7 bones): Sus 2: 1 lacrymal fr., 1 Sc. fr. Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Sc. fr. (j.), 1 T. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Bos 1: Cal. (j.) Reese (27 specifically identifiable bones, 49 fragments total: 10 cut, 11 bu.): Sus 5: 1 lacrymal fr. (S.), 1 Sc. (UF, bu. gray, l.), 1 Ra. sh. (cut down length), 1 pr. Ul. + sh. (recently broken, ad., l.), 1 Fi. (UF)

Ovis/Capra 10: 1 Ax. (UF, broken odontoid process), 1 Sc. fr. (UF, r.), 1 dist. Ra. (F, cut down length, r.), 3 Ra. shs. (1 sm., bu. brown; 2 cut down length and bu. gray), 1 pr. Ti. (UF, recently broken), 1 dist. Ti. (F, cut down length in two directions, bu. gray, l.), 1 dist. Mc. (F, cut across on angle in lo. sh., slightly bu. black), 1 Mt. (UF, very sm., bu. black, 2 pces.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 10+: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ti. sh. (cut down length), 1 Ve. sp. (bu. light black), 7 Ri. frr. (2 bu. light black, 1 in 2 pces.), 10 shs. (3 cut down length, 1 in 2 pces.) Bos 2: 1 Hu. sh. (tuberositas deltoidea)  fr., 1 Cal. (UF, r.)

Ler MN 2b in BD (formerly II.BD.A; Vitelli: 54–55) Building W-60 Walls W-60–W-62

The earliest recognizable structure uncovered in Pit BD was a part of a single room in the western wing, Building W-60 (Plan 20, Section 4). The eastern socle of the building, W-60, ran NNE–SSW across the western wing of the pit for ca. 2.80 m, and socles W-61/W-63 and W-62/W-64 extended to the west perpendicular to it, continuing into the western baulk. Sturdily constructed of three rows of stones, medium on the interior, small on the faces, W-60 was preserved to a height of three–four courses; the width was 0.35 m at the top, slightly broader in the courses below, the stones of which were larger. Only the southern edge of W-61 was excavated, the remainder extending into the northern baulk of the pit, visible as a line of large stones three courses high. Socle W-62, which extended into the southern baulk, appeared as a tangle of small, medium, and large stones in no apparent order, and its status as a socle is uncertain. East of the corner of W-60 and W-62 was a mass of stones, probably fallen, which appear on Vitelli’s plan 16 (2007: 174) and are indicated here in lighter line. Within these socles was a yellow clay floor 0.03/0.04 m thick that sloped down from +2.01 at the south to +1.92 at the north; it was ca. 0.15 m below the base level of socle W-62, another indication that this might not have been the defining wall at this point but rather fallen stones, as already suggested. At +2.10 in a pocket in the stones of W-62 where they disappeared into the west baulk was Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1385 (Fig. 35). The material from the cut in the western half of the pit from ca. +2.40–2.25/2.10, in which room W-60 was exposed, included a grindstone (12) and a stone pounder/rubber (83) that were possibly used together for the grinding of grain or other substances (BD 606). There were also a few pieces of chipped stone and some bones and shells; among the bones was a human metacarpus. From just above the floor of Building W-60 and the removal of the socles came a grindstone fragment (NK), a fragment of terracotta triangular plaque 375, and a few bones and shells (CL BD 607). Added to the material of the western part of the pit

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

W-61

+2.23 ____ +1.92

+1.92 ____

+2.30 ____ +1.92

N

W-60 ___

room W-60

dark sediments +2.40/2.10

+2.01 ____ +2.59 ____ +2.16

+2.35/2.39 ________ +2.01

W-62

L. 1385

fallen stones

Plan 20. W-60. Scale 0 Pit BD: Building 1 2 m1:50

for this phase was that found from +2.70–1.90, where excavation of an EH II deposit, BD-AI, intruded into Neolithic sediments; with the small quantity of material recovered was a fragPlan583). 20. Ler MN 2b in BD: Building W-60 ment of a human skull (BD The dark sediments in the eastern half of the pit produced more finds than the western half, particularly from +2.40–2.10 (CL BD 605), and recalled the various “black strata” found in the J areas. From this sediment came stone pounder 82, two bone tools, awl 182 and scraper/polisher 270, an enigmatic decorated bone tube/figurine head(?) 291, and fragments of four terracotta triangular plaques, 371–374. There were only a few fragments of chipped stone but a large quantity of bones and 26+ MNI of shells (one holed), found among which were seven fragments of human bone. From CL BD 608, just below to +1.95, there were two fragmentary grindstones (NK), stone pounder/rubber 84, a few lithics, and some bones, including a human phalanx.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Vitelli found the pottery from the sediments associated with Building W-60 consistent with an early MN date, comparable to FCP 2.1–2.2, like that of the level just below (Vitelli 2007: 55, 130). To differentiate this material from that below it we identify it as Ler MN 2b. Sediments Associated with Building W-60 at ca. +2.40–2.01 (BD 583, CL BD 605, BD 606, CL BD 607, CL BD 608, BD 609, BD 610) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1385; Caskey 1958; pl. 37:f; Vitelli: fig. 20:f Monochrome Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 28:b, j, l, o, p Monochrome Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 31:b, i, j Monochrome Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 39:b Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 40:c

Monochrome Urfirnis collared bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 42:f Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 46:a, b Patterned Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 56:a–d Patterned Urfirnis saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 59:c Ungritted Pattern Painted vessel fr.; Vitelli: fig. 61:m Patterned Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 67:c Patterned Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 67:d Patterned Urfirnis triangle frr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:j, k, m, n

BD 583: Lowest Section of EH II Deposit BD-AI at +2.70–1.90 Objects ST pounder/rubber fr. (NI) Lithics Obs.: Bs 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:9)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones and fragments): Sus 1: Ul. fr., and fragments Ovis/Capra 3: 2 Ra. frr., 1 Mt. fr. (Human: Sk. fr.)

Pit BD

105

Figure 35. Pit BD: Building W-60 with Monochrome Urfirnis

collared jar L.1385 at upper right, from north

CL BD 605: BD East at +2.40–2.10 Objects ST pounder/rubber 82; p. 202 BO awl 182; p. 222 BO scraper/polisher 270; p. 232 BO tube/figurine head(?) 291; p. 235 SH ornament(?) (see Hexaplex, below) TC triangular plaque 371; p. 249 TC triangular plaque 372; p. 249 TC triangular plaque 373; p. 249 TC triangular plaque 374; p. 249 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 5, RB 2 (L7.136 [Koz.: ill. 9:3], L7.139 [Koz.: ill. 8:10]), sf/fr 2 Fl./Ch.: Bd/Sg 2 (L7.137 [Koz.: ill. 10:3], L7.138 [Koz.: ill. 11:14]) Bones and Shells (two large bags) Gejvall (32 bones and fragments, 23 shells): Sus 12: 4 Sk. frr. (2 j. MNI), 2 r. Mx. frr. (1 j., 1 03m not shed), 2 r. and 1 l. Ma. fr. (r.: 1 1/1), 2 Sc. frr., (1 j.), 1 Hu. fr., many fragments Ovis/Capra 11: 1 Hc. fr., 1 Sk. fr. (occitrenchal), 1 r. Mx. fr. (M1→), 1 l. and 2 r. Ma. frr. (l.: 1 03m, 1 M3→), 2 Sc. frr., 3 Mc. frr. (1 j.), many fragments (2 MNI) Bos 9: 1 M2 (1/1, w.), 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ul. fr., 1 Cal., 1 Mc. fr. (ad.), 2 Ph. I (1 j.), 1 Ph. III, 1 Ve. fr. Cardium 12, Lucina(?) 6, Murex 5 (Human: 2 Sk. frr., 1 Sc., 1 Ra., 1 Pe., 1 Ti., 1 Mt.) Reese (223 specifically identifiable bones, 347 fragments total: 45 cut, 86 bu.; 26 shells): Sus 24 (3 MNI): 2 Mx. frr. (dP3–4 partly w., partly bu. gray, r.; no teeth, bu. gray, r.), 3 Ma. frr.

(dP2 alv., dP3, dP4 slightly w., ad. I below, r.; P4 uw., 1 M1 slightly w., 1 M2 uw., r., 3 pces.; dist. post.), 1 I (ad.), 2 P. (2 w.), 1 M1 (uw., open roots), 3 Sc. frr. (young, lacks gl., bu. black/gray, r.; F, bu. gray, r.; body fr., bu. gray), 1 dist. Hu. (lacks very dist., cut on angle in lo. sh., bu. gray, l.), 3 prox. Ra. (UF, partly bu. gray, l.; F, bu. gray, r.; broken, smaller than UF, bu. gray, r.), 1 Ra. sh. (ad., partly bu. gray), 1 prox. Ti. (UF, r.), 1 Mc. III (UF, partly bu. gray), 1 Mc. IV (UF, bu. gray), 1 Mc. V (UF), 1 Mt. III (UF, bu. gray), 1 Mt. V (UF), 1 dist. Mp. II/V (UF) Capra 4: Hc. frr. (3 bu. gray, small pces.) Ovis/Capra 64 (3 MNI): 1 ant. Mx., (P3 slightly w., M1 slightly w., M2 alv.), 9 Ma. frr. (ant., no teeth, r.; M2 broken, M3 alv., l.; M2 up., bit w., M3 erupting, r.; coronoid and condyle processes, r.), 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 2 dP3 (2 w., 2 l.), 6 lo. M., 4 Sc. (4 F, 3 r., 1 possibly has coracoid process cut off, 1 bu. gray; 1 l., bu. gray/black), 1 dist. Hu. (F, broken, l.), 2 Hu. shs. (1 cut down length), 3 pr. Ra. (3 F, 3 bu. gray, 3 r.), 2 dist. Ra. (UF, cut down length, bu. gray; F, r.), 5 Ra. shs. (4 bu. gray [3 cut down length]), 2 pr. Ul. (UF, bu. gray, r.; F, l.), 7 Pe./acet. frr. (4 l. [1 bu. gray, 2 join]; 2 r., 1 bu. gray), 1 pr. Fe. (both F, l.), 1 dist. Fe. (UF, cut down length), 2 dist. Ti. (UF, bu. black, F, l.), 1 Ti. sh. (ad., bu. black/gray), 1 Cal. (ad., cut on angle at dist., r.), 1 Mc. (UF, complete, bu. black), 2 pr. Mc. (2 cut down length, 1 bu. gray), 1 dist. Mc. (F, 1 condyle cut off on angle), 3 pr. Mt. (3 cut down length), 2 dist. Mt. (2 F), 2 Mp. shs., 2 Ph. 1 (2 F) Sus or Ovis/Capra 95+: 13 Sk. frr. (3 oculus; 3 bu. gray), 12 Sc. body frr. (4 bu. gray), 7 Ve. sp.

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

(4 bu. gray), 63 Ri. frr. (7 with heads [1 cut, 4 bu. gray], 8 bu. gray), 57 shs. (17 cut down length [1 cut on angle, 4 bu. black, 1 bu. gray], 6 bu. black, 3 bu. gray [1 UF dist.]) Bos 35+ (3 MNI): 9 Sk. frr. (3 bu. gray [1 nasal, 1 oculus]), 1 Ma. side fr. (bu. black), 1 M2 (w.), 2 Sc. frr. (body, side), 2 dist. Hu. frr. (probably join, r.), 1 pr. Ra. (F, cut down length, r.), 1 pr. Ul. (broken, ad., cut down ven. behind art. on angle, l.), 1 Cal. (F, broken pr., l., lg., dist. W. 39.5), 1 Mt. sh. (UF, cut down center, bu. gray), 1 dist. Mt. (F, bu. gray, W. 53.25), 3 Ph. 1 (3 F, 1 more robust), 2 Ph. 3 (larger is bu. gray), 2 Ve. frr. (lacks

centrum, 2 pces.), 3 Ve. sps. (1 cut across at bottom, 2 bu. gray), 5 Ri. frr. (1 bu. gray, 1 partly bu. gray), 16 shs. (8 cut down length [2 bu. gray], 1 partly bu. black), 10 fragments (4 bu. gray) Canis 1: dist. Ti. + sh. (F, bu. gray, l.) Cerastoderma 12 (12 MNI): (l.: 20 × 22, 22 × 24, 23.5 × 24.5, 24 × 25.5, 26 × 29.5+, 28 × 29.5, fr.; r.: 18 × 20.5, 20 × 21, 29.5 × 32.5, 32 × 36, 33 × 36), Ruditapes 6 (5 MNI) (r.: 34 × 24.5, 41.5 × 29, 50 × 35; l.: 43 × 29, 46 × 32, fr.), Hexaplex 8 (8 MNI based on dist.) (complete: 35 × 20, broken lip; 58 × 36.5; 1 dist. + body has hole opposite mouth 10.5 × 10 [ornament?]; not seen by Banks)

BD 606: BD West of Wall W-60 at +2.40–2.25/2.10 Objects ST grindstone 12; p. 185 ST grindstones, 3 frr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 83; p. 202 Lithics Obs.: B 1 Fl./Ch.: SpP/Sg 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 2 shells): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ra. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Cardium 1, Lucina(?) 1 (actually Ruditapes; once in Solna, now lost) (Human: Mc.)

CL BD 607: Building W-60. West of Wall W-60 from ca. +2.40 to Floor at +1.92(N)/2.01(S) and Removal of Socles W-60–W-63 Objects ST grindstone, 1 fr. (NK) TC triangular plaque 375; p. 249

Ovis/Capra 1: l. Mx. fr. (ad.) Bos 1: Ra. fr. Cardium 6, Lucina(?) 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 7 shells):

CL BD 608: East at +2.23/2.10–1.95 Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 84; p. 202 Lithics Obs.: Bl/Sg 1 (L7.140), ShP/Sg 1 (Koz.: ill. 12:3), sf/fr 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (12 bones): Sus 5: 2 Sk. frr., 1 l. Mx. fr. (M1), 1 Ma. fr. (m.), 1 Pe. fr. Ovis/Capra 5: 1 r. Ma. fr. (P1, P2 1/1), 2 Sc. frr. (1 j.), 1 Ast., 1 Mc. Bos 2: 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ph. III (Human: Ph.)

BD 609: Shoveler’s Earth. Lots BD 534 in CL BD 605, BD 537 in CL BD 607, BD 606 Lithics Obs.: B 3, RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 9:8), 1 sf/fr

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone): Sus 1: r. Mx. fr. (1/1)

BD 610: Shoveler’s Earth. Lots BD 538 in CL BD 608, BD 540 in CL BD 607, BD 541 in CL BD 611, BD 546 in CL BD 607, BD 547 in CL BD 612 Objects BO awl 183; p. 222 TC spool 367; p. 247 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 3, Bs 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:13), NB 1, SpP/f 1, Tr 1 (Koz.: ill. 7:4), sf/fr 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments): Ovis/Capra 1: Pe. fr. Bos 1: Ri. fr., and fragments

Pit BD

107

platform W-63

____

+2.80/2.70 +2.40

N

fallen stones

0 Pit BD: platform 1 2 m1:50 Plan 21. W-63. Scale

Plan 21. Ler MN 3 - 4 (earlier) in BD: Platform W-63

Figure 36. Pit BD: platform W-63, from south

Ler MN 3–4 in BD (formerly II.BD.B; Vitelli: 55–56) Platform W-63 at +2.80/2.70 (top)/2.40 Unlike the common practice in the J area structures, the socles of Building W-60 did not serve as the foundation for a sequence of socles in the same location, nor did a totally new structure immediately follow it. The next traditional structure in Pit BD was Building W-64 in the east, the floor of which was about a meter above that of Building W-60. The only possible feature between the two structures was a paving of stones 0.30–0.40 m thick with a top at +2.80/2.70 that was concentrated in the western half of the trench, but extended to the western edge of the pit’s east wing at the north (Plan 21, Section 4, Fig. 36). With larger stones at the east and west forming a kind of border, which perhaps had been disturbed in its central section, the stone mass might be construed as some kind of platform (Vitelli 2007: 55). In its eastern two-thirds the paving of the platform consisted of small tightly

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

packed stones, whereas over the remainder the stones were larger and more loosely laid; the exact limits of the feature are unknown. This feature was reminiscent of the paving of platform W-2 in the J activity area in Ler EN–MNc (see above, p. 18). A mass of stones, probably fallen, filled the southern end of the western wing; they represent the lowest level of what we consider fallen stones found in this general location in the two succeeding phases (see below, pp. 110, 115). In the east center and eastern wing of the pit the dark sediment mentioned above continued to accumulate, and on it was set the socle of the next building constructed in the pit, W-64. Unfortunately the pottery between Building W-60 and the platform, and between the level of the paving and the pottery associated with the earliest floor of Building W-64, were all reported together by the Caskeys as that of a single phase, so chronological distinctions are impossible to make with the data now available. The relevant lots are CL BD 602, CL BD 603, and BD 604; BD 604 was the lot in which the stones of the platform were removed and which included sherds from large Monochrome Urfirnis bowl L.1383, other fragments of which came from lot BD 606 of the preceding phase (see above, p. 106). Apart from lithics, bones, and shells, only a few objects were retrieved from these lots: bone awls 204 and 205, terracotta leg(?) 411, and terracotta triangular plaque fragment 389; a terracotta polisher made from a red-polished rim was not kept. A bronze fibula fragment of Roman date (L7.223) found here probably fell into the pit from above when the baulks were being scraped down; the identification was kindly provided by Irma Kilian-Dirlemeier on a visit to the Lerna workroom in the Argos Museum, and we thank her for her assistance. In reviewing the pottery of this phase, Vitelli found material equivalent to FCP 2.2 and FCP 2.3 and suggests that the earlier pottery might have been associated with the paving, the later with Building W-64 (Vitelli 2007: 56, 130).

Buildings W-64 and W-65 Walls W-64–W-66

Five socles, with base levels between +2.90 and +3.10, initiated a new architectural phase in pit BD (Plan 22, Section 4, Fig. 37). These socles were of somewhat disparate constructional techniques, and it would appear that what the excavator called “Room 55” was simply a space enclosed by socles that were built in close succession, but were not precisely contemporary. Socle W-64, which appears to have been one of the earliest of the sequence constructed, was found running approximately ESE–WNW across the center of the original pit at the southeast, directly upon the dark deposit that filled much of this section from just above virgin soil. Though W-64 was based 0.10 m lower than W-67 to the east, a few stones at its eastern end were incorporated into W-67, an indication that W-64 was already in position when the adjacent socle was constructed; we associate W-67 with the next architectural phase here. With a length of ca. 1.60 m, W-64 had a base course of small stones ca. 0.30 m wide at +2.90, above which were laid four or five successive courses of large, flat stones with an average width of 0.40 m. A couple of stones two courses high based at +2.93, an anta of some sort(?), projected to the south at the west where a small (ca. 0.20 m) gap (for drainage?) appeared in the line of the wall before it disappeared into the mass of fallen stones in the southwest corner of the pit. Preserved to a total height of 0.65 m, W-64 carried on the upper courses of its northern face from +3.45–3.10 a thick yellow clay plaster that continued around the end of the socle at the gap and onto its southern face, above the anta, where it was less well preserved. A trace

Pit BD

109

W-66

W-67 ____

+3.90 ____ +2.90

dark sediments/ work area(?) +4.06 ____ +3.00

+3.10 ____ +2.90

W-65 ____ +3.90 ____ +2.90

clay

SP-10

+3.55 ____ +2.90

clay fallen stones

+3.40 ____ +3.10

W-64 ____

W-68

+3.03 ____

SP-11

N

EH II BD-AI -43 IW I H

E

Plan 22. Pit BD: Buildings W-64 and W-65. Scale 1:50

0

1

2m

Plan 22. Ler MN 3-4 (later) in BD: Buildings W-64 and W-65

W-67

W-66 W-64

W-65

Figure 37. Pit BD: walls W-64, W-65, W-66, and W-67,

with storage pit SP-10, from west-southwest

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

of the clay was also seen on one stone on the western side of the gap, indicating that the wall continued in this direction. The same yellow clay was found in the earth around the lower half of the socle and probably represents the remains of fallen clay. The socle identified on Vitelli plans 17 and 18 (2007: 174, 175) as BD 59 and as a continuation of W-64 we take to be a very irregular configuration of stones at the top of the stone pile that had begun to accumulate here in the preceding phases (see above, p. 108); the top and bottom levels assigned to it in the field (+3.90–3.60) would seem to preclude its association with W-64. Thus no other wall of the structure to which socle W-64 originally belonged could be identified with certainty. With bottom levels comparable to that of W-64, and so equally inappropriate for association with the BD 59 stones, was a socle or socles of a possible structure in the northwest corner of the west wing of the pit, where the tangled remains eluded full explication by the excavator. At this point we can only very tentatively propose a possible configuration, which is at odds with that presented on Vitelli plans 17 and 18 (2007: 174, 175), but which follows up on a suggestion made by the excavator. On a plan in FNB XX: 84 and repeated on plan 19 of the Pit BD 1957 annual report, the outline of what we call W-65 is isolated; this is described by the excavator (Pit BD 1957 annual report: 2) as being an east–west socle at the west baulk of “more respectable quality [than BD 59, our fallen stones], ca. 0.50 wide.” It was bonded with what we call W-66 (Vitelli’s BD 60), a single row of stones, large and small, ca. 0.30 m wide. These socles were preserved to a height of 1.00 m, red-clay mortar holding the stones in position, and they perhaps survived until the latest Middle Neolithic in this area. No floor level was found that could be associated with the earliest stages of use of this structure, Building W-65. South of W-64 was a patch of hard-packed earth at +3.03 that perhaps marked the earliest preserved floor of a room here, to be associated with this phase or that next above (see below, p. 115). The excavator associated the material above this early floor to +3.24 with the later level (CL BD 595, see below, 116). From the removal of the possible early floor and below to +2.85, about the level of the base of the socle, came bone awl 202, terracotta sling bullet 302, and triangular plaque fragment 388, along with a flint blade with silica gloss and a small quantity of bones and shells (BD 600). North of socle W-64 and east from W-65 to W-67, in what the excavator called a “room” but which could have been outside of W-64 at this stage of its use, between +3.10 and +2.90 was a sediment from which came a rich assortment of finds that might have been from a work area here for which no sure ground level was identified (BD 601). Included were two intact grindstones (16, 17) and three fragments, a stone pounder/rubber (95) and pendant (142), bone tool 203, antler tool 295, and chipped stone; a possibly worked antler fragment found by Gejvall among the bones has been lost. The fragmentary grindstones probably came from the dismantling of several socles, the material from which was included in this lot (BD 601). There were some bones and over 78 MNI of shells, many from the northeast corner of the “room.” In the 0.10 m above this were found two more stone pounder/rubbers, 50 (a reworked celt) and 94, and bone awl 201, along with a few lithics and a small quantity of bones and shells (BD 598).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Since the saved pottery included both that associated with Buildings W-64 and W-65 and that below associated with the stone platform/paving, as noted above (p. 108), Vitelli suggests that the sherds with FCP 2 associations might belong with the paving and those with FCP 3 associations, the building (Vitelli 2007: 56, 130). We tentatively assign the level a Ler MN 3–4 date to accommodate the possibility.

Pit BD

111

Sediments below and Contemporar y with Buildings W-64 and W-65 at +3.20–2.40(C)/2.90(W)/2.80(E) (BD 598, BD 600–BD 604) Pottery Lime-ware cooking pot frr.; Vitelli: fig. 17:b, d, e Lime-ware cooking pot frr.; Vitelli: fig. 18:d, e Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 21:h Monochrome Urfirnis basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 23:c, h Monochrome Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 28:d, f, g Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 30:c–g Monochrome Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 31:a, d, e Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl L.1383; Vitelli: fig. 35:d

Monochrome Urfirnis asymmetrical collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 70:b Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 45:b Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 46:d Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 51:a Patterned Urfirnis saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 59:b, d Patterned Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 59:g Patterned Urfirnis bowl and cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 67:e–j Patterned Urfirnis triangle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:h Patterned Urfirnis vessel fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:q

BD 598: Center, North of Wall W-64 at +3.20–3.10 Objects ST grindstone, 1 fr. (NK) ST celt/pounder/rubber 50; p. 195 ST pounder/rubber 94; p. 203 BO awl 201; p. 223

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments, 8 shells): Ovis/Capra 1: Fe. fr., and fragments Cardium 7, Murex 1

Lithics Obs.: B 2, sf/fr 1

BD 600: Center, South of Wall W-64 at +3.03–2.85 Objects BO awl/borer 202; p. 223 TC sling bullet 302; p. 238 TC triangular plaque 388; 249 Lithics Fl./Ch.: Bl/Sg 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (7 bones, 6 shells): Sus 2: 1 Fe. fr. (j.), 1 Ti. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Ra. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 2 Mc. frr. (1 j.) Anas querquedula 1: Hu. sh. (Gejvall: 95, table 116, pl. XX:7; S.) Cardium 3, Murex 3

BD 601: Center, North of Wall W-64. Possible Work Area at +3.10–2.90, and Removal of Socles W-65, W-67, W-68, and Stone Mass BD 59 Objects ST grindstone 16; p. 185 ST grindstone 17; pp. 185–186 ST grindstones, 3 frr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 95; p. 203 ST pendant 142; pp. 212–213 BO awl 203; pp. 223–224 BO (An.) scoop/scraper 295; p. 236 Lithics Obs.: B 3, Bd/Sg 1 (Koz.: ill. 10:1), NB/Sg 1 (Koz.: ill. 10:7), SpP 1, SpP/b 1 Fl./Ch.: ShP/Sg 1 (Koz.: ill. 12:4) Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (14 bones, 1 worked; 59 shells): Sus 2: 1 Ra. fr. (j.), 1 Mp. fr. (ad.) Ovis/Capra 10: 1 M3 (1/1), 9 Sc. frr. Cervus 2: 1 Sc. fr., 1 worked horn fr. Cardium 53, Lucina(?) 2, Murex 4

Reese (23 specifically identifiable bones, 93 fragments total: 3 cut, 3 bu.; 131 shell frr. [78+ MNI]): Sus 2: 1 Ra. (all UF), 1 pr. Mt. III/IV (ad.) Ovis/Capra 16 (5 MNI): 1 Mx. fr. (has M3, l.), 9 Sc. frr. (8 F [5 r., 3 l.], 3 cut through corocoid process), 1 dist. Hu. fr., 1 Ul. fr. (broken pr., UF dist.), 1 pr. Ul. (F), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (bu. gray), 1 dist. Ti. epiph. (UF), 1 dist. l. Mc. (UF) Sus or Ovis/Capra 2: 2 Ri. frr. (2 bu. gray) Cervus 2: 1 Sc. fr. (UF, broken, 2 pieces, r.; S.), 1 pr. Ul. (broken) Cerastoderma 51 (29+ MNI) (r.: 21 × 23, 21.5 × 23, 21.5 × 23.5, 22 × 25, 22.5 × 26, 23 × 24.5, 23 × 25, 23.5 × 25.5, 24 × 24+, 24 × 25, 24 × 26, 24 × 26, 25 × 27, 25 × 27.5, 25.5 × 27.5, 26 × 26.5, 26 × 28.5, 26 × 29, 26+ × 25+, 26.5 × 27, 27 × 27, 27 × 28.5, 27 × 29+, 27 × 32, 27.5 × 27+, 30 × 33.5, 36 × 38.5, H. 32+, fr.; l.: 20 × 22.5, 21 × 24.5, 22 × 24, 22 × 25.5, 23 × 26, 23 × 27, 24 × 27, 25 × 28, 25.5 × 29, 25.5 × 29, 26 × 28, 26 × 28, 26 × 29,

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

26 × 30, 26.5 × 28+, 27 × 30, 30 × 34, H. 19.5, H. 25, H. 26, H. ca. 29, W. 27.5); Ruditapes 2 (1 MNI) (articulating l.–r., 32 × 50.5), Hexaplex 74

frr. (48 MNI based on dist. ends; complete shells are L. 36, 43, 50, 54, 61.5; 1 fr. in bones), Bolinus 4 (62 × 37, L. 66+, L. 50+, L. 41+)

CL BD 602: General Cut Center and West at +2.90–2.80/2.70 and Center and East at +2.80/2.70–2.60/2.50 Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) TC leg(?) 411; p. 257 (Roman bronze fibula fr. L7.223) Lithics Obs.: B 4, Bl/Sg 1, NB 1 (Koz.: ill. 10:9), RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 8:12), sf/fr 3 Fl./Ch. B 1, Ch 1, RB/Sg (Koz.: ill. 8:1), sf/fr 1 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (13 bones, 22 shells): Sus 2: 1 Sk. fr. (occipital), 1 Sc. fr. Ovis/Capra 9: 1 Hc. fr. (ram), 3 Sc. frr., 2 Ra. frr., 3 Pe. frr., and many fragments Bos 1: r. Ma. fr. Bos primigenius 1: Cal. (Gejvall: 31, 82, table 57, pls. VIII:9, IX; S.) Cardium 7, Ostrea 2, Lucina(?) 4, Murex 8, Helix 1 Reese (92 specifically identifiable bones, 155 fragments total: 27 cut, 6 bu.; 24 shells): Sus 2: 1 Sk. (occipital) fr., 1 Sc. fr. (F, r.) Ovis 1: Hc. fr. (2 pces.) Ovis/Capra 39 (5 MNI): 1 Premax. (r.), 8 Sc. frr. (4 r.: 4 F, 1 cut through coronoid process from ven. side; 1 l., young; 3 body frs.), 2 prox. Ra. (2 F, r., l. [weathered]), 2 dist. Ra. (UF, F, r.), 3 Ra. shs.

(1 cut down length), 1 prox. Ul. (broken, r.), 10 Pe. frr. (4 l. acet.: 1 UF, 3 F, 1 partly bu. black; 3 r.: 1 UF [much smaller than l.], 2 F), 1 pr. Ti. (broken), 3 dist. Ti. (3 F, 2 r., 1 broken, 2 cut down length), 1 Ti. sh. (young), 1 Naviculocuboid, 2 pr. Mc. (2 cut down length), 2 pr. Mt. (1 partly bu. black/brown), 1 pr. Mp. fr. (partly bu. black/ brown), 1 Ph. 1 (F) Sus or Ovis/Capra 38+: 5 Sk. frr., 3 Ve. (3 UF), 1 Ve. sp., 29 Ri. frr. (2 heads [2 cut through, 1 also has 2 cut marks on body], 1 has 2 parallel cut marks, 1 sm.), 38 shs. (14 cut down length, 2 bu. black, 1 partly bu. gray) Bos 11+: 1 ant. Ma. fr. (3 pces.), 1 Sc. (3 body frr., l.), 1 Ti. sh. (cut down length), 1 Mp. epiph. (UF, 1/2, quite lg.), 1 Ph. 1 (UF), 5 Ri. frr. (1 head, 1 in 2 pces.), 1 Ve. sp., 6 shs. (3 cut down length) Bos primigenius 1: Cal. (F, has deep cut mark on ven. pr. on l. side, r.; Gejvall: 31, 82, table 57, pls. VIII:9, IX; S.) Cerastoderma 7 (6 MNI) (l.: 25.5 × 27.5+, 26.5 × 29.5, 32 × 33.5, 1 broken + acided; r.: 22 × 23, 25.5 × 27.5, 29 × 31.5), Ostrea 2 (2 MNI) (2 sm. + fragmentary), Hexaplex 9 (all columella or dist. frr., no apices, 6 open body), Ruditapes 5 (5 MNI) (r.: H. 23.5, 41 × 28, 2 frr.; l.: H. 23.5), Helix 1 (no color)

CL BD 603: Center and East at +2.60/2.50–2.50/2.40 Objects BO awl 204; p. 224 BO awl 205; p. 224 TC triangular plaque 389; p. 249 TC polisher (NK) Lithics Obs.: B 1

Bones and Shells (large bag) Gejvall (9 bones, 104 shells): Sus 5: 2 Sk. frr., 1 r. Ma. fr., 1 Ra. fr., 1 Ul. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 2 Sk. frr., 1 Ma. fr. Bos 1: M(2–3?) (w.) Cardium 81, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 7, Helix 15

BD 604: Stone Platform W-63 at +2.80/2.70 (top)/2.40 Lithics Obs.: B 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 8 shells):

Sus 1: l. Ma. fr. (M1→) Ovis/Capra 4: 1 At., 1 Sc. fr., 1 Pe. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Bos 1: Ma. fr. (1/1) Cardium 4, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 3

Ler MN 5a in BD (formerly II.BD.C; Vitelli: 56–58) Building W-67 and Storage Pit SP-10 Walls W-67, W-68; storage pit SP-10

The most impressive and clearly defined of the socles set into Pit BD was W-67 (Plans 22, 23, Section 4, Fig. 37; Vitelli 2007: 56–58); a socle oriented ca. NNE–SSW that was found extend-

Pit BD

113

W-67 ____

W-66 +3.25 ____

+3.90 ____ +2.90

+3.20 ____

yellow clay

+3.90 ____ +2.90

W-65 ____

reddish patch +4.06 ____ +3.00

SP-10 +3.20 ____ +2.70

+3.40 ____ +3.10

W-64 ____

SP-11

fallen stones

W-68

L. 1381

+3.25 ____ upper floor +3.03 ____ lower floor

L. 1362

+3.60 ____ +3.23

at +3.41

N

EH II BD-AI EH

-43 II W

Plan 23. Pit BD: Building W-67. Scale 1:50

0

1

2m

ing the full length of the eastern wing just east of its juncture with the main pit, it continued at the south along remaining section the original Planthe 23.small Ler MN 5a and b in BD:ofBuilding BD-67pit (FNB XX: 84). Any continuation of W-64 to the east would have been cut off by this construction, but, as noted above (p. 102), a few of its stones were incorporated into the new socles outside their juncture at the west; we take this as an indication that W-67 postdated the construction of W-64 (see FNB XX: 70 for a rough sketch of the elevation of the juncture). Bonded with W-67 at the southeast was cross-wall W-68, the two forming the corner of a substantial building, Building W-67, which extended north, south, and east into the baulks of the pit. Socle W-67 was preserved to a height of over a meter. For the basal 0.30 m it was composed of large stones laid two or three across to an average width of ca. 0.75 m; above this, large and small stones were set in seven irregular courses to a width of ca. 0.45 m, with traces of yellow clay plaster on the east face; whether this reflects different building periods or a structural preference is impossible to say. Bonded with W-67, socle W-68 extended perpendicular to it to the east, but could not be fully excavated, since it continued into the east and south baulks of the pit. Only the lowest 0.30 m of W-68 were found in position, but the socle appeared to be comparable in scale and general composition to that of W-67. Socle W-68 rested on thin layers of ash below, hard yellow clay above, which, in turn, rested on the thick black sediment onto which W-64 had been set (see above, p. 108). A small patch of the hard yellow clay found at the base of the socle in the southeast corner of the east wing of the pit at ca. +3.00 represents the only possible trace of a floor for this substantial structure in this phase of its use. The material found in the east wing of the pit from +3.25–2.90, that is, to just below the bottom level of W-67, came from CL BD 596 and BD 597 and included, in addition to chipped stone and bones and shells, stone celt 56 and terracotta polisher 347. South of socle W-64 the area being explored at this stage of the excavation included the full length of the original pit, where Bronze Age activity was evident in EH II deposit BD-AI and EH II socle W-43 (Wiencke 2000: 27; 75–76; 83, plan 15), which transected the

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Figure 38. Pit BD: Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1362 between

wall W-64 and later storage pit SP-11, from west-northwest

pit diagonally at the south and no doubt accounted for the EH II contamination of the pottery at this level; what appears on Vitelli plan 18 (2007: 175) as bothros BD-AH was, in the final analysis, discounted by the excavator as a bothros and called a probable soft spot (FNB XX: 73); we do not include it on our plan. The excavator attributed two floor deposits south of W-64 to this phase, the lower at +3.20–2.95 (CL BD 595) and associated with a hard patch at +3.03, which may be a remnant of the earliest floor associated with this socle (see above, p. 110), the upper from +3.40 to a floor at +3.25 (CL BD 594). The lower deposit was composed of soft dark earth that lay under the hard red and yellow clay upper floor that appeared primarily in the eastern half of the pit. The lower deposit (CL BD 595) was rich in sherds, many of which joined to form vessels included in the inventory. Included here were about one-half of Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1363; almost intact Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1359, found with a grindstone fragment projecting from it; and a large fragment of Monochrome Urfirnis bowl L.1380. With the pots were nine grindstone fragments, stone pounder/rubber 106 and two fragments, terracotta sling bullet 305, and a small quantity of bones and shells. Resting on the upper floor (CL BD 594) and pressed against the socle at +3.41 was another Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar, L.1362 (Fig. 38). In the southwestern part of the area was found one-half of Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1382. The only noteworthy finds with this pottery were bone awl 223 and a fragment of terracotta triangular plaque 391. North of socle W-64, over most of the width of the original BD pit in what possibly served as a work area between Buildings W-65 and W-67, was a yellow clay floor at +3.20 with a reddish patch at +3.25 in its northeast corner. In the sediment above this level to +3.40 (CL BD 590) a large portion of Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1366 was found near socle W-64; the vessel so closely resembled L.1362 and L.1363 found south of W-64 that Vitelli suggests they, along with Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1382, might have been crafted by the same potter

Pit BD

115

Figure 39. Pit BD: storage pit SP-10 with Monochrome Urfirnis

collared jar L.1381, from west-northwest

(Vitelli 2007: 57). Also from this deposit came a stone pounder/rubber (104), three bone awls (220–222), chipped stone, and a small quantity of bones and shells. Associated with this area north of socle W-64 and cutting through the yellow clay floor was red-clay-lined storage pit SP-10. With a top at +3.20 flush with the yellow clay surface, the pit was ca. 0.60 m in diameter and 0.50 m deep. Lying on it side in the soft fill was nearly complete Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1381 (Fig. 39); a quantity of shells was found in the bottom of the pit on which lay a flat stone. The finds from SP-10 were not kept separate, but were combined into CL BD 590. Presumably Building W-65 continued to be used. A patch of hard red clay at the west baulk at ca. +3.50 might have been the remnant of a floor in this phase or the one next above. Material from the excavation of the west wing from +3.45–3.20, including removal of upper stones of W-65 and the stone mass to the south, was excavated in BD 599. Found here were celt 57, bone awl 224, and terracotta sling bullet 306 with a few bones and shells.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Vitelli expresses some ambivalence about the date of the pots and sherds from this phase, comparing them variously with FCP 2.3 and FCP 2.4 (Vitelli 2007: 57–58, 130). A Ler MN 5a date seems reasonable. Sediments Associated with Buildings W-65 and W-67 at ca. +3.40(C and W)/ 3.25(E)– 2.95(C)/3.20(W)/2.90(E) (CL BD 590, CL BD 594–CL BD 596, BD 597, BD 599) Pottery Lime-ware cooking pot fr.; Vitelli: fig. 17:c Lime-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 19:b Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1362; Vitelli: fig. 20:a Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1366; Vitelli: fig. 20:c

Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1363; Vitelli: fig. 20:d Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1381; Vitelli: fig. 21:i Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1382; Vitelli: fig. 23:d Monochrome Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 28:c, q, r

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1359; Vitelli: fig. 28:i Monochrome carinated cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 30:a, h–j

Monochrome Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 31:c, f, h Monochrome Urfirnis bowl L.1380; Vitelli: fig. 31:g Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 34:c

CL BD 590: Deposit North of Wall W-64 at +3.40–3.20 Objects ST pounder/rubber 104; p. 204 BO awl 220; p. 225 BO awl 221; p. 225 BO awl 222; p. 225

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 53 shells): Ovis/Capra: fragments Cardium 15, Murex 1, Helix 35, shells(?) 2

Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 2 (Koz.: ill. 6:7), RB 1 (L7.127 [Koz.: ill. 8:3]) Fl./Ch.: B 2 (L7.126)

CL BD 594: South of Wall W-64, on and in Upper Floor at +3.40–3.20 Objects ST grindstone, 1 fr. (NK) BO awl 223; p. 225 TC triangular plaque 391; p. 249

Lithics Obs.: B 1

CL BD 595: Lower Floor Deposit South of Wall W-64 at +3.20–2.95 Objects ST grindstone, 9 frr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 105; p. 204 ST pounder/rubbers, 2 frr. (NI) TC sling bullet 305; p. 238 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 10 shells): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M3 1/1), 1 Ra. fr., 1 Ast. (j.) Bos 3: 2 Sc. frr., 1 Ri. fr. Cardium 3, Lucina(?) 7

Reese (5 specifically identifiable bones, 26 fragments total: 1 bu.; 12 shells): Ovis/Capra 3+: 1 Ma. fr. (P2–3, M1–3, ad., l.), 1 dist. Ra. (F), 1 Cal. (UF, r.), 1 fr. (bu. gray/black) Bos 2+: 1 Sc. (5 pces. [2 join], very lg.), Ri. frr. (5 pces.) Cerastoderma 5 (3 MNI) (r.: 17.5 × 19, 25.5 × 0.5 asym.; l.: 15 × 17, 2 frr. [1 bu.]), Ruditapes 7 (5 MNI) (l.: 40 × 25.5, 41 × 29, 41.5 × 29.5, 43 × 28; r.: 26+ × 28, 40 × 28, fr.)

CL BD 596: East Wing of Pit BD at +3.25–3.00 Objects ST grindstone, 1 fr. (NK) ST celt 56; p. 196 TC polisher 347; p. 243

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 8 shells): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 r. Ma. fr. (M3 1/1, M1→), 1 Ra. fr. Cardium 7, Murex 1

Lithics Obs.: F 2

BD 597: East of Wall W-67 at 3.00–2.90 Lithics Obs.: F 3, B 1, Bs 1, sf/fr 4 Fl./Ch.: F 1 (L7.133), SpP/b (L7.134 [Koz.: ill. 13:5]) Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (10 bones, 5 shells): Sus 3: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M3→), 1 Sc fr., 1 Hu. fr. Ovis/Capra 5: 1 M2 (1/1), 1 Sc. fr., 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ul fr., 1 Fe. fr. Bos 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ph. I Cardium 2, Murex 3

Reese (11 specifically identifiable bones, 54 fragments total: 1 cut, 1 bu.; 8 shells): Sus 3: 1 Ma. fr. (M2 up., M3, l.), 1 Sc. fr. (broken gl.), 1 dist. Hu. fr. (F) Ovis/Capra 6: 1 M2, 1 Sc. fr., 1 Hu. fr., 1 pr. Ra. (F, bu. black on ven. side), 1 pr. Ul. fr. (UF), 1 pr. Fe. fr. (cut) Bos 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ph. 1 (F) Cerastoderma 2 (2 MNI) (r.: 25, broken, 25.5 × 27), Hexaplex 6 (4 MNI) (1 lg. apex, 3 dist., 1 columella [acided], 1 body)

Pit BD

117

BD 599: West Wing of Wall W-64 at +3.45–3.20, Including Removal of Top Stones of Wall W-65 and Stone Mass BD 59 Objects ST celt 57; p. 196 BO awl 224; p. 225 TC sling bullet 306; p. 238

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 4 shells): Ovis/Capra 4: 1 M3 (1/1), 1 M1→, 1 Pe fr., 1 Mc. fr. (j.) Bos 1: Mc. fr. Cardium 2, Ostrea 2

Ler MN 5b in BD (formerly II.BD.D; Vitelli: 58–59) Late Stage of Buildings W-65 and W-67 and Storage Pit SP-11 Wall W-64; walls W-65, W-66; walls W-67, W-68; storage pit SP-11

The sediments removed from Pit BD in this phase were of levels appropriate for association with Buildings W-65 and W-67 in their later stages of use (Plan 23, Section 4). Socle W-64 probably fell into disuse during the time these sediments accumulated. This is the latest MN material in Pit BD associated with architecture. The sediments east of W-67 from +3.80–3.25 were removed in CL BD 591 (+3.80–3.50) and CL BD 592 (+3.50–3.25). Included in the excavation of BD 516 in CL BD 592 was the material from the removal of the top courses of W-67, down to ca. +3.55. No floors or other features were observed in the course of the excavation here. Apart from lithics and bones and shells, there were few objects: a celt reused as a pounder/rubber(?) 106, a terracotta polisher 347, and a fragment of terracotta triangular plaque 392. A burnished brown sherd with graffito, L.1561, was found among the sherds of BD 518 in CL BD 592; incised after firing were a long-tailed N contiguous with an X inside a rectangle (Vitelli 2007: 58, n. 3). The other lots associated by the excavator with this phase were excavated from the original pit exclusive of the wings. In the northern section of the pit lot BD 586 was excavated from +4.00–3.80. Three terracotta sling bullets (307–309) were found at +3.80 in the northeastern corner of the pit, and, as the excavation continued in the central section of the pit from +3.80–3.50/3.40, six more terracotta sling bullets (311–316) and Lime-ware bowl L.1360 were found in lot BD 479, which was combined into CL BD 588. This combined lot yielded a fair quantity of bones and shells, including 28 Cerastoderma valves (16+ MNI). In the north and center, lot BD 589 removed the sediment from +3.50/3.40–3.40/3.30 with the single find, bone awl 225. In the course of the excavation of the sediments associated with BD 586 and CL BD 588 appeared the configurations of stones that appear on Vitelli’s plan 19 as socles BD 53 and BD 54 (Vitelli 2007: 175). These present no distinctive plan and no floors or other features were associated with them. The excavator suggested that the stones were fallen from W-67 (Pit BD 1957 annual report: 2), and we do not illustrate them or include them in our inventory of socles. Much of the southern half of the original pit was taken up by two intrusive EH II socles, W-43 and W-44 (Wiencke 2000: 75–76; 83, plan 15). Socle W-43 ran diagonally NNW–SSE across the southern end of the pit and W-44 extended almost perpendicular from it at about its midpoint. The latter was removed in lot BD 584, which also included material from the removal of FN ash pit AP-9 (see below, Plan 24). In the removal of W-43 a charred fragment of Arbutus unedo fruit was recovered, the date of which could be either Neolithic or EH (Hopf 1961: 239, 47-V; 1962: 4). Further EH contaminination came from EH II deposit BD-AI. Also in the area just south of socle W-64 was red-clay-lined storage pit SP-11 (Fig. 38). The diameter of the pit was ca. 0.65 m, the depth preserved only 0.37 m (+3.60–3.23), suggesting that the pit had been disturbed by later activity here. No description of the fill was provided,

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

except for the mention of a quantity of shells (BD 587). Found in it were a fragment of a stone sling bullet (NK) and another of clay (310), a bone scraper/polisher (279), and a terracotta leg(?) (412).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Though Vitelli found in the pottery from this level none of the primary indicators of FCP 2.4 (which could be attributed to chance), she thought the material was part of the same processes that deposited the pottery just below, which did present some FCP 2.4 parallels (Vitelli 2007: 59, 130). Consequently we assign this phase a Ler MN 5b date. Sediments Associated with Buildings W-65 and W-67 (late) at ca. +4.00/3.80–3.40/3.25 (BD 584, BD 586–BD 589, CL BD 591, CL BD 592) Pottery Lime-ware cooking pot fr.; Vitelli: fig. 17:a Lime-ware bowl L.1360; Vitelli: fig. 19:e Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 22:d, m Monochrome Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 24:c Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 28:h

Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 30:b Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 34:g Scribbled Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 52:c Patterned Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 59:i Patterned Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 67:k Patterned Urfirnis askos frr.; Vitelli: fig. 68:e–g

BD 584: Removal of EH II Wall W-44 and Ler FN Ash Pit AP-9 Lithics Obs.: F 2, Es 1 (Koz.: ill. 6:15), NB 1 (Koz.: ill. 10:12)

Botanicals Charred Arbutus unedo fruit (Hopf 1961: 239, 44-V; 1962: 4)

BD 586: North at +4.00–3.80 Objects TC sling bullet 307; p. 238 TC sling bullet 308; pp. 238–239 TC sling bullet 309; p. 239

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: B 1 Fl./Ch.: B 2

BD 587: Storage Pit SP-11 at +3.60–3.23 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) ST sling bullet fr. (NK) BO scraper/polisher 279; p. 233 TC sling bullet 310; p. 239 TC leg(?) 412; p. 257

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Fl./Ch. B 1 Bones and Shells Excavator recorded “a number of cockle shells” in PNB PM: 102 (NK)

CL BD 588: Center at +3.80–3.50/3.40 Objects TC sling bullet 311; p. 239 TC sling bullet 312; p. 239 TC sling bullet 313; p. 239 TC sling bullet 314; p. 239 TC sling bullet 315; p. 239 TC sling bullet 316; p. 239 Lithics Fl./Ch.: B 1, Bl/Sg 1 (L7.125) Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 30 shells): Sus 3: 2 l. and 1 r. Ma. fr. (ad.) Ovis/Capra 1: Mc. fr. Cardium 23, Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 3, Helix 2

Reese (20 specifically identifiable bones, 41 fragments total: 1 cut, 15 bu.; 36 shells): Sus 6: 3 Ma. frr. (2 ant. [1 with 2 inc.], 1 l. lacks teeth, 1 MNI), 1 I fr., 1 lo. C. (young male, 3 pces.), 1 Fi. sh. (rather young) Ovis/Capra 5: 1 Cal. (lacks prox. + dist., bu. black), 1 dist. Mt. + sh. (F), 2 pr. Mp. frr. (1 bu. gray/ brown), 1 Mp. sh. fr. (young, bu. gray/brown) Sus or Ovis/Capra 7+: 7 Ri. frr. (2 bu. gray, 1 bu. gray/brown), 7 bu. shs. (6 black, 1 black/ brown) Bos 2+: 1 Pa. (slightly broken), 1 Ri. fr. (bu. black/ brown, 2 pces.), 1 sh. (cut down length + across) Cerastoderma 29 (16+ MNI) (l.: 19 × 20.5, 22 × 23+, 22.5 × 24.5, 23 × 25, 23 × 25, 23.5 × 24.5,

Pit BD

23.5 × 24.5+, 25.5 × 28.5, 25.5 × 30, 25.5 × 30, 25 × 31, 27 × 30, 27 × 30, 27 × 30, 28.5 × 30.5, lg. fr. (bu.); r.: 21 × ca. 24, 22 × 23, 22.5 × 24, 23 × 24.5, 23 × 26, 23.5 × 27, 24 × 26, 25.5 × 28, 26.5 × 28, 27 × 27+, 27 × 30, 28 × 30, 28 × 31),

119

Spondylus 1 (up., 62 × 55, pitted exterior with vermetids), Ruditapes 1 (l., L. 28, broken), Hexaplex 2 (67 × 50.5, 55.5 × 42), Bolinus 1 (52.5 × 34, acided), Helix 2

BD 589: North and Center at +3.50/3.40–3.40/3.30 Objects BO awl 225; pp. 225–226

CL BD 591: East Wing within Building W-67/East of Building W-67 at +3.80–3.50 Lithics Obs.: B 4 (L7.129) Fl./Ch.: RB/Sg 1 (L7.131 [Koz.: ill. 13:19]) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones and fragments, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra: Ri. frr. Bos 3: 1 Ph. II (Gejvall: 32; S.), 1 Ra. fr., 1 Ve. fr. Canis 1: r. Mx. fr. (Gejvall: 60; S.) Helix 1

Reese (14 specifically identifiable bones, 25 fragments total: 2 cut; 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ra. sh., 1 Pe./acet. fr. (l.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 8: 1 Ve. sp. (cut through bottom), 7 Ri. frr. Bos 3: 1 Ra. sh. (2 pces.), 1 Ph. 2 (F; Gejvall: 32; S.), 1 Ve. fr. (F, possibly cut down side) Canis 1: Mx. fr. (P4 broken, M1 alv., M2, r.; Gejvall: 60; S.) Helix 1 (has some color)

CL BD 592: East Wing within Building W-67, East of Wall W-67 at +3.50–3.25, Including Removal of Courses of Wall W-67 Objects ST pounder/rubber 106; p. 204 TC polisher 348; p. 243 TC triangular plaque 392; p. 249

Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 6, Es 1 (Koz.: ill. 13:8), RB 2 (L7.130 [Koz.: ill. 13:18]), sf/fr 5 Fl./Ch.: F 1 (L7.132)

Ler FN Ash Pits and Ler MN 6 in BD (formerly II.BD.E; Vitelli: 59–61) Ash Pits AP-9–AP-11 What we consider the latest Neolithic features in Pit BD are three FN ash pits, AP-9–AP-11, with preserved top levels of +4.45 and +4.35 (Plan 24; Vitelli 2007: 59–61). The sediments into which these pits had been sunk were removed from the center and east wing of the pit in lots CL BD 577 and CL BD 579 from ca. +4.50/4.45–4.00/3.80. The pottery from both lots was predominantly MN with some FN, but both included small percentages of EH II wares and EH II tile fragments. The EH material perhaps came in part from the redeposition of House of the Tiles debris (Vitelli 2007: 60), and in part from the disturbance of the Neolithic sediments by the insertion into the area of the socles of EH II building W-43, the base levels of which were measured at +4.12–3.70 (Wiencke 2000: 75; 83, plan 15; 86, section 13). That the preserved top level of one of the ash pits at +4.45 is higher than the top levels of the EH II socles (+4.21–4.38) is a clear indication that the Neolithic sediments probably reached at least +4.50 before the disturbances caused by the EH builders. In stratigraphic position and in form and contents, these pits are comparable to those in JA–JB, if slightly smaller in diameter. Two (AP-9, AP-10) had ash-laced fill, and one (AP-10) had a scattering of stones at the preserved top; unlike the J pits, however, those in Pit BD were single, that is, they were not renewed in essentially the same location. Pit AP-9 lay in the south central part of the area, grazed by the northeast face of EH II W-44. The other pits, AP-10 and AP-11, were in the east wing, the latter extending into the north and east baulks and not completely excavated. A carbonized fava bean fragment found in this area is meager evidence for associating food storage/food preparation with pits of this sort at the site (Hopf 1961: 240, 48-V; 1962: 4, 7–8).

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

EH

-46 W II

EH

AP-10

AP-11 +4.45 ____ +4.10

+4.35 ____ +3.90

II W -4 5

EH II W-44

AP-9 +4.35 ____ +3.94

EH II BD-AI

EH

N

-43 W II

1 AP-9–AP-11. 2m Plan 24.0Pit BD: ash pits Scale 1:50

Only pit AP-9 produced a significant amount of pottery, some 60% of which was coarse, though the record is not detailed; Vitelli has reported, however, the presence of FN sherds among the saved material (K.24. D. Final Vitelli, pers. comm.). presence of FN material Plan Neolithic Ash PitsGiven (AP) the in BD in the surrounding sediments and the unequivocal FN date of the J storage pits, we think a FN date is appropriate. It is of some interest that among the small finds were two small terracotta spindle whorls of forms not typical of EH II, suggesting the introduction of textile production at the site in the Final Neolithic; at Franchthi also, the deliberately manufactured whorl appears first in the FN (Vitelli 1999: 88; 95, n. 25). AP-9 (BD 584, with EH II W-44) Plan 24 Said to contain “gray earth/clay” (FNB XX: 39). Diam. 0.65 m; p.D. 0.41 m (+4.35–3.94) BD 575: two small TC whorls (358, 359), chipped stone, bones, and shells. AP-10 (BD 576, with AP-11) Plan 24 Scattering of stones over top; “ashes” noted (FNB XX: 69). Diam. 0.70 m; D. 0.45 m (+4.35–3.90)

Possible TC figurine leg 414, two obsidian blades, one shell; fragment of Vicia faba (Hopf 1961: 240, 48-V; 1962, 4, 7–8). AP-11 (BD 576, with AP-10) Plan 24 Not fully excavated, continuing into east baulk and probably not preserved to original top level. Diam. ?; p.D. 0.35 m (+4.45–4.10)

The sediments associated with this phase, apart from CL BD 577 and CL BD 579, the late lots into which the pits had been sunk, are: CL BD 573 (see Wiencke 2000: 153–154), CL BD 578, BD 580, CL BD 585, and CL BD 593. CL BD 593 yielded a significant number of small finds: of stone, celts 60 and 61 and an UI fragment, pounder/rubber 107, and two bone awls (233, 234). With the pottery in CL BD 577 and CL BD 579 was a fairly rich assortment of inventoried small objects: grindstone 22, several bone tools (awls 229–232 and scraper/polisher 281), two TC polishers (349, 350), TC whorl 360, and the lower portion of a TC figurine (400). A heavy metal spike with a triangular head in the plane of the shaft

Pit BD

121

with what appeared to be milled edges was found here but is surely modern (L7.71). Since almost all the lots included by Caskey in his final combination contained some EH pottery, only objects that have good Neolithic parallels, e.g. the figurine, can be assigned a secure Neolithic date. Particularly the lithics, bones, and shells from these lots should be considered Lerna II–III.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi In the MN sherds from this level Vitelli noted correspondences with FCP 2.4 and FCP 2.5, though the collection as a whole she found badly mixed (Vitelli 2007: 60–61, 130). We tentatively date the MN phase represented here Ler MN 6. Latest Ler MN Sediments (with FN and EH II Contamination) and Ler FN Ash Pits at ca. +4.40–3.40/4.30 (CL BD 573, BD 575, BD 576, CL BD 577–CL BD 579, BD 580, BD 581, CL BD 585, CL BD 593) Pottery Lime-ware cooking pot fr.; Vitelli: fig. 18:c Monochrome Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 28:k, m Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 34:e Monochrome Urfirnis carinated collared bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 43:g Coarse Urfirnis rim frr.; Vitelli: fig. 51:b, c; Scribbled Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 52:a, d Scribbled Urfirnis collared carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 52:e Scribbled Urfirnis pedestal base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 52:f Pattern-Burnished Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 53:d, e Pattern-Burnished Urfirnis piriform jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 53:g

Pattern-Burnished carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 53:h Pattern-Burnished Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 53:i Patterned Urfirnis basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 59:e, f Patterned Urfirnis bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 67:l–n Patterned Urfirnis askos frr.; Vitelli: fig. 68:h, i, l, n, o Patterned Urfirnis vessel(?) frr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:s, t Bead and rib bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:j, m FN Heavy Burnished small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 79:i FN coarse base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 86:l FN coarse handle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 95:f

CL BD 573: Third Cut of Wings and Area BA Trench at ca. +3.55–3.40 See Wiencke 2000: 153–154, for this lot.

Objects TC polisher 349; pp. 243–244

BD 575: Ash Pit AP-9 at +4.35–3.94 Objects TC whorl 358; p. 245 TC whorl 359; p. 245 Lithics Obs.: B 3, Br 1, Es 2 (L7.122 [Koz.: ill. 13:9], L7.123 [Koz.: ill. 13:7]), SpP/f 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 3 shells): Sus 2: 1 Ax. (j.), 1 Ph. I (j.) Bos 1: l. Ma. fr. (P1–M3 1/1, M2→, M3 1/1) Cervus 1: An. fr. (ad., lg.; Gejvall: 45, 92, table 101, pl. XIX:1; S.)

Cardium 1, Ostrea 1, Arca barbata 1 (Gejvall: 107, pl. XXIV:17) Reese (10 specifically identifiable bones, 39 fragments total: 2 bu.; 4 shells): Sus 7: 1 Ax. (UF), 3 Pe. frr. (1 partly bu. black), 1 Ti. sh., 1 Cal. (UF), 1 Ph. 1 ( JF) Bos 2: 1 Ma. fr. (dP1, dP2, dP3, M1 erupting, M2 below, l., 3 pces.), 1 Ve. sp. (bu. gray/black) Cervus 1: An. fr. (lo. part, has sk. fr., ad., lg., heavy; Gejvall: 45, 92, table 101, pl. XIX:1; S.) Cerastoderma 1 (l.: 31.5 × 35 asym.), Ostrea 2 (L. 81.5, not complete; fr. [in bones]), Barbatia 1 (Gejvall: 107, pl. XXIV:17)

BD 576: Ash Pits AP-10 at +4.35–3.90 and AP-11 at +4.45–4.10 Objects TC leg(?) 413; p. 257

Lithics Obs.: B 2

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 shell): Murex 1

Botanicals Fragmentary Vicia faba (Hopf 1961: 240, 48-V; 1962)

CL BD 577: EH and Neolithic in Center, West, and East at ca. +4.50/4.45–4.20/4.00 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Objects ST grindstone 22; p. 186 BO awl 229; p. 226 BO awl 230; p. 226 BO scraper/polisher 281; p. 233 TC polisher 350; p. 244 TC whorl 360; p. 245 TC figurine 400; p. 255 (Bronze modern[?] spike L7.71) Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L4.710), SpP/b 1, sf/fr 1 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (15 bones, 31 shells):

Sus 2: 1 Ti. fr. (j.), 1 Pe. fr. Ovis 2: 1 r. Ra. (all F; Gejvall: 27, 75, table 34, pl. V:8; S.), 1 l. dist. Ti. and much of sh. (F; Gejvall: 27, 77, table 39, pl. V:9; S.) Ovis/Capra 5: 1 r. and 1 l. Ma. frr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Cal. fr. (j.), 1 Mc. fr. Bos 5: 1 M3, 1 Ax. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Ph. I (F; 32, 83, table 59, pl. XI:4)—articulates with following Ph. II—1 Ph. II (F; Gejvall: 32, 84, table 60, pl. XI:5; both Ph. S.) Cervus 1: di Hu. fr. Cardium 9, Ostrea 14, Lucina(?) 1 Pinna 1, Murex 5, Patella caerulea 1 (Human: dist. Hu.)

CL BD 578: West Wing of Pit BD at +4.20–4.00 See Wiencke 2000: 153–154, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 3, Es 1 (Koz.: ill. 6:8)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments, 6 shells): Ovis/Capra: fragments Bos 2: 1 Ph. III, 1 Ri. fr. Cardium 3, Murex 3

CL BD 579: East and Center of Pit BD at +4.30/4.00–3.80 See Wiencke 2000: 153–154, for this lot.

Objects BO awl 231; p. 226 BO awl 232; p. 226 TC polisher 351; p. 244 Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 10 (L7.128 [Koz.: ill. 6:6]), SpP/f 1, Tr 1 (Koz.: ill. 7:6), sf/fr 8 Fl./Ch.: Br 1 (Koz.: ill. 13:4), Es/Sg 1 (L7.124 [Koz.: ill. 6:13])

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (11 bones, 34 shells): Sus 1: r. Mx. fr. (M3 1/1) Ovis/Capra 8: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr., (M3 1/1), 1 Hu. fr., 3 Ti. frr., 2 Pe. frr. Bos 2: 1 Mc. fr., 1 Ph. I Cardium 10, Ostrea 11, Pinna 2, Mytilus 4, Murex 7 (Human 4: 1 Hu., 3 Sk. frr. [senile])

BD 580: Sediments in Center South (BA Trench) at +4.30–4.00 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 3 (L4.707), 3 sf/fr Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 3 shells):

Sus 2: Mp. Ovis/Capra 2: Sc. frr. Anas platyrhynchos 1: dist. Ul. and sh. (Gejvall: 96, table 116; S.) Cardium 1, Murex 2

BD 581: Sediments around and Contaminated by EH II Deposit BD-AI at ca. +4.00–3.60 See Wiencke 2000: 27, for this lot.

Objects BO scraper/polisher 282; pp. 233–244 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs: F 2, B 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 5 shells): Capra 1: Hc. fr. (Gejvall: 27, 73, table 28, pl. VI:1; S.) Ovis/Capra 1: Sk. fr. Cardium 1, Ostrea 1, Arca 1, Pinna 1, Cyprina(?) 1 (actually Glycymeris; S.)

Pit BE

123

CL BD 585: West Wing of Pit BD at +4.00–3.80 Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) (EH II rib-bone awl L7.74) Lithics Obs.: B 2

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 1: Ra. fr., and fragments Bos 1: Mc. fr. (bu.) Ostrea 1

CL BD 593: West Wing of Pit BD at +3.80–3.45 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) ST celt 60; p. 196 ST celt 61; p. 196 ST celt fr. (NI) ST pounder/rubber 107; p. 204

BO awl 233; p. 226 BO awl 234; p. 226

Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 3, SpP 1, SpP/f 1, sf/fr 3 Fl./Ch.: sf/fr 2

Pit BE Another test into Neolithic strata toward the center of the mound was Pit BE, which was dug into the lower levels of trench BE in Square F/f in 1957 (Caskey 1958: 138–139). Originally 6.00 × 2.50 m and oriented WNW–ESE (Plan 2), early on in the excavation, owing to the appearance of a heavy EH II socle, W-63, running diagonally across its eastern end (Wiencke 2000: 185–186; 204, plan 31), the space was reduced to a trapezoid with a length of 5.00 m at the south, 4.00 m at the north, with the original west baulk perpendicular with them.

Ler EN–MN and MN 1 in BE (formerly I.BE.1; Vitelli: 25–26) Virgin Soil and above at +1.83/1.76–0.92/0.76 Virgin soil here was the same red palaeosol found elsewhere at the site, its uneven surface measured at +0.92–0.76 (Section 5). The excavator noted that pits had been sunk into the hardpan, reaching to +0.73, +0.68, and below the water level, which here was at ca. +0.55. No detailed description of the pits and their contents was provided by the excavator, but Caskey reported that there were three pits (Caskey 1958: 139) and a very rough field sketch in FNB XLI: 186 confirms this. All three extended into the baulks of the pit and could not be fully excavated, but appear comparable to those in the J areas and Pit BD. Three stones in the southeast corner of the pit with a maximum top level of +0.98 showed no regular configuration. The reddish brown sediment from the pits and above to ca. +1.09/0.93, removed in lot BE 556, yielded only a few pieces of chipped stone and some bones, ca. one-third of which were burned, but no sherds. The next sediment, to +1.46/1.18, was blackish, with bits of carbon and patches of burned earth. There were a few sherds, some lithics, and a small quantity of bones and a shell (BE 595). Above this to +1.66(E)/1.54 the sediment was brown and stony, grayer with flecks of charcoal toward the bottom of the cut, where there was some gray ash. Objects began to appear at this level: a fragment of a grindstone (NK) and another of a stone pounder/rubber (NI), a bone awl (174), a quantity of lithics, and bones, many burned (BE 594). Finally there was a stony blackish sediment to +1.82/1.76 into which the first stone socle in the BE pit, W-69, had been set. In CL BE 593, which included material from the removal of this socle and socles W-70 and W-71, were another stone pounder/rubber (NI), bone awl 173, terracotta polisher 326, a few fragments of chipped stone, along with some bones, again many burned, and shells.

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi The limited sherd material available from these lots, all combined before she had access to them, Vitelli considered, exclusive of a little intrusive material, early MN, ca. FCP 2.1 (Vitelli 2007: 25–26, 130). Since no sherds were found just above virgin soil, it is not impossible that there was, as in Area J, some late EN pottery here, and we assign the material with BE 556 a transitional Ler EN–MN date. The remaining lots we date to Ler MN 1. Sediments at +1.83/1.76–0.92/0.68 (BE 556, CL BE 593, BE 594, BE 595) Pottery Lime-ware cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 1:m–o Lime-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 3:e Lime-ware large hole-mouth jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 5:g Lime-ware jug(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 7:e

Patterned Lime-ware sherds; Vitelli: fig. 7:k, l Lime-ware base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 14:m Ungritted-ware (variant) bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 9:e, i Ungritted-ware (variant) saucer fr.; Vitelli: fig. 12:f

BE 556: Cut to Virgin Soil below BE 595 at +1.09/0.93–0.92/0.68 Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 7, sf/fr 1 Fl./Ch.: F 1, B 2, Ch 2, sf/fr 2 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones): Sus 1: Sk. fr. Ovis/Capra 1: M3→ Canis vulpes 1: Mp. fr. Reese (12 specifically identifiable bones, 36 fragments total: 4 cut, 12 bu.):

Ovis/Capra 6: 3 Ma. frr. (coronoid process, cut across at dist., bu. gray; 2 side frr.), 1 dP3 (w., 2 pces.), 1 M2 (uw., open roots, 2 pces.), 1 M (2 pces.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 2+: 11 shs. and 1 fragment (bu. gray), (2 cut down length [1 bu. gray], 1 bu. gray), 1 fr. (bu. gray) Bos 2: 1 sh. (cut down length), 1 fragment (bu. gray, 2 pces.) Bos(?) 5: 5 Sk. frr. (5 bu. gray, 2 join) Canis familiaris 1: pr. Mc. IV (l., bu. gray)

CL BE 593: Blackish Earth and Stones East of Wall W-69 at +1.83/1.76–1.66/1.62 and West of Wall W-69 at +1.83/1.82–1.58/1.54, and Removal of Socles W-69–W-71 Objects ST pounder/rubber fr. (NI) BO awl 173; p. 221 TC polisher 326; pp. 241–242 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 8 (L7.398), NB 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:13), sf/fr 4 R.: Es 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:3) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 1 cut, 13 shells): Sus 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 l. Ma. fr. (M3 1/1) Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Hc. fr. (cut), 1 r. and 1 l. Ma. frr. (M3 1/1, M1 1/1) Cardium 10, Arca 1, Ostrea 1, Patella ferruginea 1 (Gejvall: 7, 107, table 4, pl. XXIII:3) Reese (37 specifically identifiable bones, 66 fragments total: 17 cut, 7 bu., 1 worked; 13 shells): Sus 3: 2 Sk. frr., 1 l. post. Ma. (M3 very w., l., L. 35.25, W. 18.5), 1 Hu. sh. fr. (2 pces.) Ovis 1: Hc. fr. (cut down length on l., cut across near dist. end of bone, L. 55.25, W. 29, cut line L. 27)

Ovis/Capra 17 (2 MNI): 3 ant. Ma. frr. (2 l. [1 in 2 pces.], 1 r. [2 pces.]), 1 post. Ma. (condyle process + part of coronoid process, l., 2 pces.), 2 dP3 (l. and r. [r. has tang, more w. than l.]), 3 M2 (2 uw., open roots; 1 slightly w.), 1 Ax. (UF, complete), 1 pr. Ra. (F, cut down length on r. side, r.), 1 pr. Ul. (F, l.), 3 Pe./acet. frr. (cut through acet. + ven., bu. gray, r.; 1 sm. acet., l.; l.), 1 dist. Ti. (F, cut down length except at dist., r.), 1 dist. Mp. (1/2, F, cut down length, bu. black) Sus or Ovis/Capra 15+: 2 Sk. frr. (join), 1 Ti. sh. (sm.), 1 Ve. sp., 11 Ri. frr. (2 heads, 1 cut along bone, 1 in 2 pces.), 16 shs. (9 cut down length [3 bu. gray], 1 bu. gray) Bos 1+: 1 Ri. fr., 3 shs. (1 cut down length in two directions + bu. black) Cerastoderma 9 (5+ MNI) (r.: 22.5 × 24, 24 × 25.5, 26 × 26.5 asym., 28 × 30.5 asym., 29.5 × 32 asym.; l.: 23 × 24, 25 × 26.5, 30 × 33 asym., 31 × 32.5 asym.), Ruditapes 1 (l. fr.), Arca 1 (r., 58 × 19), Spondylus 1 (up., w., vermetids + holed inside, collected dead), Patella aspera 1 (Gejvall: 7, table 4, pl. XXIII:3; once in Solna, now lost)

BE 594: Cut at +1.66/1.54–1.46/1.18 Objects ST grindstone, 1 fr. (NK)

ST pounder/rubber fr. (NI) BO awl 174; p. 221

Pit BE

125

WNW

ESE

+5.00 level of ash pits

EH II socle W-65

EH II socle W-63

+4.00 W-83

+3.00

W-82

W-79

stone pit

W-70

+2.00

W-73

yellow clay

W-76 W 74 W-69

+1.00

clay pit in virgin soil

water

0.00 Section 5. Pit BE: west-northwest–east-southeast section

through center of pit. Scale 1:50

Schematic Section 5. Pit BE: WNW-ESE through Center Pitdown length, 1 r.), Lithics black), 2 pr. Ra. (2 F, 2ofcut Obs.: F 3, B 7 (L7.431–L7.434), SpP 2 (Koz.: ill. 5:14, 1 pr. Ra. + sh. (F, l., 2 pces.), 1 Pe./acet./ilium fr. 15), SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:13) (r., bu. black/gray), 1 dist. Ti. (UF, broken, bu. Fl./Ch.: RB 1 (L7.435 [Koz.: ill. 4:9]) gray), 1 dist. Mc. (UF, cut down length above art., bu. gray), 1 Ph. 1 (F) Bones and Shells (small bag) Sus or Ovis/Capra 25+: 11 Sk. frr. (3 join), 1 Ve. sp. Gejvall (4 bones): fr. (cut through lo. part), 13 Ri. frr. (1 cut along Sus (wild) 2: 2 Sk. frr. both edges, 1 head bu. gray around head, 1 bu. Ovis/Capra 1: Ra. fr. (j.) black), 12 shs. (10 cut down length [3 bu. gray]), Bos primigenius 1: dist. Mt. (F; Gejvall: 31, 83, 1 fragment (bu. black) table 58, pl. X:2; S.) Bos 6+: 1 Sk. fr. (oc. condyle, bu. gray, 2 pces.), Reese (46 specifically identifiable bones, 84 frag1 Ma. fr. (side, cut down length), 1 Pe. fr. (cut in ments total: 20 cut, 14 bu.): three directions), 1 Ph. 3 (recently broken, rathSus 2: 1 Pe./acet. fr. (F, l.), 1 Ph. 2 (F) er lg.), 2 Ri. frr. (1 bu. black; 1 cut down length), Ovis/Capra 12 (2 MNI): 1 Ma. fr. (no teeth, bu. 2 shs. (1 cut down length, in 3 pces.) black, r., 2 pces.), 3 Sc. frr. (F, l., 2 pces.; lacks Bos primigenius 1: dist. Mt. (F, lg., dist. W. 66.25; gl., r.; side), 1 Hu. sh. (cut down length, bu. Gejvall: 31, 83, table 58, pl. X:2; S.) BE 595: Final Cut with Sherds at +1.46/1.18–1.09/0.93 Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 1, SpP/f 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:12) Fl./Ch.: RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:10) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 1 shell): Sus 1: Sk. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 1 tooth fr., 1 Ax. fr., 1 Pe. fr. (all 1 ad.) Bos 1: Ph. I (j.)

Canis vulpes(?) 1: Ti. fr. (j.) Cardium 1 Reese (13 specifically identifiable bones, 25 fragments total: 8 cut, 5 bu.; 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 8: 1 M 1/2 (broken), 1 At. (recently broken), 1 Ax. fr. (lacks post., possibly cut), 1 Sc. (F, tuber scapulae cut off on angle, r.), 1 Ra. sh. (2 pces.), 1 Pe./ilium fr. (bu. light black, l.),

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

1 dist. Ti. (F, probably cut through dist., bu. black, l.), 1 dist. Mp. (1/2, F) Sus or Ovis/Capra 2: 2 Ri. frr. (1 bu. black), 6 shs. (1 UF, partly bu. black, 4 cut down length)

Bos 4 (2 MNI): 1 pr. Fe. head (F, 2 pces.), 1 Ph. 1 (UF), 1 sh. (cut down length) Canis familiaris 1: pr. Ti. + sh. (F, pr. bu. black, r.) Cerastoderma 1 (l.: 22 × 20 asym.)

Lerna MN 2a in BE (formerly I.BE.2 [BE I–II]; Vitelli: 26–27) Building W-69 Wall W-69

Socle W-69, with a average base level of +1.75, was the first of a sequence of closely related socles found concentrated at the eastern end of the pit (Plan 25, Section 5, Fig. 40). Running NNE–SSW for the full extent of the pit and continuing into the baulks, the socle was preserved to a height of two to three courses, the lowest composed of mostly large flat stones, some extending the full width of ca. 0.30 m, but with some smaller stones at the interstices; two roughly parallel rows of smaller stones formed the course(s) above, preserved primarily at the south. At the north baulk a short length of stones (not numbered) was bonded with the socle and extended at a right angle to the west for ca. 0.40 m, resting at +2.13/2.03 at the west end. Approximately 1.00 m from the north baulk a couple of stones projecting from the east face of the socle (top +2.13/2.03) resembled those observed in houses in the J areas, which we thought might have marked interior divisions (see above, pp. 39, 47). If this assumption is correct, then the interior of the house extended east into the unexcavated baulk; the spur at the north might then be considered as a marker for a court to the west of the house. At the west face of the socle where it ran into the south baulk of the pit was a large fragment of carbonized wood 0.25 m wide and 0.12 m thick, possibly the remnant of a supporting beam or a fallen fragment of the roof armature. The sample was sent to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia for analysis as LC.12, but proved inadequate for analysis (notation on sample list attached to correspondence from E. Ralph dated December 24, 1959, in the Lerna archives). Hopf makes no specific reference to the sample (Hopf 1961, 1962), and the species of the tree from which it came cannot be identified. Supporting the view that the interior of Building W-69 lay to the east of the socle was the discovery in that area of a trace of an orange-red floor at an average level of +1.80. In the sediment above this floor a grindstone fragment was found close to the socle at the north baulk (BE 546). Another possible floor here was found at the northern end of the room, where a gray layer was found in BE 545 at ca. +1.85. The bones and shells from both floors were reported with BE 545. The only feature inside the building was a probable hearth of yellow clay, at the south baulk. Called by the excavator a “basin” (FNB XLI, 165), it was ca. 0.60 m in exterior diameter, with walls 0.05–0.09 m in thickness. The top edge was measured at ca. +2.00, the interior bottom at +1.88. Flat pebbles covered the surface. Clearing of the interior yielded a few sherds and a single shell. In all probability a hearth that had not yet been fired up, the clay had not oxidized to the usual red commonly found in such features, and no ash had accumulated over the pebbles. West of W-69 no certain floor level was found. The dark stony sediment into which socle W-69 had been set was traced between W-69 and west and south of socle W-70, the next socle set here; it extended from ca. +2.00 and ended at +1.83, which perhaps marked the base of the habitation level of the earliest use of the building. In this sediment were three terracotta polishers (335–337), a bit of chipped stone, and animal bones, some burned; noteworthy were 29 Cerastoderma valves (CL BE 592). The presence of the polishers and the shells suggests an outdoor activity area, as seen elsewhere at the site (see above, pp. 19, 42).

Pit BE

127 grindstone

W-69 ____

W-70 ____

+2.13 ____ +2.03

+2.16 ____ +1.94

N

+2.11 ____ +1.73

yellow clay

+1.85 ____ +1.95? ____

dark sediments +2.07/2.01 ____ +1.83

+1.80 ____ +2.10 ____ +1.97

+2.10 ____ +1.88

W-71

+2.11 ____ +1.81

+2.00 ____ +1.88

hearth

+2.05

burned area

0

carbonized wood

2 m W-69 and W-70. Scale 1:50 Plan 1 25. Pit BE: Buildings

Plan 25. Ler MN 2a in BE: Buildings W-69 and W-70

Figure 40. Pit BE: Buildings W-69 (right) and W-70 (left), from south-southwest

Building W-70 Walls W-70, W-71

Contemporary with or slightly later than Building W-69, at the west another building was constructed, Building W-70 (Plan 25, Section 5, Fig. 40). Segments of two socles were excavated, NNW–SSE socle W-70 and ESE–WNW socle W-71. Both were of similar construction and employed medium to large flat stones, but in the slightly wider W-71 (0.30–0.40 m) the medium-sized stones were laid in two neat rows, preserved to a height of three courses, while W-70 (width 0.30 m), of which one to two courses remained standing, was less uniformly constructed, with in some places larger slabs extending the full width of the socle, in others smaller stones placed side by side. As preserved, W-71 extended east beyond W-70 for ca. 0.60 m; we have no evidence that it extended as far east as W-69, and it might be construed as a marker for a court between the two buildings, as we have suggested for the projection from W-69 at the northwest.

128

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

South of room W-70 was a burned area at +2.05, possibly an ad hoc hearth representing the habitation level here. Between socle W-70 and the west baulk of the pit, presumably the interior of the building, no hard floor was detected but a dark sediment, possibly representing a habitation level here, was removed from +2.00/1.95–1.92 in which were fragments of large Monochrome Urfirnis bowl L.1532, bone awl 185, and 10 limpets, now lost (BE 590). In the space between Buildings W-69 and W-70, in what might have been a courtyard/ work area, blackish earth in BE 591 from +2.07/2.01–1.97/1.86 yielded bone awl 186, terracotta sling bullet 301, and three more terracotta polishers, 332–334. Along with the animal bones were 23 Cerastoderma valves (15+ MNI). The presence of the polishers and the cockles links this sediment with the one just below, CL BE 592, mentioned in connection with W-69, above. The stony sediment just above, excavated in CL BE 588 from +2.19/2.05–2.07/1.98 yielded a fragment of another terracotta polisher, 331, and 45 Cerastoderma valves, finds comparable to those in the two sediments below. Sediments across the pit from +2.32/2.27– 2.14/2.13 yielded 56 more Cerastoderma valves, along with a little bone, a few lithics, and bone awl 184 (CL BE 587). It is not impossible that all these sediments between W-69 and W-70 were fill emptied into the area from another location before the next constructional phase was initiated here.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi The sherds from this level Vitelli found comparable to FCP 2.1 to FCP 2.2, our Ler MN 2a in BE (Vitelli 2007: 26–27, 130). Sediments Associated with Buildings W-69 and W-70 at ca. +2.30–1.80 (BE 538, BE 545, BE 546, CL BE 587, CL BE 588, BE 590, BE 591, CL BE 592) Pottery Ungritted cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 10:d Ungritted basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 12:c Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl L.1532; Vitelli: fig. 33:b

Monochrome Urfirnis collared bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 42:j Patterned Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 57:e Patterned Urfirnis convex bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 61:d Patterned Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 34:b

BE 538: Removal of Upper Part of Wall W-74 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

BE 545 and BE 546: Cut East of Wall W-69 at +2.01/2.00–1.86 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 3 shells): Sus: fragments Cardium 2,Ostrea 1 Reese (6 specifically identifiable bones, 12 fragments total: 3 cut, 1 bu.; 3 shells):

Sus 1: Fi. (UF, lg., 2 pces.) Ovis/Capra(?) 1: dist. Ul. + sh (UF, cut across dist.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 4+: 1 Sk. fr. (2 pces.), 3 Ri. frr. (1 bu. gray/black), 3 shs. (2 cut down length) Cerastoderma 2 (2 MNI) (l.: 36 × 40.5 asym.; r.: 31, broken), Spondylus 1 (up., 54.5 × 46.5, pitted interior, collected dead)

BE 546: Cut East of Wall W-69 at +1.86–1.82/1.76 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

Bones and Shells Reported with BE 545

CL BE 587: Sediments across Pit at +2.32/2.27–2.08/2.05 Objects BO awl 184; p. 222 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 10 (L7.397), BK 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:1), SpP/f 2 (Koz.: ill. 5:10, 11), sf/fr 2

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 58 shells): Sus 1: Ve. fr. (j.) Bos 4: 1 Sk. fr., 1 l. Ma. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Ri. fr. Cardium 56 (Cerastoderma 1, once in Solna, now lost), Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 1 (revised by DSR to Ruditapes 1; once in Solna, now lost)

Pit BE

129

CL BE 588: Stony Fill West of Wall W-73 and between Wall W-73 and Wall W-69 at +2.19/2.05–2.07/1.98 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) TC polisher 331; p. 242

Ovis/Capra 3: 2 Pe. frr., 1 Ph. I Bos 2: 1 M2 (1/1), 1 Ra. fr. Cardium 45 (Gejvall: pl. XXIV:22), Ostrea 2, Conus 1

Lithics Obs.: B 1 Fl./Ch.: Es 1 (L7.501 [Koz.: ill. 4:2])

Reese (8 shells saved of 48): Cerastoderma 7 (l.: 32.5 × 33, bit asym., 35 × 35 asym., interrupted growth lines, 35.5 × 33.5, very asym., 37+ × 38, robust, bit asym., broken, bit asym.; r.: 35 × 32 asym., w. [Gejvall: 7, table 4, pl. XXIV:22]), Luria 1 (Gejvall’s Conus; once in Solna, now lost)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 48 shells) Sus 1: Ul. fr.

BE 590: Black Sediment in Building W-70 at +2.00/1.95–1.92 Objects BO awl 185; p. 222

Bones and Shells (small bag) Not noted by Gejvall: Patella caerulea 10 (once in Solna, now lost)

BE 591: Black Sediment between Walls W-70 and W-69 at +2.07/2.01–1.97/1.86 and Removal of Socle W-73 Objects BO awl 186; p. 222 TC sling bullet 301; p. 238 TC polisher 332; p. 242 TC polisher 333; p. 242 TC polisher 334; p. 242 Lithics Obs.: NB 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:14) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (8 bones, 23 shells): Sus 1: Hu. fr. Ovis/Capra 7: 1 Hc. fr., 2 Ma. frr., 2 Sc. frr., 1 Ph. I, 1 Ph. II Cardium 23 Reese (21 specifically identifiable bones, 31 fragments total: 4 cut, 4 bu.; 23 shells): Sus 2: 1 P/M fr., 1 Hu. (broken pr., UF dist., partly bu. black/ brown, l.)

Ovis/Capra 13 (2 MNI): 1 Hc. fr. (7 pces.), 4 Ma. frr. (coronoid/condyle process, l.; coronoid process, r.; 2 body), 2 Sc. (2 F, 2 l.; coracoid process cut off parallel to bone; broken coracoid process), 1 dist. Hu. (F, l.), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (possibly cut, l., 2 pces.), 1 pr. Fe. (UF head, bu. black/ white), 1 dist. Fe. fr. (1/2, broken, bu. gray), 1 Ph. 1 (F), 1 Ph. 2 (F) Sus or Ovis/Capra 6+: 2 Sk. frr. (1 cut), 1 Ve. sp., 3 Ri. frr. (2 join, both quite sm.), 3 shs. (1 cut down length, 1 bu. gray) Cerastoderma 23 (15+ MNI) (r.: 19.5 × 20, 21.25 × 24.25 asym., 21.5 × 25.5 asym., 24 × 26.5 asym., 25 × 27, bit asym., 27 × 30, 29 × 27 asym., 29.5 × 32.5 asym., 30 × 30 asym., 30 × 31 asym., 32 × 32+ broken, 32.5 × 30.5 asym., 33 × 30 asym., broken/asym.; l.: 22 × 24 asym., 24 × 25 asym., 24 × 26 asym., 26 × 29 asym., 27.5 × 29.5 asym., 27.5 × 30, 32 × 34.5 asym., H. 33 broken)

CL BE 592: Dark Stony Sediments West of Wall W-69 at +1.97/1.87–1.83, West of Wall W-70 at +1.92–1.82, South of Wall W-70 at +2.13/2.05–1.83, and Removal of Socles W-70 and W-71 Objects TC polisher 335; p. 242 TC polisher 336; p. 242 TC polisher 337; pp. 242–243 Lithics Fl./Ch.: RF 1 (Koz.: ill. 5:2) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 29 shells): Sus 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ma. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M2→, 1 Ra. Fr., 1 Pe. fr. Bos 1: M2→ Cardium 28, Cerithium 1

Reese (26 specifically identifiable bones, 37 fragments total: 6 cut, 6 bu.; 30 shells): Sus 5: 1 Sk. fr., 1 ant. Ma. fr. (bu. black/brown, r. + l.), 1 dist. Hu. sh., 1 Ra. sh., 1 Ti. sh. (cut down length) Ovis/Capra 12 (2 MNI): 1 Sk. fr. (oc. condyle), 4 post. Ma. frr. (3 condyle process, 2 r. [cut through lo. part, bu. gray; probably cut through lo. part, bu. black]), 1 M2 (uw., open roots), 1 lo. M fr. (uw., open roots), 1 pr. Hu. fr. (F), 1 dist. Hu. sh. (cut down length), 1 pr. Ra. (F, l.), 1 Pe./ acet. fr. (cut through lo. acet. to ven., l., 2 pces.), 1 dist. Ti. (F, down length, bu. gray)

130

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Sus or Ovis/Capra 8+: 1 Sc. fr. (side, robust), 1 Ph. 1 epiph. (UF, very sm.), 1 Ve. fr., 5 Ri. frr. (1 in 2 pces.), 4 shs. (2 bu. gray) Bos 1: M2 (uw., open roots, broken) Cerastoderma 28 (15+ MNI) (l.: 20.5 × 21, 22 × 24, 23 × 24, 23 × 28, 25.5 × 26.75, bit asym., 26 × 29, 28 × 31.5, 29 × 30, 29 × 31 asym., 29 × 32 asym.,

31 × 33.5, bit asym., 31.5 × 33.5, bit burned, 36 × 39.5 asym., H. ca. 34; r.: 19 × 21.5 asym., 31.5 × 32, 21 × 23, 24.5 × 24, 25 × 27, 25.5 × 29 asym., 26.5 × 26.5+, 27.5 × 31, 29.5 × 33 asym., 30 × 31.5 asym., 32 × 37 asym., 32 × 33 asym., 35 × 37.5 asym., H. 28.5), Cerithium 1 (L. 38, broken lip)

Ler MN 2b in BE (formerly II.BE.A; Vitelli: 61–62) Building W-72 Walls W-72, W-73

The next architectural phase in Pit BE (Vitelli 2007: 61–62) was initiated by a structure in its western section, Building W-72, which was raised just above Building W-70, a common practice in the settlement. Socle W-72 was based at the west on the north edge of socle W-71 and continued east for ca. 1.20 m beyond the line of the earlier socle to make a bonded corner with NNE–SSW socle W-73, which extended to the north baulk of the pit (Plan 26, Section 5). Socle W-72 was ca. 0.40 m wide where preserved intact, composed of small to medium-sized stones two across with larger stones at the west, and was preserved to a height of three courses. Socle W-73 was preserved to a height of three courses set in red clay, the lowest of large stones set with small stones above two or three across, to a width of 0.30–0.35 m. Much of the eastern half of the space enclosed by these socles was occupied by a pit that we assume was intrusive. The stony fill of the pit, which measured +2.60 at the top, well above the top level of the socles, was removed in lot BE 583 and yielded only a small quantity of bones and shells. A patch of clay floor was found at +2.24 in the space to the north and west of the stone pit, and a possible posthole in the floor here was ca. 0.20 m in diameter, with a top at +2.28, bottom at +2.06. The fill above this floor and the rest of the space not occupied by the pit from ca. +2.45–2.30 was removed in CL BE 584. Finds were few and included a grindstone fragment (NK), terracotta polisher 338, two pieces of chipped stone, and some bones and a few shells. South of W-72, evidence of the continued use of fire in this area consisted of a mass of orange and black earth with a top at +2.13, possibly the remnant of an outdoor cooking place. The fire might have been kept close to the building to protect it from the wind, but its dangerous proximity to the wall might account for the repeated reconstruction required here.

Building W-74 Walls W-74, W-75

Perhaps only slightly later in the phase a new version of Building W-69, which we call Building W-74, was constructed over the earlier structure in the eastern part of the pit (Plan 26, Section 5). Preserved were NNE–SSW socle W-74, which ran just above W-69, overlapping its east edge and veering farther west, and what we take as an interior cross-wall, W-75, perpendicular to it, close to the south baulk. Socle W-74, preserved to a height of two to three courses and a width of ca. 0.50 m, was of mixed construction that included widely spaced large slabs with two rows of small stones filling the gap between them, except at the north where there were overlapping slabs; a row of small stones along most of the western face of the socle seems like an addition, such as we have seen elsewhere (see above, pp. 39, 41). Only a very short segment of cross-wall W-75 was excavated at the east baulk. With a width of ca. 0.20 m it consisted only of a large slab with small stones on either side, presumably only one course high.

Pit BE

131

W-74 ____

W-73 +2.51

+2.41 ____ +2.03

+2.24 ____

hearth?

posthole?

cooking area

+2.55 ____ +2.20/2.10

N

+2.37/2.31 ________ +2.24/2.20 ________

stone pit +2.60 _______ +2.43/2.39

shells +2.44

+2.51/2.45 ________

+2.30 ____ +2.05

W-75

W-72 ____

+2.30 ____ +1.98

+2.13

+2.57 ____ +2.31

burned area

0

Plan W-72 and W-74 1 26. Pit BE:2 Buildings m

Within these socles, north of the cross-wall, a trace of a floor was found at +2.51/2.45. The buff/grayish brown earth above it to +2.55/2.52 was removed in lot BE 582 and yielded a small of bonesW-72 and shells. fragmentary stone tool (NI) Plan 26.and LeraMN 2bquantity in BE: Buildings and W-74 The space between Buildings W-72 and W-74 the excavator called a kitchen or pantry, but it might have been a protected outdoor cooking area, complementary to that found south of W-72 (see above, p. 130). In the northeast corner of the space was a deposit of burned clay and ash with a top at +2.51 that was probably the residue of a cooking place. The dark sediments here appeared to have been laid down in two stages, the earlier resting at +2.24/2.20, the later on a red clay floor at +2.37/2.31, where there were fragments of Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1483. In the southern part of the space was a hole (top +2.44) filled with 74 Cerastoderma valves (38+ MNI). The material from this possible work area was removed in lots CL BE 585 and BE 586. The primary finds were bones and shells; stone pounder/ rubber 85 was the sole object inventoried.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi The few sherds from this level available to Vitelli appeared to be early MN, the equivalent of FCP 2.1 to FCP 2.2, like those from the sediments immediately below and above (Vitelli 2007: 61–62, 130). This level we designate as Ler MN 2b. Sediments Associated with Buildings W-72 and W-74 at +2.50–2.30 (BE 537, BE 582, BE 583, CL BE 584, CL BE 585, BE 586) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1483; Vitelli: fig. 27:a Patterned Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 57:g

Patterned Urfirnis small convex bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 61:i Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 64:a

BE 537: Removal of Wall W-74 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

BE 582: Sediment in Building W-72 from +2.55/2.52 to Possible Floor Level at 2.51/2.45 and Removal of Upper Part of Wall W-76 Objects ST polisher(?) (NI) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 10 shells):

Sus 1: Zy. fr. Ovis/Capra 4: 1 r. Ma. fr. (dP2 1/1), 2 Pe. frr., 1 Mc. fr. Cardium 9, Murex 1

132

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

BE 583: Stone Pit Fill at +2.60–2.43/2.39 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 4 shells):

Sus 2: 1 C. fr. (j.), 1 Fe. fr. (j.) Cardium 3, Patella caerulea 1

CL BE 584: Sediment in Building W-72 at +2.45/2.43–2.32/2.27 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) TC polisher 338; p. 243 Lithics Obs.: B 2, SpP 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 3 shells): Sus 1: Mp. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 M2→, 1 Sc. fr. Bos 3: Hu. frr. Cardium 3

Reese (5 specifically identifiable bones, 25 fragments total: 1 bu.; 3 shells): Sus 1: Mc. III (UF) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 M2 (uw.), 1 Sc. fr. (F, r.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 1+: 1 Ve. sp., 1 sh. (bu. black/ brown) Bos 1: dist. Hu. (F, r., 11 pces.) Cerastoderma 3 (3 MNI) (l.: 27 × 28, 29 [acided]; r.: 28 × 31.5)

CL BE 585: Deposit on Floor of Cooking/Work Area between Buildings W-72 and W-74 from +2.51 to Floor at +2.37/2.31, and Removal of Wall W-76 Objects ST pounder/rubber 85; p. 202 Lithics Obs.: 1 RB (L7.400 [Koz.: ill. 9:2]) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 74 shells): Sus 2: 1 Ra. fr. (j.), 1 Ti. fr. Ovis/Capra 4: 2 Hc. frr., 1 Sc. fr., 1 Ph. I fr. Cardium 74 Reese (8 specifically identifiable bones, 16 fragments total: 2 cut, 2 bu.; 72 shells): Sus 1: Mp. II/V (young, broken) Ovis/Capra 7: 2 Hc. frr., 1 Sc. fr. (F, r.), 1 Ra. fr. (young, partly bu. gray), 2 dist. Ti. (UF, cut at dist.; F, bu. black), 1 Ph. 1 (UF, broken, probably cut through pr. on angle)

Cerastoderma 72 (38+ MNI) (r.: 21.5 × 23.5, 22 × 24, 23 × 24, 23 × 24, 23 × 24.5, 25.5 × 28, 26 × 26, 26 × 28, 27 × 28.5, 27 × 31, 27.5 × 29, 27.5 × 30, 27.5 × 31, 27.5 × 32, 28 × 28.5+, 28 × 29, 28 × 29, 28 × 30, 28 × 30, 28 × 30.5, 28 × 30.5+, 28 × 32, 28 × 32, 28.5 × 30+, 28.5 × 31, 29 × 30, 29 × 32, 29.5 × 30+, 29.5 × 31, 30 × 31.5, 30 × 32, 30 × 35, 30.5 × 32, 30.5 × 33, 32 × 34, 35 × 26, W. 30, fr.; l.: 20 × 22.5, 21 × 21.5, 21+ × 22+, 22 × 25, 23 × 25, 24.5 × 26, 25 × 26.5, 25.5 × 28, 26.5 × 30, 26.5 × 31, 27 × 29, 28 × 28+, 28 × 30, 28 × 30, 28 × 30.5, 28 × 31.5, 28.5 × 29.5, 28.5 × 29.5, 29 × 31, 29 × 31, 29 × 32, 29.5 × 30.5, 29.5 × 31, 29.5 × 32.5, 30 × 31+, 30 × 32, 30 × 32, 30 × 32+, 30 × 33, 30 × 33, 30 × 33, 31 × 35.5, 32 × 34.5, 33 × 33.5)

BE 586: Sediment in the Cooking/Work Area between Buildings W-72 and W-74 from +2.37/2.31 to +2.20/2.00 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone, 7 shells): Sus 1: Mp. fr.

Cardium 6, Lucina(?) 1 (revised by DSR to Venus; once in Solna, now lost)

Ler MN 2c in BE (formerly II.BE.B; Vitelli: 62) Building W-76 and Socles W-77, W-78 A group of socles was next constructed in the pit, two resting directly on socles of the preceding phase, but it was difficult to associate all these later socles in any meaningful plan (Plan 27, Section 5). Possibly W-76–W-78 marked the borders of one room of a larger building, Building W-76. Running NNE–SSW, W-76 was broad, with a width of 0.60–0.65 m; it rested directly above but slightly to the west of underlying W-74. It appears to have been composed of two outer faces of loosely laid large slabs with small stones in the space between them and at the

Pit BE

W-77

+2.88 ________ +2.68/2.62

133

+2.55?/2.52 __________

fallen stones

N

+2.74 ________ +2.65/2.53

W-76 ____

+2.75/2.70 ________ +2.32/2.28

W-78 Plan 27. Pit BE: Building W-76 1and socles W-77 and W-78. Scale 1:50 0 2m

interstices; two courses were preserved in position. At the north baulk the socle, as preserved, narrowed at the northeast edge to three flat slabs that were set perpendicular to the Plan 27. Ler MN 2c in BE: Building W-76, Socles W-77 and W-78 primary axis of the socle. Material from the sediments east of this socle were not kept separate, and no floors were identified here. Just west of W-76 were two very irregular lines of stones, small and large, running roughly north–south, which we think were chance accumulations, probably from W-76, and do not include them in our inventory of walls but mark them on our plan as fallen stones; on Vitelli’s plan 21 the easternmost range of these stones appears as socle BE 95; the stones just to the west of these were not identified as a socle by the excavator (FNB XLI: 158; Vitelli 2007: 176, plan 21). In the northwestern and southwestern corners of the pit were ESE–WNW socles W-77 and W-78, which originally might have extended east to W-76 to form a room. Embedded in the north and west baulks was W-77, preserved as a single course of four medium to large stones in a single row with a width of ca. 0.40 m. South of this socle at the west was a mass of stones, shown on the plan as fallen. Roughly parallel to this socle was W-78, embedded in the southwestern corner of the pit; ca. 0.05 m of earth lay between it and W-74 just below. As excavated it consisted of a row of medium-sized stones in two courses with a width of ca. 0.40 m. A couple of widely spaced stones well to the east might have been a continuation of it. The excavator treated the whole area west of socle W-76 as the interior of a room and excavated it to a not very clear floor level at +2.55/2.52 in BE 581. On the possible floor were only a few pieces of chipped stone and a small quantity of bones and shells. From above this “floor” and extending over and beyond socle W-76 to the east baulk, CL BE 580 was excavated, the sediment tentatively associated by the excavator with this structure. Two celts, 33 and 34, and bone awl 187 came from this lot, along with a small quantity of bones and shells; among the bones were human adult female femur and tibia shafts. Just south of the eastern stones of W-78 in the south baulk a very burned red area ca. 0.10 m deep was observed in the baulk, possibly an indication of a cooking place comparable to that observed in this area at lower levels (see above, pp. 128, 130).

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Vitelli had only a few sherds from this level available to her, which she considered early MN with some intrusive later material. She cites specific parallels with FCP 2.1 (Vitelli 2007: 62, 130), but, since FCP 2.2 material was evident in the two preceding levels, and there are close architectural connections between this level and the one below, we assign it to Ler MN 2c.

134

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Sediments Associated with Building W-76 at ca. +2.50–2.80 (CL BE 580, BE 581, BE 589) Pottery Patterned Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 66:j, l.

CL BE 580: Sediments Associated with Building W-76 at +2.88/2.77–2.65/2.53 Objects ST celt 33; p. 193 ST celt 34; p. 193 BO awl 187; p. 222

Sus 2: 1 Ra. fr. (nb.), 1 Mp. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 1: Ti. fr. Cardium 3, Lucina(?) 2 (Human: Fe. and Ti. shs. [ad. female])

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 5 shells):

BE 581: Sediment in Building W-76 from +2.65/2.53 to Possible Floor at +2.55/2.52 Lithics Obs.: F 1 (L7.508), B 3, Bs 1, 2 sf/fr Fl./Ch.: RF 1

Sus 8: 5 Sk. frr. (1 MNI), 1 Sc. fr., 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ul. fr. Ovis/Capra 1: Ma. fr. (M2 1/1) Cardium 5, Lucina(?) 2

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (9 bones, 7 shells):

BE 589: Removal of Socle W-78 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: B 1

Ler MN 3–4(?) with Ler FN in BE (formerly II.BE.C; Vitelli: 62–63) Building W-79 and Storage Pit SP-12 Walls W-79–W-81; storage pit SP-12

A new disposition of the area of Pit BE was initiated sometime in the next phase (Plan 28, Section 5; Vitelli 2007: 62–63). Socle W-79 was constructed directly above W-76, its eastern edge resting on the western edge of the earlier socle. Approximately 0.30 m wide, the socle consisted of a single row of stones of mixed sizes preserved at the north to a height of two courses. Extending east from the north end of socle W-79 was another, much damaged socle W-80, preserved only as a ragged line of stones one to three across with a maximum width of ca. 0.45 m and one or two courses high. Where the socle disappeared into the east baulk of the pit were two stones set upright in red clay ca. 0.10 m apart, possibly as a drain (FNB XLI: 155). Within the space defined by these socles at the eastern section of the trench a hard floor was found in the north at ca. +2.80(N)/2.68(S) and, south of an irregular scatter of stones (some kind of divider?) was a curious mass of yellow clay with, in the center, a yellow-claylined hole ca. 0.18 m in diameter and a depth of ca. 0.15 m, which might have served as a posthole (Figs. 41, 42). The total mass of clay, a maximum of 0.09 m thick, was roughly circular with an irregularly undulating circumference; it measured ca. 0.78 m north–south, 0.81 m east–west. At the east it appeared to have been once renewed with a layer of the same clay ca. 0.01–0.03 m thick to a top level of +2.72 (FNB XLI: 155); the original surface at the west varied from +2.68 to +2.74. Beneath the mass was a yellow clay floor at +2.63 that continued up the east face of W-79 at the south for ca. 0.09 m. The clearing of this feature in BE 522 yielded no finds. Extending west from W-79 just south of its preserved midpoint was socle W-81, which continued into the west baulk of the pit. For its eastern 1.20 m, W-81 consisted of a single row of large slabs ca. 0.25 m wide and apparently only a single course high. This section of W-81 and W-82, a line of stones large at the east and smaller at the west that curved from W-81

Pit BE

135

+2.95 ____ +2.69

________ +2.82/2.78

W-82

W-80 +2.97 ____ +2.79

+2.80 ____ +3.15/3.00 ________ +2.87

____ W-79

yellow clay +3.13 ____ +2.77

+2.91 ____ +2.74

SP-12 ____ +2.88

+2.68 ____

+2.87 ____

W-81

posthole?

+2.95 ____ +2.79

+2.89 ____ +2.27

N

+2.72 +2.63 ____

yellow clay

yellow clay floor

Plan 28. Pit BE: Building W-79 and yellow clay floor. Scale 1:50

0

1

2m

to the northeast, formed a space in the shape of a quadrant of a circle with an inner radius of ca. 0.75 m. A hard level with yellow clay comparable to that just described was found Planangle 28. Ler MN ?3-4 in BE: within Building W-79 Clay in its southeast at +2.87. Nothing the arc and gaveYellow any clue to Floor its use (Fig. 41). Continuing west from this feature to the west baulk of the pit, socle W-81 appeared as a broad socle with a width of 0.65 m composed of two faces of large slabs with small stones down the center, preserved to a height of three courses. It seems likely that the whole length of W-81 was originally of this construction, and that at the east, the northern half of the socle was dismantled when the arc of stones was added. South of the western section of W-81 was a hard buff floor at +2.88. To be associated with this floor was red-clay-lined storage pit SP-12, which lay just south of the juncture of the two sections of W-81 and extended into the south baulk of the pit. SP-12 Plan 28 Est. Diam. ca. 0.90 m; D. 0.62 m (+2.89–2.27); Th. lining 0.05–0.10 m No description of fill; a few stones scattered on top.

BE 521. 14 sherds, celt 51, stone pendant 143, a few fragments of chipped stone, and a small quantity of bones (including tibia fragment of human child), and shells.

In the northwest corner of the pit was a mass of stones (not shown) beneath which was a hard floor at +2.82/2.78. Unfortunately the finds above and in the various “rooms” of Building W-79 were not kept separate, but were combined in CL BE 579. The bulk of the associated objects, including handstone 19, grindstones 20 and 21, and celts 52 and 53, were found in the northeast corner in clearing down to and around W-80, along with some chipped stone, bones, and shells. The presence of the handstone and grindstones suggests the likelihood of food processing here, be it of grain or some other edible. Also from this combined lot came about half of Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1477. At the north a mass of stones was cleared in CL BE 575 from above the level of CL BE 579, among which was grindstone 18, which the excavator thought was the stationary stone used with handstone 19 in CL BE 579. Among these stones was a bone awl, 206, and a terracotta figurine fragment, 398, with some bone (including a human female tibia fragment) and shells. The pattern of continuous building, with a socle of one phase built directly on the one below, was broken after socles W-79–W-82 fell into disuse. A black sediment with many shells extended over much of the pit and was removed in CL BE 578, the primary finds from

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Figure 41. Pit BE: Building W-79 and walls W-81 and W-82 west of

wall W-79, with possible posthole, from north-northeast

which were the 117 cockle valves. Above this was a crumbly brown sediment excavated in CL BE 577; from here came a few pieces of chipped stone and 13 more cockle valves. Yet more shells (including 128 cockle valves) and a few bones came out of the eastern quarter of the trench in CL BE 576, which also yielded bone awl 207 and a few pieces of chipped stone. In several lots from this phase, found among the animal bones were fragments of human bone, possibly from disturbed burials.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi The sherds from this level were of mixed date and included FN wares, but the likeliest date for the original collection is probably about contemporary with FCP 2.2–2.3 (Vitelli 2007: 62–63, 130). We tentatively date the level Ler MN 3–4(?). Sediments Associated with Building W-79 at ca. +3.35/3.15 (+3.50 at East)–2.80 (BE 516, BE 521, BE 522, CL BE 575–CL BE 579) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis basin fr.; Vitelli: fig. 24:d Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 28:a Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1477; Vitelli: fig. 28:e Patterned Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:o Monochrome Urfirnis large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 34:d Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 50:a

Patterned Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 56:e Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 64:b–d Burnished-Over Urfirnis bowl(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:c FN Heavy Burnished carinated small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 79:g FN coarse handle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 95:i

BE 516: Removal of Socle W-83 from Surrounding Red Earth No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells; and see Vitelli 2007: 62.

BE 521: Storage Pit SP-12 at +2.89–2.27 Objects ST celt 51; p. 195 ST pendant 143; p. 213 Lithics Obs.: B 3

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 14 shells): Sus 1: Mp. fr. Ovis/Capra 5: 1 Hu. fr., 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ast., 1 Ph. I, 1 Ve. fr. Cardium 9, Lucina 3, Murex 2

Pit BE

137

Figure 42. Pit BE: yellow clay floor with possible posthole

southeast of wall W-79, from west

BE 522: Cleaning Yellow Clay Floor in East Room of Building W-79 at +2.85/2.76– 2.80/2.63 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL BE 575: Removal of Layers of Stones in Southwestern Corner below EH Socle W-65 at +3.60/3.45–3.05/2.98 Objects ST grindstone 18; p. 186 ST pounder/rubber fr. (NK) BO awl 206; p. 224 TC figurine leg 398; p. 254 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 8 shells): Sus 2: Hu. frr. Ovis/Capra 2: 1 l. Ma. fr., 1 M3→ Bos (transitional/domestic) 2: 1 Hu. fr. (Gejvall: 32, 80, table 49, destroyed for 14C analysis), 1 Ti. fr. Ostrea 2, Murex 6 (Human: Ti. fr. [female]) Reese (11 specifically identifiable bones, 26 fragments total: 7 bu.; 18 shells):

Ovis/Capra 10: 1 Ma. fr. (P2 broken, P3 w., l.), 1 M3 (uw.), 2 dist. Hu. shs. (1 UF, 1 broken, 1 r., 1 l., 2 bu. black/gray), 1 pr. Ra./Ul. (F, bu. gray), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (l., bu. gray), 1 Ti. sh., 1 pr. Mc. (l., bu. gray), 1 Mt. sh., 1 Ve. sp. Bos 1+: 1 dist. Ti. fr. (F, partly bu. gray/black, rather lg.), 1 sh. (bu. gray/black) Cerastoderma 3 (3 MNI) (l.: 21 × 23, 33 × 26 asym.; r.: 26.5 × 25), Ruditapes 2 (2 MNI) (l.: H. 22, larger fr.), Spondylus 1 (lo., bored interior, collected dead, 76 × 35), Ostrea 1 (73 × 49.5), Pinna 1 (umbo fr., L. 68+), Hexaplex 9 (7 MNI) (43.5 × 31, 50.5 × 47.5 [missing apex, hole opposite mouth 8.5 × 12], 52 × 36, 63 × 50 broken lip, 1 apical fr., 3 dist. frr. [1 bu.]), Bolinus 1 (dist./columella)

CL BE 576: Sediments at East beside Socle W-84 (below EH II Socle W-63) at +3.53/3.47–3.30/3.27 and Removal of EH II Socle W-65 Objects BO awl 207; p. 224 Lithics Obs.: B 5, RB 2, 1 sf/fr

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 140 shells): Sus 1: r. Ma. fr. (j.) Canis 1: Mp. fr. Cardium 128, Ostrea 3, Lucina(?) 4, Murex 5 (Human: Mt. fr. [female])

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

CL BE 577: Brown Layer below Phase of Building W-83 at +3.35/3.15–3.25/3.03 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 3 (L7.426, L7.427), RB 1 (L7.425 [Koz.: ill. 13:16]), sf/fr 2 Fl./Ch.: C 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (17 shells): Cardium 13, Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 2, Murex 1

CL BE 578: Black Layer below Phase of Building W-83 at +3.25(W)/3.15(E)– 3.19(W)/2.90(E) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 128 shells): Sus 1: M3 (1/1) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 l. Ma. fr., 1 M3 (1/1)

Cerastoderma 117, Lucina(?) 5 (Gejvall: pl. XXIV:24; 1 revised by DSR to Ruditapes; once in Solna, now lost), Pinna 1, Pholas 1 (Gejvall: pl. XXIV:26; once in Solna, now lost), Murex 4 (Human: 2 Ra. frr. [female], 2 Hu. frr. [child])

CL BE 579: Sediments above and in Building W-79 at +3.19/2.96–2.88/2.76 Objects ST handstone 19; p. 186 ST grindstone 20; p. 186 ST grindstone 21; p. 186 ST celt 52; p. 195 ST celt 53; p. 195 Lithics Obs.: B 5, NB 1, Bd 1, P 4 (L7.502, L7.505 [Koz.: fig. 6:6]), sf/fr 3 Fl./Ch.: B 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (14 bones, 17 shells): Sus 7: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M2→), 5 Sc. frr. (small pces.), 1 Ti. fr. (nb.) Ovis/Capra 6 (2 MNI): 1 Hc. fr., 3 Sc. frr., 2 Mc. frr. (j., ad.) Cervus 1: Hc. fr. Cardium 14, Lucina(?) 2, Murex 1 (Human: 1 Ul. [baby])

Reese (15 specifically identifiable bones, 55 fragments total: 3 cut, 7 bu.; 18 shells): Sus 5: 1 Ma. fr. (P1 erupting, cut through behind P3, ad., r., lg.), 1 dist. Hu. (F, cut through art., partly bu. black), 1 dist. Ti. + sh. (UF), 1 pr. Fi. (UF), 1 Mp. II/V (UF, bu. gray) Ovis/Capra 8 (3 MNI): 3 Sc. frr. (3 F, 3 r., 1 cut through coracoid process, bu. gray/black), 1 pr. Ul. (F), 1 Pe./acet. fr. (r.), 1 dist. Mc. (F), 1 Mt. sh. (bu. gray), 1 dist. Mp. (UF) Sus or Ovis/Capra 1+: 1 Ve. fr. (bu. gray/black), 2 shs. (2 bu. gray/black) Cervus 1: An. fr. (toward base, lg. pce.) Cerastoderma 15 (14 MNI) (l.: 27 × 28.5, 27 × 29, 27 × 30, 27.5 × 31, 28 × 32 acided, 29 × 33.5, 32 × 33+, H. 23 broken, H. 29 broken, fr.; r.: 22.5 × 25, 23.5 × 25, 25 × 27, 31 × 34, 32 × 32.5), Ruditapes 1 (r.: 47+ × 33), Bolinus 2 (2 MNI) (columella + dist.; fresh, L. 54+) (Human: Ra.[?] sh. [3 pces.])

Ler MN 4–6 and Ler FN in BE (formerly II.BE.D; Vitelli: 64–66) Building W-83 Walls W-83, W-84

The latest MN construction in Pit BE was Building W-83, represented by NNE–SSW socle W-83, most likely the west wall of the structure, which was bonded with what appears to have been an interior cross-wall, east–west socle W-84 (Plan 29, Section 5). This building lay between two heavy EH II socles of Building BG, W-63 and W-65 (Wiencke 2000: 186–190, 204, plan 31), which restricted the excavation in and around it. Socle W-83 was preserved as a single course of mostly large stones laid in two overlapping rows to a width of ca. 0.50 m, where well preserved; at the north only a straggling line of small stones continued the line to the north baulk. EH II W-65 came down within 0.10 m of the socle as preserved and its construction probably was responsible for the removal of the upper courses of W-83. Lot CL BE 574 removed stones between the Neolithic and EH II socle and around the former, and the excavated material, including stone pounder 101, bone awl 218, and terracotta polisher 344, should be considered Mixed II–III (see Wiencke 2000: 73–74). Cross-wall W-84 consisted of a single row of slabs in two courses ca. 0.30 m wide with small stones above. A ragged line of stones embedded in the central section of the north

Pit BE

139

N

W-83 ____ +3.68/3.63 _________ +3.48 +3.74/3.65 _________

EH II W-63 +3.92 ____ +3.44

EH II W-65 W-84 +3.68/3.63 _________ +3.41

0 Pit BE: Building 1 2 m1:50 Plan 29. W-83. Scale

baulk of the pit was not identified nor its levels recorded by the excavator, and consequently 29. Ler MN 4 - 6 in BE: Building W-83 we cannot relate it to Plan Building W-83. Traces of a hard burned floor ca. 0.03 m thick in the area between the EH socles were found at +3.74/3.65 in the excavation of CL BE 572, in which W-84 was exposed and which the excavator associated with the last use of the structure; in its thickness and solidity it recalled the floor in a better preserved building, possibly of similar plan, Building W-38 in the J areas in Ler MN 4 (see above, p. 65). Among the sherds were a fragmentary stone bead (151) and a bone awl (217), along with a little chipped stone and some bones and shells. Sediments north and south of W-84 from +3.72/3.65 to +3.48 excavated in CL BE 573 were associated by the excavator with Building W-83, though no lower floor was detected. With the sherds from these sediments were a stone pounder (100) and a small quantity of chipped stone along with bones and shells. Two combined lots were excavated from above Building W-83, CL BE 571 and CL BE 570. CL BE 571 came from above the floor deposit mentioned above. It included a few fragmentary tools of stone and bone (pounder/rubber 99, bone awl 216, scraper/polisher 278), and a little chipped stone and bones and shells. The latest reasonably pure Neolithic from the pit came in CL BE 570 with a top level of +4.14–4.04; the finds included two bone awls, 214 and 215, a few lithics, and a few animal bones, but many shells, including 23 Cerastoderma valves. A mass of stones in the southwest corner of the pit was cleared from ca. +4.29–4.19 in lot BE 487-2, which was included in CL BE 570 (for BE 487 in this combined lot, see Wiencke 2000: 28, 206, 208, sections 24, 26). Beneath the stones was what was called bothros BE-AC by the excavator; it continued into the southwest and northwest baulks of the pit and, at the north, had been interrupted by EH II W-65. Of irregular contour, as excavated it was ca. 1.10 m east–west, 1.20 m north–south. It had a preserved depth of 0.29 m, from +4.17– 3.88. No description of the fill was given by the excavator and its status as a bothros seems dubious. Probably it was just a chance patch of soft earth that had accumulated here, and we do not include it in our list of bothroi or illustrate it here. Excavated in lot BE 567, it yielded mixed late MN and post-Neolithic sherds (Vitelli 2007: 65, 130), two bone tools (212, 277), and a few bones and shells.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi Vitelli found the sherds from this level thoroughly mixed, with all MN phases, especially the later, and FN represented (Vitelli 2007: 65, 130). Though the similarity in plan and floor of

140

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Building W-83 to those of Building W-38 would suggest a Ler MN 4 date, a position not incompatible with the stratigraphy of the trench, it seems best to consider this level generally later MN, Ler MN 4–6.

Ler FN Ash Pits Ash pits AP-12–AP-15

Found amid the EH II socles that had been set down into the late MN sediments in the pit were four probable FN red-clay-lined ash pits (Plan 30, Section 5), like those found in the upper Neolithic levels of Areas JA/JB and Pit BD (see above, pp. 82, 119). Their top levels, from +4.25 to +4.48, higher than the top level of the fairly pure Neolithic here at +4.14 (CL BE 570), suggest that here, as elsewhere at the site, we do not have the full extent of the Neolithic deposits that once existed at Lerna, the top sediments having been lost to intrusions for EH II construction. In general, the pits conform to the general pattern of those found elsewhere at the site, but they are more irrrgular in form and not as well preserved. Nor do we have much information about the nature of the fill. One, AP-12, was published by Wiencke as EH II bothros BE-Z (Wiencke 2000: 28), owing to the sherds of that date that it contained, but Neolithic coarse ware also was present among the few sherds the pit yielded, and this kind of pit is not a characteristic feature of the EH II settlement at Lerna. AP-12 had been set down mostly in and partly outside the northeast limit of the soft spot (BE-AC) mentioned above in the southwestern corner of the trench, where it had been grazed by the southeast face of EH II socle W-65 (Wiencke 2000: 206, section 24.8). Though called a “potstand” by the excavator (FNB XLI: 122; Pit BE 1957 annual report: 2), AP-13 was found adjacent to the southwest face of EH II W-63 and appears to be the bottom of a pit cut off at the southeast by EH II socle W-38 (Wiencke 2000: 61–62; 68, plan 13). Just to the south, also cut off by W-38 and extending into the south baulk, was a clay-lined feature called a “hearth” by the excavator (FNB XLI: 122; Pit BE 1957 annual report: 2), but which was surely another ash pit, AP-14; a celt found at its top, 55, was put with the sherds of EH II–III CL BE 569, which also yielded bone awl 213 and obsidian blade L7.402. Only a small segment of AP-15 was visible in the northeast corner of the pit, under EH II socle W-68. AP-12 Plan 30 Ext. Diam. 1.00 m (E–W) × 0.75 m (N–S); p.D. ca. 0.25 m (+4.34/4.32–4.09; stones at top to +4.43) Elliptical in contour, grainy brown earth fill. BE 566: EH II BO scraper/polisher and obsidian blade, both UI; to east, TC whorl 356 lying on ash and burned earth, removed with CL BE 569.

AP-14 Plan 30 Est. max. ext. Diam. 1.00 m; p.D. 0.37 m (+4.31– 3.94) Flattened ovoid in contour. CL BE 569: Celt 55 found in top of pit during general cut, from which also came BO awl 213 and two obsidian blades.

AP-13 Plan 30 Est. max. ext. Diam. 0.90 m; p.D. 0.07 m (+4.25– 4.18) Ovoid in contour.

AP-15 Plan 30 Diam. not estimable; max. p.D. 0.42 m (+4.48 [cut down to +4.23 at socle W-63]–4.06). Circular(?) in contour. Brown earth for top 0.10 m, then bluish (ash?).

Sediments Associated with Building W-83 at +3.50/3.35–4.14 and Ler FN Ash Pits (BE 508, BE 566, BE 567, CL BE 569–CL BE 573, CL BE 574, BE 491[?] [Lerna IV Unphased, Not Listed Below]) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 20:b Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 46:c Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 50:b

Patterned Urfirnis collared jar L.1442; Vitelli: fig. 56:f Patterned Urfirnis collared jar frr.; Vitelli: fig. 56:g, i, j Patterned Urfirnis basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 57:a–d, h

Pit BE

141

AP-15

N

+4.48 ____ +4.06

AP-13

+4.25 ____ +4.18

EH II W-63

EH II W-65 AP-12

AP-14

+4.34 ____ +4.09

+4.31 ____ +3.94

0 BE: ash pits1 AP-12–AP-15.2 Scale m 1:50 Plan 30. Pit Patterned Urfirnis piriform bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 62:j Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 64:e–h Plan 30. Final Neolithic Ash Pits (AP) in Patterned Urfirnis cup frr.; Vitelli: fig. 66:h, i, m

Patterned Urfirnis askos fr.; Vitelli: fig. 68:j Patterned Urfirnis pot fr.; Vitelli: fig. 69:r BE FN coarse large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 92:d

BE 508: Cut below and North of EH II Wall W-65 at +3.79/3.77–3.75/3.70 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 2

BE 566: Ash Pit AP-12 at +4.34/4.32–4.09 (Lerna II–III) Objects TC whorl 356; p. 245 (EH II BO rib awl [NI])

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: B 1

BE 567: Soft Spot BE-AC at +4.17–3.88 Objects BO awl 212; p. 224 BO scraper/polisher 277; p. 233 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejval1 (1 bone and fragments, 6 shells):

Ovis/Capra: fragments Bos primigenius 1: Ph. III (Gejvall: 31, 84, table 61, pl. VIII:7; S.) Cardium 1, Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 3

CL BE 569: Mixed Neolithic and EH II Sediments above Socle W-84, including Ash Pits AP-13 and AP-14, at +4.34/4.29–4.24/4.04 Objects ST celt 55; pp. 195–196 BO awl 213; p. 224 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: 2 B (L7.402)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (7 bones, 24 shells): Sus 3: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (1 or 2 M3→), 1 Mp. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (1 1/1 + M3→) Bos 2: 1 r. Ma. fr., 1 Ul. fr. (ad.) Cardium 17, Ostrea 5, Murex 2

CL BE 570: Sediments Later than Socle W-84 at +4.14/4.04–3.94/3.90 Part of this combined lot, lot BE 487, is reported in Wiencke 2000: 28.

Lithics Obs.: F 3, B 2, BK 1, RB 2, SpP 1, SpP/b 3, sf/fr 6

Objects BO awl 214; p. 224 BO awl 215; pp. 224–225

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (7 bones, 26 shells): Sus 1: Hu. fr. (j.) Capra 1: Hc. fr.

142

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Ovis/Capra 2: 1 r. Ma. fr. (M2→), 1 Ti. fr. Bos 2: 1 r. Ma. fr. (P1 1/1), 1 Ra. fr. Phalacrocorax carbo 1: Ul. (Gejvall: 96, table 116) Cardium 17, Ostrea 5, Arca 1, Cyprina(?) 1, Murex 2 Reese (15 specifically identifiable bones, 60 fragments total: 1 cut, 3 bu.; 33 shells [1 a fossil]): Capra 1: Sk./Hc. fr. Ovis/Capra 8: 2 Ma. frr. (dP4, M2 erupting, r.; l.), 1 dist. Hu. fr., 1 pr. Ra. (F), 1 dist. Ra. (F), 1 dist. Ti. (F, l.), 1 Ti. sh. fr., 1 dist. Mp. (F, 1/2) Bos 5+: 1 Ma. fr. (P1 1/1, r.), 1 pr. Ra. (F, cut down length), 1 Ve. sp. fr., 2 Ri. frr., 5 shs.

Phalacrocorax carbo 1: pr. Ul. (Gejvall: 96, table 116) Cerastoderma 23 (18+ MNI) (l.: 22.5 × 24, 22.5 × 26.5, 23 × 24.5, 24.5 × 26.5, 25 × 26.5, 25 × 27, 26 × 27, 26 × 28, 26.5 × 27.5, 27 × 30, 28 × 29, 28.5 × 30.5, 28.5 × 31, 28.5 × 32, ca. 30, ca. 30, 33 × 36 asym., 1 broken; r.: 25.5 × 28, 25.5 × 29, 26 broken, 26.5 × 28, 30 × 33.5 asym.), Ostrea 4 (4 MNI) (51+ × 48+, 53 × 41, 79 × 71, 84 × 73), Arca 1 (l.: 55 × 18.5), Pinna 1 (1+ MNI) (3 frr.), Glycymeris 1 (Gejvall as Cyprina[?]; once in Solna, now lost), Hexaplex 2 (53 × 40, 51 × 36), 1 fossil Gryphaea (thick, bu., 53+ × 50)

CL BE 571: Sediments Associated with but Probably Later than Socle W-84 at +3.94/3.90–3.81/3.74 Objects ST pounder/rubber 99; pp. 203–204 BO awl 216; p. 225 BO scraper/polisher 278; p. 233

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 12 shells): Ovis/Capra 3: r. Ma. frr. (2 M3 1/1, 1 M1→, 1 1/1) Cardium 10, Ostrea 1, Murex 1

Lithics Obs.: F 3, B 2

CL BE 572: Sediments Associated with Last Use of Socles W-83 and W-84 just after Floor at +3.74/3.65 from +3.81/3.74 to +3.70/3.65 Objects ST bead 151; p. 214 BO awl 217; p. 225 Lithics Obs: B 2, RB 1, sf/fr 1 Fl./Ch.: Br/Sg 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone, 21 shells): Sus 1: Mp. Cardium 13, Ostrea 2, Lucina(?) 1, Pinna 1, Murex 4

CL BE 573: Sediments North and South of Socle W-84 at +3.72/3.65–3.48 Objects ST pounder/rubber 100; p. 204 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: B 2 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 21 shells): Sus 1: Pe. fr. (3 pcs.) Ovis/Capra 1: P2 (1/1) Bos 2: 1 I1 (1/1), 1 Ri. fr. Cardium 14, Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 5, Murex 1

Sus 1+: 1 Pe. fr. (l., rather lg., 4 pces.) Ovis/Capra 1: P2 Sus or Ovis/Capra 3+: 1 Ra. sh. (bu.), 2 Ri. frr. (1 bu.), 2 shs. (2 bu.) Bos 3: 1 I1 (lg., 2 pces.), 2 Ri. frr. (1 head) Cerastoderma 13 (13 MNI) (l.: 22.5 × 24+, 29 × 31+, 30 × 34, 31 × 37.5, 35.5 × 40.5, H. ca. 25, H. 32, H. ca. 37; r.: 22 × 23, 24 × 24, 28 × 29.5, 29.5 × 30.5, 32 × 33), Ruditapes 6 (4+ MNI) (l.: 38.5 × 27, W. 26, W. 36; r.: 40.5 × 28; 1 coplet), Hexaplex 1 (columella/dist., w.)

Reese (8 specifically identifiable bones, 23 fragments total: 4 bu.; 20 shells):

CL BE 574: Cut Removing Upper Layer of Stones below EH II Socle W-65 and Surrounding Wall W-83 at +3.75/3.70–3.60/3.45 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Objects ST pounder/rubber 101; p. 204 BO awl 218; p. 225 TC polisher 344; p. 243

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 21 shells): Sus 1: l. Ma. fr. (ad.) Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M1 fr., 1 Mc. fr., 1 Mt. fr. Cardium 16, Lucina(?) 2, Murex 3

TRENCH HTJ

143

TRENCH HTJ Ler MN 1 and MN Unphased with Ler FN and EH II Contamination (formerly II.HTJ.A; Vitelli: 67) In 1956, small trench HTJ was excavated through the floor of Room VI of the House of the Tiles in Squares E/f–g to test the pre-House strata here (Caskey 1957a: 153, pl. 44:c). Oriented NNE–SSW, the trench was 4.50 m long × 1.50 m wide (Plan 2). From ca. +3.20, before Mixed Fill and Neolithic levels were reached, excavation was restricted to its southern 2.00 m. While the upper levels of the trench were productive of EH II remains, the only significant Neolithic find was an infant burial (burial 6, see below) resting at +2.03 in apparently solid Neolithic sediments. Virgin soil and the modern water level were reached at +0.73. Unfortunately all the sherds from what Caskey considered EN sediments were combined by him in a Lerna I lot (Slightly Mixed category) in his last review of the material (Caskey MS in Lerna archives). The limited amount of material available to Vitelli was mixed, with parallels from FCP 2.1 to FCP 2.4 (Vitelli 2007: 29–30, 130), and we enter these lots as Ler MN Unphased. The sherds related specifically to the burial in lot HTJ 33 Vitelli associates with FCP 2.1, our Ler MN 1 (Vitelli 2007: 67, 130). Virgin soil in this trench as described by the excavator was comparable to that reached in the J areas and BD and BE pits, and was reached at +0.73, the same level to which water rose in the trench, having first appeared at +0.62. As in the J areas and pits BD and BE, the red palaeosol was exploited for local needs, and a shallow pit, ca. 0.35 m deep, occupied most of the trench. Near the pit was a hole, perhaps a posthole, ca. 0.06–0.08 m deep, its diameter not recorded. The pit was filled with dark earth and small stones. Essentially the same dark sediment lay above virgin soil and contained bits of charcoal and other indications of fire. At the top of this sediment was a layer of grayish earth ca. 0.10 m thick that ended at ca. +1.12. Over this was a sediment of burned earth on which was a layer of ashes and carbon at +1.42/1.38. All these sediments were removed in lot HTJ 40, which contained bones and a shell; three bone scraper/polishers also came from this deposit and are numbered in sequence with the other Unphased objects (286–288). The next higher sediment, from +1.62–1.42/1.38, was of grayish earth with only a few sherds, no objects, and a small quantity of bones and shells (HTJ 39). A sample of carbonized material was saved from the lot as Hopf 108-V and LC.39 (Lerna archives), but was not submitted for 14C analysis. Above, stony earth with bits of clay was found in the southern portion of the segment of the trench under excavation, and with it were the first traces of construction. A possible floor, hard and grayish with small pebbles and shells, was detected at +1.65(S)/1.62(N) in connection with a pair of rounded stones associated with two bricks, one badly burned. At the southern edge of the trench at the east was a possible hearth pit with a preserved diameter of ca. 0.40 m and its bottom at +1.56. A fragment of charred wood from the fill was taken for analysis and Hopf identified it as Quercus (Hopf 104-V, Lerna archives; Hopf 1962: 4, 16, 18); apparently the sample, identified as LC.33, was not submitted for scientific analysis. The sediment from +1.81 to the floor level was removed in lot HTJ 38 and yielded terracotta female figurine fragment 402 and bones and shells. With this lot the excavator associated lot HTJ 37, which came from a slightly higher level in the southeast and yielded a few bones and shells. Above, over most of the trench, soft stony earth was removed in lot HTJ 35, which ended at a gray layer at ca. +1.97/1.80, just above which began a deep deposit of Mixed Fill. In the stony sediment was a small quantity of animal bones and a carbonized fig pit, Ficus carica (Hopf 28-V, Lerna archives; Hopf 1962: 4, 6–7).

144

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Burial 6 In the southwest corner of the trench burial 6 was found (Fig. 43 and Chap. 6), the wellpreserved skeleton resting at +2.03 (Caskey 1957a: 153; see also Vitelli 2007: 131–132). According to Angel, the skeleton was that of a fairly large infant, probably female, who died soon after birth (Angel 1971: 41, 225 Ler, 128, table 14, pl. XXVI). The body, oriented east–west, lay on its right side with the head at the east, facing north; the upper part of the skull was crushed. The right arm extended straight down along the body; the left was bent at a 90° angle at the elbow with the hand resting on the abdomen. The right leg was bent 90° at the hip, 35° at the knee; the left leg was disturbed (E. T. Blackburn, pers. comm.). There were no certain offerings; terracotta polisher 327 was found in the earth surrouding the skeleton. The burial was found in a hard, pale red sediment, under the soft stony sediment characteristic of the Mixed Fill; the excavator noted in a field sketch, without comment, the outline of a possible burial pit 0.32 m long × 0.25 m wide (FNB XXXVII: 132, plan HTJ no. 10; HTJ 1956 annual report: 4–5). The skeleton was discovered while lot HTJ 33 was being dug, and the bones and the earth around and beneath them removed in lot HTJ 36; the sherds in both were Neolithic, with the possible exception of an intrusive EH II handle in lot HTJ 33: Monochrome Urfirnis, Patterned Urfirnis, Ungritted ware, and Lime ware (PNB PAC: 195, PAN: 19). The date is most likely early MN, our Ler MN 1 (Vitelli 2007: 67, 130; contra Angel 1971: 41, 128, where the grave is dated LN).

Figure 43. Trench HTJ: burial 6, from west

TRENCH HTJ

145

Ler MN Unphased Unless Otherwise Noted with Ler FN and Later Contamination at +2.09–0.62 (HTJ 33–HTJ 40) Pottery (HTJ 33 only; Ler MN 1) Lime-ware handle(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 7:g Ungritted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 9:g Ungritted Painted-ware bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 10:b

Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 21:a Patterned Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 61:c, j Patterned Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 66:g

HTJ 33 (Ler MN 1): Above and around Burial 6 Resting at +2.03 from +2.20 Objects TC polisher 327; p. 242

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 33 shells): Sus, Ovis/Capra, Bos: fragments Cardium 32, Lucina(?) 1

HTJ 34: Cut 16 North at +2.09–2.00 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone, 1 shell):

Ovis/Capra 1: Ma. fr. Cardium 1

HTJ 35: Cut 16 at +1.97/1.80–1.69 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones): Sus 1: Ul. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Fe. fr., 1 Mt. fr., 1 Ve. fr. Bos 1: M3 (1/1)

Botanicals Pit of Ficus carica (Hopf 28-V, Lerna archives; Hopf 1962: 4, 6–7)

HTJ 36: Cut 16 South at +2.00–1.91(E)/1.81(W) to Remove Burial 6 Lithics Obs.: RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 4:8) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 1 shell): Sus, Ovis/Capra: fragments Murex 1

Reese (4 specifically identifiable bones, 6 fragments total: 4 cut, 5 bu.; 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 At. (ad., cut down center + along one side), 1 pr. Mt. (cut down length, bu. gray) Sus or Ovis/Capra 2+: 2 Ri. frr. (1 cut at either end, 2 bu. gray), 2 shs. (1 cut down length, 2 bu. black) Hexaplex 1 (columella, fresh, L. 41+)

HTJ 37: Cut 16, Southeast Section at +1.91–1.81 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 1: Pe. fr. Cardium 1

Reese (1 specifically identifiable bone, 3 fragments total: 1 cut, 1 bu.; 2 shells): Ovis/Capra 1+: 1 Pe./acet./ilium fr. (UF, bu. gray/ brown, r.), 1 sh. (cut down length) Cerastoderma 2 (2 MNI) (l.: 27.5 × ca. 28, 36 × 27)

HTJ 38: Cut 16 South at +1.81–1.65/1.62 Objects TC figurine leg 402; p. 255 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments, 11 shells): Ovis/Capra 1+: 1 M3 (1/1), and fragments Cardium 8, Lucina fr. 1, Ostrea 1, Murex 1 Reese (9 specifically identifiable bones, 15 fragments total: 5 cut, 6 bu.; 13 shells, 2 collected dead): Sus 2: 1 ant. Mx. fr. (alv. only, sm. pce.), 1 Mp. II/V (UF, bu. gray)

Ovis/Capra 5: 1 M3 (ad., l.), 1 Sc. (F, cut on collum, r., 2 pces.), 1 Ra. sh. (cut down length on angle, partly bu. gray), 1 Ul. (UF, m. + lo. sh., bu. gray, l.), 1 Pe. fr. (2 pces.) Sus or Ovis/Capra 2+: 2 Ri. frr. (1 bu. gray), 4 shs. (2 cut down length [1 bu. gray], 1 bu. black) Cerastoderma 8 (6+ MNI) (l.: 23.5 × 24.5, 32 × 32; r.: 19.5 × 21+, 21.5 × 23.5, 23 × 24.5, bit asym., 25 × 28 asym., 28.5 × 34+, 32 × 33), Ruditapes 2 (2 MNI) (2 l.: 36 × 25, fr.), Ostrea 1 (Gryphaea-like, ca. 56.5 × ca. 60), Hexaplex 2 (waterworn, L. 63; fresh body fr.)

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Botanicals Carbonized Quercus (Hopf 104-V, Lerna archives; Hopf 1962: 4, 16, 18)

HTJ 39: Cut 17 at +1.62–1.42/1.38 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments, 3 shells): Ovis/Capra 1: M1 (1/1), and fragments Cardium 3 Reese (4 specifically identifiable bones, 10 fragments total: 2 cut, 1 bu.; 3 shells): Ovis/Capra 2+: 1 M1 (uw., open roots), 1 Ma. fr. (side), 1 sh.

Bos 2+: 1 post. Ma. (condyle process, cut down outer edge toward dist., r.), 1 Hu. sh. (tuberositas deltoidea fr., cut down length), 1 sh. (bu. black) Cerastoderma 3 (2 MNI) (l.: 24.25 broken [bu.], 26 × 28 asym.; r.: 26 × 27.5 asym.)

HTJ 40: Cut 18 at +1.42/1.38–0.62 with Water at +0.73 Objects BO scraper/polisher 286; p. 234 BO scraper/polisher 287; p. 234 BO scraper/polisher 288; p. 234

Sus 3: 1 Mx. fr. (M2–3 much w., M3 L. 27.5, l., 5 pces.), 1 Mt. II (UF), 1 Mt. III/IV (UF, largely bu. black) Ovis/Capra 11+: 2 Ma. frr. (no teeth, young, r.; condyle process, r.), 1 P. (young, w.), 1 dP3 (w.), 1 lo. M. (broken), 1 Sc. fr. (side), 1 Pe./acet., 1 Ve. sp. fr. (cut on lo. part), 3 Ri. frr., 3 shs. (2 cut down length) Bos 6+: 5 Sk. frr., 1 Pe./acet. fr. (l., 3 pces.), 2 shs. (1 cut down length), fragment (recently broken) Ostrea 1 (w., not complete)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 1 shell): Sus 1: l. Mx. fr. (1/1) Ovis/Capra 1: l. Ma. fr. (M2→) Ostrea 1 Reese (20 specifically identifiable bones, 53 fragments total: 4 cut, 1 bu.; 1 shell):

TRENCH HTN Ler MN 6 with Ler FN and EH II Contamination (Vitelli: 68–69) In 1957, when the excavations were coming to a close and Caskey began conservation at the site, a permanent shelter was built over the House of the Tiles that required footing trenches both north and south of the House, trenches HTN and HTS (Caskey 1958: 141). Trench HTN, which yielded late MN and FN material (Caskey 1958: 136–137), ran ESE–WNW in Squares E–F/f 0.70 m north of the north wall of the House of the Tiles and was 31.25 m long x 1.30 m wide (Plan 2). To simplify the excavation in this long, narrow area, the excavator divided the trench into three roughly equal parts: west, center, and east. In the west part, undisturbed Neolithic was not reached until ca. +3.85, in the west-center part, +4.00, and in the east-center part beneath the Building BG ceremonial hearth, +4.30. In the east part, Neolithic sediments appeared as high as +4.50, but exhibited a slope down in the direction of trench AP where the top of the Neolithic was found at +2.30 (HTN 1957 annual report: 1; Wiencke 2000: 185, 205, section 23; and see above, p. 92). The Neolithic pottery from the trench, almost always mixed with EH II sherds in varying percentages, was combined into one group by Caskey in his final study and dated as “Lerna II (Late).” It was the residue from this combination that was available to Vitelli, who interpreted the material as later MN, her FCP 2.4–2.5, our Ler MN 6, with an admixture of FN and EH II (Vitelli 2007: 69, 130). Apart from the one FN grave from this trench, burial 7, none of the material was associated with features such as socles, floors, storage pits, and the like.

TRENCH HTN

147

Burial 7 In the west-center part of the trench all the Neolithic lots reported were related to burial 7: HTN 115, CL HTN 116, HTN 117, CL HTN 118, CL HTN 119, HTN 120, and CL HTN 122 (Caskey 1958: 136–137, pl. 37:a–c for pots; 1959, 205, pl. 41:d for pot; Angel 1971: 40, 240 Ler, 128, table 14, pls. I, XXII, identified as LN; see also Vitelli 2007: 131–132). The burial was encountered while rather soft dark earth under a layer of stones at +4.25 was being dug. The poorly preserved and incomplete skeleton, resting at ca. +4.00 (the head at +3.96), was identified as that of a woman about 26 years of age (Fig. 44 and Chap. 6). The body was oriented east–west with the head to the east facing north. The skull was crushed, the upper jaw pressed down over the lower. A flat stone found under the skull might have been placed there deliberately, pillow-like, or was a stone encountered when the body was laid down; a parallel for the deliberate placing of a stone pillow can be found at Kephala (grave 39; Coleman 1977: 48, 94, pls. 21:39, 65:g). The upper body rested on its back with a tilt to the right. The right arm was tightly flexed, such that the hand rested on the shoulder below the chin; the left arm was bent at a 90° angle, the left hand resting at waist level. The legs appear to have been flexed at the knees and turned to the right, but the lower legs and feet were not preserved, apparently lost to EH construction in the area. Just east of the skull two FN pots were found: FN Heavy Burnished small bowl L.1445 and FN crusted bowl L.1394. FN crusted bowl L.465 had been found nearby at the level of the burial in the 1954 campaign, at a location consistent with a position at the feet (Caskey 1959: 205, n. 7). From the lots excavated around the burial mostly animal bones and shells were retrieved, and the few lithics and objects could be dated only Mixed Neolithic–EH.

East of Burial 7 In the east part of the trench the Neolithic material came primarily from exploration around the socles of EH II Building BG. Wiencke has shown how the socles of the EH II C (Early) structure penetrated close to and sometimes into the Neolithic sediments (Wiencke 2000: esp. 205–206, sections 23, 24). Most of the lots from this area, CL HTN 125, CL HTN 126, CL HTN 128, CL HTN 130, CL HTN 131, CL HTN 133, CL HTN 138, CL TN 141, CL HTN 143– CL HTN 145, CL HTN 148, HTN 132, HTN 140, HTN 142, HTN 146, HTN 150, HTN 151,

Figure 44. Trench HTN: burial 7, from south

148

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

and BH 64–BH 67 had an admixture of EH II sherds, anywhere from a few to 50% (see Wiencke 2000: 58–59, 73–80, 90–91, 196). The MN pots inventoried from these lots are Monochrome Urfirnis bowl/dish L.1638 (BH 66) and scratch-incised basin L.1390 (HTN 120). CL HTN 126, which removed sediment west of EH socle W-61 at +4.25 to +4.05 was reported to have only Neolithic sherds, as were HTN 140 from a small space between EH II socles W-62 and W-67 at +4.80–4.06, HTN 142 at socle W-62 at +4.05–4.00, and CL HTN 144 from a trial trench to the face of EH socle W-62 at +3.85–3.41. In CL HTN 126 was a fragment of heavy wire, surely modern (L7.152), and a carbonized fig, Ficus carica, was recovered in HTN 140 (Hopf 1961: 239, 44-V; 1962: 4, 6–7). From HTN 142 came a bone scraper/polisher (284), and from CL HTN 144 a grindstone fragment and a stone pounder/rubber (112). Ler MN 6 Sediments with Ler CL HTN 116, HTN 117, CL CL HTN 125, CL HTN 126, CL HTN 141, HTN 142, CL HTN 150, HTN 151)

FN and EH II Contamination (BH 64–BH 67, HTN 115, HTN 118, CL HTN 119, HTN 120, CL HTN 122, HTN 132, CL HTN 133, CL HTN 138, HTN 140, HTN 143–CL HTN 145, HTN 146, CL HTN 148,

Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 22:f Monochrome Urfirnis saucer and basin frr.; Vitelli: fig. 23:e, f Monochrome Urfirnis carinated cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 30:m Monochrome Urfirnis carinated collared bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 43:f

Monochrome Urfirnis bowl/dish L.1638; Vitelli: fig. 70:e Scratch-incised bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:e Scratch-incised basin L.1390; Vitelli: fig. 72:i Bead and rib bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:n FN Heavy Burnished small bowl L.1445; Vitelli: fig. 78:a FN crusted bowl L.465; Vitelli: fig. 85:a FN crusted bowl L.1394; Vitelli: fig. 85:c

HTN 115: Center. Burial 7 at +3.96 (Head) No reported finds apart from L.1394 and L.1445

CL HTN 116: Center. Below Burial 7 at +3.95–3.85 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone): Sus 1: Ast. (bu.)

HTN 117: Center. Soft Spot North of Burial 7 at +4.20–4.05 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones):

Ovis/Capra 3: r. Ma. frr. (1 M1→, 2 1/1) Bos 1: Ph. I

CL HTN 118: Center. Cut West from Classical Well* to Eastern Edge of Pit BD at +4.05–3.85 *Note: several Classical wells were discovered at the site and their contents will be published in a future volume.

Objects TC triangular plaque fr. (NK)

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (7 bones, 1 bu.; 1 shell): Sus 1: Ra. fr. (gnawed) Ovis/Capra 5: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M3→), 2 Hu. frr. (1 bu.), 1 Ra. fr., 1 Ul. fr. Cervus 1: An. fr. Murex 1 fr.

CL HTN 119: Center. Stones and below South of Burial 7 at +4.10–3.85 Objects BO awl 235; p. 226

TRENCH HTN

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones):

149

Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ul. fr., 1 Ti. fr. Bos 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 l. Ma. fr. (ad.), 1 Ti. fr.

HTN 120: Center. Removal of Stones West of Classical Well at +4.32–3.95/3.85 See Wiencke 2000: 76–77, for this lot.

Objects COP awl/punch 1; p. 182 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 1, B 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 1 shell): Ovis/Capra 1: Mc. fr. (j.) Bos 1: Ra. fr. Ostrea 1

CL HTN 122: Center. Cut between EH Socle W-49 and Burial 7 at +4.20–3.95 See Wiencke 2000: 76–77, for this lot.

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 2, B 2 (L7.194)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones): Sus 2: Sk. frr. Ovis/Capra 4: 1 l. Hc. fr., 1 l. and 2 r. Ma. frr. (1 MNI)

CL HTN 125: Center. West of EH Socle W-61 at +4.05–3.85 See Wiencke 2000: 79–80, for this lot.

Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 108; p. 204 ST pounder/rubber 109; p. 204 BO awl 236; pp. 226–227

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 13 shells): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Ma. fr. (M1→?), 2 Ph. I Murex 13

CL HTN 126: Center. Sediments West of EH Socle W-61 in Removal of Floor at +4.25–4.05 Objects (Modern wire[?] fr. L7.152)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones): Ovis/Capra 3: 1 r. Ma. fr. (1/1), 1 Pe. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Bos 1: Ri. fr.

HTN 132: Center. EH Socle W-61, West, at +3.95–3.85 Objects ST pounder/rubber 110; p. 205 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 2 shells):

Ovis/Capra 1: r. Ma. fr. (M3 1/1) Bos 3: Ri. frr. Pinna 1, Murex 1 (bu.)

CL HTN 133: Center. Trial Trench to Faces of EH Socles W-61, W-62, W-65 at +3.85–3.50 Objects ST pounder/rubber(?) 111; p. 205 BO awl 237; p. 227 BO awl 238; p. 227 TC sling bullet 318; p. 239 TC figurine leg 401; p. 255

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: B 2 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 1 shell): Sus 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Zy. fr., 1 l. Mx. fr. (M2→) Ovis/Capra 1: Ul. fr. (j.) Murex 1

CL HTN 138: East. Between EH Socles W-62 and HTN-D at +4.50–4.40, and Removal of EH II Wall W-67 and HTN-D See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Objects BO scraper/polisher 283; p. 234

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 3, B 2 (L7.195)

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The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 1 shell): Sus 4: 2 Ra. frr. (1 j.), 1 Pe. fr., 1 Mp. (j.)

Capra 1: r. Hc. fr. Cardium 1

HTN 140: East. Between EH Socles W-62 and W-67 at +4.80–4.06 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 2, sf/fr 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments): Ovis/Capra 1: Ra. fr. (j.), and fragments Bos 2: 1 Ma. fr., 1 Ul. fr.

Botanicals Carbonized Ficus carica (Hopf 1961: 239, 44-V; 1962: 4, 6–7)

CL HTN 141: East. From EH Socle W-67 to Paving at +4.33–4.06 Lithics Obs.: B 3 (also F 3 and B 1, not seen by Kozłowski) Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (8 bones, 4 shells): Sus 1: Mp. fr. Ovis/Capra 5: 2 r. and 1 l. Ma. frr. (1 M1→, 2 1/1, 1 bu.), 2 Pe. frr.

Bos 1: M2 (1/1, large) Argyrosomus regius(?) 1: basioccipital + parasphenoid, bu. gray, p.L. 55.75 (Gejvall 49, 106, pl. XXII:3, as Johnius hololepidotus Lac.; S.) Murex 4

HTN 142: East. Cut at EH Socle W-62 at +4.05–4.00 Objects BO scraper/polisher 284; p. 234

CL HTN 143: East. Next to EH Socle W-62 at +4.00–3.85 Objects BO awl 239; p. 227 BO awl 240; p. 227 BO scraper/polisher 285; p. 234

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones): Sus 1: Ra. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 2: l. and r. Ma. frr. (l.: M3→, 1/1; r.: 1/1)

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: B 2 (L7.198)

CL HTN 144: East. Trial Trench to EH Socle W-62 at +3.85–3.41 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) ST pounder/rubber 112; p. 205

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments): Sus 1: Mp. (j.) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ra. fr., 1 Ti. fr., and fragments

CL HTN 145: East. Between EH Socles W-63 and W-50 at +4.20–3.85 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 1, B 2 Fl./Ch.: B 1

HTN 146: East. Foundation Trench West of EH Socle W-63 at +3.85–3.47 See Wiencke 2000: 190, for this lot.

Objects COP small fr. (NK) ST grindstone fr. (NK) (EH II BO rib awl: Banks 1967: 337, no. 787 [L7.168])

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 3, B 5 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone): Bos 1: Ve. fr.

CL HTN 148: East. Paving at Socles EH W-62 and W-50 and below W-50 at +4.04–3.85 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

TRENCH HTN

Objects TC whorl 361; p. 245 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 3, B 3

151

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Sc. fr., 1 Mc. fr. (j.) Canis 1: Ti. fr.

HTN 150: East. East of EH Socle W-63 at +4.05–3.85 See Wiencke 2000: 78, for this lot.

No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

HTN 151: East. Trial Trench to East Face of EH Socle W-63 at +3.85–3.30 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 3, B 1

BH 64: North. West of EH Socle W-63 at +4.39/4.31–4.26(S)/4.21(C)/4.25(N) No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

BH 65: North. West of EH socle W-63 at +4.26–4.17 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

BH 66: North. West of EH Socle W-63 at +4.17(S)/4.25–4.11(N) Objects (EH II TC whorl L8.85)

Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: B 1

BH 67: North. West of EH Socle W-63 at +4.11–4.05 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

Ler MN 6 in HTN beneath EH II (Vitelli: 69–70) Ceremonial Hear th in Building BG In EH II Building BG a large ceremonial hearth was found in a corridor between two walls, set on a hard floor at +4.47 (Wiencke 2000: 193–194; 206–207, sections 24–25). The sediments from the removal of the hearth and below to +3.85 are reported in CL HTN 128, CL HTN 130, and CL HTN 131. Except for a small quantity of EH pottery in CL HTN 128 from the removal of the hearth, the sherds were essentially of late MN date, the equivalent of FCP 2.4–2.5, according to Vitelli (Vitelli 2007: 70, 130), our Ler MN 6. Included were: ca. one-half of Monochrome Urfirnis Basin L.1393, Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1449, less than one-fourth of Monochrome Urfirnis large carinated bowl L.1392, and ca. one-third of Monochrome Urfirnis Piriform bowl L.1391. Some of the fragments of Monochrome Urfinis pedestal base L.1450 came from HTN 76 in CL HTN 131. Characteristic Neolithic objects, along with a little chipped stone and a fair quantity of bones and shells, came from these lots. From CL HTN 128 we have bone awl 241 and terracotta sling bullet 319. In CL HTN 130 were stone celt 62 and pendant 145. More tools were found in CL HTN 131: awl and scraper/polisher 242 and 243, of bone, and terracotta polisher 351. Ler MN 6 beneath EH II Ceremonial Hearth in Building BG at +4.47–3.85 (CL HTN 128, CL HTN 130, CL HTN 131) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis pedestal base L.1450; Vitelli: fig. 25:e Monochrome Urfirnis basin L.1393; Vitelli: fig. 25:b Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1449; Vitelli: fig. 27:i Monochrome Urfirnis large carinated bowl L.1392; Vitelli: fig. 38:d

Monochrome Urfirnis piriform bowl L.1391; Vitelli: fig. 40:f Monochrome Urfirnis ladle(?) handle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 70:d Scribbled Urfirnis collar-necked jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 52:g Scribbled Urfirnis footed jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 52:h FN coarse bowl; Vitelli: fig. 95:k

152

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

CL HTN 128: Center. Removal of EH II Hearth in Floor at +4.47–4.31 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Objects BO awl 241; p. 227 TC sling bullet 319; p. 239 Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 2 (L7.196), SpP/f 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments, 4 shells): Ovis/Capra 1: Ti. fr. Bos: fragments Cardium 2, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 1

CL HTN 130: Center. Sediments below EH II Hearth at +4.30–4.15 Objects ST celt 62; p. 196–197 ST pendant 145; p. 213 Lithics Obs.: B 1 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (15 bones, 3 shells): Sus 1: Ra. fr.

Capra 9: 2 Hc. frr. 2 Sk. frr., 3 l. and 1 r. Ma frr. (l.:1 M3→, 2 1/1; r.: P2–3→), 1 Hu. fr. Bos 1: Ri. fr. Anas platyrhynchos 2: 1 pr. carpomc. fr. (Gejvall: 48, 96, table 116; S.), 1 coracoid fr. (med.-sized; S.) Thynnus thynnus 2 (1 MNI): Ve. (D. 25.75, L. 23.75; D. 25.5, L. 24; Gejvall: 49, 106, where wrongly identified as Johnius hololepidotus, pl. XXII:2; S.) Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 1

CL HTN 131: Center. Sediments below EH II Hearth at +4.15–3.85 Objects BO awl 242; p. 227 BO awl 243; p. 227 TC polisher 352; p. 244 (Lerna IV BO scraper/polisher L7.155) Lithics Obs.: B 7, RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 8:9), sf/fr 2

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (10 bones, 3 shells): Sus 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 C. fr., 1 Ma. fr. Ovis/Capra 6: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (l.: M3→; r.: 1/1), 1 Sc. fr., 1 Hu. fr. (j.), 1 Pe. fr., 1 Mt. fr. (ad.) Bos 1: Mc. fr. (ad.) Ostrea 3

Trench JC Ler MN Unphased with Ler LN and FN (Vitelli: 71–72) In 1958, the final season of fieldwork at Lerna, narrow trench JC, 1.50 m wide, was laid out in Area JA–JB straddling Squares E–F/g–h to test the Neolithic strata here (Caskey 1959: 204–205; see also Vitelli 2007: 71–72, 131–132). Running NNE–SSW, it was just under 10.00 m long (Plan 2), extending south from the baulk left to support the House of the Tiles tumulus circle at this point and crossing room C of the EH fortifications at a point west of EH W-91 and east of W-80 (Wiencke 2000: 106–107; 164, plan 19); the east–west socles of room C, W-89 to the north and W-83 to the south, divided the trench into three sections: north, central, and south. Work began at +4.85(N) and +4.90(C); in the south, dump from earlier excavation was removed to reveal unexcavated sediments at +4.37(N)/4.10(S). Lots with predominantly Neolithic sherds were combined by Caskey into a single group designated as Ler MN Unphased, though the lots included later material. The inventoried pieces and several later Neolithic sherds were all that were available to Vitelli from these lots. The middle Neolithic, as reported in PNB PAN: 77–95, apart from the later and FN material, appeared to Vitelli to be generally of an MN date the equivalent of FCP 2.3–2.4, generally our Ler MN 5 (Vitelli 2007: 72, 130), but owing the to mixture of material here we report it as MN Unphased with Late and Final Neolithic. The animal bones and shells found in most lots were discarded without further study.

Trench JC

JC n o

rth

N EH II W-59

trench

N

153

EH II W-58 EH II

trenc h centr JC al

EH II room C

W-89

x

EH II

+4.38

1a

+3.60

W-83

trenc souhthJC

*

burial 8

0

*

EH II W-52

EH III bothros B-35

burial 9

b

2m

Plan 31b. Trench JC with location of burial 9

Plan 31. Trench JC: (a) southern part of trench JC north, with Ler FN burial 8;

(b) trench JC with Ler MN burial 9. Scale (a) 1:50; (b) 1:150

0

1

Plan 31a. Trench JC North with location of burial 8 In the north section (Plan 31), excavation was carried down to +3.98(N)/3.95(S). Up to +4.12(N)/4.20(S) the sherds were purely Neolithic and were removed in lot JC 16. Only six EH sherds from a patch of stony Mixed Fill at +4.19(N)/4.14(S) in the northeast corner contaminated the next higher lot, JC 12, which reached to +4.23(N)/4.22(C)/4.24(S). In these cuts one socle, W-85, and a partial ring of stones in the Mixed Fill were exposed. Socle W-85 ran diagonally NNW–SSE across most of the northern section of the trench and appeared to have been preserved as a single row of mostly large stones in one to two courses with a width of 0.35 m. No associated floors were observed. A few small stones describing the arc of a circle enclosed the northeast corner of this part of the trench in the area of the Mixed Fill, and these might have been the remnant of stones surrounding the top of a bothros. The only finds were chipped stone.

Burial 8 The next lots above, JC 8–JC 11, were associated with burial 8 found in the southern part of JC north (Plan 31, Fig. 45, and Chap. 6; Vitelli 2007: 121–122, 131–132). With the exception of an EH II tile fragment, which was probably from an EH II building set down into this area, the sherds were Neolithic. The skull, with a top level of +4.53, appeared south of a group of stones that were part of EH II socle W-52 (Wiencke 2000: 80, socle J-AD/JC-1) under which was the remainder of the skeleton, which rested at +4.38 (FNB XLII: 152–153). Burial 8 represented the only constructed grave of Neolithic date found at Lerna, the contracted body surrounded by an incompletely preserved, elliptical ring of stones with one large stone at the east corner, the top level of stones at +4.53 (Caskey 1959: 205, pl. 41:a, b, including pot L.1610). Since an EH II socle had been sunk into Neolithic sediments here, any mound or marker over the grave would have been destroyed. The skeleton, oriented northeast–southwest with the head at the southwest facing northwest, was identified as that of “a rather small, but muscular woman in her mid-twenties” who had probably experienced several pregnancies (Angel 1971: 40–41, 242 Ler, 128, table 4,

2

3m

JC

154

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

Figure 45. Trench JC: burial 8, from east

pl. I, reported as Late Neolithic). The body, resting at +4.38, lay on its left side with the legs bent 50° at the hips, 20° at the knees; the left arm was fully extended, the hand at the knees, the right arm bent with the hand at the left elbow (E. T. Blackburn, pers. comm.). Near the legs just below the knees was FN crusted-ware spouted cup L.1610, top at +4.53. The FN crusted-ware sherd found near the head, L.1696, might be merely a chance find from the surrounding sediments and can by no means definitely be associated with the burial (contra Vitelli 2007: 134). Obsidian blade L8.49, which was found under the skeleton, is not likely to have been associated with it. The lots above the burial, including JC 4 (not reported here) in which the skull first appeared, had a large percentage of EH II sherds. A comparable grave with a stone surround and similar pottery was found at nearby Aria (Alram-Stern 1996: 237; Dousougli 1998: 132–133).

Burial 9 The center section of the trench was excavated to the level of burial 9, which rested at +3.60 (Plan 31 and Chap. 6). The sherds above it to +3.73(N)/3.74(S) in lot JC 15 and those from its removal in JC 18 were solidly Neolithic. The burial was that of a child, oriented east–west with the fragmentary skull at the east facing south. Not seen by Angel, the bones were shown to N.-G. Gejvall while he was studying the Lerna animal bones and shells; he estimated an age of five years, but gave no indication of sex (see notation in FNB XLII: 154). The body lay on its left side. The legs were bent at ca. 25° at the hips, tightly at the knees with the heels to the pelvis (E. T. Blackburn, pers. comm.); the arms were bent at the elbow in front of the chest, the hands resting under the head. Found at the shoulder was MN Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1612 (Caskey 1959: 205, pl. 41:c), in which Vitelli saw a mix of earlier and later MN features (Vitelli 2007: 72). As with burial 8, obsidian blade L8.49 has no certain association with the burial. We assume that the burial was made in a simple pit set in from a higher level, but no evidence for such a pit was observed by the excavator. A black sediment above the burial, removed in lots JC 13 and JC 14 to +4.13(NE)/3.92(SW), yielded solidly Neolithic sherds, including those of ca. one-third to one-half of Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1612, which could be dated no more closely than MN (Vitelli 2007: 72,

Trench JC

155

fig. 26:o). From the same sediment came bone awl 250 and a fair quantity of chipped stone. A red sediment above to +4.24(N)/4.23(S), which was removed in lot JC 9, was likewise uncontaminated by EH II sherds. There were no features associated with the sherds, and only lithics were recorded. In lot JC 7, which reached as high as +4.55(N)/4.53(S), EH II socle W-79 (Wiencke 2000: 106, 164, plan 19) was removed and the earth beneath it dug away. The sherds continued to be Neolithic, and the juxtaposition of socle and sherds shows how the later walls were put down onto and into the earlier sediments. Only in small lot JC 5 to +4.71(N)/4.73(S) was there slight EH II contamination of the sherds, but the lots above yielded almost 50% EH II wares. In JC 5 was the possible leg of a Neolithic figurine, 415, and two obsidian blades.

Comparative Stratigraphy of Lerna and Franchthi In the south section of the trench Mixed Fill was encountered from the top of the ancient sediments to +3.47(S)/3.43(N) and was removed in lots JC 3 and JC 17 (see below, p. 173). For the date of the EH sherds in the fill here, see Wiencke 2000: 36. Ler MN Unphased with Ler LN and FN: North at +4.58–3.98(N)/3.95(S) and Central at +4.71(S)/4.33(S)–3.60 ( J C 5, JC 6, JC 8 with JC 11, JC 9, JC 10, JC 12, JC 13 with JC 14, JC 15 with JC 18, JC 16) Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1611; Vitelli: fig. 21:e Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1612; Caskey 1959: 205, pl. 41:b, c; Vitelli: fig. 26:o Monochrome Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 39:f Patterned Urfirnis cup L.1644; Vitelli: fig. 66:e Later Neolithic patterned (Group 2) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:f Later Neolithic patterned (Group 2) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:h Later Neolithic patterned (Group 3) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:l

Later Neolithic patterned (Group 4) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 75:f Later Neolithic patterned (Group 8) vessel fr.; Vitelli: fig. 76:g Later Neolithic patterned (Group 7) jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:f Later Neolithic patterned (Group 7) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:g Later Neolithic patterned (Group 6) jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:i FN crusted-ware handle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 85:b FN crusted-ware sherd L.1696; Vitelli: fig. 85:e FN crusted-ware spouted cup L.1610; Vitelli: fig. 85:f

JC 5: Center. Sediments at +4.71(N)/4.73(S)–4.55(N)/4.33(S) Objects TC leg(?) 414; p. 257

Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L8.22, not seen by Kozłowski)

JC 6: North. North of Burial 8 at +4.32–4.23 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: B 2

JC 7: Center. Sediments at +4.55(N)/4.53(S)–4.24(N)/4.23(S) Lithics Obs.: F 1, SpP/f 1

JC 8 with JC 11: North. In Burial 8 and Removal of Surrounding Stones of Enclosure at +4.58–4.31 Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L8.49)

JC 9: Center. Red Sediment at +4.24(N)–4.23(S) Lithics Fl./Ch.: F 1 Obs.: B 2 (L8.28), SpP/f 1, sf/fr 1.

156

The Settlement in the Supplementary Trenches and Pits

JC 10: North (south half). Around and Under Burial 8 at +4.48–4.24 Lithics Obs.: Bd 1 (Koz.: ill. 9:7), Br 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:7), RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 8:4)

JC 12: North. Sediments at +4.23(N)/4.22(C)/4.24(S)–4.12(N)/4.20(S) No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

JC 13 with JC 14: Center. Black Sediment at +4.13(NE)/3.92(SW)–3.76(N)/3.74(S) Objects BO awl 250; p. 228

Lithics Obs.: F 3 (L8.44 [Koz.: ill. 6:3]), B 8 (L8.19, L8.23, L8.30), RB 1 (L8.33 [Koz.: ill. 9:9])

JC 15 with JC 18: Center. Sediments at ca. +3.76(N)/3.74(S)–3.72(N)/3.38(S) and Removal of Burial 9 at +3.67–3.60 Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L8.36), SpP 1, sf/fr 1

JC 16: North. Sediments at +4.12(N)/4.20(S)–3.98(N)/3.95(S) Lithics Obs.: F 1, Bd 1 (L8.35 [Koz.: ill. 10:2]), BK 1 (Koz.: ill. 12:2), Bl/Sg 1

4

 Unphased Neolithic

S

ome lots that contained essentially Neolithic pottery but were without clearly anchor ing context were written up by the excavators as “Neolithic Unphased.” A few of these lots came from trenches in which Neolithic strata were only touched upon and not explored to any depth, e.g., trenches A, B, B8, BH, BI, and various small probes in the southeast, such as GH (for which, see Wiencke 2000: 11, plan 2), and HTJ (Plan 2). Some lots from long trench J, which was dug before much of the Neolithic settlement had been explored, could not be linked with specific sediments in Area JA. In Area JB the strata sloped off from erosion to the southwest and west, and the excavator, by “prophylactic cuts,” made an effort to keep the material from this area separate, so as to avoid contamination of the areas adjacent; many of the Unphased lots came from this area and included sherds of post-Neolithic date. We list these lots below with the few sherds included in the Vitelli catalogue and the more numerous minor objects, lithics, bones, and shells. A 49: Trench A. Cut 35 at +1.98–1.80 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone, 6 shells): Ovis/Capra 1: Cal. (j.) Cardium 4, Lucina(?) 2

Reese (1 bone: 1 bu.; 6 shells): Ovis/Capra 1: Cal. (UF, pr. broken, l., bu. gray/black) Cerastoderma 4 (4 MNI) (r.: 26.5 × 26.5, 30 × 31, 32 × 33 asym.; l.: 25 × 25 + bit), Ruditapes 2 (1+ MNI): (l.: 26; fr.)

Trench B. Cut 32 at ca. +2.20–2.00 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments): Bos: Ve. fragments

CL B 760 (B 695, B 703): Trench B8. Below Floor of Shaft Grave I at +4.35–NR Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L4.699)

BD 477: Pit BD. East of EH II Socle W-63 to +3.90 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

Bones and Shells Discarded

BE 491: Pit BE. Cut 9 East of EH II Socle W-63 and North of EH III Bothros B-212 at +4.21/4.01–3.99/3.96 Objects BO awl 244; p. 227

BH 63: Trench BH North. West of EH II Socle W-63 at +4.43–4.39/4.31 Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L8.76)

158

Unphased Neolithic

BI 14: Trench BI at +4.42–4.20 Objects BO awl 245; p. 227

Lithics Obs.: RB 1 (L8.66 [Koz.: ill. 9:4]), SpP/f 1

BI 25: Trench BI. West at +4.31–4.20 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

BI 28: Trench BI. West, Cut 9 South at +3.84/3.76/3.71–3.84/3.61 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL G 44 (GH 30, GH 33a): Trench GH. Trial Trench 9, Cuts 2 and 3 at +4.32–4.03 Pottery FN Heavy Burnished “rolled rim” bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 83:a

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 12 shells): Sus, Ovis/Capra, Bos: fragments Cardium 8, Ostrea 1, Arca 1, Murex 2

G 45 (= GH 32): Trench GH. Trial Trench 9, West Extension at +4.38–4.20 Pottery FN Heavy Burnished carinated bowl L.390; Vitelli: fig. 80:g

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 3 shells): Ovis/Capra: fragments Cardium 2, Murex 1

G 46 (= GH 36): Trench GH. Trial Trench 9, Cut 4 at +4.03–3.91 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 1 shell):

Ovis/Capra, Bos: fragments Cardium 1

CL G 47 (GH 33b, GH 35): Trenches GH and GK. Trial Trench 9, West Extension, Cuts 3 and 4 at +5.20–3.85 Pottery FN Heavy Burnished small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 78:h FN Heavy Burnished small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 79:a FN Heavy Burnished bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 80:b FN Heavy Burnished “rolled rim” bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 83:b FN Heavy Burnished jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 84:d

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments, 15 shells): Ovis/Capra 1: r. Ma. fr. (M1→), and fragments Bos: fragments Vulpes 1: Ma. fr. (P4, M1–2, M3 alv.; Gejvall: 87, table 75; S.) Cardium 9, Ostrea 1, Murex 5

Lithics Obs: B 3 (L4.507, L4.508)

CL G 48: Trenches GH and GK. Trial Trench 9, West Extension, Soft Spot at ca. +4.08 Pottery FN Heavy Burnished small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 78:d FN Heavy Burnished small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 78:g FN Heavy Burnished bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 80:a FN Heavy Burnished bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 80:f FN Heavy Burnished “rolled rim” bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 83:d FN Heavy Burnished “rolled rim” bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 83:e FN Heavy Burnished “rolled rim” bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 83:j

FN Heavy Burnished bowl lid or base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 84:b FN Coarse base; Vitelli: fig. 86:g

Objects ST pounder/rubber 113; p. 205 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 4 shells): Ovis/Capra 6: 3 l. and 3 r. Ma. frr. (l.: 1 M1→, 1 M2→, 1 1/1; r.: 1 M1→, 1 M2→, 1 1/1) Cardium 3, Pinna 1

HTJ 5 (= B 797): Trench HTJ. Classical Well Objects BO awl 246; p. 227

See also HTJ 38 and HTJ 40, pp. 145, 146, above, and 402 and 286–288, respectively.

Unphased Neolithic

159

CL J 84 ( J 17, J 18): Trench J. J 1 North from Socle C to South Edge of Trench E at ca. +3.53–2.98 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone):

Bos 1: Hu. fr. (Human: bone fragments)

CL J 85 ( J 12, J 14): Trench J. J 1 North between Socles A and C at ca. +3.53–3.13 Objects TC triangular plaque 394; p. 250 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 12 shells):

Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ra. fr., 1 Pe. fr. Bos 1: Hu. fr. Cardium 4, Ostrea 3, Murex 5

CL J 86 ( J 9, J 10): Trench J. J 1 South between Socles A and B at ca. +3.43–3.03 Lithics Obs.: SpP 1

J 87 (= J 20): Trench J. J 1 South between Socles A and B at ca. +3.03–2.93 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 99 (= J 52): Trench J. J 3 South, South of EH II Socle W-15 at ca. +4.70–4.50 Pottery Crusted-ware handle(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 85:d Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones): Ovis 2: 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ti. fr.

J 100 (= J 55): Trench J. J 3 South on Floor by EH II Socle W-15 at +4.50–4.30 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

J 101 (= J 58): Trench J. J 3 South, Cut in Floor South of EH II Socle W-15 at +4.30–4:00 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

CL J 103: Trench J. Lowest Cuts to Date Wall W-43 at +3.65–3.10 Objects ST celt 63; p. 197 ST pounder/rubber 114; p. 205

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone and fragments): Sus 1: Ra. fr. (j.), and 3 fragments

Lithics Obs.: Tr 1 (L4.778 [Koz.: ill. 7:1])

J 401: Trench J. Removal of EH II Socle W-15 at +4.47–4.30 Lithics (not seen by Kozłowski) Obs.: F 3, B 3

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones, 2 shells): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ti. fr. Cardium 2

J 643 in CL J 875: JB. Dark Earth along Line between Red and Blackish Soil at +3.29–3.42 Pottery Patterned Urfirnis collared jar L.1242; Vitelli: fig. 54:f

J 644: JB. West, Cut 24 along West Side at North at +3.22–2.99/2.96 Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) BO (An.) retouchoir 296; p. 236

Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 2 (L6.938, only piece seen by Kozłowski)

160

Unphased Neolithic

J 667: JB. Along South Edge at West, North of Line of Wall W-37, at +3.24–2.96 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone):

Bos primigenius 1: Sc. fr. (Gejvall: 31, 80, table 48, pl. VIII:8; S.)

J 759: JB. Reddish Soil at Dividing Line and Dark Soil Southwest at +2.30–2.16 Pottery Lime-ware bowl L.1144; Vitelli: fig. 3:k Objects ST celt 64; p. 197 BO awl 247; p. 227 Lithics Fl./Ch.: Bfp 1 (L6.1021* [Koz.: ill. 12:5]) *This kind of bifacial foliate point is characteristic of FN/EH contexts elsewhere in Greece, and Perlès considers this one an intrusion into a MN context (Perlès 2004: 196–197). Kozłowski notes that it is the only Lernaean lithic artifact he examined that is executed in his F9 flint category (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 322)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (8 bones and fragments): Sus 1: Mc. fr., and fragments Ovis/Capra 6: 1 Sk. fr., 3 l. Ma. frr. (1 M3→, 1 1/1, 1[?]), 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ti. fr. (bu.) Bos 1: Mt. fr. Reese (12 specifically identifiable bones, 68 fragments total: 2 cut, 3 bu.): Sus 1: Mt. IV (UF, cut through pr.) Ovis/Capra 8: 1 up. M, 3 Ma. frr. (ant. with alv. + roots; M3 erupting, 3 l. [2 join]), 1 At., 1 pr. Hu. ( JF), 1 dist. Hu. (F, l.), 1 dist. Ti. (F, r., bu. black) Bos 2+: 1 Pe./acet. fr. (cut, r., 14 pces.), 1 Ri. fr., 4 shs. (1 bu. black, 2 pces.) Bird 1: dist. Fe. fr. (lg.)

J 786: JA. Bothroid Earth South of Stones around Hearth Pit HP-1 at +2.10/2.05–1.90 Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis ladle L.1145; Vitelli: fig. 71:f Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 1 (L6.1041), NB 1 (L6.1040 [Koz.: ill. 10:10]) Fl./Ch.: B 1 (L6.1100)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments): Sus 1: Mc. fr. Bos 1: Sc. fr. and fragments

CL J 847: JB. West, Cut 18 at +3.96–3.70 Pottery FN Coarse pedestal fr.; Vitelli: fig. 86:i Objects COP awl/punch 2; p. 182 (Modern[?] bronze nail L6.303) Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 6, Bd 1, Ch 1, RB 2 (L6.879 [Koz.: ill. 8:6], Koz.: ill. 7:13), SpP/b 1, SpP/f 2, sf/fr Fl./Ch.: RB/Sg 1 (Koz.: ill. 9:6)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones and fragments, 2 shells): Sus 2: 1 Zy. fr., 1 Mc. (j.) Ovis/Capra 3: 1 M2 (1/1), 1 Hu. fr. (nb.), 1 Mt. fr. Bos 1: Mc. fr., and fragments Ostrea 1, Murex 1

CL J 872: JB. West, Stones in Brown Earth at +3.76–3.40 Pottery Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 51:e Later Neolithic patterned (Group 3) rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:g Later Neolithic patterned (Group 5) rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 76:a Later Neolithic patterned (Group 7) neck fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:b Lithics Obs.: F 5, B 7, C 1 (Koz.: ill. 6:2), Es 2 (L6.905 [Koz.: ill. 6:9], L6.906 [Koz.: ill. 6:11]), Es/RB 1 (L6.900

[Koz.: ill. 12:7]), NB 1 (Koz.: ill. 10:8), RB 1 (L6.899 [Koz.: ill. 8:8]), SpP/b 1 (Koz.: ill. 13:3), Tr 1 (L6.898 [Koz.: ill. 7:5]), sf/fr 2

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 4 shells): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Hu. fr., 1 Mc. fr. (j.) Cervus 3: 1 An. fr. (point), 1 Cal., 1 r. pr. Ti. (F, looks cut down sides of shaft in up. middle shaft on two sides [Gejvall: 94, table 110; S.]) Ostrea 2, Lucina 1, Murex 1

Unphased Neolithic

161

CL J 873: JB. West, Cut 20 in Dark Earth at +3.64–3.40 Pottery Coarse Urfirnis gouged bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 44:d (part from CL J 874) Objects ST grindstones, 2 frr. (NK) TC triangular plaque 395; p. 250

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones and fragments, 3 shells): Sus 1: Ma. fr. (M1→?, j.) Ovis/Capra 1: Sc. fr. Bos: fragments Cardium 1, Ostrea 2

CL J 874: JB. West, Cut 20 in Black Stony Earth at +3.64–3.36 Pottery Later Neolithic patterned (Group 8) deep bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 76:e Later Neolithic patterned (Group 8) collared jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 76:f

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 3 shells): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Ul. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Bos 2 (2 MNI): 1 Ti. fr. (j.), 1 Ph. I (ad.) Ostrea 1, Arca 1, Lucina(?) 1

CL J 875: JB. West, Cut 22, Dark Earth at West and Southwest at +3.62/3.35–3.30/2.95 Pottery Later Neolithic patterned (Group 8) rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 76:d

ill. 6:10], L6.1539 [Koz.: ill. 6:12]), fT 1 (L6.932), RB 1, SpP/f 1, sf/fr 8 Fl./Ch.: B 1, Ch 1

Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK) BO awl 248; p. 227

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (10 bones, 7 shells): Sus 4 (2 MNI): 1 l. Ma. fr. (M2→), 1 Hu. fr. (ad.), 1 Ul. fr., 1 Mc. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Pe. fr., 1 Mc. fr. (j.) Bos 3: 1 M3→, 1 Ul. fr., 1 Ra. fr. Cervus 1: An. fr. (point) Cardium 1, Ostrea 4, Arca 1, Murex 1

Lithics Obs.: C 1 (Koz.: ill. 6:1), F 4, B 9 (L6.912, L6.929– L6.931, L6.933, L6.934), Es 2 (L6.911 [Koz.:

CL J 876: JB. Dark Soil at West and Southwest at ca. +2.96(W)/2.38(SW)– 2.86(W)/2.30(SW) Pottery Later Neolithic patterned (Group 2) pedestal fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:j Objects BO awl 249; pp. 227–228 TC polisher (NI) TC seated(?) figurine fragment 403; p. 255 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 8 (L6.993, L6.1017, L6.1019), BK 1 (L6.992 [Koz.: ill. 12:1]), Es 1 (L6.1542 [Koz.:

ill. 6:14]), RF 1 (Koz.: ill. 11:11), SpP/b 1 (L6.1018), SpP/f 1 (L6.994), Tr 1 (Koz.: ill. 7:3), sf/fr 9 Fl./Ch.: 1 B (L6.960)

Bones and Shells (large bag) Gejvall (12 bones, 2 shells): Sus 3: 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ra. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Ovis/Capra 5: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M3→), 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 2 Mt. frr. (1 j.) Bos 3: 1 M3 (1/1), 2 Mc. frr. Cervus 1: Mc. fr. Ostrea 1, Murex 1 (Human: bones [inf., ad.])

CL J 877: JB. Dark Sediments at West Edge at +2.22–1.57 Objects ST pounder/rubber 115; p. 205 BO hair ornament(?) 292; p. 235 TC figurine leg(?) 404; p. 255 Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 2 (L6.1028, L6.1033), RB 3 (L6.1029, L6.1031 [Koz.: ill. 8:7], L6.1032), RB/Sg 1 (L6.1027 [Koz.: ill. 9:10]), SpP/f 1, sf/fr 1

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (10 bones, 4 shells): Sus 1: Ra. fr. Ovis/Capra 2: l. Ma. frr. (1 1/1, 1 j.) Bos 4: 2 M2 (both 1/1), 1 Ul. fr., 1 Ri. fr. Cervus 2: 1 M3 (1/1, w. down), 1 Ti. fr. Lepus 1: Fe. fr. Ostrea 2, Pinna 1, Murex 1 (Human: Ma. fr. [ad.])

162

Unphased Neolithic

Reese (38 specifically identifiable bones, 72 fragments total: 6 cut, 4 bu.; 5 shells): Sus 2: 1. pr. Ul. (broken, ad., r.), 1 dist. Fi. (F, larger than normal, L. 24.5, W. 11.75) Ovis/Capra 12 (2 MNI): 4 Ma. frr. (P1 root, P2–3, M1, M2–3 uw., r., 2 pces.; P1–2 w., l.; alv. only, l.; coronoid process fr.), 1 Hu. sh., 1 pr. Ra. (UF), 1 Ra. sh. (cut down length), 1 Ul. sh., 2 Pe./acet. frr. (1 recently broken, 2 r.), 1 dist. Ti. (UF), 1 dist. Ti. (F, broken) Sus or Ovis/Capra 15+: 1 Ve. fr. (lacks centrum), 14 Ri. frr. (2 with head [1 sm., 1 bu. gray]),

12 shs. (3 cut down length [1 bu. black], 2 bu. black) Bos 7+: 1 Ma. fr. (P3 w., M1 w., M2), 1 pr. Ra. (UF, l., 2 pces.), 1 Ti. sh. (cut down length), 1 Mt. sh. (young, thin), 1 Ve. sp., 2 Ri. frr. (has head, very lg., max. W. 37, 2 pces.; smaller, 2 pces.), 4 shs. (1 cut down length), 5 frr. Cervus 1: dist. Ti. (F, l.) Lepus 1: dist. Fe. + sh. (F) Cerastoderma/Acanthocardia 1 (fr.), Ostrea 1 (65.5 × 59), Spondylus 1 (lo., hinge fr.), Pinna 1 (umbo fr.), Bolinus 1 (lip broken, 55 × 34)

CL J 878: JB. Contaminated Ground at Southwest at +2.17–1.53 Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L6.1036, L6.1037), RB 1 (L6.1055 [Koz.: ill. 8:2]) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 5 shells): Sus 1: Sc. fr. Ovis/Capra 5: 1 r. Mx. fr. (M1→), 1 r. Ma. fr. (M1→, 1 Pe. fr., 2 Ti. frr. Arca 1, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 3 Reese (7 specifically identifiable bones, 30 fragments total: 1 cut, 3 bu.; 5 shells):

JC 5, and JC 13 with JC 14: Trench JC See 414 and 250, respectively, and above, p. 155.

Sus 1: Sc. fr. (F, lg.) Ovis/Capra 5 (2 MNI): 1 l. Mx. fr. (M1 somewhat w., M2 somewhat w.), 1 r. Ma. fr. (dP3, M1 erupting), 1 r. Pe. fr. (cut through near acet.), 2 dist. Ti. frr. (r., JF; l., F) Sus or Ovis/Capra 1+: 1 pr. Hu. (UF head), 3 bu. frr., (1 black, 2 gray/black) Arca 1 (r.: 51 × 19), Ruditapes 1 (r.: 40.5 × 28), Hexaplex 2 (dist. end, med./lg.; body fr. med./lg., acided), Bolinus 1 (no apex, L. 60+)

5

 mixed fill

A

s has been noted by both Wiencke and Vitelli, in various trenches and pits over the site at Lerna, what the excavators called the Mixed Fill was identified (Plan 2). This fill contained Neolithic and EH II sherds, most often in stony earth and with no associated architecture, which were found in some places above and in some places alongside Neolithic strata. At the southwest limit of the solid strata in Area JA–JB the Fill dropped down abruptly and was continuing when excavation stopped here at ca. +2.45 (Wiencke 2000: esp. 29–33; Vitelli 2007: 135–137). Since the EH II sherds found in the Fill were almost all of Lerna III A and III B date, clearly the activity that produced the Fill was undertaken in the earlier stages of Lerna III. The precise purpose of this earth-moving activity remains obscure. Vitelli has noted that the suggestion, made originally by Caskey and reiterated by Wiencke, that EH II builders leveled off high spots on the site as they found them for their own buildings, does not square with the evidence (Vitelli 2007: 135–137). In trench HTJ, for example, it would appear either that this part of the site was a natural low spot in the terrain not used after early Middle Neolithic until Fill from elsewhere was deposited there in a leveling operation, or that Neolithic–early EH II deposits were dug out rather than leveled, which produced a gully-like depression in the landscape. Trench AP, on the contrary, appears to have been located in what was from the early days of the Neolithic settlement a low point in the terrain, and the area was not included in later stages of the MN development at the site. In the dim light of the available evidence, the genesis of the Mixed Fill must remain obscure. Vitelli, in her study, concentrated on the stratified Neolithic pottery and did not publish the Neolithic pottery from the Mixed Fill as a separate group, but entered in her catalogue the saved sherds available to her. We list this material and the associated objects, lithics, bones, and shells with the lots identified as having come from the Mixed Fill. Where Wiencke included the EH material in a Mixed Fill lot in her publication (Wiencke 2000), we give the citation. Occasional objects that are clearly post-Neolithic in date are so identified, but most of the pieces are so generic in form that they could be either Neolithic or Lerna III. The lithics from a few of the lots were examined by Hartenberger and Runnels as part of their study of the Bronze Age chipped stone, and we identify these as H-R (Hartenberger and Runnels 2001); see Wiencke 2000: xvi, for their abbreviations, to which we add here bt(s). for bladelet(s). In these groups we occasionally have a Kozłowski identification of a specific piece and include it in parentheses. The lithics, bones, and shells can be dated no more closely than Neolithic–Early Helladic II.

164

mixed fill

Trench A In 1952, the first year of the excavations, trench A, which was expanded into Area A in subsequent years in Square G/g, was laid out adjacent to the southeast German anti-aircraft gun emplacement (Caskey 1954: 12). It measured 5.00 m east–west × 2.20 m north–south, and from ca. +3.38 only the eastern 2.40 m was dug down into Neolithic levels (Wiencke 2000: 20, section 3, 32). A pocket of what appears to have been the Mixed Fill, described as composed of brown earth, mostly small stones, and sherds, was excavated from +3.09/2.76–2.20; the pottery was recorded as lot A 47. Below this the sherds were essentially Neolithic. Just above the Fill, in lot A 44, was found an isolated piece of interest, L.58, a large fragment of an impressive FN Heavy Burnished large carinated bowl (Wiencke 2000: 82; Vitelli 2007: fig. 82:a). A 47: Cut 33, Deposit of Mixed Fill at +3.09/2.76–2.20 See Wiencke 2000: 32, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L2.56) Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 27 shells):

Sus 2: 1 Ma. fr., 1 Sc. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (1 M1→, 1 M2→) Bos 2: 1 P1, 1 M2 Cardium 15, Ostrea 2, Murex 10

Trenches AB, AC, AE, AH In small trenches in Squares G/g–h (AH is not illustrated) dug below the level of the southeastern portion of the EH II fortifications (Wiencke 2000: 73–74, 91–92) the excavator encountered small patches of what appeared to be the Mixed Fill with, in most cases, some admixture of later material. This suggests that the Fill extended along the southern periphery of the mound from Area JB to Area A. Only two sherds from this area were available to Vitelli for inclusion in her catalogue. A 439: Trench AE, Possible Mixed Fill at +4.22/4.22–3.93 See Wiencke 2000: 91–92, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: B 3

CL A 448: Trench AH at +3.36/2.90–2.68 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, 92, for this lot.

Objects ST mortar(?) (NK) ST pounder/rubber fr. (NK)

Lithics Obs: B 4 (only 1 seen by Kozłowski)

CL A 449: Trench AH at +4.25/4.00–3.25 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, 91, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: B 3 Fl./Ch.: F 1

CL A 453: Trench AB at +3.01–2.52 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Objects TC polisher 353; p. 244

CL A 454: Trench AC at +2.98–2.19/1.85 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, 91–92, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: F 4, NB 2, “chips” 2 Fl./Ch.: sf/fr 1

Trench AP

Pottery Later Neolithic gray burnished rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 73:a FN Heavy Burnished small bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 78:c

165

Objects (EH II TC whorl L6.1665) Lithics Obs.: B 4 (L6.1265, L6.1277), SpP 1

Trench AP As mentioned above (p. 92), the hoped-for uncontaminated sequence of Neolithic deposits in this small trench in Square G/g did not materialize because there was a considerable amount of Mixed Fill found in its central and northern sections. In the central section, the Fill was found to extend from ca. +3.56 to solid Neolithic strata that were reached at +2.35. At the northern end of the trench the Fill was encountered at +3.00 and was traced to below the water level, here reached at +0.64. From ca. +2.35 the Fill came from a pit or gully that cut through the Neolithic strata here and seems most likely to have been manmade (Wiencke 2000: 19, section 2, 30–32 [lots CL A 468–CL A 470], 205, section 23). The Neolithic strata in the southern section of the trench presented an architectural sequence from Ler MN 1a probably through Ler MN 3 that reached from just above the water level to ca. +2.30. CL A 468: Southern and Central Sections at +3.00/2.94–2.33/2.10 See Wiencke 2000: 30–32, for this lot.

Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis collared bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 43:d FN Coarse large jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 91:a Objects ST celt fr. (NI) TC leg(?) 415; p. 257

Lithics (H-R) Obs.: 2 bls./bts., 1 unutil. fl., 1 p. e., 1 projectile point (L7.412) Fl./Ch.: 1 bl. (L7.326, in Kozłowski as Br) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 37 shells): Sus 1: Hu. fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 1 l. Ma. fr. (1/1), 1 Ti. fr., 1 Cal. (j.) Bird (crow family): 1 Ul. fr. Cardium 30, Ostrea 1, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 5

CL A 469: North End at +3.31/2.06–1.53/0.65 See Wiencke 2000: 30–32, for this lot.

Pottery Black burnished bead and rib rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:l Objects BO scraper/polisher 289; p. 234 TC triangular plaque 396; p. 250 (EH II TC whorl L7.521)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (8 bones, 15 shells): Sus 3: 2 r. Ma. frr. (1 M1→), 1 Ti. fr. Ovis/Capra 1: l. Ma. fr. (M1→) Bos 3: 2 Ra. frr., 1 Ast. (3 cut marks on r. side; Gejvall: 82, table 55, pl. XI:2; S.) Canis 1: l. post. Ma. fr. (M1 alv.) (Gejvall: 61–62; S.) Cardium 10, Ostrea 1, Murex 4

Lithics (H-R) Obs.: 3 bls./bts., 1 unutil. fl., 1 p. e. fl.

CL A 470: Northern and Central Sections at +3.60/3.33–2.31/2.06 See Wiencke 2000: 30–32, for this lot.

Pottery Monochrome Urfirnis cup fr.; Vitelli: fig. 28:n Coarse Urfirnis rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 48:c Black Burnished-Over Urfirnis spout(?) fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:a Later Neolithic patterned (Group 3) pedestal fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:n

Later Neolithic patterned (Group 4) bowl L.1499; Vitelli: fig. 75:c Later Neolithic patterned (Group 4) bowl L.1498; Vitelli: fig. 75:d Later Neolithic patterned (Ungrouped) pedestal fr.; Vitelli: fig. 76:b

166

mixed fill

Objects ST celt 65; p. 197 ST pendant 146; p. 213 ST bead 152; p. 214 BO awl 251; p. 228 BO awl-scraper/polisher combination 252; p. 228 BO awl 253; p. 228 BO awl 254; p. 228 BO awl 255; p. 228 BO awl 256; p. 228 BO scraper/polisher 290; p. 234 TC spoon handle/polisher 354; p. 244 TC stopper/lid (NI) TC figurine head(?) 405; p. 255–256 (EH II or later: TC whorl L7.306, Banks 1967: 486, no. 1223; BO whorl L7.308, Banks 1967: 429, no. 1123)

Lithics (H-R) Obs.: 2 cort., 1 util. bl. (L7.428), 3 util. bts. (L7.413, L7.414, L7.420), 1 unutil. bt. (L7.421), 27 bls./ bts., 3 util. fls. (L7.256, L7.418), 41 unutil. fls., 3 p. e., 3 tools (L7.417, L7.419), 1 projectile point (L7.503) Fl./Ch.: 1 util. fl., 3 unutil. fls., 3 tools (L7.257, L7.411) Bones and Shells (two large bags) Gejvall (13 bones, 185 shells): Sus 6: 1 l. Mx. fr., 3 r. and 2 l. Ma. frr. (r., all 1/1; l., 1 M1→, 1 1/1) Ovis/Capra 3: 1 l. Ma. fr. (M3→), 2 M3 (both 1/1) Bos 3: 1 Hc. fr. (4 cut marks toward dist.; S.), 1 l. Ma. fr., 1 Ast. (Gejvall: 82, table 55, pl. XI:3; S.) Grus 1: pr. Tm. fr. (Gejvall: 97; S.) Cardium 118, Ostrea 11, Arca 2, Tapes 3, Murex 50, Stramonita haemastoma 1 (Gejvall: 107, pl. XXIII:11 as Thais; once in Solna, now lost)

Trench B Wiencke noted a likely deposit of Mixed Fill in the 1952 excavation in trench B in Square E/g to the southwest of trench HTJ (Wiencke 2000: 33, 43). Only a small pit ca. 1.50 × 2.00 m at the southern end of the trench was dug into the early EH II and likely Mixed Fill deposits here (Caskey 1954: 21; Wiencke 2000: 21, section 4:6). This small stone Fill began under EH II wall W-5, the bottom level of which was measured at +3.42, and continued to ca. +2.20, the level of the top of a group of stones which the excavator thought might be a Neolithic wall (Wiencke 2000: 21, section 4:7). This Fill was taken off in a series of cuts (B 26–B 31) with an average thickness of 0.20 m. In addition to sherds, primarily Neolithic and a few bones, the only objects were terracotta leg(?) fragment 416 and two fragments of chipped stone. Cuts B-26–B-31, ca. +3.42–2.20 Pottery Coarse Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 47:e Later Neolithic gray burnished handle fr.; Vitelli: fig. 73:i Later Neolithic patterned (Group 2) neck fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:i FN Heavy Burnished large carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 81:e FN Heavy Burnished large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 82:e FN Heavy Burnished bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 84:c FN Heavy Burnished bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 84:e FN Heavy Burnished bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 84:h FN Coarse base; Vitelli: fig. 86:j FN Coarse base; Vitelli: fig. 86:k FN Coarse large bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 89:a FN Coarse large jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 90:a

FN Coarse large jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 90:b FN Coarse rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 95:a FN Coarse handle; Vitelli: fig. 95:b FN Coarse jar rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 95:e FN Coarse lugged rim fr.; Vitelli: fig. 95:g

Objects TC leg(?) 416; p. 257 Lithics Obs.: F 1 (L2.89), B 1 (L2.88) Bones and Shells (six small bags) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments, 39 shells): Sus: fragments Ovis/Capra 1: M2 (1/1), and fragments Bos 2: 1 Hc. fr., 1 M3→, and fragments Cardium 26, Ostrea 1, Arca 1, Murex 11

Trench E

167

Trench E In 1953 trench E, 4.00 × 2.00 m, was laid out in Square E/g to test for Neolithic strata, but no stratified Neolithic remains were uncovered. Rather, from just below the surface, measured at ca. +5.30, to ca. +1.35 where excavation was terminated in gray, muddy earth, the fill consisted of “strata of various thicknesses and colors, containing many loose stones and potsherds” (Caskey 1954: 28); layers of small stones were found at +4.20 and +2.70 (Wiencke 2000: 22, section 5, 35–36). This was the first real indication during the excavation of the presence of and the nature of the Mixed Fill, and Caskey speculated that, since it did not appear in trench F ca. 10.00 m to the south at a considerably lower level, it must have created a kind of terrace behind a retaining wall (Caskey 1954: 28). The pottery recovered was primarily Neolithic, but EH II sherds did appear throughout and have been dated by Wiencke to Lerna III A and Lerna III B (Wiencke 2000: 35–36). Cuts E 1–E 3, +5.10–4.20 Lithics Obs.: F 2 Fl./Ch.: F 1, Bd/sg 1 (L3.190), Es (L3.193)

Bones and Shells Discarded

Cuts E 4–E 6, +4.20–3.90 Lithics Obs: F 11, B 4 (L3.191), Br 1, Bs 2, SpP 2 Fl./Ch.: F 1, Fd 1 Bones and Shells (large bag) Gejvall (8 bones, 163 shells): Sus 3: 1 l. Mx. fr. (M2→), 1 l. Ma. fr. (M3 1/1), 1 Hu. fr.

Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Hc. fr., 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (l., 1/1; r., M1→) Bos 2: 1 M3→, 1 l. Ma. fr. Cardium 113, Ostrea 10, Pinna 1, Murex 38, Cerithium 1 (Human 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Zy. fr. [both ad.])

Cuts E 7–E 9, +3.90–3.20 Lithics Obs.: Sp/f 2 Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (6 bones, 36 shells):

Ovis/Capra 5: 1 Sc. fr., 1 Hu. fr., 1 Ra. fr., 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ti. fr. Bos 1: Ve. fr. Cardium 27, Ostrea 3, Murex 6 (Human Sk. frr. [ad.])

Cuts E 10–E 13, +3.20–3.05 Objects BO awl 257; p. 228 BO (An.) spoon handle(?) 297; p. 236 Lithics Obs.: BD 1, NF 1, Sp/f 1 Fl./Ch.: RB 1

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (10 bones, 31 shells): Sus 1: Sk. fr. Ovis/Capra 4: 2 Hu. frr., 1 Pe. fr., 1 Mc. fr. Bos 4: 1 M2 (1/1), 2 Pe. frr., 1 Mc. fr. Canis 1: r. pr. Hu. (UF, broken, lg.; S.) Cardium 22, Ostrea 2, Arca 1, Lucina(?) 1, Murex 5 (Human 3: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Ul. fr. 1 Mc. fr. [all ad.])

Cuts E 14, E 15, +2.10–1.35 Lithics Obs.: F 7 (L3.294), B 2, Sp/P 1 Fl./Ch.: F 1, B 1, SpP/f 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments, 13 shells): Ovis/Capra 2: 2 Ra. frr., and fragments Bos 1: Ri. fr. Cardium 13

168

mixed fill

Trench HTJ In this small trench in Squares E/f–g sunk through the floor of Room VI of the House of the Tiles, fairly uncontaminated Neolithic strata were reached at ca. +2.20(S)/1.90(N) beneath ca. 1.00 m of Mixed Fill (see above, p. 143; Wiencke 2000: 18, section 1, 30). All the Neolithic pottery was combined into a single lot in the Caskeys’ final study of the material. Vitelli had only a limited amount of rather mixed material available for examination (Vitelli 2007: 29–30, 130), which we have dated Ler MN Unphased, except for the Ler MN 1 sherds found around burial 6 (see above, p. 144). As in trench AP to the east, the top of the solid Neolithic strata in trench HTJ was reached at ca. +2.20. HTJ 24: Trench HTJ at +3.37/3.30–3.23/3.13 No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

HTJ 25: Removal of EH II Wall W-1 and Just Below No reported objects, lithics, bones, or shells

HTJ 26: Removal of Stones at +3.22/3.17–3.15/2.97 See Wiencke 2000: 30, for this lot.

Objects ST pounder/rubber 116; p. 205

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments): Sus: fragments Ovis/Capra: fragments

HTJ 27: Trench HTJ at +3.23/3.13–3.12/2.97 See Wiencke 2000: 30, for this lot.

Objects BO pin/toggle 294; p. 235 Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L6.1374)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (1 bone, 8 shells): Sus 1: r. Ma. fr. Cardium 2, Murex 6

HTJ 28: Trench HTJ at +3.12/2.97–3.03/2.89 See Wiencke 2000: 30, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: B 5 (L6.1375, L6.1378–L6.1381), NB 1 (L6.1376), P 1 (L6.1377)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 5 shells): Sus: fragments Ovis/Capra: fragments Cardium 4, Murex 1

HTJ 29: Trench HTJ at +3.03/2.89–2.79/2.72 See Wiencke 2000: 30, for this lot.

Objects (Probable EH II: TC plaque or pot finial L6.1505; EH II TC whorl, Banks 1967: 486, no. 1221 [L6.48])

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones): Sus 2: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (1 M1→) Ovis/Capra 1: Sc. fr.

HTJ 30: Trench HTJ at +2.74–2.33 See Wiencke 2000: 30, for this lot.

HTJ 31: Trench HTJ at +2.74/2/32–1.90 See Wiencke 2000: 30, for this lot.

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (2 bones): Sus 2: 1 l. Ma. fr., 1 Sc. fr.

Area JA

Pottery Later Neolithic gray burnished lug scar; Vitelli: fig. 73:f Later Neolithic patterned (Group 4) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 75:e

169

Bones and Shells (two large bags) Gejvall (15 bones, 109 shells): Sus 7: 2 Sk. frr., 2 l. Mx. frr. (1 M3→, 1 1/1), 3 l Ma. frr., (1 M2→, 2 1/1) Ovis/Capra 1: r. Mx. fr. (1/1) Bos 5: 2 Ra. frr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Mt. fr., 1 Ph. I Canis 2: 1 l. Mx. fr., 1 Ast. fr. Cardium 22, Ostrea 16, Lucina(?) 1, Arca 1, Murex 69

Objects ST grindstones, 6 frr. (NK) TC pierced disc 364; p. 246

HTJ 32: Trench HTJ South at +2.33–2.29/2.20 Bones and Shells (small bag+) Gejvall (1 bone, hundreds of shells): Sus 1: 1 Mx. fr. (w. down) Cardium 10, Lucina(?) 1, hundreds of Lunatia(?), probably Helix according to DSR

See Wiencke 2000: 30, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L6.1383)

Trench J More of the Mixed Fill was found in trench J, which joined the east end of trench E at about its midpoint and was excavated in the 1954 campaign (Caskey 1955: 46–47). The trench J material at the juncture with trench E was dug in CL J 83 from ca. +4.90 to +3.90. In the northern part of trench J a pocket of Fill was found in Squares E 14–15/g 12–13, which was excavated in lot J 98 at +4.77–4.30 (Wiencke 2000: 22, section 5, 24, section 7, 36). CL J 83: J 1 North–J 3 South at ca. +4.90–3.90 Objects ST pivot (NK) ST bead 153; p. 214

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Hu., 1 Ra. fr. Bos 1: Mc. fr. (Human: bones)

Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L4.772, L4.775) Fl./Ch.: RB 1 (Koz.: ill. 8:5)

J 98 (= J 50): J 3 South, Cut 5, Soft Area at +4.77–4.30 See Wiencke 2000: 36, for this lot.

Objects (EH II: COP knife L4.537, Banks 1967: 28–29, no. 14; TC whorl L4.310, Banks 1967: 488, no. 1236)

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (7 bones): Sus 1: l. Mx. fr. (M3→) Bos 5: 1 Sc. fr., 1 Hu. fr., 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ti. fr., 1 Cal. fr. Canis 1: Mt. IV (F, lg. individual; Gejvall: 15–16, table 14, 70, pl. I:5; S.)

Area JA A deep deposit of Mixed Fill described by Wiencke was found south of EH II socle W-73, extending above and to the south of EH II socle W-8 and resting on the undulating surface of Neolithic deposits (Wiencke 2000: 23, section 6, 36–39). The mass was found as high as +4.85 in this area, and the bottom level ranged from +3.60 at the north to +3.90 at the south. The relevant lots were J 349, CL J 440 (likely), CL J 442, and CL J 444. Also included here by the excavator was lot J 603 retrieved in the removal of EH II socles W-7 and W-8. Probably also to be included with this group were lots J 411, CL J 438, and CL J 439 not visible on Wiencke’s section 6 (Wiencke 2000: 23, section 6, 38–39). The fill that plunged down at the

170

mixed fill

south limit of the Neolithic strata in the area of Squares E 11–13/g 15–16/ was excavated in CL J 869; the levels here were +3.45(W)/3.14(E)–2.41(W)/2.34(E). J 349: Removal of Fallen Stones South of EH II Socle W-73 at +4.61/3.90–3.60 See Wiencke 2000: 36–37, for this lot.

Objects (EH II: TC whorls, Banks 1967: 487–488, nos. 1227– 1230 [L5.314–L5.317]) Lithics (H-R) Obs.: cort. 1, unutil. fls. 2., bl. 1 (L5.675), bl./bt. 1, s. e. 1, p. e. 1 Fl./Ch.: side scraper 1 (L5.676) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (7 bones, 3 shells): Sus 3: 1 l. Mx. fr., 1 r. Ma. fr. (P4→), 1 tusk fr. Ovis/Capra 3: 1 Hu. fr., 2 Mc. Bos 1: Ve. fr. Cardium 1, Ostrea 1, Murex 1 Reese (17 specifically identifiable bones, 31 fragments total: 6 cut, 4 bu.; 4 shells): Sus 6: 1 Mx. fr. (2 P, M1 roots, M2 alv., r., 2 pces.), 1 M1 (uw.), 1 ant. Ma. (dP3 w., dP4 alv., r.), 1 lo. C.

(young male, 2 pces.), 1 P (open roots), 1 M fr. (uw.) Ovis/Capra 7: 1 lo. M (bu. black, 2 pces.), 1 lo. M fr., 1 Ax. (odontoid process fr., cut down length), 1 dist. Hu. (F, cut across on angle above dist., r.), 1 Mc. (F, complete, r.), 1 pr. Mc. (bu. black, r.), 1 dist. Mc. (F) Ovis/Capra or Sus 2+: 1 Ve. (UF), 1 Ve. sp. (cut down length of sp. + 1 cut mark in m.), 3 shs. (1 young + bu. gray) Sus or Bos 1: Sk. fr. Bos 1+: Ve. ( JF, broken, cut across through up. part + cut as between Ve., very slightly bu. in cut across up. area), 1 sh. (cut down length + also across on angle, 2 pces.) Cerastoderma 1 (l.: 34.5 × 38 asym.), Ostrea 1 (53 × 48), Hexaplex 2 (1 missing dist., open mouth, L. 38; open mouth, L. 50, W. ca. 9.5)

J 411: North of Line of EH II Socle W-105, East of Wall W-50 at +3.85–3.76 Lithics Obs.: F 1, B 2 (L5.684) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones, 2 shells):

Ovis/Capra 1: Hu. fr. Canis 1: Ul. fr. Lepus 1: Ra. fr. Cardium 1, Ostrea 1

CL J 438: South of EH II Socle W-77 and North of EH II Socle W-15 at +4.77–4.34 See Wiencke 2000: 38, for this lot.

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (4 bones and fragments, 8 shells): Sus 1: Mc., and fragments

Ovis/Capra: fragments Bos 2: 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ti. fr. Lepus 1: Hu. fr. Cardium 7, Murex 1

CL J 439: Between EH II Socles W-77 and W-15 at +4.34–4.15, and South of EH II Socle W-77 at +4.30–4.27 See Wiencke 2000: 38, for this lot.

Objects ST celt 66; p. 197 Lithics (H-R) Obs.: Unutil. fls. 4, tool 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 17 shells): Ovis/Capra 2: 1 r. Ma. fr. (M2→), 1 M3 (1/1) Bos 2: 1 Pe. fr., 1 Ri. fr. Cardium 15, Murex 2

CL J 440: Stony Sediments South of EH II Wall W-73 at +4.85–4.50 See Wiencke 2000: 38–39, for this lot.

Lithics (H-R) Obs.: Bl. 1, unutil. fl. 1

Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (bone fragments, 7 shells): Ovis/Capra: fragments Cardium 2, Ostrea 1, Murex 4

Area JA

171

CL J 442: East Side into Trench J at ca. +4.87–3.90 See Wiencke 2000: 37–38, for this lot.

Pottery Black Burnished-Over Urfirnis bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:b Scratch-incised bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 72:f Later Neolithic patterned (Group 3) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 74:m Later Neolithic patterned (Group 5) ring base fr.; Vitelli: fig. 76:c Later Neolithic patterned (Group 7) jar fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:d Later Neolithic patterned (Group 6) bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:j FN Heavy Burnished small bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 79:b, c FN Heavy Burnished bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 80:c, h FN Heavy Burnished large carinated bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 81:b, d FN Heavy Burnished bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 82:c FN Heavy Burnished “rolled rim” bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 83:g–i Objects COP pin: 3; p. 182 COP pin or hair/earring 4; p. 182 ST grindstones 8 (NK) ST pivot 24; p. 186 ST celt 67; p. 197 ST celt 68; p. 197 ST celt 69; p. 197 BO awl 258; p. 228

BO awl 259; p. 228 BO tube 293; p. 235 TC polisher 355; p. 244 TC polisher (NI) TC whorl 362; p. 245 (EH II and later: BO rib awls: Banks 1967: 337, nos. 785, 786 [L5.268, L5.283]; TC whorl: Banks 1967: 486, no. 1219 [L5.312])

Lithics Obs.: C 2 (L5.938), F 25, B 28 (L5.667, L5.671, L5.671), Bd 2 (L5.670, L5.677), Bs 3, Fd 2, NB 2, (L5.669), RB 1, SpP/b 1, SpP/f 3 Fl./Ch.: Ch 1, F 2, B 1, SpP/Es 1, SpP/f (L5.678) Bones and Shells (five large bags) Gejvall (70 bones, 163 shells): Sus 24 (2 MNI): 2 Sk. frr., 2 r. Mx. frr. (1 M3 1/1, 1 1/1), 1 l. and 2 r Ma. frr. (1 ad., 2 r. 1/1), 1 M2→, 3 Sc. frr., 7 Hu. frr. (1 j.), 4 Ul. frr., 2 Fe. frr. Ovis/Capra 27 (2 MNI): 1 M3, 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (both 1/1), 1 Sc. fr., 5 Hu. frr. (1 j.), 3 Ra. frr., 13 Ti. frr., 2 Mc. frr. (1 j.) Bos 17 (2 MNI): 1 M1 (w. down), 2 r. Ma. frr. (1 M3→, 2 MNI), 1 P3, 1 M1, 1 M2, 1 M2→, 1 M3, 1 Sc. fr., 1 Hu. fr., 2 Fe. frr. (1 broken), 1 Ast., 1 Cal. fr., 1 Mc. fr., 2 Ph. I Canis 1: Mc. Sus (wild) 1: Mc. Cardium 38, Ostrea 32, Arca 11, Pinna 2, Docinia 1, Murex 79

CL J 444: Trial Trench 8 at East Edge from Socle J J to EH II Socle W-105 and Stones to West at +4.20–3.86/3.84 See Wiencke 2000: 38, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: Bd 1 (L5.679) Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (12 bones, 3 shells):

Sus 6: 2 l. Ma. frr. (M1→, M2→?), 2 Hu. frr., 2 Mc. (ad.) Ovis/Capra 4: 1 l. Ma. fr. (1/1), 1 Hu. fr., 2 Fe. frr. Bos 2: 1 Ma. fr., 1 Ul. fr. Cardium 1, Murex 2

J 603: Removal of EH II Socles W-7 and W-8 at +4.60/4.24–3.58 See Wiencke 2000: 45, 47, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: F 1, Sp 1, P 1, SpP/b 1 Fl./Ch.: F 3 (L6.904), Bl/Sg 1 (L6.903)

CL J 869. West from Trench J (South of Line of Socle J J ) into Area JA South of Socle W-13 at +3.45(W)/3.14(E)–2.41(W)/2.34(E) See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Objects ST grindstone fr. (NK)

172

mixed fill

Mixed Fill in Area JB Farther west in Area JB the Mixed Fill was found directly above the Neolithic stratum within the angle formed by EH II socles W-12 and W-18 from +4.73 to +4.44 in CL J 840 (Wiencke 2000: 25, section 8:4, 39). Probably to be included with this material was that recovered in lot J 558 from the removal of EH II socles W-12, W-13, W-17, and W-18 (Wiencke 2000: 45–46). From the southern limit of the excavated area, roughly in Squares E 1–5/g 12–15, the Fill was excavated in lot CL J 871 from +3.20 to +2.45 (Wiencke 2000: 73–74). J 558: Removal of EH II Socles W-12, W-13, W-17, W-18 See Wiencke 2000: 46–47, for this lot.

Lithics Obs.: B 2 (L6.866, L6.867)

CL J 840: East Side, Mixed Fill to Neolithic Sediments at +4.73–4.31/4.29 See Wiencke 2000: 39, for this lot.

Pottery FN Heavy Burnished bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 80:d Lithics Obs.: F 2, B 3 (L6.680, L6.682), Bs 1, Es 1 (L6.681) Fl./Ch.: Bs/Sg 1 (L6.683)

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 5 shells): Sus 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Sc. fr. Ovis/Capra 2: 1 l. and 1 r. Ma. frr. (1 M2→, 1 1/1) Ostrea 3, Arca 1, Murex 1

CL J 871: South along Line of Wall W-37 at +3.20–2.45 See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Pottery Later Neolithic patterned (Group 4) bowl frr.; Vitelli: fig. 75:a, b Objects (Bronze Age: BO notched scapula, Banks 1967: 443–444, no. 1144 [L6.1521])

Lithics Obs.: F 4, B 1, Bb/N 1, NB 1, NF 1, SpP/f 1 Bones and Shells (small bag) Gejvall (3 bones and fragments, 4 shells): Sus 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 C. (erupting) Ovis/Capra 1+: 1 l. Ma. fr. (1/1), and fragments Arca 1, Pinna 1, Murex 2

Mixed Fill across Areas JA and JB In the excavator’s study, the pottery material from the lower portions of the deep Mixed Fill south of solid Neolithic strata in Areas JA and JB were written up together in lots CL J 846 and CL J 870. As in lot CL J 871, the excavation was carried down to ca. +2.45. The fused fill mentioned in connection with CL J 846 should not be confused with the Mixed Fill under discussion. This calcined mass lay above and so postdates EH II wall W-78, a possible Lerna III C retaining wall, and cannot be dated precisely (Wiencke 2000: 25, section 8:8, 120–121). Also included here is J 562 from a separate lot excavated across the center of the conjoined areas. J 562: Small Stone Fill under Red Soil at South in JA West and JB East at +3.65– 3.20/3.49 Pottery FN Heavy Burnished large carinated bowl fr.; Vitelli: fig. 81:f FN Heavy Burnished trumpet/tunnel lug fr.; Vitelli: fig. 82:d

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (5 bones, 5 shells): Ovis/Capra 4: 1 Sc. fr., 2 Hu. frr., 1 Mc. fr. Bos 1: Ri. fr. Ostrea 3, Murex 2

Trench JC

173

CL J 846: North of EH II Fused Fill at +3.96–3.43/3.28 Pottery Later Neolithic patterned (Group 6) pedestal joint fr.; Vitelli: fig. 77:k Lithics Obs.: F 9, B 4, P 1 (L6.893) Fl./Ch.: F 1

Bones and Shells (medium bag) Gejvall (4 bones, 12 shells): Sus 2: 1 Sk. fr., 1 Mc. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 2: 1 Hc. fr., 1 Hu. fr. Cardium 6, Ostrea 4, Arca 2

CL J 870): Generally South of Line of Wall W-37 and Socle J J at ca. +3.62–2.48 Bones and Shells (one small and one medium bag) Gejvall (15 bones, 3 shells): Sus 1: Hu. fr. (j.) Ovis/Capra 9: 2 Mx. frr. (1 l. and 1 r. M3→), 2 r. Ma. frr. (1 M2→, 1 M2 1/1), 1 Sc. fr., 2 Ra. frr. (ad.), 1 Ti. fr. (j.), 1 Mc. fr. Bos 5: 2 Hc. frr., 2 Hu. frr., 1 Mc. fr. (j.) Cardium 2, Ostrea 1

See Wiencke 2000: 73–74, for this lot.

Objects COP pin 5; p. 182 COP pin/needle(?) 6; p. 182 COP awl 7; p. 182 COP hair ring 8; p. 182 ST celt 70; p. 197 ST pounder/rubber 117; p. 205 Lithics Obs.: F 3, B 6 (L6.892, L6.896, L6.958, L6.970), Bd 1 (L6.968), NB 1 (L6.967), RB 2 (L6.969), SpP/b 1 Fl./Ch.: SpP 1

Trench JC In 1958 a small trench, JC, was dug in Squares E–F/g–h as a final test of Neolithic strata (see above, p. 152). With a width of 1.50 m, the trench extended NNE–SSW for ca. 11.00 m (Plan 2). Only the southern end of the trench yielded any of the Mixed Fill, in a small deposit measured from +4.37(N)/4.10(S) to +3.47(N)/3.53(S) (Wiencke 2000: 36). JC 3: South Section at +4.37(N)/4.10(S)–4.30(N)/3.82(C)/3.64(S) Lithics Obs.: B 1 (L8.34)

JC 17: South Section at +3.64–3.47(S)/3.43(N) Bones and Shells (small bag) Ca. 25, all discarded.

6

 The BURIALS

L

erna offers little to significantly enhance our knowledge of burial practices in open settlements of the Neolithic period in the Peloponnese. Since so little of the settlement was exposed and no cemetery proper detected, it is not surprising that so few burials were found, only nine (or 11) burials in all, seven (or nine) of probable MN date and two dated to the Final Neolithic by their distinctive ceramic offerings (Table 2; Vitelli 2007: 131–132). The skeletal material retrieved from these burials was taken to the museum at Old Corinth, where it was studied by Angel, who published it with the large collection of MH skeletal material from the excavation (Angel 1971). All these bones have been transferred to the Lerna workroom of the Argos Museum. With only the area of the settlement mound explored, we can be certain only that burial within or on its periphery was practiced. On the basis of the evidence, burial, especially of the fetus or the very young, within the settlement outside of buildings appears to have been a normal practice at Lerna, and this accords with Bacarov’s study of Neolithic burials in Bulgaria, Southeast Europe, and West and Central Anatolia, which has demonstrated that a separation of the ritual and domestic spheres developed only gradually in the areas surveyed, with only rare cremation cemeteries indicating a need for a separate mortuary space (Bacarov 2003). All the Lerna burials, whether MN or FN, were primary inhumations. There was no evidence cremation. The possibility of secondary burials is indicated by the presence of human bones that were recognized among the animal bones by Gejvall and Reese and are, in the preceding chapters, recorded after the listings of the animal bones and shells with which they were found. The bones of these “casual burials,” as they have been called by Cavanagh and Mee (1998: 6–7), were found in 29 lots throughout the Neolithic settlement, from early to late in no special contexts. The fragments noted by Gejvall (25 lots), as Reese points out, were never studied and have been lost (see below, p. 299). Reese found among the retained material a few human bones that had not been noted by Gejvall and showed them to Sevi Triantaphyllou, who at the time was studying the Lerna Middle Helladic human skeletal material (pers. comm.). These fragments are stored in Argos. Given the selective identification of the animal bones practiced by Gejvall and the discard of many of the lots of animal bones that might have included human skeletal material, it would be imprudent to posit as fact that the Neolithic Lernaeans engaged in secondary manipulation of skeletons, which has been said to imply “that the passage of the deceased from the community of the living to that of the dead or ancestors involved rites of passage separated by a transitional period of a few years during which the body decayed” (Triantaphyllou 2008: 148). Like Cavanaugh and Mee, however, we consider the evidence available too slight to prove that these scattered fragments document a lack of concern for the remains of the

28

28

29

29

74

101–102

144

147

153–154

1b (222a Ler)

2 (224 Ler)

3a (220 Ler)

3b (221 Ler)

4 (223 Ler)

5 (237 Ler)

6 (225 Ler)

7 (240 Ler)

8 (242 Ler)

MN

FN

FN

MN

MN?

Pit

Exterior +3.96 (head)

Exterior +3.60

Pit

Ring of Exterior +4.38 stones

Pit

Pit

Urn

Pit

Pit

Pit

Pit

Pit

Type

Exterior +2.03

Exterior +1.63

Exterior

Exterior +2.20

MN

MN

Exterior +2.30

Exterior +2.28

Exterior +2.28

Exterior +2.20

Location*

MN

MN

MN

MN

Date

Fair, Sk. fr.

?/5

F./25

F./26

Poor, Sk. fr., lower legs NP

Good

F.?/newborn

F.?/4

?/late fetus

M./33

F.?/10

F.?/newborn

Good

Fair

Fr.

Fr.

Good

Poor, skull NP

F.?/fetus 6–7 mos.

F./25–35

Poor, H. NP, legs NP Fr.

Sex/Age

Preservation**

* Exterior = not in a building or associated with a floor. ** Preservation of the skeletons is graded as Good, Fair, Poor, Fr.(agmentary); H. = head.

154

28

1a (222 Ler)

9 (no Ler no. assigned)

Text

Burial

Right side

Right side

NE–SW, H./NE E–W, H./E

Left side

Left side

NE–SW, H./SW E–W, H./E

E–W, H./E on stone “pillow”

–

Put in urn L.1053 feet first

Small cup L.1384 near head None

Partially contracted: right arm straight along body, left arm folded across waist; legs bent up toward torso

None

None (bone scraper/ polisher 265 under bones)

None

None

None

None

Offerings

Contracted: hands before face; legs strongly at hips, loosely at knees

–

–

Strongly contracted: arms bent at elbows; legs bent to chest

–

–

Contracted: arms bent at elbow

Posture

Cup L.1610 at knees; sherd L.1696 not surely related Cup L.1612 at shoulder

Contracted: right arm bent at right angle with hand on elbow of left straight arm; legs strongly flexed with heels to buttocks Contracted: arms bent to head with hands under head; legs bent 25° at hips, strongly at knees

Upper body ca. supine to right, Pots L.1394 and right arm flexed with hand to L.1445 near head, left shoulder, left arm folded Composite L.465 at feet(?) across waist; thighs flexed toward right to waist

–

Left side

ESE–WNW, H./WNW –

–

–

–

Left side

NW–SE, H./SE –

Position

Orientation

Table 2. Burial Features

The BURIALS

177

settlement’s dead (Cavanagh and Mee 1998: 6). A variety of explanations for this kind of “bone scatter,” in addition to secondary burial, has been offered by Jacobsen and Cullen (1981: 88–89). Vitelli suggests (pers. comm.) that at Lerna it might have been the result of the redisposition of sediments, a phenomenon she credits with some of the sherd mixing that she found in her study of the Lerna pottery. Certainly the Lerna “scatter” is too scant and poorly defined to attempt an analysis such as that suggested by Cullen (1999). In most cases only one or two bone fragments were identified, rarely with discrimination of sex or age noted; sometimes merely the presence of “human bones” was noted. Very rarely were several fragments found in related contexts, which would have suggested that they might have belonged to a single individual (e.g., Lerna MN 2b in Pit BD: lots CL BD 605, BD 606, CL BD 608). Most of the MN burials and the two FN interments found at Lerna were of single individuals. Two MN burials might have included two individuals, but the proximity of the skeletons could well have been mere chance. Near the skeleton of the mature female of burial 1a were the scattered bones of a 6–7 month fetus (burial 1b), and it is reasonable to think of a mother who died in childbirth and was buried with her premature daughter, but we cannot document that scenario in the absence of DNA testing. Similarly we have no way of knowing if the 10-year-old female(?) of burial 3a was the daughter or other relative of the 33-year-old male of burial 3b, bones of whom were found scattered near those of the better-preserved skeleton. The majority of the burials appear to have been simple pit burials; FN burial 8 is an exception in that the skeleton was found within a ring of stones. In most instances the burials came to the attention of the excavators when the bones themselves were encountered in the course of excavation. In no case was a pit detected well above a skeleton. For burial 6, the excavator showed in a field drawing an elliptical ring around the skeleton and reported a difference in the color/quality of the soil immediately around the body and that beyond it, but no supporting documentation was provided (see above, p. 144). We assume that the common practice was to dig a hole, perhaps only to a shallow depth, lay in the body, and then throw earth over it to keep it from the elements and scavenging animals. If a mound of earth marked the spot of the grave, no evidence was found by the excavators. A similar process was probably followed in the case of MN burial 4, where the bones of a fetus were placed in L.1053, a Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl that, in turn, probably was placed in a pit. With FN burial 8 the process apparently was somewhat different. Here the skeleton was ringed with a circle of stones, which suggests that the body was laid out at ground level and then a mound of earth heaped up over it within the stone circle. With regard to sex, females were more numerous than males, and, in age, children and fetuses far outnumbered mature adults. A similar dominance of the young was reported for EN Franchthi ( Jacobsen and Cullen 1981: 85). The Lerna MN skeletons represented six females and one male, where sex was reasonably well determinable according to the criteria applied at the time of Angel’s examination. Two, a female (burial 1a) and the male (burial 3b), were mature adults with ages ranging from 25 to 35. The remaining MN females were children who survived to ages 4 (burial 5) and 10 (burial 3a), a fetus (burial 1b), and babies who died shortly after birth (burials 2 and 6). Two MN burials for which the sex of the deceased was not determinable contained a late-term fetus (burial 4) and a child of five (burial 9). The FN burials were of mature women 25–26 years of age (burials 7 and 8). The predominance of the fetal and the young in this prehistoric population of the dead is not surprising and corresponds with mortality statistics from other prehistoric sites and modern developing countries (Ingvarsson-Sundström 2003: esp. 110–114). In his examination of the Neolithic and Middle Helladic skeletons at Lerna, Angel found that approximately one-fifth of the population exhibited the lesions of porotic hyperostosis,

178

The BURIALS

an indicator of a genetic form of anemia, b-thalassemia. He suggested falciparum malaria as the prime causal factor for the condition, given the proximity to the site of swamps that are known as fertile breeding grounds for the Anopheles mosquito (Angel 1971: 77–84). That this deleterious environment would negatively affect the health of mothers and their offspring is frequently cited by others, (e.g., Arnott 2005: 16–19). Subsequent studies, such as that of Papathanasiou (2005) on the Alepotrypa Neolithic population, suggest that there the hyperostosic-generated anemia was not the genetic variety, but should be attributed to irondeficient anemia caused by the shift to agriculture and an iron-poor diet that emphasized terrestrial resources. As is pointed out in other recent studies, however, for marshy sites such as Nea Nikomedeia and Lake Perachora that have high incidences of porotic hyperostosis, malaria is its likeliest cause, and the evidence for iron-deficient anemia is as yet inconclusive (Stavropodi et al. 2009; Arnott and Morgan-Foster 2010). Where the body of a burial was well preserved and its position documentable, it was seen to have been placed more often on the left side than on the right; only in the case of FN burial 7 was the torso close to supine, the legs turned to the right; a flat stone beneath the skull might have been meant as a “pillow”; a similar disposition, complete with “pillow,” was found in grave 39 at Kephala (Coleman 1977: 48, 94, pls. 21:39, 65:g). In all these burials the body was contracted to a greater or lesser degree, with both legs and arms bent; only in burial 6 was one arm found stretched straight along the body. In burial 8 the left arm was found stretched straight from the shoulder to the knees, but was perhaps displaced from an original flexed position. Arms sometimes were tightly flexed so that the hands were close to the face or even below the head. There was no uniformity in orientation. In three graves the bodies were oriented east– west with the head to the east (MN burials 6 and 9 and FN burial 7). The bodies in MN burial 5 and FN burial 8 were oriented northeast–southwest, with the head in the former at the northeast, in the latter, at the southwest. The skeleton of burial 1a was positioned northwest–southeast, the head (not preserved) to the southeast. The girl(?) in MN burial 3a was oriented ESE–WNW with the head at the WNW. Offerings were rare in the MN burials. In burial 5 the four year-old female was found with Ungritted-ware small cup L.1384 near the skull. The five-year-old in burial 9 was buried with Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1612 at one shoulder. Not strictly an offering, the Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1053 used as a burial urn for the fetus of burial 4 can be considered the equivalent of a separate gift symbolic of the special attention accorded in the other burial by a pot. An occasional bone tool or bit of chipped stone found in the earth cleared from a burial probably should not be considered a deliberate offering. More significant were the distinctive FN ceramics placed with the women in burials 7 and 8. In burial 8 crusted-ware spouted cup L.1610 was found at the knees of the skeleton; orange crusted-ware sherd L.1696 found next to the skull may or may not have been associated with the burial, and positing sentimental motives for its possible deposition seems to go beyond the evidence available (contra Vitelli 2007: 133–134). Three FN vessels appear to have been offered with the woman of burial 7. Two were found just east of the skull, Heavy Burnished small bowl L.1445 and crusted bowl L.1394. Crusted bowl L.465 lay near the presumed position of the feet. The paucity of the mortuary evidence leaves little latitude for any wide-ranging discussion of societal norms, hierarchy, symbolism, or ritual at Neolithic Lerna. The kind of analysis presented by Fowler, which is based on relatively limited data from all over Greece, we find unpersuasive and would note that the Lerna data, presented twice there, once in the chapter on the Late Neolithic and again in the chapter on the Final Neolithic, actually refer primarily to Middle Neolithic burials (Fowler 2004: 66, 98, 101–108).

The BURIALS

179

Certainly in MN Lerna the predominance of the young is indicative of the difficulty of survival, even to term, for a fetus. That attention was given to their burial, as we can see from the careful disposition of the better-preserved skeletons and, in two cases (burials 5, 9), the inclusion of an offering, suggests that a life had some value for the settlers, however short or incomplete it might have been. With only two MN graves with offerings preserved it is fruitless to speculate about intrasite hierarchy, and to suggest that the individuals in the Lerna burials might have been of marginalized status goes well beyond the evidence available from this site (contra Vitelli 2007: 132). Both FN burials, 7 and 8, were of adult females, and both were datable to the period by their pots, which Vitelli would place in the middle of that period (Vitelli 2007: 125–126). We are dealing here with customs of burial substantially different from those of the Middle Neolithic period at Lerna. Certainly the Lerna FN burials are comparable, in the dedication of offerings, to FN graves at Kephala (Coleman 1977: 51) and the one recorded at Aria, which, like burial 8 at Lerna, was surrounded by a ring of stones (Alram-Stern 1996: 237; Dousougli 1998: 132–133). Coleman observed that women at Kephala might have been the recipients of grave offerings more often than were men (Coleman 1977: 51), and it may not be chance that the two Lerna FN burials and their offerings were those of women. Apart from burial 4, where the late-term fetus was placed in late-MN Patterned Urfirnis carinated bowl L.1053, the dating of most of the MN burials with any great precision is impossible, since we have no clear idea of the ground level from which the bodies were interred. Nor can the pots found in burials 5 and 9 be located with chronological precision. From burial 5, Ungritted-ware small cup L.1384 is probably early MN according to Vitelli (2007: 25); Monochrome Urfirnis cup L.1612 from burial 9 she would simply class as MN (Vitelli 2007: 72).

7

 the minor objects

T

he small body of objects presented here represents a typical assortment of the kinds of tools, prestige objects, and objects of symbolic significance that have come to be associated with Neolithic sites in Greece and the Near East. Stone, bone, and terracotta are the primary materials employed by the Neolithic Lernaeans for these mostly utilitarian objects. Among the tools, which predominate, in stone, the grindstones, the celts, and pounder/rubbers are the most common; in bone, the awls and scraper/polishers; and, in terracotta, sling bullets and what we call “polishers,” though their specific use is unknown. Among the prestige objects are two stone ear studs, fragments of two marble bowls, and beads and amulets. Presumably carrying symbolic import are triply perforated terracotta triangular plaques and terracotta figurines. The objects are catalogued by material, type (in most cases), date, and finally by each area of the site in which Neolithic levels were exposed. All measurements and dimensions are in meters.

COPPER The copper objects reported here cannot be used to document the early use of the metal at Lerna and enrich the corpus of Neolithic copper objects presented in Zachos 2007. Apart from two from very late and contaminated Neolithic lots, one Ler MN 6+ and one Ler MN Unphased, all come from the mixed Neolithic–EH II context of the Mixed Fill. The pieces are not illustrated, and they will be noted again in the publication of the Lerna II–III objects in a later volume in the Lerna series. Pin, awl, and circlet are the primary classes of objects reported and are of forms compatible with a Lerna III date. Three pieces (3, 4, 7) were sampled by N. H. Gale (NHG) in 1982, and analysis of the samples taken was done at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology in Oxford (Kayafa, Stos-Gale, and Gale 2000: 41, 44, tables 2.1, 2.4). All three were found to be copper, and 3 and 7 showed a lead isotope composition consistent with a Cycladic provenience.

Pin The pins are slender tapering shafts of copper wire of approximately circular section, with a slight taper to the plain head end (a), or flattened slightly at the head end and perforated with a small hole (b). Too fine to have served anything but a decorative purpose, these pins were probably hair ornaments.

182

the minor objects

Awl/Punch Shafts, shorter and more substantial than those of the pins, were approximately quadrangular to circular in section, tapering to a circular section at the pointed end, and at the proximal end hammered from opposite faces to facilitate purchase in a haft. These tools were probably used for light piercing and/or boring operations.

Circlet Probably to be interpreted as a hair ring was a small circlet of sturdy wire with tapered, slightly overlapping ends. Ler MN 6 (with FN and EH II) 1  (L7.153, HTN 120) Text 149 Distal end only preserved; slight greenish patination. Max. p.L. 0.0252; max. p.W. 0.0015; Th. 0.0014. Awl/punch. 10R 3/2 (dusky red). Quadrangular section throughout, hammered from opposite faces, preserved end round-blunted (from use?). Banks 1967: 41, no. 36; Wiencke 2000: 73–74.

Ler MN Unphased 2  (L6.283, CL J 847) Text 160 Intact, tip of point blunted from use; medial and distal corrosion. L. 0.064; max. Diam. 0.0015. Awl/punch. 2.5YR 4/4 (reddish brown) to 2.5YR N3/ (very dark gray). Shaft of irregularly circular section tapered more to distal than to proximal end; latter cut off straight at slight angle with longitudinal, former tapered primarily by hammering from opposite sides of shaft.

Mixed Fill 3  (L5.838, CL J 442) Text 171 Both ends missing; corrosion at one end. Max. p.L. ca. 0.106; max. p.Diam. 0.0014. Sampled by NHG July 15, 1982. Pin a. 5R 3/2 (dusky red). Shaft, now curving, tapered to one end. Banks 1967: 41, no. 32; Wiencke 2000: 37–38. 4  (L5.839, CL J 442) Text 171 Intact, but bent into loop; slight patination. Max. p.L. 0.0428 (after sample taken from “proximal” end); max. W. 0.025; Diam. of wire 0.0015. Sampled by NHG July 15, 1982. Pin a. 5R 3/2 (dark reddish brown). Shaft of circular section bent into irregular loop. One end cut off straight and perpendicular, the other sliced off obliquely to spatulate end. Banks 1967: 41, no. 33; Wiencke 2000: 37–38.

5  (L6.291, CL J 870) Text 173 End of head broken off across perforation, split at point; slight patination. Max. p.L. ca. 0.11; p.W. head end 0.002; Th. head end 0.0011; p.Diam. perforation ca. 0.001. Pin b. Ca. 5YR 3/2 (dusky red). Now bent into sickle shape. Point with slender elliptical contour formed by slicing off end of shaft obliquely. Banks 1967: 59, no. 72; Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 6  (L6.296, CL J 870) Text 173 Both ends missing; heavy patination. Max. p.L. ca. 0.033; Diam. shaft 0.002; p.W. across head(?) end 0.0045. Pin b(?). 10R 4/3 (weak red) with patination 5GY 4/1 (dark greenish gray). One end split, remnant of eye(?); possible variant of type with separate strand of wire used to form large eye, ends of which hammered into shaft. Found with two nonjoining bits of wire (NK). Banks 1967: 76, no. 109; Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 7  (L6.310, CL J 870) Text 173 Tip missing; corroded at head end. Max. p.L. 0.0415 (0.0385 m after sample taken from “distal” end); W. median ca. 0.0015 × Th. 0.0015; max. W. head end 0.002 × Th. 0.0015. Sampled by NHG July 15, 1982. Awl/punch. Ca. 10R 3/4 (dusky red). Slight flattening of shaft from opposite sides at head end to rectangular section. Banks 1967: 41, no. 34; Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 8  (L6.719, CL J 870) Text 173 Intact; slight purplish patination. Max. Diam. of circlet 0.0375; max. Diam. of wire 0.0035. Circlet. Ca. 5R 3/2 (dark reddish brown). Wire of elliptical section. One end finished with slightly flattened elliptical tip, the other split for length of ca. 0.013; ends overlap for ca. 0.01. Banks 1967: 65–66, no. 87; Wiencke 2000: 73–74.

STONE

183

STONE Grindstone Small stone grinding slabs of abrasive rock, primarily sandstone, were found throughout the Neolithic settlement at Lerna. Only 14 were well enough preserved to merit inventory, and of these 11 were virtually intact, three were substantial fragments. Scores of small fragments, however, were recovered in the course of the excavation, often from stone socles into which they were incorporated along with unworked field stones. All these uninventoried fragmentary stones were discarded at the site, but their quantity is an indication of both their utility and their fragility in regular use (see Wright 1996: 54, on sandstone erosion). Stroulia has noted the frequency of grindstone fragments at Franchthi and suggests the possibility of deliberate breakage (Stroulia 2010: 51–53). Most of the inventoried slabs found at Lerna were returned to the site from the Argos Museum, where they had been stored with the other Lerna finds, and were put into the shelter over the House of the Tiles. Unfortunately, through the years the numbers painted in red on the slabs have faded and the identification of individual pieces is now almost impossible; illustration here is therefore limited (Fig. 46). The definitive study of the Lerna slabs was done by Runnels as part of his Ph.D. dissertation for Indiana University (Runnels 1981: esp. 40–41, 101–105, 131, 136, table 4, 138–140, 146–154, tables 5–8, 218–224, 288, table 19, 304, table 33, 328–330, figs. 12–14, 344, fig. 28, 349–350, figs. 33, 34, 352, fig. 36, 354, fig. 38, 365, pl. 4). What follows is largely drawn from that work—cited simply as Runnels in the entries below, with some additional observations from the original inventory descriptions recorded by the Lerna staff, and with commentary on context. The recent study by Stroulia of the Franchthi grindstones, which she classifies as Popen (passive open tools), provides valuable complementary information on this class of object (Stroulia 2010: 30–59). The Lerna Neolithic stones are probably all made from local rocks, sandstones and conglomerates, as identified by Runnels (1981: 354, fig. 38); they were not available for Pawlikowski’s examination. In shape they are either elliptical (9) or ovate (5) in plan, most

18 Figure 46. Stone grindstone(?) and handstone(?) (18, 19). Scale 1:3

19

184

the minor objects

with a hemispherical transverse section (see Runnels 1981: 328–330, figs. 12–14, 349–350, figs. 33, 34, 352, fig. 36). Like Neolithic grindstones generally (Runnels 1981: 131, 147, table 5, 153–154, table 8, 344, fig. 28), the Lerna slabs are small compared with those of Bronze Age date, with lengths ranging from ca. 0.20 to 0.30 and an average width:length ratio of 0.50; only two ratios differ notably from this average, 0.675 and 0.74. The length:width range is broader, the majority varying from ca. 1.7 to 2.1, with two at 1.35 and 1.48 and two at 2.33 and 2.56. In weight most of the stones ranged between 1,800 g and 2,500 g. Runnels suggested that the stones were made on waterworn boulders by flaking and pecking (Runnels 1981: 138–140). Prehistoric grindstones were used reciprocally as stationary slabs with active handstones, and the two components are not always distinguishable from one another. Runnels identified most of the inventoried Neolithic stones from Lerna as most likely stationary slabs; only 10, 15, 17, and 19 he suggested were probable handstones (Runnels 1981: 288, table 19). Many small stones in the pounder/rubber inventory could have served as suitable handstones and created the medial, as opposed to lateral, wear on the ventral surfaces of the stones that appears to be more common on Neolithic grinding slabs than on those of Bronze Age date (Runnels 1981: 147; and see below, p. 201). The context of several of the Lerna Neolithic stones clearly indicates ordinary domestic use. Most specific is the findspot of 10 in room W-5a. Here in a corner of the room were a probable grinding platform, the likely handstone 10, a shallow red-clay pit lined with the bottom of a large pot, and two more vessels, one large and one small. The area was surely a site of food preparation ( J 742; see above, p. 43). Other rooms provided examples of the pairing of grindstones and pounder/rubbers. Grindstone 11 was found in room W-8a with two sandstone spheres (76, 77) that were probably used with the slab as handstones (CL J 865; see above, p. 43). From room W-17d, a possible storeroom, came grindstone 14 and cylindroid pounder/rubber 92 (CL J 860; see above, p. 64). Conoid pounder/rubber 83 was found in the area of Building W-60 with grindstone 12 (BD 606; see above, p. 64). Outdoor activity areas provided the same association of grindstones and pounder/rubbers. Fragments of grindstones were found in the probable work area west of Building W-5 with conoid pounder/rubbers 78–80 (CL J 882; see above, p. 44). Grindstone 16 was found with handstone 17, along with grindstone fragments and conoid pounder/rubber 95, in the probable work area north of socle W-64 (BD 601; see above, p. 111). Two grindstones were found in areas likely devoted to outdoor cooking: 9 was part of the lining of HP-8 (CL J 886; see above, p. 31), and 22 was found with the ash pits (CL BD 577; see above, p. 122). Other isolated grindstones were found in two rooms from which no pounder/rubbers or other evidence of food preparation was recovered. Discovered in room W-17a, a later version of room W-5a, was 13 (CL J 857; see above, p. 64). In addition, four stones (18–21) were found on and around socle W-80 in Ler MN 3–4 lots CL BE 575 and CL BE 579 (see above, pp. 137. 138). Of these, 18 and 19 were recognized in the field by the excavator to be a “fit” of handstone and stationary slab, an observation seconded by Runnels (1981: 288, table 19). Nothing in the evidence available documents the specific materials ground on the slabs. No sieving was done for botanical remains, and no stains on the slabs hint at the materials pulverized. Runnels lists cereals in small quantities, pulses, nuts, and fruits as the foods possibly ground on the slabs, but also notes that they might also have served for grinding stone and shell for ornaments, pigments or dyes, and salt, and Perlès and Stroulia expand this list (Runnels 1981: 153–154; Perlès 2001: 243; Stroulia 2010: 50–51). That footed stone mortars also were in use for grinding at Lerna is possible, if 118 is, in fact, the leg of a mortar reused as a pounder.

STONE

185

Ler MN 1

Ler MN 3b.1 and 3b.2

9  (LS.64, CL J 886) Text 31 Intact. L. 0.198; max. W. 0.147; max. Th. 0.039. L.:W. ratio 1.35; W.:L. ratio 0.74. Wt. 1,777 g. Grindstone(?). Conglomerate, local(?). Ovate with subrectangular transverse section. Edges round-beveled toward grinding surface, which is very shallowly concave longitudinally, convex laterally. Evidence of pecking/ flaking(?) in manufacture. Light–medium wear on ventral surface with transverse striations; no polish noted. Very low, almost flat biconvex dorsal surface unevenly divided longitudinally by broad groove V-shaped in section; smaller end divided again by shallower groove; light grinding after shaping by rough pecking. Found in lining of HP-8, along with grindstone fragment (NK). Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33, 365, pl. 4.

13  (LS.60, CL J 857) Text 64 Chipped along concave edge. L. 0.23; W. 0.118; max. Th. 0.048. L.:W. ratio 1.95; W.:L. ratio 0.51. Wt. 1,895 g. Grindstone(?). Conglomerate/sandstone, local(?). Elliptical with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive ventral wear with distinct transverse striations on well smoothed central section toward smaller end; polish. Possibly resharpened. Dorsal surface pecked with two roughpecked depressions close to concave edge, possibly fingerholds. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33.

Ler MN 2 10  (LS.63, J 742) Text 43 Intact. L. 0.28; W. 0.153; max. Th. 0.066. L.:W. ratio 1.83; W.:L. ratio 0.546. Wt. 3,860 g. Handstone(?). Sandstone, local(?). Elliptical with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive ventral wear with broad smooth band with transverse striations extending from center toward one end; polish. Irregularly convex dorsal surface with transverse hump beveled to one end, rounded down to other. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33, 365, pl. 4. 11  (LS.59, CL J 865) Text 43 Ca. one-third of one long edge chipped off at broader end; heavy red and yellow ochrous incrustation on back. Max. p.L. 0.245; max. p.W. 0.133; max. p.Th. 0.051. L.:W. ratio 1.84; W.:L. ratio 0.54. Wt. 2,490 g. Grindstone(?). Sandstone, local(?). Elliptical with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive ventral wear with shallowly concave central surface smooth with somewhat rougher border that fades toward smaller end; transverse striations, polish. Dorsal surface irregularly biconvex with rather uneven surface except for more smoothly surfaced depression near smaller end. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33. 12  (LS.86, BD 606) Text 106 Chipped along convex edge of grinding surface. L. 0.261; max. p.W. 0.112; max. Th. 0.038. L.:W. ratio 2.33; W.:L. ratio 0.43. Wt. 1,430 g. Grindstone(?). Conglomerate/sandstone, local(?). Elliptical with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive wear on ventral surface with transverse striations and pitting concentrated in central section and some roughening at larger end; evidence of polish at smaller end. Dorsal surface smoothed over pecking. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33, 365, pl. 4.

14  (LS.61, CL J 860) Text 64 Chipped on edges of grinding surface. L. 0.237; W. 0.160; Th. 0.053. L.:W. ratio 1.48; W.:L. ratio 0.675. Wt. 2,705 g. Grindstone. Sandstone, local(?). Ovate with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive ventral wear with secondary concavity of ca. elliptical contour at narrower end that fades out toward broader end; surface smoothest with polish and longitudinal striations in concavity and extending toward ends. Very lumpy and irregular dorsal surface with slight, if any, grinding on high spots; beveled off at larger end. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33. 15  (LS.62, CL J 864) Text 65 Chipped on convex edge. L. 0.274; W. 0.132; Th. 0.036. L.:W. ratio 2.08; W.:L. ratio 0.48. Wt. 1,957 g. Handstone(?). Conglomerate, local(?). Elliptical with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive ventral wear with prominent transverse striations over entire surface, fading just at ends, smaller of which very smooth, larger somewhat roughened, except for some smoother patches; polish. Low biconvex dorsal surface unevenly ground. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33, 365, pl. 4.

Ler MN 3–4 16  (LS.83, BD 601) Text 111 Larger end chipped away. Max. p.L. 0.226; max. p.W. 0.117; max. p.Th. 0.043. L.:W. ratio 1.93; W.:L. ratio 0.52. Wt. 1,602 g. Grindstone(?). Conglomerate/sandstone, local(?). Elliptical with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive wear on ventral surface, which is smoother in middle with polish in elongated area in center, and smaller end slightly smoother than larger and with broad roughened band on convex section of long side; some longitudinal striations. Dorsal surface regularly biconvex and evenly ground over pecked surface. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33. 17  (LS.87, BD 601) Text 111 Surface at larger end battered from grinding.

186

the minor objects

Max. p.L. 0.258; max. p.W. 0.136; max. Th. 0.04. L.:W. ratio 1.90; W.:L. ratio 0.53. Wt. 2,347 g. Handstone(?). Conglomerate, local(?). Elliptical with hemispherical transverse section. Moderate wear on ventral surface with diagonal transverse striations; no polish evident. Back very low biconvex, roughpicked with light grinding; shallow depression in center. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33.

Max. p.L. 0.234; max. p.W. 0.131; max. p.Th. 0.045. Wt. 1,907 g. Grindstone. Conglomerate/sandstone, local. Elliptical(?) with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive wear on ventral surface with longitudinal striations terminating just before preserved end with fairly heavy pitting; polish. Low biconvex dorsal surface fairly evenly pecked. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33.

18  (LS.91, CL BE 575) Text 137; Fig. 46 Chipped along convex edge and larger end; dorsal surface incrusted. L. 0.294; max. W. 0.115; max. Th. 0.047. L.:W. ratio 2.56; W.:L. ratio 0.39. Wt. 2,100 g. Grindstone(?). Schist, local(?). Elliptical with transverse section triangular medially, rounded rectangular at ends. Extensive wear to concavity on ventral surface, which is very smooth with sporadic pitting; polish. Dorsal surface shallowly concave longitudinally. Probably used with 19. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33.

21  (LS.96, CL BE 579) Text 138 Ca. two-thirds(?) preserved. Max. p.L. 0.189; max. p.W. 0.146; max. p.Th. 0.044. Wt. 1,705 g. Grindstone. Sandstone, local(?). Ovate to rectangular with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive wear on ventral surface, which is well smoothed but heavily pitted with transverse striations and some roughening at preserved end; no evident polish. Dorsal surface asymmetrically biconvex, with slight grinding over heavy pecking. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33.

19  (LS.92, CL BE 579) Text 138; Fig. 46 Intact, with chipping on ends. L. 0.204; max. W. 0.12; Th. 0.033. L.:W. ratio 1.7; W.:L. ratio 0.59. Wt. 1,340 g. Handstone(?). Sandstone, local(?). Ovate with hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Moderate wear on ventral surface with prominent transverse striations over all; no evident polish. Dorsal surface unevenly convex; pecked with slight smoothing, shallow depressions on convex edge near larger end, possibly fingerholds. Probably used with 18. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33, 365, pl. 4.

Ler MN 6 22  (LS.88, CL BD 577) Text 122 Ca. one-half preserved; heavy incrustation on dorsal surface. Max. p.L. 0.164; max. p.W. 0.136; max. p.Th. 0.038. Wt. 1,120 g. Grindstone/handstone(?). Sandstone, local(?). Ovate with shallow hemispherical transverse section. Evidence of pecking in manufacture. Extensive wear on ventral surface with transverse striations concentrated in central section but extending to both edges. Dorsal surface almost flat. Runnels: 288, 304, tables 19, 33.

20  (LS.95, CL BE 579) Text 138 Ca. two-thirds preserved.

Pivot Stone? A fragmentary slab of limestone pierced by a conical hole and a roughly circular rock with central boring may have been pivot stones. The hole in the slab, however, shows no boring striations and may have been a natural formation that could have seen ad hoc use. No illustrations are available. Ler MN 3 23  (LS.58, J 680) Text 49 Ca. one-third preserved. Max. p.L. 0.294; max. p.W. 0.193; max. p.Th. 0.04; hole top p.Diam. 0.120; hole bottom p.Diam. 0.063. Limestone, local. Flat slab of irregularly polygonal plan as preserved. Conical hole with shallowly concave sides through stone, no boring striations.

Mixed Fill 24  (LS.53, CL J 442) Text 171 Ca. one-half preserved.

Max. p.Diam. 0.18; max. p.H. 0.97; hole Diam. 0.102; hole D. 0.085–0.10. Rough conglomerate(?), local(?). Roughly chipped squat hemispherical rock with flattened bottom, convex edge around top of hole where horizontal striations visible. Interior of hole shows two stages of possible use, as if a pole began to wear in one spot and then slipped slightly to side, where wear continued. Wiencke 2000: 37–38.

STONE

187

Celt Since the days of Tsountas’s pioneering work at Sesklo and Dimini, the celt has been considered a primary stone artifact of the Neolithic period (Tsountas 1908) and has been a ubiquitous find in Neolithic settlements throughout Greece. Tsountas established a basic typology for the stones found at Sesklo and Dimini, which was given wide circulation in English in a slightly modified form by Wace and Thompson in their 1912 publication Prehistoric Thessaly (Tsountas 1908: 307–319; Wace and Thompson 1912: 23–24). In recent years, studies of a more technical nature have given new life to the study of the celts. Most useful for our purposes are the two studies by Stroulia of the celts of neighboring Franchthi, with which the 45 catalogued celts from Lerna share many properties; those studies should be consulted for a full discussion of materials and techniques of celt production in the Neolithic Argolid (Stroulia 2003; 2010, where celts are called Acut [active cutting edge tools], 61–79). The nonfunction-specific term “celt” is employed in the catalogue for tools that often have been distinguished in earlier publications as axes and adzes on the basis of such criteria as symmetry and asymmetry of longitudinal and transverse sections. Since microwear studies, beginning essentially with Semenov (Semenov 1973: 126–127; see also Stroulia 2003: 19, n. 53), however, have demonstrated that differences in shape do not always correlate with differences in function, it has seemed best to avoid a terminology based on function in the description of the Lerna material, which has not been subjected to microscopic examination (for a critique of the inconclusiveness of more recent microwear studies, see Perlès 2001: 235). We identify five major groups of celts in the Lernaean corpus: triangular, rectangular, reworked, trapezoidal, and deltoid (Fig. 47).

37 (rectangular)

26 (triangular)

29 (trapezoidal)

31 (reworked)

32 (rectangular worked pebble)

35 (trapezoidal)

36 (deltoid)

Figure 47. Examples of major stone celt types (26, 29, 31, 32, 35–37). Scale: 1:2

188

the minor objects

43

44

46

Figure 48. Incised lines on triangular stone celt sides (43, 44, 46). Scale 1:2

In the descriptions of types and of the individual celts, the term “face” always refers to one of the two broader surfaces that converge to produce the cutting edge; “side” always designates one of the two, usually not clearly articulated, surfaces between the faces and perpendicular to the bit. “Shoulder” refers to the juncture of side and butt, “corner” the juncture of side and bit. Occasionally the butt and bit are designated as, respectively, the proximal and distal ends of a tool. Serpentinite (and occasionally variants such as serpentinized diabase and microgabbro) was the favored material for most of the celts at Lerna in the Neolithic period; only three small celts were fashioned in nephrite(?). Although no systematic survey for local sources of the rocks has been conducted, the geological environment of the Argolid is compatible with a local origin in the form of pebbles and cobbles, as Stroulia has suggested for the Franchthi celts (Stroulia 2003: 8–9; 2010: 66–67). The streams and beaches near Lerna were the likely sources of the raw materials, which were probably chosen carefully so that a minimum of working would bring a cobble most easily to the desired form. Small Lerna celt 32 is an example of a pebble that was worked only slightly and retains the “look” of the pebble matrix on which it was made. The same technology of production that Stroulia has outlined for the Franchthi celts is valid for those from Lerna: pecking and grinding for the larger, primarily grinding for the smaller, with the final polish on both achieved by grinding with a soft abrasive or rubbing with a piece of hide (Stroulia 2003: 9–12; 2010: 68–69). In some cases the pecking marks are visible “under” an incompletely ground or worn surface (e.g., 63). Often parts of the surface of the larger tools were left with the pecked surfaces unpolished, particularly on sides and proximal ends, presumably to save labor and time in the production process and to facilitate hafting. Replication studies have shown that it takes as little as three and as many as 25 hours to produce a celt (O’Hare 1990: 130). Incised lines of two types are visible on the sides of a few of the celts and were probably made in the comparatively soft stones by an obsidian or chert tool (Fig. 48). On one celt (43) a clearly articulated curving incision defines the longitudinal contour of the bit end and presumably was made to aid the craftsman in achieving the desired shape. In the second class, short horizontal incisions of more or less emphatic articulation are found on the sides of the tools; sometimes only one, occasionally as many as four to a single side, have been noted, and, when multiple, they frequently appear in groups (e.g., 43). The lines are most commonly found just above the bit edge of the celt, only rarely beyond mid-length from the bit. Since these incisions frequently are associated with areas of the surface left unpolished or roughened in association with the haft, they may have served in some way to guide or otherwise facilitate hafting. Incised guidelines clearly connected with the production process have been observed on Minoan stone vases (Evely 1980: 129–130).

STONE

189

No celt of any period was found at Lerna still fixed in a haft or in close association with any object that might reasonably be interpreted as a sleeve or haft. We should probably assume that wood was the primary material employed for handles to or in which the celts were fastened, as is suggested for the Franchthi celts (Stroulia 2010: 69). Hafting in an antler sleeve is also possible, but unlikely, since little antler was found in Neolithic contexts at Lerna (see below, p. 235), and exploitation of antler for hafting sleeves is an innovation of the later Neolithic in Thessaly (Moundrea-Agrafioti 1987: esp. 254). Various ad hoc abrasions on the larger celts should probably be associated with hafting. On many of the smaller celts, where no evidence of abrasion against a haft is visible, we assume that the tool was held in the hand, possibly with a piece of hide to facilitate purchase.

Triangular The largest group (22) of Lerna celts would fall in Tsountas’s type Alpha (Tsountas 1908: 307– 309), essentially triangular celts of elliptical to depressed circular transverse section, generally symmetrical longitudinal section, with convex to round pointed butts, convex (occasionally straight) sides, and a convex bit edge that may be symmetrical or slightly asymmetrical and sometimes flattened by use. Most (16) were large by comparison with the majority of the Franchthi celts. Thirteen ranged in length from ca. 0.08 to 0.095, two measured 0.071, another 0.107. Their length:width ratios were ca. 1.70–2.0, with three of 2.5, whereas the range of width:thickness ratios was narrower, ca. 1.20–1.60; these statistics include those of two celts reused as pounders that preserve the general proportions of the celts from which they were made (50, 94). Six of the triangular celts were smaller, five with lengths of 0.048–0.0617, one of 0.0676. The length:width ratios of these werer narrow, ca. 1.50, except for one of 1.71; their width:thickness ratios ranged from ca. 1.30 to 1.60, with one of 1.83. The surfaces of some of the triangular celts, especially the smaller ones, were polished all over, but common was a polish that covered the full width of the faces at the bit end and diminished in a triangular pattern toward the butt, with much of the surfaces of the sides and the butt left pecked. As noted above, this pattern should probably be connected with facilitation of production and of hafting. The larger triangular celts exhibited heavy wear and often evidence of reworking. The wear on the bit edges varies from chipping to evidence of heavy battering; sometimes the removals are invasive, and the celts often display heavier wear on one face than the other. Occasionally the wear traces included striations parallel to or perpendicular to the bit edge. On the smaller triangular celts the wear on the bit edge varied from fine to heavy chipping, mostly direct, with little invasive damage to the surfaces of the faces.

Rectangular Not well represented by well-preserved examples (four of seven?) is a rectangular celt with straight sides and elliptical to depressed circular transverse section; the butt may be straight or fully rounded and the longitudinal section symmetrical or slightly asymmetrical. The length of those reasonably well preserved ranges from 0.066 to 0.089 with a length:width ratio of ca. 1.5–2.0, and a width:thickness ratio of 1.17–1.41 with one of 1.70. An exception is the atypical slightly modified pebble 32, with a plano-convex transverse section, a length:width ratio of 2.57, and a width:thickness ratio of 1.31. Fragments suggest the existence of a large version with a length well over 0.09. For whatever reason, possibly very heavy indirect percussion while in the haft or secondary use as a pounder/rubber, these celts display heavily battered butts, damaged in some cases to the point that only the bit end is preserved. The damage to the bit edges of the rectangular celts exhibits no consistent pattern. The wear varies from the blunting of the bit edge with associated fine chipping, to fine chipping along the entire edge, to heavy chipping concentrated in the center of the edge, more invasive from one face than the other.

190

the minor objects

Reworked Documentation of the economy practiced by the Neolithic Lernaeans in the use of their materials is represented by eight celts reworked from larger ones, the original form of which is often difficult to determine. In length they range from 0.05 to 0.06, only one reaching 0.065; the average width is 0.045, the thickness, 0.028. Most (six) are fairly thick squat tools with straight to slightly convex sides, a broadly rounded butt (low conical, or flat-faceted), and a straight to asymmetrically convex bit edge. Transverse sections vary considerably, from elliptical to rounded quadrangular, and the longitudinal sections may be asymmetrical, normally with some shallow waisting at or below mid-length. The ad hoc nature of the production of the celts is reflected in length:width ratios that range from 1.24 to 1.95 and width:thickness ratios from 1.18 to 1.68. Polish is concentrated on the faces of the bit and the edges of the butt; the other surfaces are uneven, erratically reground, and polished. Two celts preserved only the reworked bit ends but were, however, apparently used in this truncated form. The bit edges of this class exhibit evidence of heavy use. The edges are sometimes blunt battered, usually with associated chipping. Sometimes the edge is heavily battered for its full width. Often these celts have an asymmetrical longitudinal section and the bit wear is heavier on one side than the other.

Trapezoidal and Deltoid Finally, there is a group of seven small celts, trapezoidal (six) and deltoid (one), with lengths of 0.032–0.042, except for trapezoidal 35, which is 0.0573 long; these equate generally with Tsountas’s type Delta (Tsountas 1908: 312–314). Larger 35 has a length:width ratio of 1.11, the others, ±1.0; the width:thickness ratio of 35 is 3.22, while that of the smaller pieces varies widely: three are between 2.34 and 2.88, one is 3.56, and one is 4.39. Though no two of these celts are identical, they share generally well-polished surfaces, a fairly thin elliptical transverse section, and a longitudinal section that is sometimes asymmetrical and has a distinct bevel to sharpen the convex bit. Sides are generally straight, but the butt varies from straight to convex, with that of deltoid 36 a facet-blunted bit. The bit-edge wear on these celts is generally confined to fine nicking and chipping, but occasionally heavy-wear chipping is seen. The wear tends to be heavier on one face than the other. In contrast with the small size of the bulk of the Franchthi celts, most of those from Lerna, apart from the comparatively few small trapezoidals, are of substantial size and were probably designed for heavy work such as tree-felling and clearing brush. Probably differences in the environment at the two sites account for the discrepancy. Though we have no pollen data to establish the nature of the flora found by the first settlers at Lerna, it seems likely that the area was forested with trees on the neighboring slopes and had a ground cover of maquis that had to be cleared so that life could begin and continue on an agricultural and pastoral basis. For this work the celt would have been an important tool. In the more arid southern Argolid the land was more open and could be prepared for farming by burning and other means not requiring celts (Stroulia 2003: 25; 2010: 77). The large Lerna celts exhibit evidence of this heavier use in the form of damaged bit edges and butts, resharpening of bit ends, and even the total reworking of the tools, as noted above. So all the celts found in the hoard in room W-17b (Fig. 49; see above, pp. 51–52) had seen considerable use and some exhibited evidence of reworking. The smaller celts no doubt served a variety of functions associated with the working of wood, bone, and even skins (Perlès 2001: 235–236; see also Stroulia 2003: 21–23; 2010: 74–77, where possible symbolic/ritual functions are suggested).

STONE

38

43

39 (rectangular)

44

45

191

40

46

41

42

47

48 (reworked)

Figure 49. Stone celt hoard of room W-17b (38–48). Triangular unless otherwise noted. Scale 1:2

With so little of the Neolithic settlement excavated, few chronological conclusions can be drawn about the diachronic distribution of the types, especially given the skewing of the numbers by the occurrence of the 11 celts of the hoard of Ler MN 3. The larger triangular, small trapezoidal, and reworked celts occur early in Ler EN/MN and Ler MN 1. In Ler MN 2 the atypical pebble celt 32 and the larger trapezoidal celt 35 are added to the mix. In addition to the mostly large triangular celts of the hoard of Ler MN 3 (only one is of the reworked class), the rectangular celt is well established as a current type by three examples, and the one small deltoid celt occurs here. From Ler MN 3–4 through Ler MN 6, only triangular and reworked tools were found, and no trapezoidals, large or small. In the Mixed Fill four of the six celts found were rectangular, along with one small triangular and one trapezoidal; the rectangular celt appears to have been favored in the later stages of the Neolithic and/or EH II represented in the Fill, which yielded some LN and FN material. The most significant context for the Lerna celts is that of the hoard, 38–48 (Fig. 49), found in room W-17b, which we have suggested might be a community resource to be shared with other villagers as needed (CL J 861; see above, p. 64). Stone pounder/rubber 93 was found among the celts of the hoard, and this association of celt and pounder/rubber occurs in most of the specific locations (floors or work areas) in which celts were found. So celt 35 came from room W-12a, where food preparation took place ( J 700; see above, p. 49) and with the celt were pounder/rubbers 86 and 87 and terracotta polisher 339, all probably constituting part of the normal equipment of the household. With celts 31 and

192

the minor objects

32 in the likely work area between Buildings W-5 and W-8 were pounder/rubber 81, two uninventoried stone “bolas” (missiles), objects of bone, and specialized lithics (CL J 883; see above, p. 44). From just above another probable work area rich in objects (BD 598; see above, p. 111) came 50, a celt worked down into a pounder/rubber, and pounder/rubber 94, along with a bone awl. Suggestive of a storage function for the red-clay-lined pits was the association of celt 51 and stone pendant 143 in SP-12 (BE 521; see above, p. 136). The majority of the celts were from general fill with no specific contextual associations. Ler EN–MN 25  (L6.1581, CL J 890) Text 17 Found intact, but surface deeply cracked and flaking. L. ca. 0.071; W. ca. 0.049; Th. ca. 0.0365; W. bit ca. 0.028 × Th. 0.035; Th. butt ca. 0.024. L.:W. ratio 1.45; W.:Th. ratio 1.34. Wt. ca. 130 g. Triangular. Probably serpentinite; burned and crumbling surface now ca. 2.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). 26  (L6.234, CL J 892) Text 18; Fig. 47; Pl. 1 Intact. L. 0.0905; max. W. (at bit) 0.0496; max. Th. 0.037; W. bit edge ca. 0.044; Diam. butt ca. 0.015. L.:W. ratio 1.82; W.:Th. ratio 1.34. Wt. 265 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (grayish green) darkened to 5G 3/1 (dark grayish green). Three, possibly four, horizontal incisions on one side: the most clearly defined, sharp in center, fading toward ends, ca. 0.01 long and ca. 0.027 from bit; second, ca. midlength, very faint, but traceable for ca. 0.019; third, ca. 0.011 long, ca. 0.015 from butt; possible fourth on unpolished surface between second and third; trace of another on opposite side just below mid-point. Bit blunted by chipping with some larger removals along most of edge, slightly heavier from one face than the other. Polish preserved primarily on faces of bit to ca. one-third of length on one face with discontinuous line along center to butt, on other diminishing to point just below center of butt. 27  (L7.40, CL BD 615) Text 100; Pl. 1 Bit and butt heavily chipped. Max p.L. 0.032; max. p.W. bit 0.034; max. Th. 0.0135; W. butt ca. 0.015. L.:W. ratio 0.94; W.:Th. ratio 2.52. Wt. 20 g. Trapezoidal. Serpentinite; 5G 5/2 (grayish green), with inclusions to 5GY 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Heavy use removed ca. half of bit edge, with battering somewhat heavier on one face than other; large chip off bit on opposite face at one end. Batter wear of butt extending around shoulders to almost mid-length, but not onto faces.

Ler MN 1 28  (L6.233, CL J 886) Text 31; Pl. 1 Intact. L. 0.0933; max. W. 0.042; max. Th. 0.036; W. bit 0.028; W. butt 0.014; Th. butt 0.013. L.:W. ratio 2.22; W.:Th. ratio 1.17. Wt. 200 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 5/2–4/2 (grayish green). Very shallow, discontinuous constriction ca. one-third of

length from bit, large longitudinal depression battered on one face of butt. Both fine and heavier wear chipping of bit, more intense at ends than center with some fairly large removals with length to 0.004 on one side. Polish preserved on faces for ca. 0.016 from bit edge on one, ca. 0.022 on the other where traces of original polish evident all the way to butt. 29 (L6.241, CL J 886) Text 31; Fig. 47; Pl. 1 Chipped along one side edge and butt. L. 0.032; max. W. (at bit) 0.0343; max. Th. 0.0078; p.W. butt 0.015; Th. butt 0.005. L.:W. ratio 0.93; W.:Th. ratio 4.39. Wt. 11 g. Trapezoidal. Nephrite(?); 5Y 6/2 (light olive gray) to 5Y 3/1 (very dark gray). Slight wear nicking of bit, large removal from corner on fuller face probably to be associated with batter wear of edge of this side on flatter face that continues around butt, which is considerably darkened and battered on corners. Striations, probably from fabrication, but heavier than what is usually seen, extending ca. 0.008 parallel to bit edge on fuller face and on other face at slight diagonal with bit edge on bevel and beyond for ca. 0.007. 30  (L7.516, CL A 464) Text 96; Pl. 1 Bit only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.021; max. p.W. 0.039; max. p.Th. 0.0234; p.W. bit 0.0315. Wt. 25 g. Reworked. Serpentinite, close to nephrite(?); 5G 6/2– 5/2 (pale green to grayish green) with two large inclusions 7.5YR 5/4 (brown). Bit roughly reground primarily from one face after heavy batter wear, with regrinding striations oblique to longitudinal axis clearly visible.

Ler MN 2 31  (L6.238, CL J 883) Text 44; Fig. 47; Pl. 2 Intact in final form. L. 0.05; max. W. 0.033; max. Th. 0.028; W. bit 0.026. L.:W. ratio 1.52; W.:Th. ratio 1.18. Wt. 80 g. Reworked. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (grayish green). Butt surface divided into two poorly articulated facets by low arris at right angle to bit edge, shallow waisting of sides and faces just below butt. Asymmetrically convex bit edge battered blunt with associated chipping at ends. Polish only on bit faces for ca. one-third of length. 32  (L6.809, CL J 883) Text 44; Fig. 47; Pl. 2 Intact. L. 0.0515; max. W. 0.0214; max. Th. 0.0163; W. bit ca. 0.015; W. butt ca. 0.013; Th. butt 0.012. L.:W. ratio 2.42; W.:Th. ratio 1.31. Wt. 40 g.

STONE

Atypical rectangular. Serpentinite; 5Y 6/3 (pale olive) to 5Y 4/3 (olive) with discoloration to 10YR 3/2 (very dark grayish brown). Slightly modified pebble with hump-backed longitudinal section with shallow bevel ca. 0.01 wide from flat side to bit edge. On irregularly flattened face two shallow depressions separated by thick oblique arris; on convex face toward butt end one irregularly gouged depression, two more regular depressions, one ca. circular, and other more rectangular. Bit wear chipped along entire edge, more heavily on beveled face, which displays associated chipping. Wear of surface concentrated on butt and on convex side and adjacent section of convex face. Discoloration covers slightly less than one-half of tool longitudinally along flat face and adjacent sections of sides. 33  (L7.320, CL BE 580) Text 134; Pl. 2 Heavily battered butt. Max. p.L. 0.03; max. W. bit 0.032; max. Th. 0.009; W. butt 0.02; max. Th. butt 0.006. L.:W. ratio 0.94; W.:Th. ratio 3.56. Wt. 15 g. Trapezoidal. Serpentinite; 5BG 5/1–4/1 (greenish gray–dark greenish gray) with inclusions (speckling) 5GY 6/1 (greenish gray). Bit edge finely wear chipped, somewhat more heavily toward sides; batter wear of butt heavier on face of bevel. 34  (L7.336, CL BE 580) Text 134; Pl. 2 Intact. L. 0.048; max. W. 0.033; max. Th. 0.018; W. bit 0.03; W. butt 0.0165; Th. butt 0.009. L.:W. ratio 1.45; W.:Th. ratio 1.83. Wt. 45 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; mottled 5G 6/1 (greenish gray), 5B 4/1 (dark bluish gray) to N4/ (dark gray). Fine, discontinuous chipping wear on bit, heavier in center, somewhat more invasive from one face than other. Original all-over polish preserved on most of both faces and one side, with wear in bit half on other side center and around butt.

Ler MN 3 35  (L6.239, J 700) Text 49; Fig. 47; Pl. 3 Intact. L. 0.0573; max. W. 0.0515; max. Th. 0.016; W. bit 0.05; W. butt 0.028; Th. butt 0.015. L.:W. ratio 1.11; W.:Th. ratio 3.22. Wt. 90 g. Trapezoidal. Serpentinite; 5BG 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Bit edge finely wear chipped uniformly along entire length. Battered depression along top of butt, just below which ca. center of one face a rough shallow depression; polish worn on and around butt and on sides for ca. three-fourths of length, with wear expanding onto fuller face diagonally toward center from ca. midlength from bit. 36  (L6.242, J 657) Text 62; Fig. 47; Pl. 3 Bit heavily battered. L. 0.034; max. W. bit 0.0322; max. Th. 0.014; W. butt 0.0075; Th. butt 0.0065. L.:W. ratio 1.06; W.:Th. ratio 2.3. Wt. 20 g. Deltoid. Nephrite(?); ca. 5G 5/2 to 5Y 2.5/1 (grayish green to black). Most of bit removed by heavy wear,

193

more from one face than other, with small segments of original edge preserved at ends. 37  (L6.237, J 681) Text 63; Fig. 47; Pl. 3 Intact as reworked. Max. p.L. 0.091; max. p.W. 0.061; max. p.Th. 0.036; W. bit ca. 0.053. L.:W. ratio 1.49; W.:Th. ratio 1.70. Wt. 310 g. Rectangular. Serpentinite; 5GY 5/1 (greenish gray) with inclusions to 5GY 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Butt broken off with concomitant removal of ca. one-half of what was fuller face in two steps and surface of break irregularly ground down; ca. 0.015 toward bit diagonal gash with concomitant crack; opposite face worn from ca. mid-length with wear continuing toward butt and bit on one side, possibly from secondary hafting. Bit edge chipped throughout length with sporadic larger removals, slightly more intensively from fuller face. 38  (L6.221, CL J 861) Text 64; Fig. 49; Pl. 3 Intact. L. 0.0935; max. W. 0.0562; max. Th. 0.035; W. butt ca. 0.0175; Th. butt ca. 0.015; W. bit ca. 0.04. L.:W. ratio 1.66; W.:Th. ratio 1.6. Wt. 272 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 6/1 (light greenish gray) to 5G 4/1 (dark greenish gray). On one side two groups of very faint horizontal incisions: three ca. 0.015 from bit edge, two 0.01 higher; traces of single oblique incision ca. 0.02 from butt fading off into polished faces. Bit chipped along whole length, heaviest in central section and at well-rounded corners and more from one side than other, with fractures extending in from edge as far as 0.004. Batter wear on butt, irregular battered concavity on one face just at butt. Polish on both faces almost full length to butt, on sides for ca. one-third of length from bit. Dark stain line across faces and onto one side ca. two-fifths of length from butt edge, probably to be associated with limit of sleeve/haft. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 39  (L6.222, CL J 861) Text 64; Fig. 49; Pl. 3 Badly battered butt. Max. p.L. 0.089; max. W. 0.0445; max. Th. 0.038; W. bit 0.039. W.:L. ratio 2.0; W.:Th. ratio 1.17. Wt. 248 g. Rectangular. Serpentinite; 5G 5/2 (grayish green) with inclusions to 5G 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Shallowly convex bit edge heavily wear chipped, especially in central section and more intensely from one side than other. Butt battered all around with ca. one-fifth of length onto one face shallow battered depression just off median. Polish full for ca. one-fourth of length on one face, two-fifths on other, with slight chipping of polished surfaces of sides at limits of polish on faces; polish on one side for most of length from bit, on other for ca. two-fifths of length. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 40  (L6.223, CL J 861) Text 64; Fig. 49; Pl. 4 Intact as reworked. Max. p.L. 0.0898; max. W. 0.049; max. Th. 0.033; W. bit ca. 0.037; W. butt 0.017. L.:W. ratio 1.83; W.:Th. ratio 1.48. Wt. 215 g.

194

the minor objects

Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 5/2 (grayish green) with inclusions 5G 4/1 (dark grayish green). Distinctly asymmetrical bit with well-rounded corners. One face repecked, but not repolished, with two shallow concavities divided by low arris bisecting surface transversely. Heavy batter wear of bit edge, more intensive from one face than other and removing large fragments from surface, with associated wear striations perpendicular or slightly oblique to edge. Butt battered fairly directly. On face with primary surface preserved polish badly worn from butt to just below mid-length, a position also marked by lower limit of grinding of other face, and shallow transverse concavity on one side that probably should be considered limit of haft, at least in secondary stage of use. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 41  (L6.224, CL J 861) Text 64; Fig. 49; Pl. 4 Most of one face and ca. one-fourth of other split off up from bit edge. Max. p.L. 0.091; max. p.W. 0.039; max. p.Th. 0.029; max. p.W. bit 0.04; W. butt 0.014. L.:W. ratio 2.33; W.:Th. ratio 1.34. Wt. 160 g. Triangular. Serpentinite, near serpentinized diabase; 5G 4/1 (dark greenish gray) to 5BG 6/1 (greenish gray) at worn areas. Bit on better preserved face roughly and incompletely ground off diagonally to jagged bit edge with fine striations parallel to edge. Some regrinding of opposite face with rough, irregular surface at bit. Wear concentrated on sides, ca. mid-length on one, closer to bit on other, with slight associated wear on faces; butt battered obliquely to concavity on better preserved face. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 42  (L6.225, CL J 861) Text 64; Fig. 49; Pl. 4 All of bit edge and significant portions of adjacent faces battered off; butt battered. Max. p.L. 0.0868; max. p.W. 0.0439; max. p.Th. 0.03; p.W. bit end 0.0435; p.W. butt 0.016. L.:W. ratio 1.98; W.:Th. ratio 1.46. Wt. 162 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5GY 5/1 (greenish gray). One face of bit resharpened by removal of three long parallel flake scars (max. L. ca. 0.034); on other face surface removed for ca. half of preserved length at rough diagonal to irregularly flaked bit edge. Fairly large flakes (max. ca. 0.016) battered off both faces of butt. Remaining original surfaces ground smooth. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 43  (L6.226, CL J 861) Text 64; Figs. 48, 49; Pl. 4 Intact. L. 0.0835; max. W. 0.042; max. Th. 0.0315; W. bit ca. 0.032. L.:W. ratio 1.99; W.:Th. ratio 1.33. Wt. 165 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 4/1–4/2 (grayish green to dark grayish green). Poorly articulated beveling of faces to strongly asymmetrical bit edge, with beveling more emphatic on one side than the other. On one side three short horizontal incisions: highest ca. 0.0095 long ca. 0.035 from butt, two grouped together ca. 0.025 from bit and 0.0135–0.008 in length; on other side single curving incised line runs from bit for ca. 0.02, de-

fining curve of face. Alternating chipping of bit edge, heavier on opposite halves and with shallow removals to 0.005 long concentrated on one face. Polished on faces for most of length to bit, sides only slightly polished at bit. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 44  (L6.227, CL J 861) Text 64; Figs. 48, 49; Pl. 5 Intact. L. 0.071; max. W. 0.039; max. Th. 0.0285; W. bit 0.033; Diam. butt facet 0.012. L.:W. ratio 1.82; W.:Th. ratio 1.37. Wt. 120 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Flat faceted butt ground off at slight diagonal to longitudinal axis. On one side close to bit three horizontal incisions: central ca. 0.006 long and fairly deep, flanked by faint scratches. Entire bit edge blunted by heavy chipping, more intense on one face than other with removals to 0.004. Polish on ca. one-half of faces from bit, sporadically to butt. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 45  (L6.228, CL J 861) Text 64; Fig. 49; Pl. 5 Battering on one face of butt. L. 0.079; max. W. 0.042; max. Th. 0.0315; W. bit 0.0385. L.:W. ratio 1.88; W.:Th. ratio 1.33. Wt. 149 g. Triangular. Diabase/serpentinized diabase; 5G 2/1 (very dark grayish green). Bit edge finely chipped, mostly directly and with a few larger removals in center and toward one end; other end somewhat blunted, more from one side than other. On flatter face and adjacent portions of sides a broad band of wear ca. 0.025 wide beginning ca. one-third from butt end, less intense on one side than other. Opposite face polished over most of surface with shallow battered depression near butt. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 46  (L6.229, CL J 861) Text 64; Figs. 48, 49; Pl. 5 Intact. L. 0.0783; max. W. 0.045; max. Th. 0.029; W. bit edge 0.044; W. butt 0.013. L.:W. ratio 1.74; W.:Th. ratio 1.55. Wt. 142 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5BG 4/1 (dark greenish gray) with inclusions to 5BG N4/ (black). Short, prominent horizontal incision ca. 0.015 long on one side close to bit edge, faint traces of others on both sides; on one face ca. one-third of length from bit shallow battered depression. Fairly uniform chipping wear along strongly convex bit edge, slightly more from one face than other. Polish worn on butt and on articulations of sides and faces to ca. mid-length. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 47  (L6.230, CL J 861) Text 64; Fig. 49; Pl. 5 Intact. L. 0.0676; max. W. 0.0443; max. Th. 0.029; W. bit 0.04; W. butt ca. 0.0244; Th. butt ca. 0.018. L.:W. ratio 1.53; W.:Th. ratio 1.53. Wt. 120 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5B 6/1 (bluish gray) to 5BG 4/1 (dark blue gray). Fine but heavy batter wear on bit fairly direct and uniform, decreasing slightly

STONE

toward corners, one of which is angular, other more rounded. Polish on most of one side, just at bit on other, diminishing in triangular pattern toward butt on faces, covering ca. two-thirds of surface on one face with trace at butt, three-fourths on other. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 48  (L6.231, CL J 861) Text 64; Fig. 49; Pl. 5 Heavily used and reworked with most of original bit edge and one face battered away; secondary bit edge step-fractured. Max. p.L. 0.0571; max. p.W. 0.046; max. p.Th. ca. 0.028; p.W. bit ca. 0.043; W. butt ca. 0.03. L.:W. ratio 1.24; W.:Th. ratio 1.64. Wt. 120 g. Reworked. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (grayish green) to 5GY 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Butt reground to asymmetrically biconvex surface with grinding continuing directly onto sides; battered face incompletely reground to shallowly concave surface beveled to thick undulating bit edge. Polish on original face to ca. mid-length from bit, intermittently to butt. Asymmetrical waisting concentrated on edges of one face slightly closer to butt than bit. Caskey 1957a: 157, pl. 49:b, e. 49  (L7.329, CL A 465) Text 97; Pl. 5 Intact in final form with butt reworked. Max. p.L. 0.058; max. W. 0.034; max. Th. 0.026; W. bit 0.029. L.:W. ratio 1.71; W.:Th. ratio 1.31. Wt. 89 g. Rectangular. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (grayish green), with inclusions and surface darkening to 5Y 3/1 (very dark gray). Waisting on one side only ca. mid-length. Surface of bit on one face undulating, with one longitudinal resharpening scar incompletely reground. Two stages of reworking, the first resulting in shallowly conical end that was battered off obliquely and incompletely reground to irregular, shallowly concave surface. Polish on one face in band down center for ca. full length, on other for ca. one-third of length from bit; remainder, including sides, worn.

Ler MN 3–4 50  (L7.41, BD 598) Text 111; Pl. 6 Intact in secondary use as grinder. L. 0.088; max. W. 0.043; max. Th. 0.031; W. bit end as reworked 0.0435; W. ca. mid-length 0.033; Th. ca. mid-length 0.03. L.:W. ratio 2.05; W.:Th. ratio 1.39. Wt. 125 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Original contour and surfaces almost completely gone as result of secondary use as grinder, but on one face at bit traces of single longitudinal resharpening removal, such as those on 42. Sides ground to shallowly concave surfaces to facilitate purchase, faces irregularly faceted. Bit end beveled with flat to shallowly convex facets on either side of transverse arris in plane of original surfaces; butt faceted on either side of medial arris, which is at right angle to that of bit. Large sharp-edged removals from butt suggest use as pounder. 51  (L7.349, BE 521) Text 136; Pl. 6 Bit end only preserved; reworked for secondary use.

195

Max. p.L. 0.046; max. p.W. 0.047; max. p.Th. 0.028; p.W. bit ca. 0.041. L.:W. ratio 0.98; W.:Th. ratio 1.68. Wt. 90 g. Reworked. Serpentinite; 5B 3/1 (very dark bluish gray). Broken edges of butt reground and irregular concavity battered diagonally across secondary butt surface. Bit heavily chipped at ends, blunted in central section with some associated chipping; sides of preserved butt reground to facilitate purchase in haft or hand. Other surfaces polished. 52  (L7.321, CL BE 579) Text 138; Pl. 6 Intact. L. 0.059; max. W. 0.044; max. Th. 0.0315; W. bit 0.035; W. butt ca. 0.03; Th. butt 0.0225. L.:W. ratio 1.34; W.:Th. ratio 1.40. Wt. 120 g. Reworked. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (grayish green) with inclusions to 5GY 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Butt irregularly ground, faceted to faces from poorly articulated transverse arris with additional amorphous faceting around edges of faces and sides, possibly from use as grinder. Shallow waisting on one side just below mid-length, continuing across flatter face and fading at other side; fuller face irregularly flattened ca. midlength. Bit edge chipped along full length, more heavily from fuller face. Polish on faces of bit and one side for ca. one-third of length. 53  (L7.322, CL BE 579) Text 138; Pl. 6 Intact as reworked. L. 0.065; max. W. 0.041; max. Th. 0.0291; W. bit 0.0405; W. butt 0.0255; Th. butt 0.0215. L.:W. ratio 1.59; W.:Th. ratio 1.41. Wt. 110 g. Reworked. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (grayish green). Reworked by grinding of butt into low conical surface and by waisting from one side by rough flaking with associate concavity on one face and from other by pecking associated with deep longitudinal gouge. Original polish on one face for ca. three-fourths of length from bit diminishing toward butt in triangular pattern, on other from ca. mid-length in similar pattern. Bit chipped mostly on more strongly convex two-thirds and primarily from one face.

Ler MN 4 54  (L6.236, J 625) Text 68; Pl. 7 Butt battered off; intact in final form. Max. p.L. 0.0535; max. W. 0.0374; max. Th. 0.0275; W. bit 0.034. L.:W. ratio 1.43; W.:Th. ratio 1.36. Wt. 88 g. Reworked. Serpentinite/serpentinized diabase; 5BG 5/1 (greenish gray) to N4/ (black). Very faint traces of two horizontal incisions on one side: one just at bit edge, other ca. 0.015 beyond. Whole bit edge fairly heavily blunt-chipped, slightly more on flatter face; very faint striations parallel to edge on both faces possibly to be associated with resharpening. Polish all over but worn on butt half on one face. Some flaking on butt from flatter surface, possibly to facilitate hafting in current form.

Ler MN 4–6 55  (L7.324, CL BE 569) Text 141; Pl. 7 Intact with some batter wear at butt.

196

the minor objects

L. 0.0617; max. W. 0.036; max. Th. 0.0252; W. bit edge 0.035. L.:W. ratio 1.71; W.:Th. ratio 1.43. Wt. 88 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 6/2 (pale green) to 5G 4/2 (grayish green). Bit discontinuously finely chipped, somewhat more heavily on one half than other; butt slightly chipped. Sides lightly worn in distal one-third. Banks 1967: 88, no. 133.

Ler MN 5 56  (L7.33, CL BD 596) Text 116; Pl. 7 Intact in final form, but much worn. L. 0.0615; max. W. 0.043; max. Th. 0.027; W. bit 0.038; W. butt ca. 0.015; Th. butt 0.0165; L.:W. ratio 1.43; W.:Th. ratio 1.59. Wt. 110 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 3/1 (very dark gray). Faces apparently repecked and repolished: one face flat with fairly clearly articulated convex bevel to bit ca. 0.008–0.014 wide and longer, less emphatic bevel to butt; other face flattened in center producing irregular beveling to sides, bit, and butt; all surfaces uneven. Very faint traces of four horizontal incisions on one side near mid-point associated with faceting, and shallow depression that runs discontinuously from fuller face across one side to opposite face. Bit edge blunted by heavy, fairly direct battering with large fragment off flatter bevel. Battered depression on flatter face near butt probably to be associated with hafting. Polish over most of flatter face, but only on central section of fuller face; sides roughened all around. 57  (L7.28, BD 599) Text 117; Pl. 7 Almost all of original bit and large portion of one adjacent face battered off; intact in final use. Max. p.L. 0.095; max. p.W. 0.047; max. p.Th. 0.034; p.W. bit 0.042; W. butt 0.019; L.:W. ratio 2.02; W.:Th. ratio 1.38. Wt. 190 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5BG 4/1 (dark greenish gray) to N4/ (dark gray). Considerable reworking; on better preserved face bit half reground to broadly beveled surface, only slight regrinding on other face, which split off diagonally toward one half of bit. Butt reground with arris oblique to bit edge, with some subsequent batter wear. Bit edge battered blunt, as preliminary stage to form of 50. Two battered depressions on better-preserved face at bit end; near mid-length shallow constriction extending from one side to reworked face, fingerhold(?).

Ler MN 6 58  (L5.349, J 345) Text 80; Pl. 7 Intact, though much worn. L. 0.092; max. W. 0.045; max. Th. 0.0315; p.W. bit edge ca. 0.044; W. butt 0.018. L.:W. ratio 2.04; W.:Th. ratio 1.43. Wt. 190 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5BG 6/1 (greenish gray) to 5BG 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Longitudinal section somewhat asymmetrical owing to wear and reworking, especially on one face where battered depression in center ca. one-third from bit edge reground and triangular area around it flattened and further defined by

line of rough pecking to ca. one-fourth from butt; battered depression in center of opposite face at level of that on opposite face. Bit edge heavily wear chipped, somewhat more from one face toward side that curves more strongly to butt. Polish on faces diminishing in triangular pattern toward butt. 59  (L5.350, J 345) Text 80; Pl. 7 Intact. L. 0.087; max. W. 0.048; max. Th. 0.0345; W. bit 0.038. L.:W. ratio 1.81; W.:Th. ratio 1.39. Wt. 212 g. Triangular. Serpentinite/serpentinized microgabbro; 5BG 5/1 (greenish gray) to 5B 4/1 (dark blue gray). Bit almost pristine in central section with chipping concentrated toward sides and somewhat more intense on one face than other. Polish preserved on bit end for ca. one-third of length with continuation sporadically along center of both faces, more regular on one than other. 60  (L7.43, CL BD 593) Text 123; Pl. 8 Badly battered, with large fragment off one side of butt. Max. p.L. 0.0591; max. W. 0.0435; max. Th. 0.028; W. bit 0.044; max. p.W. butt ca. 0.03; max. p.Th. butt 0.024; L.:W. ratio 1.36; W.:Th. ratio 1.55. Wt. 108 g. Reworked. Serpentinite; 5GY 3/1 (very dark greenish gray), 5G 4/2 (grayish green) at break. Asymmetrically biconvex butt, irregularly faceted, probably from use as grinder with ground surface continuing directly into sides. Bit apparently repeatedly resharpened by removal of long flakes parallel to longitudinal axis (cf. 42) and regrinding, so as to produce undulating edge. Waisting on sides, slightly below mid-point, associated with roughened depression in center of each face. Bit edge chip-blunted by heavy direct blows. Faces unevenly polished. 61  (L7.39, CL BD 593) Text 123 Thin sliver of surface of one face only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.04; max. p.W. 0.035; max. p.Th. 0.0081. Wt. 18 g. Type uncertain. Serpentinite; 5G 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Some evidence of attempted regrinding or reuse as polisher on broken surface. 62  (L7.159, CL HTN 130) Text 152; Pl. 8 Intact. L. 0.058; max. W. 0.038; max. Th. 0.0273; W. bit edge 0.0365; Diam. butt 0.02. L.:W. ratio 1.53; W.:Th. ratio 1.39. Wt. 91 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5G 5/2 (grayish green) with inclusions 5GY 7/1 (light greenish gray) and 5Y 2.5/1 (black). Bit edge finely worn, chipped for most of length with slightly more wear from one side than other. In early stages of regeneration with reworking limited to regrinding of butt to asymmetrically biconvex surface at diagonal to longitudinal axis, and waisting ca. onethird of length from butt at juncture of alternate faces and sides with continuation onto faces. Ca. 0.009 from bit edge on one side strong horizontal incision ca. 0.008

STONE

long, composed of two overlapping grooves; another short faint incision ca. 0.0045 long ca. 0.004 higher.

Ler MN Unphased 63  (L4.299, CL J 103) Text 159; Pl. 8 Intact in secondary use as grinder with slight chipping at bit end. Max. p.L. 0.107; max. p.W. 0.0425; max. p.Th. 0.035. L.:W. ratio 2.52; W.:Th. ratio 1.21. Wt. 225 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5GY 6/1 (greenish gray). All original surfaces removed by use as grinder. As preserved, fairly symmetrical round-pointed conical tool with slightly convex sides, with ca. circular section at butt, elliptical section at bit that was ground into asymmetrically biconvex surface with large battered patch on one face toward one end, smaller battered patch on opposite face at other end. Large shallow concavities in sides, one ca. mid-length, other more toward butt, possible fingerholds. Most surfaces finely ground. 64  (L6.240, J 759) Text 160; Pl. 8 Butt somewhat battered. Max. p.L. 0.0372; max. W. (at bit) 0.0345; max. Th. 0.012; W. butt 0.0176; Th. butt 0.012; L.:W. ratio 1.08; W.:Th. ratio 2.88. Wt. 25 g. Trapezoidal. Serpentinized diabase/microgabbro; 5G 3/1 (dark greenish gray) with some mottling ca. 5G 5/1 (greenish gray). Bit edge dulled from fine nicking all along, primarily from fuller face with associated short, fine striations perpendicular to edge; butt heavily battered, primarily on edge and fuller face for ca. onesixth of length.

Mixed Fill 65  (L7.335, CL A 470) Text 166, Pl. 9 Butt and one face chipped. Max. p.L. 0.042; max. W. (at bit) 0.034; max. Th. ca. 0.0145; max. p.W. butt 0.0135. L.:W. ratio 1.24; W.:Th. ratio 2.34. Wt. 22 g. Trapezoidal. Serpentinite; 5GY 5/1–4/1 (greenish gray to dark greenish gray), with inclusions on one face 7.5YR N6/ (gray). Whole bit edge very finely nicked, with short striations ca. perpendicular to edge in central section of fuller face. Banks 1967: 88, no. 134; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 66  (L5.674, CL J 439) Text 170 Corner of bit edge only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.019; max. p.W. 0.018; max. p.Th. 0.012. Nephrite(?); mottled 5G 6/2 (pale green) to 5G 6/1 (dark greenish gray). Rounded angular shoulder to sharp bit edge with slight chipping; surfaces well polished. Banks 1967: 88, no. 135; Wiencke 2000: 38. 67  (L5.195, CL J 442) Text 171; Pl. 9 Badly battered butt. Max. p.L. 0.066; max. W. 0.0405; max. Th. 0.0287; W. bit ca. 0.015; W.:Th. ratio 1.41. Rectangular. Serpentinized diabase; 10R 3/2 (dusky red) to 10R 3/1 (dark reddish gray). Polished faces of

197

tool in original use preserved to ca. one-fourth to onefifth of length from bit, where broad band of wear begins and continues over median, extending onto sides; wear continuous to butt on one face, on other face band of original polish preserved for ca. 0.015 before battering to butt. On sides original polish sporadically preserved. Fine wear chipping of entire bit edge with some larger removals at lower end of curve from flatter face. Step-faceted batter of butt, which was reground into thick bit-like edge that was heavily used. Banks 1967: 87, no. 128; Wiencke 2000: 37–38. 68  (L5.218, CL J 442) Text 171; Pl. 9 Bit and portion of one face preserved. Max. p.L. 0.066; max. p.W. 0.0615; max. p.Th. 0.028; W. bit ca. 0.054. Wt. 180 g. Rectangular. Serpentinite; 5G 4/1 (dark greenish gray at break, 5Y 3/1 (very dark gray) on polished surface. Bit edge dulled slightly in center with slight associated fine chipping, considerably blunted on higher corner with associated abrasion of surface on both faces, similar but less intense wear on lower corner. Full polish only in semicircular area of bit face with traces appearing again just at break. Banks 1967: 87, no. 129; Wiencke 2000: 37–38. 69  (L5.348, CL J 442) Text 171; Pl. 9 Most of bit end preserved, with one side and most of one face split off. Max. p.L. 0.043; max. p.W. 0.05; max. p.Th. 0.028; W. bit 0.048. Wt. 78 g. Rectangular. Serpentinite; 5Y 4/2–3/2 (olive graydark olive gray), with one face and bit edge of other 5Y 3/1 (very dark gray). On side single deep slightly oblique horizontal incision ca. 0.015 from bit edge, faint traces of others. Slight chipping all along bit edge, with short section of heavier chipping on both faces to one side of center, similar chipping on other side of center just at break. Banks 1967: 87, no. 130; Wiencke 2000: 37–38. 70  (L6.235, CL J 870) Text 173; Pl. 9 Much battered from use. L. 0.061; max. W. 0.0405; max. Th. 0.0305; W. bit ca. 0.037. L.:W. ratio 1.51; W.:Th. ratio 1.31. Wt. 102 g. Triangular. Serpentinite; 5GY 5/1 (greenish gray) to 5GY 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Considerable irregularity of surfaces, especially at bit end, possibly from some reworking. Polish preserved on one face for slightly more than half length from bit, on other for almost full length but diminishing from sides from ca. mid-length to butt; on sides polish intermittent, more uniform at bit end. Small incompletely polished low biconvex facet perpendicular to longitudinal axis on butt toward one face. Bit almost completely battered away on one face with some wear over breaks from continued use; where original bit preserved, edge at ends heavily chipped and blunted with strong striations on both faces perpendicular to edge and parallel to it on better preserved face. Banks 1967: 87, no. 131; Wiencke 2000: 73–74.

198

the minor objects

Pounder/Rubber The 47 tools reported in this category no doubt served a variety of purposes, which produced the smoothed and roughened areas and damage from use that are readily apparent on most of them. Many surely were used in food preparation, often with grindstones for the grinding of small quantities of grain and other edibles. Some were probably used in the pecking stage of the production of other stone tools. Others might have served to grind and polish bone tools. Pounding in stakes, breaking off irregularities in building stones, and all sorts of tasks requiring pounding and grinding on a variety of materials were probably accomplished with these tools. But the absence of microwear and replication studies makes impossible any precise identification of the various activities for which an individual tool was employed, and the division into types and subtypes has been made on the basis of formal criteria. Since the rock matrices on which these tools were made were subjected to less alteration than the celts, the categories used here have broad and sometimes subjective parameters. Most would fall into Stroulia’s A (active) tool categories 2–7 (Stroulia 2010: 3, 29). Abrasive sandstone, readily available in the neighboring hills (and of which we have 20 tools), and locally available serpentinite and its variants—serpentinized diabase, quartzite, and gabbro (20 tools), were the materials from which these two types of tools were most often made. Other materials represented by the remaining seven are quartzite, siltstone, and phyllite. The tools appear to have been manufactured, as were the celts, by the selection of suitable, readily available cobbles as blanks that, by pecking and grinding, were brought to the desired forms with surfaces usually ground smooth, but not highly polished. Sometimes a selected cobble was used with little modification of the natural shape and surface. The early toolmakers appear to have had an interest in the habile tool: frequently, depressions were pecked and/or ground into the surfaces of tools to serve as convenient fingerholds to facilitate use. Seven major shape types have been isolated (Fig. 50); one-of-a-kind tools and undiagnostic (UD) fragments are so noted in the catalogue.

Spheroid Eight tools, in sandstone (four), diabase (two), serpentinized diabase (one), and quartzite (one), were shaped as irregular spheres ranging in diameter from 0.035–0.0575, with a circular to irregularly depressed circular transverse section and one or more poorly articulated but often well-smoothed facets; these facets are sometimes so disposed over the surface that a tool took on a vaguely cuboid form. The surfaces were finely pecked to smoothly ground, almost always with areas of apparent batter wear. Some of the smaller, more regular spheres, especially those without significant faceting, might have been used as “bolas,” missiles, in the manner of the sling bullets; several of these were discarded at the site, since their possible status as artifacts was not recognized at the time of the excavation.

Ovoid The one example (100), of sandstone, has a bulging ovoid contour and slightly depressed circular section. This also might well have served as a stone sling bullet, which it generally resembles in shape and size.

Cylindroid with Both Ends Rounded Five tools, mostly of serpentinite (three), with one of siltstone and one (the largest) of sandstone, were shaped as convex cylinders with a roughly circular to elliptical transverse section and mostly well-rounded ends that merge directly into the sides. They range between ca. 0.06 and 0.08 in height, with a maximum diameter of 0.045–0.065 and a height:maximum diameter ratio of ca. 1.2–1.6.

STONE

76 (spheroid)

77 (spheroid)

71 (discoid a)

84 (conoid b)

100 (ovoid)

75 (discoid b)

109 (conoid c)

199

72 (cylindroid)

94 (conoid a)

86 (squat cylindroid)

102 (conoid a)

107 (quadrangular)

Figure 50. Examples of stone pounder/rubber types (71, 72, 75–77, 84, 86, 94, 100, 102, 107, 109). Scale 1:2

Squat Cylindroid with One End Rounded The two tools in this category, one of sandstone, one of serpentinite, were fashioned with straight to shallowly convex sides that curve directly into a well rounded “top” with the opposite end flat; in height they range from 1.16 to 1.35.

200

the minor objects

Discoid Four tools, of sandstone (two), quartzite (one), and diabase or quartzite (one) share an approximately circular plan with a diameter greater than the height. Since each is slightly different from every other, no general height:diameter ratio for the group is provided. Two general variants are distinguishable, primarily on the basis of the form of the vertical section. Two are barrel and cylindrical discs (a) with diameters of ca. 0.07 and heights from ca. 0.035 to 0.05; the ends are flat with shallow depressions at the center, probable fingerholds, and the articulation of the ends and sides are rounded angular to well rounded. Two discs (b) have a plano-convex vertical section with rounded articulation of the top and base and asymmetrical flattening of the edges and surfaces; they range in diameter from 0.08 to 0.108, in height from 0.048 to 0.06.

Conoid Nineteen tools of serpentinite (13) and sandstone (six) and one of phyllite occurred in a variety of sizes based on the cone, clearly the favored pounder/rubber shape at Neolithic Lerna. Generally the sides are straight and apices broadly round to blunted; the transverse section varies from slightly depressed circular to elliptical. The bases are normally flat, but on many the edges were round-beveled up from use as a grinder; on the largest tools of this group, the base is battered off. Because these conoid tools were rarely found intact, but badly battered and worn, the following groups as described should be considered broad categories. In general, three subdivisions are identifiable. The five smallest tools (a) range between ca. 0.05 and 0.07 in height and ca. 0.03 to 0.045 in maximum diameter, with a height:maximum diameter ratio of 1.3–1.45. Of medium size (b) are three conoids with heights of 0.065–0.08, a maximum diameter of 0.05–0.055, and a height:maximum diameter ratio of 1.3 to 1.5. Two more in this category are squatter and broader; in height they average ca. 0.067, with an average maximum diameter of 0.062, and an approximate height:maximum diameter ratio of 1.10. The five largest pounders (c), now heavily battered at both ends, when intact ranged between 0.10 to over 0.14 in height with an estimated height:maximum diameter ratio ranging from 1.5 to 1.75 and an average width:thickness ratio of ca. 1.80. From four of the conoids only undiagnostic fragments were preserved, and they cannot be assigned to a specific subgroup.

Quadangular Four tools of sandstone are roughly square or roughly rectangular in plan and section; the faces are flat to shallowly concave, the sides and ends lightly convex and the articulations rounded angular to well rounded. Though of disparate sizes, all share concavities in one or more of their surfaces that were probably produced when they were used in the production other tools, possibly of bone.

Miscellaneous Two one-of-a-kind tools and undiagnostic fragments (UD) are described individually in the catalogue (73, 117). Since such a small portion of the Neolithic settlement was excavated and the number of tools in most groups so limited, no really meaningful chronological conclusions can be drawn about the distribution of the types of pounders. The two largest groups, the spheroids (eight) and conoids (19), have been documented from Ler MN 2 into Ler MN 6. The cylindroids (five), with both ends rounded, have a scattered distribution from Ler EN–MN to Ler MN 6. Three of the four discoids found are from early contexts: Ler EN–MN and Ler MN 1. Worth noting is the fact that the use of serpentinite is rare in the earlier phases,

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201

but becomes more common from Ler MN 3, while sandstone is common throughout the Neolithic period. As noted above, the use of the pounder/rubbers with grindstones may safely be inferred from their association in floor and work-area contexts (see above, p. 184). The pounder/ rubbers were also frequently found in room and work-area contexts with celts, as part of the ordinary domestic “tool kit” of the villagers (see above, pp. 191–192). From sediments associated with building floors and outside work areas that yielded neither grindstones nor celts came the following pounder/rubbers: cylindroid 72 with the floor of hut W-1 (CL J 891; see above, p. 17); cylindroid 85 in the work area between Buildings W-72 and W-74 (CL BE 585; see above, p. 132); conoid 102 and 103 from the floor associated with W-41 that also yielded terracotta polisher 345 (CL J 849; see above, p. 76); discoid 104 and bone awls (220–222) from the work area north of W-64 (CL BD 590; see above, p. 116); and, along with uninventoried fragments, spheroid pounder/rubber 105 from a floor south of socle W-64 (CL BD 595; see above, p. 116). Straddling two categories is 50, a celt altered by use into a pounder/rubber found with conoid 94 and bone awl 201 in BD 598 (see above, p. 111) probably to be associated with the work area just above, north of socle W-64 (BD 601). Single pounder/rubbers were found in HP-5, discoid 74 ( J 770; see above, p. 31), and in SP-5, spheroid 98 ( J 632; see above, p. 69). Ler EN–MN 71  (L6.772, CL J 894) Text 13; Fig. 50; Pl. 10 Intact with some batter wear on both edges. Max. Diam. 0.0715; H. 0.0343; Diam.:H. ratio 2.08. Wt. 260 g. Discoid a. Diabase(?), quartzite; 5Y 5/1 (gray). Ground very smooth with light battering in center of both faces, for purchase(?); heavier battering on edges of faces, and on sides large chipped patches roughly opposite one another. 72  (L6.244, CL J 891) Text 17; Fig. 50; Pl. 10 Intact, much worn. H. 0.0765; Diam. 0.039–0.047; Diam. ends 0.031– 0.035, 0.027–0.0425; H.:Diam. ratio 1.63. Wt. 238 g. Cylindroid with both ends rounded. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (grayish green). One end very smoothly ground, with low, slightly off-center point from which poorly articulated radius extends to articulation with side; other end strongly asymmetrical and bisected obliquely by poorly articulated arris with heavy batter wear on opposite edges of the two facets. Ca. 0.01 from smaller end a pair of shallow depressions, for fingers(?), battered on opposite sides. Polish preserved mostly in central section of faces and on one side. 73  (L6.780, CL J 889) Text 22; Pl. 10 Intact. L. 0.0975; max. W. 0.04; max. Th. 0.03. L.:W. ratio 2.44. Wt. ca. 150 g. One of a kind. Sandstone; ca. 5Y 5/1 (gray). Bar with both ends rounded from broader faces and heavily battered with cracks from smaller end down broader faces; smaller end flattened, striations across larger end to broader faces. Surfaces ground fairly smooth except at battered ends.

Ler MN 1 74  (L6.774, J 770) Text 31; Pl. 11 Intact.

Max. Diam. 0.072; H. 0.0553; max. Diam.:H. ratio 1.3. Wt. 385 g. Discoid a. Sandstone; 5YR 4/1 (dark gray) with mottling 5YR 6/4 (light reddish brown). Ca. one-fourth of circumference distinctly flattened, so as to produce on that side large, shallowly concave facet, ground over battering; segment of articulation of one end and side well rounded with associated batter wear; sporadic batter wear all over. 75  (L7.343, A 456) Text 93; Fig. 50; Pl. 11 Intact. Max. Diam. 0.082; H. 0.06; Diam.:H. ratio 1.37. Wt. 520 g. Discoid b. Quartzite; 5YR 5/1 (gray) to 5YR 7/2 (pinkish gray). Convex surface traversed by broad, smooth band that separates rougher sections on either side; base very smooth with grinding over battering.

Ler MN 2 76  (L6.267, CL J 865) Text 43; Fig. 50; Pl. 12 Intact. Diam. 0.0425–0.048. Wt. 120 g. Spheroid. Sandstone; 7.5YR N6–N4 (gray to dark gray). Flattened at opposite poles, one of which ground smooth; remaining surfaces evenly pecked; three small battered depressions in triangular pattern, two on adjacent faces near one pole, third ca. midway between them closer to opposite pole, not particularly well placed for finger holds. 77  (L6.268, CL J 865) Text 43; Fig. 50; Pl. 12 Intact. Diam. 0.035–0.038. Wt. 53 g. Spheroid. Sandstone; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Finely pecked surface with no obvious faceting. 78  (L6.243, CL J 882) Text 44; Pl. 12 Ca. one-half of base and adjacent section of side missing.

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the minor objects

Max. p.H. 0.08; max. p.Diam. 0.0534; Diam. apex 0.026–0.029; H.:Diam. ratio 1.5; Wt. 243 g. Conoid b. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (dark grayish green). Primary grinding surface preserved on apex divided asymmetrically into two shallowly biconvex surfaces by poorly articulated arris; base end, apparently rounded grinding surface, divided into one-fourth/three-fourths by transverse arris and badly battered so as to remove surface with continuation of batter up one side in step fracture. Sides ground over pecking. 79  (L6.773, CL J 882) Text 44; Pl. 12 Base and part of adjacent face battered off. Max. p.H. 0.127; max. p.W. 0.071; max. p.Th. 0.042; H.:W. ratio 1.79; H.:Th. ratio 1.69. Wt. 510 g. Conoid c. Phyllite with admixture of gneiss; 5B 5/1 (bluish gray) with veining 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Batter wear concentrated on one face with step-like removal of lamina from base to mid-height, and obliquely battered surface at side of apex with large battered concavity just at end. On other face battering limited to edge of base including short, prominent step fracture, and on apex. All surfaces pecked. 80  (L6.1583, CL J 882) Text 44; Pl. 13 Badly battered, with base battered off Max. p.H. 0.093; max. p.W. 0.061; max. p.Th. 0.037; H.:W. ratio 1.52; W.:Th. ratio 1.65. Wt. 258 g. Conoid c. Sandstone; 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown) to 5YR 5/2 (reddish gray). Center of one face ground very smooth, sides and other face ground smooth but granular to touch, within center of latter large (diameter 0.023) very shallow depression. Both ends battered asymmetrically to arris from opposite faces with regrinding after heavy use. 81  (L6.1582, CL J 883) Text 44 Whole base battered off, large portions of faces split off, apex badly battered. Max. p.H. 0.091; max. p.W. 0.049; max. p.Th. 0.026; H.:W. ratio 1.86; W.:Th. ratio 1.88. Wt. 140 g. Conoid c. Serpentinite; 5B 2/1 (very dark gray). Details of surface treatment obscured by heavy incrustation. 82  (L7.32, CL BD 605) Text 105 Apex only preserved. Max. p.H. 0.0327; Diam. 0.047–0.0515. Wt. 100 g. Conoid. Sandstone; 5Y 7/1 (light gray) with surface mottling and core 7.5YR 7/2 (pinkish gray). Rather broadly truncated apex with low convex surface; light batter wear concentrated at well rounded juncture of apex and sides. 83  (L7.38, BD 606) Text 106; Pl. 13 Base battered off. Max. p.H. 0.065; max. p.Diam. ca. 0.05; Diam. apex 0.029–0.032; H.:Diam. ratio 1.3. Wt. 208 g. Conoid b. Serpentinized gabbro; 5B 4/4 (dark bluish gray). Bulging apex bisected not quite symmetrically by prominent arris; battered surfaces of base smoothed by regrinding and/or continued use, with traces of two large irregularly battered depressions (fingerholds?) on

flattened section of side near base where trace of original grinder edge preserved, now round battered. 84  (L7.37, CL BD 608) Text 106; Fig. 50; Pl. 13 Intact. H. 0.066; Diam. 0.063 × 0.046; Diam. apex 0.031– 0.037; H.:max. Diam. ratio 1.05. Wt. 270 g. Conoid b. Sandstone; 5Y 6/2 (light olive gray), mottled at edge of base 2.5YR 5/4 (reddish brown). Apex asymmetrically rounded with arris running diagonally close to one edge. Base ground very smooth, with slight upward curve to sides and one face, edge of other face removed by irregularly battered, shallow bevel; one offcenter battered depression in base. Except for base surfaces, ground granular. 85  (L7.515, CL BE 585) Text 132; Pl. 14 Almost two-thirds missing, but close to full height preserved. Max. p.H. 0.081; max. p.Diam. 0.068; max. p.Th. 0.047; H.:Diam. ratio 1.19. Wt. 295 g. Cylindroid with both ends rounded. Sandstone; 5YR 5/2 (reddish gray) shading to 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) and 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red). Most surfaces, especially one end, very smooth to lightly polished with occasional light batter wear; other end exhibits heavy batter wear.

Ler MN 3 86  (L6.777, J 700) Text 49; Fig. 50; Pl. 14 Intact. H. 0.046; max. (base) Diam. 0.05–0.062; Diam.:H. ratio 1.35; H.:Diam. ratio 0.68. Wt. 240 g. Squat cylindroid with one end rounded. Sandstone; 10YR 4/1 (dark gray). Shallowly battered depression (fingerhold?) running off lower portion of top surface onto side, so that tool very habile, with place for palm on sloping surface and fingers in depression. Most of base edge battered. Surfaces well smoothed, often to light polish, with distinct wear striations running transversely across base. 87  (L6.1578, J 700) Text 49; Pl. 14 Most of one face and ca. one-fourth of other missing at base. Max. p.H. 0.07; max. p.W. 0.055; max. p.Th. 0.0375; p.W. apex 0.0385; Th. apex 0.031; H.:W. ratio 1.27; Wt. 225 g. Conoid c. Serpentinite; 5Y 2.5/2 (black). After battering removed surfaces of faces, edge between them at base ground into blunted wedge either to facilitate handling or to provide additional grinding area. Apex ground rounded; sides originally ground smooth, now somewhat battered. 88  (L6.1579, CL J 879) Text 50; Pl. 15 Most of apex and adjacent fragments of faces and one side battered off. Max. p.H. 0.0485; max. p.Diam. 0.0431; max. p.Th. 0.033; H.:Diam. ratio 1.13; max. p.W. apex 0.033; max. p.W. butt 0.042; Th. butt 0.03. Wt. 100 g. Conoid a. Serpentinite; 5BG 3/1 (dark greenish gray). Base approximately pyramidal in form, with one

STONE

facet still retaining full polish and suggesting that whole surface originally fully polished and then abraded through use. Trace of original high conical apex with ground surface preserved. 89  (L6.1575, J 613) Text 61 Ca. one-fourth preserved, both ends broken off. Max. p.H. 0.043; max. p.Diam. 0.058. Wt. ca. 140 g. Conoid. Sandstone; 5YR 5/2 (reddish gray). Ca. onefourth of circumference of circular transverse section distinctly flattened, with traces of finger depression at break on rounded section of larger end. 90  (L6.1577, J 668) Text 63; Pl. 15 Heavily chipped at one end. P.H. (close to original) 0.06; Diam. 0.038–0.044; H.:Diam. ratio 1.36. Wt. 149 g. Cylindroid with both ends rounded. Serpentinite; 5BG 3/1 (dark greenish gray). One end fairly evenly rounded, other irregularly faceted on either side of well-rounded longitudinal arris. Surfaces worn with polish preserved sporadically, primarily on faces. 91  (L6.271, CL J 859) Text 64; Pl. 15 Ca. two-thirds of base and portion of adjacent side battered off; apex batter worn. Max. p.H. 0.0635; max. p.Diam. 0.041–0.045; Diam. apex 0.029–0.033; H.:Diam. ratio 1.41; Wt. 180 g. Conoid a. Serpentinite; 5B 4/1 (dark bluish gray). Broad, well articulated apex with evidence of only slight use for grinding; only trace of characteristic bevel at base, which saw heavy batter wear, but battered surfaces reground(?) and reused. Sporadic batter wear all over on surfaces originally ground smooth. 92  (L6.1576, CL J 860) Text 64; Pl. 15 Ca. three-fourths missing, but preserved to close to full height. Max. p.H. 0.067; max. p.Diam. 0.078; max. p.Th. 0.031; p.H./max. Diam. 0.86. Wt. 261 g. Squat cylindroid with one end rounded. Sandstone; 7.5YR 7/2 (pinkish gray) to N4/ (dark gray). Roughpecked depression on side near apex. Surfaces very well smoothed with light polish; faint striations from one edge of base toward center and some batter wear at edges of top and base. 93  (L6.232, CL J 861) Text 64; Pl. 15 Almost half missing, apex battered off. P.H. ca. 0.10; max. p.Diam. 0.063; p.Th. 0.0485; p.H.:Diam. ratio 1.59. Wt. 400 g. Conoid c. Sandstone; ca. 5YR N4/ (dark gray). After heavy use that removed most of one face and upper portion of other, damaged surfaces roughly reground and brought to blunt celt-like edge at apex; large (Diam. ca. 0.023) shallow fingerhold ca. 0.018 above base on one face. Base ground very smooth; sporadic batter wear evident on both primary and secondary surfaces.

Ler MN 3–4 94  (L7.29, BD 598) Text 111; Fig. 50; Pl. 16 Heavily battered, especially on apex.

203

Max. p.H. 0.069; Diam. 0.041–0.0476; Diam. apex ca. 0.0225–0.025; H.:Diam. ratio 1.45; Wt. 179 g. Conoid a. Serpentinite; 5G 4/2 (grayish green). Irregularly humped base with broad biconvex grinding surfaces separated by poorly defined arris; regrinding over large V-shaped gash at side of base. Batter wear on apex, including deep gash to one side; sporadic battering of sides; just above base on opposite sides polished surface worn from use and/or light battering, for fingerholds(?). 95  (L7.27, BD 601) Text 111; Pl. 16 Intact. H. 0.0547; Diam. 0.032–0.042; H.:Diam. ratio 1.3; Diam. apex 0.027–0.0275; Diam. base 0.024–0.038. Wt. 110 g. Conoid a. Serpentinized microgabbro; 5B 3/1 (dark bluish gray). Apex divided longitudinally by poorly articulated arris and from arris across base sides ground rounded to faces. Irregularly battered depression on each face, one centered ca. mid-height, the other slightly more toward butt, fingerholds(?). Polished surface of faces and sides removed through heavy wear except for segments between base and depressions.

Ler MN 4 96  (L6.1573, J 625) Text 68; Pl. 16 Ca. one-fourth of original tool preserved, ca. onehalf of mortar for which it was reused after break. Max. p.L. 0.077; max. p.W. 0.073; max. p.Th. 0.0335. Wt. 220 g. Quadrangular. Sandstone; 5YR 6/3 (light reddish brown) to 5YR 5/1 (gray). Some batter wear evident on all of original surfaces preserved, especially one corner; roughly battered finger depression near preserved end on one face. After original rectangular tool was broken in half transversely and split longitudinally, broken surface of one quarter roughly hollowed out, probably for use as mortar. 97  (L6.1574, J 625) Text 68; Pl. 16 One end preserved. Max. p.L. 0.073; max. p.W. 0.065; max. p.H. 0.048. Wt. 400 g. Quadrangular. Sandstone; 5YR 5/2 (reddish gray) to 5YR 5/1 (gray). Shallow finger depressions on opposite sides and one face just at break. Batter wear concentrated on faces at preserved end and on that end. 98  (L6.269, J 632) Text 69; Pl. 16 Intact. Diam. 0.049–0.056. Wt. 190 g. Spheroid. Quartzite(?); mostly 5Y 7/1 (light gray). Two finger depressions not quite opposite one another on rounded sides. Surface finely pecked from use, with traces of original smoothly ground surface.

Ler MN 4–6 99  (L7.514, CL BE 571) Text 142 Apex only preserved. Max. p.H. 0.08; p.Diam. 0.0445–0.0544. Wt. 249 g. Conoid. Serpentinite/serpentinized gabbro; 5B 4/1 (dark blue gray). Ground smooth and lightly polished

204

the minor objects

with sporadic batter wear all over and some irregular faceting of apex. 100  (L7.323, CL BE 573) Text 142; Fig. 50; Pl. 17 Intact. H. 0.0625; Diam. 0.046–0.05; H.:Diam. ratio 1.25. Wt. 185 g. Ovoid. Sandstone; 5Y 5/4 (olive). Faint traces of original smoothly ground surface, with remainder now smooth but gritty to touch. 101  (L7.325, CL BE 574) Text 142; Pl. 17 Ca. one-sixth of surface battered off. Max. p.Diam. ca. 0.052–0.0575; max. p.H. 0.051. Wt. 225 g. Spheroid. Sandstone; 5YR 4/2 (dark reddish gray) to 2.5YR 4/6 (red). Lightly faceted to poorly articulated cuboid form with one facet badly battered and shallowly concave. Surface opposite battered section very smooth, remainder roughened with some batter wear.

Ler MN 5 102  (L6.245, CL J 849) Text 76; Fig. 50; Pl. 17 Intact. H. 0.052; max. Diam. 0.0335–0.0375; H.:Diam. ratio 1.39; Diam. apex 0.017 × 0.02. Wt. 85 g. Conoid a. Serpentinite; 5G 5/1 (greenish gray). Surfaces of apex and bevel well articulated, both ground with some shallow faceting; only small portion of original polished surface of base remaining at center. 103  (L6.270, CL J 849) Text 76; Pl. 17 Apex badly battered. Max. p.H. 0.068; max. Diam. 0.047–0.061; H.:Diam. ratio 1.11. Wt. 260 g. Conoid b. Sandstone; 5YR 5/3 (light reddish brown) to 5YR 4/1 (dark gray), the latter concentrated on one face. Darkened face ground flat and smooth with broad shallow depression at ca. median from base to midheight; opposite face somewhat less smooth and sides somewhat rougher with distinct vertical striations on one. Apex battered down obliquely to smoother face; base very well smoothed over battering with upward curve more pronounced to faces than to sides and pitted with short horizontal incisions that run parallel to sides. 104  (L7.25, CL BD 590) Text 116; Pl. 18 Intact in final use. Diam. 0.097–0.108; H. 0.048; Diam.:H. ratio 2.25. Wt. 700 g. Discoid b. Sandstone; 5YR 6/1 (gray) to 5YR 4/1 (dark gray). Probably originally large tool, with base primary grinding surface very smooth with grinding striations crossing at right angles to one another concentrated in center, where there is slight batter wear. In use, rounded proximal surface battered into three irregular facets, with trace of original round ground surface preserved at one edge and ca. one-fourth of circumference battered off at diagonal with base. 105  (L7.44, CL BD 595) Text 116; Pl. 18 Intact.

Diam. 0.039–0.048. Wt. 142 g. Spheroid. Serpentinized diabase; 5GY 6/1 (greenish gray). Opposite poles distinctly flattened, some vague faceting of remaining surfaces. Polar facets ground smooth with light polish that continues sporadically onto sides; remaining surfaces now uneven and finely pitted, but smooth to touch. 106  (L7.34, CL BD 592) Text 119; Pl. 18 Apex only preserved, indeterminate portion of body and base battered off. Max. p.H. 0.067; max. p.W. 0.05; max. p.Th. 0.0285. Wt. 120 g. Conoid c(?). Serpentinite; 5G 5/2 (grayish green) to 5GY 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Atypical in size, fineness of finish, and acuteness of apex; possibly butt of large (ceremonial?) celt of class not otherwise preserved in the material that saw secondary use as pounder. Wear concentrated to one side where polished surface ground off, adjacent to which on faces battered depressions, one on one face near break, one closer to apex at juncture of opposite face and side. Sporadic battering and roughening of apex and other surfaces.

Ler MN 6 107  (L7.24, CL BD 593) Text 123; Fig. 50; Pl. 19 Intact. Max. H. 0.0575; L. 0.083; W. 0.078. L.:H. ratio 1.44. Wt. 650 g. Quadrangular. Sandstone; 2.5YR 5/2 (pale red). One face flat and ground very smooth with grinding striations between opposite edges and shallow battered depression in center; opposite face at slight oblique angle to flat face with lightly battered concavity taking up much of surface. One side fairly smooth, other three battered from use. 108  (L7.295, CL HTN 125) Text 149; Pl. 19 Intact. H. 0.059; Diam. 0.031–0.045; H.:Diam. ratio 1.31; Diam. ends 0.025–0.035, 0.028–0.04. Wt. 140 g. Cylindroid with both ends rounded. Serpentinite; 5G 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Smaller end divided longitudinally by thick, rounded arris; larger end split unevenly by sharp, oblique arris, with larger concavity near smaller end battered in use or deliberately with surface reground as possible fingerhold. Considerable batter wear/pecking on sides, faces ground smooth. 109  (L7.143, CL HTN 125) Text 149; Fig. 50; Pl. 19 Badly battered at both ends. Max. p.H. 0.114; max. p.W. 0.066; max. p.Th. 0.0265; H.:W. ratio 1.79; W.:Th. ratio 2.49. Wt. 315 g. Conoid c. Serpentinite; 5 BG 4/1 (dark grayish green) to 5G 6/2 (pale green). Three fingerholds: two contiguous on one side about mid-height, third very poorly articulated at ca. same position on opposite side. On side of double depression incised line ca. 0.0275 from tip of apex. Battered directly on base with two prominent removals at edge from one face, less regular chipping on other. Battered obliquely on apex with removal of adjacent segment of one side; sporadic batter wear on faces originally ground smooth.

STONE

110  (L7.141, HTN 132) Text 149; Pl. 19 Intact. Diam. 0.048–0.05. Wt. 180 g. Spheroid. Serpentinized diabase; 5GY 5/1 (gray). One prominent battered depression (Diam. 0.02 × 0.018), with another shallowly battered area approximately opposite. Fairly uniformly pecked and roughly ground surface. 111  (L7.160, CL HTN 133) Text 149 Unknown portion missing. Max. p.H. 0.071; max. p.W. 0.049; max. p.Th. 0.014. Wt. 72 g. UD. Serpentinized diabase; 5G 5/1 (greenish gray). Thin slice of side of tool that may have been cylindrical. Preserved surface ground smooth over pecking. 112  (L7.142, CL HTN 144) Text 150 More than one-half missing, with small segment of one end and adjacent 0.086 of one side preserved. Max. p.W. 0.054; max. p.Th. 0.022. Wt. 140 g. UD. Sandstone; 5Y 5/1 (gray), with discoloration 2.5YR 5/8 (red). Shallow depression battered into side ca. 0.03 from preserved end. Evenly ground surface with some batter wear on preserved end.

Ler MN Unphased 113  (L4.552, CL G 48) Text 158 One-half preserved; heavy incrustation. Max. p.Diam. ca. 0.05; max. p.Th. 0.037. Wt. ca. 108 g. Spheroid. Diabase; average 5Y 4/1 (dark gray). Two barely perceptible contiguous facets. Surface shallowly pecked all over, rough to touch, possibly in part owing to water damage. Slight evidence of use as grinder on broken surface. 114  (L4.301, CL J 103) Text 159; Pl. 20 Intact but surface flaking owing to exposure to fire. Diam. 0.042–0.05. Wt. ca. 140 g. Spheroid. Diabase; 5Y 5/1 (gray) to 5Y 6/1 (light gray) with discoloration to 5R 4/1 (dark reddish gray).

205

Surface well ground, but without polish. Slight batter wear on one flatter facet extending to shallow depression (fingerhold?) on adjacent portion of surface. Undulating modern pick mark across one of poles. 115  (L6.778, CL J 877) Text 161; Pl. 20 Intact. H. 0.0645; Diam. 0.034–0.045; H.:Diam. ratio 1.43; Diam. ends 0.025–0.029, 0.024–0.0335. Wt. 150 g. Cylindroid with both ends rounded. Siltstone with admixture of calcite; 5YR 6/1 (dark gray) to 5YR 4/1 (dark gray). Smaller end bisected diagonally by shallow arris with facets ground quite smooth; larger end indistinctly faceted only at one side near juncture with one face and ground smooth, but gritty to touch. Polish preserved sporadically on faces and one side.

Mixed Fill 116  (L6.1572, HTJ 26) Text 168 Unknown portion missing, small fragment of rounded edge preserved. Max. p.L. 0.0855; max. p.W. 0.045; max. p.Th. 0.024. Wt. 110 g. UD. Serpentinite; 5GY 5/1 (greenish gray). Trace of batter wear on smoothly ground, thickly rounded edge. 117  (L6.785, CL J 870) Text 173; Pl. 20 Intact. H. 0.0768; Diam. 0.043–0.0568; W. butt 0.056; Th. butt 0.0375; Th. bit 0.039; H.:Diam. ratio 1.35. Wt. 250 g. One of a kind. Gabbro/serpentinized gabbro; 5GY 4/1 (dark greenish gray). Possibly originally celt of atypical form. Butt ground biconvex from use with poorly articulated arris running across it at diagonal; bit blunt battered, more from flatter face with four– five short incisions perpendicular to edge at one end. Evidence of waisting(?) ca. one-third of length from bit on one side in form of longitudinal gouge, with battered patches on adjacent faces. Original high polish on one face and adjacent side from ca. one-fourth of length from bit to butt. Banks 1967: 87, no. 132; Wiencke 2000: 73–74

Miscellaneous Tools Three sandstone objects do not fit easily into the preceding groups and we list them separately. From hearth pit HP-11, 118 may be the sole remnant of a footed stone mortar, a heavy leg reused as a pounder/rubber. A wedge-shaped implement, 119, might have been used in some aspect of wood procurement. Possibly a retouchoir used in the knapping that took place at the site is 120. The latter two came from a patch of small stones in dark earth beneath socle W-9, and there were no associated finds. Ler MN 1 118  (L7.348, CL A 462) Text 95; Pl. 21 Leg with trace of basin preserved. Max. p.H. 0.1417; max. W. preserved top edge 0.0745; Diam. leg top ca. 0.066; Diam. leg base 0.049. Wt. 725 g. Mortar leg? Sandstone; 7.5YR 5/2 (brown) with band of reddening (from exposure to fire?) on outside of leg

7.5R 6/6 (light red). Heavy leg tapering from elliptical transverse section at top to circular transverse section at bottom, which is shallowly biconvex. Possible trace of thick rounded edge of basin at top of leg, but this area badly battered from secondary use with long, rough, shallowly concave bevel on one side, short step fracture on other. Surfaces originally ground smooth but now mostly roughened with light battering.

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the minor objects

Ler MN 2 119  (L6.1580, J 709) Text 42; Pl.21 Tip and butt chipped. L. 0.108; max. W. 0.058; max. Th. 0.043. Wt. 300 g. Wedge. Sandstone; 10YR 7/4 (very pale brown). Transverse section thick plano-convex at butt, becoming square at apex. Apex battered, more from one face than other; deep gouge in butt. Rough ground granular surfaces.

L. 0.121; max. W. 0.0395; max. Th. 0.0215. Wt. 100 g. Retouchoir? Sandstone; 5Y 6/1 (light gray/gray). Transverse section irregularly triangular at butt, trapezoidal in central section, irregularly flattened elliptical toward tip. Broadly rounded tip formed on distal 0.02 by stepping in from sides and abrupt step fracturing (deliberately or in use?) from one face. Thinned from both faces toward jagged proximal end; elongated concavity on one face, for purchase of thumb in knapping(?). Surfaces unevenly ground.

120  (L6.1584, J 709) Text 42; Pl. 21 Intact.

Pigment Source? Haematite cube 121 (Fig. 51) might have been a source of red pigment for the slips and decoration of Neolithic vases, if they were made at the site, and/or for the decoration of skin, animal or human, baskets, or clothing. It came from CL J 888 (see above, p. 31), one of the sediments into which the early hearth pits had been dug. Found with it were marble ear stud 140, bone awls 168 and 169, Hexaplex pendant 298 (see Appendix III, p. 304, and the catalogue entry below) and terracotta polisher 322. Ler MN 1 121  (L6.247, CL J 888) Text 31; Fig. 51; Pl. 22 Intact. H. 0.029; W. 0.0293; Th. 0.029. Wt. 85 g. Haematite; 10R 4/1 (dark reddish gray) with bright red powder in fine pits on surface. “Top” facet biconvex

with well-rounded articulations with “sides”; “bottom” ca. flat with more angular articulations with “sides.” All surfaces ground smooth and polished, especially the “bottom.”

Miscellaneous Polishers

121

123

122

125

Figure 51. Stone pigment source(?)

(121) and miscellaneous polishers (122, 123, 125). Scale 1:2

Three pieces of reddish yellow limestone, circular and polygonal (122, 123, 125), were perhaps used in pot production for scraping leather-hard surfaces and even for polishing and burnishing vessels before firing, if pots were produced at the site. Replication experiments have suggested this possible use (so Wijnen 1994: 151, 154, fig. 14). Or the small tools might have been used in the final stages of skin preparation. An unmodified pebble of the same material and color was possibly used for similar purposes, though it bears only slight evidence of use at one end (Fig. 51). Only 123 was likely found where it originally might have been used, a probable work area between Buildings W-17 and W-31 ( J 651; see above, p. 61). With it were terracotta polisher 340 and fragmentary terracotta triangular plaques 382 and 383.

STONE

Ler EN–MN 122  (L6.261, J 801) Text 21; Fig. 51; Pl. 22 Intact. L. 0.0455; W. 0.036; max. Th. 0.007. Limestone; 5YR 5/8 (yellowish red) with veining 2.5Y 7/8 (yellow). On more regular “upper face” irregular beveling on all edges with irregular flaking, ground over, from use(?), to smooth surfaces; similarly flaked on flat face, more invasively and less regularly. Fine striations on both faces, which exhibit a dull polish.

Ler MN 3 123  (L6.262, J 651) Text 61; Fig. 51; Pl. 22 Ca. one-fourth preserved. Est. Diam. 0.06; max. p.L. 0.0554 cm; max. p.W. 0.0228; max. p.Th. 0.0115. Limestone; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with veining 2.5Y 8/6 (yellow). Well ground surfaces covered with fine striations, all in one direction on flatter surface,

207

in crisscrossing network on fuller surface. Surfaces very smooth but not polished.

Ler MN 3? 124  (L7.333, CL A 465) Text 97; Pl. 22 Intact. L. 0.049; W. 0.01; Th. 0.009. Limestone; 2.5YR 5/6 (red) with veining 10YR 6/4 (light yellowish brown). Unmodified pebble. A few fine striations from small end, which is slight battered.

Ler MN 4 125  (L6.263, CL J 855) Text 69; Fig. 51; Pl. 22 Intact. L. 0.0285; W. 0.0242; max. Th. 0.003. Limestone; 5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow) with veining 2.5Y 8/4 (pale yellow). Shallow flaking around most of perimeter of one edge, on other shallow crescentic removal at one edge. Fine striations all over both faces. Dull surfaces.

Sling Bullet Lerna, like other Greek Neolithic sites, falls into the “Asiatic” sling bullet zone as opposed to the arrowhead zone of early farming communities. As Childe observed over 50 years ago, “the preference for the sling can be treated as a significant link between “neolithic” Greece and the Mesopotamian province and added to the long familiar common traits of darkon-light vase-painting, use of stamp seals and so on.” (Childe 1951: 3–4). Only three possible arrowheads were found in Neolithic contexts at Lerna: two tanged points of obsidian (L6.1087, from the early EN/MNa clay pits, and L6.978 from a Ler MN 2b context but possibly displaced; see Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 322) and a large, bifacially flaked foliate point of flint (L6.1021), which is listed as Ler MN Unphased but is characteristic of FN contexts elsewhere, as at Franchthi (Perlès 2004: 126, fig. 11.4–8, 196–197). In the Greek Neolithic the sling bullet has been associated with the Early Neolithic at several sites, and it continued in use throughout the period (see Vutiropoulos 1991a for a complete listing of the sites known at the time of that publication). Most of these sling bullets were of unbaked clay, but some of stone were found in the early excavations at Sesklo, though Tsountas was uncertain of their date (Tsountas 1908: 328–329). At Lerna, where both stone and clay sling bullets were discovered, those of stone (Fig. 52) were clearly artifacts of the earliest MN, those of terracotta, of the later MN. Though only four of the stone bullets were found in assured Neolithic deposits, seven more (130–136) were recovered from Bronze Age contexts, where they should probably be considered cast-ups, though quite possibly reused. We include them in the inventory here. The stone missiles are mostly of limestone, occasionally of serpentinite, with surfaces generally well ground and polished, though occasionally irregular and lumpy. They probably started their lives as pebbles selected for their shapes, which easily could be ground and polished into final form. One or two perhaps required little or no prepara126 127 129 tion. Batter wear is concentrated at the ends, Figure 52. Stone sling bullets most often just to one side of the tip. (126, 127, 129). Scale 1:2

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the minor objects

In general, the sling bullets are biconical with an approximately circular transverse section. They may be more slender or more bulbous in contour, with ends more pointed or more rounded. In length most are measure 0.051–0.053 with a maximum diameter of ca. 0.0255–0.0285; the two largest are 131 (0.0566 long and 0.0305 in diameter) and 135 (0.057 long with a diameter of 0.025–0.0275). All have a length:maximum diameter ratio of ca. 1.6–2.0; the weights of the intact examples fall within an approximate range of 40–55 g with the exception of 131, which weighs 63 g. Of the 11 stone sling bullets, the dimensions and weights of nine of them are of a limited range, which must say something about what constituted an efficient missile. Vutiropoulos describes their use: “The slinger puts a missile into a bag fastened to the middle of a band, and swinging it above his head three or four times he lets go of one end of the band. In this way the potential energy of the sling is transferred to the missile, which is shot with a velocity of over 100 km/h” (Vutiropoulos 1991b: 279). The intended target of these missiles is unknown. Even if we include the possible “bolas” noted in the discussion of the polished stone tools, the quantity of the missiles does not suggest war among men (pace Runnels et al. 2009); most likely they were used for hunting animals. The stone sling bullets required too much effort to produce to have been used by shepherds merely for keeping their animals in check, as has been suggested for the missiles of clay (Perlès 2001: 229–231). Three of the four Neolithic stone sling bullets came from general contexts of EN–MN date just above virgin soil: 126, 127, and 128 ( J 801, CL J 889, CL BD 615; see above, pp. 21, 22, 100). The fourth, 129, was found in the removal of the Ler MN 2b floor of room W-12a, along with two bone awls ( J 722; see above, p. 43). Those found in later contexts came from general lots with no special features. Ler EN–MN 126  (L6.248, J 801) Text 21; Fig. 52; Pl. 23 One end and part of adjacent side battered off, other tip missing leaving single concavity. Max. p.L. 0.048; max. Diam. 0.0298; L.:Diam. ratio 1.61. Wt. 52 g. Limestone; ca. 10YR 8/3 (very pale brown) with veining and inclusions 10YR 5/8 (yellowish brown). One end missing in conoid fracture, with edges possibly reground. Well ground and polished with regrinding/ wear of broken surfaces at other end. 127  (L6.250, CL J 889) Text 22; Fig. 52; Pl. 23 Intact. L. 0.051; Diam. 0.025–0.0285. L.:Diam. ratio 1.79. Wt. 44 g. Breccia cemented by secondary limestone; 5R 3/3 (dusky red) with inclusions 2.5YR 6/8 (olive yellow) and 5B 6/1 (bluish gray). Lumpy pitted surface with heavy striations, some running into depressions, suggesting irregular cobble of approximately bullet shape was roughly finished off; ends blunted.

L. 0.053; max. Diam. 0.0287; L.:Diam. ratio 1.85. Wt. 54 g. Serpentinite; 5B 3/1 (dark bluish gray) with veining 5GY 7/1 (light greenish gray). Pitted, uneven surface with many striations oblique to and at right angle to longitudinal axis, from regrinding after battering(?); slight blunting of ends.

Ler III 130  (L7.346, CL A 472) Text 207; Pl. 23 One end split off diagonally leaving smooth slightly concave surface, small battered medial concavity and battered concavity near preserved end. Max. p.L. 0.0455; max. p.Diam. 0.0293; L.:Diam. ratio 1.55. Wt. 45 g. Limestone; 5B 4/1 (dark blue gray) with veining 5Y 7/1 (light gray). Surface, somewhat lumpy and even, ground but somewhat grainy to the touch. Banks 1967: 155, no. 275; Wiencke 2000: 43.

Ler III–IV

128  (L7.30, CL BD 615) Text 100 One end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.033; max. p.W. 0.026; max. p.Th. 0.0135. Wt. 10 g. Limestone; mottled 2.5YR 6/8 (light red) and 2.5YR 3/4 (dark brownish red) with white veining. Tip finely battered.

131  (L8.9, BH 10) Text 207; Pl. 23 Intact with only light wear and battering. L. 0.0566; max. Diam.0.0305; L.:Diam. ratio 1.86. Wt. 63 g. Serpentinite; ca. 2.5YR N4/ (very dark gray). Surface of median ground smooth but with no real polish, at ends somewhat worn. One end lightly battered at tip, with small roughened patch just to side. Banks 1967: 156, no. 277; unpublished.

Ler MN 2

Ler IV

129  (L6.249, J 722) Text 43; Fig. 52; Pl. 23 Intact.

132  (L4.144, GK 24) Text 207; Pl. 23 Intact with flattening at both ends.

STONE

Max. p.L. 0.0515; max. Diam. 0.0255; L.:Diam. ratio 2.02. Wt. 38 g. Limestone; mottled 2.5Y 8/2 (white) and 2.5Y 6/4 (light yellowish brown) with some veining 2.5Y N6/ (gray, light gray). Well ground with light polish. One end ground off almost flat with low arris between two sloping facets; two shallow gouges at this end, one extending straight from tip, other slightly farther in and at diagonal to first. Other end ground to flat surface at diagonal to longitudinal, grinding striations visible. Banks 1967: 156, no. 279; unpublished. 133  (L4.187, G 69) Text 207; Pl. 23 Ca. one-third missing, split off at clean diagonal removing one end. Max. p.L. 0.044; max. Diam. 0.0305. Wt. 49 g. Serpentinite; mottled 5BG 4/1 (dark greenish gray) and 5BG 6/1 (greenish gray). Well ground with light polish. Very tip of preserved end lightly battered, erratic light battering over surface. Banks 1967: 156, no. 278; 2013: 135.

Ler IV–V 134  (L5.813, G 219) Text 207 Almost all of original surface ground/battered off from secondary use; heavy incrustation on one longitudinal half. Max. p.L. 0.046; max. p.Diam. 0.0315. Wt. (including incrustation) 51 g.

209

Mixed sandstone and limestone; ca. 5B 6/1 (bluish gray) with battered depressions 5Y 7/1 (light gray). Surface now rough and pitted from secondary use as grinder/pounder. Banks 1967: 156, no. 280; unpublished.

Ler V 135  (L6.251, BE 246) Text 207; Pl. 23 Ends battered; some incrustation on one longitudinal half. Max. p.L. 0.057; p.Diam. 0.025–0.0275; L.:Diam. ratio 2.07. Wt. (including incrustation) 46 g. Limestone; 5Y 6/1 (gray, light gray). Surface well ground and lightly polished, but somewhat uneven. Both ends lightly blunt battered and battered patch on side near one end. Banks 1967: 156, no. 282; unpublished. 136  (L6.252, DE 489) Text 207; Pl. 23 Intact, though whole surface pitted and “wrinkled.” L. 0.053; Diam. 0.0245–0.0265. L.:Diam. ratio 2.0. Wt. 44 g. Limestone; 10R 5/6 (red) with single vein 2.5Y 8/4 (pale yellow). Probably naturally rolled pebble chosen for its approximation of canonical shape and size of sling bullet. One large flake off side of one end. Banks 1967: 156, no. 281; unpublished.

Prestige Objects Vessel Three fragments of whitish marble belonging to two open vessels were found in the MN levels at Lerna. One thick body fragment is from a large vessel, probably a deep, rounded bowl (137). Two nonjoining pieces found together, one a rim fragment, the other a base fragment, appear to come from a low convex-sided bowl with a flat base and plain tapered rim (138). The Lerna bowls are in the tradition of a significant group of stone vessels found from Early Neolithic contexts and later from north to south in Greece: in Macedonia through Thessaly and central Greece to Attica and into the Peloponnese. In this southern region Early and Middle Neolithic examples were found at Corinth, Nemea, Franchthi, and Ayioryitika (Kosmopoulos 1948: 46–47; Jacobsen 1973: 256; Blegen 1975: 271–272; Petrakis 2002: 59). We assume that these bowls were imported into Lerna, and, with the two marble ear studs and a steatite seal, are a part of the heritage of the Greek Neolithic from its Near Eastern roots, the so-called Neolithic package (Perlès 2001: 52–63; 2003; Çilingiroğlou 2005). Since no analyses of the Lerna stones were conducted, their precise provenience is unknown. If we look to the stones from nearby Franchthi, we may get some indication of the origin of the Lerna marble. Of three isotopic signatures of marbles from Franchthi, two indicated as the provenience the southeast coast of Naxos, or Sounion in Attica. Either seems more likely than two other proveniences indicated: the Mani or the neighborhood of Tripolis (Herz 1991), where no prehistoric exploitation has been reported. It is not without interest that the largest known body of Neolithic stone bowl fragments is from coastal Nea Makri in Attica, perhaps a depot for their distribution along the coast and inland (Theocharis 1956: 25–26). The bowl fragments from Lerna exhibited limited traces of the processes by which they were fashioned. Without the metal tools that have been documented in the production of Bronze Age stone vessels (see, e.g., Evely 1980), the use of hollow reed drills and abrasives

210

the minor objects

such as quartz and emory seems likely (Warren 1969: 158–160). The irregularities in wall thickness observed in 138 are not surprising, given the simplicity of the Neolithic technology. Both bowls were found associated with Ler MN 3 rooms. From just above the floor of room W-31a ( J 674; see above, p. 63) came 137, which was found with terracotta polisher 341 and fragmentary terracotta triangular plaque 385. Bowl 138 we list with room W-17d, a possible community pottery storeroom (see above, p. 54); with it were grindstone 14 and stone pounder/rubber 92 (CL J 860; see above, p. 64). Ler MN 3 137  (L6.812, J 674) Text 63; Pl. 24 Single body fragment. Max. p.L. 0.0935; max. p.W. 0.079; p.Th. 0.009–0.016. Marble; 2.5Y 8/2 (white) mottled 2.5Y N/7 (light gray) to N/6 (gray). Well ground and lightly polished both inside and out. Roughness of angular section of broken edge from thinner part of vessel either from slight regrinding or wear from continued use as low open bowl after break. 138  (L6.811, CL J 860) Text 64; Pl. 24 One rim and one base fragment preserved. Rim fragment (a): Max. p.H. 0.041; max. p.W. 0.0255; max. p.Th. 0.0062. Base fragment (b): Max. p.H. 0.033; max. p.W. 0.0168; max. p.Th. 0.0063.

Marble; 10YR 7/1–6/1 (light gray to gray), with mottling more pronounced in base fragment 10YR 8/3–8/4 (very pale brown). Plain tapered rim, with wall of vessel just below thickening to 0.006 and then thinning to 0.003 at break; base ca. 0.0025 thick with adjoining body ca. 0.0053, thinning slightly toward break. Both interior and exterior well ground with approximately horizontal fabrication striations more prominent on interior than exterior. Light polish mostly worn off except toward bottom of interior and underside of base. Small nick in rim, probably either fault in stone or result of use, carefully ground over. According to the composite drawing, the fragments can be arranged so that the exterior curve is continuous but not the interior. If the suggested profile is correct, the fragments would come from widely separated sections of a vessel, the walls of which varied considerably in thickness from part to part at the same height.

Ear Stud From sediments of Ler EN–MN and early MN date came two of the short pegs variously termed ear plugs/studs, nose plugs/studs, simply studs, or labrets (for the lip). Known from the Near East, like the stone bowls, they are indicative of the influences at work on the Greek mainland during the Neolithic (Perlès 2005a: 277, table 1). They are particularly well represented in early Neolithic contexts in Greece, especially in Macedonia and Thessaly (cf. an assortment, in different shapes, from various sites in Thessaly, in Kyparissi-Apostolika 1992: 187, pl. 30:d). Perlès notes only one from southern Greece, on exhibit in the Archaeological Museum at Nauplion, said to be from Dendra (Perlès 2001: 288, n. 9); this is probably one of those mentioned by Protonotariou-Deïlaki (1992: 108). Both Lernaean pegs are of pale marble, the shaft of each elliptical in transverse section with the distal end tapered to a fairly sharp point (Fig. 53). The heads, which project from the proximal ends of the shafts to approximately flat tops, are of elliptical or rounded rectangular plan and extend farther beyond the top of the shafts on the short ends than on the long sides. All surfaces are ground smooth with some polish that is stronger on the surfaces of the heads than on the shafts. No analyses were conducted on the studs to determine the provenience of the stone. The contexts of the Lerna studs shed no light on their possible use. Ler EN–MN stud 139 was found in a mass of dissolved 140 139 red brick not far above virgin soil (CL J 889; see above, p. 22); with it were, in addition Figure 53. Stone ear studs (139, 140). Scale 1:1 to common tools of stone and bone (stone

STONE

211

pounder/rubber 73, bone awl 159 and scraper/polisher 263, and possible tusk tool 264), one of the fairly rare stone sling bullets in the Neolithic strata at the site, 127. With 140, which came from the sediments into which the hearth pits had been set, were unique haematite “polisher” 121 and shell pendant 298, along with bone awls 168 and 169 and terracotta polisher 322 (CL J 888; see above, p. 31). From such a limited body of Peloponnesian material, it is not productive to speculate about the possible function of these studs, along with seals and figurines, as “contractors, identifying tokens, or tokens for counting” in relationships of individuals or groups, as has been suggested for a much larger body of material from Macedonia and farther north (Budja 2003: 126). About the most that can be said is that the earliest settlers at the site were, not surprisingly, closer to the Near Eastern roots of their culture than were their descendants. Ler EN–MN

Ler MN 1

139  (L6.806, CL J 889) Text 22; Fig. 53; Pl. 24 Very point of shaft chipped off, edges of head slightly chipped, slight brownish incrustation. Max. p.H. 0.0255; L. head 0.0155; W. head 0.0115; max. Diam. shaft mid-height 0.0105. Translucent marble; 10YR 8/2 (white). Shaft tapered from mid-height to point, more from short sides than faces; surfaces somewhat uneven with very light polish. Shallow head curved down more transversely than longitudinally; polished surface worn in center.

140  (L6.807, CL J 888) Text 31; Fig. 53; Pl. 24 Head and tip chipped. Max. p.H. 0.0232; L. head 0.0137; W. head 0.010; Diam. shaft mid-height 0.01 × 0.0085. Opaque marble; 10YR 8/2 (white) with some slightly darker mottling. Asymmetrical shaft with point off median and tapered primarily in distal third. Head truncated inverted pyramidal shape, not sharply articulated from shaft, with rounded rectangular plan on top that is very shallowly convex transversely with edge discontinuously beveled. Polish heavier in center and toward slightly shorter sides. Underside of head and shaft surfaces well smoothed with only light polish.

Pendant We call pendants a distinctive group of small objects of stone with perforations for suspension, though similar objects have been called buttons; we avoid the term “amulet” since we have no way of knowing if these objects had any prophylactic function. Most of the pendants are variants of a basic discoid type, plain or bossed, with a pair of suspension holes close together near the edge (Fig. 54). Another type, of triangular shape with one suspension hole, is represented by a single example. The discoid pendants are part of a large corpus of similar pieces in stone, shell, and terracotta found in Neolithic contexts from Macedonia and Thessaly, through Boiotia and Attica, and into the Peloponnese: for example, at Nea Nikomedeia (Rodden and Rodden 1964: fig. 16), Dimini and Sesklo (Tsountas 1908: pl. 43:4, 23), Achilleion (Gimbutas, Winn, and Shimabuku 1989: pl. 8:3), Halai (Coleman, Wren, and Quinn 1999: fig. 8.5), Chaeroneia (Tzavella-Evjen 1986: pl. 12:g), Kitsos cave, Attica (Vialou 1981: figs. 275, 276), Nemea (Blegen 1975: pl. 69:3, 4), and Franchthi ( Jacobsen 1969: pl. 98:d, lower left).

146 (discoid a) 143 (discoid a)

141 (discoid b)

145 (discoid a) Figure 54. Stone pendants (141–143, 145, 146). Scale 1:1

142 (discoid b)

212

the minor objects

All may be imitations of the shells so ubiquitious among the Neolithic fauna; those with a central boss are surely modeled after similar pendants in Spondylus, where the form of the pendant follows the form of the shell. One such Spondylus pendant, 300, was found in a Lerna III–IV context, probably a cast-up from the Neolithic strata. The majority of the pendants were executed in steatite; limestone, soapstone, and serpentinite were also, but infrequently, employed. The Spondylus pendant (300) and a miniature of terracotta (368) will be discussed with the shell and clay decorative objects (see below, pp. 237, 247). The surfaces of the stones are generally well polished but usually exhibit some evidence of the manufacturing process: guidelines for the perforating drill, and grinding striations. Chronologically the pendants range from Ler MN 2 through Ler MN 6, with an emphasis on the later phases. Two probable cast-ups into Lerna IV contexts are also included here (147, 148).

Discoid Discoid pendants are circular, elliptical, or rounded quadrangular discs of plano-convex section have a pair of perforations near the edge; sometimes there is a shallow incised line between or above the perforations on one or both sides that probably was meant to guide the perforation process or to provide purchase for the drill (Semenov 1973: 75, fig. 22.4, 76). The perforations are conical or almost cylindrical, sometimes with a short shallow incision running obliquely from perforation to edge, possibly also to be associated with manufacture or to guide the suspension string (see Rodden 1964: pl. 8:a, for a Spondylus example from Rhodochori Cave in Macedonia on which the incisions extend from the perforations to the central depression of the shell). Two variants within this group are distinguishable: (a) a circular or depressed circular disc with, in the center, a low conical boss that is either solid or annular; (b) a plain disc of circular, elliptical, or rounded quadrangular plan.

Triangular The triangular pendant (144) is an irregular right-angled triangle with a single deep groove on one face in which a perforation was bored at ca. mid-height. Contexts offer no information on the specific use of the pendants; for example, none were found in graves in positions that suggest they had been attached at the neck or wrist. Two, 141 and 145, were found in general MN fill (CL J 884, CL HTN 130, respectively; see above, pp. 37, 152), and 146 was in the Mixed Fill (CL A 470; see above, p. 165). In a probable work area north of socle W-64, 142 was found amid normal domestic debris: grindstones 16 and 17, stone pounder/rubber 95, bone awl 203, and antler scoop/scraper 295 (BD 601; see above, p. 111). Pendant 143 came from storage pit SP-12, along with celt 51 (BE 521; see above, p. 136). Pendant 144 was associated with the floor of Building W-41, and with it were stone pounder/rubbers 102 and 103 and terracotta polisher 345 (CL J 849; see above, p. 76). Ler MN 2 141  (L6.210, CL J 884) Text 37; Fig. 54; Pl. 25 Ca. one-eighth missing, all from edge opposite perforations. Max. p.H. 0.018; max. W. 0.022; max. Th. 0.005; Diam. perforation aperture ca. 0.002. Discoid b. Steatite; 5Y 3/1 (very dark gray) close to black. Biconical perforations ca. 0.006 apart ca. 0.003 from edge of one long side; on convex side fabrica-

tion striations between perforations, on flat side shallow groove somewhat off center between them, and on one edge near one perforation two tiny nicks ca. 0.0045 apart. Originally ground smooth and polished all over and, after damage, broken surface reground.

Ler MN 3–4 142  (L7.45, BD 601) Text 111; Fig. 54; Pl. 25 Slightly chipped on edges.

STONE

Max. H. 0.016; max. W. 0.0172; max. Th. 0.007; Diam. perforation aperture ca. 0.002. Discoid b. Serpentinite; 2.5Y N2/ (black) with mottling 5Y 5/2 (grayish brown). Conical perforations bored ca. 0.004 apart ca. 0.0025 from edge of longer side; groove in convex side between perforations, on flat side small irregular groove from each perforation to adjacent corner. Well ground and polished with prominent fabrication striations on front. 143  (L7.334 BE 521) Text 136; Fig. 54; Pl. 25 Slightly chipped on edge. Max. H. 0.027; max. W. 0.026; max. Th. 0.008; Diam. perforation aperture ca. 0.002. Discoid a. Steatite; 10R 3/2 (dusky red). Small annular boss. Biconical perforations bored ca. 0.002 apart 0.002 from circumference; small nick in edge between them joined to one by shallow irregular depression. Fabrication striations heaviest on flat face and around boss. Some polish.

Ler MN 5 144  (L6.816, CL J 849) Text 76; Pl. 25 Intact. H. 0.022; max. W. 0.0165; Th. 0.008; max. Diam. perforation 0.004. Triangular. Soapstone; 10R 3/2 (dusky red). Crudely worked to irregular right triangle in plan, with face probably meant to be visible more even and regular with deep incision from bevel at apex to base, where it extends to opposite face. Other face more irregularly flaked with apex and base curving toward one another; conical perforation at ca. median bored from this face into groove on other side. Surface generally ground smooth to some polish except on base where only high surfaces polished. Fabrication striations particularly strong on hypoteneuse. Tip of apex somewhat blunted with striations reaching onto to bevel, suggesting possible use as polisher. Possibly perforated to help owner keep track of favored implement.

Ler MN 6 145  (L7.144, CL HTN 130) Text 152; Fig. 54; Pl. 25 Intact with slight chipping at top edge. Max. H. 0.022; max. Diam. 0.0235; max. Th. 0.0055; Diam. perforation aperture ca. 0.0025. Discoid a. Steatite; 5GY 5/1 (greenish gray). Offcenter plano-convex boss. Conical perforations ca. 0.007 apart ca. 0.005 from edge perpendicular to longitudinal axis; shallow channel between them wider at perfora-

213

tions; on flat side shallow gouge extending from side of each perforation to edge. Strong fabrication striations on back, light at front.

Ler Mixed Fill 146  (L7.345, CL A 470) Text 166; Fig. 54; Pl. 25 Slightly chipped on portion of circumference opposite perforations. Max. Diam. 0.0145; max. Th. 0.0036; Diam. perforation aperture ca. 0.002. Discoid a. Steatite; below N4/ to very dark grayblack. Large (diameter 0.01), slightly off-center annular boss. Conical perforations ca. 0.004 apart between boss and circumference perpendicular to shorter diameter; irregular thinning of area between perforations. Well ground and polished. Banks 1967: 257, no. 472; Wiencke 2000: 30–32.

Probable Neolithic Cast-ups in Lerna IV 147  (L4.261, CL B 748) Text 212; Pl. 25 Chipped on ca. one-fifth of circumference where one perforation broken through. Max. p.Diam. 0.0382; max. p.Th. 0.0169; Diam. aperture original perforations ca. 0.002; Diam. aperture replacement perforation ca. 0.004. Discoid b. Limestone; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with veining 2.5Y 8/4 (pale yellow). Original pair of biconical perforations ca. 0.001 from edge and 0.0125 apart; after one broke through to edge another larger biconical perforation bored ca. 0.009 to other side of preserved perforation. All surfaces ground smooth to light polish with fabrication striations on both faces; shallow off-center concavity on flat surface. Batter wear on surface near edge in area of replaced perforation and continuing to edge opposite perforations, where it would encounter some friction in use. Banks 1967: 258, no. 475; unpublished. 148  (L5.818, G 162) Text 212; Pl. 25 Ca. one-half preserved but only small section of original edge; much battered and worn. Max. p.Diam. 0.0292; max. p.W. 0.02; max. p.Th. 0.014. Discoid a. Serpentinite; 5GY 5/1 (greenish gray). Circular(?) plan with small projection curving up from convex face to atypical boss with circular hole ca. 0.003 bored into center. Trace of perforation on broken edge. Originally well ground and polished. Banks 1967: 257–258, no. 474; 2013: 53.

Seal A steatite stamp seal (149) found in a Lerna III context is unlike the characteristic Lerna III seals as known from the sealings of clay, but is reminiscent of Neolithic seals well known from Thessalian sites (Pilali-Papasteriou 1992), so we include it in the Neolithic inventory, as a cast-up. Seals of stone and terracotta are part of the Near Eastern background of the Greek Neolithic, the earliest found at Nea Nikomedeia (Onassoglou 1996: 163). In the Middle Neolithic, seals in soft stones become more common, and they are found more often in Thessaly than

214

the minor objects

Macedonia (Krzyszkowska 2005: 34–35). It is with this northern group that we associate the Lerna seal, one of the few from southern Greece (Fig. 55). In form, 149 is a common Near Eastern type of rectangular ridge-han149 dled seal with a flat stamping surface decorated with a geometric zigzag pattern typical Figure 55. Stone seal (149). Scale 1:1 of the Middle Neolithic stone seals (Aruz 1999: 7–8; Krzyszkowska 2005: 33). Perforated through the handle, the seal was designed to be suspended, but its specific use remains unknown. Various functions have been suggested for seals of this type, from the simply decorative (e.g., for body decoration) to the richly symbolic (e.g., “personal markers of protection, identity, or other meanings, which reinforced relations between different people, their material world and the supernatural” [Skeates 2007: 195]). Probable Neolithic Cast-up in Ler III 149  (L7.332, A 438) Text 213–214; Fig. 55; Pl. 26 Intact with only slight chipping on one corner of stamping surface. H. including handle 0.012; L. 0.0181; W. 0.0185; max. Diam. perforation aperture 0.005. Steatite; 5R 2.5/1 (reddish black). Asymmetrical crescentic lug, pinched to narrow top edge and transversely

perforated by well-reamed elliptical hole. Incised on stamping surface three interlocking Ws, two complete, one with three legs, and a triangle at each corner; saw marks visible in bottoms of incisions. Surfaces ground smooth and polished, stamping surface somewhat more than upper surface. Banks 1967: 221–222, no. 428; Wiencke 1975: 36, no. 35; 2000: 126–127.

Bead Four stone beads are catalogued here, two from Neolithic contexts, two from the Mixed Fill. Three are of steatite, one of serpentinite, all well ground and polished. The shapes are identified in accordance with Beck 1927. Small beads of this type have been recorded at most Neolithic sites. The two MN beads date to Ler MN 2 and MN 4–6. The earlier, 150, came from a likely work area west of Buildings W-5 and W-12 along with three stone pounder/ rubbers, 78–80, and bone awl 179 (CL J 882; see above, p. 44). The later, 151, was in a sediment from above the floor of Building W-83; the only associated object was bone awl 217 (CL BE 572; see above, p. 142). Ler MN 2 150  (L6.209, CL J 882) Text 42; Pl. 26 Intact. L. 0.0035; Diam. 0.01; Diam. perforation ca. 0.003. Barrel disc. Steatite; 5G 3/2–2/2 (very dark green) with mottling 5G 6/2 (pale green). Large cylindrical perforation with unemphatic short bevel of interior edges at both ends.

Ler MN 4–6 151  (L7.522, CL BE 572) Text 142; Pl. 26 Ca. one-half preserved; mended from two fragments. P.L. 0.0032; max. p.Diam. 0.0096; p.W. 0.0065; Diam. perforation ca. 0.0033. Barrel disc. Steatite; 5Y 4/2 (olive gray). Slightly asymmetrical biconical perforation with boring striations visible.

Ler Mixed Fill 152  (L7.340, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 26 Intact.

L. 0.0025–0.0029; Diam. 0.0145–0.0155; Diam. perforation 0.002. Very flat discoid bead. Steatite; 5Y 2.5/1 (black) with slight mottling 5Y 5/3 (olive). Ca. symmetrically biconical off-center perforation. Surfaces well ground to light polish with some fabrication striations extending in one direction on one face, crisscrossing diagonally on other. No special wear evident on edges of perforation. Banks 1967: 238, 246, no. 438; Wiencke 2000: 31. 153  (L4.314, CL J 83) Text 169; Pl. 26 Intact. L. 0.0079–0.009; Diam. 0.0135; Diam. perforation ca. 0.0032. Barrel discoid. Serpentinite; 5Y 2.5/1 (black) with mottling 5Y/3 (olive). Length varyies from part to part with bulging median. Asymmetrically biconical perforation with boring striations polished off, probably from rubbing of suspension string. Banks 1967: 238, no. 437.

BONE

215

BONE Animal bones, particularly those of the ovicaprines, provided a readily available matrix for the ubiquitous bone tools found throughout the Neolithic settlement at Lerna from beginning to end. Nothing in the Lernaean corpus stands in strong contrast to the usual tools found in any Greek Neolithic settlement (see, e.g., Moundrea-Agrafioti 1981 for an excellent treatment of Thessalian bone tools). Normally sharply pointed but sometimes blunt-tipped, the tools were no doubt used for a variety of purposes (Perlès 2001: 239), but since much of the clothing of the settlers was likely of animal hide, bone scrapers for the fine finishing of the skins, and awls for punching holes to take whatever fasteners were employed, were essential. The “oldest leather shoe” from Armenia attests to the possibilities (Belluck 2010). Replication studies of pot production demonstrate the variety of bone tools useful for the various operations in the construction and finishing of a pot (Efstratiou, Ourem-Kotsos, and Kallintzi 1995: esp. 471, fig. 10). The natural articulation of a bone, whole or partial, was often retained as a grip, but many of the awls took the form of pointed splinters. In contrast with the Bronze Age bone tools, those of Neolithic date are often dark in color, with variations of browns and reddish browns predominating. Perlès has noted that the kind of fire treatment of bone common in the Levant and in the European Neolithic may well account for this distinctive feature of some Greek Neolithic bone tools (Perlès 2001: 238–239).

Awl Whole and Split Limb Bone with Articulation Retained as Grip Whole and half limb bones, primarily ovicaprine metapodials, were used with the attached articulation, commonly the mature distal end of the bone, retained at the proximal end of the tool to serve as a grip (Fig. 56). When a whole bone was employed for the tool, normally half or more of the shaft was split off obliquely across the faces at some point along the shaft, most often in the distal half of the tool, and the segment remaining provided with a point (once a bifurcated point) that often was sharpened by thinning from the exterior and/or interior surfaces of the tool. When only half or less of the shaft and articulation were used to make the tool, the point, usually symmetrical and well centered, normally was formed by tapering the shaft throughout its length, sometimes with slight secondary sharpening just at the end, or occasionally, in longer examples, by sharpening primarily toward the distal end. The points are normally sharp, but, occasionally, thick and blunt; in one example the working end is bifurcated into two broad blunt tips suitable for heavy jabbing functions. Sometimes there is a thickening of the point on one face just before the tip, a feature probably associated with function. In some cases the point was battered down and the resulting stump was reused as a scraper/polisher. The projections on the condyles and verticilli of the grip of both whole and half bones often appear to have been modified, but it is not possible to be sure if this was always deliberate or a function of use. Many of these awls were highly polished, probably deliberately, and the fine finish suggests a pride in workmanship and probably also an indication that the work for which they were to be used required a smooth surface. Some of the awls assigned to this class are rougher and appear to have been reworked from damaged tools. The awls are designated as short, up to 0.06 in length; average, over 0.06 to 0.10; and long, over 0.10. Clearly the whole and half bone with articulation retained at the proximal end of the tool as a grip was the bone awl matrix of choice throughout the Middle Neolithic at Lerna. Of the 106 tools catalogued as awls, 55 have been assigned with reasonable certainty to these

216

the minor objects

204

224

220

238

225

159

172

191

(whole bone with articulation)

189

154

187

211

212

242

(split bone with articulation) Figure 56. Examples of bone awl types (154, 159, 172, 187, 189,

191, 204, 211, 212, 220, 224, 225, 238, 242). Scale 1:2

two categories: 42 whole bones, 11 half bones; two points (166, 237) could fall into either category. When the full length is preserved or estimable with some degree of certainty, 25 of the whole bones are of average length (163, 173, 175, 190, 194, 195, 198, 200, 201, 203, 204, 220, 221, 224, 225, 231, 234, 235, 236, 238, 249, 251, 254, 255, 258), ten are short (159, 172, 174, 176, 188, 191, 193, 196, 246, 250), and only four are long (165, 177, 209, 247). Six of the half bones are short, five are of average length. The points are not well enough preserved to allow determination of the original length of a given tool. The nine short awls on whole bones were made on ovicaprine metapodials except for one fabricated on a hare tibia (159) and another on an ovicaprine ulna (176). Seven in this group date from Ler EN/MN through Ler MN 3, one to Ler MN 5; two (246, 250) could not be assigned to a specific phase. The whole bones of average length, by contrast, were found in contexts from Ler EN/MN through Ler MN 6 into the Mixed Fill. Though the ovicaprine metapodial is the matrix for the majority of the group, other bones also were used: hare radius (173), tibia (225), and ulna (258), pig fibula (163, 236, 255), and ovicaprine radius (234) and tibia (251, 254); the tools made on hare bones constitute a subset of slender-shafted tools. Of the four incomplete long tools, three were made on the tibia, two ovicaprine (177, 209) one canid (240); the fourth (165) was the ulna of a large ruminant probably used ad hoc. The companion half bone with articulation is represented by 11 examples, five of average length (154, 155, 164, 189, 211) and six short (187, 212, 232, 242, 253, 259), all made on metapodials: nine ovicaprine, one pig (187), and one cattle (211); the last is the largest of a

BONE

160

167

183

217

230

222

(bone segment with modified articulation)

157

244

184

182

(bone segment with finished butt)

192

202

252

170

(doublepointed)

(awl/borer)

(awl-scraper/ polisher)

(needle/ toggle)

Figure 57. Examples of bone awl types (157, 160, 167, 170, 182–184,

192, 202, 222, 230, 244, 252). Scale 1:2

group that was composed of fairly narrow tools. These are distributed fairly uniformly from Ler EN/MN through Ler MN 6, with two from the Mixed Fill.

Bone Segment with Modified Articulation Grip For another somewhat heterogeneous group of awls, half or less of the bone shaft, sometimes just a narrow splinter, was employed with a portion of the articulation that was retained as a grip (Fig. 57). The shape of the grip ranges from the very well trimmed, in some examples approaching quadrangular form, to being a tanglike projection or edge of the articulation cancellous. The ovicaprine metapodial (in one instance a pig metapodial [160], in another a possible radius [206]) is the usual matrix when the original bone is identifiable. Comparatively slender, the 14 possible awls of this category range in length from ca. 0.05 to 0.08, with only one close to 0.09. The shafts are sometimes straight sided, sometimes slightly tapering, and the sharp-tipped points may be either the extension of the tapered shaft or articulated primarily at the distal end of the tool. In some cases the medullary edge on one or both sides of a tool was cut down to form what was probably a fingerhold. Most are well finished with some polish. Chronologically they range through the Lerna Neolithic from Ler EN–MN to MN 6.

Bone Segment with Finished Butt Edge The 10 pinlike awls of this group are closely related to those of the preceding group in form and finish, but have plain grip ends, normally squared off (Fig. 57). Made almost exclusively from segments of medium limb bones (one from a large limb bone [182], one from a premaxillary splinter [217]), the complete examples range in length from ca. 0.05 to 0.07; a

218

the minor objects

few fragmentary pieces suggest a length to 0.10. They rarely reach 0.01 in width. Occurring both early and late in the MN, none were found in contexts of the long and architecturally rich Ler MN 3 phase.

Double-Pointed Splinter Three rough splinters of primarily ovicaprine metapodials (180, 192, 256; sometimes apparently reworked fragments of other tools) appear as gnarled shafts of irregular transverse section that often preserve little or no trace of the medullary cavity (Fig. 57). They taper to both ends with one normally pointed, the other blunted. The polish is generally confined to the point and high parts of the shaft. These might have been hafted.

Awl/Borer Three heavy splinters of leg bone of cattle or deer (202, 247, 248) are disinguished primarily by sturdy, well-finished points with tips of irregularly circular or rounded triangular section; the shafts are irregular and only slightly worked (Fig. 57).

Awl-Scraper/Polisher Combination One intact tool (252) documents the existence of a composite tool made on a segment of a whole medium limb bone modified only by the formation of a short, broad, solid point at one end and a thick scraper at the other (Fig. 57). Another fragment (197) preserves the scraper ends of what might have been similar tools. The surfaces of these pieces exhibit little polish.

Needle or Toggle One well-finished tapering splinter of bone (170), rounded rectangular in transverse section, is perforated at the grip end and provided with a rather thick, round-sectioned tip at the other (Fig. 57). It seems ill-fitted for sewing in the modern sense, but may have been employed in basketry, or to pull thongs of hide through skins already perforated by sharppointed awls, or used as a toggle fastener. Three fragmentary pieces (161, 207, 226) with similar shafts but lacking the perforated end might be from the same class of tool.

Unique and Undiagnostic Fragments A few awls, including those utilizing the occasional fish (168, 227) or bird (229) bone, fall into none of the preceding categories, nor do some fragments of bone awls that are too incomplete to assign to one of the above classes. A small number of finely worked awls made on rib bones found primarily in Ler Mixed Fill contexts belong to a large class of comparable objects in EB II contexts at Lerna and elsewhere, and will be treated with the Lerna III bone artifacts in a later volume in the Lerna series (for the type, see Banks 1967: 336–341). Not surprisingly, the contexts in which the awls were found offer no significant information on the specific uses they served. Several were found associated with the floors of rooms and houses or in outdoor work areas, where they had no doubt been used for the mundane tasks of early village life. To summarize, in the J areas, awls 177 and 178 were found with stone sling bullet 129 in the removal of the floor of room W-12a ( J 722; see above, p. 49). From sediments associated with rooms W-17 and W-24a, awl 196 and unique awl-scraper/polisher combination(?) 197 came with grindstone 13 (CL J 857; see above, p. 84). Awl 208 was the only object from the sediment identified as coming from the general floor level of room W-38b (CL J 852; see above, p. 69).

BONE

219

In four likely work areas outside of buildings in the J areas several bone awls were identified. From sediments between Buildings W-5 and W-8, awl 179 was excavated along with UI grindstone fragments, celts 31 and 32, stone pounder/rubbers 78–81), stone bead 150, bone awl 180, possible bone scraper/polishers 268 and 269, and, of terracotta, spool 366 and fragmentary triangular plaque 370 (CL J 882, CL J 883; see above, p. 44). In the open space west of Building W-12, in one of the “black strata” that seem associated with outdoor activity areas, were bone awls 191 and 192, bone scraper/polishers 271–273, stone pounder/ rubber 88, and fragmentary terracotta triangular plaque 380 (CL J 879–CL J 881; see above, p. 50). A sequence of red and black strata was excavated between Buildings W-17 and W-31; with stone discoid polisher 123, bone scraper/polisher 274, terracotta polisher 340, and fragmentary terracotta triangular plaques 381–383 and 387, were awls 193 and 198 ( J 648, J 651, J 655, CL J 862; see above, pp. 61, 82, 84). From the area west of Building W-38 in another black stratum, awls 209–211 were found with small stone polisher 125 (CL J 855; see above, p. 69). Awl 195 came from storage pit SP-2 ( J 683; see above, p. 63). The smaller trenches also yielded bone awls from likely floors and work areas. In Pit BD at the likely floor level south of socle W-64, bone awl 201 was found with terracotta sling bullet 302 and terracotta triangular plaque fragment 388 (BD 600; see above, p. 111). From the same area at a slightly higher level came terracotta triangular plaque 391 with bone awl 223 (CL BD 594; see above, p. 116). The work area north of socle W-64 at two levels yielded bone awls 201 and 203 with grindstones 16 and 17, reworked celt 50, pounder/rubbers 94 and 95, stone pendant 142, antler scoop/scraper 295 (BD 598, BD 601; see above, p. 111), and awls 220–222 with stone pounder/rubber 104 (CL BD 590; see above, p. 116). In Pit BE in a dark sediment at the likely floor level of Building W-70, bone awl 185 was the solitary find (BE 590; see above, p. 129). Associated with Building W-76 were bone awl 187 and celts 33 and 34 (CL BE 580; see above, p. 134). With 217 in Building W-83 was stone bead 151 (CL BE 572; see above, p. 129). The likely work area between W-69 and W-70 yielded a single bone awl, 186, terracotta sling bullet 301, and terracotta polishers 332–334 (BE 591; see above, p. 129). Ler EN–MN 154  (L6.649, CL J 894) Text 13; Fig. 56; Pl. 27 Intact. L. 0.075; W. grip 0.016; Th. grip 0.0123; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.009; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0047. Half bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown) with grip 7.5YR N3/ (very dark gray). Secondary taper of shaft in lower quarter to form point with inner surface shallowly concave, to facilitate insertion(?); thick (0.002) blunt pointed tip. Very high polish continues well into medullary cavity and onto condyles, but tip interior slightly abraded. Articulation irregularly chipped and flattened from wear on exterior. 155  (L6.655, CL J 894) Text 13: Pl. 27 Point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.081; W. grip 0.017; Th. grip 0.012; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.008; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.004. Half bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 10YR 8/3 (very pale brown) with mottling 10YR 4/1 (dark gray). Pointed end battered off obliquely from one side to other, with edge of break worn down from continued use after break.

156  (L6.1528, CL J 893) Text 13 Half of grip and tip broken off. Max. p.L. 0.06; max. p.W. grip end 0.02; Th. grip end 0.016; W. shaft just before secondary taper ca. 0.01. Whole bone with articulation (average?). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 5/2 (brown). Crudely reworked with shaft split off just below articulation and point; on roughly tapered segment of bone at juncture of one face and side, irregularly resharpened with evidence of reuse of blunted, scraperlike tip after reworking. 157  (L6.1529, CL J 893) Text 13; Fig. 57; Pl. 27 Pointed end broken off. Max. p.L. 0.084; max. W. 0.0085; W. mid-shaft 0.007; Th. mid-shaft 0.0045. Bone segment with finished butt. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Asymmetrical point formed on slight twisted distal 0.01. Tip broken off obliquely down exterior with evidence of continued use after break. Constrictions in medullary edges ca. 0.002 long, one beginning 0.0015, other 0.003, from grip end, with depressed surfaces and toward end less well finished than rest. Surfaces now worn, but originally polished.

220

the minor objects

158  (L6.1530, CL J 893) Text 13 Mended from two fragments; pointed end broken off and more than one-half of grip and adjacent shaft split away. Max. p.L. 0.065; max. p.W. grip end 0.011; Th. grip end 0.014; W. shaft at break 0.007. Whole bone with articulation (average?). Ovicaprine Mp., unfused distal grip; 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red). Articular processes on top blunted, on sides flattened. Point probably well centered on one face.

164  (L6.607, CL J 886) Text 31; Pl. 27 Tip of point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.0632; W. grip end 0.018; Th. grip end 0.012; W. mid-shaft 0.0115; Th. mid-shaft 0.006. Half bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mc., proximal grip; 10YR 5/3 (brown). Slightly concavesided, fairly well-centered point with concave beveling on interior just at end. Tip broken off obliquely down interior, leaving small concavity, edges of which worn from continued use. Well polished.

159  (L6.635, CL J 889) Text 22; Fig. 56; Pl. 27 Tip of point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.0585; W. grip 0.016; Th. grip 0.01; W. ca. mid-length 0.08; Th. ca. mid-length ca. 0.006. Whole bone with articulation (short). Hare Ti., distal grip, with some grinding of articular processes; 10YR 5/4 (yellowish brown). Tip of point irregularly battered off obliquely from exterior. Polished surface with group of irregular scratches on back of shaft ca. mid-length.

165  (L6.1527, CL J 886) Text 31; Pl. 27 Broken off at both ends, split longitudinally. Max. p.L. 0.01385; max. p.W. 0.0155; max. p.Th. 0.01. Probably unworked bone used ad hoc. Large ruminant Ul.; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown) with much mottling 7.5YR 4/1 (gray). Smaller end battered down with blunted tang at one edge.

160  (L7.99, CL BD 615) Text 100; Fig. 57; Pl. 27 Intact. L. 0.074; W. grip 0.0125; Th. grip 0.007; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.004. Bone segment with modified articulation. Pig Mp. (I or IV), distal grip; 7.5YR 5/4 (brown). Silver of bone with roughly triangular segment of articulation at butt. Tip of point wear chipped fairly directly. Polished surfaces somewhat worn.

Ler MN 1 161  (L6.643, J 768) Text 31; Pl. 27 Butt and most of one edge of shaft missing. Max. p.L. 0.0515; max. p.W. 0.007; max. p.Th. 0.0045. Needle/toggle? Medium limb segment; 10YR 7/4 (grayish brown), mostly darkened to 10YR 5/2 (grayish brown). Well-centered concave-sided point tapered on final 0.01 with some flattening from flatter surface, with fine sharp tip wear blunted with small nick off diagonally from one side. Well polished. 162  (L6.646, J 770) Text 31; Pl. 27 Point and tanglike section of shaft preserved. Max. p.L. 0.047; max. p.W. 0.007; max. p.Th. 0.004. UD fragment. Medium limb bone; 2.5Y 6/6 (olive yellow). Sharp, slightly asymmetrical point of triangular section formed on angle of one face and adjacent side that carries fabrication striations and widely spaced curving diagonal grooves. At butt end flat tang irregularly beveled to spatulate tip of elliptical contour, W. ca. 0.002, which shows evidence of ad hoc use as scraper/polisher. Well polished. 163  (L6.482, CL J 867) Text 31; Pl. 27 Intact. L. 0.065; max. W. 0.014; max. Th. 0.0045. Whole bone with articulation (average). Pig Fi. with proximal grip; 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red). Point surface smoothed but not chipped from wear, crack into medullary cavity from rubbing. Glassy polish.

166  (L6.642, CL J 887) Text 31; Pl. 27 Pointed end only preserved, tip chipped off. Max. p.L. 0.0525; max. p.W. 0.013; max. p.Th. 0.005. Whole or half bone with articulation. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow). Higher border of medullary edge worked down into broad, shallow concavity, probably for fingerhold at ca. mid-length; slight flattening of edge opposite. Tip roughly chipped off obliquely from side opposite concavity with evidence of continued use after damage. 167  (L6.650, CL J 887) Text 31; Fig. 57; Pl. 27 Intact. L. 0.059; max. W. 0.01; max. Th. 0.007. Bone segment with modified articulation. Ovicaprine Mp., unfused proximal grip; ca. 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown), darkened at tip 7.5YR 5/6 (strong brown). Slender, asymmetrical point formed by taper of shaft from one side for ca. one-third of length with some flattening on exterior. Fine sharp tip wear chipped obliquely on one side. Polish concentrated on corners of shaft and tip. 168  (L6.637, CL J 888) Text 31; Pl. 27 Intact. L. 0.075; max. W. 0.007; max. Th. 0.005. One of a kind. Fish spine; 10YR 5/4 (yellowish brown). Portion of shaft split off diagonally from one side for ca. 0.02 at distal end to form asymmetrical point with fine sharp tip wear chipped obliquely from the interior. Polished. 169  (L6.818, CL J 888) Text 31; Pl. 27 Mended from three fragments; grip end broken off and tip of point chipped. Max. p.L. 0.0635; max. p.W. 0.0105; max. p.Th. 0.0037. UD fragment. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 5/4 (brown). Short, fairly symmetrical point formed at end with tip wear chipped on one side toward exterior. 170  (L6.654, J 818) Text 34; Fig. 57; Pl. 27 Shaft from pointed end to perforation preserved.

BONE

Max. L. 0.057; max. W. 0.0095; max. p.Th. 0.0046; Diam. perforation 0.006. Needle/toggle? Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Well-worked splinter thinned at proximal end where perforation bored mostly from one face and then reamed through from opposite sides; rather thick point with sharp round-blunted tip. Somewhat worn polish. 171  (L6.1532, CL J 895) Text 34 Pointed end broken off; shaft chipped. Max. p.L. 0.06; W. grip 0.015; Th. grip 0.009; W. shaft just above break 0.0087; Th. shaft just above break 0.0049. Bone segment with modified articulation. Ovicaprine Mc., immature distal grip; 10YR 7/4 (very pale brown). Some trimming of articulation; beginning of asymmetrical taper to point just at break. Much-worn surface. 172  (L6.634, CL J 897) Text 35; Fig. 56; Pl. 27 Intact. L. 0.06; max. W. grip 0.024; Th. grip 0.0158; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.014; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.009. Whole bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mc., mature distal grip; 10YR 5/3 (brown). Concavesided, well off-center point, worked on rough segment to side of one face of shaft for distal quarter, with secondary taper to fine sharp jabbing tip wear chipped obliquely from interior to exterior, primarily on one side. Slight flattening of sides of articulation. Surface worn, water(?) damage. 173  (L7.380, CL BE 593) Text 124; Pl. 27 Grip slightly chipped. L. 0.0665; max. W. 0.008; max. Th. 0.006; W. (medial) 0.0065 × 0.0035. Whole bone with articulation (average). Hare Ra. with proximal grip; 7.5YR 7/8 (reddish yellow). Point with sharp tip now somewhat blunted and worn smooth from use with no chipping wear. Glassy polish on shaft, including medullary; articulation dull. 174  (L7.383, BE 594) Text 124; Pl. 27 Tip only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.0285; W. 0.007; Th. 0.004. UD. Medium limb bone; 2.5Y 7/4 (pale yellow). Slightly asymmetrical point with fine sharp tip.

Ler MN 2 175  (L6.496, CL J 885) Text 37; Pl. 28 Intact. L. 0.082; W. grip 0.025; Th. grip 0.0158; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.015. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mc., mature distal grip; 5YR 5/8 (yellowish red). Broad, solid point, distinctly set off from shaft in distal quarter, flattened by long shallow bevel on exterior. Tip wear chipped obliquely on interior and around one side onto exterior. Side of condyles flattened, probably from use, especially on side opposite that on which point formed. Worn polish concentrated on distal end.

221

176  (L6.611, CL J 885) Text 37; Pl. 28 Grip chipped. L. 0.0565; max. W. grip 0.027; Th. grip 0.019; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.008; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.005. Whole bone with articulation (short); atypical. Ovicaprine Ul., mature proximal grip, edge of which now broken off roughly around notch; 10YR 7/6 (yellow). Short segment of shaft worked into sturdy triangular point with tip showing some pressure faceting. Projecting edge of notch darkened and smoothed from use. Polished. 177  (L6.498, J 722) Text 43; Pl. 28 Mended from three fragments; pointed end broken off, butt slightly chipped. Max. p.L. 0.116; W. grip 0.0215; Th. grip 0.0176; Diam. shaft 0.010–0.012. Whole bone with articulation (long). Ovicaprine Ti., just fusing distal grip; 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red). Diagonal facet on juncture of one face and side suggests point worked at corner of this face and side near distal end. Point broken off, blunt burin-like tip remaining shows evidence of secondary use. 178  (L6.510, J 722) Text 43; Pl. 28 Point and part of shaft preserved. Max. p.L. 0.052; max. p.W. 0.01; max. p.Th. 0.007. UD fragment. Medium limb bone; 10YR 5/6 (yellowish brown). Point asymmetrically tapered just at end of shaft with strong beveling from interior; tip wear chipped on both interior and exterior, slightly more invasively from former. Butt end broken off to rounded scooplike form, edges of which show ad hoc use. 179  (L6.489, CL J 882) Text 44; Pl. 28 Tip of point battered off. Max. p.L. 0.065; W. grip 0.01; Th. grip 0.01; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.005; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0035. Bone segment with modified articulation. Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 5/2 (brown) with grip mostly 10YR 8/8 (yellow). Verticilli and retained side of condyle ground flat; distal one-third beveled on interior to slender point with additional longitudinal faceting on exterior. Tip obliquely wear-battered down interior. Very highly polished. 180  (L6.447, CL J 883) Text 44; Pl. 28 One end broken off. Max. p.L. 0.06; max. p.W. 0.0055; max. p.Th. 0.0052. Double-pointed(?) splinter. Medium limb bone; 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red). Gnarled shaft with shallow finger depression on one side ca. one-third of length from preserved end blunt pointed with surfaces laminating from use and slight associated chipping. Somewhat worn surfaces. 181  (L7.98, CL BD 611) Text 102; Pl. 28 Intact? Max. p.L. 0.0685; max. p.W. 0.009; max. p.Th. 0.003. UD fragment. Medium limb bone; 2.5Y 6/2 (light brownish gray). Slender, flat splinter constricted just at

222

the minor objects

back of short point to form sharp pyramidal tip worn on surfaces but not chipped. 182  (L7.92, CL BD 605) Text 105; Fig. 57; Pl. 28 One corner and adjacent edge of side of butt chipped off. L. 0.066; max. W. 0.01; max. Th. 0.006; W. mid-shaft 0.009; Th. mid-shaft 0.006. Bone segment with finished butt; atypical. Large limb bone; 10YR 4/3 (brown). Shaft, heavier than normal in this class, with irregularly rectangular transverse section at butt end, circular transverse section at point end and uneven transition between, especially on interior. Tip strong and sharp blunted with only slight associated chipping. Very well finished and polished. 183  (L7.225, BD 610) Text 106; Fig. 57; Pl. 28 Complete, mended from two fragments; chipped at break and tip battered off. Max. p.L. 0.072; max. W. grip 0.02; Th. grip 0.0082; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.007; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0045. Bone segment with modified articulation. Medium Mp., immature distal grip; mostly 5R 2.5/2 (very dusky red). Grip ground neatly to rounded cuboid shape. Tip wear battered down obliquely more on the interior toward one edge, less from exterior. 184  (L7.384, CL BE 587) Text 128; Fig. 57; Pl. 28 Pointed end chipped off. Max. p.L. 0.048; max. p.W. 0.0095; max. p.Th. 0.0032; W. mid-shaft 0.007; Th. mid-shaft 0.003. Bone segment with finished butt. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 4/2 (brown). Straight butt, thinned from both faces, with additional beveling of one corner on interior. One edge of medullary cavity flattened for ca. one-third of length from grip, in other edge shallow concavity ca. 0.013 long just inside butt. Tip of point chipped off diagonally on exterior toward one corner. Interior surface of butt worn from scraping/rubbing use. Polished. 185  (L7.365, BE 590) Text 129; Pl. 28 Complete in secondary use, mended from two fragments with chipping at break; tip battered off. P.L. 0.097; max. W. 0.01; max. Th. 0.003; W. midlength 0.007; Th. mid-length 0.003. Bone segment with finished butt. Medium limb bone; 10YR 5/3 (brown). Tapering shaft with point somewhat off median; in one edge of medullary shallow concavity 0.013 long beginning ca. 0.0175 from butt end. Corner of asymmetrically convex butt broken off and surface incompletely reground; point split off up interior surface and thin rough tang remaining apparently reused as scraper/polisher. Somewhat worn surface. 186  (L7.493, BE 591) Text 129; Pl. 28 Point only preserved, tip battered off. Max. p.L. 0.0325; max. W. 0.011; Th. 0.0045. Bone segment with modified articulation(?); see 206 below, p. 224. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Slight depression in medullary edge on one side possible fingerhold; point formed on final 0.007

beveled convexly on interior, concavely on exterior. Tip wear chipped obliquely down exterior; evidence of scraping wear after break on proximal end. 187  (L7.381, CL BE 580) Text 134; Fig. 56; Pl. 28 Intact. L. 0.051; W. grip 0.012; Th. grip 0.0087; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.008; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0045. Half bone with articulation (short). Pig Mp. (I or IV), mature distal grip; 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown). Shallow concavity (fingerhold?) near grip on one side of exterior. Thick (0.0025) point with secondary slightly concave taper on side of greater use; tip wear chipped fairly directly just at end, only slightly heavier to one side. Verticilli on both faces and side of condyle flattened.

Ler MN 3 188  (L6.1519, J 683) Text 49; Pl. 29 Tip of point chipped off. Max. p.L. 0.05; max. W. grip 0.022; Th. grip 0.0154; W. shaft mid-length 0.012; Th. shaft mid-length 0.009. Whole bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mt., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown) with some staining on tip 7.5Y 3/4 (dusky red). Short asymmetrical point flattened on exterior surface. Point heavily wear chipped on interior at long twisted diagonal, splitting off surface for ca. 0.005 as preserved. Some faceting of shaft and backs of verticilli and sides of condyles flattened. 189  (L6.618, CL J 863) Text 49; Fig. 56; Pl. 29 Intact. L. 0.092; W. grip 0.0145; Th. grip 0.011; W. shaft midlength 0.008; Th. shaft mid-length 0.0045. Half bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Tip wear blunted diagonally on exterior. Verticilli slightly flattened on both faces. Well polished. 190  (L6.1520, CL J 863) Text 49; Pl. 29 Intact as reworked. L. 0.0695; W. grip 0.021; Th. grip 0.021; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.009; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.008. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mt., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). In secondary use, splinter of one edge of medullary cavity split off and thick (0.0025) point sharpened just at end with tip wear battered down exterior toward one side. Verticilli worn; surfaces dulled from dampness(?). 191  (L6.490, CL J 879) Text 50; Fig. 56; Pl. 29 Intact. L. 0.0475; W. grip 0.021; Th. grip 0.014. Whole bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mp., unfused distal grip; 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red) over 10YR 8/1 (white). Point thinned on exterior, finely beveled on sides, wear chipped just at tip more from one side than other. Polish concentrated on convex side of point, presumably where most used. 192  (L6.506, CL J 879) Text 50; Fig. 57; Pl. 29 One tip chipped off.

BONE

Max. p.L. 0.079; max. p.W. 0.007; max. Th. 0.004. Double-pointed(?) splinter. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 5/6 (strong brown). Probably splinter of larger tool slightly reworked. Fine sharp primary tip wear chipped obliquely down side of constriction; some evidence of use of jagged tanglike opposite end. Much worn. 193  (L6.454, J 655) Text 62; Pl. 29 Complete, mended from two fragments. L. 0.05; max. W. articulation 0.022; Th. articulation 0.014. Whole bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mt., mature distal grip; 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red) with paint on condyles 10YR 4/8 (red). Well-centered point formed by beveling off distal 0.02 of shaft; above point ca. mid-shaft broad shallow concavity, for fingerhold(?). Point thinned from both faces, tip obliquely wear chipped from corner of side and adjacent face. Verticilli ground flat on faces, condyles on sides. Well polished. 194  (L6.1518, J 660) Text 62; Pl. 29 Point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.068; p.W. grip 0.025; Th. grip 0.0165; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.016; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.01. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mc., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/4 (pink). Tip broken off by fairly direct heavy percussion with considerable wear chipping on interior on proximal portion of beveled surface. Sides of condyles and back of verticilli flattened. Worn, water-damaged surface. 195  (L6.620, J 683) Text 63; Pl. 29 Intact in final form. P.L. 0.0705; W. grip 0.024; Th. grip 0.015; W. midshaft 0.013; Th. mid-shaft 0.01. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mc., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Point tapered in two stages on one side to thick tip ca. 0.005 wide roughly flaked on both faces. Original tip apparently heavily battered to narrow, scraperlike edge chipped fairly directly with splitting surfaces on both faces. Some wear chipping of verticilli. Well polished. 196  (L6.662, CL J 857) Text 64; Pl. 29 Most of grip broken off; tip badly chipped. Max. p.L. 0.05; max. p.W. grip 0.0172; Th. grip 0.0095; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0095; Th. shaft ca. midlength 0.0085. Whole bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mp., broken distal grip; 7.5YR 7/5 (reddish yellow). Point slightly flattened on exterior and tip split off obliquely to interior with evidence of regrinding and/ or reuse as polisher. Somewhat worn surfaces. 197  (L6.613, CL J 857) Text 64; Pl. 29 Pointed end broken off. P.L. 0.078; max. W. preserved end 0.0155; Th. preserved end 0.012; W. mid-shaft 0.016; Th. mid-shaft 0.013. Awl-scraper/polisher combination(?) (cf. 252 below, p. 228). Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). At preserved end one face beveled off for

223

ca. 0.024 to produce scraper with some thinning from exterior; short horizontal incision on one side of scraper edge, possibly to guide fabrication as with stone celts (see above, p. 188). Scraper edge wear chipped mostly toward interior with concavity just off median; exterior surface worn. Traces of original polish. 198  (L6.619, CL J 862) Text 64; Pl. 29 Intact. L. 0.063; W. grip 0.024; Th. grip 0.016; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0105; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.008. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red). Point fairly thick (ca. 0.003) but sharp and slightly flattened just at tip of triangular section on exterior, with slight wear nicking on back toward one side. Articulation chipped on verticilli and flattened on condyles. Neat and well polished. 199  (L7.362, CL A 465) Text 97 Point only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.026; max. p.W. 0.007; max. p.Th. 0.0055. UD fragment. Medium/large limb bone; 7.5YR 5/4 (brown). Point with taper to tip of ca. circular section blunted fairly directly from use. Much worn. 200  (L7.363, CL A 465) Text 97; Pl. 29 Intact. L. 0.08; W. grip 0.0225; Th. grip 0.0152; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.012; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.008. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mt., incompletely fused distal grip; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Tip wear chipped obliquely on both sides. Sides of verticilli worn. Polish dulled from use or water damage.

Ler MN 3–4 201  (L7.88, BD 598) Text 111; Pl. 30 Tip of point badly chipped. P.L. 0.071; W. grip 0.024; Th. grip 0.016; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.013. Awl. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mt., mature distal grip; 10YR 7/4 (very pale brown). Back of shaft convexly beveled obliquely with hump just above point probably related to function. Tip wear chipped on both interior and exterior, more invasively (ca. 0.0035) on exterior. Much rootlet damage. 202  (L7.80, BD 600) Text 111; Fig. 57; Pl. 30 Working end of shaft only preserved. Max p.L. 0.051; max. p.W. 0.0124; max. p.Th. 0.012; Diam. point at break 0.008. Awl/borer. Large limb bone; 7.5YR 7/8 (reddish brown). Thick splinter, very well finished and glassy, especially in medullary cavity; tip battered ca. directly, with some spiraling scratches on surface. 203  (L7.87, BD 601) Text 111; Pl. 30 End of point and part of one side of shaft broken off. Max. p.L. 0.067; max. W. grip end 0.022; Th. grip end 0.0154; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0096. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mt., mature distal grip; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with

224

the minor objects

grip ca. 10YR 8/8 (yellow). Point probably originally tapered on distal one-third of one side of shaft, but side and portion of adjacent face split off roughly in use to articulation; jagged distal end shows evidence of continued use with oblique wear chipping on exterior. Verticilli flattened on dorsal face and chipped on top, condyles slightly flattened on sides. Somewhat worn polish. 204  (L7.73, CL BD 603) Text 112; Fig. 56; Pl. 30 Intact. L. 0.097; W. grip 0.024; Th. grip 0.0156; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.145; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0105. Whole bone with articulation (average, verging on long). Ovicaprine Mt., with mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/9 (reddish yellow). Long sturdy point with strong sharp point, tip with slightly obliquely wear chipped on side of point where medullary edge slightly concave, to facilitate insertion from this side. Verticilli flattened on volar face. Grinding striations prominent on flattened faces give good evidence of process of production. Good polish. 205  (L7.91, CL BD 603) Text 112; Pl. 30 Tip of point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.09; W. grip 0.01; Th. grip 0.01; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0085; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.005. Bone segment with modified articulation. Medium Mp., immature distal grip; 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) to 5Y 4/1 (dark gray). Very well finished with articulation ground to neat cuboid shape and with broad shallow concavities worked in medullary edges ca. twothirds of length from butt, probable fingerholds. Slight thickening of shaft just above point, shallow beveling at back. Tip broken off obliquely down interior. High polish. 206  (L7.385, CL BE 575) Text 137; Pl. 30 Shaft slightly chipped. L. 0.048; max. W. grip 0.013; Th. grip 0.013; W. midshaft 0.008; Th. mid-shaft 0.004. Bone segment with modified articulation. Ra.(?), mature distal grip; 7.5YR 5/6 (strong brown). Wellarticulated point with shallowly concave sides beveled for ca. 0.007 from interior, exterior, and sides. Tip wear battered on interior and one side obliquely to exterior. At butt tanglike segment of articulation trimmed flat on all sides, appropriate for grasping. High polish. 207  (L7.364, Cl BE 576) Text 137; Pl. 30 Point only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.0395; max. p.W. 0.007; max. p.Th. 0.0032. Needle/toggle? Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 3/2 (dark brown). Solid, well finished splinter; fine sharp tip chipped obliquely on exterior.

Ler MN 4 208  (L6.499, CL J 852) Text 69; Pl. 30 Pointed end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.044; max. p.W. 0.0134; max. p.Th. 0.007. Whole bone with articulation? Medium Ul.; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Sharp tip wear chipped off diagonally down one edge of interior. Well polished.

209  (L6.522, CL J 855) Text 69; Pl. 30 Pointed end and top of grip broken off. Max. p.L. 0.105; max. p.W. grip end 0.019; Th. grip end 0.0145; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.013. Whole bone with articulation (long). Ovicaprine Ti., distal grip; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). In secondary use, shaft roughly split off at diagonal ca. one-third of length from proximal end with medullary edges slightly beveled and distal end roughed into broad (ca. 0.006) burin-like scraper end. High polish now somewhat worn. 210  (L6.534, J 631 in CL J 855) Text 69 Tapering splinter with point preserved. Max. p.L. 0.067; max. p.W. 0.011; max. p.Th. 0.004. UD fragment. Medium limb bone; 5YR 5/4 (reddish brown). Ad hoc splinter possibly sharpened for use by removal of shallow splinter from one side just at tip, worn and darkened from use, with slight worn-over chipping on exterior. Dull surface. 211  (L6.612, J 631 Text 69; Fig. 56; Pl. 30 in CL J 855) Intact. L. 0.0715; W. grip 0.025; Th. grip 0.015; W. shaft midlength 0.016; Th. shaft mid-length 0.0067. Half bone with articulation (average). Cattle Mp., proximal grip; 7.5YR 4/4 (dark brown). Tip wear battered obliquely to one side down exterior. Glassy polish on interior, even in rough surface of medullary cavity. Hump on outside of shaft at pointed end.

Ler MN 4–6 212  (L7.387, BE 567) Text 141; Fig. 56; Pl. 30 Intact. L. 0.053; max. W. grip 0.018; Th. grip 0.0095; W. midshaft 0.009; Th. mid-shaft 0.004. Half bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mt., proximal grip; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Tip irregularly wear chipped directly with surface splitting off for ca. 0.005, on one side with evidence of continued use after split. Some trimming of articulation. Surface worn. 213  (L7.368, CL BE 569) Text 141; Pl. 30 Butt end broken off. P.L. 0.056; max. p.W. 0.0055; max. p.Th. 0.004. Bone segment with finished butt(?). Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Tip of pyamidal form wear chipped obliquely on one flat face and adjacent angle. Polish worn. Banks 1967: 294, no. 598. 214  (L7.366, CL BE 570) Text 141; Pl. 30 Grip and tip of point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.0525; max. p.W. 0.006; max. p.Th. 0.0035; W. mid-shaft 0.005; Th. mid-shaft 0.0035. Bone segment with finished butt(?). Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Tip step-fractured off exterior. 215  (L7.377, CL BE 570) Text 141 Complete in two nonjoined fragments, surfaces badly rootlet damaged.

BONE

L. 0.077; W. grip 0.008; Th. grip 0.007; W. shaft midlength 0.0045; Th. shaft mid-length 0.0035. Bone segment with modified articulation. Medium/ large limb bone; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Segment of articulation ground to rounded cuboid form, only trace of medullary cavity preserved. Fine, sharp tip wear chipped obliquely down side on interior. 216  (L7.519, CL BE 571) Text 142; Pl. 30 Tip and part of adjacent side broken off; butt reground and badly battered. Max. p.L. 0.0567; max. W. 0.0065; max. Th. 0.0037; W. mid-shaft 0.006; Th. mid-shaft 0.003. Bone segment with finished butt. Medium limb bone; 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown) splotchily mottled 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red). Butt reground to shallowly convex contour with fairly angular shoulders. 217  (L7.382, CL BE 572) Text 142; Pl. 30 Butt end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.039; max. p.W. 0.007; max. p.Th. 0.0045. Bone segment with finished butt(?). Medium Premx. splinter; 7.5YR 5/4 (brown) with speckling 7.5YR 3/2 (dark brown). Ca. 0.007 from end on inner surface, four shallow irregular incisions extend partway across surface perpendicular to longitudinal axis. Well polished. 218  (L7.492, CL BE 574) Text 142; Pl. 30 Proximal end roughly broken off with traces of reworking after break. P.L. 0.056; max. p.W. 0.0125; max. p.Th. 0.008. One of a kind bone segment with split tip. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR N3/ (very dark gray). Broad point, provided with double-pronged tip by removal of very fine, elongated triangular fragment, extended onto exterior surface as fine incised line for 0.002; two fine parallel longitudinal incisions toward one edge of exterior, one 0.013 long, other 0.015, running onto break. In one medullary edge concavity at ca. median, possible fingerhold. Polished, especially on interior of preserved end and parts of exterior. Wiencke 2000: 73–74.

Ler MN 5 219  (L5.444, CL J 453) Text 75; Pl. 31 Intact in secondary use; badly chipped grip. L. 0.079; max. p.W. grip 0.013; Th. grip 0.007; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.013; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0065. Bone segment with modified articulation. Ovicaprine Mc., immature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/4 (pink). Substantial segment of bone shaft and slightly pared articulation used for tool. Rough burin-like point well off median apparently product of break and continued ad hoc use. Surface water-damaged. 220  (L7.81, CL BD 590) Text 116; Fig. 56; Pl. 31 Intact. L. 0.0785; W. grip 0.023; Th. grip 0.023; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.014. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 8/4 (pink) with speckling 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). Tip flattened on both interior and exterior surfaces with slight wear chipping on

225

exterior, horizontal indentation ca. 0.002 from end of exterior face and on interior a line of short ca. horizontal indentations from pressure. Top of verticilli worn. Worn surface. 221  (L7.82, CL BD 590) Text 116; Pl. 31 Slightly chipped grip. L. 0.061; W. grip 0.0205; Th. grip 0.0134; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0125; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.01. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mp., fused distal grip; 7.5YR 7/4 (pink) speckled 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). Sturdy point with thick (0.0025) tip with slight flattening on exterior and faceting on interior from one side; worn flatter on one side than other. Polish somewhat worn. 222  (L7.83, CL BD 590) Text 116; Fig. 57; Pl. 31 Intact? Max. p.L. 0.063; W. grip end 0.011; Th. grip end 0.0068; W. ca. mid-shaft 0.009; Th. ca. mid-shaft 0.0045. Bone segment with modified articulation. Ovicaprine Mp.; 7.5YR 6/2 (pinkish gray). At proximal end cancellous edge of articulation retained as grip. Tip worn on surface with some pressure indentations mostly on interior, but not chipped. Surfaces worn. 223  (L7.95, CL BD 594) Text 116; Pl. 31 Complete, mended from two fragments. Considerable ochrous incrustation. L. 0.076; max. W. grip 0.01; Th. grip 0.0065; W. shaft mid-length 0.008; Th. shaft mid-length 0.006. Bone segment with modified articulation. Medium Mc., proximal grip; 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). Asymmetrical point tapered primarily from one side in distal 0.025, defined on one side by prominent constriction in medullary edge, for finger(?), from which edge rolled from exterior to interior with, in medullary edge of other side, shallow concavity, for finger(?); shallow concavities ca. 0.02 long, roughly worked and probably secondary to manufacture, in medullary edges near grip. Tip stepfractured off on side with concavity in medullary edge. Well polished. 224  (L7.93, BD 599) Text 117: Fig. 56; Pl. 31 Complete, mended from two fragments; tip badly battered. L. 0.0925; W. grip 0.0272; Th. grip 0.019; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.015. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Ra., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Shaft unmodified, top and sides of articulation slightly trimmed on high spots. Asymmetrical point well off median beveled to side of one face on distal 0.025. Thick tip (ca. 0.002) with step-fracture up interior face ca. 0.007 long and associated oblique wear chipping on exterior for ca. 0.003 toward one edge, with evidence of continued use after damage. Dull, waterworn(?) surface. 225  (L7.85, BD 589) Text 119; Fig. 56; Pl. 31 Tip of point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.096; W. grip 0.014; Th. grip 0.009; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0069; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0068.

226

the minor objects

Whole bone with articulation (average, verging on long). Hare Ti., distal grip; 5YR 5/1 (gray) over 7.5YR 8/2 (pinkish white). Slender shaft faceted longitudinally with many fabrication striations, more emphatically at grip. Tip only 0.001 thick, broken off obliquely on exterior with some evidence of regrinding and/or reuse after break; heavy striations on exterior of tip, essentially enhancement, as result of heavy use, of natural grain of bone. Some trimming of tuberosities of articulation.

Ler MN 6 226  (L6.548, J 589) Text 89; Pl. 31 Pointed end only preserved, sporadic fine chipping of surface. Max. p.L. 0.0485; max. p.W. 0.0085; Th. 0.004; p.W. mid-length 0.0073; Th. 0.0041. Awl/needle/toggle? Medium to large limb bone; ca. 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown). Blunt tip battered down diagonally from one face to other. Ground to glassy polish. Banks 1967: 294, 329; Wiencke 2000: 73. 227  (L6.600, J 590) Text 89; Pl. 31 Tip chipped off. Max. p.L. 0.055; max. Diam. head end 0.004; Diam. shaft median 0.0033 × 0.003. Fish spine; 7.5YR 4/2 (dark brown) with mottling 7.5YR 5/8 (strong brown). Naturally wrinkled surface ground off at tapering, well-polished pointed end. Very fine sharp tip wear chipped off at slight oblique from side to side with small tanglike projection left on one face. 228  (L6.616, J 590) Text 89; Pl. 31 Intact in final use. L. 0.051; max. W. 0.011; max. Th. 0.0065. UD. Large limb bone; 7.5YR 7/6 (yellowish red), darkened on most of exterior to 7.5YR 5/6 (strong brown). Thick segment of bone from larger tool (whole bone with articulation?) with medullary for ca. threefourths of preserved length, tapered at one end mostly from one edge to form asymmetrical point with sharp tip of lenticular section slightly nicked on edge of strong taper. Well polished at pointed end. 229  (L7.90, CL BD 577) Text 122; Pl. 32 Intact? L. 0.0385; max. W. 0.0065; max. Th. 0.0055. One of a kind. Bird bone shaft segment; 2.5 Y7/6 (yellow). Slightly more than one-half of circumference of hollow bone retained, flattened on circumference, with butt edge diagonal to longitudinal axis. Fine sharp point. Very well polished. Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 230  (L7.96, CL BD 577) Text 122; Fig. 57; Pl. 32 Tip battered off. Max. p.L. 0.049; max. W. grip 0.011; Th. grip 0.011; W. shaft mid-length 0.0075; Th. shaft mid-length 0.0045. Bone segment with modified articulation. Medium Mp., distal grip; 7.5YR 5/2 (brown). Well-worked shaft flattened all along exterior by two slender longitudinal facets. Tip battered obliquely down interior.

Articulation ground flat on top and sides to below point of fusion. Very highly polished. Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 231  (L7.89, CL BD 579) Text 122; Pl. 32 Intact but cracked down dorsal groove. L. 0.0755; W. grip 0.019; Th. grip 0.019; W. shaft midlength ca. 0.009. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mt., unfused distal grip; 10YR 4/1 (dark gray). Tip, slightly flattened on exterior, very sharp and wear chipped obliquely on exterior. Polish generally worn but still high on medullary at pointed end. Wiencke 2000: 153–154. 232  (L7.97, CL BD 579) Text 122; Pl. 32 Intact. L. 0.05; W. grip 0.013; Th. grip 0.0091; W. mid-shaft 0.0091; Th. mid-shaft 0.004. Half bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Sharp tip wear blunted obliquely down exterior. Exterior of condyle ground flat. Originally well polished. Wiencke 2000: 153–154. 233  (L7.79, CL BD 593) Text 123; Pl. 32 Pointed end only preserved, tip chipped. Max. p.L. 0.06; max. p.W. 0.015; max. p.Th. 0.0089. Whole bone with articulation(?). Medium Ul.; 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown), splotchily mottled 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Tip obliquely wear chipped down interior surface. Very highly polished. 234  (L7.94, CL BD 593) Text 123; Pl. 32 Complete, mended from two fragments. L. 0.075; W. grip 0.0225; Th. grip 0.0154; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.013; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.009. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mc., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) splotchily mottled over 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown). Thick (0.0025 at tip) point at corner of dorsal face and side, with some flattening on exterior just at tip obliquely blunted fairly directly with associated chipping at sides, heavier to interior. Sides of condyles flattened, verticilli worn on top. 235  (L7.163, CL HTN 119) Text 148: Pl. 32 Intact in secondary use. L. 0.092; max. W. grip 0.023; Th. grip 0.0155; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.015. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/4 (pink) with grip 5Y 6/1–5BG 6/1 (gray–greenish gray), as if in contact with copper. Shaft in use split off irregularly in curving bevel ca. mid-length, twisted burin-like point worked on corner of one face and side with beveling from both faces to straight edge ca. 0.0035 wide with high polish on high spots from use as polisher. Tops of verticilli worn, one condylar side slightly flattened. Banks 1967: 276, no. 535. 236  (L7.171, CL HTN 125) Text 149; Pl. 32 Tip of point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.079; W. grip 0.015; Th. grip 0.009; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.007; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.005.

BONE

Whole bone with articulation (average). Pig (large) Fi., proximal grip; 10YR 8/3 (very pale brown) with mottling 10YR 5/1 (gray). Slight grinding of shaft, more extensive grinding of articulation, especially on one face. Banks 1967: 266, no. 489; Wiencke 2000: 79–80. 237  (L7.162, CL HTN 133) Text 149; Pl. 32 Point only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.051; max. p.W. 0.013; max. p.Th. 0.0069. Whole or half bone with articulation(?). Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow). Fine, sharp tip obliquely chipped off from exterior. High polish. Banks 1967: 294, no. 597. 238  (L7.170, CL HTN 133) Text 149; Fig. 56; Pl. 32 Intact. L. 0.067; W. grip 0.021; Th. grip 0.0148; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0064; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.005. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Mt., mature distal grip; mottled to 7.5YR 5/6 (strong brown). Very sharp tip slightly twisted longitudinally and wear chipped obliquely on interior. Verticilli slightly ground/worn on both faces. 239  (L7.165, CL HTN 143) Text 150; Pl. 32 Intact. Max. p.L. 0.061; p.W. grip 0.009; Th. grip 0.0055; W. mid-shaft 0.006; Th. mid-shaft 0.004. Bone segment with modified articulation. Medium limb bone; 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown) with splotchy mottling 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Fine, sharp tip wear chipped diagonally down one side. Grip end rough with edge of cancellous of base of articulation. Polished. Banks 1967: 277, no. 536. 240  (L7.173, CL HTN 143) Text 150; Pl. 32 Most of grip and all of pointed end broken off. Max. p.L. 0.095; W. grip end 0.011; Th. grip end 0.0093; W. shaft at break 0.009. Whole bone with articulation (long). Small canid Ti.; mostly 5YR 5/6 (yellowish red). Point jaggedly broken off with evidence of secondary battering and darkening to 5YR 4/4 (reddish brown) from use. Polished. Banks 1967: 266, no. 490. 241  (L7.167, CL HTN 128) Text 152 Pointed end only preserved, tip broken off. Max. p.L. 0.034; max. p.W. 0.005; max. Th. 0.0035. UD. Medium limb bone; 5YR 3/2 (dark reddish brown). Tip battered off fairly directly but continued to be used. Banks 1967: 371, no. 894; Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 242  (L7.156, CL HTN 131) Text 152; Fig. 56; Pl. 32 Intact. L. 0.045; W. grip 0.0145; Th. grip 0.0095; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.006; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.003. Half bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown). Sharp tip wear blunted obliquely from interior to one side. Side of condyle flattened, verticilli slightly ground on both faces. Well polished. 243  (L7.172, CL HTN 131) Text 152; Pl. 32 Grip broken off.

227

Max. p.L. 0.042; max. p.W. 0.006; max. p.Th. 0.002. Bone segment with finished butt(?). Medium limb bone; 10YR 8/6 (yellow) with mottling 5/6 (strong brown). Slender shaft with parallel sides. Tip wear chipped obliquely on interior. Very well finished with glassy polish.

Ler MN Unphased 244  (L7.388, BE 491) Text 157; Fig. 57; Pl. 33 Intact. L. 0.049; max. W. 0.007; max. Th. 0.0033; W. midshaft 0.006; Th. mid-shaft 0.003. Bone segment with finished butt. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 8/4 (pink). Shaft longitudinally faceted on exterior and butt half flattened and constricted to edge with rounded corners strongly oblique to longitudinal axis. Tip wear chipped down obliquely from exterior and interior surfaces. Well polished. 245  (L8.79, BI 14) Text 158 Butt broken off. Max. p.L. 0.039; max. p.W. 0.0072; max. p.Th. 0.0038. UD fragment. Medium/large limb bone; 5Y 8/2 (white) splotchily mottled 7.5YR 6/8 (reddish brown). Tapering shaft flat with medullary cavity almost completely worked away and slight constriction on one side 0.0015 from tip. Irregularly faceted pyramidal tip slightly wear chipped just at end and on one edge. 246  (L7.169, HTJ 5) Text 158; Pl. 33 Intact. L. 0.042; max. W. articulation 0.0228; Th. articulation 0.004. Whole bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mt., mature distal grip; 5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow). Tip slightly wear chipped on interior primarily at one side. Verticilli and sides of condyles flattened. 247  (L6.628, J 759) Text 160; Pl. 33 Intact but shaft split up from tip. L. 0.109; max. W. 0.0135; max. Th. 0.018. Awl/borer. Large limb bone; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Heavy shaft with finger depressions, one ca. 0.035 from tip, second ca. 0.045. Solid tip chipped on two contiguous facets between which split begins; darkened on exterior. Polish primarily on pointed end. Butt end broken off roughly with convex edge, 0.008 wide and oblique to longitudinal axis, used ad hoc as rubber/polisher. 248  (L6.560, CL J 875) Text 161; Pl. 33 Intact in secondary use. L. 0.067; max. W. 0.013; max. Th. 0.0075. Ad hoc awl/borer. Large limb bone; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Rough, unworked heavy splinter with thick blunt tip of chance oblique to longitudinal axis, might have seen ad hoc use as awl and rubber/polisher. Traces of polish on both interior and exterior. 249  (L6.494, CL J 876) Text 161; Pl. 33 Intact. L. 0.084; max. W. 0.0275; max. Th. 0.018. Whole bone with articulation grip (average; doublepointed). Ovicaprine Ra., fusing distal articulation grip; 7.5YR 4/4 (brown–dark brown). Double-barbed point

228

the minor objects

formed on distal end by removing large triangular fragment and beveling blunt-tipped triangular points from interior and exterior faces of bone. Some grinding of articulation on dorsal face. Polish concentrated on pointed end. 250  (L8.3, JC 13) Text 156; Pl. 33 Ca. two-thirds of grip and tip of point broken off. Max. p.L. 0.046; max. p.W. grip end 0.0154; Th. grip end 0.0089; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0085; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.008. Whole bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mp., unfused distal grip; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown) with discoloration at tip and splotchy mottling over surface 5YR 2.5/2 (dark reddish brown). Fine tip with oblique wear chipping on interior, slightly more from one side than other. High polish.

Ler Mixed Fill 251  (L7.360, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 33 Intact. L. 0.0725; W. grip 0.026; Th. grip 0.0195; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.011; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.005. Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Ti., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/5 (reddish yellow). Exterior surface of point somewhat flattened with chipping of surface on one side, fine sharp tip. Some grinding of processes of articulation. Glassy polish on shaft extending into medullary cavity. Banks 1967: 277, no. 538; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 252  (L7.361, CL A 470) Text 166; Fig. 57; Pl. 33 Tip chipped off. L. 0.0645; max. W. 0.014; Th. (medial) 0.013. Awl-scraper/polisher combination (cf. 197, above, p. 223). Medium limb bone; 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown) mottled 5YR 6/4 (light reddish brown). At one end heavy point on median with tip battered off down exterior. At other, articulation cut off straight just below verticilli and beveled ca. one-third of length, portion remaining worked into thick scoop/scraperlike edge well flattened on back with original corner preserved fairly angular, opposite edge worn rounded from rubbing/ scraping extends ca. 0.01 down back. Light polish. Banks 1967: 277, no. 539; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 253  (L7.370, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 33 Intact. L. 0.045; max. W. grip 0.014; Th. grip 0.011; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0085; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.006. Half bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 7.5YR 7/4 (pink). Tip, darkened from use, blunted fairly directly with some chipping on side where interior bevel concave, presumably to facilitate insertion. Verticilli ground flat on both faces, slight grinding of condyle with grinding continuing down shaft. Banks 1967: 277, no. 540; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 254  (L7.371, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 33 Complete, mended from two fragments; tip battered down. L. 0.075; max. W. grip 0.025; Th. grip 0.0187; W. shaft ca. mid-length 0.015; Th. shaft ca. mid-length 0.0135.

Whole bone with articulation (average). Ovicaprine Ti., unfused proximal grip; 7.5YR 5/2 (brown) with darkening on exterior of tip and on interior of point and adjacent section of shaft 5YR 2.5/2 (dark reddish brown). Slight flattening of processes of articulation. Thick heavy point on preserved distal, 0.025 of corner of one face and side with tip battered down fairly directly. Light polish except on grip. Banks 1967: 277, no. 541; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 255  (L7.372, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 33 Intact with some wear at grip end. L. 0.082; W. butt 0.0125 × 0.006; W. point 0.006; Th. point 0.003. Whole with articulation (average). Pig Fi., unfused proximal grip; ca 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Short blunt triangular tip cut at distal end with beveling from both faces. Polish concentrated at working end. Banks 1967: 267, no. 492; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 256  (L7.376, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 33 Tip of one end broken off. Max. p.L. 0.063; max. p.W. 0.0066; max. p.Th. 0.0045. Double-pointed splinter. Medium Ul.; 7.5YR 4/4 (dark brown). Gnarled shaft worked at one end for ca. 0.005 to fine asymmetrical point of ca. circular section, tip broken off straight with evidence of continued use after break. Rough blunt tanglike projection ca. 0.0025 wide at opposite end possibly used as scraper. Polished, particularly on high spots. Banks 1967: 294, no. 599; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 257  (L3.334, trench E cuts 10–13) Text 167 Segment of shaft only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.047; max. p.W. 0.068; max. p.Th. 0.005. UD. Medium limb bone; 10YR 8/4 (very pale brown). Tapering shaft of subrectangular transverse section. Tip battered down directly. Surface worn. Banks 1967: 294, no. 594. 258  (L5.271, CL J 442) Text 171; Pl. 33 Slightly chipped shaft. L. 0.076; max. W. grip 0.013; Th. grip 0.0087; W. median 0.005; Th. median 0.004. Whole bone with articulation (average). Hare Ul., proximal grip; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Natural taper of shaft enhanced just at point by asymmetrical tapering and distinct beveling on interior surface for ca. 0.005; very fine sharp tip. High polish extending even onto rough edges of articulation. Banks 1967: 266, no. 491, Wiencke 2000: 37–38. 259  (L5.293, CL J 442) Text 171; Pl. 33 Intact. L. 0.054; max. W. grip end 0.016; Th. grip end 0.0125; W. shaft mid-length 0.009; Th. shaft mid-length 0.004. Half bone with articulation (short). Ovicaprine Mp., mature distal grip; 5YR 4/6 (yellowish red) with condyle 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Sharp tip wear chipped on same side as side of condyle flattened from use; other side of grip ground smooth providing good support for finger. Glassy polish on shaft, rest somewhat worn. Banks 1967: 276, no. 534; Wiencke 2000: 37–38.

BONE

270 (whole limb bone with articulation)

286

229

273

283

(limb bone segment)

Figure 58. Examples of bone scraper/polisher types (270, 273, 283, 286). Scale 1:2

Scraper/Polisher Both limb bones and ribs were worked into tools, normally with spatulate ends, suitable for scraping and/or polishing tasks. The Lerna tools in this category are heterogeneous, without the comparatively clear-cut groups outlined for the awls, and they often have an ad hoc look. The heavier tools would have been well suited to the defleshing of skins, the finer for their more delicate finishing. Other tasks for which they were used, including woodworking and pot production, have been suggested by Perlès (Perlès 2001: 239). Some might have been used as retouchoirs in the flint-knapping process. No wear-analysis studies have been conducted on the Lerna bones, which might identify more specifically the tasks for which individual tools were used. Thirty-one possible scraper/polishers have been catalogued. Of these, 23 were made on limb bones, seven on ribs; a pig incisor may be unworked and was used ad hoc, if at all. Scrapers on split limb bones were the most common, accounting for 19 of the total; on only two of these was all or part of the natural articulation retained at the proximal end. For the typical rib scrapers, the whole rib was the more common matrix, in four of seven instances.

Whole and Split Limb Bone with Articulation Retained as Grip As with the awls made on limb bones, the 23 catalogued scraper/polishers were fashioned from whole and half bones with the articulation retained for the grip, and from segments of bone. A whole ovicaprine tibia and metapodial were used for the two reasonably well-preserved whole bone scraper/polishers with one articulation, normally the distal, retained as a grip, and a portion of the shaft beveled off at the opposite end at varying distances from the articulation (Fig. 58). The segment of shaft retained at the working end of all these scraper/ polishers was usually slightly tapered and then finished with a spatulate tip beveled to the edge from the exterior and/or interior; the tip was either worked to a fairly flat lenticular section or was almost scooplike, with the edges of the medullary cavity beveled to the end of the tool. These tools are generally well finished. Two bones are included in this group with

230

the minor objects

261

279 (whole rib)

278

277 (split rib)

Figure 59. Examples of bone scraper/polisher types (261, 277–279). Scale 1:2

considerable diffidence. A cattle phalange with a large perforation through the preserved articulation and a scraperlike splinter at the opposite end originally might have been a scraper/polisher or possibly a pendant reused after breakage. A segment of a sturdy ovicaprine radius shaft with the preserved end cut off straight appears to have been used at least secondarily for scraping. Those gathered in the whole bone category were found in chronological contexts from Ler MN 1 to Ler MN 4. As for the two preserved heavy scraper/polishers on a split cattle metapodial, with all or a segment of the distal articulation retained, the bone was worked into a thick, heavy shaft that apparently was tapered only slightly to what was probably a sturdy spatulate end that is, however, in no case preserved in the Lerna material. They date to Ler EN–MN and Ler MN 3.

Limb Bone Segment Scraper/Polisher Segments of 14 ovicaprine and cattle limb bones were worked into concave-convex shafts with the butt end, where regularly finished off and not left rough and jagged, was perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and the working end fashioned into a spatulate tip of ellipsoid or squarish contour with beveling from the interior and/or exterior to the edge (Fig. 58). Sometimes a broader, thicker segment of one medullary edge was retained, presumably to enhance the efficacy of the tool, which, to judge from the wear traces evident, was moved at an angle oblique to the longitudinal axis of the tool. There are two major groups of scrapers of this type: (a) long, comparatively slender tools with approximately parallel sides and flat convex-concave section; (b) short, wide, heavier tools with a thick elliptical tip. Not one of the latter has a surely finished butt, as preserved, and it is possible that these short, solid bone segments were hafted. Both Ler EN–MN and Ler MN 6 were the primary contexts for all the tools classed here. Three incomplete bone tools on segments of ovicaprine limb bones are entered in this scraper/polisher inventory with considerable uncertainty. Two are narrow, well-finished shafts of thin concave-convex section with squared off butt ends, the opposite ends of which

BONE

231

seem more likely to have been finished with spatulate scraper/polisher edges than with pointed ends. The third is a highly polished, probably fire-hardened, thick-edged blunt point that might have served a scraping/finishing function on some nonresistent material. A pig lower incisor with possible slight traces of wear may well be natural. In Ler MN 6 a unique knife/scraper combination (281) on a slab of a large ruminant bone was found that probably served a purpose comparable to that of the larger limb bone scrapers, and would have been an excellent defleshing implement.

Whole Rib Three well-finished tools were made on a segment of a whole rib of a ruminant, probably ovicaprine, of medium size with, at one end, a slender ellipsoid tip beveled from one face, and the opposite end cut off roughly perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shaft (Fig. 59). In addition, a rib of a large ruminant, probably cattle, was provided with a large perforation at the squared-off butt end for suspension (274); the distal end is not preserved. Contexts from Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1, and Ler MN 3 each yielded one of the well-finished tools; the fourth came from an Unphased context. A slablike segment of a whole large rib from Ler MN 5 (279) was well finished and probably served as a polisher for large surfaces (skins?).

Split Rib Scraper/Polisher For two tools, only one face of the rib was used for a thin shaft of rectangular section (Fig. 59). The examples preserved are incomplete and quite disparate: one a large ruminant segment, knife-like, with the cancellous ground flat and a spatulate end, the other a well-finished medium ruminant rib segment of which only the squared-off distal end is preserved. A few tools made on limb bones and ribs that perhaps were used for scraping and/or polishing operations do not fit into these categories and are noted as “atypical.” The presumed work areas outside of buildings were the primary specific contexts that yielded bone scraper/polishers. Tools 268 and 269 were found in the sediments removed between Buildings W-5 and W-8 with a large group of primarily utilitarian objects: of stone, celts 31 and 32, pounder/rubbers 78–81, and bead 150; of bone, awls 179 and 180; and of terracotta, spool 366 and fragmentary triangular plaque 370 (see CL J 882, CL J 883; see above, p. 44). West of Building W-12 the sediments yielded scraper/polishers 271–273, along with stone pounder/rubber 88, bone awls 191 and 192, and fragmentary terracotta triangular plaque 380 (CL J 879–CL J 881; see above, p. 50). In the open space between Buildings W-17/W-24 and Buildings W-31/W-36 scraper/polisher 274 was found with small stone discoid polisher 123, bone awl 193, terracotta polisher 340, and four terracotta triangular plaques: 381–383 and 387 ( J 648, J, 651, J 655, J CL 862; see above, pp. 61, 62, 84). Scraper/polisher 279 was found in storage pit SP-11 with terracotta sling bullet 310 and leg(?) 412 (BD 587; see above, p. 118). Ler EN–MN 260  (L6.462, CL J 894) Text 13; Pl. 34 Mended from two fragments with chipping at break;; grip end broken off. L. 0.081; W. 0.0165; Th. 0.009. Limb bone segment a. Large ruminant; 10YR 7/6 (yellow) to 10YR 3/1 (very dark gray) at butt. In preserved distal 0.025, medullary cavity ground down to produce knife-like termination of lenticular section with ellipsoid tip worn from use to asymmetrical con-

tour. Sharp tip edge fairly directly wear chipped to shallow serrations. Very highly polished. 261  (L6.651, CL J 894) Text 13; Fig. 59; Pl. 34 Butt slightly chipped. L. 0.107; max. W. 0.01; max. Th. 0.0058. Segment of whole rib. Medium ovicaprine Ri.; 7.5YR 7/8 (reddish yellow) darkened to 7.5YR N3/ (black). Semicircular spatulate tip with cancellous worn down from use. Light associated nicking on bit edge. High polish.

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262  (L6.1531, CL J 894) Text 13; Pl. 34 Grip end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.071; max. p.W. 0.026; max. p.Th. 0.0187; W. shaft at break 0.015; Th. shaft at break 0.065. Split limb bone with articulation. Cattle/deer Mp., mature distal grip; 10YR 8/3 (very pale brown). Distal end battered off in secondary use at diagonal to longitudinal axis with tanglike projection at one edge. Well worked, but surface dull, probably from water damage. 263  (L6.1585, CL J 889) Text 22; Pl. 34 Intact in secondary use. Max. p.L. 0.075; max. p.W. 0.0165; p.Th. 0.008. Split limb bone; atypical. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Ad hoc segment of bone with slight taper in working half to round-blunted end with full thickness of bone retained, edge of which rough faceted with direct wear chipping on surface, from scraping use(?). 264  (L6.472, CL J 889) Text 22; Pl. 34 Mended from two fragments with chips at break; butt end broken off. Max. p.L. 0.077; max. p.W. 0.01; max. p.Th. 0.0045. Atypical; possibly natural. Pig lower C; exterior 10YR 8/1 (white), interior 10YR 7/6 7/6–7/8 (yellow) to 10YR 3/1 (very dark gray). Prominent striations on interior across natural ridge. Rubbing wear evident on both faces of narrow elliptical distal end, with iridescent surface flaking off on exterior. All wear possibly natural and not associated with use as tool.

Ler MN 1 265  (L6.638, J 750) Text 30; Pl. 34 Grip broken off, tip badly worn. Max. p.L. 0.075; max. p.W. 0.0147; max. p.Th. 0.008. Limb bone segment a. Medium ruminant; 7.5YR 5/4 (brown) with mottling 7.5YR N3/ (very dark gray). Shaft worked on angular segment of bone considerably thicker on one side than other, with thicker edge of medullary cavity stepped down in distal 0.035 toward working end finished with elliptical spatulate end. Depressions for fingers in opposite sides of medullary edges of shaft near distal and butt ends. Tip worn down to obtuse angle, one segment dully wear chipped fairly directly, the other more heavily worn on exterior. Retouchoir? Polish preserved only at tip, less intense on interior than exterior. 266  (L6.633, CL J 886) Text 31; Pl. 34 Grip end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.06; max. p.W. grip 0.027; Th. grip 0.019; W. shaft at break 0.017; Th. shaft at break 0.0085. Atypical, possibly originally scraper/polisher, possibly pendant reused as scraper/polisher. Cattle/deer Ti., fused distal grip; 7.5YR N/5 (gray) over 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Large asymmetrically biconical perforation (max. Diam. ca. 0.01) bored more from exterior into end depression. Projecting from distal end irregular, tanglike sliver of bone with convex edge perpendicular to longitudinal axis, heavily flaked from exterior by secondary ad hoc use after break. Once well-polished surface now much worn.

267  (L6.648, J 818) Text 34; Pl. 34 Butt end broken off. Max. p.L. 0.0525; max. p.W. 0.0093; max. p.Th. 0.005. Whole rib. Medium Ri.; 7.5YR 5/4 (brown) darkened to 7.5YR N3/ (black). Semicircular bit heavily wear chipped, especially on one edge with adjacent portion of surface split away from use for ca. one-half of preserved length. Original high polish now worn.

Ler MN 2 268  (L6.1525, CL J 883) Text 44; Pl. 34 Scraping end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.04; max. p.W. 0.017; max. p.Th. 0.0125. Whole limb bone; atypical. Cattle/deer Ti.; 10YR 7/4 (very pale brown) to 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown) with discoloration 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). Possibly segment of bone shaft raw material used ad hoc as scraper/polisher. Preserved end cut off straight ca. perpendicular to longitudinal axis and evidence of heavy wear with ca. one-third of circumference split off diagonally with large flake removal from adjacent surface ground over by use as scraper/polisher; batter wear of remaining portion of circumference from both interior and exterior. Some polish. 269  (L6.1526, CL J 883) Text 44; Pl. 34 Intact as reworked, ca. one-half of original implement. Max. p.L. 0.0765; max. p.W. 0.02; max. p.Th. 0.0185. Limb bone segment, originally b. Large ruminant; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Original tool split longitudinally in use and half roughly reworked with thick projecting triangular tang of articulation on one edge of grip end beveled off on interior. Wear nicking along most of edge mostly direct or to interior. Much-worn surface. 270  (L7.75, CL BD 605) Text 105; Fig. 58; Pl. 34 Mended from several fragments after modern break; a few pieces missing from edge of exterior on working end. L. 0.102; W. grip 0.027; Th. grip 0.0205; W. shaft midlength 0.0145; Th. shaft mid-length 0.012. Whole limb bone with articulation. Ovicaprine Ti., mature distal grip; 2.5Y 8/4 (pale yellow) to 7.5YR 7/8 (reddish yellow). Spatulate edge wear chipped throughout width, more heavily in center and mostly from exterior. Some abrasion of protuberances of grip, from wear(?). High polish somewhat worn.

Ler MN 3 271  (L6.1522, CL J 879) Text 50; Pl. 35 Working end(?) only preserved; badly battered. Max. p.L. 0.07; max. p.W. 0.012; max. p.Th. 0.0064. Scraper/polisher or awl? Medium ruminant; 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). If scraper/polisher, bit thicker than norm with one corner battered down diagonally. On broken end rough ad hoc point of triangular section at one edge with some direct wear chipping. 272  (L6.1523, CL J 881) Text 50; Pl. 35 Grip end only preserved.

BONE

Max. p.L. 0.0755; max. W. grip 0.032; Th. grip 0.0293; W. shaft at break 0.0245; Th. shaft at break 0.012. Split limb bone with articulation. Cattle Mp., mature distal grip; 10YR 6/3 (pale brown). Trochlear condyles removed to ca. level of sagittal notch and remaining mass worked into approximately cuboid form; substantia spongiosa not removed from medullary cavity, but surface somewhat pared down and smoothed. Working end battered off at diagonal with tanglike projection at one end and surely used in this form. 273  (L6.1524, CL J 881) Text 50; Fig. 58; Pl. 35 Sliver missing from one edge. L. 0.085; max. W. 0.018; max. Th. 0.013. Limb bone segment with plain butt(?). Ovicaprine/ pig Ti.; 7.5YR 7/4 (pink). Proximal two-thirds of twisted shaft rough, distal one-third asymmetrically tapered with thinning from both faces to long, slender ellipsoid bit edge, ca. 0.012 from which on exterior two shallow horizontal incisions across surface; on one edge near bit shallow finger depression. On interior of thicker side of tip and adjacent segment of shaft for ca. 0.015 wear in the form of pressure indentations. Retouchoir? Surfaces worn and probably never polished. 274  (L6.468, J 655) Text 62; Pl. 35 Butt end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.053; max. p.W. 0.024; max. p.Th. 0.01; Diam. perforation on faces 0.007, 0.0075. Whole rib. Large ruminant Ri.; 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown) on one side, 5YR 6/2 (pinkish gray) on other. Large perforation bored not quite coincidently from both faces. Well finished; polish somewhat worn. 275  (L6.463, CL J 861) Text 64; Pl. 35 Mended from two fragments; working end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.055; max. p.W. 0.024; max. p.Th. 0.01. Limb bone segment b. Large ruminant; 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Edge of medullary cavity broader and thicker on one side than other. Bit edge worn with associated fairly direct nicking.

Ler MN 4 276  (L6.457, J 625) Text 68; Pl. 35 Grip end broken off; probably close to full length. Max. p.L. 0.069; max. p.W. 0.009; max. p.Th. 0.0145. Whole limb bone with articulation. Ovicaprine(?) Mt., distal grip; 10YR 8/6 (yellow). Whole bit edge wear chipped, mostly down exterior. Original high polish now considerably worn.

Ler MN 4–6 277  (L7.373, BE 567) Text 141; Fig. 59; Pl. 35 Working end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.065; max. p.W. 0.0255; max. p.Th. 0.004. Split rib segment. Large Ri.; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Flat blade with thinner, long side naturally sharpened by concavity of vasicular groove running along and just inside it. Cancellous tissue ground flat for most of surface, for ca. 0.005 at tip completely removed, and beveling to bit edge stronger from interior than exterior. Wear

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nicking concentrated on interior at rounded corner and continuing on adjacent long edge as indentations. 278  (L7.386, CL BE 571) Text 142; Fig. 59; Pl. 35 Working end(?) only preserved; mended from two fragments. Max. p.L. 0.0525; max. p.W. 0.0135; max. p.Th. 0.003. Split rib segment. Medium Ri.; 7.5YR 5/2 (brown). Well-ground segment of rib with finished end and adjacent sides shallowly beveled, apparently from rubbing use that took advantage of slight longitudinal curve of rib at this end. Possibly the proximal end of scraper/ polisher or awl. Light polish.

Ler MN 5 279  (L7.84, BD 587) Text 118; Fig. 59; Pl. 36 Slight chipping of edges, especially at one end. L. 0.155; W. 0.037; Th. 0.01. Atypical. Large Cattle Ri.; 5YR 5/4 (reddish brown) to 5YR 4/3 (dark reddish gray). Longitudinal and diagonal striations concentrated on smaller end of one face and on long edges, all of which flattened and worn to reveal cancellous tissue on smaller end on one side, all along other. Slight wear-flattening of opposite face on larger end. On shallowly convex face in central section many longitudinal wear striations associated with large shallow concavity.

Ler MN 6 280  (L6.545, CL J 845) Text 82; Pl. 36 Working end only preserved; intact in secondary use. Max. p.L. 0.05; max. p.W. 0.02; max. p.Th. 0.007. Limb bone segment b. Large ruminant; 7.5YR 3/2 (dark brown). Segment from edge of larger tool roughly flaked from both faces at proximal end for continued use, possibly in haft. Fine wear chipping of interior side of bit throughout length, slightly more intense on distal portion. Polish continuing into medullary cavity. 281  (L7.78, CL BD 577) Text 122; Pl. 36 Butt end broken off. Max. p.L. 0.095; max. p.W. 0.034; max. p.Th. 0.017. Limb bone segment; atypical. Large ruminant; 7.5YR 4/4 (dark brown). Slab of triangular transverse section, asymmetrically concave on interior surface, where medullary cavity visible. Ca. one-third of bit, straight and at slight diagonal with longitudinal axis flattened and finely serrated; remainder of tip edge slightly wear nicked on exterior. Thicker edge of shaft now roughly backed with some associated rough thinning of bit obliquely across interior surface where surface split off and ground over from use(?); similar patch of wear on one side of exterior face. Other edge of shaft has indentations that are continuation of serrated wear on bit. Knife/scraper combination. Very heavily used tool. Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 282  (L7.86, BD 581) Text 122; Pl. 36 Working end only; intact in final use. Max. p.L. 0.053; max. p.W. 0.008; max. p.Th. 0.0045. Limb bone segment a; atypical. Medium ruminant; 10YR 8/6 (yellow), mottled to 10YR 6/3 (pale brown),

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especially on bit. Narrow elliptical spatulate end badly battered, especially on interior face. Probably segment split off of larger scraper/polisher reworked into smaller tool. Banks 1967: 294, no. 596.

bit edge fairly direct and only slightly heavier on interior, but with large fragment split off diagonally across inner surface from one corner and worn over from continued use, with long fine crack from interior edge for ca. 0.015. Worn, possibly water-damaged surface.

283  (L7.158, CL HTN 138) Text 149; Fig. 58; Pl. 37 Much of butt broken off. Max. p.L. 0.071; max. p.W. 0.0275; max. p.Th. 0.0115. Limb bone segment b. Large ruminant; 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with speckled mottling 7.5YR N/3 (very dark gray). Bit edge with rounded angular shoulders worn with some nicking, mostly on exterior. Medullary cavity extends almost to tip edge as preserved. Butt shallowly and irregularly flaked longitudinally on exterior for ca. 0.015, to facilitate hafting(?). Banks 1967: 343, no. 800; Wiencke 2000: 73–74.

287  (L6.1586, HTJ 40) Text 146; Pl. 37 Both ends broken off; mended from two fragments. Max. p.L. 0.077; max. p.W. 0.015; max. p.Th. 0.0065. Whole rib segment. Medium Ri.; 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Wear concentrated on one half of convex surface of narrower end with bone wall worn through to cancellous tissue with prominent longitudinal striations. Both ends battered in secondary use.

284  (L7.154, HTN 142) Text 150; Pl. 37 Working end broken off; butt chipped. Max. p.L. 0.0705; max. p.W. 0.012; max. Th. 0.0054. Scraper/polisher or awl. Large ruminant; 2.5Y 8/6 (yellow) mottled 7.5YR (reddish yellow) with two stains, one at either edge of exterior surface, ca. 0.01 from butt edge 2.5YR 5/6–3/2 (red–dusky red). Flat, parallel-sided shaft, thinner toward butt end; exterior of shaft longitudinally faceted. Distal end battered off fairly directly to asymmetrically convex edge. Little polish preserved. 285  (L7.166, CL HTN 143) Text 150 Segment of one edge only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.061; max. p.W. 0.012; max. p.Th. 0.0068. Limb bone segment b. Large ruminant; 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). Tapering splinter of larger tool, with smaller end possibly reused as ad hoc tool after break to spatulate edge, straight with fairly angular corners and at slight oblique with longitudinal, which exhibits traces of use. Banks 1967: 343, no. 801.

Ler MN Unphased 286  (L6.663, HTJ 40) Text 146: Fig. 58; Pl. 37 Mended from two fragments with modern chips at break; butt wear battered. Max. p.L. 0.14; max. W. 0.0175; max. p.Th. 0.008. Limb bone segment a. Large ruminant limb bone; 2.5Y 7/6 (yellow) to 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) at proximal end. Straight-sided shaft with one edge of medullary cavity perhaps deliberately split off in long shallow concavity for fingerhold near butt at one edge. Wear chipping of

288  (L6.1595, HTJ 40) Text 146; Pl. 37 Broken off at both ends. Max. p.L. 0.0915; max. p.W. 0.0114; max. p.Th. 0.0065. Ad hoc limb bone segment, probably remnant of larger tool. Cattle/deer mp.; 7.5YR 4/2 (dark brown). Shaft tapering through length; smaller end shows evidence of battering after break. Dull surface.

Ler Mixed Fill 289  (L7.379, CL A 469) Text 165; Pl. 37 Working end only preserved. Max. p.L. 0.031; max. p.W. 0.0132; max. p.Th. 0.006. Atypical pointed scraper. Large limb bone; 10YR 3/1 (very dark gray). Flat segment of bone with medullary throughout with broad, blunt-tipped triangular point at broader end. Very highly polished, including on rough surface of medullary cavity. Much resembles in color and finish a class of Lerna III bone tubes; see Banks 1967: 437–438, 441–442. Banks 1967: 295, no. 600; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 290  (L7.222, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 37 Ca. two-thirds of working end preserved with one finished edge. Max. p.L. 0.047; max. p.W. 0.018; max. p.Th. 0.0094. Limb bone segment b. Cattle; 7.5YR N2/ (black). Tapering segment possibly reworked from larger tool. From heavy use, bit edge split off diagonally from interior toward one side edge battered concave with shallow serrations. Very highly polished with crisscrossing fabrication striations on both faces, possibly fire-hardened. Banks 1967: 344, no. 802; Wiencke 2000: 30–32.

Miscellaneous Bone, Antler, Shell Bone Apart from the awls and scraper/polishers only a few other bone objects were found, from mostly Mixed Fill contexts. Some of these may be later contaminants in the earlier levels. Included are 291, a possible figurine head—unique in the Greek Neolithic bone repertory—tube 293, and two objects that were probably used as personal ornaments: fish spine 292 and a fragmentary bone shaft with a preserved segmented end, 294. A whorl and incised scapula are surely of Bronze Age date and are not inventoried here.

BONE

235

Since the majority of these pieces came from Unphased or Mixed Fill contexts, little can be said about meaningful connections. Only the Ler MN 2 bone figurine head(?) 291 presents significant associations. It came from a black fill (CL BD 605; see above, p. 105) that also yielded, in addition to ordinary tools (stone pounder/rubber 82, bone awl 182, bone scraper/polisher 270), fragments of terracotta triangular plaques 371–374, objects that, like the terracotta figurines, must have had some symbolic significance. Perhaps we have here the refuse of some village event that required the use of these two unusual classes of objects. A long fish spine (292) may have served as a hair ornament, and a fragment of a pin or toggle with a segmented end (294) has the characteristic reddish Neolithic “color” and seems not to be a contamination from Lerna V levels, where decorative pins are a common artifact. The occasional segment of bone with articulated end has been recorded as Neolithic (e.g., in Tsountas 1908: 357–358, pl. 46:9, 10, discussing pieces from Sesklo that appear to have been the decorated ends of bone scraper/polishers), but they are not common in pre–Bronze Age contexts. Ler MN 2 291  (L7.76, CL BD 605) Text 105; Pl. 38 Ends slightly chipped. H. 0.0415; max. Diam. of head end 0.009; Diam. distal 0.0075–0.0099. Figurine head? Medium (j.) shaft segment; 5Y 5/4 (pale yellow) mottled 10YR 6/8 (brownish yellow) with decoration 5Y 4/1 (dark gray). Ends cut off perpendicular to shaft with two square removals from edge of small end around which a dark painted(?) line below which, in line with removals, two dark spots (eyes?); a dark stain(?) line, probably marking limit of insertion into another object, ca. mid-shaft. Well polished.

Ler MN Unphased 292  (L6.474, CL J 877) Text 161; Pl. 38 One end broken off and long longitudinal split; mended from two fragments. Max. p.L. 0.13. p.W. butt 0.0045; Th. butt 0.0028; W. median 0.005; Th. median 0.004. Fish spine; 7.5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow). Shaft of elliptical section with natural end forming thick rounded tip at angle strongly oblique to longitudinal axis. Very

highly polished, with wear batter on oblique edge of tip smoothed over, possibly from continued use, and some scratching of surfaces; broken edge at opposite end shows some traces of wear after break.

Ler Mixed Fill 293  (L5.770, CL J 442) Text 171; Pl. 38 One end broken off. Max. p.L. 0.071; max. W. 0.007; max. Th. 0.0065. Tube. Small Ti., possibly of bird; average 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow). Preserved end, removed by grooveand-split technique; longitudinal and horizontal fabrication striations. Preserved edge very well smoothed and thinned in one section with some wear nicking of interior edge. Banks 1967: 437, no. 1134; Wiencke 2000: 37–38. 294  (L6.623, HTJ 27) Text 168; Pl. 38 Decorative end only preserved. Max. p.H. 0.0215; max. W. 0.009; max. Th. 0.0055. Medium limb bone; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Surface roughly finished and lightly polished. Banks 1967: 371, no. 893; Wiencke 2000: 30.

Deer Antler Deer antler was not commonly used as a source of raw material for Neolithic objects. Only three tips are entered in the inventory. A few possibly worked antler fragments were noted by Reese as he reviewed the recovered fauna (see Appendix III, pp. 296–297), but they were not seen by Banks and are not included here; they are noted only in the lot lists in the main text. One segment of the distal end of an antler with a blunted tip might have served as a retouchoir for knapping (296). Another tip (295) appears to have been used as a scoop, at least secondarily. A unique incised fragment from the Mixed Fill, 297, recalls in shape the leg of a figurine or a footed vessel and might have been part of a spoon, the leg serving as its handle. Of particular interest is the similarity in shape and incised decoration to some of the legs of four-footed vessels found at Elateia, Drachmani, and Corinth (Weinberg 1962: 190–195, pls. 64:c, e, 65:a, b). Fragments of other such vessels have been found closer to Lerna, at both

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Franchthi (Vitelli 1993: 50–51, fig. 78) and Aria (Hadzipouliou-Kalliri 1981: 151, pl. 65:a). Some 50 years ago Weinberg connected these vessels with their counterparts in the former Yugoslavia, from the sites of Danilo and Kakanj. Weinberg found persuasive the arguments of Korošec, the excavator of the early Yugoslav finds at Danilo, who called them cult vessels and associated them with a water cult with a fertility aspect. Whether our 297 shared in the symbolism of such vessels is impossible to know. Ler MN 3–4 295  (L7.486, BD 601) Text 111; Pl. 39 Intact. Max. L. 0.065; max. Diam. 0.019; W. tip 0.0125. Scoop/scraper? Deer antler tip; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Surface somewhat lumpy and irregular with traces of light polish on high spots. Distal end worked into scooplike feature with cancellous removed for ca. 0.01; interior surface concave with horizontal boring striations. Striations perpendicular to longitudinal axis on beveled edge irregularly wear chipped, extending for short distance onto edges of scoop and adjacent exterior surface. Traces of high polish on working end, especially edge.

Ler MN Unphased 296  (L6.465, J 644) Text 159; Pl. 39 Mended from two fragments; large chip missing from haft end, which split partway down shaft. Max. L. 0.0985; max. p.W. 0.0243; max. p.Th. 0.018.

Retouchoir? Deer antler tip, blunted; 5YR 6/3 (reddish brown) with speckling to 5YR 3/1 (light gray). Well-smoothed and polished surface with all rugae removed. Many irregular depressions over surface of distal bevel and adjacent portion of sides, from knapping pressure(?).

Ler Mixed Fill 297  (L3.194, trench E cut 11) Text 167; Pl. 39 Leg/handle only preserved with trace of spoon bowl(?), foot chipped. Max. p.L. 0.054; max. W. 0.013; max. Th. 0.015. Spoon handle? Deer antler tip; 5YR 4/2 (dark reddish brown). Distal end of tine of irregularly circular transverse section with unemphatic arris running down center of front of leg, which swells out at thigh at front and tapers in to just before distal end where nicked in to form small projecting foot. Back of leg shallowly concave at thigh, swelling slight at calf and curving in at heel to very shallowly convex sole. Fairly open zigzag incised on either side of arris at front of leg. Original high polish now somewhat worn.

Shell While the often large quantities of shells found in Neolithic contexts indicate that the sea provided the Neolitic Lernaeans with a ready, if limited, food supply, at Lerna they appear not to have been used extensively for either decorative or utilitarian objects. Only two objects of shell are listed here, pendants of Hexaplex and Spondylus, both in Ler MN 1 deposits; for other possible shell ornaments noted by Reese but not seen by Banks and not listed here, see Appendix III, p. 305. Of the inventoried pieces, the former, 298, came from a sediment of the hearth pit phase in which were also haematite polisher/pigment source 121, marble ear stud 140, and bone awls 168 and 169 (CL J 888; see above, p. 31). The latter, 299, came from Gully fill with bone awl 172 and terracotta polishers 324 and 325 (CL J 897; see above, p. 35). Another Spondylus pendant included here as 300 is almost certainly a Neolithic cast-up in a Lerna III–IV context, since it is of the same form as the bossed pendants of stone that were modeled on those of shell (see above, p. 211) and is paralleled at Franchthi ( Jacobsen 1973: pl. 48:d). Since there is no evidence that Lerna was a center of production of Spondylus ornaments, this piece was surely an import, whether from nearby sites such as Franchthi or farther afield. Spondylus ornaments are frequently found in the Neolithic of northern Greece, especially in Thessaly and Macedonia, the likely source of those exported north into the Balkans (Tsuneki 1989: esp. 18–19 and fig. 9). Only further exploration and analysis will clarify this question of the origin of Peloponnesian ornaments. Ler MN 1 298  (L6.1517, CL J 888) Text 31; Pl. 39 Intact. H. 0.0264; max. W. 0.025; max. Th. base 0.0035; Diam. perforation ca. 0.003.

Hexaplex; ca. 10YR 6/3 (pale brown). Triangular segment cut from shell, exterior surface of which ground smooth to light polish with many fabrication striations visible; conical perforation made only from exterior at apex, groove for string from hole to edge of shell.

TERRACOTTA

299  (L6.810, J 785 in CL J 897) Text 35; Pl. 39 Ca. one-half preserved. Max. p.L. 0.067; max. p.W. 0.019; max. p.Th. 0.004; Diam. perforation 0.0045. Upper valve of Spondylus gaederopus, badly burned; 10YR 6/4 (light yellowish brown) to 10YR 8/1 (white). Originally probably pendant of irregularly elongated ovoid plan; perforation at narrower end, bored almost completely from exterior, has incised line extending from it to edge of shell on interior. Interior and exterior surfaces ground smooth.

Probable Neolithic Cast-up in Ler III–IV 300  (L4.321, BA-BB 174) Text 236; Pl. 39 Ca. five-sixths preserved.

237

Max. p.Diam. 0.0443; max. p.Th. 0.016; Diam. boss ca. 0.012; Diam. original perforations ca. 0.003; Diam. replacement perforations ca. 0.006. Spondylus gaederopus; exterior and interior where original surface preserved 10YR 8/2 (white), on exterior area where original surface worn off ca. 10YR 6/3 (pale brown) and area of muscle atttachment on interior 10YR 5/1 (grayish brown). Upper valve worked into approximately circular plan with raised convex boss in center of convex side, surfaces well smoothed and traces of polish on boss. Two sets of truncated conical suspension holes: original holes ca. 0.017 apart apparently very close to original edge since they broke through to edge, which was reground and second set bored ca. 0.0245 apart and closer to boss. Banks 1967: 482–483, no. 1217; Reese 2013b: 304.

TERRACOTTA Sling Bullet If the stone sling bullet is an artifact of the earlier MN levels at Lerna (see above, p. 207), those of terracotta come primarily from its later phases, nine of the 20 catalogued coming from two closely related Ler MN 5 groups found in Pit BD (BD 586, CL BD 588; see above, p. 118). Biconical or ovoid in shape, with considerable irregularity in form, the bullets have ends sometimes more rounded, sometimes more pointed, but, as they are basically ad hoc products, attempting to establish a rigid set of criteria by shape would result in several types of no meaningful significance (Fig. 60). Most of the missiles measure 0.04–0.05 in length, with a maximum diameter of ca. 0.027– 0.03 and a length:diameter ratio of 1.5.–1.6. The clay of the missiles, almost all of which weigh 25–40 g, is usually quite fine and micacaeous, with sporadic ungraded grits, some to pebble size. It is almost always brick red and probably comes from pits dug down into virgin soil, which it strongly resembles. The bullets were not hard-fired, and, like those found elsewhere near hearths (Perlès 2001: 228–229, n. 5), the Lernaean missiles were probably placed near or in a fireplace to harden, as at Elateia (Weinberg 1962: 166, fig. 4, 202, pl. 51:e). This would explain why large areas of the surfaces are often darkened, with the darkening frequently localized, for example, on one half, longitudinally, probably from contact with the neighboring coals. Often associated with the darkened area, but also occurring independently, are what may best be described as black speckles, which look like bits of charcoal deposited on the surface. Weinberg noted the same phenomenon on terracotta spools at Elateia (Weinberg 1962: 204, pl. 59:a.5, 7). In general, the surfaces of the missiles are well smoothed, but shallow finger depressions, fingernail impressions, and other irregularities remain; a few of the missiles are lumpy and uneven. Although the bullets seem not to have been burnished, the surfaces generally exhibit what is best characterized as a sheen or luster. This may have resulted owing to

307

308

309

311

Figure 60. Terracotta sling bullets (307–309, 311, 312). Scale 1:2

312

238

the minor objects

some natural property of the clay itself, or may be due to the circumstances under which the bullets were hardened in close proximity to a fire; the luster of the Neolithic Urfirnis glaze/paint provides an analogy. The bullets often exhibit deep cracks, and many have been mended from their broken parts, which were found in situ. The cracking is probably the result of the shrinkage of a fine, essentially untempered clay. In addition to the primary wear damage, which is generally concentrated on the sides toward the ends, there are other surface anomalies that are difficult to interpret. Small (ca. 0.002 in diameter), neat cylindrical holes, which penetrate as much as 0.003 into the surface, may have resulted when vegetable matter, e.g., odd bits of dried straw, or a pebble fell out. Some of the damaged areas are in the form of smooth, finely striated surfaces, which we first thought were the result of the abrasion of the excavator’s pick, but the edges of these patches appear worn, not fresh. Perhaps the surfaces were damaged upon impact, as a missile struck its target. Occasionally near one end of a bullet there is a small conical boring, made subsequent to hardening; in shape it resembles the depression in stone missile 126. Perhaps these shallow cavities served to steady the missile in some feature of the sling. Apart from an isolated sling bullet, the majority were found in Pit BD, in a restricted area with no special contextual associations, in Lerna MN 5. One cast-up (320) is also included. Ler MN 2 301  (L7.296, BE 591) Text 129; Pl. 40 Mended from three fragments with chips missing at breaks; one end heavily battered. Max. p.L. 0.065; max. p.Diam. 0.031; L.:Diam. ratio 2.1. Wt. 48 g. 10R 4/6 (red) with mottling 10R 3/2 (dusky red) concentrated on one half longitudinally. Well finished with light sheen over surface. Larger and better formed than most and closer in appearance to those of stone.

Ler MN 3–4 302  (L7.62, BD 600) Text 111; Pl. 40 To side of one tip large battered removal. Max. p.L. 0.0445; max. Diam. 0.028; L.:Diam. ratio 1.59. Wt. 32 g. 2.5YR 4/6 (red) with speckling on surface 2.5YR N3/ (very dark gray). At better preserved end slight chipping, from impact(?), and one section of median battered. One prominent and one fainter finger depression toward one end from median, a third ca. onefourth of circumference from latter.

Ler MN 5 303  (L5.786, J 417) Text 75; Pl. 40 Large chip missing from one side, scattered smaller chips. L. 0.0495; max. Diam. 0.0317. L.:Diam. ratio 1.56. Wt. 41 g. 5YR 6/4 (light reddish brown) to 5YR 3/2 (dark reddish brown) with one spot in the latter 10R 4/3 (red). Darkened over one half longitudinally; sheen over wellsmoothed surface that exhibits several finger impressions. Side of one tip somewhat blunted obliquely, from impact(?). 304  (L5.787, CL J 453) Text 75; Pl. 40 Ca. one-fourth missing, mostly from one end; mended from several fragments. Some brownish incrustation.

Max. p.L. 0.044; max. Diam. 0.027. L.:Diam. ratio 1.63. Wt. 28 g. 2.5YR 4/4 (reddish brown). Some unevenness of surface. Two parallel finger impressions at broken end. 305  (L7.26, CL BD 595) Text 116; Pl. 41 One tip chipped off obliquely; badly cracked. P.L. 0.048; max. Diam. 0.028. L.:Diam. ratio 1.71. Wt. 34 g. 5YR 4/6 (dark reddish gray) darkened over one half longitudinally to 2.5YR N/6 (gray). On surface at break possible trace of finger impression; light battering of other tip. Surface smoothed but grainy to touch. Some darkening all over, heavier on one half longitudinally. 306  (L7.67, BD 599) Text 117; Pl. 41 Most of one end and ca. one-sixth of surface on one side battered off. Light brown vitreous incrustation. Max. p.L. 0.042; max. p.Diam. 0.0295. L.:Diam. ratio 1.42. Wt. 36 g. 2.5YR 4/6 (red) to 2.5YR 4/4 (reddish brown). Several small round holes on surface, where vegetable matter burned out(?). Adjacent to battered end linear gouge. Large battered section at median in which smoothly striated facet, adjacent to which toward battered end concavity with deep hole. Smoothed surface with light sheen. 307  (L7.52, BD 586) Text 118; Fig. 60; Pl. 41 Central section chipped, with one deep hole and one side of tip off one end in deep flake removal. L. 0.043; max. p.Diam. 0.0295. L.:Diam. ratio 1.46. Wt. 34 g. 10YR 3/1 (dark reddish gray). Sheen associated with fairly uniform darkening over well-smoothed surface. 308  (L7.53, BD 586) Text 118; Fig. 60; Pl. 41 Badly cracked and chipped at one end. Filmy brown incrustation.

TERRACOTTA

L. 0.042; max. Diam. 0.027. L.:D. ratio 1.56. Wt. 28 g. 2.5YR 4/2 (weak red). Surface uneven with irregular flattening, from impact(?), at both ends and at median. Little darkening, very light sheen. 309  (L7.54, BD 586) Text 118; Fig. 60; Pl. 41 Mended from two fragments with crumbling, flaking surface; treated with polyvinyl acetate? L.0.041; max. Diam. 0.027. L.:Diam. ratio 1.52. Wt. 28 g. 2.5YR 4/4 (reddish brown); surface “film” 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Little of original surface preserved. 310  (L7.61, BD 587) Text 118; Pl. 41 Intact; cracked and flattened at one end. L. 0.041; max. Diam. 0.0255. L.:Diam. ratio 1.61. Wt. 26.5 g. 2.5YR 3/2 (dusky red) to 2.5YR 5/6 (red), mostly darkened to 2.5YR N3/ (very dark gray). Crack at end associated with flattening of tip; fingernail impression to side of opposite tip. Darkening on one half longitudinally and at one end; sheen all over. 311  (L7.55, CL BD 588) Text 118; Fig. 60; Pl. 41 Deep ca. cylindrical hole in badly chipped portion of surface, one end off in conoid fracture. P.L. 0.042; max. p.Diam. 0.0285. L.:Diam. ratio 1.47. Wt. 32 g. Clay 2.5YR 4/6 (red) with surface 5R 3/1 (dark reddish gray). Quite evenly smoothed surface uniformly darkened with sheen. 312  (L7.56, CL BD 588) Text 118; Fig. 60; Pl. 41 Cracked with one end and part of one side missing; mended from several fragments. Max. p.L. 0.0355; max. p.Diam. 0.027. L.:Diam. ratio 1.31. Wt. 22 g. 2.5YR 4/6 (red) with some darkening to 2.5YR 4/2 (weak red) mostly on one half longitudinally. Flattened surface at side of broken end with associated long narrow roughly striated facet; striated facet in broken surface of side. Smoothed with light sheen. 313  (L7.57, CL BD 588) Text 118; Pl. 41 Most of one side chipped away; mended from two fragments, light brown film on some surfaces around chipped area. L. 0.0405; max. p.Diam. 0.026. L.:Diam. ratio 1.56. Wt. 22 g. 2.5YR 5/8 (red) darkened fairly uniformly on surface to 10R 3/3 (dusky red). One tip flattened. Striated surface in area of break adjacent to which single small deep hole near one end. Light sheen. 314  (L7.58, CL BD 588) Text 118; Pl. 41 One end battered off; mended from two fragments. Max. p.L. 0.04; max. Diam. 0.0265. L.:Diam. ratio 1.51. Wt. 26 g. 10R 4/6 (red) with slight darkening of surface, somewhat more pronounced on one half longitudinally. Sheen all over. Smoothing striations over ca. onethird of surface with two distinct fingernail impressions on side near preserved end.

239

315  (L7.59, CL BD 588) Text 118; Pl. 41 Ca. one-fourth missing, large removal near one end with smooth striated concave facet. L. 0.0415; max. p.Diam. 0.027. L.:Diam. ratio 1.54. Wt. 27 g. 10R 4/6 (red). One end flattened and battered from impact, with small deep hole in flattened surface. At ca. median chipped concavity with two adjacent longitudinal depressions, from impact(?). Light sheen. 316  (L7.60, CL BD 588) Text 118; Pl. 41 One end only preserved; mended from three fragments. Filmy brown incrustation on parts of surface. Max. p.L. 0.0275; max. p.Diam. 0.027. Wt. 11.5 g. 10R 4/8 (red) with some dark speckling. Striated surface on part of break; some flattening and abrasion of preserved end.

Ler MN 6 317  (L5.819, CL J 449) Text 81; Pl. 42 Mended from several fragments; badly battered and worn with large fragments removed from near opposite ends. L. 0.046; max. Diam. 0.031. L.:Diam. ratio 1.48. Wt. 37 g. 2.5YR 4/6 (red). Flattened facet to side of one end. 318  (L7.149, CL HTN 133) Text 149; Pl. 42 Large chipped patch to side of one end, with associated small conical depression and three fingernail impressions perpendicular to longitudinal axis; large chipped patch closer to median at other end with smaller chipped patch at side of tip at this end. P.L. 0.0455; max. Diam. 0.028. L.:Diam. ratio 1.63. Wt. 33 g. 2.5YR 4/6 (red) darkened to 2.5YR N/4 with light speckling and mottling all over, darker in some spots than others. Small conical depression to side at one end; at other small oblique removal, and slightly closer to this end, near middle, large chipped removal. 319  (L7.150, CL HTN 128) Text 152; Pl. 42 One end battered off with associated cracking. Tan incrustation on and around broken surface. Max. p.L. 0.046; max. Diam. 0.031. L.:Diam. ratio 1.48. Wt. 40 g. 5YR 5/4 (reddish brown) with most of one side darkened to 5YR 3/2 (dark reddish brown) with considerable sheen. Surface fairly even but junctures of lumps of clay of which bullet made incompletely integrated; three fingernail impressions along one side of preserved end, two more toward median. Wiencke 2000: 73–74.

Neolithic Cast-up in Lerna III 320  (L7.297, GA 3) Text 238; Pl. 42 One end broken off during excavation. Max. p.L. 0.0445; max. Diam. 0.028. L.:Diam. ratio 1.59. Wt. 35 g. 2.5YR 4/6 (red), surface darkened to 5YR 4/1 (very dark gray) with sheen. Irregular lumpy surface with finger impressions.

240

the minor objects

Polisher Potsherds, with their broken edges well smoothed from use, are found on many prehistoric sites and are generally thought to have been used for various kinds of rubbing and polishing operations (Pantelidou Gkofa 1991). Since at Lerna small pierced-lug or arched handles of common Lime-ware vessels were readily available (Vitelli 2007: 187, 191, 193, 197, figs. 1, 3, 4, 6) and could be grasped easily, the body fragment to which a handle was attached providing a convenient rubbing surface, it is not surprising that these Lime-ware handles constitute the largest single group of Neolithic terracotta polishers, 15 of the 35 catalogued. Occasionally a fragment of a raised base with a segment of the attached body, a plain body fragment, or other piece was used.

Handle Most common are small pierced-lug handles, occasionally loop handles, with an attached section of the pot wall serving as the primary rubbing/polishing surface (Fig. 61). The body fragment may be irregularly circular, semicircular, ellipsoid, kidney shaped, or rounded rectangular in plan. The broken edges were rubbed smooth and well rounded from use, sometimes beveled, particularly at one end of the handle. The interior surface of the body wall and occasionally the surface of the handle itself were considerably worn down from use, exposing the gray core of the fabric. Frequently use caused the handle to begin to split from its juncture with body, revealing that it was attached onto and not thrust into the body wall.

Base Fragment A segment of a tall concave pedestal base of Monochrome Urfirnis ware was used occasionally as a rubber/polisher, with an adjacent fragment from the bottom of the open bowl retained for the hand grip. A low ring base from a mixed Neolithic/EH II context is atypical and may be Early Bronze Age.

Sherd Body fragments (325, once a rim sherd; 346, once a strainer fragment; 354, once a possible spoon/ladle handle fragment) of Lime-ware and Urfirnis fabrics are approximately square, rectangular, triangular, or diamond-shaped. It was primarily the edges that were used for rubbing/polishing, and they tend to be smooth and rounded off from use (Fig. 61). These polishers were popular in the earlier part of the Ler MN period. Eighteen of the 35 catalogued were found in Ler EN–MN (one), Ler MN 1 (six), and Ler MN 2 (11). To Ler MN 3, 4, 4–6, 5, and 6 were assigned, respectively, four, one, one, four, and four. Three more came from the Mixed Fill. Handle polishers were found in all Ler MN phases except Ler MN 6, with no Lime-ware polishers of any shape coming from this phase. In the earlier MN phases the Neolithic Lernaeans clearly found the polishers useful for some activity, but in the later MN that activity ceased to be as important or some other implement was found to be better suited to it. Few of the polishers were found in specific contexts or associations that might be helpful in elucidating their function; most came from general fill. In the J areas in the sediment above the floor of room W-12a, polisher 339 was found with celt 35 and stone pounder/ rubbers 86 and 87 ( J 700; see above, p. 49). Above and below the floor of room W-31a single polishers were found, 341, with a fragment of marble bowl 137, a fragment of terracotta triangular plaque 385, and terracotta polisher 342 ( J 674, J 776; see above, p. 63). In a possible activity area between J area Buildings W-17 and W-31, polisher 340 was found

TERRACOTTA

332

333

241

335

352 (sherd) 336

337

338

(lime-ware handles) Figure 61. Examples of terracotta polisher types (332, 333, 335–338, 352). Scale 1:2

with small stone polisher 123, bone tools 193, 198, and 274, and terracotta triangular plaque fragments 381–383 and 387 ( J 648, J 651, J 655, J 664, CL J 862; see above, pp. 61, 62, 84). Elsewhere on the site only Pit BE was productive of polishers. Handle 338 was found above the floor of Building W-72 (CL BE 584; see above, p. 132). Sediments in possible activity areas associated with this building and Building W-69 yielded six polishers, 332–337, along with bone awl 186 and terracotta sling bullet 301 (BE 591, CL BE 592; see above, p. 129); polisher 331 came from the same general area (CL BE 588; see above, p. 129). All might have been used in some activity carried out here. Since the composition of Lime ware is quite consistent and is carefully described by Vitelli (2007: 75–80), detailed descriptions of this fabric are not included in the entries below. Ler EN–MN 321  (L7.533, CL J 894) Text 13; Pl. 43 Intact with slight chipping on one corner. L. 0.044; W. 0.0434; Th. 0.0045. Sherd. Gritty fabric, with much mica and light and dark grits, some to 0.001; exterior 2.5YR 5/8 (red) mottled 2.5YR N5/ (gray), interior ca. 7.5YR 6/2 (pinkish gray). Three edges vertical and lightly ground, fourth ground smoother and beveled to interior.

Ler MN 1 322  (L6.1598, CL J 888) Text 31; Pl. 43 Arch of handle missing. L. 0.0435; max. W. 0.0295; max. p.H. 0.0245. Handle. Lime ware; 2.5YR 6/8 (light red) fabric with core. 2.5YR N6/ (gray). Shallow but thick arris worn obliquely across rubbing surface beveling one end up to base of handle. All edges ground smooth. 323  (L6.1592, CL J 896) Text 34: Pl. 43 Slightly less than one-half preserved, including stump of one handle.

Max. p.L. 0.03; max. p.W. 0.0365; max. p.Th. 0.021. Handle. Lime ware; 2.5YR 5/6 (red). One long edge steeply beveled toward rubbing surface, the other straighter and slightly chipped; preserved short end rounded. All edges worn smooth. 324  (L6.214, CL J 897) Text 35; Pl. 43 Chipped along one long edge. L. 0.047; max. W. 0.0275; max. Th. 0.02. Handle. Lime ware; 5YR 5/1 (gray). Rounded edges very well ground; interior of body wall smooth with some irregular scratches oblique to longitudinal axis. 325  (L6.1615, CL J 897) Text 35; Pl. 43 Intact. H. 0.0515; W. 0.0663; max. Th. 0.0045. Rim sherd. Triangular segment from rim of Ungritted-ware bowl. Clay with scattered light grits under 0.005; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with core 7.5YR 7/2 (pinkish gray). Broken edges worn smooth. Unperforated tanga/counter? 326  (L7.532, CL BE 593) Text 124; Pl. 43 One edge broken off.

242

the minor objects

Max. p.L. 0.0478; max. p.W. 0.03; max. p.Th. 0.0233. Handle. Decorated Ungritted Ware; 7.5YR 8/4 (pink) with paint 10R 6/8 (light red). Somewhat jagged edges worn smooth and beveled to rubbing surface. Solidly coated interior; below handle on exterior two horizontal stripes from which depend vertical and horizontal stripes crossing at right angles. 327  (L6.1596, HTJ 33) Text 145; Pl. 43 Intact? L. 0.058; max. p.W. 0.0243; max. p.Th. 0.0155; est. Diam. base 0.08. Pedestal base with ca. one-third of circumference at juncture of body and base and small pointed segment of base preserved. Monochrome Urfirnis on clay with fine light and dark grits; 2.5YR 5/8 (red) with core 5YR 7/4 (pink); slip/glaze paint 2.5YR 5/8 (red). Rubbing wear concentrated at edge of juncture of body and base on exterior.

Ler MN 2 328  (L6.217, J 738) Text 43; Pl. 44 Mended from two fragments; upper part of handle missing and sporadically chipped on edges. L. 0.0525; max. W. 0.0325; max. p.H. 0.02. Handle. Lime ware; 7.5YR 7/8 (reddish yellow) mottled 7.5YR N6/ (gray). Rounded edges of body fragment not fully smoothed; irregular short concave bevel on one long side toward end, continuing less emphatically around end. 329  (L6.212, J 740) Text 43; Pl. 44 Intact. L. 0.048; max. W. 0.021; max. Th. 0.0315. Handle. Lime ware; 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown) with mottling on surfaces 5YR 5/2 (reddish gray). Much used, with convex triangular beveling to side of one end of handle, so as to reveal juncture of handle and body. All surfaces, including handle, especially rubbing surface, brought to light polish. 330  (L6.213, J 743) Text 43; Pl. 44 Intact. L. 0.045; max. W. 0.0295; max. Th. 0.029. Handle. Lime ware; 10R 6/6 (light brown) mottled to 10R 4/1 (dark reddish gray). Horizontal lug handle on irregularly kidney-shaped body fragment; all surfaces, even edges, rather gritty, only rubbing surface wall of body slightly smoothed. Concave long side unemphatically beveled toward interior, so as to reveal juncture of handle and body. 331  (L7.520; CL BE 588) Text 129 Ca. one-third preserved, including one stump of handle, chipped for ca. one-third of circumference at base of handle. Max. p.L. 0.029; max. p.W. 0.0275; max. p.Th. 0.0246. Handle. Urfirnis fabric from which all glaze/paint worn off; lightly micacaeous with mostly quite fine light and dark grits; 5YR 7/4 (pink) with core 5YR 7/2 (pinkish gray). Elliptical(?) body fragment with thick rounded edges.

332  (L7.299, BE 591) Text 129; Fig. 61; Pl. 44 Intact with some chipping on base of handle at one side. L. 0.0475; W. 0.0265; max. Th. 0.0255. Handle. Lime ware; 7.5YR 7/4–6/4 (pink to light brown) with core 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown), interior 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown) to 10R 4/6 (red). Body fragment with shape of broad left foot; thick heel with wellsmoothed surface beveled in slightly to rubbing surface, and fairly prominent bevel at toes on interior toward center. All surfaces well smoothed, verging on light polish. 333  (L7.300, BE 591) Text 129; Fig. 61; Pl. 44 One long side largely chipped away. Max. p.L. 0.043; max. p.W. 0.035; max. Th. 0.0225. Handle. Medium coarse loaded with white grits; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown) with core 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). Body fragment probably originally triangular with rounded corners, now square; at one end of handle side rounded up and at opposite side rubbed to form obtuse angle beveled up toward handle. All surfaces worn smooth from use, verging on light polish. 334  (L7.517, BE 591) Text 129; Pl. 44 Ca. one-half missing, including one-half of handle; mended from three fragments. Max. p.L. 0.074; max. p.W. 0.058; max. p.Th. 0.043. Handle. Burnished fabric of lightly micacaeous clay loaded with light and dark grits rarely over 0.001; 2.5YR 4/4 (reddish brown) with core 2.5YR 6/8 (light red). On one long side of body fragment broad bevel extends from end toward center with concomitant use striations running from bevel onto surface; much used with surface of handle itself flattened and polished from use and darkened band running obliquely across well-smoothed rubbing surface. Preserved edges well rounded. 335  (L7.298, CL BE 592) Text 129; Fig. 61; Pl. 44 Handle and one corner of body fragment chipped. L. 0.05; max. W. 0.035; Th. 0.0265. Handle. Burnished coarse ware; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown) mottled 2.5YR 6/8 (light red) to 2.5YR N6/ (light gray) with interior surface 2.5YR N4/ (dark gray). Edges unevenly beveled toward rubbing surface on which faint fine rubbing striations longitudinally down center. 336  (L7.302, CL BE 592) Text 129; Fig. 61; Pl. 44 Intact. L. 0.0415; max. W. 0.02; Th. 0.026. Handle. Lime ware; 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown) with mottling on exterior and all of interior 5YR 4/1 (dark gray). Rubbing surface very smooth with light polish, edges sporadically chipped, and steep bevel to base of one end of handle somewhat roughened. 337  (L7.303, CL BE 592) Text 129; Fig. 61; Pl. 44 Intact with slight chipping on handle. L. 0.0515; max. W. 0.03; Th. 0.029. Handle. Lime ware; 2.5YR 5/6 (red) with core 7.5YR 8/6 (reddish yellow). Edge beveled toward han-

TERRACOTTA

dle along one side of pointed end and end opposite. All edges ground smooth; light polish on rubbing surface. .

338  (L7.301, CL BE 584) Text 132; Fig. 61; Pl. 44 Intact. Some incrustation on interior surface. L. 0.0455; max. W. 0.028; Th. 0.015. Handle. Lime ware; 10R 4/6 (weak red) with surface mottling 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown) and core 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). All surfaces worn smooth from use, including surface of handle worn down to core.

Ler MN 3 339  (L6.215, J 700) Text 49; Pl. 45 Intact. L. 0.048; max. W. 0.0225; max. Th. 0.0285. Handle. Lime ware; 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown) with mottling on exterior surface and interior body wall 5YR 5/1 (gray). All surfaces well smoothed with rubbing surface rounded up to one end of handle, broadly convex bevel up to other so as to reveal juncture of body and handle. Clear wear striations on primary rubbing surface slightly oblique to longitudinal axis. 340  (L6.1590, J 651) Text 61; Pl. 45 Intact. L. 0.0395; W. 0.034; Th. 0.0043. Body sherd. Urfirnis fabric, loaded with fine red, white, and black grits; 5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) fabric with traces of slip 10R 5/4 (weak red). Rather irregular lozenge shape, apices rounded, edges well rounded. Counter(?), quite thin and regular; cf. possible Bronze Age counters from Myrtos in Warren 1972: 217– 218, 254, fig. 107, nos. 46, 47B, 48B, 48C, 52, 53, 55. 341  (L6.216, J 674) Text 63; Pl. 45 Intact. L. 0.0525; max. W. 0.045; max. Th. 0.027. Handle. Lime ware; 2.5YR 5/6 (red) mottled 7.5YR 7/4 (pink) and 7.5YR 7/2 (pinkish gray). Broad convex bevel to one end of handle on broader end, more abrupt, slightly concave bevel at other end. Thickly rounded edges, rubbing surface abraded. 342  (L6.1683, J 776) Text 63; Pl. 45 Ca. one-half preserved, including one-half of handle, upper surface of which chipped/battered off. Max. p.L. 0.0385; max. p.W. 0.032; max. p.Th. 0.022. Handle. Coarse Urfirnis fabric; micacaeous clay loaded with very fine light and dark grits; 5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with glaze/paint 2.5YR 5/8 (red). Gouged bowl fragment, solidly coated on exterior, splashed on interior. One preserved edge rubbed convex and vertical, edge adjacent to base of handle battered; gouged surface worn down.

Ler MN 4 343  (L6.282, J 607) Text 68; Pl. 45 Chipped at one corner and on one edge. L. 0.0645; max. p.W. 0.065; max. p.Th. 0.011. Sherd. Monochrome Urfirnis; coarse, slightly micacaeous clay loaded with light and dark grits, most to

243

0.005, some to 0.001, glaze/paint worn off; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with core 5YR 7/1 (light gray). Near one corner small boring (Diam. ca. 0.006) begun from both sides but not carried through.

Ler MN 4–6 344  (L7.518, CL BE 574) Text 142; Pl. 45 Intact. L. 0.0535; W. 0.02; max. Th. 0.0045. Sherd. Clay with mostly light, very fine grits with Urfirnis glaze/paint coating interior and decorating exterior with broad V(?); 5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with glaze/paint 5YR 5/8 (yellowish red). Irregular, elongated lozenge shape with only slight smoothing of edges and one tip worn down at convex bevel. Not certainly used as polisher; counter?

Ler MN 5 345  (L6.211, CL J 849) Text 76; Pl. 45 Slightly chipped. L. 0.0545; max. W. 0.0315; max. Th. 0.024. Handle. Lime ware; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). Some mostly longitudinal wear striations and one long scratch on primary rubbing surface. Edges well rounded. 346  (L6.1591, CL J 854) Text 77; Pl. 45 Ca. two-thirds(?) preserved; broken off along one long and one short side. Max. p.L. 0.04; max. p.W. 0.028; p.Th. ca. 0.0062. Strainer sherd with perforations not always pierced through. Fine sandy clay with very fine white grits, decorated on one side in crackly Urfirnis glaze/paint; 5Y 6/1 (gray) fabric with glaze/paint 5Y N/3 (very dark gray). One edge of pointed segment slightly round-beveled to rubbing surface, other to exterior. 347  (L7.47, CL BD 596) Text 116 Ca. one-fourth preserved, including one stump of handle. P.L. 0.028; max. p.W. 0.03; max. p.Th. 0.0265. Handle. Monochrome Urfirnis fabric with glaze/ paint all worn off; lightly micacaeous with mostly dark grits to 0.005; ca. 10YR 6/3 (pale brown). Rubbing surface rounding up in bevel to one end of lug. All surfaces worn. 348  (L7.66, CL BD 592) Text 119; Pl. 45 Intact. L. 0.0395; max. W. 0.0255; max. Th. 0.021. Handle. Lime ware; 10YR 4/2 (dark grayish brown). Much worn on all surfaces, with thin sliver worn off diagonally on interior surface of one end at juncture of body and handle.

Ler MN 6 349  (L7.68, CL BD 573) Text 121; Pl. 46 Intact. Lightly incrusted. L. 0.0475; max. W. 0.0265; max. Th. 0.013. Base fragment. Fine clay with very fine scattered grits; 5YR 7/8 (reddish yellow). Low ring base with attached body fragment, elongated with undulating contour. All

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surfaces and edges ground smooth, with traces of fine battering on one end of base segment. Wiencke 2000: 153–154. 350  (L7.560, CL BD 577) Text 122; Pl. 46 Ca. one-fourth of one edge chipped off from median to end. Max. p.L. 0.0575; max. p.W. 0.0378; max. Th. 0.01. Sherd. Clay loaded with light and dark grits rarely over 0.001; 2.5YR 6/6 (light red) mottled on exterior and in core 7.5YR N5/ (gray). Body fragment of large vessel with all edges worn convex and vertical. 351  (L7.561, CL BD 579) Text 122; Pl. 46 Intact in final use. L. 0.0513; max. W. 0.021; max. Th. 0.008. Sherd from large heavy vessel. Clay well loaded with white grits to 0.002; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with core 5YR 7/1 (light gray). One long edge very straight and well smoothed secondarily after break, other long edge less well smoothed; ends irregularly convex. 352  (L7.145, CL HTN 131) Text 152; Fig. 61; Pl. 46 One end broken off along scoring. Max. p.L. 0.062; max. p.W. 0.051; max. p.Th. 0.015. Gouged bowl sherd. Coarse Urfirnis; medium coarse clay loaded with white, red, and black inclusions, many 0.001–0.0022; 5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow). As preserved, rectangular with rounded corners; gouged interior marked off in four regular squares with variants of Greek crosses incised obliquely in each. All surfaces worn and edges well rounded.

Ler Mixed Fill 353  (L6.323, CL A 453) Text 164; Pl. 46 Intact. L. 0.0485; max. W. 0.032; max. Th. 0.0252. Handle. Lime ware; 10R 6/8 (light red), with core 10R 5/1 (reddish gray). Slightly concave rubbing surface rounded up under ends of handle. Banks 1967: 604, no. 1638; Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 354 (L7.484, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 46 End of spoon handle, with some incrustation and slightly chipped on one corner. Max. p.L. 0.034; max. W. flaring end 0.033; Th. flaring end 0.01; W. shaft at break 0.018; Th. shaft at break 0.012; perforation Diam. ca. 0004. Spoon handle fragment. Fine clay with a few fine grits; 5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with core 5YR 7/1 (light gray), polished Urfirnis slip 2.5YR 5/6 (red). Shaft of flattened elliptical section flaring to triangular end with rounded corners in center of which small perforation. Slight evidence of use as polisher on broken surface. Banks 1967: 663, no. 1750; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 355  (L5.956, CL J 442) Text 171; Pl. 46 Intact in final use. L. 0.055; W. 0.03; max. H. 0.034. Base. Ungritted ware; 5YR 5/6 (reddish yellow). Roughly rectangular segment of pedestal base for purchase, trapezoidal segment of body for rubbing surface. Not extensively used. Wiencke 2000: 37–38.

Whorl Only seven possibly Neolithic terracotta spindle whorls were found at Lerna, one dating to Ler MN 4–6 with later contamination, five of Ler MN 6–FN, also with some Bronze Age material and of later date, and one from the Mixed Fill. Of these, only the two mentioned above in connection with the FN ash pits in trench BD, 358 and 359, may be dated with some certainty to Ler FN (BD 575; see above, p. 121), the time when terracotta whorls also first appeared at Franchthi (Vitelli 1999: 88, 103, 105–110). The contexts of the remaining five are thoroughly mixed. While the absence of terracotta whorls from the earlier MN levels does not necessarily mean that spinning with whorls and spindles of wood was not commonly practiced, what becomes the typical whorl of terracotta in the Bronze Age was clearly not a common artifact in the Neolithic period. The possible Neolithic whorls are generally made of fine clay, with well-smoothed and burnished surfaces; only one is of a coarser fabric (Fig. 62). They are usually small, most weighing ca. 15 g or less. The perforation is usually well centered and a low, more or less prominent ring of clay frequently is evident around its proximal end, an indication that the hole was made by pushing from what became the distal end of the whorl. Batter wear is common 357 358 359 on both the edge of the maximum diameter (discoid) (conical) (biconical) and around the lower end of the perforation, the areas that would be vulnerable to Figure 62. Examples of terracotta whorl types (357–359). Scale 1:2 chance blows in the course of ordinary use.

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In light of what we know about Bronze Age whorls at the site, three shapes reasonably can be assigned to the Neolithic period.

Discoid A whorl of discoid shape is an irregular cylindrical disc with an estimated height:diameter ratio of 2.7. Its surfaces are lumpy, the edges rounded, and it is executed in coarse fabric only.

Conical The conical whorl is a shallowly convex or straight-sided cone with a height of 0.014–0.0165 and a diameter:height ratio of 2.1–2.4.

Biconical This whorl is a symmetrical or asymmetrical bicone. The former has sides normally convex and a well-rounded articulation at the maximum diameter; the latter displays sides that are nearly straight or even shallowly concave at one end with a sharp articulation at the maximum diameter. The Diam.:H. ratio is 1.35–1.8. Ler MN 4–6 with Later Contamination 356  (L7.310, BE 566) Text 141; Pl. 47 Intact, with some chipping around both ends of perforation. H. 0.027; Diam. 0.037. Diam.:H. ratio 1.37; Diam. perforation 0.01. Wt. 27 g. Biconical. Lightly micacaeous clay with fine light grits; 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown) mottled mostly to 5YR 6/1 (gray). Well polished surface now worn.

Ler MN 6 with FN and Later Contamination 357  (L5.870, CL J 449) Text 81; Fig. 62; Pl. 47 Ca. one-half preserved. H. 0.015; est. Diam. 0.041. Diam.:H. ratio 2.73; Diam. perforation 0.0045. Wt. 13.5 g. Discoid. Lightly micacaeous clay with fine grits; 2.5YR 5/6 (red) with surface mottled 5YR 6/3 (light reddish brown), 5YR 3/1 (very dark gray), 5YR 5/2 (reddish gray), 5YR 4/1 (dark gray), and core 10YR 4/1 (dark gray). Slight taper from one end to other, with more angular edge on larger end, more rounded on smaller. Small perforation oblique to vertical axis. Lightly burnished surfaces. 358  (L7.35, BD 575) Text 121; Fig. 62; Pl. 47 Intact, with chipping around proximal edge and edge of perforation at distal end. Worn with some brownish incrustation. H. 0.014; Diam. 0.031. Diam.:H. ratio 2.21; Diam. perforation 0.0045. Wt. 10 g. Conical. Coarse clay with white limestone grits to 0.002; 7.5YR N3/ (very dark gray). Well-integrated collar of clay around proximal end of perforation, circumference at distal end badly chipped. Surfaces originally highly burnished. 359  (L7.36, BD 575) Text 121; Fig. 62; Pl. 47 Slightly chipped and worn. H. 0.022; Diam. 0.03. Diam.:H. ratio 1.36; Diam. perforation 0.0035. Wt. 13 g.

Symmetrical biconical. Lightly micacaeous clay loaded with light and dark grits occasionally 0.001– 0.002; 7.5YR N5/ (gray). Circumference of perforation chipped at both ends and maximum diameter slightly chipped. Surfaces originally well polished. 360  (L7.69, CL BD 577) Text 122; Pl. 47 Intact but chipped, especially in patches around proximal edge and distal end of perforation. H. 0.0165; Diam. 0.0345. Diam.:H. ratio 2.09; Diam. perforation 0.0045. Wt. 16.5 g. Conical. Medium coarse clay with light grits, many 0.001–0.002; 7.5YR 5/2 (brown) largely darkened to 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). Prominent collar of clay around proximal end of perforation chipped, distal end badly chipped. Well-burnished surfaces. Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 361  (L7.147, CL HTN 148) Text 151; Pl. 47 Intact but slightly chipped. H. 0.0215; Diam. 0.039. Diam.:H. ratio 1.81; Diam. perforation 0.005. Wt. 14 g. Asymmetrical biconical. Micacaeous clay with light and dark grits, some to 0.001; 2.5YR 5/6 (red) mottled 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) and 7.5YR N5/ (gray). Chipped around circumference of perforation at both ends, more heavily on larger end. No polish preserved on surface. Wiencke 2000: 73–74.

Ler Mixed Fill 362  (L5.408, CL J 442) Text 171; Pl. 47 Top chipped with one large chip removing ca. onesixth of proximal edge. H. 0.0155; Diam. 0.037. Diam.:H. ratio 2.39; Diam. perforation 0.0065. Wt. ca. 15 g. Conical. Gritty lightly micacaeous clay with scattered fine white grits; 2.5YR 5/6 (red), at core 2.5YR N3/ (very dark gray). Proximal edge heavily chipped and circumference of perforation at distal end also chipped. Lightly burnished surface worn. Wiencke 2000: 37–38.

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the minor objects

Perforated Disc Although sherds of pottery, centrally perforated, were common in the Bronze Age sediments at Lerna, many probably used as spindle whorls, only two atypical examples were found in Lerna MN and Mixed Fill contexts. Both are of raised bases with large holes gouged in the center of the bottom of the vessels used, and they would not have been serviceable as whorls. It seems more likely that the gouging of the bases was a result of the use of the vessels, and that the perforated bases served some ad hoc function after the vessels themselves were no longer of use. Ler MN 1?

Ler Mixed Fill

363  (L6.1589, J 746, J 820, CL J 867) Text 30; Pl. 47 Ca. one-half preserved. Max. p.Diam. ca. 0.087; max. p.H. 0.018; perforation Diam. ca. 0.019. Monochrome Urfirnis raised base. Coarse, lightly micacaeous clay loaded with light and dark grits, some to 0.001; 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with core 5YR 5/1 (gray) and slip 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Body broken off just at juncture of base and body with broken edge rather jagged but fairly smooth and interior much worn. Irregular, off-center perforation gouged from interior only. Base edge worn, probably in primary use of vessel, broken edges somewhat worn in secondary use.

364  (L6.1588, HTJ 31) Text 169; Pl. 47 Ca. one-half preserved. Max. p.L. 0.0995. Max p.H. 0.032; perforation Diam. ca. 0.0045. Monochrome Urfirnis raised base. Micacaeous clay with light and dark grits, some to 0.001; 2.5YR 6/8 (light red) with core 5YR 7/1 (gray) and slip (on bowl interior and base exterior) 2.5YR 5/8 (red). Pedestal base with full height preserved only in one small section; bowl broken off close to juncture with base and broken edges somewhat worn. Larger irregular hole roughly chipped from interior only.

Spool/Pestle Three small solid terracotta cylinders with flaring ends from early MN levels are here classed as spools/pestles (365–367), although they bear no marks that would demonstrate unequivocally that they were used either for the winding of thread or for crushing or grinding operations (Fig. 63). They are made of coarse tan to red-brown clay, unburnished, but may display the “sheen” seen on the sling bullets (see above, pp. 237–238), and may have served the same purpose as the sling bullets. The surfaces are somewhat irregular and uneven. Occasional spools have been found in Neolithic contexts in Greece, the richest assortment from Elateia (Weinberg 1962: 203–204, pl. 69:a, b). These were both unfired and fired, some of the former showing the same dark flecks, of charcoal(?), seen on unfired sling bullets, presumably from being hardened near a hearth. We identify two classes on the basis of the transverse section of the shaft, both of which were found at Elateia.

Slender The shafts are of irregularly circular to elliptical in transverse section, with rounded articulations and ends that are approximately flat.

Broad The shaft is of elliptical section flaring slightly to sharp or rounded articulation with convex ends. All of these spool/pestles are from Ler MN 1 or Ler MN 2, but only 366 was in a localized context, the possible work area between Buildings W-5 and W-8. With it were celts 31 and 32 and pounder/rubber 81, bone tools 180, 268, 269, and terracotta triangular plaque fragment 370 (CL J 883; see above, p. 44).

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Ler MN 1 365  (L6.1516, CL J 886) Text 31; Fig. 63; Pl. 48 Intact with chipping on edges of both ends. H. 0.035; Diam. medial 0.0155 × 0.0225; Diam. each end ca. 0.03 × 0.02. Broad. Slightly micacaeous clay with mostly red grits, a few to 0.001; mottled 2.5YR 4/8 (red), 7.5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow), 7.5YR N4/ (dark gray). One end well finished with sharp edge, the other, which is not on same axis, more irregular with rounded edge. Traces of dark viscous coating on better-preserved end on face and edge. At ca. mid-height on one short side small hole ca. 0.001 × 0.0011. Darkening concentrated on sides spreading onto faces.

Ler MN 2 366  (L6.84, CL J 883) Text 44; Fig. 63; Pl. 48 One end heavily chipped with ca. one-sixth of edge removed, other end chipped primarily on edge. H. 0.0455; Diam. medial 0.0204 × 0.0176; Diam. ends 0.0215 × 2.55, 0.022. Slender. Lightly micacaeous medium coarse clay with dark grits, many 0.001–0.002; 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with slight mottling longitudinally on one face 10R 6/6 (light red). Band of wear ca. 0.0055 wide along shaft between chipped patches of ends.

365 (broad)

366 (slender)

Figure 63. Terracotta spools/pestles

(365, 366). Scale 1:2 367  (L7.64, BD 610) Text 106; Pl. 48 Ca. one-thirds of one end preserved, other end badly chipped. H. 0.0355; Diam. medial 0.014; Diam. betterpreserved end 0.019. Slender. Medium coarse, lightly micacaeous clay with some grits 0.001–0.0022; mottled 2.5YR 4/8 (red) and 5YR 5/3 (reddish brown), with V-shaped stain(?) 10R 4/1 (dark reddish gray) to side of one face at better-preserved end. Lines splaying from ends of base to opposite end.

Pendant One terracotta pendant, virtually a copy of the discoid stone pendants (see above, p. 211) was made of typical Neolithic Lime ware (Fig. 64). It was a cast-up, retrieved from a Lerna III sediment.

368 Figure 64. Terracotta pendant (368). Scale 1:1

Neolithic Cast-up in Ler III 368  (L7.341, A 410) Text 212; Fig. 64; Pl. 48 Intact. H. 0.0206; max. W. 0.022; max. Th. 0.0122; Diam. perforations ca. 0.0015–0.002. Lime ware; 2.5YR 6/8 (light red), mottled 2.5YR N4/ (gray). Approximately circular in plan, slightly depressed at top, with bulging convex face. One perforation complete, other apparently blocked with clay, ca. 0.0085 apart and ca. 0.004 from edge; punched

from convex side with some scratching on very slightly convex back, as if effort made to finish perforation; on adjacent portion of edge three short incisions and trace of fourth on back. From completed perforation, wear from suspension string toward circumference evident, trace of similar wear from incomplete perforation. Banks 1967: 257, no. 473 (wrongly identified as stone).

Perforated Triangle (Tanga) Fragments of twenty-seven small bilaterally curved, triangular terracotta plaques that, when intact, had three perforations for suspension along what we assume was the top edge, are published in Hesperia 46 (Banks 1977, where they are identified by numbers 1–27); most of them also have appeared in Vitelli’s study of the Lerna Neolithic pottery (Vitelli 2007: 38, 86, 101–102, nn. 13–15, 323, fig. 69:a–n). Except for one possible fragment from Franchthi (Vitelli 2007: 102), they remain unique among the small finds from Neolithic excavations in Greece. We have little to add to the analysis of the triangles made in 1977, and continue to think they may be related in function to that of the tangas, or pubic shields, of the

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pre-Columbian Marajoara, which probably had a ceremonial use and might have been associated with a fertility cult. Two additional triangles (nos. 28, 29) were published in the Hesperia article, but unlike those of the main group, with no certainty as to their use; both came from post-Neolithic contexts, and they are not considered here. The four plaques that Vitelli (2007: 101, n. 13) says were not included in the 1977 study we have identified among the 27 of the main group and have indicated the associations in the entries below. The Ungritted-ware piece mentioned by Vitelli (2007: 101, n. 13, 207, fig. 11:g), an unperforated triangle, might have been produced for use as a counter or token. It is catalogued as 325 among the terracotta polishers (see above, p. 241). The Vitelli study of the Urfirnis fabric of which the group of 27 triangles was made does not alter the general chronology of the triangles as outlined in 1977 (Banks 1977: 339). Patterned triangles first appear in Ler MN 2 in Area JA–JB and Pit BD, two in the former, five in the latter. In Area JA–JB the rich Ler MN 3 period, not surprisingly, yielded the largest group, 12 triangles, evenly divided between decorated and monochrome. Four patterned triangles and one monochrome in this group came from Ler MN 3a contexts, the remaining seven from Ler MN 3b.1 and 3b.2 sediments. In Pit BD two triangles, one patterned and one monochrome, were retrieved from Ler MN 3–4 levels, and two monochrome from Ler MN 5. The latest stratified triangle is a monochrome piece from Ler MN 6 in Area JA– JB. Two monochrome triangles from Area JA–JB have been designated Ler MN Unphased, and the one triangle from the Mixed Fill in trench AP is monochrome. Thus the triangle appears to be an artifact of the early and middle Middle Neolithic, with the patterned variety beginning to yield to the monochrome in the middle of the period. We believe the triangles were made deliberately to serve a specific purpose, whatever that might have been, and were not cut out of walls of pots (contra Vitelli 2007: 102, n. 14). They probably were cut from slabs of clay and bent to the required form, “fitted,” as it were, to the wearer. On some we can see the ridge along the edges of the back, a remnant of the cutting process, and on the thicker examples the surface is often uneven with the marks of manipulation of the still-pliable clay visible. One also can see how paring/burnishing marks follow the form of the triangle. The close analysis of the stratigraphy of the Neolithic settlement at Lerna has not provided much information on the contexts and so the possible use of the triangles. There were no buildings or areas that appear to have been dedicated to ritual activities, and the triangles were found with the mundane equipment of ordinary daily activities. In the J areas, only 369, 385, and 386 were found in fairly restricted contexts. Triangle 369 came from inside room W-8a at what we assume was about the floor level, though no floor was found (CL J 865; see above, pp. 41–42); with it were grindstone 11, grindstone fragments, and stone pounder/rubbers 76 and 77. From above the floor of room W-31a came triangle  385 with a fragment of marble bowl 137 and terracotta polisher 341 ( J 674; see above, p. 43). Perhaps more significant was the find of 386 in one of the clay-lined storage pits, SP-4. It was missing only one corner and might have been put into the pit for safekeeping; there were no associated finds ( J 675; see above, p. 63). Several triangles in the J areas were found in the open spaces outside of buildings that we have suggested were communal work areas, normally sherd-rich places where the triangles were probably just part of the detritus of everyday life in the settlement. Triangle 370 was found in a black stratum between Buildings W-5 and W-8, along with celts 31 and 32, stone pounder/rubber 81, bone tools 180, 268, 269, and terracotta spool 366 (CL J 883; see above, p. 43). In sediments west of Building W-12 five triangles were found, 376–380. The only related objects discovered in the two related lots were bone awls 189 and 190 (CL J 863,

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CL J 880; see above, pp. 49, 50). Three more triangles came from the sediments between Buildings W-17 and W-31, 381–383; the only associated objects were stone polisher 123 and terracotta polisher 340 ( J 648, J 651; see above, p. 61). In Pit BD the find contexts were comparable to those in the J areas. Triangle 375 was associated with Building W-60, where there were virtually no other objects (CL BD 607; see above, p. 106). Two, 389 and 391, were from different stages of the room south of W-64. Clearly valued was 389, into which a new perforation was bored after one of the original perforated corners had broken off; it was found in a sediment from in and below a hard floor south of the socle with bone awls 204 and 205 (CL BD 603; see above, p. 112). Triangle 391 was associated with a higher floor south of the same socle, and it too bore a secondary perforation; in the same lot was bone awl 223 (CL BD 594; see above, p. 116). In a possible work area east of Building W-60 was a dark sediment in which four triangles were found, 371–374. In addition to stone pounder/rubber 82 and bone tools 182 and 270 there were two objects of possible symbolic significance: the unique bone tube/figurine head(?) 291, and a likely Murex pendant reported by Reese (Appendix III, p. 304) that was not, however, seen by Banks (CL BD 605; see above, p. 105). Ler MN 2 369  (L6.1603, CL J 865) Text 43 Banks 1977: 330, no. 1, pls. 74:1, 76:1; Vitelli: fig. 69:b (without fragment at upper right in Banks). 370  (L6.1604, CL J 883) Text 44 Banks 1977: 331, no. 2, pl. 74:2; Vitelli: fig. 69:a. 371  (L7.725, CL BD 605) Text 105 Banks 1977: 332–333, no. 13, pl. 74:13; Vitelli: fig. 69:n. 372  (L7.726, CL BD 605) Text 105 Banks 1977: 333, no. 14, pl. 74:14; Vitelli: fig. 69:m. 373  (L7.727, CL BD 605) Text 105 Banks 1977: 332, no. 9, pl. 74:9. 374  (L7.728, CL BD 605) Text 105 Banks 1977: 332, no. 12, pl. 74:12; Vitelli: fig. 69:k. 375  (L7.524, CL BD 607) Text 106 Banks 1977: 332, no. 10, pl. 74:10; Vitelli: fig. 69:j.

Ler MN 3 376  (L6.1599, CL J 863) Text 49 Banks 1977: 334, no. 21, pl. 75:21; Vitelli: fig. 69:g. 377  (L6.1600, CL J 863) Text 49 Banks 1977: 331, no. 3, pl. 74:3; Vitelli: fig. 69:e. 378  (L6.1601, CL J 863) Text 49 Banks 1977: 331, no. 4, pl. 74:4; Vitelli: fig. 69:d (incorrectly oriented). 379  (L6.1602, CL J 863) Text 49 Banks 1977: 331, no. 5, pl. 74:5. 380  (L6.1605, CL J 880) Text 50 Banks 1977: 331, no. 6, pl. 74:6; Vitelli: fig. 69:c.

381  (L6.1610, J 648, with 390 in Text 61 J 659 [Ler MN 4]) Banks 1977: 325, 333, no. 15, fig. 1, pl. 75:15. 382  (L6.1607, J 651) Text 61 Banks 1977: 333, no. 18, pl. 75:18; Vitelli: fig. 69:i. 383  (L6.1608, J 651) Text 61 Banks 1977: 333, no. 17, pl. 75:17. 384  (L6.1609, J 660) Text 62 Banks 1977: 333, no. 16, pl. 75:16. 385  (L6.1611, J 674) Text 63 Banks 1977: 332, no. 11, pl. 74:11; Vitelli: fig. 69:f. 386  (L6.743, J 675) Text 63 Banks 1977: 325, 334, no. 20, fig. 1, pls. 75:20, 76:20. 387  (L6.1606, CL J 862) Text 64 Banks 1977: 332; no. 8, pl. 74:8; Vitelli: fig. 69:l.

Ler MN 3–4 388  (L7.63, BD 600) Text 111 Banks 1977: 325, 334, no. 23, fig. 1; pl. 76:23. 389  (L7.527, CL BD 603) Text 112 Banks 1977: 331–332, no. 7, pl. 74:7; Vitelli: fig. 69:h.

Ler MN 4 390  (L6.1610, J 659, with 381 in J 648 Text 61 [Ler MN 3b.1, 3b.2]) Banks 1977: 333, no. 15, fig. 1, pl. 75:15.

Ler MN 5 391  (L7.531, CL BD 594) Text 116 Banks 1977: 334–335, no. 24, pl. 76:24. 392  (L7.530, CL BD 592) Text 119 Banks 1977: 335, no. 25, pl. 76:25.

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the minor objects

Ler MN 6 393  (L6.1612, CL J 845) Text 82 Banks 1977: 334, no. 22, pl. 75:22.

Ler MN Unphased 394  (L4.798, CL J 85) Text 159 Banks 1977: 333–334, no. 19, pl. 75:19.

395  (L6.1614, CL J 873) Text 161 Banks 1977: 335, no. 26, pl. 76:26.

Ler Mixed Fill 396  (L7.523, CL A 469) Text 165 Banks 1977: 335, no. 27, pl. 76:27; Wiencke 2000: 30–32.

Figurine The small group of anthropomorphic Neolithic figurines at Lerna is dominated by the exceptional 399, which in size, state of preservation and, above all, its graceful naturalism is unique in the corpus (Caskey and Eliot 1956). The other figurines are, unfortunately, fragmentary, but, in some cases, their original forms may be visualized by reference to similar pieces from other sites. Often the fragments are so small and undiagnostic that there is no certainty that they are from figurines at all and may, in fact, be legs of pots, handles of scoops, incomplete spools, or parts of other objects, such as animal figurines, which are not otherwise represented in the Lerna Neolithic; these pieces are listed separately in the catalogue (e.g., 417). All the figurines well enough preserved to determine sex are of females. The majority in this group are small and represent standing frontal females of the class considered characteristic of the Middle Neolithic in the Peloponnese (Phelps 1987: 234). A few fragments represent other types of figurines or anthropomorphic pots, and these are described individually in the catalogue. Of the 13 possible figurines of all classes, five date from Ler MN 3 though Ler MN 6, three are Ler MN Unphased, and one came from the Mixed Fill. The remainder were cast-ups into Bronze Age contexts (e.g., 407, 408). Unfortunately, almost all of the Lerna figurines were found in general settlement fill without specific architectural or sepulchral contexts or significant associated material, so that whatever gender ideology they might have conveyed to their users is impossible to know. Hefty leg 397 was found in sediments above room 17-c with grindstone fragments and celt 36 ( J 657; see above, p. 62), and 399 came from an ambiguous context, as noted above (p. 71).

Large Standing Female (So-Called Venus of Myloi) Since a full description of the form and construction of 399 has been presented elsewhere (Caskey and Eliot 1956), only a few comments on comparable material are added here. The svelte naturalism of this figure, the Venus of Myloi (Frontispiece), has no precise parallels in the corpus of Neolithic figures in Greece or the islands, where steatopygy is the norm. Occasional terracotta figures from Boiotia, Phokis, and Thessaly show some of the same sensitivity to form as that of the Lerna piece, if more Rubenesque (e.g., from Eutresis [with roll of fat at waist more prominent than the vestigial rolls on the Lernaean Venus], Caskey and Caskey 1960: pl. 52:(I).34; Chaironeia [stooping figure], Guinn-Chipman 1993: 314, 46 CH; and Soufli Magoula [seated figure], Hourmouziadis 1974: pl. 57; Ayios Georgios, Larisa [standing figure], Gallis and Orphanidis 1996: pl. 158). But most striking, if we allow for differences in material and sex, is the similarity in pose and modeling of a unique marble male figure from Crete noted by Phelps (2004: 54), of which it has been said: “The choice of material and the rendering of anatomical details are without parallel in Cretan Neolithic sculpture” (Rethemiotakis 1996: 322, no. 247). What connection, if any, there might have been between the two figures in their respective cutltural contexts is impossible to know.

TERRACOTTA

398 (type a)

251

400 (type a)

407 (type b)

401 (type a)

408 (type a)

Figure 65. Terracotta figurines: small standing female (398, 400, 401, 407, 408). Scale 1:2

Small Standing Female: Naturalistic and Schematic Naturalistic (a) and schematic (b) versions of the small standing female figure represent the common MN Peloponnesian variety of the type (Talalay 1993: 55, fig. 3, group P, 57), and to the Talalay catalogue we may now add five figurines: one from Aria, two from Ayioryitika, and two from Kouphovouno (Dousougli 1998: 121–124, pls. 3, 55; Petrakis 2002: 68, nos. 420, 421, figs. 37, 38; Cavanagh, Mee, and Renard 2003: 560, fig. 6; Whitley et al. 2007: 26, fig. 27). All the Lerna figures were made in typical Urfirnis fabrics, with linear patterns, primarily stripes and multiple zigzags, applied in dark paint on the polished light ground (Fig. 65). Nothing about the form or disposition of the designs suggests clothing, body decoration, or jewelry, such as has been observed elsewhere (Mina 2008: 121–126, with references). The decoration is simply that of the pots adapted to the figurines, as are the colors of clay and paint. Perhaps only the occasional solidly painted pubic triangle was meant as a marker of gender significance; if so, it may serve as a link to the solidly painted perforated triangular terracotta tangas (see above, p. 247). Of the five figures surely of this class found at Lerna, none was intact but preserved only from the waist down, one with both legs, the remainder as single legs. They are characterized by a rigorous bilateral symmetry in pose: the legs are pressed tightly together, and the arms generally extend down the sides of the body with the hands resting either flat on the abdomen, or on the front of the thighs, flanking and so highlighting the pubic triangle. Only at Ayioryitika and Kouphovouno have figurines of this general class been preserved with upper and lower body still intact (Petrakis 2002: 68, no. 420, fig. 37; Cavanagh, Mee, and Renard 2003: 560, fig. 6; Whitley et. al. 2007: 25–26, fig. 27). In these figures the arms

252

the minor objects

are not preserved but were not attached to the plank-like torso; in the published illustrations only the last appears to show remnants of a hand on a thigh. Upper bodies of the class or variants of it, such as those with stump arms extending from the sides of the torso, have been found at various places in the Peloponnese, such as Asea, Corinth, and Franchthi (Holmberg 1944: 115–116, fig. 111.7, pl. II:j; Phelps 1987: 241, no. 2, pl. 33:2; Talalay 1993: 55, fig. 3, 57, group I, pls. 2:b, 3:b [FC 167]). Unlike Talalay, who once suggested that the figures were deliberately designed so that the legs could be split apart easily for use as talismans between communities (Talalay 1987; 1993: 45–46), we consider it more likely that that the parts were separated, e.g., upper from lower body, leg from leg, as a result of active use or, perhaps, ritual breaking during some intrasite ritual. The “conspicuous consumption-feasting” model of Daskalio Kavos comes to mind (Renfrew et al. 2007: esp. 435–437). With an average preserved height from the waist down of ca. 0.075, the Lerna figures either stand upright or tilt forward slightly from the waist. The upper body, to the extent that its shape can be determined from the breaks at the waist, varied from broad and flat to comparatively narrow and thick. Both the more complete figures mentioned above (pp. 251, 252) and the disconnected upper bodies found at Asea, Corinth, and Franchthi suggest that the torsos were flat with applied pellet breasts and probably extended into long tapering necks rounded off at the top (Phelps 1987: pl. 33:2; Talalay 1993: pls. 2:b, 3:b). The hands, generally blobs of clay with incisions indicating finger separations, rested at the waist, or flat on the front of the thighs as noted above. Phelps has commented that MN figures with the arms in this position are extremely rare and “would seem to represent a Peloponnesian class of figurine as native to the region as was the contemporary Urfirnis pottery” (Phelps 1987: 237). The lower body of these figures was composed of two tapering cylinders, round to elliptical in section, with clay added for buttocks and hips. This is the same additive approach evident in the case of 389 (Caskey and Eliot 1956: 175, n. 2) and documented also in Thessalian Neolithic figures (Hourmouziadis 1974: 38–39, figs. 4, 5). After the two legs were joined, but before the application of the painted decoration, their juncture at the front and/or rear was emphasized by an incised line that sometimes was extended to near the waist in the front to mark the vulva. Below the waist the abdominal area is flat, and the triangular shape of the pubic area is sometimes emphasized by incision of a single or double line only, and sometimes with added paint as well. The legs are columnar, tapering with little articulation to pedestal-like feet, on which toes are sometimes articulated by short incised lines placed rather high on the foot; in one case the figure might have been wearing boots. The more naturalistically represented figures (a) have robustly modeled buttocks tilting upward, and lean forward from the waist. The hips are generally modeled with restraint, gently rounded, with only one example with a bulbous contour that might be considered abnormally full. One figure (b) is rendered very schematically with flat hip and buttock and thigh telescoped into a single bulging projection that occupies almost the full height of the lower body at the rear (407). The abdomen is represented by a shallow protuberance at the front opposite the greatest protrusion at the rear. No sure trace of a hand is preserved on the Lerna figure, but on a comparable piece from Corinth part of a hand resting on the thigh is preserved just below the pubic triangle (Phelps 2004: 54, fig. 79:3).

Cruciform Torso Upper bodies of two small figures (406, 409), found out of context in Bronze Age levels, have a Neolithic “look,” and they may have drifted up from the earlier settlement. One in plain coarse ware, the other decorated in Urfirnis paint, they represent upper bodies with fairly flat torsos with semicircular projections to the sides representing folded arms, and tall

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253

397 (elephantine leg/pot) 403 (figure on chair?) Figure 66. Terracotta figurines: elephantine leg/pot and figure on chair(?) (397, 403). Scale 1:2

tapering telescoped necks and heads; on the decorated figure small applied pellets represent the breasts. This figure, if not EH, is in the tradition of Franchthi FC 167 (cf. Talalay 1993: 23, pls. 2:b, 3:b). The undecorated piece is more likely to be FN (cf. Coleman 1977: 68, no. 127, pl. 72 [Kephala]; Talalay 1993: 23, FC 112, pls. 4:a, 5:a [Franchthi]).

Head on Long Neck One cylindrical fragment in an Urfirnis-like fabric (405) possibly represents a head continuous with a long neck, but would have been from a figure larger than the smaller figures discussed above. The cylinder was tapered toward the crown and a large scar on one section of the circumference possibly marks the place of attachment of a masklike face like those well known in Thessaly (see, e.g., Hourmouziadis 1974: pl. 40, above [Prodromos]).

Seated/Reclining(?) Figure A single undecorated, roughly finished fragment of conical shape with flattened ovoid section (402) possibly represents one side of the lower body of a small, obese, seated/reclining figure rendered crudely and schematically. It could be part of a very rough figure with legs like those of the type of the seated figure shown by Hourmouziadis (1974: 120, fig. 17, lower left).

Leg of Large Figure or of Anthropomorphic Pot with Elephantine Leg Only a single certain example of a large figure or leg was identified (397), executed in a Monochrome Urfirnis fabric (Fig. 66). As preserved it is hollow, extends to near the waist, is elliptical in section with little taper from top to bottom, and terminates in a pedestal-like foot. The hip is flat, the buttock fully rounded, and the pelvic area is emphasized by incision. The fact that the leg is hollow may indicate that it was part of an anthropomorphic vessel like the well-known piece from Tsani Magoula (Wace and Thompson 1912: 147–149,

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the minor objects

fig. 91:b). Possibly related to this type of figure is, in a plain coarse fabric, a lower “leg” (404) that might, however, be from some utilitarian vessel that was supported by solid legs.

Figure on Chair? A single enigmatic decorated fragment (403; Fig. 66), consisting essentially of a low cylinder from which project the stumps of four “legs,” possibly represents a piece in which the figure and the chair on which it sits are telescoped into a four-legged unit (Hourmouziadis 1974: pl. 7; Gallis and Orphanidis 1996: pl. 331). Most of the figures in the groups just described show evidence of the damage that results from handling—chipped feet, scratched surfaces, and worn paint. Nothing in the contexts of the figures at Lerna gives any clue to what purpose or purposes they served, as we have noted above. We agree with Talalay and others that these figurines, found at Lerna and elsewhere in the Greek Neolithic, were multivalent, “a group of artifacts embodying a complex of behavioral and cognitive concerns and a multiplicity of uses and meanings” (Talalay 1993: 81). Ler MN 3 397  (L6.58, J 657) Text 62; Fig. 66; Pl. 51 Right leg and hip only preserved, front of foot missing; heel, thigh, and buttock chipped. Max. p.H. 0.118; max. W. buttock 0.069; Th. buttock 0.0415; Diam. leg 0.043 × 0.036. Elephantine leg of large figure or anthropomorphic pot. Gritty micacaeous biscuit loaded with white grits rarely over 0.001; clay 2.5YR 5/8 (red) with core 5YR 6/1 (light gray/gray), coated, except on underside of foot and inside of leg, with streaky Urfirnis glaze/ paint 2.5YR 5/8–4/6 (red). Slab of clay formed into hollow cylinder to which clay added and modeled into hip and buttock, after which entire surface pared vertically; finger marks visible on interior waist. Wellrounded, slightly uptilted buttock set off from leg by rounded right angle; hip and front of thigh only slightly rounded; foot flared mostly to front, slightly to side and rear. Trace of single incision defining pelvic area; three lightly incised curving lines at side extending diagonally from “ankle” toward “foot,” apparently continuing for some distance to front, but surface worn. Considerable chipping on underside of buttock. Little indication of form of upper body or position of arms, but slight lipping at waist indication of broad, husky upper body; chipped area on front of top of leg probably not hand scar. Area of luting on inside of leg over 0.02 wide. Caskey 1957a: 158, pl. 49:d.

Ler MN 3–4 398  (L7.316, CL BE 575) Text 137; Fig. 65; Pl. 49 Left side from waist down preserved, front of foot chipped off. Max. p.H. 0.07; p.W. waist front 0.013; Th. waist front 0.01; max. W. hip front 0.021; W. buttock 0.026. Small standing figure a. Slightly micacaeous clay with mostly light grits to 0.005 decorated with slightly lustrous glaze paint on polished surface; clay 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with core and glaze paint 5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow) to 5YR 3/2 (dark reddish brown). From figure with distinct forward tilt of flat, narrow upper body and upturned bulbous buttock. Nicely round-

ed hip swells out from wasp waist, from which columnar leg tapers to pedestal foot that flares to front and back, tapers in on side, and is concave below; two deep vertical incisions (toe divisions?) at top of foot. Hand rests on upper thigh with four fine irregular incisions marking finger divisions and faint incision above, possibly marking edge of pubic area. Incision between legs front and back. Decoration in irregular vertical stripes carried horizontally over top of buttocks; single horizontal stripe at waist front. Buttock well worn with three post-firing ca. horizontal scratches on projecting part of buttock.

Ler MN 5 399  (L6.100, CL J 848) Text 76; Frontispiece Head, lower right leg, left foot not preserved; variously chipped, surface worn on shoulders, breasts, abdomen, thighs, upper part of back, and buttocks. Max. p.H. 0.182; max. W. 0.0705; max. Th. 0.037; W. waist 0.044; Th. waist 0.026; W. mid-point legs 0.056 × 0.028. Large standing female. Fine micacaeous clay with few inclusions; clay ca. 2.5YR 6/8 (light red), polished slip ca. 2.5YR 5/8 (red). Considerably larger than others of roughly comparable naturalism and much more sensitively modeled, especially in the back. The form of the hands, represented only by the slender terminations of the arms, and their position, just under and supportive of the breasts, is unique in the Lerna material. So too the lack of incised definition of the pelvic area, which is defined rather by surface modeling; the only incision is a short vertical line to mark the vulva. The rather broad shallow torso can be paralleled on one or two of the smaller figures, insofar as it is possible to judge their form from the configuration of the break at their waists, the others having tightly constricted waists. The buttocks slope downward without the upward tilt of those of smaller figures, but cup under in an almost realistic fashion. Caskey and Eliot 1956: 174–177, frontispiece; Caskey 1957a: 157–158, pl. 49:a; 1957b: 68–69, figs. 3–5; Caskey and Blackburn 1997: 6, 9, figs. 4, 5.

TERRACOTTA

Ler MN 6 400  (L7.46, CL BD 577) Text 122; Fig. 65; Pl. 49 Lower body from waist preserved; all of left and most of right hand and toes chipped off. P.H. 0.067; W. break at waist 0.02; W. hips front 0.043; W. buttocks ca. 0.023. Small standing female a. Fine, slightly micacaeous clay with mostly dark grits to 0.005; clay 5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with decoration 5YR 5/8–3/2 (yellowish red–dark reddish brown). Upright figure composed of two cylinders of clay luted together and modeled with full swelling hips and buttocks, latter projecting straight out from body; taper to feet that project only forward, where nature of surface suggests some kind of plastic application (boots?) with small diagonal incision on left foot marking upper limit of feature. Large hands with traces of incisions marking finger divisions resting flat on thighs and set diagonally to flank pubic area, surface of which completely coated with glaze/paint within single-line incision. Upper body narrow from front to back with central concavity on front and back marking junction of considerably flattened cylinders. Multiple zigzags in four groups, two on each front and rear, extend vertically from waist to feet; single stripe over central incision between legs front and rear. Glaze/paint badly worn on knees and buttocks, left of which worn flat; soles of feet also worn. Broken surface at waist also worn down, possibly owing to continued handling after upper body broken off. Caskey 1958: 136, pl. 36:d, e; Wiencke 2000: 73–74. 401  (L7.48, CL HTN 133) Text 149; Fig. 65; Pl. 49 Left side of lower body from waist preserved; toes and heel chipped off. Max. p.H. 0.089; W. waist 0.016; Th. waist 0.013; W. hip front 0.023; W. buttock 0.029. Small standing female a. Slightly micacaeous clay with white and dark grits to 0.005; clay 5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow) with decoration 2.5YR 4/8 (red). Upright figure with narrow but comparatively thick stump of upper body above leg made on cylinder of clay, modeled with well-rounded, slightly uptilted buttock and only slight bulge at hip, tapered to foot that projected front and rear. Hand with traces of three finger incisions placed flat on thigh and set diagonally to flank deeply incised lower border of pubic area. Decorated on front and side with vertical stripes, vertical stripe over incised line between legs front and rear, trace of paint over incised line marking pubic area, which may have been completely coated, solid coating of hand, and multiple horizontal zigzags over rear on buttock and leg. Paint on buttock worn with some flattening of upper surface. Inner side of leg shallowly concave with roughening to facilitate luting only at side of foot, but parts must have been tight fitting since paint did not drip far between legs.

Ler MN Unphased 402  (L6.819, HTJ 38) Text 145; Pl. 52 Right leg only preserved, tip of foot chipped off. Max. p.L. 0.049; max. p.W. thigh 0.018; Th. thigh 0.022; W. break at top 0.0295. Leg(?) of small seated/reclining figure. Slightly micacaeous clay with scattered light and dark grits rarely

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over 0.005; clay 10YR 7/3 (very pale brown) darkened on lower half of surface along fairly regular line to 2.5Y N3/ (very dark gray). Conical leg of ca. elliptical section tapering to pointed foot, lumpy and uneven on underside and at top of leg at rear flattened surface, for attachment of upper body(?); unpolished. Front of leg at top pinched together with fold lines perhaps indicating lower edge of pelvic area. Possible rough pellet for hand on upper leg. 403  (L6.134, CL J 876) Text 161; Fig. 66; Pl. 52 Lower portion with stumps of legs preserved. Max. p.H. 0.042; p.Diam. ca. 0.04; max. W. “legs” (underside) 0.059. Figure seated on chair? Micacaeous clay loaded with light and dark grits to 0.005 and decorated with lustrous Urfirnis glaze/paint; clay ca. 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with paint 2.5YR 5/8 (red). Thick, slightly concave cylindrical disc composed of large pellets of clay pressed together and covered with surface layer ca. 0.002 thick, from one end of which project stumps of four tapering “legs” of irregularly cylindrical section arranged in roughly quadrangular pattern. Plastic band applied around disc for ca. three-fourths of circumference, with ca. half well integrated on both sides and fading at end, remainder less well integrated, especially on “bottom” edge and end projecting from surface, where broken off at termination. Three legs ca. 0.025 in diameter where broken off; fourth, broken off slightly higher and projecting more than others, ca. 0.02 where broken off with traces of some kind of attachment at top. “Top” surface, where attachment with other element(s) presumably made, smooth and shallowly concave. Decorated on well-polished surface with narrow horizontal stripe just above applied band with traces of another rising obliquely above it, and stripes down all four legs that join to form double chevron between smaller and one larger leg. Presumed “underside” neither polished nor decorated. 404  (L6.1593, CL J 877) Text 161; Pl. 51 Right leg only preserved; most of front and side of foot broken off. Max. p.H. 0.067; max. Diam. break 0.034; max. p.L. foot 0.032; W. foot 0.0272. Elephantine leg of figure or vessel. Medium coarse micacaeous clay loaded with light and dark grits, many to 0.001; clay 5YR 4/3 (reddish brown) on front darkened to 5YR 3/1 (very dark gray). Irregularly planoconvex in section, flaring slightly toward break, spreading toward pedestal-like foot at other end. At inside of leg clay not fully integrated and gap down center probably where ends of slab folded around to form piece came together. Conical pellet with possible trace of finger incision at top of leg just below break. Possible traces of haematite or red earth on foot.

Ler Mixed Fill 405  (L7.319, CL A 470) Text 166; Pl. 52 Head and neck only preserved, with face split off; mended from two fragments. Max. p.H. 0.068; max. p.Diam. break at base of neck 0.021; Diam. mid-neck ca. 0.02; scar of face attachment 0.025 × 0.017.

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Long neck with shield-shaped face? Very slightly micacaeous clay loaded with dark grits, mostly under 0.001, some 0.001–0.002, and surface coated with thin, highly lustrous glaze/paint; clay 7.5YR 7/4 (pink) with glaze/paint 10R 3/4 (dusky red) with mottling 10R 2.5/1 (reddish black). Ca. cylindrical shaft with upper third tapered and bent slight off longitudinal axis to blunt shallowly convex end; just above point where shaft bends, elongated ovoid scar with lipped edges where possible masklike face of figure of Thessalian type split off; vertical paring marks on shaft. Wiencke 2000: 30–32.

Probable Neolithic Cast-up in Ler III 406  (L7.239, A 402) Text 252–253; Pl. 52 Upper torso and neck preserved, ends of arms, left breast, top of head missing. Max. p.H. 0.0275; max. p.W. shoulders 0.0235; max. p.Th. breast 0.015; max. p.Diam. break head end 0.012. Cruciform upper body of small female figurine. Slightly micacaeous clay with light and dark grits rarely over 0.005, decorated in crackling black glaze/paint; clay 10YR 6/2 (light brownish gray) with decoration 10YR 3/1 (very dark gray). Constructed of two small cylinders of clay around which wrapped surface layer; neck of elliptical section with sides spreading to what were probably short folded arm projections; small conical breasts set high and wide, that preserved having depression just at tip. Decoration of three vertical stripes: one between breasts, another along left side of neck dividing to run to side of breast and down back, third on right side of back with branch extending onto shoulder where it ends in triangular-shaped blob. Banks 1967: 642, no. 1728; unpublished.

Probable Neolithic Cast-up in Ler III–IV 407  (L5.388, G 270) Text 250; Fig. 65; Pl. 50 Right half of lower body from just above waist preserved; all edges of foot chipped off and surface worn. Max. p.H. 0.08; Diam. break waist ca. 0.02; W. butttock and “belly” 0.042; Th. buttock and “belly” 0.022. Small standing figure b. Micacaeous clay with light and dark grits under 0.005 decorated with flaking, slightly lustrous glaze/paint; clay 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with core 5YR 7/1 (light gray), glaze/paint 5YR 4/3 (reddish brown). Highly schematic upright figure with waist at break irregularly cylindrical in section; side contour almost straight except slight convexity adjacent to greatest protrusion of buttock; at rear, bulging buttock from which leg extends in straight diagonal to thick foot with prominent ledge-like projection to front; at front, prominent bulge at greatest protrusion of abdomen from which leg extends in straight diagonal to front of foot. Inner surface where luted to other half shallowly concave in central section with slight roughening for attachment at ankle; roughened spot on front just above waist possible place of attachment for hand. Double-lined incision for pubic triangle. Decorated primarily with horizontally stacked broad Vs, the points of which at juncture of front and side; traces of paint between incised lines marking upper edge of public triangle. Banks 1967: 643, no. 1733; unpublished.

Probable Neolithic Cast-up in Ler IV 408  (L5.162, CL J 459) Text 250; Fig. 65; Pl. 50 Right half of body from waist down only preserved, badly battered, especially on buttock, most of hand and foot chipped off. Max. p.H. 0.073; max. p.W. waist front 0.01; Th. waist front 0.015; max. W. hip front 0.023; W. buttock 0.027. Small standing female a. Fine micacaeous clay with light and dark grits rarely over 0.005 decorated in lustrous Urfirnis glaze/paint; clay 7.5YR 7/4 (pink), glaze/ paint 7.5YR 4/2 (brown/dark brown). From figure with slight forward tilt. Waist narrow from side to side, but thick with almost circular section from front to back. Bulbous projection at hip and full buttock; foot flared to front and side, slightly to rear, with surface tilted up irregularly to side and rear from pressure while clay still soft. Hand on abdomen just below waist with traces of three deep and one shallow incision to articulate fingers, with very shallow triangle incised just above and short incision between tapering from inside toward fingers and tilting downward slightly. Incision with painted stripe at junction of legs at rear only; at front legs not tightly pressed together, since paint dripped through almost to vertical stripe at rear. Primary decoration a careless pattern of groups of two and three chevrons and horizontal and vertical stripes scattered over surface. On back of leg from mid-calf and fading off at buttocks fine, quite evenly spaced incisions ca. 0.0015 apart, breaking through paint, post firing, but surely ancient. On high part of buttock three small rounded gouges in triangular pattern, adjacent to which toward interior larger, more roughly battered patch. Banks 1967: 644, no. 1736; unpublished.

Probable Neolithic Cast-up in Ler IV–V 409  (L4.846, pithos house Text 252–253; Pl. 52 phase [no lot]) Part of upper torso and one arm and neck preserved; mended from four fragments. Max p.H. 0.049; max. p.W. 0.0385; max. p.Th. 0.0215; max. p.Diam. top of head 0.014. Cruciform upper body of small female figurine. Coarse clay loaded with light and dark grits, many 0.002–0.004; clay 2.5YR 4/8 (red) mottled 5YR 6/6 (yellowish red). Schematic figure with tall head and neck telescoped into one unit without articulation; stump arm of semicircular contour (folded across breast?), with front of body slightly bulging, back flat. Somewhat uneven surfaces, smoothed but not polished. Unpublished.

Miscellaneous Fragments: Legs, Handles, and Spools Ler MN 1 410  (L6.1597, CL J 896) Text 34; Pl. 53 Fragment of leg(?) broken off at both ends. Max. p.H. 0.054; Diam. (median) 0.022. Ungritted ware. Clay with mostly light grits under 0.001 covered with slip; clay 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with core 7.5YR N7/ (light gray) and slip 7.5YR 6/4 (light brown). Cylindrical, flattened to ovoid at larger end; evidence of wear on broken surfaces.

TERRACOTTA

Ler MN 3–4 411  (L7.42, CL BD 602) Text 112; Pl. 53 End of leg, or, if spool or pestle, ca. two-thirds preserved, one end broken off. Max. p.H. 0.037; Diam. preserved end 0.0245; Diam. (median) 0.023. Ungritted ware. Clay with light and dark grits, a few over 0.001; clay 7.5YR N5/ (gray). Cylindrical with somewhat irregular circular section with slight taper toward broken end; surface well smoothed. Preserved end chipped on edge; opposite end broken/battered and ground, from use as grinder(?). Original polish now much worn.

Ler MN 5 412  (L7.65, BD 587) Text 118; Pl. 53 One end broken off; preserved end worn with associated chipping on side. Max. p.H. 0.0475; max. p.Diam. 0.029. Medium coarse clay loaded with mostly white grits 0.001–0.002; clay 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) with mottling on surface 2.5YR 6/8 (light red) and 5YR 5/1 (gray) and core 5YR 5/1 (gray). Shallowly concave cylinder with rounded articulation to shallowly convex end; vertical paring marks. Stands at slight incline rather than upright.

Ler MN 6 413  (L7.49, BD 576) Text 121; Pl. 53 Animal body(?), handle(?), broken off at both ends. Max. p.H. 0.058; max. p.Diam. larger end 0.026; max. p.Diam. smaller end 0.024. Slightly micacaeous clay with scattered white grits rarely over 0.005; clay 5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow) with core 5YR 6/3 (light reddish brown) and decoration in glaze/paint 2.5YR 4/8 (red). Irregularly circular section with flattening at opposite sides, flaring toward one end, additional flattening toward other; surface well smoothed and polished with longitudinal paring marks. Decoration of single longitudinal stripe on one of flattened sections of circumference, two stripes opposite, between which a field of stacked chevrons and one of opposing double Vs opposite, with at larger end traces of two more stripes of uneven length adjacent and parallel to pair of divider stripes. Trace of possible shallowly concave luting surface at larger end.

Ler MN Unphased 414  (L8.89, JC 5) Text 155; Pl. 53 Left(?) leg preserved, front of foot chipped off. Max. p.H. 0.059; max. p.Diam. 0.03. Lime ware. Clay micacaeous and loaded with white grits; clay 5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with core 5YR 6/1 (light gray) and mottling 5YR 6/6 (reddish yellow) to

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5YR 6/1 (light gray). Leg with depressed circular transverse section with front contour convex for ca. twothirds of height before curving in and then thickening to foot that flares primarily to front, only slightly to back, and is irregularly flat on underside; back slightly convex for three-fourths of height before curving in and thickening to heel; slight roughening of surface on possible inside of foot where attached to other foot. Burnished surface now much worn.

Ler Mixed Fill 415  (L7.317, CL A 468) Text 165; Pl. 53 One leg(?) only preserved, with edges of foot almost completely chipped off. Max. p.H. 0.059; max. p.Diam. 0.027; Diam. break ca. 0.023. Ungritted ware. Clay with light and dark grits rarely to 0.001; 7.5.YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) with mottling 5YR 6/8 (reddish yellow). Slightly depressed cylindrical transverse section with slight flare and flattening on “inside” to one end, this “foot” at slight diagonal to vertical axis with underside finely pitted from wear(?) and wear chipping as high as 0.002. V-shaped opening at preserved top where clay incompletely integrated. Burnished surface much worn with traces of vertical burnishing/paring marks. Banks 1967: 641, no. 1723; Wiencke 2000: 30–32. 416  (L2.290, trench B cut 27) Text 166; Pl. 53 One leg only preserved. Max. p.Diam. 0.0527; Diam. break top 0.0215; max. Diam. mid-leg 0.0155; Diam. “foot” 0.014. Figurine or rhyton leg? Clay with mostly white grits to 0.005 coated with much-worn slip; clay 5YR 7/8 (reddish yellow) with surface 7.5YR 7/6 (reddish yellow) and slip 5YR 5/8 (yellowish red). Irregularly cylindrical leg with flat “foot” with heel tapered inward and unarticulated projection for toes with surface “wrinkled” at ankle, like leg of animal rhyton L.271; slight spreading at top where surface smooth and shallowly concave where attached to body of figure or rhyton.

Probable Neolithic Cast-up in Ler III 417  (L9.6, HTN 109) Text 250; Pl. 53 Leg only preserved; much worn. Max. p.H. 0.057; Diam. top leg 0.016–0.0185; Diam. foot ca. 0.013. Clay with mostly dark grits under 0.005, a few white 0.001–0.002, coated with glaze/paint; clay 10YR 8/6 (yellow), paint 10R 6/6 (light red). Lumpy irregular cylinder pinched in at mid-height, flaring to top where attachment made to body(?); edge of foot thickly convex, irregularly flat on underside with one small concavity. Wiencke 2000: 76–77.

8

 Concluding Discussion

N

eolithic Lerna was a small, largely self-sufficient agricultural community established probably at the time of transition from Early to Middle Neolithic in the Peloponnese. Well situated near the freshwater stream Amymone with land for farming and grazing nearby, the site satisfied the conditions required by Neolithic populations in Greece and the Near East for permanent settlements ( Johnson 1996). It belongs to the class of dispersed settlements characteristic of southern Greece, in contrast to the dense pattern of settlement in Thessaly (see, e.g., Demoule and Perlès 1993: 369–370). The early Lernaeans probably arrived by sea, moving along the coast in the easiest manner of passage available at the time (Tartaron, Rothaus, and Pullen 2003: 29) and finding a convenient small, sheltered harbor at Lerna. The point of origin of these early sailors is unknown: as close as Franchthi or farther off in the Saronic Gulf toward Attica and Euboia. The sea continued to provide them with easy communication with coastal neighbors and the larger Aegean world, and the settlement could have served as a point of entry for others who came and moved into the interior. As Alram-Stern has noted, settlement in the Peloponnese in general appears to have been a phenomenon of the transitional Early–Middle Neolithic (Alram-Stern 2005: 184), and, at Asea in Arkadia, for example, Cullen has demonstrated that the MN pottery shared the traditions of that found at Lerna (Cullen 1985: 339). If we follow the 14C-based Franchthi chronology (Table 1; Vitelli 1993: table 13), Lerna appears to have been inhabited from the EN–MN transition (6100–6000 [cal.] b.c.) throughout most of the Middle Neolithic, though with the later phases of the period not strongly represented; Vitelli suggests that the site saw only intermittent short-term activity in the time equivalent to FCP 2.4–2.5 (Vitelli 2007: 72–73, 131). How this translates chronologically is uncertain, and we suggest for Lerna MN 6000–5600/5500 (cal.) b.c. Only comparatively few Late Neolithic sherds were collected in the course of the excavation (Vitelli 2007: 115–116), and this is not surprising, given the apparent diminution in the population of the Peloponnese at the time (Perlès 1999: 22–24). A middle Final Neolithic presence in Franchthi terms, ca. 4200 (cal.) b.c. (Vitelli 2007: 125–126), was documented at Lerna by pottery, ash pits, and two graves, but no known architecture. As we have suggested (see above, p. 89), the Final Neolithic period in this area was likely agropastoral, with both agriculturalists and transhumant pastoralists sharing the space. Perhaps the pottery, pits, and graves of this period were the artifacts of a group of pastoralists from the hills who stopped briefly at the attractive site near the abundant stream, living and cooking out-of-doors before moving on. Cavanagh notes the presence of FN small sites, many discovered by survey, that appear to have served some short-lived purpose but involved no permanent inhabitation (Cavanagh 1999: 31). It is, of course, possible that less transient inhabitants lived and built for short periods of time on parts of the Lerna site not explored, and either group could have been responsible for the coarse, friable pottery of

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the period, which Vitelli observes was not designed for the long term or transport over long distances (Vitelli 1999: 65). With so small a portion of the Neolithic levels of the site examined, it is perhaps foolhardy to attempt to determine the size of the settlement and the population at any specific moment in the Middle Neolithic, but some limits may be suggested. Caskey estimated that, at its greatest extent in the Bronze Age, the settlement covered some 16,000 m2 (Caskey 1969: ii), but no doubt the Neolithic village was much smaller than the later fortified EH II establishment or the MH settlement with its substantial houses. Perhaps a hectare or slightly more would be a reasonable size for the Neolithic settlement, which is not incompatible with the estimates suggested by Halstead and Perlès (Halstead 1995: 12–13; Perlès 2001: 176–178). Johnson’s estimate of two hectares seems large ( Johnson 1996: 275, 276, fig. 4), and only further exploration and excavation may demonstrate if Lerna was one of Cavanagh’s “primary centres,” possibly to be paired with a smaller village at Argos (Cavanagh 2004: 175–176). As for population, with Jacobsen’s estimate of 100 inhabitants per hectare ( Jacobsen 1981: 313), that at Neolithic Lerna might have reached that figure at its maximum. But, since, in the early life of the settlement there was no substantial architecture in the J areas at the southwestern periphery of the mound, we probably should assume a much smaller population at the onset of activity at the site, with the numbers swelling to a peak toward the middle of the Middle Neolithic period, and then diminishing in its later stages, as perhaps the population grew too large to be supported easily by local resources, or the settlement’s inhabitants faced some crisis, like a malarial epidemic (Angel 1971: 77–84; Arnott 2005: 16–19; Vitelli 2007: 72–73). Of course, any firm estimate of population depends on the nature of the architecture and its density over the settlement. On the latter we have little evidence, but on the former we are somewhat better informed. Apart from probable wattle-and-daub hut W-1 and the likely ephemeral yard W-48, Lerna Middle Neolithic architecture was primarily stone-based with mudbrick, or possibly pisé, superstructures long known in the Near Eastern tradition (Aurenche 1981: vol. 1, 114– 121). Nothing was found to suggest that posthole structures, like those in the Neolithic of the north, for example, at Achilleion or Nea Nikomedeia, provided shelter for the MN Lernaeans. The socles were of local fieldstones, limestones, and breccias; the latter was more commonly used in the Neolithic than in later periods at the site, its rough surface providing good purchase for the red or yellow clay mortar found in some of the best-preserved socles. A comparable use of clay mortar has been reported from Peloponnesian Ayioryitika (red clay) and Kouphovouno (yellow clay; Petrakis 2002: 26; Whitley et al. 2007: 25). In width, the stone socles varied from ca. 0.20 m, mostly for interior cross-walls, to 0.60–0.65 m for exterior support walls. Often the stones were laid in two roughly parallel rows, but variability was the norm. There was also considerable variation in preserved height, from a single course or two to six or seven courses. The dry-stone socle seems never to have been more than three or four courses, but where mortared stones were employed the preserved height occasionally reached even 0.75 m or 1.00 m. Socles of an earlier phase often provided the base for the next one in a culture where family tradition was fostered by possession of “its place” and thus its stature in the settlement (Halstead 1999: 88; Kotsakis 1999: 73–74). In Building W-79 what appears to have been a drain was set into a socle at ground level. Above the socle we assume a superstructure of brick or pisé. Much of what the excavators considered dissolved brick was found in the digging, with incompletely dissolved bricks reported in some cases. Only one measurable brick was found, with dimensions of 0.50 × 0.25 × 0.10–0.12 m (see above, pp. 56–57). This possibly represents two more manageable square

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bricks that had fused into a single mass. There are not good statistics for Neolithic brick sizes, but these measurements are not incompatible with Bronze Age bricks, with ± 0.12 m apparently being a thickness that allowed for a reasonable drying time (Guest-Papamanoli 1978: 11–16). Rectilinear ground plans were the norm, and three varieties were reasonably well documentable, although no single house could be completely excavated. Our best evidence comes from the J areas. Buildings W-5, W-8, W-12 and possibly W-31 appear to have been small two-roomed structures with the individual rooms, as preserved, ranging from 3.15– 7.00 m2 (Plans 8–10). The squarish plan is common in Neolithic Macedonia and Thessaly, e.g., at EN Nea Nikomedeia (Perlès 2001: 179, fig. 9.2) and MN Sesklo (Elia 1982: 414–420, figs. 6.11–6.18). In his work in Thessaly, Theocharis observed that the rooms in his Sesklo structures seemed small, but that the population spent much of its time out-of-doors, particularly in open-air courts, and passed little time inside (Theocharis 1980). The basic Lernaean unit could be modified by additions in the tradition of agglutinative architecture. This is clearest in Buildings W-17 and W-24 (Plans 10 and 11), where, in the former a squarish room, possibly a pottery storeroom (communal?), was added to one side; in the latter, the addition took the form of another squarish unit divided by a cross-wall, possibly a replication of the plan of the original structure in a slightly different location. No evidence for central supports was found in any of these structures, and, given the way in which they were expanded by the use of party walls, we think a flat roof more likely than a double-pitched one. External and internal doorways were rarely documentable, with no clear pattern of position evident. Vestigial internal antae might have marked the position of ephemeral partitions of matting, wattling, or skin. A possible megaroid plan was also documented in the J Areas, in Ler MN 4 Building W-38 with its hard thick floor and possible base for a central support that suggests a double-pitched roof (Plan 12). “Building” W-48 in Ler MN 6 might have had a comparable plan, but, owing to the flimsiness of the socles, we prefer to think of it as a “yard” (Plan 14). For neither were the full dimensions preserved, nor was a doorway documented in their meager remains. The rabbit-warren-like maze of tiny rooms of Complex W-56 is difficult to classify (Plan 18). All the preserved socles probably were not set down contemporaneously, and what the plan and size of the rooms were at any given moment is impossible to know. As they appear to us, they seem unsuitable for human habitation and perhaps represent storage areas/animal pens attached to a larger structure of which W-57 was the north wall, the remainder extending beyond the borders of trench AP. If roofed, only a flat roof seems feasible. Most floors were of clay. Sometimes the floor was merely the surface of the ground on which the building was set, trampled hard by use. Red-clay floors were occasionally found, the same red clay used for mortar in stone socles and the linings of various kinds of receptacles, such as storage pits. The raw material was probably dug out from virgin soil at the base of the settlement from pits such as those found in the J Areas and pits BD and BE. Yellow clay was a common material, employed in various contexts. It was used for floors inside and out, as well as for mortar between stones and sun-dried bricks and occasionally as wall plaster. Pawlikowski, in looking for local sources for the raw material of chipped stone tools produced in non-imported materials (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996), reported finding a deposit of yellow clay south of Myloi in the neighborhood of Astros (M. Pawlikowski, pers. comm.). Remarkable were the two thick cement-like floors in Buildings W-38 and W-83, both dating to later in the Middle Neolithic. This kind of flooring recalls floors in the Near Eastern Neolithic (Aurenche 1981: vol. 1, 23–25), and, as already noted, appeared in Early Neolithic Nea Makri (see above, p. 65). Two stone “platforms” of uncertain form and use, W-2 in the J Areas and W-63 in Pit BD (Plans 5, 21), have rough parallels at Kouphovouno. One cobbled surface in the porch of

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a MN house there was considered a “working area” (Whitley et al. 2007: 25, fig. 24). The Lerna platforms quite possibly served as similar workplaces for the early community. We can speak of internal features primarily in the more completely excavated buildings in the J areas. The most clearly defined work areas were identified in sequential Buildings W-5 and W-12 in the northwestern corner of the northwestern room of each building (Plans 8, 9). In the earlier structure there was a probable grain-grinding station, with a builtin work table. In the later, a horseshoe-shaped hearth and red-clay-lined pit were the focus of the activity. The red-clay-lined pits, common in the Neolithic of Greece and the Near East, were surely meant for seed and food storage; in one, SP-10, Monochrome Urfirnis collared jar L.1381 was found but no sieving of the earth in it was done in an effort to ascertain its contents. Apart from the grinding station in Building W-5 (see above, p. 40), the only possible items of “furniture” noted were occasional rows of stones near walls, which might have served as bench supports, as in Room W-5a. Cooking facilities were occasionally found inside buildings. The hearth in Building W-12 was merely a single line of stones in horseshoe shape that served to define the cooking place (Plan 9). Two upright stones set against an outside wall of Building W-8 at its northwest defined another cooking place with the convenience of an interior hearth (Plan 8). The hearth at hut W-1 is sui generis, its circumference defined by the continuation of the stones of the hut’s socle (Plan 4). Likely a more formally constructed hearth is the clay drum with pebbles scattered across the top found in Building W-69, but this was the exception rather than the rule (Plan 25). Patches of ash and blackened, fire-hardened earth found at floor level within a room were probably remnants of ad hoc cooking places. The bulk of the cooking in the settlement seems to have been done out-of-doors, as was the case at other Neolithic sites (Halstead 1999: 80). So we have the hearth pits and contemporary clumps of stones early in the Middle Neolithic, and the ash pits in the Final Neolithic (see above, pp. 22, 82), which we assume had some connection with cooking and/or the coals needed for it. Again, various patches of ash and fire-darkened earth at levels compatible with the floors of nearby buildings probably are remnants of less formal cooking places. Nothing was found that could be construed as a typical oven. Not only cooking but many other activities most likely took place in the outdoor spaces adjacent to the buildings. Lithic artifacts and debitage are common in these spaces, which also yielded a variety of stone and bone tools. One can imagine members of the community sharing this work space as they pursued the ordinary activities of prehistoric life. And it was perhaps in these spaces that the members of this essentially egalitarian community gathered for the commensal feasting that may have been a significant activity that enhanced intralocal solidarity (Valamoti 2004: 133; Souvatzi 2008: 159–160 and passim). Certainly nothing in the architecture of the majority of the buildings or their contents suggests that most were anything but ordinary dwellings for nuclear families. We can see no significant difference in the finds in the squarish buildings and those in the possible megaroid building. Pots finer and coarser we think held food and drink. Stone and bone tools fell into the ordinary categories ubiquitous in Neolithic sites throughout Greece in domestic contexts. Of the comparatively few terracotta objects of what might be called “symbolic significance,” the perforated triangular plaques and the female figurines were found randomly distributed in fill inside and outside of houses, none of which gave any evidence of being devoted to ritualized activity. Chipped stone was distributed fairly evenly over the excavated portion of the site and apparently was accessible to all. The few “exotics,” such as the marble ear studs and bowls, are hardly adequate evidence to support the idea of any kind of social or economic hierarchy.

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Perhaps the annex to Building W-17, with its concentration of pots (room W-17d; see above, p. 54), might be considered to have had a specialized function as a storage facility with a communal aspect, but it was attached to one of the ordinary dwellings. In the same building, the cache of celts in room W-17b (see above, p. 54) might suggest that the production and reworking of the tools was a part-time specialized activity, not incompatible with a Neolithic level of economic development (Perlès 1992: 150), and that the owner of the house made them available to his family members and neighbors as needed. With so little of the Middle Neolithic settlement excavated, it is impossible to get an accurate idea of how the buildings were disposed over the site and their relationship to one another. If the situation in the J areas in the middle of the period was typical for the rest of the mound, the settlement perhaps looked like EN Nea Nikomedeia (Perlès 2001: 179, fig. 9.2) or MN Sesklo A (Elia 1982: figs. 6.9, 6.10). In both the rectilinear houses were freestanding structures with some space between them that could have served as village commons. There is no unequivocal evidence for defensive enclosure walls or ditches designed to protect the inhabitants from hostile human intruders, a possibility suggested for Neolithic Thessaly by Runnels et al. (2009). As already noted, the Gully in the southwest early in the Middle Neolithic might have been dug to keep the settlement’s animals in and wild animals out (see above, p. 33). Late in the period the walls erected on socles W-43 and W-44 in approximately the same location might have served a comparable function. In both phases there is no substantial building that we would consider “outside” the settlement to the west. Roughly contemporary with the Gully were the hearth pits in what probably served as a communal cooking place at the periphery of the main area of inhabitation. It is of some interest that the Final Neolithic ash pits in the J areas were also located here, where there was no substantial building. Roughly contemporary with the Gully, substantial socle W-53 in trench AP might have marked the limit of the early MN settlement at the northeast. Only further excavation at the site may provide clarification of these uncertainties. The Middle Neolithic inhabitants at Lerna appear to have engaged in farming and animal husbandry, the intensive mixed farming that had its origins in the PPNB of the Near East (Bogaard 2005). The cereals and pulses yielded by the small-scale cultivation of the early farmers were most likely the primary caloric staples in the diet of the Neolithic Lernaeans, but, since no regular soil sieving, dry or wet, was done during the Lerna excavations, the botanical remains are limited, all from mixed later Neolithic–EH II contexts. No grains were recovered and only a single fava bean. The other specimens collected were a fragment of a Prunus pit or acorn, two carbonized fig fragments, a carbonized Arbutus fruit, and a charred fragment of Quercus (see above, pp. 99, 117, 143). It is reasonable to assume, however, that the same legumes and grains found in EH II deposits at Lerna and nearby Tiryns were also staples of the Neolithic diet (Kroll 1982; Wiencke 2000: 665–667). They are the domesticated plants that, to judge from the Neolithic remains in Greece, came into the area as an exogenous group. Their wild progenitors were not native to Greece but to the Near East (Perlès 2001: 40), and their presence is well documented in the Neolithic of Franchthi, across the Gulf of Argos from Lerna, and in other MN sites in Greece (Hansen 1991; Megaloudi 2006: 74). Supplementary to this basic cereal/pulse diet were probably wild nuts and berries no doubt available in the environs of the settlement; Valamoti documents the exploitation of such dietary supplementation in FN northern Greece, where the data is fuller than that available for the Peloponnese (Valamoti 2007: 95–98). A Near Eastern origin also has been demonstrated for the ovicaprines, cattle, and pigs, the abundant bones of which have been found on Greek Neolithic sites (Perlès 2001: 41–42; 2003: 94–95). At Lerna, sheep and goat bones were the most numerous with a fairly constant MNI percentage diachronically, ca. 50%, of the total number as recalculated by Reese (see

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Appendix III for details of Reese’s analyses). Pigs constituted slightly more than 27% of the MNI. Cattle appear to have been slightly more numerous in the earlier life of the settlement than the later, but the difference was small, with the average being ca. 22% of the MNI. Though fewer in number than pigs, given their size, they probably provided a greater proportion of meat for the settlers. Reese tabulated the ages of the specimens available to him and suggests possible uses for the various species in Appendix III (p. 306). The indications are that pigs generally were killed young, at one to two years or earlier, and so were used primarily for their meat. Most of the ovicaprines were between one and three when slaughtered, though there were bones of both younger and older animals. They clearly provided the largest proportion of the meat eaten by the settlers. The mature animals no doubt served as breeders and provided milk and other secondary products. The age range of the cattle bones in the preserved sample is from 10 months to over 3.5 years. Most were killed at or around 1.5 years, but some not until 3.5–4 years. The older animals were possibly kept for milk and manure and as draft animals (Isaakidou 2006). That the Neolithic Lernaeans valued their animal protein is reflected in the number of cut bones (Reese estimates over 1,500), indicating that all parts of the carcasses were utilized—including marrow, brains, tongue (Appendix III, p. 306). All of these animals could have provided hide usable for clothing, coverings of different sorts, receptacles for food preparation, and so on, and the bones, especially those of the sheep and goats, were used as matrices for various kinds of tools. With the amount of evidence available and its fragmentary state, Reese could come to no conclusions about specific butchering practices. Nor, so long after the actual fieldwork, in which neither he nor any other person specializing in animal bones took part, was he able to establish patterns of burning—whether deliberate, the result of taphonomic conditions, excavation procedures, etc. Nothing in the evidence available documents with certainty how the animals were managed. The sheep and goats were probably taken out in the morning to graze on the surrounding hillsides as they are to this day. At night they might have been kept in pens at the edge of the settlement. Possible yard W-48 in the J areas seems a likely candidate for this function, the associated stone-ringed bothros, as has been noted, yielding only ovicaprine bones (see above, p. 78). With arable land immediately adjacent to the settlement, the kind of integrated crop and animal husbandry model suggested by Halstead, his “sheep in the garden model,” is most likely, though unprovable with the current state of the available evidence (Halstead 2006). Cattle, always represented as a small proportion of all the domesticates, perhaps were pastured at the north edge of the settlement near the stream’s edge to keep them available for milking and possibly power (see Isaakidou 2006). The pigs probably rooted around the settlement for tubers, roots, and grubs and foraged for kitchen waste among the houses (Halstead 1981: 323). The kill-off patterns as provided by Reese clearly indicate that a meat strategy propelled the Lernaeans’s management of their domesticates. But, since the limited evidence we have of the architecture of the settlement indicates small nuclear families, and since a whole animal would more than meet the needs of a single unit, it seems safe to assume sharing among groups (Halstead 2007). The hearth pits in an open area early in the life of the settlement and the ash pits at the end were perhaps centers for communal cooking and eating (see above, pp. 22, 82). How festive/ritual this commensality might have been is impossible to determine. Other sources of food and raw material in the Lerna Neolithic were wild animals and molluscs. Wild cattle were found in modest quantity and are represented more heavily in the earlier phases of the settlement (Lerna EN–MN and Ler MN 1). Later in the Middle

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Neolithic, as the inhabitants settled in and increased in number, the wild cattle diminished in importance. Small game such as fox and hare were sparsely represented in the sample (see below, p. 298, and Gejvall 1969: 58). Despite the proximity of the stream Amymone and the sea, only a few fish bones were collected. Whether the rarity of fish remains reflects the eating habits of the Neolithic Lernaeans or various taphonomic and collection factors (Powell 1996: 37–41) is impossible to determine with certainty, but isotopic studies of the potential human consumers of fish at other Neolithic sites have indicated that fish was not a significant part of their diet (Theodoropoulou 2007: 83–84, and references cited there). Marine invertebrates, however, were more abundant in the Lerna Neolithic than in any other period represented at the site (as is demonstrated in table 4 in Gejvall 1969: 7). Powell notes that the Neolithic deposits at Lerna constituted only 4% of total excavated, yet yielded 24–28% of the shells collected, and she suggests that climatic or socio-economic factors could be responsible for the difference (Powell 1996: 44). A comparable exploitation of the sea for a secondary food supply has been documented at other sites (Theodoropoulou 2007: 75–79). By far the most numerous shells recovered at Lerna were of Cerastoderma (recorded by Gejvall as Cardium). Even when the number reported in Gejvall is halved to account for the fact that the species is a bivalve, the number of Cerastoderma individuals (706) far outstrips that of the other molluscs found at the site and was the major shell food source found, though of limited nutritional value. For Reese’s evaluation of this material, see Appendix  III, pp. 300–306. The Middle Neolithic Lernaeans engaged in the usual daily crafts that we associate with the prehistoric village and produced most of the necessary tools from local materials. Polished stone tools were common, celts and pounder/rubbers the most numerous (see above, pp. 188–206). The former probably served heavier and lighter functions, most likely associated with land clearing, wood chopping, and woodworking. The stone pounder/rubbers no doubt were multipurpose, some being used with the sandstone grindstones for the pounding and grinding of grain and other foodstuffs. The stone matrices for the celts and pounder/rubbers were readily available as pebbles in the surrounding hills and along local streams, especially the nearby Amymone. The pecking and grinding that shaped the pounders and rubbers were simple skills well within the capabilities of the ordinary villager, and we do not consider their production a result of a restrictive craft specialization. The celts, on the other hand, which show a regularity of form shared with those from other Neolithic sites near and far, may be the products of a local part-time craft specialization (for pottery, see below, pp. 267–268). The many bone tools found were easily produced from the readily available animal bones, particularly of ovicaprines, the animals most commonly raised by the settlers (see above, pp. 215–234). Evidence of the groove-and-split technique (e.g., 293) documents the basic process of producing a blank that could be ground and polished to final form. The awls and scraper/polishers probably, like the pounder/rubbers, were multipurpose, used for work with skins, basketry, and pot production if practiced at the site (Perlès 2001: 239). Chipped stone tools were made mostly with imported obsidian. Alram-Stern suggests that Lerna and other coastal sites such as Franchthi had an important role in the movement of obsidian on the mainland (Alram-Stern 2005: 187). Also mostly extralocal were varieties of chalcedony and flint, including the silex blond et miel known in small quantities elsewhere and that seems certainly to have originated in sources outside of Greece (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 299, 337; Alram-Stern 2005: 191). Local sources of flint, radiolarites, and hornstone, all represented in the Lerna Neolithic corpus, could not be specifically documented in the single brief survey conducted in the vi-

266

Concluding Discussion

cinity of Lerna by Pawlikowski of the Kozłowski team, but one variety of gray flint Kozłowski would class as “mesolocal,” since it seems comparable to flint found in the Argolid but in pebbles too small to have yielded blades as large as the Lernaean ones (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 296–299). More extensive surveying will probably yield more local sources for the flints and radiolarites. A possible source in the area of the Klisoura Gorge is mentioned by Koumouzelis et al. (2003: 13), and the Argolid has been mentioned as a source for radiolarite as a result of the Asea survey (Carter 2003: 131, n. 13). The latter is another aspect of the interconnection of Lerna and Asea observed by Cullen in the pottery (Cullen 1985: 339). At Franchthi, local sources were systematically exploited (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 336; Perlès 2004: 31). Kozłowski suggests that early in the history of the site, the EN–MN and Ler MN 1 (formerly Lerna I) obsidian came to Lerna in the form of partially decorticated cores that were partially used and then taken away from the site (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 299–300). His analysis of the products of this early industry and their distribution at the site led him to posit the working of the obsidian within the settlement (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 331). Though one small exhausted chalcedony blade core, reused as a scraper, came from this early level, Kozłowski observed that it was too small to have been the source for the larger chalcedony blades of the phase. These he believed came to Lerna as prepared blanks that were used very economically, the tools made from them often reworked (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 300). He could not determine, from the limited evidence available to him, in what form the flints, hornstone, and radiolarites circulated (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 300). Later in the Middle Neolithic, our Ler MN 2–6 (formerly Lerna I–II and II), the obsidian appears to have been brought to the site as fully prepared cores, the preparation of which possibly took place at the deposits but certainly not within the confines of the settlement. Local working of obsidian is of less importance than it was earlier, and some of the artifacts were probably brought in as blades or tools (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 316, 331). The two exhausted obsidian cores found in these levels display evidence of repeated rejuvenation, an indication that obsidian, however it was coming to the site, probably was not easily procured and was being used economically (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 315–316). The chalcedonies continued to be brought in as blanks (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 315). An interesting insight into the range of contacts enjoyed by the villagers, whether in person or through intermediaries, is provided by Kozłowski’s observation that the great variety of siliceous rocks represented in the Lerna II repertory “points to the diversity of the sources from which they were procured” (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 315). Throughout the Middle Neolithic the lithic industries remained remarkably homogenous. Kozłowski observed that only at the transition from our Ler EN–MN and Ler MN 1 (formerly Lerna I) to Ler MN 2 (formerly Lerna I–II) were there “conspicuous changes in respect to the use of raw materials, raw-materials economy, methods of blank exploitation, and typical tool kits” (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 334). A similar transition is visible in the ceramic repertory, as the early Lime and Ungritted wares waned in importance and the Urfirnis wares came to dominate (Vitelli 2007: 30–31, 72–73). What this means is difficult to fathom with the paucity of material we have available, perhaps nothing more than the normal changes that come with the birth and maturity of a tradition. Perlès has suggested that in Neolithic Greece, the obsidian was provided to the sedentary settlements by intermediaries, particular groups that specialized in its acquisition and distribution (Perlès, esp. 1990, 1992, 2005b; in the last she discusses specifically three systems of exchange that functioned in Neolithic Greece). It is her view that the small quantity of obsidian found on the various Greek Neolithic sites does not support direct procurement of the

Concluding Discussion

267

obsidian and that the technical skill displayed in the Neolithic blade industry could not have been maintained by part-time village knappers, so that the knapping activity documented on the sites must have been the work of itinerants. In Ler EN–MN we have suggested a work area for such a knapper on the periphery of the site (see above, p. 14). That one or more knappers settled at the Lerna and put his/their skills at the service of neighboring communities and established a knapping tradition in the area is not an unreasonable assumption. The extralocal chalcedonies brought to the site, almost exclusively as blanks throughout the Neolithic, often functioned as sickle inserts. As noted above, their precise sources are unknown, and the material might have come to the site with itinerant craftsmen or through some form of down-the-line exchange (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 337; Perlès 2001: 208; Alram-Stern 2005: 191). Since the chalcedonies and obsidian came from different sources, both may not have been purveyed by the same intermediaries. The obsidian and flint/chalcedony blades, flakes, and tools that were examined by Kozłowski for wear traces indicated a wide variety of uses (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996: 306–310, 324). They represented a tool kit that was employed for all the tasks one might expect were carried out in a Neolithic village: cutting cereals and grasses or rushes, scraping hide, cutting meat, working bone, antler, and wood, and making projectiles for hunting. The Middle Neolithic pottery from Lerna has, as we have noted, been treated in detail by Vitelli (2007). Wares, shapes, and details of construction are all included in her important and comprehensive study. Precisely where and by whom the well-made vessels were produced, however, cannot be explicitly documented in the archaeological record. In the limited area of the mound excavated into Neolithic levels at Lerna, nothing was found that could be considered evidence of pottery production. There were no ovens, no wasters, no substantial concentrations of ash that might be considered indicative of hearth firing places. Only some of the bone tools, particularly the scraper/polishers, and a few small stone polishers might be adduced to support local pot production (see above, pp. 206, 229; see Wijnen 1994: 151, 153, fig. 14, and Efstratiou, Ourem-Kotsos, and Kallintzi 1995: 467–468, 471, fig. 10, for experimental use of “prehistoric” tools in replication studies). Both, however, easily could have served other purposes, such as the scraping and finishing of skins. It has usually been assumed, however, that the pots were made in the village by the women of the community, part-time craft specialists who had mastered the art and technology of ceramic production (so Vitelli 2007: 6, n. 11, and passim, where the potter is consistently referred to as “she” or “her”). That local clays were used is suggested by the results of analyses done of Middle Neolithic patterned Urfirnis sherds from Lerna, Franchthi, Ayioryitika, Asea, and Corinth, each site yielding a distinctive clay signature but with the majority of the nonplastic inclusions completely compatible with the geology of the northeastern Peloponnese (Cullen 1985: 235–236). Analyses of Lerna Neolithic sherds indicate at least three different sources of clays used for different wares. As Vitelli notes, the 1986 Jones study of a limited number of Lerna Neolithic sherds suggests that different sources were used by the potters of the Lime and Ungritted wares, that the Ungritted and Urfirnis clay bodies clustered, though not tightly, and that two sources for the Urfirnis were likely (Vitelli 2007: 76, 81, 91). But where the Lerna clay beds were located has not yet been determined, and a study like that done by Shriner and her colleagues for the Early Helladic period would do much to clarify the situation (Shriner and Murray 2001; Dorais and Shriner 2002). For the Bronze Age pottery, clay beds away from the site along the Xerias River seem likely, and they might well have served the MN Neolithic potters. If the clay beds were not immediately adjacent to the site, then one would like to know if the clay was worked and the pots made at the clay beds, the pots then distributed to Lerna

268

Concluding Discussion

and possibly other neighboring sites in the Argolid (e.g., Argos itself and other sites mentioned in Johnson 1996: 277–278), or if the raw clay was taken to the villages and processed there. The location of the production process could affect our view of who the potters were. If the work was done away from the site, perhaps the males of the community, presumably more mobile than the child-bearing, child-caring women, made the pots. If the suitable clays were available adjacent to the site or were brought to it, then Vitelli’s view of women as the potters would seem reasonable. The Lerna Neolithic pots were produced in a variety of shapes, wares, and sizes especially suitable for eating and drinking. Largely missing from the Middle Neolithic repertory as preserved are pots with distinct traces of use in contact with fire and large storage vessels/ pithoi, the last known primarily in FN contexts. The function of vessels for storage might have been served in part by the red-clay-lined storage pits found over the excavated area. But the scarcity of MN cooking pots and storage vessels could perhaps be attributed, at least to some degree, to excavation discard policies that discouraged the retention of coarse sherds, which were disposed of in large quantities (Banks 1995: 2). But as Vitelli has noted, not all cooking had to be done in pots. “Containers of skins, wood, and basketry could have been used for direct or indirect heating of foods” (Vitelli 1993: 215). And, of course, meat could be cooked directly over coals. For the reconstruction from the archaeobotanical evidence of the “menu” of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlers in northern Greece, see Valamoti 2004 and 2007; for a summary of likely cooking methods, see Papadopoulou and Prévost-Dermarkar 2007: 125–126. Some of the pots represented in the Lerna Neolithic repertory are relatively plain and more utilitarian in appearance, and some are finer with slipped and polished or patterndecorated surfaces. All, however, were found in what appear to be the same ordinary domestic contexts. That the coarser and finer wares were used in the Neolithic in different circumstances as containers of different substances, as we have “everyday” and “good” dishes and special use (ceremonial?) vessels now, is a reasonable assumption. What the circumstances were that might have required the finer wares, particularly those in specialized shapes such as the pedestaled bowls, is unknown. Halstead has suggested that the use of decorated wares symbolized the transfer of food from the private to the public arena of commensal hospitality (Halstead 1999: 80). We agree with Mee that it goes beyond the evidence available to speak of female “healers” who gathered special plants and made elaborate vessels especially to hold them (Mee 2007: 210; contra Vitelli 1993: 216–217). Moreover, Youni has reevaluated the evidence at some EN sites and challenges the methodology employed by Vitelli that resulted in her assertion of extremely low pot production (Youni 2004). While baskets were most likely made and used in Neolithic Lerna, only an occasional mat impression was detected on pot bases or other ceramic objects (e.g., Vitelli 2007: fig. 86:g). Nor was there much evidence for textile production. Only two small whorls, 358 and 359, found associated with FN ash pit AP-9, have anything like a good Neolithic context (see above, p. 120). A few whorls were found in mixed later Neolithic and EH II contexts that were not of any characteristic EH II shape and fabric, and these might be of Late or Final Neolithic date (see above, p. 121). As Vitelli has noted, at Franchthi all the whorls found were from Final Neolithic contexts (Vitelli 1999: 88, 103, 105–110). The two fragmentary pierced terracotta discs found could not have supported much of a textile industry (see above, p. 246). Nor were there any objects that could reasonably be interpreted as loomweights. Skins, processed with stone and bone tools, probably provided much of the Middle Neolithic settlers’s clothing. The leather shoe found recently in Armenia is a tantalizing clue to the possibilities (Belluck 2010). More ephemeral materials like dried grasses might have been fashioned into some kinds of body coverings. Stone seal stamp 149 possibly was used with a coloring agent of some sort to decorate clothing or skin (see above, p. 214).

Concluding Discussion

269

Objects of personal adornment were few (see above, pp. 210–214), as is the case with prestige objects in general (Perlès 2005b: 205–206). From early in the days of the settlement came two marble ear studs, 139 and 140 (see above, p. 210). Well known in early Neolithic contexts in Thessaly, Macedonia, and the Near East, they and the fragments of two marble bowls recovered (137, 138) perhaps were brought to the site by the itinerant knappers who may have traveled the marble-rich islands in the quest for obsidian. Small pendants of stone could have been imported or made locally (see above, p. 211); an imitation of the stone/ Spondylus amulet (368) in the characteristic Lime ware of the pots was probably a local product. The few beads found were perhaps attached to clothing (see above, p. 247). Two classes of objects were found in the Neolithic sediments at Lerna that speak to the symbolic life of the settlers: the terracotta tangas published earlier (Banks 1977; and see above, pp. 247–250), and the anthropomorphic figurines (see above, pp. 250–256), the most spectacular of which received publication shortly after it was found (Caskey and Eliot 1956). Unfortunately none of the tangas or figurines were found in any context that might elucidate function. Most came from outside buildings in sediments that yielded the ordinary detritus of a prehistoric settlement: sherds, tools, bones, and shells. For the tangas, known only from Lerna with the possible exception of one fragment from Franchthi (Vitelli 1993: 171, fig. 77:h), shape and an ethnographic parallel gave a clue to possible function. Similar objects from South America, with triangular outline and curvature to sides and bottom, were thought to be of ceremonial significance and possibly associated with a fertility cult. We have suggested a similar association with female fertility for the Lerna pieces, an association reinforced by the frequent use of red paint that calls to mind menstrual blood. Emphasis on the vulva is seen on many of the figurines and provides a link between the two groups of objects. Certainly among the many suggestions made for the function of the ubiquitous female figurines in Neolithic Greece, most steatopygous, an association with human fertility frequently has been suggested and seems a reasonable assumption (see Talalay 1993: esp. 37– 51, for a discussion of use and meaning in the interpretation of the figurines), but whether as figures of sympathetic magic or as models in initiation rituals is unknown. And the context of the Lerna figurines offers no new information on the subject. Nor do burial practices at Neolithic Lerna provide significant new insights into attitudes about death, family, or societal norms (see Chap. 6). All that we can say is that in the Middle Neolithic period at least some of the dead, particularly the young, were buried in composed positions in pits within the settlement, without, in most cases, offerings or other indications of social hierarchy. Souvatzi suggests that the near absence of grave goods is one way residents of a community attempted “to counter tendencies toward the emergence of social stratification and to emphasize an ideological identity of commonality” (Souvatzi 2008: 243). For the two Final Neolithic burials we have no architectural context because no permanent building at the site in this phase has been found in the area excavated. As we have suggested above (p. 84), the excavated evidence suggests that the Final Neolithic people who left limited traces of their activity at the site, primarily in the form of outdoor thermal installations, were perhaps transhumant pastoralists who spent only a little time at the site. But they laid out their dead with care, once in a ring of stones, and the ceramic offerings indicate that some value was placed on the deceased, but whether these two adult females received more attention at death than other members of their community we have no indication. With so few available remains of either period we know only that at least some of the dead were buried within the settlement. So, given the limitations of the evidence provided by the Lerna excavations, we are not persuaded that the Lernaean burials represent “exceptions” to the norm, the norm being that persons were denied the normal rituals of burial (Perlès 2001: 274).

270

Concluding Discussion

We have already touched on evidence of the community’s interactions with a larger world. Obsidian and exotic flints came to the settlement through intermediaries from outside of it. It was perhaps with these itinerants that the few likely imports, such as the island(?) marble ear studs and marble vessels, arrived at the site. But interactions closer to home were probably more important to the daily life and society of the early Lernaeans. Here pottery (and we include here figurines) is the clue, particularly Middle Neolithic Patterned Urfirnis. Cullen, in her study of the design elements of this ware, has shown that there was a Middle Neolithic cultural zone in the Peloponnese that included Lerna, Franchthi, Asea, Ayioryitika, and Corinth. Within that zone each site was supplied by its own potters and painters, with Lerna as a nodal site showing the closest ties with all the others, ties that were closest with Arkadian Asea and Ayioryitika (Cullen 1985: 339). Perlès, in her discussion of systems of exchange in Neolithic Greece, describes these ties as related “à des processus d’interaction sociale et d’alliance entre individus et groupes apparentés” (Perlès 2005b: 206). Moreover, Vitelli has observed that technologically, the Urfirnis pottery from these sites shows a uniform chronological development, and she believes that, while designs are easily reproducible, the technology required interactions of persons (Vitelli 2007: 91). It is unlikely that in this life we will be able to know with certainty how these interactions played out. But with the itinerant knappers traveling from site to site by land and sea and shepherds moving their animals up into the hills (the interaction of the shepherds in the Oedipus Tyrannus comes to mind), ideas no doubt moved with them. If the women of a community were the potters, some could have married exogamously and taken their skills with them. If they were men, the same scenario is possible. Through whatever means the exchanges of information took place, it is evident that the interactions were real, and it is likely that other exchanges took place as well. In times of need the Lernaeans could look to their cultural neighbors for help, and in turn, could provide assistance to them when it was needed. It was not a static world.

Appendixes

Appendix I WALLS AND BUILDINGS

T

he socles of the walls of buildings and other features, such as platforms, that have been given W-000 numbers are listed here with the first page number of the main entry for each building/feature in the text; the number and page number (in parentheses) of the primary plan on which each is illustrated; its orientation; and the levels of its socles. Feature (Field Name)

Page(s)

Plan No.

Orientation

Levels

Areas JA and JB

Hut W-1

4 (15)

W-1 (  J JE)

Platform W-2

14

NNW–SSE 18

5 (19)

W-2 (platform)

Single Wall

— 27



37 37

NW–SE

+2.72–2.40/2.25

NE–SW

+2.78(N)/2.58(S)–2.63(N)/2.43(S)

8 (38)

W-4 (  J JD)

Building W-5

+2.11–ca. 2.00

7 (24)

W-3 Single Wall East

+1.76–1.66/1.62

8 (38)



W-5 (  J JC)

WNW–ESE

+2.83(E)/2.96(W)–in ground



W-6 (  J JA)

NNE–SSW

+2.89(N)/2.95(S)–in ground



W-7 (  J JB)

NNE–SSW

+2.97(N)/2.99(C)/2.80(S)–in ground

Building W-8

41

8 (38)



W-8 ( JBQ)

NW–SE

+3.20(E)/3.04(W)–2.91(E)/2.74(W)



W-9 ( JBO)

NE–SW

+3.20(N)/3.18(S)–2.91(N)/2.72(S)



W-10 ( JBR)

NE–SW

+2.95–2.70



W-11 ( JB)

NW–SE

+3.05–2.85

Building W-12

45

9 (46)



W-12 ( JAT)

NNE–SSW

+3.28(C)/3.35(S)–2.98(C)/2.98(S)



W-13 ( JAX)

WNW–ESE

+3.35(W)/3.39(C)/3.33(E)– 3.05(W)/3.09(C)/3.13(E)



W-14 ( JAY)

NNE–SSW

+3.31(N)/3.24(C)/3.28(S)–2.90(N)/2.78(S)



W-15 ( JAZ)

WNW–ESE

+3.24(E)/3.28(C)/3.07(W)– 3.09(E)/2.99(C)/2.87(W)

Single Wall

W-16 ( JAV)

47

9 (46) NW–SE

+3.12(NW)/3.04(SE)–2.98(NW)/2.72(SE)

274

Appendix I

Feature (Field Name) Building W-17

Page(s)

Plan No.

51

10 (52)

Orientation

Levels



W-17 ( JAO)

NNE–SSW

+3.43(N)/3.48(S)–3.28(N)/3.26(S)



W-18 ( JAW)

WNW–ESE

+3.48(W)/3.51(C)/3.44(E)–3.26(W)/3.24(E)



W-19 ( JAN)

NNE–SSW

+3.44–3.19(N)/3.24(S)



W-20 ( JAR)

WNW–ESE

+3.44/3.43–ca. 3.29



W-21 ( JAU)

NNE–SSW

+3.46(N)/3.32(S)–3.06



W-22 ( JAS)

WNW–ESE

+3.32(W)/3.20(E)–3.06(W)/3.07(E)

WNW–ESE

NR

W-23 Building W-24

55

11 (56)



W-24 ( JAG)

NNE–SSW

+3.70–3.54(N)/3.41 (S)



W-25 ( JAP)

WNW–ESE

+3.73–3.53



W-26 ( JAQ)

NNE–SSW

+3.60(S)/3.58(N)–3.40(S)/3.24(N)



W-27 ( JAM)

WNW–ESE

+3.61(W)/3.55(E)–3.46(W)/3.40(E)



W-28 ( JAI)

WNW–ESE

+3.54(W)/3.70(E)–3.06(W)/3.20(E)



W-29 ( JAJ)

NNE–SSW

+3.54(S)/3.53(N)–3.04(S)/3.08(N)



W-30 ( JAH)

NNE–SSW

+3.56(S)/3.64(N)–3.06(S)/3.04(N)

Building W-31

57

10 (52)



W-31 ( JBM)

ESE–WNW

+3.78(W)/3.74(E)–3.23(W)/3.24(E)



W-32 ( JBN)

NNE–SSW

+3.53(N)/3.32(S)–3.28(N)/3.12(S)

NNE–SSW

+3.44–NR

ESE–WNW

+3.44(W)/3.67(E)–3.17(W)/3.24(E)

ESE–WNW

NR

NNE–SSW

+3.74(N)/3.65(S)–3.50(N)/3.32(S)

ESE–WNW

+3.62–NR

W-33

W-34 ( JBL)

W-35 Building W-36

11 (56)

W-36 ( JBK)

Single Wall

59 59

11 (56)

W-37( JAD)

Building W-38

65

12 (66)



W-38 ( JAA/JAL)

N–S

+3.80(N)/3.79(S)–3.40(N)/3.49(S)



W-39 ( JAB)

E–W

+3.85(E)/3.79(W)–3.55(E)/3.49(W)



W-40 ( JAF)

E–W

+3.70(E)/3.69(W)–3.55(E)/3.40(W)

Building(?) W-41

70

13 (70)



W-41 ( JW)

N–S

+4.01–3.65



W-42 ( JAC)

NNW–SSE

+3.93–3.60 +3.91(W)/3.93(C)/3.87(E)– 3.64(W)/3.60(C)/3.57(E)

Enclosure W-43

72

13 (70)



W-43 ( JV)

ESE–WNW



W-44 ( JY)

N–S

+3.86–3.76

Walls W-45–W-47

72

13 (70)



W-45 ( JAE)

NNE–SSW

+3.98–3.88



W-46 ( JZ)

NNE–SSW

+3.83(C)/3.92(N)–3.58(C)/3.60(N)



W-47 ( JX)

N–S

+4.03–3.65

WALLS AND BUILDINGS

Feature (Field Name) Yard W-48

Page(s)

Plan No.

77

14 (79)

Orientation

Levels



W-48 ( JN)

NNW–SSE

+4.29(S)/4.19(N)–3.91(S)/4.01(N)



W-49 ( JS)

ENE–WSW

+4.29(W)/4.14(C)/4.12(E)–+3.84(W)



W-50 ( JT)

NNE–SSW

+4.11–3.76



W-51 ( JP)

NE–SW

+4.46–4.16



W-52 ( JQ)

NNW–SSE

+4.40–4.23

Trench AP

Wall W-53

91

16 (92)

W-53 (AP-BY)

Building W-54

94

NE–SW

+1.38(W)/1.25(C)/1.16(E)–0.79(W)/-0.79(E)

17 (94)



W-54 (AP-BW)

E–W

+2.03(W)/1.70(E)–1.36/(W)/1.40(C)/1.37(E)



W-55 (AP-BX)

N–S

+1.85–1.35

Complex W-56

96

18 (96)



W-56 (AP-BV)

N–S

+2.00(N)/2.13(C)/2.12(S)– 1.85(N)/1.96(C)/1.94(S)



W-57 (AP-BU)

E–W

+2.12(E)/2.22(W)–1.94(E)/2.08(W)



W-58 (AP-BS)

E–W

+2.33–1.97(E)/2.07(W)



W-59 (AP-BT)

NNE–SSW

+2.06(N)/2.23(S)–1.93(N)/1.96(S)

Pit BD

Building W-60

103

20 (104)



W-60 (BD 62)

NNE–SSW

+2.35/2.39(S)/2.30(N)–2.01(S)/1.92(N)



W-61 (BD 64)

ESE–WNW

+2.23–1.92



W-62 (BD 63)

ESE–WNW

+2.59–2.16

Platform W-63

21 (107)

W-63 (Platform)

Building W-64

107

E–W 108

22 (109)

W-64 (BD 55)

Building W-65

108, 117

+2.80/2.70–2.40

ESE–WNW

+3.55–2.90

22 (109)



W-65 (BD 60)

ESE–WNW

+3.90–2.90



W-66 (BD 60)

NNE–SSW

+3.90–2.90

Building W-67

112, 117

23 (113)



W-67 (BD 58)

NNE–SSW

+4.06–3.00



W-68 (BD 61)

ESE–WNW

+3.40–3.10

Pit BE

Building W-69

126

25 (127)

W-69 (BE 92b)

Building W-70

127

NNE–SSW

+2.11–1.81(S)/1.73(N)

25 (127)



W-70 (BE 96)

NNE–SSW

+2.16–1.94



W-71 (BE 94b)

ESE–WNW

+2.10–1.97(E)/1.88(W)

Building W-72

130

26 (131)



W-72 (BE 94a)

ESE–WNW

+2.30–1.98(E)/2.05(W)



W-73 (BE 95a)

NNE–SSW

+2.41–2.03(N)/2.12(S)

275

276

Appendix I

Feature (Field Name) Building W-74

Page(s)

Plan No.

130

26 (131)

W-74 (BE 92a)

W-75 Building W-76

132

Orientation

Levels

NNE–SSW

+2.55–2.20/2.10

ESE–WNW

+2.57–2.31

27 (133)



W-76 (BE 92)

NNE–SSW

+2.74–2.65/2.53



W-77 (BE 93)

ESE–WNW

+2.88–2.68/2.62



W-78 (BE 94)

ESE–WNW

+2.75/2.70–2.32/2.28(north face)/ 2.14 (south face) +2.95–2.79(S)/2.69(N)

Building W-79

134

28 (135)



W-79 (BE 90)

NNE–SSW



W-80 (BE 89)

E–W



W-81 (BE 91)

ENE–WSW

+3.13(W)/2.91(E)–2.77(W)/2.74(E)

ENE–WSW

+3.15/3.00–2.87

W-82 Building W-83

138

+2.97–2.79

29 (139)



W-83 (BE 88)

NNE–SSW

+3.68/3.63–3.41(S)/3.48(N)



W-84 (BE 87)

WNW–ESE

+3.92–3.44

Trench JC

Wall W-85

W-85 (JC 5)

152

— N–S

+4.27(N)/4.42(S)–NR

APPENDIx II Lot list

L

isted below are the pottery lots cited in the text, with the revised phases, as they have been correlated with the phasing of the Franchthi pottery by Vitelli (2007) and the now obsolete phasing originally developed by Caskey. It is the latter phasing that was used in earlier studies of the bones and shells by Gejvall (1969) and lithics by Kozłowski (Kozłowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996). The inaccurate phasing should no longer be cited by those who make use of these studies; see Vitelli 2007 for convenient summaries of the phases according to their original terminology and dating. In square brackets following the lot number are (a) the sublots composing the combined lot, or (b) the earlier designation of the lot (preceded by an “equals” sign). The page number refers to the first page on which the list of pottery and/or associated material begins. Lot

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

A 47

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

164

A 49

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

157

A 439 [= AE 9]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

164

CL A 448 [AH 36, AH 36-2]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

164

CL A 449 [AH 46–AH 50]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

164

CL A 453 [AB 23–AB 30]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

164

CL A 454 [AC 21–AC 24]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

164

CL A 455 [AP 54, AP 57]

Ler MN 1a

I.AP.1

Floor(?) south of W-53

93

A 456 [= AP 56]

Ler MN 1a

I.AP.1

Floor(?) north of W-53 and below

93

CL A 457 [AP 53, AP 55]

Ler MN 1a

I.AP.1

Above floor(?) north of W-53

93

CL A 458 [AP 51, AP 52]

Ler MN 1a

I.AP.1

General

93

A 459 [= AP 50]

Ler MN 1b

I.AP.2

Floor(?) deposit north of Building W-54

95

A 460 [= AP 48]

Ler MN 1b

I.AP.2

Floor(?) deposit south of Building W-54

95

A 461 [= AP 45]

Ler MN 1b

I.AP.2

To floor(?) south of Building W-54

95

CL A 462 [AP 45-2, AP 47]

Ler MN 1b

I.AP.2

Hearth pit HP-11

95

A 463 [= AP 43]

Ler MN 1b

I.AP.2

General

95

CL A 464 [AP 44, AP 49]

Ler MN 1b

I.AP.2

General

96

CL A 465 [AP 36-2, AP 39–AP 42]

Ler MN 3?

II.AP.A

General with Complex W-56

97

A 466 [= AP 46]

Ler MN 3?

II.AP.A

Storage pit SP-9

97

A 467 [= AP 38]

Ler MN 3?

II.AP.A

General with or after Complex W-56

97

278

Lot

APPENDIx II

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

CL A 468 [AP 27, AP 29, AP 31–AP 34, AP 37]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

165

CL A 469 [AP 35, AP 36, AP 36-3]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

165

CL A 470 [AP 20, AP 20-2, AP 20-3, AP 21-2, AP 22–AP 24, AP 24-2, AP 25, AP 26, AP 26-2, AP 28, AP 30, AP 30-2]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

165

B Cut 26

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

166

B Cut 27

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

166

B Cut 28

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

166

B Cut 29

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

166

B Cut 30

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

166

B Cut 31

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

166

B Cut 32

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

157

CL B 760 [B 695, B 703]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

157

BD 477

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

157

BD 553

Ler EN–MN

I.BD.1

General

100

BD 561

Ler EN–MN

I.BD.1

General

100

CL BD 573 [BA 187, BD 498]

Ler MN 6

II.BD.E

General

121

BD 575 [= BD 471]

FN

II.BD.E

Ash pit AP-9

121

BD 576 [= BD 502]

FN

II.BD.E

Ash pits AP-10 and AP-11

121

CL BD 577 [BD 470, BD 471b, BD 472, BD 473, BD 499– BD 501, BD 503]

Ler MN 6

II.BD.E

General

122

CL BD 578 [BD 505, BD 506]

Ler MN 6

II.BD.E

General

122

CL BD 579 [BD 474, BD 475, BD 504, BD 508]

Ler MN 6

II.BD.E

General

122

BD 580 [= BA 191]

Ler MN 6

II.BD.E

General

122

BD 581 [= BD 476]

Ler MN 6

II.BD.E

General

122

BD 583 [= BD 487-3]

Ler MN 2b

II.BD.A

EH II deposit BD-AI, lowest section

104

BD 584 [= BD 481]

Ler MN 5b

II.BD.D

Removing EH II deposit BD-AI and ash pit AP-9

118

CL BD 585 [BD 507, BD 509]

Ler MN 6

II.BD.E

General

123

BD 586 [= BD 478]

Ler MN 5b

II.BD.D

General

118

BD 587 [= BD 482]

Ler MN 5b

II.BD.D

Storage pit SP-11

118

CL BD 588 [BD 479, BD 480]

Ler MN 5b

II.BD.D

General

118

BD 589 [= BD 489]

Ler MN 5b

II.BD.D

General

119

CL BD 590 [BD 490, BD 493, BD 523]

Ler MN 5a

II.BD.C

Above work area between Buildings W-64 and W-67

116

Lot list

279

Lot

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

CL BD 591 [BD 510, BD 512, BD 514]

Ler MN 5b

II.BD.D

Building W-67

119

CL BD 592 [BD 516, BD 518]

Ler MN 5b

II.BD.D

Building W-67 and removal of courses of Wall W-67

119

CL BD 593 [BD 511, BD 513, BD 515, BD 517]

Ler MN 6

II.BD.E

General

123

CL BD 594 [BD 484, BD 488]

Ler MN 5a

II.BD.C

Upper floor deposit south of wall W-64

116

CL BD 595 [BD 485, BD 491, BD 492, BD 494]

Ler MN 5a

II.BD.C

Lower floor deposit south of wall W-64

116

CL BD 596 [BD 519, BD 520]

Ler MN 5a

II.BD.C

General

116

BD 597 [= BD 526]

Ler MN 5a

II.BD.C

General

116

BD 598 [= BD 522]

Ler MN 3–4

II.BD.B

General

111

BD 599 [= BD 524]

Ler MN 5a

II.BD.C

General

117

BD 600 [= BD 521]

Ler MN 3–4

II.BD.B

General

111

BD 601 [= BD 525]

Ler MN 3–4

II.BD.B

Work area(?) north of Building W-64 and removal of W-65, W-67, W-68, and stone mass

111

CL BD 602 [BD 527, BD 528]

Ler MN 3–4

II.BD.B

General

112

CL BD 603 [BD 529, BD 530]

Ler MN 3–4

II.BD.B

General

112

BD 604 [= BD 531]

Ler MN 3–4

II.BD.B

Stone platform/paving W-63

112

CL BD 605 [BD 532– BD 534]

Ler MN 2b

II.BD.A

General

105

BD 606 [= BD 535]

Ler MN 2b

II.BD.A

General

106

CL BD 607 [BD 536, BD 537, BD 540, BD 546]

Ler MN 2b

II.BD.A

Building W-60

106

CL BD 608 [BD 538, BD 544]

Ler MN 2b

II.BD.A

General

106

BD 609 [= BD 539]

Ler MN 2b

II.BD.A

General

106

BD 610 [= BD 542]

Ler MN 2b

II.BD.A

General

106

CL BD 611 [BD 541, BD 549]

Ler MN 2a

I/II.BD

General

102

CL BD 612 [BD 543, BD 545, BD 547]

Ler MN 2a

I/II.BD

General

103

BD 613 [= BD 548]

Ler EN–MN

I.BD.1

Clay pit CP-9

100

BD 614 [= BD 550]

Ler EN–MN

I.BD.1

General

100

CL BD 615 [BD 551, BD 552, BD 554, BD 558, BD 560, BD 562–BD 570]

Ler EN–MN

I.BD.1

General

100

BE 491

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

157

BE 508

Ler MN 4–6

II.BE.D

General

141

280

Lot

APPENDIx II

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

BE 516

Ler MN 3–4?

II.BE.C

Removal of W-83

136

BE 521

Ler MN 3–4?

II.BE.C

Storage pit SP-12

136

BE 522

Ler MN 3–4?

II.BE.C

Cleaning floor in east room of Building W-79

137

BE 537

Ler MN 2b

II.BE.A

Removal of W-74

131

BE 538

Ler MN 2a

I.BE.2 (BE I–II)

Removal of upper part of W-74

128

BE 545

Ler MN 2a

I.BE.2 (BE I–II)

General

128

BE 546

Ler MN 2a

I.BE.2 (BE I–II)

General

128

BE 556

Ler EN–MN

I.BE.1

General

124

BE 566 [= BE 486]

Ler II–III

II.BE.D

Ash pit AP-12

141

BE 567 [= BE 492]

Ler MN 4–6

II.BE.D

Soft spot BE-AC

141

CL BE 569 [BE 481, BE 482]

Ler MN 4–6

II.BE.D

General with EH II–III and ash pits AP-13 and AP-14

141

CL BE 570 [BE 487, BE 487-2, BE 488, BE 490]

Ler MN 4–6

II.BE.D

General

141

CL BE 571 [BE 493, BE 495]

Ler MN 4–6

II.BE.D

Sediments associated with/later than W-84

142

CL BE 572 [BE 497, BE 499]

Ler MN 4–6

II.BE.D

Sediments associated with Building W-83

142

CL BE 573 [BE 502, BE 503, BE 505]

Ler MN 4–6

II.BE.D

General

142

CL BE 574 [= BE 509]

Ler MN 4–6

II.BE.D

Removal of stones below EH II W-65 and around W-83

142

CL BE 575 [BE 513, BE 515]

Ler MN 3–4?

II.BE.C

Removal of stones in southwest corner

137

CL BE 576 [BE 507, BE 510, BE 510-2]

Ler MN 3–4?

II.BE.C

General and removal of EH II W-65

137

CL BE 577 [BE 511, BE 517]

Ler MN 3–4?

II.BE.C

General

138

CL BE 578 [BE 512, BE 512-2]

Ler MN 3–4?

II.BE.C

General

138

CL BE 579 [BE 514, BE 518–BE 520, BE 523, BE 524]

Ler MN 3–4?

II.BE.C

Sediments above and in Building W-79

138

CL BE 580 [BE 525– BE 527]

Ler MN 2c

II.BE.B

Sediments associated with Building W-76

134

BE 581 [= BE 528]

Ler MN 2c

II.BE.B

Sediment above floor(?) of Building W-76

134

BE 582 [= BE 529]

Ler MN 2b

II.BE.A

Above floor(?) of Building W-72 and removal of upper part of W-76

131

BE 583 [= BE 530]

Ler MN 2b

II.BE.A

Stony pit fill

132

CL BE 584 [BE 531, BE 534]

Ler MN 2b

II.BE.A

Sediments in Building W-72

132

CL BE 585 [BE 532, BE 533]

Ler MN 2b

II.BE.A

Activity area floor and removal of W-76

132

BE 586 [= BE 535]

Ler MN 2b

II.BE.A

Sediment below floor of activity area

132

Lot list

281

Lot

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

CL BE 587 [BE 536, BE 539, BE 550]

Ler MN 2a

I.BE.2 (BE I–II)

General

128

CL BE 588 BE 540, BE 541]

Ler MN 2a

I.BE.2 (BE I–II)

General

129

BE 589 [= BE 542]

Ler MN 2c

II.BE.B

Removal of W-78

134

BE 590 [= BE 543]

Ler MN 2a

I.BE.2 (BE I–II)

Black sediment in Building W-70

129

BE 591 [= BE 544]

Ler MN 2a

I.BE.2 (BE I–II)

General

129

CL BE 592 [BE 547, BE 549, BE 551]

Ler MN 2a

I.BE.2 (BE I–II)

General

129

CL BE 593 [BE 548, BE 552, BE 553]

Ler MN 1

I.BE.1

General

124

BE 594 [= BE 554]

Ler MN 1

I.BE.1

General

124

BE 595 [= BE 555]

Ler MN 1

I.BE.1

General

125

BH 63

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

157

BH 64

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

151

BH 65

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

151

BH 66

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

151

BH 67

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

151

BI 14

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

158

BI 25

Ler MN Unphased

—

—

158

BI 28

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

158

E Cuts 1–3

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

167

E Cuts 4–6

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

167

E Cuts 7–9

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

167

E Cuts 10–13

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

167

E Cuts 14, 15

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

167

CL G 44 [GH 30, GH 33a]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

158

G 45

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

158

G 46

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

158

CL G 47 [GH 33b, GH 35] Ler MN Unphased

—

General

158

CL G 48 [= GH 34]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

158

HTJ 5

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

158

HTJ 24

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

168

HTJ 25

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

168

HTJ 26

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

168

HTJ 27

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

168

HTJ 28

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

168

HTJ 29

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

168

HTJ 30

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

168

HTJ 31

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

168

HTJ 32

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

169

HTJ 33

Ler MN 1

—

Associated with burial 6

145

282

Lot

APPENDIx II

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

HTJ 34

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

145

HTJ 35

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

145

HTJ 36

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

145

HTJ 37

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

145

HTJ 38

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

145

HTJ 39

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

146

HTJ 40

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

146

HTN 115 [= HTN 42]

Ler FN

MN Late

Burial 7

148

CL HTN 116 [HTN 43, HTN 45]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

148

HTN 117 [= HTN 36]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

148

CL HTN 118 [HTN 40, HTN 47]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

148

CL HTN 119 [HTN 54, HTN 55]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

148

HTN 120 [= HTN 63]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

149

CL HTN 122 [HTN 30, HTN 35]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

149

CL HTN 125 [HTN 59, HTN 77]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

149

CL HTN 126 [HTN 56, HTN 57]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

149

CL HTN 128 [HTN 49, HTN 66]

Ler MN 6

MN Late

General

152

CL HTN 130 [HTN 68, HTN 72, HTN 75]

Ler MN 6

MN Late

General

152

CL HTN 131 [HTN 76, HTN 83, HTN 84, HTN 88]

Ler MN 6

MN Late

General

152

HTN 132 [= HTN 78]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

149

CL HTN 133 [HTN 82, HTN 89]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

149

CL HTN 138 [HTN 39, HTN 44, HTN 46]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

149

HTN 140 [= HTN 48]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

150

CL HTN 141 [HTN 61, HTN 69]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

150

HTN 142 [= HTN 79]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

150

CL HTN 143 [HTN 80, HTN 85]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

150

CL HTN 144 [HTN 87, HTN 90]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

150

CL HTN 145 [HTN 81, HTN 86]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

150

HTN 146 [= HTN 94]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

150

CL HTN 148 [HTN 95, HTN 100]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

150

Lot list

283

Lot

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

HTN 150 [= HTN 92]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

151

HTN 151 [= HTN 103]

Ler MN 6+

MN Late

General

151

CL J 83 [J 57, J 60]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

169

CL J 84 [J 17, J 18]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

CL J 85 [J 12, J 14]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

CL J 86 [J 9, J 10]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

J 87

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

J 98

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

169

J 99

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

J 100

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

J 101

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

CL J 102 [J 61, J 64]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

General

75

CL J 103 [J 66, J 68]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

J 345

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

General

80

J 349

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

170

J 386

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

Yard W-48

81

J 389

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

General

81

J 401

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

J 411

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

170

J 417

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

Removal of wall W-48

75

J 420

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

Removal of stones of stone-ringed bothros in Yard W-48

81

CL J 438 [J 332, J 334, J 335]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

170

CL J 439 [J 343, J 347, J 348, J 350]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

170

CL J 440 [J 330, J 331]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

170

CL J 442 [J 311, J 319, J 320, J 324, J 333, J 337, J 339, J 352, J 366, J 375, J 376]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

171

CL J 444 [J 355, J 358, J 369]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

171

CL J 447 [J 341, J 342, J 346, J 353, J 354, J 364, J 365, J 377]

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

General

81

CL J 448 [J 382, J 394]

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

Yard W-48, addition in angle of W-49 and W-52 and removal of W-52 and stones added to W-49

81

CL J 449 [J 385, J 390, J 407]

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

General

81

CL J 450 [J 384, J 398, J 406, J 416]

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

Yard W-48

81

CL J 451 [J 399, J 410]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

General

75

CL J 452 [J 400, J 412]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

General

75

284

APPENDIx II

Lot

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

CL J 453 [J 408, J 409, J 415, J 418]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

General

75

J 558

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

172

J 562

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

172

J 567

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

Clearing of winter debris

75

J 582

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

General

75

J 584

Ler FN

II.J.F, G

Clearing ash pit AP-5

89

J 585

Ler FN

II.J.F, G

Clearing ash pit AP-7, interior of lower

89

J 588

Ler FN

II.J.F, G

Removal of ash pit AP-3, interior of upper

89

J 589

Ler FN

II.J.F, G

Removal of ash pit AP-6

89

J 590

Ler FN

II.J.F, G

Removal of ash pit AP-4, upper and lower

89

J 591

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

Stone-ringed bothros fill in Yard W-48

81

J 594

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Above floor of room W-17d

60

J 595

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

Unlined bothros dug into SP-7

76

J 596

FN

II.J.F, G

Ash pit AP-3, clay lining of upper

89

J 597

FN

II.J.F, G

Removal of ash pit AP-7, clay lining of lower

89

J 598

FN

II.J.F, G

Ash pit AP-8, interior of lower

89

J 603

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

171 68

J 607

Ler MN 4

II.J.D

Removal of W-43, W-46, W-47, and EH II W-8 east

J 613

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Sediment above rooms W-36a and W-36b

61

J 615

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Sediment in room W-36b

61

J 622

Ler MN 4

II.J.D

Storage pit SP-6

68

J 624

Ler MN 4

II.J.D

Storage pit SP-7

68

J 625

Ler MN 4

II.J.D

General

68

J 626

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Sediment above rooms W-24d and W-24e

61

J 632

Ler MN 4

II.J.C

Storage pit SP-5

69

J 634

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Floor of room W-36a

61

J 638

Ler MN MN 4

II.J.D

Storage pit SP-8

69

J 639

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Room W-31b

61

J 644

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

159

J 645

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Removal of W-38–W-40

61

J 648

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

General

61

J 649

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Removal of socles J J and W-28

61

J 651

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

General

61

J 654

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Removal of W-25–W-27

62

J 655

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

General

62

J 657

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Above floor of room W-17c

62

J 659

Ler MN 4

II.J.D

General

69

J 660

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

General

62

J 661

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

Sediment below floor(?) of room W-24d

48

J 663

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Removal of W-34

62

J 664

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

General

63

Lot list

Lot

285

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

J 666

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Room W-31b

63

J 667

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

160

J 668

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Room W-17a

63

J 671

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Room W-17d or just beneath

63

J 674

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

General

63

J 675

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Storage pit SP-4

63

J 679

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

Removal of W-21, W-22, W-24, W-28–W-30

48

J 680

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

Removal of W-31 and W-36

49

J 681

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Floor(?) of room W-17c

83

J 683

Ler MN 3a, b.1, 2

II.J.B, C

General and clearing of storage pits SP-1 and SP-2

J 686

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

General

42

J 694

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

Removal of W-17–W-20

49

J 700

Ler MN 3a

I.J.B

Sediment above floor of room W-12a

49

J 708

Ler MN 2a

I/II.J

Removal of room W-8

36

J 709

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Stony patch beneath and east of W-8

42

J 718

Ler MN 2a

I/II.J

Stony patch below black stratum 8

36

J 721

Ler MN 2a

I/II.J

Removal of foundation course of W-9

37

J 722

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Removal of floor of room W-12a

43

J 723

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

Sediment above floor of room W-12b

49

J 725

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

Sediment above floor(?) of room W-12c

49

J 728

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Above floor of Building W-5

43

J 731

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Black above and within hearth pit HP-7

30

J 737

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

General

43

J 738

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Removal of W-16

43

J 740

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Removal of foundation course of W-12

43

J 741

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

General

43

J 742

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Floor deposit of room W-5a

43

J 743

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

General

43

J 746

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

General

30

J 750

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Around burials 3a, 3b

30 30

49, 63

J 755

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Black in southeast associated with hearth pits HP-7–HP-9

J 758

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

General

30

J 759

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

160

J 768

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Hearth pit HP-4

31

J 770

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Hearth pit HP-5

31

J 776

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

General

63

J 777

Ler EN–MNc

I.J.C

General

21

J 782

Ler EN–MNc

I.J.C

Black in area of platform W-2

21

J 786

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

160

J 794

Ler EN–MNb

I.J.B

General

16

J 797

Ler EN–MNb

I.J.B

General

17

286

Lot

APPENDIx II

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

J 799

Ler EN–MNc

I.J.C

Removal of platform W-2

21

J 801

Ler EN–MNc

I.J.C

Removal of red brick north of AX2.8

21

J 817

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Gully

34

J 818

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Gully

34

J 820

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

General

31

J 821

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

General

43

CL J 840 [J 550, J 554]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

172

CL J 842 [J 861, J 864]

Ler II–III Mixed

—

—

303

CL J 843 [J 560, J 565]

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

General

82

CL J 845 [J 571, J 574, J 581]

Ler MN 6

II.J.F, G

General

82

CL J 846 [J 572, J 573, J 575, J 592]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

173

CL J 847 [J 577, J 580]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

160

CL J 848 [J 578, J 586]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

General

76

CL J 849 [J 583, J 605, J 606]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

Building W-41: above floor, floor, and removal of W-41 and cross-wall

76

CL J 850 [J 576, J 593]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

Enclosure W-43

76

CL J 851 [J 600, J 627]

Ler MN 4

II.J.D

Floor of room W-38b and below

69

CL J 852 [J 616, J 620]

Ler MN 4

II.J.D

Room W-38b, west

69

CL J 853 [J 579, J 599]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

General

76

CL J 854 [J 608, J 617]

Ler MN 5

II.J.E

General

77

CL J 855 [J 628, J 631, J 636, J 646]

Ler MN 4

II.J.D

General

69

CL J 856 [J 621, J 629]

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Floor of room W-24c

63

CL J 857 [J 623, J 642]

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Sediments associated with rooms W-17a and W-24a

64

CL J 858 [J 630, J 658]

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

To and through floor(?) of room W-24d

64

CL J 859 [J 653, J 669]

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Ashy floor of room W-24e and below

64

CL J 860 [J 640, J 662]

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Floor(?) deposit of room W-17d

64

CL J 861 [J 650, J 665]

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Room W-17b

64

CL J 862 [J 673, J 678]

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

General

64

CL J 863 [J 682, J 685, J 688, J 690, J 693]

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

General

49

CL J 864 [J 670, J 676]

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

II.J.C

Sediment beneath room W-31b

65

CL J 865 [J 684, J 701]

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Room W-8a and west of W-11

43

CL J 866 [J 730, J 733]

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Removal of W-12–W-15

44

CL J 867 [J 822–J 824]

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

General

31

CL J 869 [J 652, J 732, J 753]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

171

CL J 870 [J 601, J 647, J 672, J 687, J 706, J 707, J 727]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

173

CL J 871 [J 689, J 760, J 819]

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

172

CL J 872 [J 602, J 604]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

160

Lot list

Lot

287

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

CL J 873 [J 609, J 610]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

161

CL J 874 [J 611, J 612]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

161

CL J 875 [J 614, J 635, J 637, J 641, J 643]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

161

CL J 876 [J 677, J 716, J 724, J 756]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

161

CL J 877 [J 769, J 773, J 781]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

161

CL J 878 [J 774, J 784, J 796]

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

162

CL J 879 [J 697, J 698]

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

General

50

CL J 880 [J 691, J 692, J 699]

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

General

50

CL J 881 [J 695, J 705]

Ler MN 3a

II.J.B

General

50

CL J 882 [J 696, J 702– J 704, J 726]

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

Sediments west of Buildings W-5 and W-12

44

CL J 883 [J 710–J 715, J 717, J 739]

Ler MN 2b

II.J.A

General

44

CL J 884 [J 719, J 720, J 745]

Ler MN 2a

I/II.J

General

37

CL J 885 [J 729, J 734– J 736, J 744, J 747, J 748, J 751]

Ler MN 2a

I/II.J

General

37

CL J 886 [J 752, J 757, J 761, J 766]

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Hard red sediments around AX2.8

31

CL J 887 [J 762, J 763, J 765, J 779]

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

General

31

CL J 888 [J 754, J 764, J 771, J 772, J 775]

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

General

31

CL J 889 [J 778, J 787, J 790]

Ler EN–MNc

I.J.C

Removal of burned red brick around AX2.8

22

CL J 890 [J 803, J 808]

Ler EN–MNb

I.J.B

Dissolved brick mass

17

CL J 891 [J 806, J 807]

Ler EN–MNb

I.J.B

Sediment with hut W-1

17

CL J 892 [J 791, J 798]

Ler EN–MNb

I.J.B

Red brick

18

CL J 893 [J 767, J 780, J 795, J 802, J 809, J 810]

Ler EN–MNa

I.J.A

Sediments above clay pits in virgin soil

13

CL J 894 [J 812, J 813, J 816]

Ler EN–MNa

I.J.A

Clay pits in virgin soil

12

CL J 895 [J 788, J 789]

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Gully

34

CL J 896 [J 783, J 800, J 814]

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Gully

34

CL J 897 [J 785, J 792, J 793, J 804, J 805, J 815]

Ler MN 1

I.J.D, E

Gully

35

JC 3

Ler Mixed Fill

—

General

173

JC 5

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

155

JC 6

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

155

JC 7

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

155

288

APPENDIx II

Lot

New Phase

Old Phase

Context

Page(s)

JC 8

Ler FN

—

Burial 8

155

JC 9

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

155

JC 10

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

156

JC 11

Ler FN

—

Burial 8

155

JC 12

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

156

JC 13

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

156

JC 14

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

156

JC 15

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

156

JC 16

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

156

JC 17

Ler Mixed Fill

—

—

173

JC 18

Ler MN Unphased

—

General

156

Appendix III THE FAUNA by David S. Reese

T

his study of the Neolithic fauna from Lerna follows those already published for Early Helladic II Lerna (Reese 2013b), Early Helladic III Lerna (Reese 2013a), and Late Helladic II–III Lerna (Reese 2008). The history of my research of the Lerna fauna has already been presented in these previous publications and need not be repeated here (also see above, p. 2). Gejvall’s identifications of the Lerna EN–MN, MN, and MN–EH II fauna and my reanalysis of the remains retained in Argos and Stockholm are given in the context summaries presented earlier in this volume. Of the retained fauna that appear in Gejvall’s 1969 publication (hereafter, simply Gejvall:) in the now obsolete phasing, that is, Lerna I (EN), I–II (EN–MN), II (MN) and II–III (MN–EH II), I personally examined Neolithic and mixed Neolithic–EH II material from 80 lots of a total of 249 recorded by Gejvall. The results presented here are based on a combination of my analysis of the saved lots and my evaluation of the data for the lots discarded after Gejvall’s analysis—data available to me on the cards on which Gejvall originally recorded the Lerna fauna in 1958 and in his 1969 publication. Since, as will become evident, Gejvall’s data were sometimes flawed, we can only give reasonable estimates of the composition of the Lerna Neolithic faunal corpus. In the absence of the totality of the fauna excavated, we believe that this study provides the most complete picture we will have of the early Lernaeans’s exploitation of the fauna available to them until the site is revisited for further excavation. One sample can be used to illustrate the differences between Gejvall’s analysis and the present study, the MN 2b CL BD 605 (dark sediment associated with Building W-60). Gejvall recorded 32 bone and tooth fragments from two Ovis/Capra MNI (minimum number of individuals), two Sus MNI, and one Bos MNI, with none noted as cut or burned. For shells he recorded 12 Cardium, six Lucina(?), and five Murex. The preserved sample of 571 fragments that I examined came from three Ovis/Capra MNI, three Sus MNI, two Bos MNI, and one Canis, with 45 cut and 86 burned bones. The shells are 12 Cerastoderma (12 MNI), eight Ruditapes (six+ MNI), and eight Hexaplex (one an ornament). Table III.1 presents the MNI of the main food mammals based on Gejvall’s monograph, and Table III.2 is based on my analysis of the preserved material and other data as noted above. The detailed Ovis/Capra, Ovis, and Capra data are from Gejvall: 25–27, domestic Sus data from Gejvall: 20, and domestic Bos data from Gejvall: 30. For I, I–II, and II only there are therefore 62.4% Ovis/Capra, 21.0% Sus, and 16.6% Bos MNI. The Ovis/Capra, Ovis, and Capra combined MNI is probably too large because some of the Ovis and Capra bones will also be included under the more general category Ovis/ Capra. For all but the two II–III groups there are therefore 50.5% Ovis/Capra, 27.2% Sus, and 22.3% Bos MNI. The small number of MN 3a, MN 4, MN 6, and FN lots inflates the Sus and Bos percentages.

290

Appendix III

Table III.1. MNI of Main Neolithic Food Mammals According to Gejvall 1969 Old Phase

MNI Sus

MNI Bos

I

MNI Ovis/Capra 12 (60.0%)

4 (20.0%)

4 (20.0%)

I–II

6 (54.5%)

3 (27.3%)

2 (18.2%)

II

35 (64.8%)

11 (20.4%)

8 (14.8%)

II–III

24 (54.5%)

12 (27.3%)

8 (18.2%)

Table III.2. MNI of Main Neolithic Food Mammals According to Reese New Phase

No. of Lots

MNI Ovis/Capra

MNI Sus

MNI Bos

EN–MN

14

22 (50.0%)

10 (22.7%)

12 (27.3%)

MN 1

16

23 (59.0%)

7 (18.0%)

9 (23.0%)

MN 2a

10

13 (48.2%)

8 (29.6%)

6 (22.2%)

MN 2b

20

23 (46.0%)

17 (34.0%)

10 (20.0%)

MN 2c

2

2 (50.0%)

2 (50.0%)

0 (0.00%)

MN 3a

6

7 (41.2%)

6 (35.3%)

4 (23.5%)

MN 3b

20

21 (53.9%)

13 (33.3%)

5 (12.8%)

MN 3–4

6

14 (60.9%)

6 (26.1%)

3 (13.0%)

MN 4

8

6 (42.9%)

5 (35.7%)

3 (21.4%)

MN 5

18

24 (58.5%)

7 (17.1%)

10 (24.4%)

MN 6

2

2 (40.0%)

2 (40.0%)

1 (20.0%)

MN Unphased

29

25 (45.5%)

13 (23.6%)

17 (30.9%)

MN + FN

13

14 (51.9%)

9 (33.3%)

4 (14.8%)

3

1 (20.0%)

1 (20.0%)

3 (60.0%)

II–III Mixed Fill

30

28 (40.0%)

24 (34.3%)

18 (25.7%)

II–III

58

51 (45.1%)

34 (30.1%)

28 (24.8%)

FN

Domestic Mammals Sheep and Goat Gejvall published 604 Ovis aries (sheep), Capra hircus (goat), or Ovis/Capra bones from Neolithic and II–III lots, with 90 EN bones (39 now EN–MN and 51 now MN), 36 EN–MN (24+ now MN), 296 MN, and 182 II–III (at least 14 now MN, five now MN–FN, 10 now III). Of these, 201 or 33.3% were seen (although 15 were misidentified), with 83 EN, no EN–MN, 113 MN, and five II–III. So 92.2% of his EN bones were retained, none of his EN–MN bones, 38.2% of his MN bones, and 2.7% of his II–III bones. Details of the identifications from Gejvall’s 1958 cards and his 1969 volume and my identifications are presented in the context summaries. Gejvall published only one Neolithic cut bone, an Ovis/Capra horncore (in MN 1 CL BE 593). He also published one II–III cut Capra bone (of unknown provenience and element). Analysis of the preserved Ovis/Capra bones, presented in the contexts summaries, records 133 cut bones not noted by Gejvall (Table III.3).

THE FAUNA

291

Table III.3. SHeep/Goat Cut Bones New Phase

No. of Lots

No. of Cut Bones

EN–MN

10

37

MN 1

10

24

MN 2a

5

21

MN 2b

4

15

MN 3a

2

7

MN 3b

3

5

MN 3–4

2

9

MN 4

1

1

MN 5a

1

1

MN Unphased

4

6

MN + FN

1

1

II–III Mixed Fill

5

2

II–III

1

4

Gejvall noted two EN burned remains: a humerus fragment (in EN–MNb CL J 891) and a M2 (in MN 1 CL J 896). He published three EN–MN burned bones and his card notes three partly burned remains from MN 2a CL J 885: a M3, a humerus fragment, and a metacarpus fragment. Gejvall published one MN burned bone, the MN Unphased J 759 tibia fragment. However, his MN Late CL HTN 141 mandible fragment (now MN 6, FN + EH II) is also noted on his card as burned. He published two burned II–III bones, one of which is a burned humerus (in MN 6, FN + EH II CL HTN 118). Analysis of the preserved Ovis/Capra bones records 129 burned or partly burned bones not noted by Gejvall (Table III.4). Table III.4. Sheep/Goat Burned Bones New Phase

No. of Lots

No. of Burned Bones

EN–MN

9

33

MN 1

8

19

MN 2a

4

20

MN 2b

4

24

MN 3a

2

3

MN 3b

2

3

MN 3–4

1

3

MN 5

3

5

MN Unphased

4

5

MN + FN

2

7

II–III Mixed Fill

1

2

II–III

2

5

The Neolithic ageable bones personally seen include remains from 61 lots and 107 MNI of 197 MNI, or 54.3% of the MNI. Only 10 lots have individuals under 10 months old:

292

Appendix III

three EN–MN, two MN 1, one MN 2a, one MN 3a, one MN 3b, one MN Unphased, and one MN–FN. There are 12 lots with individuals over three years old: three EN–MN (four MNI), one MN 1, two MN 2a, two MN 2b, one MN 3a, one MN 3–4, one MN 5a, and one MN Unphased.

Pig Gejvall published 318 domestic Sus scrofa (now Sus domesticus) bones from Neolithic and II–III lots with 34 EN (10 now EN–MN and 24 now MN), 12 EN–MN (five+ now MN), 157 MN, and 115 II–III (at least six now MN, six now MN–FN, and four now III). Of these, 105 or 33% were seen (although 18 were misidentified), with 29 EN, no EN–MN, 71 MN, and five II–III. So 85.3% of his EN bones were retained, none of his EN–MN bones, 45.2% of his MN bones, and 4.3% of his II–III bones. Details of the identifications from Gejvall’s 1958 cards and his 1969 volume and my identifications are presented in the context summaries. Not listed in his 1969 table 13 but on his EN–MN cards are a pelvis fragment (in MN 1 CL J 886) and a canine (MN 4 J 631 in CL J 855). He published BD 575 as Lerna II (MN), now redated FN. However, he lists two bones, both saved (axis [UF], phalanx 1 [JF]) under Lerna I (EN) in table 13. His card for II–III CL BD 577 notes a pelvis fragment (not seen), but none are published in his table for II–III. His card for II–III CL BE 573 notes three pelvis fragments (saved) but none are noted in his table for II–III. Gejvall did not publish any Neolithic or II–III cut bones. Analysis of the preserved Sus bones, presented in the context summaries, records 16 cut bones not noted by Gejvall (Table III.5). Table III.5. pig Cut Bones New Phase

No. of Lots

No. of Cut Bones

EN–MN

3

5

MN 1

1

1

MN 2a

2

1

MN 2b

2

3

MN 3

3

3

MN Unphased

1

1

MN + FN

1

2

For the EN Gejvall published one burned bone (an astragalus in MN 1b CL A 464). For the MN he published one burned bone (a radius in MN 2b J 728 [not seen]). For II–III he published one burned bone in his table but recorded two on his cards (a scapula fragment in A 473 and an astragalus in MN 6 + EH II CL HTN 116). Analysis of the preserved Sus bones, presented in the context summaries, records 33 burned or partly burned bones not noted by Gejvall (Table III.6). The Neolithic ageable bones personally seen include remains from 40 lots and 47 MNI of 106 MNI, or 44.3% of the MNI. Thirteen lots have individuals under one year old: one EN–MNa, two MN 2a, three MN 2b (four MNI), two MN 3b, one MN 3–4, three MN 5, and one MN + FN. Only three lots have individuals over 2–2.25 years old: one MN 3a, one MN 3b, and one MN Unphased. This suggests that the animals were mainly consumed young.

THE FAUNA

293

Table III.6. pig Burned Bones New Phase

No. of Lots

No. of Burned Bones

EN–MN

1

2

MN 1

1

1

MN 2a

4

6

MN 2b

2

14

MN 3a

3

3

MN Unphased

2

2

MN + FN

2

3

FN

1

1

II–III

1

1

Sheep/Goat or Pig From the Neolithic lots Gejvall published 10 Ovis/Capra rib fragments (eight not seen) and no Sus rib fragments. Of the retained lots, however, 42 produced 340 Ovis/Capra/Sus rib fragments not noted by Gejvall. Sixty-three (63) fragments were found in MN 2b CL BD 605 and 29 in MN 3–4 CL BD 602, but none recorded by Gejvall. Several II–III Ovis/Capra/Sus ribs were also worked (awls L5.268, L5.283, and 259 in CL J 442, and awl L5.352 in CL J 447). From the Neolithic lots Gejvall published three Ovis/Capra noncervical vertebrae fragments (none seen) and one Sus vertebra fragment (not seen). But of the retained lots, 32 produced 57 Ovis/Capra/Sus noncervical vertebrae fragments not noted by Gejvall. From the Neolithic lots Gejvall published 23 Ovis/Capra skull fragments (20 not seen) and 36 Sus skull fragments (10 not seen). Yet, of the retained lots, 11 produced 32 Ovis/Capra/ Sus skull fragments not noted by Gejvall. Analysis of the preserved Ovis/Capra/Sus bones, presented in the contexts summaries, records 256 cut bones not noted by Gejvall (Table III.7). Table III.7. sheep/goat/pig Cut Bones New Phase

No. of Lots

No. of Cut Bones

EN–MN

11

98

MN 1

12

56

MN 2a

4

22

MN 2b

2

28

MN 3a

2

10

MN 3b

3

3

MN 3–4

1

17

MN 5

1

1

MN Unphased

5

11

II–III Mixed Fill

1

1

II–III

1

9

Analysis of the preserved Ovis/Capra/Sus bones, presented in the context summaries, records 217 burned or partly burned bones not noted by Gejvall (Table III.8).

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Table III.8. sheep/goat/pig Burned Bones New Phase

No. of Lots

No. of Burned Bones

8

42

MN 1

10

36

MN 2a

5

15

MN 2b

4

52

MN 3a

3

11

MN 3b

4

6

MN 3?

1

3

MN 3–4

2

5

MN 5

2

11

MN Unphased

4

14

MN + FN

2

6

II–III Mixed Fill

1

1

II–III

3

15

EN–MN

Cattle Gejvall published 231 domestic cattle (Bos taurus) bones from Neolithic and II–III lots, with 17 EN (five now EN–MN and 12 MN), 13 EN–MN (10 now MN), 104 MN, and 97 II–III (at least seven now MN, seven now MN–FN, and two now III). Of these, 70, or 30.3%, were seen (although six were misidentified), with 15 EN, no EN–MN, 46 MN, and nine II–III. So 88.2% of his EN remains were retained, none of his EN–MN bones, 44.2% of his MN bones, and 9.3% of his II–III bones. Details of the identifications are presented in the context summaries. The contexts of several of the Bos bones are of note. The only bone in MN 4 storage pit SP-6 is a Bos rib fragment. The only bone in FN ash pit AP-4 is a Bos rib fragment. Final Neolithic ash pit AP-8 produced three bones, and the only Bos bone is a rib fragment. The only Bos bone in MN 4 CL J 855 is a rib fragment. Several Bos ribs were also worked (awl L5.423 in MN 5 CL J 452; L2.77 in II–III B cut 23; awl L7.168 in II–III HTN 146 [MN 6, FN + EH II]; L5.45 in II–III A 396). Gejvall published no Neolithic cut bones but did publish three II–III cut bones. His cards, however, note only one cut phalanx 2 (CL BD 577), which, in fact, was not cut. Analysis of the preserved Bos bones, presented in the context summaries, records 89 cut bones not noted by Gejvall (Table III.9). Gejvall published three EN–MN burned remains although none are noted on his cards. He published one MN burned tooth (a M3 in MN 2b CL J 883) and two II–III burned remains (a M3 in A 430 and a metacarpus fragment in MN 6 CL BD 585). One burned tooth (a M3 in B 1525) that he published as Lerna III has been redated II–III. Analysis of the preserved Bos bones, presented in the context summaries, records 47 burned bones not noted by Gejvall (Table III.10). The Neolithic ageable bones personally seen include remains from 25 lots and 26 MNI of 87 MNI, or 29.9% of the MNI. Only one lot has an individual under 1.5 years old (MN 3–4). Five lots have individuals over 3.5 years: one MN 1, one MN 2b, two MN 3a, and one MN 3b; three other lots have individuals over 2–2.5 years: one MN 2b, one MN 5, and one MN–FN.

THE FAUNA

295

Table III.9. cattle Cut Bones New Phase

No. of Lots

No. of Cut Bones

EN–MN

9

13

MN 1

7

23

MN 2a

1

5

MN 2b

3

19

MN 3a

4

8

MN 3b

1

1

MN 3–4

1

4

MN 5

3

3

MN Unphased

3

4

II–III Mixed Fill

3

3

II–III

2

6

Table III.10. cattle Burned Bones New Phase

No. of Lots

No. of Burned Bones

EN–MN

1

7

MN 1

4

8

MN 2a

1

1

MN 2b

2

20

MN 3a

1

1

MN 3b

1

1

MN 5b

1

1

MN Unphased

2

2

MN + FN

1

2

FN

1

1

II–III Mixed Fill

1

1

II–III

1

2

Dog For Canis familiaris Gejvall published (Gejvall: 15) one humerus from the EN, six bones from the MN (one maxilla, two mandibles, two metacarpi, and one metatarsus; one cut, three adult MNI), and eight bones from II–III (one maxilla, two mandibles, one canine, one axis, one humerus, one ulna, and one metacarpus; three MNI, one young, two adult). The EN distal humerus has been redated MN 1a (A 456; Gejvall: pl. I:1). The MN maxilla fragment is MN 5b (CL BD 591). The two MN mandible fragments, MN 3b (CL J 862; Gejvall: pl. I:3) and MN 4 (CL J 855; Gejvall: pl. I:2), are from two MNI. The MN metacarpus III (F) and proximal metacarpus IV are MN 3a (both in CL J 880). Gejvall’s metatarsus (not saved) is from MN 3–4(?) + FN (CL BE 576). None of the preserved bones are cut, so dog consumption cannot be documented in the preserved fauna during the Neolithic period at Lerna (contra Cantuel, Gardeisen, and Renard 2008: 292). For II–III, the maxilla fragment comes from II–III Mixed Fill (HTJ 31). One posterior mandible fragment also comes from Mixed Fill (CL A 469), while the provenience of the

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second mandible is unknown. The canine comes from II–III ( J 844); the provenience of the axis is unknown. The proximal humerus (UF) comes from the Mixed Fill (E cuts 10–13), as does the ulna fragment ( J 411). A II–III bone preserved in Stockholm, noted on Gejvall’s card as a metacarpus and published as a metacarpus (Gejvall: 14), is elsewhere published as a metatarsus IV (F; Gejvall: 15–16, 70, pl. I:5). It is from Mixed Fill ( J 98). Gejvall’s cards record three other II–III Canis bones that were not published and were not retained: a tibia fragment (CL HTN 148), an astragalus fragment (Mixed Fill HTJ 31), and a metacarpus (Mixed Fill CL J 442). Gejvall misidentified three dog bones: an EN–MN burned gray proximal metacarpus IV that he published as an EN Vulpes metatarsus fragment (BE 556); an EN–MNb proximal femur fragment that he published as an EN Lepus femur fragment ( J 794); and a MN 1 burned black proximal tibia (F) that he published as an EN Vulpes tibia fragment (young) (BE 595). Three additional Canis bones not recognized by Gejvall were found in the preserved lots: a MN 2b distal tibia and shaft (F, burned gray; CL BD 605), a MN 5 scapula fragment (F; CL J 853), and a MN 6 + FN calcaneus (CL J 449). So dog remains are documented from EN–MN (two bones, two lots), MN 1 (two bones, two lots), MN 2b (one bone), MN 3a (two bones, one lot), MN 3b (one bone), MN 4 (one bone), MN 5 (two bones, two lots), MN + FN (two bones, two lots), and II–III Mixed Fill (at least six bones, six lots).

Wild Animals Deer For red deer (Cervus elaphus) Gejvall published (1969: 44) two bones from the EN (one antler, one scapula; two MNI [one young, one adult]), 11 bones from the MN (five antlers, one molar, one scapula, two tibiae, one metacarpus, and one calcaneus; four MNI [one young, two subadult, one senile]), and 11 bones from II–III (three antlers, three scapulae, two tibiae, two metacarpi, and one astragalus; one cut, two MNI [two adult]). The EN antler reported by Gejvall comes from fill in clay pit CP-9 (BD 613) and has been redated EN–MN. He did not recognize it as worked. His EN scapula (young), now dated EN–MNc ( J 801), is actually a very fragmentary cut Bos scapula (F). He did not recognize that this lot also produced a worked antler piece. He noted five MN antlers, four dated MN 3a ( J 700), MN Unphased (CL J 872), MN 3–4(?) + FN (CL BE 579), and FN (BD 575, Gejvall: pl. XIX:1). The fifth piece he noted as worked and removed from MN 3–4 BD 601 is 295. The MN M3 published by Gejvall (worn down; not seen) is from MN Unphased CL J 877, and the MN scapula fragment (UF) from MN 3–4 (BD 601). A proximal tibia (F, right, cut) is from CL J 872 (MN Unphased) and distal tibia (F, left) from CL J 877 (MN Unphased). The MN 3b metacarpus fragment (F, burned gray) is from CL J 864, and the MN Unphased calcaneus, not seen, from CL J 872. For II–III he published three antlers. One of these, a tine (CL J 875), is now dated MN Unphased. The second comes from MN 6 CL HTN 118, and the third is of unknown provenience. The three scapulae published as II–III are three fragments of a single bone from CL J 451, now dated MN 5. He noted two tibiae of II–III, one of which is a distal tibia from J 105. A proximal metacarpus fragment is from J 839. The second metacarpus fragment is now dated MN Unphased (CL J 876). The astragalus comes from J 105. Gejvall’s card for CL BD 577 (II–III) notes a Cervus distal humerus fragment, but he did not publish it.

THE FAUNA

297

Two deposits that Gejvall published as III have been redated II–III. Lot BE 568 produced a distal humerus fragment, and HTN 111 contained a metacarpus fragment and two metapodial fragments (both burned). Not recognized by Gejvall is a MN 3–4 proximal ulna (broken) from BD 601. Also to be noted is a II–III Mixed Fill worked antler with incised decoration (297, trench E cuts 10–13). There are therefore antler pieces from EN–MN (two, both worked), MN 3a (one), MN 3b (one, worked), MN 3–4 (one, worked), MN Unphased (two), MN + FN (one), FN (one), II– III Mixed Fill (one, worked), and II–III (three, one worked). Non-antler remains are from MN 3b (one), MN 3–4 (two bones, one lot), MN 5 (one), MN Unphased (six bones from four related lots [CL J 872, CL J 875–CL J 877]), and II–III (one).

Wild Cattle Gejvall published (1969: 29) a number of Bos primigenius remains, although on his cards these are almost always called domestic Bos taurus. The published wild cattle bones are: eight from the EN (three skull, one femur, one astragalus, one metatarsus, and two phalanx I; one cut, five MNI [one subadult, four adult]), one from the EN–MN (radius [adult, cut]), and three from the MN (one scapula, one calcaneus, one phalanx III; one cut, three adult MNI). Five of the EN bones recorded by Gejvall come from fill in and around the EN–MNa clay pits (CL J 894): one supraorbital (adult; Gejvall: pl. VIII:1), two maxillae fragments (adult; both destroyed for 14C date in the 1950s), one femur head epiphysis (partly burned, gnawed; Gejvall: 81, pl. VIII:3), and one phalanx 1 (F; Gejvall: pl. VIII:2). The astragalus is EN–MNb from CL J 889 (butchered and has four cut marks; Gejvall: 31, 82, table 55, pls. VIII:5, IX). The distal metatarsus (F, large; Gejvall: 31, 83, table 58, pl. X:2) is MN 1 (BE 594), and the second phalanx 1 (F; Gejvall: 31, 83, table 59, pl. VIII:6), EN–MN (CL BD 615). Also from CL J 894, but not recorded by Gejvall, are 22 additional fragments: one skull/ maxilla fragment, three mandible fragments, one scapula (F, cut down length through glenoid, partly burned black), one proximal humerus fragment (UF, cut through below proximal, burned black/brown), one radius shaft, one distal tibia (F, cut through in two directions, burned black), two vertebrae (UF, cut down center; JF/F, large cut on side of bone in two directions, three pieces), two rib fragments (one burned black, two pieces), five shafts (three cut down length), and two fragments. From CL BD 615, but not recorded by Gejvall, are eight additional fragments: seven shafts (seven cut down length [one burned gray/black]) and one fragment. The EN–MNa cut proximal radius (F, broken) published by Gejvall is from CL J 893 (Gejvall: 31, 81, table 50, pl. VIII:4). It has butchery marks as well as deep waisting below the proximal end. The scapula fragment published by Gejvall (F; Gejvall: 31, 80, table 48, pl. VIII:8) is MN Unphased from J 667. The calcaneus (F, has deep cut mark on ventral proximal on left side; Gejvall: 31, 82, table 57, pls. VIII:9, IX) is MN 3–4 from CL BD 602. The phalanx 3 (Gejvall: 31, 84, table 61, pl. VIII:7) from BE 567 has been redated II–III. Gejvall (1969: 31–32, pl. VIII:5, 9) associated the CL J 889 (EN–MNc) astragalus and CL BD 602 (MN 3–4) calcaneus but, as they are of different dates and areas, this is unlikely. The Bos M3 that Gejvall published as B. primigenius transitional to B. taurus from MN 4 J 624 is B. taurus. The similarly identified M3 from MN 2b ( J 741) was not saved. Wild cattle remains therefore come from EN–MN (37 bones [35 seen], from three lots, mainly CL J 894), MN 1 (one), MN 3–4 (one), MN Unphased (one), and II–III (one).

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Wild Pig Gejvall published (1969: 19) four wild Sus scrofa bones from the EN (two skull, one mandible, one ulna; one young MNI), one skull bone (adult) from the MN, and one metacarpus (adult) from II–III. The two skull fragments published as EN have been redated MN 1 (BE 594), and both are from one domestic pig. The mandible, now dated MN 1 (CL J 897), is from a domestic pig, and the proximal ulna has been redated EN–MN (BD 614). The MN skull fragment and metacarpus from II–III Mixed Fill (CL J 442) were not seen. Also to be noted here is a II–III good-sized domestic pig metatarsus III (F) that Gejvall noted on his card as a Lerna III wild pig metapodial (BE 568). Not seen was a wild pig radius fragment from HTN 108, noted on his card as III but now dated II–III. The only definite Neolithic wild pig bone is the EN–MN ulna.

Hare Gejvall published (1969: 43) three Lepus europaeus bones from the EN (two femora, one tibia; one burned, from one adult MNI), one pelvis (adult) from the EN–MN, one femur (adult) from the MN, and two bones from II–III (radius, femur). For Gejvall’s EN bones, the burned black distal femur (F) is EN–MNc ( J 801), the burned black distal tibia (F; Gejvall: 92, table 100, pl. XVII:2) is MN 1a (A 456), and the second femur is actually an EN–MNb Canis proximal femur fragment ( J 794). The pelvis has been redated MN 1 (CL J 886) and the MN femur is a MN Unphased distal femur (F; CL J 877). His II–III radius is from Mixed Fill ( J 411); the II–III femur fragment, not preserved ( J 441), is now dated EH II. Another II–III Mixed Fill deposit (CL J 438) produced what Gejvall published as a Lerna III Lepus humerus fragment. So hare remains come from EN–MNc (one), MN 1 (two lots, two bones), MN Unphased (one), and II–III Mixed Fill (two lots, two bones).

Fox Gejvall published (1969: 38) two Vulpes vulpes bones from the EN (one tibia, one metatarsus; two MNI [one young, one adult]), three from the MN (two mandibles, one pelvis; two adult MNI), and one mandible (adult) from II–III. His EN tibia is actually a MN 1 Canis tibia, and the EN metatarsus, a Canis metacarpus (see above). The MN mandibles are MN 3b.1 ( J 666; Gejvall: 39, 87, table 75, pl. XVIII:4) and FN ( J 598; Gejvall: 87, table 75), while the pelvis/acetabulum fragment is MN 3b ( J 651; Gejvall: 88, table 77). Gejvall’s II–III mandible is now dated MN Unphased (CL G 47; Gejvall: 87, table 75). So fox remains come from MN 3b (two lots, two bones), MN Unphased (one), and FN (one).

Tortoise Gejvall published (1969: 6) one Testudo bone from the EN, one from the EN–MN, three from the MN, and three from II–III. The EN bone has been redated MN 1b (CL A 464). The EN–MN bone remains correctly EN–MNa (CL J 893). The three MN bones come from MN 2b (CL J 883), MN 3a (CL J 881, burned), and MN 3b.2 (CL J 859). The three II–III bones come from J 105 (two fragments) and J 839 (one fragment).

THE FAUNA The Fauna

299

Bird Gejvall published (1969: 47, 48) four bones from the EN: two mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), one crane (Grus grus, cut), and one graylag goose (Anser anser); six from the MN: two mallard, one garganey (Anas querquedula), one heron (Ardea cinerea), one goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), and one cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo); and two bones from II–III: one crane and one mallard. The mallard carpometacarpus (BD 613; Gejvall: 96, pl. XX:3) is now dated EN–MN and the mallard proximal ulna and shaft, MN 1 (CL J 887). Gejvall’s Grus proximal tarsometatarsus and shaft, now dated EN–MNc ( J 801; Gejvall: 48, 97, pl. XXI:6), has not been cut. The Anser proximal coracoid is EN–MNa (CL J 894; Gejvall: 48, pl. XXI:1). A mallard proximal carpometacarpus fragment and coracoid fragment come from MN 6 (CL HTN 130) and a garganey humerus shaft, from MN 3–4 (BD 600; Gejvall: 95, table 116, pl. XX:7). An Anas ulna fragment is MN 3a (CL J 881), and Accipiter carpometacarpus, MN 5 (CL J 853; Gejvall: 48, 96, tables 33, 116, pl. XXI:8). The P. carbo proximal ulna is now dated II–III (CL BE 570; Gejvall: 96, table 116). A preserved large bird distal femur fragment from MN Unphased ( J 759) was recorded on Gejvall’s card as a Bos metatarsus fragment. A Grus proximal tarsometatarsus fragment comes from II–III Mixed Fill (CL A 470) and an A. platyrhynchos distal ulna and shaft from II–III (BD 580). Gejvall’s card for II–III Mixed Fill CL A 468 records a crow(?) family ulna fragment. So bird remains come from the EN–MN (three lots, three MNI), MN 1 (one), MN 3a (one), MN 3–4 (one), MN 5 (one), MN 6 (one), MN Unphased (one), II–III Mixed Fill (two lots, two MNI), and II–III (two lots, two MNI).

Fish Gejvall published (1969: 49) one bone from the EN–MN (a meager [ Johnius hololepidotus Lac., now renamed Argyrosomus regius] premaxilla), three bones from the MN (two Thynnus thynnus [tuna] vertebrae, one Johnius[?] basioccipital/parasphenoid), and one Thynnus vertebra from II–III. The Argyrosomus premaxilla has been redated MN 1 (CL J 886; Gejvall: 49, pl. XXII:1). The two MN Thynnus vertebrae are MN 6 (CL HTN 130; Gejvall: 49, 106, pl. XXII:2, incorrectly as Johnius). The MN burned gray Argyrosomus(?) basioccipital and parasphenoid is now dated II–III (CL HTN 141; Gejvall: 49, 106, pl. XXII:3, incorrectly as Johnius), and the II–III burned gray Thynnus vertebra (CL J 843), MN 6 + FN. Three fish spines have been catalogued as 168, 266, and 292.

Human Gejvall frequently found human bones among the Neolithic animal bones. His cards note that he extracted these bones, but they cannot be found and were not studied by Angel. They are noted with the relevant context summaries in this volume. The preserved bone lots also include human bones not noted by Gejvall: MN 1 (CL J 887), MN 3a (CL J 863, CL J 880), MN 3b (CL J 862), MN 3–4(?) + FN (CL BE 579 [Gejvall noted and extracted some but not all of these bones], and MN 6 + FN (CL J 845).

Other Mammal One unidentified small mammal scapula from MN 2b (CL J 883) was incorrectly identified as a “Sus juvenile newborn” on Gejvall’s card.

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Summary of the Vertebrate Remains We can now summarize the domestic and wild vertebrate fauna based on this restudy and the revised phasing (Table III.11). The new MNIs suggest that wild animals were more important in the earlier periods (EN–MN and MN 1), an observation made earlier by Gejvall (1969: 51). Table III.11. MNI of Domestic and Wild Vertebrates New Phase

Vertebrates

EN–MN

22 Ovis/Capra, 10 Sus, 12 Bos, 2 Canis, 2 Cervus (worked antlers only), 3 B. primigenius, 1 wild Sus, 1 Lepus, 1 Testudo, 3 birds

MN 1

23 Ovis/Capra, 7 Sus, 9 Bos, 2 Canis, 1 B. primigenius, 2 Lepus, 1 Testudo, 1 bird, 1 fish

MN 2a

13 Ovis/Capra, 8 Sus, 6 Bos

MN 2b

23 Ovis/Capra, 17 Sus, 10 Bos, 1 Canis, 1 small mammal, 1 Testudo

MN 2c

2 Ovis/Capra, 2 Sus

MN 3a

7 Ovis/Capra, 6 Sus, 4 Bos, 1 Canis, 1 Cervus, 1 Testudo, 1 bird

MN 3b

21 Ovis/Capra, 13 Sus, 5 Bos, 1 Canis, 1 Vulpes, 1 Testudo

MN 3–4

14 Ovis/Capra, 6 Sus, 3 Bos, 1 B. primigenius, 1 bird

MN 4

6 Ovis/Capra, 5 Sus, 3 Bos, 1 Canis

MN 5

24 Ovis/Capra, 7 Sus, 10 Bos, 2 Canis, 1 bird

MN 6

2 Ovis/Capra, 2 Sus, 1 Bos, 1 bird, 1 fish

MN Unphased

25 Ovis/Capra, 13 Sus, 17 Bos, 1–4 Cervus*, 1 B. primigenius, 1 Lepus, 1 Vulpes, 1 bird

MN + FN

14 Ovis/Capra, 9 Sus, 4 Bos, 2 Canis, 1 Cervus, 1 fish

FN

1 Ovis/Capra, 1 Sus, 3 Bos, 1 Cervus, 1 Vulpes

II–III Mixed Fill

28 Ovis/Capra, 24 Sus, 18 Bos, 5 Canis, 2 birds

II–II

51 Ovis/Capra, 34 Sus, 28 Bos, 2 Cervus, 1 B. primigenius, 2 Lepus, 2 Testudo, 2 birds, 1 fish

* Bones from four related Area JA–JB lots

The Neolithic Lerna vertebrate fauna is very similar to that from other Greek sites (see Cantuel, Gardeisen, and Renard 2008 for a recent survey).

marine invertebrates Gejvall published the identification of the Lerna molluscs made by the late Nils Odhner (Gejvall: 7, table 4, 50), which was based on select shells brought to Sweden and Gejvall’s counts in Greece. Published were 1,824 Neolithic marine shells: 146 EN: 105 Cardium (now Cerastoderma), 15 Spondylus, 17 Arca, one Tapes (now Ruditapes), one Glycymeris, five Murex trunculus (now Hexaplex trunculus), one Cerithium, and one Patella ferruginea; 119 EN–MN: 103 Cardium, 11 Spondylus, one Arca, one Tapes, two M. trunculus, and one Talparia (now Luria); and 1,559 MN: 1,204 Cardium, 61 Spondylus, 53 Tapes, 43 Glycymeris, five Pinna, five Arca, two Venus, one Arca barbata (now Barbatia), one Pholas, 183 M. trunculus, and one Patella coerulea (now P. Caerulea).

THE FAUNA

301

He also published 1,569 Lerna II–III marine shells: 672 Cardium, 430 Spondylus, 28 Arca, 22 Glycymeris, 12 Pinna, seven Tapes, four Mytilus, 387 M. trunculus, three Cerithium, one P. coerulea, one Talparia, one Thais (now Stramonita), and one Conus.

Cerastoderma glaucum Gejvall published 2,084 Cardium edule (105 EN, 103 EN–MN, 1,204 MN, 672 II–III), the former name by which this cockle was identified. However, using his own cards, I recalculated the numbers as 106 EN, 103 EN–MN, 841 MN valves counted (and two MN 3 samples noted only as “some hundred shells”), and 692 II–III. To be removed from Gejvall’s counts are three samples that he had as II–III but that have been redated: HTJ 11, now Lerna III Late B, one valve; J 441, now III A/B, six valves; and J 321, now disturbed/mixed, one valve. There are several very large accumulations: MN 2a CL BE 587, 56 valves; MN 2a CL BE 588, 45 valves; MN 2b CL BE 585, 74 valves (38+ MNI); MN 3b.2 J 615, a “few hundreds of Cardium shells”; MN 3b J 651, 102 valves (51 MNI; not counted by Gejvall); MN 3–4 BD 601, 55 valves (29+ MNI); MN 3–4 CL BD 603, 81 valves; MN 3–4(?) + FN CL BE 576, 128 valves; MN 3–4(?) CL BE 578, 117 valves; II–III Mixed Fill CL A 470, 118 valves; II–III Mixed Fill trench E cuts 4–6, 113 valves; and II–III CL J 447, 40 valves. By the new phasing, the numbers are: two EN–MN lots, nine valves noted, nine Cerastoderma seen (seven MNI total); nine MN 1 lots, 31 noted, 31 Cerastoderma seen (15 MNI total); 17 MN 2 lots, 279 noted, 153 Cerastoderma seen; seven MN 3 lots, 200+ noted, 103 Cerastoderma (one burned) and one Acanthocardia (burned) seen; six MN 3–4 lots, 155 noted, 62 Cerastoderma seen; three MN 4 lots, five noted but none seen; 14 MN 4 lots, 101 noted, 69 Cerastoderma (two burned, two holed) seen; 14 MN Unphased lots, 49 noted, 17 Cerastoderma (one burned) seen; 11 MN–FN lots, 320 noted, 34 Cerastoderma seen; one FN lot, one noted and seen; 21 II–III Mixed Fill lots, 478 noted, one Cerastoderma seen; and 26 II–III lots, 260 noted, 40 Cerastoderma seen. One lot that Gejvall had on his card as II is now considered II–III Mixed Fill (CL J 438, seven valves). Five lots that Gejvall noted on his cards as III have been redated II–III, 27 noted, 28 seen. Also to be mentioned are “a number of cockle shells” recorded in the pottery notebook (PNB PM: 102) for MN 5b BD 587 and a Cerastoderma/Acanthocardia not noted by Gejvall (MN Unphased CL J 877). Based on the new phasing, separate deposits, analysis of the preserved samples, and the division of Gejvall’s valve counts in half, the suggested MNI by periods are: seven EN–MN, 26 MN 1, 158 MN 2, 106 MN 3 (and one Acanthocardia), 84 MN 3–4, three MN 4, 68 MN 5, 34 MN Unphased (and one Cerastoderma/Acanthocardia), 182 MN–FN, one FN, 232 II–III Mixed Fill, and 182 II–III. Two MN 5 Cerastoderma from CL J 853 holed at the umbo may have been pendants; holed cockles are known from other Greek Neolithic sites (Reese 1987: 124), including over 48 from Franchthi Cave/Paralia (personal analysis).

Spondylus and Ostrea Gejvall published 517 Spondylus gaederopus: 15 EN, 11 EN–MN, 61 MN, and 430 II–III. Based on his cards, however, the numbers are 22 EN, four EN–MN, 70 MN, and 143 II–III, for a total of 239. For EN, EN–MN, and MN his published number of 87 is not too different from the number based on his cards, 96. But for II–III he published 430 shells and the cards note only 143. This would appear to be a typographical error in the 1969 volume.

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Appendix III

While Gejvall published 517 Spondylus and no Ostrea edulis in 1969, his 1958 cards record only Ostrea. In fact, both genera are present, with 17 Spondylus and 40 Ostrea in the retained lots. By the new phasing, the numbers are: three EN–MN lots, six Ostrea noted, two Spondylus (one collected dead) and four Ostrea seen; six MN 1 lots, 10 Ostrea noted, two Spondylus (one collected dead, one worked) and three Ostrea seen; nine MN 2 lots, 12 Ostrea noted, two Spondylus (both collected dead) and three Ostrea seen; six MN 3 lots, seven Ostrea noted, three Spondylus (one collected dead) and three Ostrea seen; four MN 3–4 and MN 4 lots, nine Ostrea noted, four Ostrea seen; eight MN 5 lots, 14 Ostrea noted, two Spondylus (one collected dead) and six Ostrea seen; two MN 6 lots, four Ostrea noted but none seen; 12 MN Unphased lots, 20 Ostrea noted, one Spondylus and three Ostrea seen; seven MN–FN lots, 13 Ostrea noted, one Spondylus (collected dead) and two Ostrea seen; two FN lots, two Ostrea noted, three Ostrea seen (one not noted by Gejvall); 16 II–III Mixed Fill lots, 90 Ostrea noted (32 from CL J 442, 16 from HTJ 31, 11 from CL A 470, 10 from E cuts 4–6), no Spondylus and one Ostrea (burned) seen; and 17 II–III lots, 48 Ostrea noted (14 from CL BD 577, 11 from CL BD 579), four Spondylus and eight Ostrea seen. There are also two early III samples that Gejvall dated II–III: two Ostrea noted but none seen. We should also add here three II–III lots that Gejvall had as III: 10 Ostrea noted, four Spondylus and four Ostrea seen. One shell recorded by Gejvall as a MN Ostrea is actually a II–III burned fossil Gryphaea (CL BE 570). One MN 1 waterworn(?) Ostrea with an off-center hole was probably utilized as a pendant (CL J 895). One MN 1 worked and holed Spondylus pendant ( J 785 in CL J 897; 299, pl. 39) was not noted by Gejvall. Worked Spondylus are known from other Aegean Neolithic sites (Reese 1987: 127–129; Shackleton 1988).

Glycymeris Gejvall published 66 Glycymeris: one EN, 43 MN, and 22 II–III. He did not record Glycymeris on his cards, however. What he records on his cards as Cyprina(?) have in three cases been preserved, and these are all Glycymeris, from MN 3a (CL J 879, waterworn), and II–III (CL BE 570 [MN on card], BD 581). Cyprina(?) is noted for MN 6–FN (CL J 843, on his card as II–III) and II–III (B 1525, on card as III). What might be Glycymeris are noted on his cards as Docinia from II–III Mixed Fill (CL J 442) and Dosinia from II–III (B cut 23). So there are at most seven Glycymeris, not 66.

Ruditapes Gejvall published 62 Ruditapes as Tapes decussatus: one EN, one EN–MN, 53 MN, and seven II– III. He did not, however, record Tapes on his cards, where the genus is identified as Lucina or Lucina(?). It should be noted, however, that the Venus from MN 2b (BE 586) was also listed on his card as Lucina(?). In four instances Ruditapes were preserved but not recorded by Gejvall. By the new phasing, the numbers are: one EN–MN lot, one valve (seen); three MN 1 lots, three valves (three seen); seven MN 2 lots, 14 valves (11 seen); eight MN 3 lots, 10 valves (nine seen); four MN 3–4 lots, nine valves (seven seen); two MN 4 lots, three valves (two seen); nine MN 5 lots, 45 valves (26 seen, 12 from CL J 453 on his card as II–III); one MN 6 lot, one valve (not seen); five MN Unphased lots, seven valves (five seen; one on card as EN and one as II–III); nine MN–FN lots, 25 valves (11 seen, including Gejvall: pl. XXIV:24); five II–III Mixed Fill lots, eight valves (three seen); and 11 II–III lots, 21 valves (11 seen). So there are 147 Lucina valves recorded on Gejvall’s cards with 88 Rudiapes valves saved from these lots. It would appear that Gejvall assigned some of the Lucina on his cards to Glycymeris—we have 59 too few Glycymeris and 85 too many Lucina.

THE FAUNA

303

Arca Gejvall published 51 Arca noae: 17 EN, one EN–MN, five MN, and 28 II–III. By the new phasing the numbers are: three EN–MN lots, 12 valves (11 seen; four holed); three MN 1 lots, nine valves (nine seen; eight holed); two MN 3 lots, two valves (one seen [collected dead]); four MN Unphased lots, four valves (one seen); one MN 6–FN lot, one valve (not seen); eight II–III Mixed Fill lots, 20 valves (none seen, 11 from CL J 442); and eight II–III lots, eight valves (two seen). The total is 56 valves, with 24 preserved. Twelve of the preserved shells are holed and were probably used as pendants. These come from EN–MNc J 799 (three), CL J 889 (one), and MN 1 (seven from CL J 887, one from CL J 888). The fact that all come from very early JA–JB lots is probably significant.

Pinna Gejvall published 17 Pinna nobilis: five MN and 12 II–III. Of the six shells actually noted on his cards as MN there are two MN Unphased (CL G 48, CL J 877), two MN 3–4(?) + FN (CL BE 575, CL BE 578), and two II–III (CL BE 572, HTN 132). One shell on his card as II–III is MN 5 ( J 595) while another on his card as II–III is MN 6 + FN (CL J 843). From II–III Mixed Fill are E cuts 4–6 (one shell), CL J 442 (two), and CL J 871 (one). From II–III are CL BD 577 (one), CL BD 579 (two), BD 581 (one), BE 568 (one), and CL J 842 (one). Not recognized by Gejvall as Pinna are three fragments (one MNI) from II–III CL BE 570. Finally, one fragment noted on his card as II–III is now dated III Late B (HTJ 9).

Venus verrucosa Gejvall published two MN Venus rugosa. The preserved Venus is MN 2b (BE 586; on card as Lucina[?]). His card for MN 3b J 660 also records a Venus(?).

Pholas Gejvall published one MN Pholas dactylus. It is now dated MN 3–4(?) + FN (CL BE 578; Gejvall: pl. XXIV:26).

Barbatia barbata Gejvall published one MN Arca barbata, which has been redated FN (BD 575; Gejvall: 7, 107, pl. XXIV:17).

Mytilus galloprovincialis Gejvall published four Mytilus edulis, all from MN 3–4(?) + FN CL BD 579. Most likely only one MNI is present.

Murex Gejvall published 577 Murex trunculus, the former name of Hexaplex trunculus: five EN, two EN–MN, 183 MN, and 387 II–III. On his cards the numbers recorded are six EN, one

304

Appendix III

EN–MN, 147 MN, and 387 II–III, for a total of 541 murex. According to his publication, Murex brandaris, the former name of Bolinus brandaris, was not present at the site before Lerna VI. By the new phasing, the numbers are: four EN–MN lots, four murex noted, two Hexaplex (one collected dead) and one Bolinus seen; two MN 1 lots, one murex noted, one Hexaplex (waterworn, holed, not seen by Gejvall; 298) and one Bolinus seen; four MN 2b lots, eight murex noted, nine Hexaplex (one holed) seen; eight MN 3 lots, 11 murex noted, six Hexaplex and one Bolinus seen; six MN 3–4 lots, 26 murex noted, 57 Hexaplex and four Bolinus seen; two MN 4 lots, two murex noted, two Hexaplex seen; 12 MN 5 lots, 24 murex noted, eight Hexaplex and one Bolinus seen; one MN 6 lot, one murex noted but not seen; 13 MN Unphased lots, 24 murex noted, four Hexaplex (one waterworn) and two Bolinus seen; 14 MN– FN lots, 35 murex noted, 25 Hexaplex (one holed, one burned) and four Bolinus seen; 20 II–III Mixed Fill lots, 299 murex noted, two Hexaplex seen; 31 II–III lots, 104 murex noted, nine Hexaplex and two Bolinus seen. There are also four lots that Gejvall reported as II–III, now considered III, which produced six murex. One lot that he had as II–III, now considered mixed/disturbed, produced one murex. It should be noted that for MN 3–4 lot BD 601, for which Gejvall recorded only four murex, there are actually 74 Hexaplex fragments (48 MNI) and four Bolinus. Gejvall noted particularly large numbers from four II–III Mixed Fill lots (CL J 442: 79 murex; HTJ 31: 69; CL A 470: 50; E cuts 4–6: 38), all not seen. Four holed examples were probably used as pendants, dated EN–MNa (collected dead; CL J 894); MN 1 (waterworn; CL J 888; 298, pl. 39); MN 2b (CL BD 605); and MN 3–4(?) + FN (CL BE 575).

Cerithium Gejvall published four Cerithium vulgatum: one EN and three II–III. The EN shell is now dated MN 2a (open lip, CL BE 592). One II–III Mixed Fill shell is recorded from trench E cuts 4–6, and II–III shells are recorded from B cut 23 and G 121.

Patella Gejvall published one EN Patella ferruginea (Gejvall: 7, table 4, pl. XXIII:3), but this is actually a MN 1 P. aspera (CL BE 593). He also published two Patella coerulea, one MN 2b from BE 583 and one MN, FN + EH II from CL BD 577. A Patella recorded from J 97, published by Wiencke (2000: 36) as III C, is now considered II–III. Additionally, 10 MN 2a P. caerulea were preserved in Sweden (BE 590) but never recorded by Gejvall.

Luria lurida Gejvall published two Talparia lurida. His EN–MN shell is now MN 2a (CL BE 588). His II–III shell ( J 301; on card as Cypraea fragment) is now dated Lerna III C or D (M. H. Wiencke, pers. comm.). There is also a Luria that Gejvall published as EN–MN but that has been redated MN 2a (CL BE 588, on card as Conus).

THE FAUNA

305

Stramonita haemastoma Gejvall published one II–III Mixed Fill Thais haemastoma (CL A 470; Gejvall: 107, pl. XXIII:11), the old name of Stramonita haemastoma.

Conus Gejvall published one Conus mediterraneus (II–III), the old name of C. ventricosus, although none are noted on his cards. His MN 2a CL BE 588 card notes a Conus, but this is actually a Luria (noted above).

Marine Shell Ornaments As noted above, several holed shells probably served as ornaments. EN–MNa: one Hexaplex (collected dead, small hole on upper spire) from the level of the clay pits (CL J 894) EN–MNc: three Arca with openings below the umbo ( J 799), and one Arca holed below the umbo (CL J 889) MN 1: eight Arca holed below the umbo, seven from CL J 887 (six right + one left [broken] and one from CL J 888; one waterworn holed Hexaplex (CL J 888; 298); one waterworn(?) Ostrea with an off-center hole (CL J 895); one worked and holed Spondylus pendant ( J 785 in CL J 897; 299) MN 2b: one Hexaplex distal and body fragment with a hole opposite the mouth (CL BD 605) MN 3–4(?) + FN: one Hexaplex with a hole opposite the mouth (CL BE 575) MN 5: two Cerastoderma holed at the umbo (CL J 853)

LAND SNAILS Gejvall published 56 Helix (one EN, 54 MN, one II–III). His EN Helix is now MN 2a (CL BD 611), and there is one MN 3–4 Helix (CL BD 602). He recorded 15 of MN 3–4 date (CL BD 603), 35 from MN 5a (CL BD 590), and three from MN 5b, two from CL BD 588 and one from CL BD 591. Not recorded by Gejvall are ca. 120 seen MN 3b Helix from J 651. Gejvall’s card for HTJ 32 (II–III Mixed Fill) reports the find of hundreds of Lunatia. These are probably Helix. His cards sometimes record Helix as Lunatia; Lunatia is a similarly shaped marine gastropod genus in the Family Naticidae. Odhner identified the Lerna Helix as Helix mazulli Jan., noting it was indigenous to Italy (especially Sicily), and Gejvall (1969: 50) wrote that “it ought to have been (must have been?) introduced from that part of the Mediterranean. There is no other record of its existence in Greece. There are no other sources of knowledge of this period, but surely we must now say that it did once exist in Greece!” The proper name for this form is Helix mazzulli de Cristofori & Jan, 1832, and it lives only in western Sicily between Palermo and Trapani (Alzona 1971). The Lernaean Helix specimens, however, prove on examination not to be a species restricted to Italy, but to be the local Helix figulina, a species found at a number of other Greek prehistoric sites, including

306

Appendix III

Upper Palaeolithic to LN Franchthi Cave in the southern Argolid (Whitney-Desautels 2001), Kitsos cave in Attica (Chevallier 1973: 444, 457, figs. 39:a, 48:c; 1981: 615, 626, fig. 374), LN and FN Saliagos in the Cyclades (Shackleton 1968: 137), and Neolithic and Bronze Age Magula Pefkakia in Thessaly (Falkner 1975: 189).

Conclusions The faunal sample retained after Gejvall’s 1958 analysis represents 32.1% of the lots he studied, 33.3% of the published Ovis/Capra remains, 33% of the published Sus remains, and 30.3% of the published Bos remains. So roughly a third of what was studied by Gejvall was available for further study. A higher percentage of the rarer domestic and wild vertebrates was retained. On the basis of the preserved Neolithic remains and Gejvall’s cards, it is safe to say that Ovis/Capra were the major food forms in all periods. Sus was usually a more important food item than Bos, although based on MNI counts, Bos was more important in the two earlier periods (EN–MN, MN 1). According to available meat yield per animal, however, cattle were probably a more important food source than pigs. Wild forms were also more important in the two earlier periods. There is more Bos than Sus in MN 5, FN, and MN Unphased. It is uncertain if the MN 5 figures, although a good-sized sample, indicate a real change in animal management. The FN numbers come from only three lots and five MNI, with Bos here outnumbering even Ovis/Capra. In the two II–III groups, the MNI numbers follow the more typical Neolithic order of mainly Ovis/Capra, followed by Sus and then Bos. This is also the order seen during EH II Lerna (Reese 2013b). For the Neolithic Ovis/Capra (197 MNI) there were 54.3% ageable, for Sus (106 MNI) 44.3% ageable, and for Bos (87 MNI) only 29.9% ageable. Of the 107 MNI ageable Ovis/ Capra, 10 were under 10 months (9.4%), 85 were 1–3 years (79.4%), and 12 were over three years (11.2%). Of the 47 MNI ageable Sus, 13 were under one year (27.6%), 31 were 1–2 years (66%), and three were over 2–2.25 years (6.4%). Of the 26 MNI ageable Bos, one was under 1.5 years (3.8%), 17 1.5–2.5 years (65.4%), and eight over 2.5 years (30.8%, with five or 19.2% over 3.5 years). The older individuals were probably killed after their breeding life was over. Most Sus were eaten very young, and most Bos killed rather older, expected when pigs are raised for food and cattle are kept as draft animals and for secondary products (e.g., milk, manure). The older Ovis/Capra also probably had been kept for breeding, milk, wool, and hair. For the Neolithic Gejvall published six cut bones and 13 burned bones, but the preserved lots yielded 483 cut bones and 430 burned remains. Since we have about a third of the sample studied by Gejvall, there were probably over 1,500 cut bones and 1,300 burned bones in Gejvall’s sample. This suggests intensive butchery and maximum use of the animal carcasses (i.e., marrow extraction, brain and tongue consumption). The large number of burned bones is harder to interpret, since these might be the result of destruction and not a result of food preparation or disposal. Cerastoderma was the major food shell in the Neolithic, with particularly large numbers found in MN 2 and MN–FN. It was very common in the two II–III groups, and is also the most common food shell during EH II Lerna, with 285 valves from 96 lots (Reese 2013b). Gejvall published 517 Spondylus (and included Ostrea), but his cards note only 239. Of the 57 Spondylus/Ostrea saved, seven or 12.3% were collected dead on the beach. Gejvall published 62 Tapes (now Ruditapes) but his cards record 145, and 88 valves were saved. He published 66 Glycymeris, but there are actually only seven. Ruditapes was certainly a more important food

THE FAUNA

307

item than Glycymeris, and probably more important than Spondylus and Ostrea. It was likely collected at the same time as the cockles. The other marine shells were only a minor food source. The large number of bivalves indicates a sandy beach was exploited for food resources. It is therefore interesting that there are so few fish bones in the Lerna Neolithic collection (and, indeed, in the entire bone collection). If soil sifting and water-sieving had been practiced 55 years ago, the fish bone collection (and the recovery of other smaller species and bone elements) would have been much larger.

Acknowledgments I would like to thank Elizabeth C. Banks and Martha H. Wiencke for providing phasing and contexts for the various Lerna lots. My 1984 work on the Lerna shells was conducted while I held the Jacob Hirsch Fellowship at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. My 2004 research was performed with the aid of the Solow Summer Research Fellowship of the American School. I would like to thank the School and the Solow Art and Architecture Foundation for their support.

concordances

I. Inventor y and Catalogue Numbers Cat. No.

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

Inv. No.

L2.290

416

L5.819

317

L6.233

28

L3.194

297

L5.838

3

L6.234

26

L3.334

257

L5.839

4

L6.235

70

L4.144

132

L5.870

357

L6.236

54

L4.187

133

L5.956

355

L6.237

37

L4.261

147

L6.58

397

L6.238

31

L4.299

63

L6.84

366

L6.239

35

L4.301

114

L6.100

399

L6.240

64

L4.314

153

L6.134

403

L6.241

29

L4.321

300

L6.209

150

L6.242

36

L4.552

113

L6.210

141

L6.243

78

L4.798

394

L6.211

345

L6.244

72

L4.846

409

L6.212

329

L6.245

102

L5.162

408

L6.213

330

L6.247

121

L5.195

67

L6.214

324

L6.248

126

L5.218

68

L6.215

339

L6.249

129

L5.271

258

L6.216

341

L6.250

127

L5.293

259

L6.217

328

L6.251

135

L5.348

69

L6.221

38

L6.252

136

L5.349

58

L6.222

39

L6.261

122

L5.350

59

L6.223

40

L6.262

123

L5.388

407

L6.224

41

L6.263

125

L5.408

362

L6.225

42

L6.267

76

L5.444

219

L6.226

43

L6.268

77

L5.674

66

L6.227

44

L6.269

98

L5.770

293

L6.228

45

L6.270

103

L5.786

303

L6.229

46

L6.271

91

L5.787

304

L6.230

47

L6.282

343

L5.813

134

L6.231

48

L6.283

2

L5.818

148

L6.232

93

L6.291

5

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

310

Inv. No.

concordances

Cat. No.

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

L6.296

6

L6.642

166

L6.1530

158

L6.310

7

L6.643

161

L6.1531

262

L6.323

353

L6.646

162

L6.1532

171

L6.447

180

L6.648

267

L6.1572

116

L6.454

193

L6.649

154

L6.1573

96

L6.457

276

L6.650

167

L6.1574

97

L6.462

260

L6.651

261

L6.1575

89

L6.463

275

L6.654

170

L6.1576

92

L6.465

296

L6.655

155

L6.1577

90

L6.468

274

L6.662

196

L6.1578

87

L6.472

264

L6.663

286

L6.1579

88

L6.474

292

L6.719

8

L6.1580

119

L6.482

163

L6.743

386

L6.1581

25

L6.489

179

L6.772

71

L6.1582

81

L6.490

191

L6.773

79

L6.1583

80

L6.494

249

L6.774

74

L6.1584

120

L6.496

175

L6.777

86

L6.1585

263

L6.498

177

L6.778

115

L6.1586

287

L6.499

208

L6.780

73

L6.1588

364

L6.506

192

L6.785

117

L6.1589

363

L6.510

178

L6.806

139

L6.1590

340

L6.522

209

L6.807

140

L6.1591

346

L6.534

210

L6.809

32

L6.1592

323

L6.545

280

L6.810

299

L6.1593

404

L6.548

226

L6.811

138

L6.1595

288

L6.560

248

L6.812

137

L6.1596

327

L6.600

227

L6.816

144

L6.1597

410

L6.607

164

L6.818

169

L6.1598

322

L6.611

176

L6.819

402

L6.1599

376

L6.612

211

L6.1516

365

L6.1600

377

L6.613

197

L6.1517

298

L6.1601

378

L6.616

228

L6.1518

194

L6.1602

379

L6.618

189

L6.1519

188

L6.1603

369

L6.619

198

L6.1520

190

L6.1604

370

L6.620

195

L6.1522

271

L6.1605

380

L6.623

294

L6.1523

272

L6.1606

387

L6.628

247

L6.1524

273

L6.1607

382

L6.633

256

L6.1525

268

L6.1608

383

L6.634

172

L6.1526

269

L6.1609

384

L6.635

159

L6.1527

165

L6.1610

381 with 390

L6.637

168

L6.1528

156

L6.1611

385

L6.638

265

L6.1529

157

L6.1612

393

Inventory and Catalogue Numbers

311

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

L6.1614

395

L7.66

348

L7.160

111

L6.1615

325

L7.67

306

L7.162

237

L6.1683

342

L7.68

349

L7.163

235

L7.24

107

L7.69

360

L7.165

239

L7.25

104

L7.73

204

L7.166

285

L7.26

305

L7.75

270

L7.167

241

L7.27

95

L7.76

291

L7.169

246

L7.28

57

L7.78

281

L7.170

238

L7.29

94

L7.79

233

L7.171

236

L7.30

128

L7.80

202

L7.172

243

L7.32

82

L7.81

220

L7.173

240

L7.33

56

L7.82

221

L7.222

290

L7.34

106

L7.83

222

L7.225

183

L7.35

358

L7.84

279

L7.239

406

L7.36

359

L7.85

225

L7.295

108

L7.37

84

L7.86

282

L7.296

301

L7.38

83

L7.87

203

L7.297

320

L7.39

61

L7.88

201

L7.298

335

L7.40

27

L7.89

231

L7.299

332

L7.41

50

L7.90

229

L7.300

333

L7.42

411

L7.91

205

L7.301

338

L7.43

60

L7.92

182

L7.302

336

L7.44

105

L7.93

224

L7.303

337

L7.45

142

L7.94

234

L7.310

356

L7.46

400

L7.95

223

L7.316

398

L7.47

347

L7.96

230

L7.317

415

L7.48

401

L7.97

232

L7.319

405

L7.49

413

L7.98

181

L7.320

33

L7.52

307

L7.99

160

L7.321

52

L7.53

308

L7.141

110

L7.322

53

L7.54

309

L7.142

112

L7.323

100

L7.55

311

L7.143

109

L7.324

55

L7.56

312

L7.144

145

L7.325

101

L7.57

313

L7.145

352

L7.329

49

L7.58

314

L7.147

361

L7.332

149

L7.59

315

L7.149

318

L7.333

124

L7.60

316

L7.150

319

L7.334

143

L7.61

310

L7.153

1

L7.335

65

L7.62

302

L7.154

284

L7.336

34

L7.63

388

L7.156

242

L7.340

152

L7.64

367

L7.158

283

L7.341

368

L7.65

412

L7.159

62

L7.343

75

312

concordances

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

Inv. No.

Cat. No.

L7.345

146

L7.386

278

L7.725

371

L7.346

130

L7.387

212

L7.726

372

L7.348

118

L7.388

244

L7.727

373

L7.349

51

L7.484

354

L7.728

374

L7.360

251

L7.486

295

L8.3

250

L7.361

252

L7.492

218

L8.9

131

L7.362

199

L7.493

186

L8.79

245

L7.363

200

L7.514

99

L8.89

414

L7.364

207

L7.515

85

L9.6

417

L7.365

185

L7.516

30

LS.53

24

L7.366

214

L7.517

334

LS.58

23

L7.368

213

L7.518

344

LS.59

11

L7.370

253

L7.519

216

LS.60

13

L7.371

254

L7.520

331

LS.61

14

L7.372

255

L7.522

151

LS.62

15

L7.373

277

L7.523

396

LS.63

10

L7.376

256

L7.524

375

LS.64

9

L7.377

215

L7.527

389

LS.83

16

L7.379

289

L7.530

392

LS.86

12

L7.380

173

L7.531

391

LS.87

17

L7.381

187

L7.532

326

LS.88

22

L7.382

217

L7.533

321

LS.91

18

L7.383

174

L7.560

350

LS.92

19

L7.384

184

L7.561

351

LS.95

20

L7.385

206

L7.724

375

LS.96

21

LITHICS ILLUSTRATIONS

313

II. Lithics Illustrations in KozŁowski, Kaczanowska, and Pawlikowski 1996 and Inventor y/Lot Numbers Text Figures Fig. No.

Inv. No./Lot No.

Phase

Page(s)

2

L6.25/CL J 891

Ler EN–MNb

17

3:1

L6.1077/CL J 890

Ler EN–MNb

17

3:2

with L6.1513–L6.1515

Ler EN–MNa

13

3:3

J 807 in CL J 891

Ler EN–MNb

17

3:4

J 807 in CL J 891

Ler EN–MNb

17

3:5

J 809 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

3:6

J 795 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

3:7

J 782

Ler EN–MNc

21

3:8

J 795 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

3:9

J 782

Ler EN–MNc

21

3:10

CL J 891

Ler EN–MNb

17

4:1

L6.1062 + L6.1063/J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21

4:2

L6.1052/CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

4:3

L6.1035/J 782

Ler EN–MNc

21

4:4

L6.1079/CL J 894

Ler EN–MNa

13

4:5

L6.1082/CL J 894

Ler EN–MNa

13

4:6

L6.1050/J 794

Ler EN–MNb

16–17

4:7

L6.1080/CL J 894

Ler EN–MNa

13

4:8

L6.1030/J 790 in CL J 889

Ler EN–MNc

22

4:9

with L6.1513–L6.1515

Ler EN–MNa

13

4:10

L6.1075/CL J 891

Ler EN–MNb

17

4:11

L6.1061/J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21

5:1

L6.1053/CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

5:2

with L6.1513–L6.1515

Ler EN–MNa

13

5:3

L6.1049/J 794

Ler EN–MNb

16–17

5:4

L6.1034/J 782

Ler EN–MNc

21

5:5

L6.1056/J 797

Ler EN–MNb

17

5:6

L6.1042/CL J 892

Ler EN–MNb

18

5:7

J 780 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

5:8

J 795 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

6:1

NR

6:2

L6.889/CL J 848

Ler MN 5

76

6:3

L6.1060/CL J 896

Ler MN 1

34

6:4

L6.1046/CL J 897

Ler MN 1

35

6:5

L6.902/CL J 853

Ler MN 5

76–77

6:6

L7.505/CL BE 579

Ler MN 3–4(?)

6:7

NR

—

—

—

138 —

314

concordances

Fig. No.

Inv. No./Lot No.

Phase Ler MN 5

Page(s)

6:8

L6.916/CL J 854

77

6:9

NR

—

—

6:10

NR

—

—

6:11

NR

—

—

6:12

NR

—

—

Phase*

Page(s)

Illustrations Ill. No.

Inv. No./Lot No.

1:1

L6.1072/J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21–22

1:2

J 782

Ler EN–MNc

21

1:3

J 782

Ler EN–MNc

21

1:4

L6.1543/CL J 890

Ler EN–MNb

17

1:5

J 795 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

1:6

L6.1081/CL J 894

Ler EN–MNa

13

1:7

L6.1078/CL J 890

Ler EN–MNb

17

1:8

L6.78/CL J 891

Ler EN–MNb

17

2:1

L6.1069/J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21–22

2:2

L6.1068/J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21–22

2:3

with L6.1513–L6.1515

Ler EN–MNa

13

2:4

L6.1057/CL J 892

Ler EN–MNb

18

2:5

J 816 in CL J 894

Ler EN–MNa

13

2:6

with L6.1513–L6.1515

Ler EN–MNa

13

2:7

L6.1067/J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21–22

2:8

L6.1070/J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21–22

2:9

L6.1054/CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

2:10

with L6.1513–L6.1515

Ler EN–MNa

13

2:11

with L6.1513–L6.1515

Ler EN–MNa

13

2:12

J 778 in CL J 889

Ler EN–MNc

22

2:13

J 807 in CL J 891

Ler EN–MNb

17

3:1

L6.1051/CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

3:2

L6.1087/J 816 in CL J 894

Ler EN–MNa

13

3:3

L6.1088/J 816 in CL J 894

Ler EN–MNa

13

3:4

J 782

Ler EN–MNc

21

3:5

J 778 in CL J 889

Ler EN–MNc

22

3:6

J 780 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

3:7

J 790 in CL J 889

Ler EN–MNc

22

3:8

J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21–22

3:9

J 807 in CL J 891

Ler EN–MNb

17

3:10

J 808 in CL J 890

Ler EN–MNb

17

3:11

L6.1085/CL J 894

Ler EN–MNa

13

3:12

J 795, /CL J 893

Ler EN–MN

13–14

Lithics illustrations

Ill. No.

Inv. No./Lot No.

Phase*

315

Page(s)

3:13

J 809 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

3:14

J 782

Ler EN–MNc

21

3:15

L6.1071/J 801

Ler EN–MNc

21–22

3:16

J 780 in CL J 893

Ler EN–MNa

13–14

4:1

BD 549 in CL BD 611

Ler MN 2a

102–103

4:2

L7.501/CL BE 588

Ler MN 2a

129

4:3

BE 548 in CL BE 593

Ler MN 1

124

4:4

L6.998/CL J 885

Ler MN 2a

37

4:5

L6.1101/J 750

Ler MN 1

30

4:6

L6.1014/J 755

Ler MN 1

30

4:7

J 731

Ler MN 1

30

4:8

HTJ 36

Ler MN Unphased+

145

4:9

L7.435/BE 594

Ler MN 1

124–125

4:10

BE 595

Ler MN 1

125–126

4:11

BD 549 in CL BD 611

Ler MN 2a

102–103

4:12

L6.1007/CL J 885

Ler MN 2a

37

4:13

BE 553 in CL BE 593

Ler MN 1

124

4:14

BE 591

Ler MN 2a

129

4:15

A 463

Ler MN 1b

95

4:16

J 761 in CL J 886

Ler MN 1

31

4:17

L6.1551/CL J 885

Ler MN 2a

37

4:18

BD 553

Ler MN 1

100

4:19

BD 553

Ler MN 1

100

4:20

L6.1016/J 755

Ler MN 1

30

5:1

BE 539 in CL BE 587

Ler MN 2a

128

5:2

BE 549 in CL BE 592

Ler MN 2a

129

5:3

J 745, J 747/CL J 884, CL J 885

Ler MN 2a

37

5:4

J 745, J 747/CL J 884, CL J 885

Ler MN 2a

37

5:5

J 752 in CL J 886

Ler MN 1

31

5:6

J 752 in CL J 886

Ler MN 1

31

5:7

J 750

Ler MN 1

30

5:8

J 734 in CL J 885

Ler MN 2a

37

5:9

J 720 in CL J 884

Ler MN 2a

37

5:10

BE 536 in CL BE 587

Ler MN 2a

128

5:11

BE 536 in CL BE 587

Ler MN 2a

128

5:12

BE 595

Ler MN 1

125

5:13

BE 594

Ler MN 1

124–125

5:14

BE 594

Ler MN 1

124–125

5:15

BE 594

Ler MN 1

124–125

5:16

L6.1000/J 746

Ler MN 1

30

5:17

J 745, J 747/CL J 884, CL J 885

Ler MN 2a

37

5:18

L6.1012/CL J 886

Ler MN 1

31

316

concordances

Ill. No.

Inv. No./Lot No.

Phase*

Page(s)

5:19

J 752 in CL J 886

Ler MN 1

31

5:20

J 731

Ler MN 1

30

5:21

L7.824/CL J 867

Ler MN 1

31

5:22

J 745, J 747/CL J 884, CL J 885

Ler MN 2a

37

5:23

J 752 in CL J 886

Ler MN 1

31

6:1

J 641 in CL J 875

Ler MN Unphased

161

6:2

J 602 in CL J 872

Ler MN Unphased

160

6:3

JC 13

Ler MN Unphased+

156

6:4

J 657

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

62

6:5

BI 13

Not Neolithic

—

6:6

L7.128/CL BD 579

Ler MN 6+

122

6:7

BD 493 in CL BD 590

Ler MN 5a

116

6:8

BD 505 in CL BD 578

Ler MN 6+

122

6:9

L6.905/CL J 872

Ler MN Unphased

160

6:10

L6.911/CL J 875

Ler MN Unphased

161

6:11

L6.906/CL J 872

Ler MN Unphased

160

6:12

L6.1539/CL J 875

Ler MN Unphased

161

6:13

L7.124/CL BD 579

Ler MN 6+

122

6:14

L6.1542/CL J 876

Ler MN Unphased

161

6:15

BD 584

Ler MN 5b

118

7:1

L4.778/CL J 103

Ler MN Unphased

159

7:2

L6.966/J 683

Ler MN 3a, 3b.1, 2

49

7:3

J 677 in CL J 876

Ler MN Unphased

161

7:4

BD 610

Ler MN 2

106

7:5

L6.898/CL J 872

Ler MN Unphased

160

7:6

BD 475 in CL BD 579

Ler MN 6+

122

7:7

L6.920/CL J 856, CL J 857

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

64

7:8

L6.951/J 655

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

62

7:9

J 657

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

62

7:10

L6.947/J 651

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

61–62

7:11

J 621, J 623/CL J 856, CL J 857

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

64

7:12

L6.976/J 700

Ler MN 3a

49

7:13

J 577 in CL J 847

Ler MN Unphased

160

8:1

BD 527 in CL BD 602

Ler MN 3–4

112

8:2

L6.1055/CL J 878

Ler MN Unphased

162

8:3

L7.127/CL BD 590

Ler MN 5a

116

8:4

JC 10

Ler MN Unphased+

156

8:5

CL J 83

Ler Mixed Fill

169

8:6

L6.879/CL J 847

Ler MN Unphased

160

8:7

L6.1031/CL J 877

Ler MN Unphased

161–162

8:8

L6.899/HTN 84 in CL HTN 131

Ler MN Unphased

152

8:9

CL HTN 131

Ler MN 6

152

Lithics Illustrations

Ill. No.

Inv. No./Lot No.

Phase*

317

Page(s)

8:10

L7.139/CL BD 605

Ler MN 2b

105–106

8:11

L6.999/J 742

Ler MN 2b

43

8:12

BD 527 in CL BD 602

Ler MN 3–4

112

9:1

L6.948/J 651

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

61

9:2

L7.400/CL BE 585

Ler MN 2b

132

9:3

L7.136/CL BD 605

Ler MN 2b

105–106

9:4

L8.66/BI 14

Ler MN Unphased

9:5

L6.971/CL J 863

Ler MN 3a

9:6

J 577 in CL J 847

Ler MN Unphased

160

9:7

JC 10

Ler MN Unphased

156

9:8

BD 609

Ler MN 2b

106

9:9

L8.33/JC 13 + JC 14

Ler MN Unphased+

156

9:10

L6.1027/CL J 877

Ler MN Unphased

161–162

9:11

J 740

Ler MN 2b

43

9:12

J 682 in CL J 863

Ler MN 3a

49–50

10:1

BD 601

Ler MN 3–4

111–112

10:2

L8.35/JC 16

Ler MN Unphased+

10:3

L7.137/CL BD 605

Ler MN 2b

105–106

10:4

L6.986 + L6.991/CL J 883

Ler MN 2b

44–45

10:5

L6.997/CL J 882

Ler MN 2b

44

10:6

J 714 in CL J 883

Ler MN 2b

44–45

10:7

BD 601

Ler MN 3–4

111–112

10:8

J 604 in CL J 872

Ler MN Unphased

160

10:9

BD 527 in CL BD 602

Ler MN 3–4

112

10:10

L6.1040/J 786

Ler MN Unphased

160

10:11

J 691 in CL J 880

Ler MN 3a

50

10:12

BD 584

Ler MN 5b

118

10:13

L6.981/CL J 883

Ler MN 2b

44–45

10:14

L6.918/CL J 856, CL J 857

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

63, 64

11:1

L6.949/CL J 859

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

64

11:2

L6.909/J 613

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

61

11:3

J 742

Ler MN 2b

43

11:4

J 715 in CL J 883

Ler MN 2b

44–45

11:5

L6.1552/CL J 862

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

64–65

11:6

J 715 in CL J 883

Ler MN 2b

44–45

11:7

JC 10

Ler MN Unphased+

156

11:8

J 594

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

60

11:9

BD 583

Ler MN 2b

104

11:10

J 698 in CL J 879

Ler MN 3a

50

11:11

J 756 in CL J 876

Ler MN Unphased

161

11:12

J 728

Ler MN 2b

43

11:13

BD 610

Ler MN 2

106

158 49–50

156

318

concordances

Ill. No.

Inv. No./Lot No.

Phase*

Page(s)

11:14

L7.138/CL BD 605

Ler MN 2b

105–106

12:1

L6.992/CL J 876

Ler MN Unphased

161

12:2

JC 16

Ler MN Unphased

156

12:3

BD 538 in CL BD 608

Ler MN 2b

106

12:4

BD 601

Ler MN 3–4

111–112

12:5

L6.1021/J 759

Ler MN Unphased

160

12:6

L6.978/CL J 882

Ler MN 2b

44

12:7

L6.900/CL J 872

Ler MN+ Unphased

160

12:8

L6.921/CL J 857

Ler MN 3b.1, 2

64

12:9

BI 13

Not Neolithic

—

13:1

L6.973/CL J 863

Ler MN 3a

49–50

13:2

J 714 in CL J 883

Ler MN 2b

44–45

13:3

J 604 in CL J 872

Ler MN Unphased

160

13:4

BD 475 in CL BD 579

Ler MN 6+

122

13:5

L7.134/BD 597

Ler MN 5a

116

13:6

L6.894/CL J 853

Ler MN 5

76–77

13:7

L7.123/BD 575

Ler FN

121

13:8

BD 518 in CL BD 592

Ler MN 5b

119

13:9

L7.122/BD 575

Ler FN

121

13:10

J 571 in CL J 845

Ler MN 6+

82

13:11

L6.1549/J 590

Ler FN

89

13:12

CL J 447

Ler MN 6+

81

13:13

J 571 in CL J 845

Ler MN 6+

82

13:14

J 605 in CL J 849

Ler MN 5

76

13:15

J 785, J 793 in CL J 897

Ler MN 1

35

13:16

L7.425/CL BE 577

Ler MN 3–4(?)

138

13:17

L5.673/CL J 447

Ler MN 6+

81

13:18

L7.130/CL BD 592

Ler MN 5b

119

13:19

L7.131/CL BD 591

Ler MN 5b

119

* A plus sign (+) following a date indicates that the lots are of the primary date given, but with later contamination.

References

Alram-Stern, E. 1996 Die ägaïsche Frühzeit, 2. Serie, Forschungsbericht 1975–1993 1: Das Neolithikum in Griechenland, mit Ausnahme von Kreta und Zypern (Veröffentlichungen der Mykenischen Kommission 16), Vienna. 2005 “The Early Neolithic Settlement in Central and Southern Greece: The Actual State of Research,” in How Did Farming Reach Europe? Anatolian-European Relations from the Second Half of the 7th through the First Half of the 6th Millennium Cal B.C. Proceedings of the International Workshop, Istanbul, 20–22 May 2004 (Byzas 2), ed. C. Lichter, Istanbul: 183–194. 2007 “Das Chalkolithikum in Südgriechenland: Versuch einer chronologischen und topographischen Gliederung,” in ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ ΑΡIΣΤΕΙΟΣ: Archäologische Forschungen zwischen Nil und Istros. Festschrift für Stefan Hiller zum 65. Geburtstag, ed. F. Lang, C. Reinholdt, and J. Weilhartner, Vienna: 1–10. Alzona, C. 1971 “Malacofauna Italica,” Atti della Società italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano 111: 1–433. Andreou, S., M. Fotiadis, and K. Kotsakis 2001 “The Neolithic and Bronze Age of Northern Greece,” in Aegean Prehistory: A Review (AJA Suppl. 1), ed. T. Cullen, Boston: 259–327. Angel, J. L. 1971 Lerna: A Preclassical Site in the Argolid II: The People, Princeton. Aranitis, S. 1991 “Γεωλογική και πετρογραφική εξέταση της πλάκας 9-Α, από λευκοκίτρινο σκληρό υλικό του στρώματος 9,” in Η νεολιθική Νέα Μάκρη: Τα οικοδομικά (Βιβλιοθήκη της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιλογικής Εταιρείας 119), ed. M. Pantelidou Gkofa, Athens: 188–189. Arnott, R. 2005 “Disease and the Prehistory of the Aegean,” in Health in Antiquity, ed. H. King, London: 12–31. Arnott, R., and A. Morgan-Foster 2010 “Health and Disease in Middle Helladic Greece,” in Mesohelladika: The Greek Mainland in the Middle Bronze Age. Actes du colloque organisé par l’École française d’Athènes, en collaboration avec l’American School of Classical Studies at Athens et le Netherlands Institute in Athens, Athènes, 8–12 mars 2006 (BCH Suppl. 52), ed. A. Philippa-Touchais, G. Touchais, S. Voutsaki, and J. Wright, Athens: 461–470. Aruz, J. 1999

“The Oriental Impact on the Forms of Early Aegean Seals,” in Meletemata: Studies in Aegean Archaeology Presented to Malcolm H. Wiener as He Enters His 65th Year (Aegaeum 20), ed. P. P. Betancourt, V. Karageorghis, R. Laffineur, and W.-D. Niemeier, Liège, vol. 1: 1–14.

Aurenche, O. 1981 La maison orientale: L’architecture du Proche Orient ancien des origines au milieu du quatrième millénaire, (Bibliotheque archéologique et historique 109), 3 vols., Paris.

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Abbreviations of Periodicals and Series AA = Archäologischer Anzeiger ActaAth = Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Institutet i Athen ActaRom = Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Institutet i Rom ΑΕΜΘ = Το Αρχαιολογικό Έργο στη Μακεδονία και Θράκη AJA = American Journal of Archaeology AM = Mitteilungen des Deutsches Archäologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung AR = Archaeological Reports ArchDelt = Αρχαιολογικόν Δελτίον ArchEph = Αρχαιολογική Εφημερίς BalkSt = Balkan Studies BAM = Beiträge zur ur- und frühgeschichtlichen Archäologie des Mittelmeer-kulturraumes BAR = British Archaeological Reports BAR-IS = British Archaeological Reports, International Series BCH = Bulletin de correspondence hellénique

BICS = Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies (University of London) BSA = Annual of the British School at Athens CAJ = Cambridge Archaeological Journal CMS = Corpus der minoischen und mykenischen Siegel Franchthi = Excavations at Franchthi Cave, Greece, Bloomington JFA = Journal of Field Archaeology JMA = Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology JRGZM = Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, Mainz PPS = Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society Prakt = Πρακτικά της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας SIMA-PB = Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology and Literature: Pocketbook WorldArch = World Archaeology

INDEX

Acanthocardia (red-nosed cockle)  301 Achilleion  22, 27, 211, 260 acorn. See botanicals activity/work areas: exterior  19, 42, 59, 84, 110, 113, 114, 126, 128, 131, 184, 191, 218, 231, 248, 262; interior  14, 40, 46, 73, 262, 267 Aegean  5, 259, 302 Alram-Stern, E.  259, 265 Amymone  5, 259, 265 Angel, J. L.  28, 144, 153, 175, 177–178 Antler  235–236, 296–297 AP. See ash pits AP, Trench. See Areas, Pits, and Trenches architecture 260–263; agglutinative 40, 96, 261; brick/ pisé  40, 41, 57, 260–261 (see also brick/pisé); doorways  51, 55; megaroid plan  65–66, 261; partitions  39, 41, 46, 47, 51, 55–56, 126, 261; porches  45, 52, 54, 57, 58; roofs, flat  40, 41, 261; roofs, gabled  66, 261; stone foundations  260; thresholds  51, 55, 56; wattle-and-daub  8, 14, 260 Areas, Pits, and Trenches: AP  165–166; BD  91, 123, 157; BE 121–14; E 5–6, 167; HTJ 143–146, 168–169; HTN  146–152; J  5, 72, 129, 169; JA–JB  5–89, 159, 169– 173; JC  152–156, 173; other  130, 157–158, 164–165, 166 Argolid  5, 7, 8, 187, 188, 190, 266, 268, 306 Argos  260, 263, 268, 289; Museum  2, 108, 175, 183 Aria  154, 179, 236, 251 Arkadia(n)  5, 259, 270 ark shell (Arca or Barbatia barbata)  303, 305 artemis shell (Dosinia) 302 Asea  252, 259, 266, 267, 270 ash pits (AP)  82–89, 119–121, 140 Astros 261 Attica  209, 211, 259 Attic-Kephala Culture  88. See also Kephala Ayiorgitika  8, 251, 260, 267, 270 Bacarov, K. 175 basket(ry)  261, 265, 268 BD, Pit. See Areas, Pits, and Trenches BE, Pit. See Areas, Pits, and Trenches beads. See stone objects: beads bench  40, 94, 96, 262 bird bones  299 Blackburn, E. T.  28, 29, 101, 144, 153, 154 “Black/Dark Stratum”  8, 35, 37, 42, 48, 59, 73, 79, 104, 219, 248 Boiotia  88, 211, 250 “bolas”  192, 198, 208 bone objects  215–234, 262, 265; awls  215–228, 265, 267; miscellaneous  234–235; scrapers/polishers  229–234, 265 botanicals  263; fava bean (Vicia faba)  119, 263; fig (Ficus caria)  143, 148, 263; oak (Quercus)  143; pine (Pinus sp.)  93; pit of indeterminate plant (Prunus pit or acorn)  98–99, 263; wild strawberry (Arbutus unedo)  117, 263 bothroi  67, 73, 77, 78, 83, 139, 140, 153; stone-ringed bothros  77, 264 bowl, marble. See stone objects: vessels breccia  57, 260

brick/pisé  14–15, 18, 19, 20, 27, 32, 33, 34, 40, 41, 42, 45, 56–57, 70, 73, 143, 210, 260–261 buildings, list of  273–276 burials  175–179, 269; constructed  153; FN  147 153, 154; MN  27–29, 74, 101, 144, 154–155; offerings with  154, 178; table of  176 burned bones  291, 292, 293–294, 294–295, 306 14C samples  18, 94, 126, 143, 259 carbonized/charred wood  93, 126, 143 carpet shell (Ruditapes) 302 Caskey, J. L.  7, 8, 32, 35–36, 93, 123. See also chronology catalogue, organization of  2 cattle: domestic (Bos)  264, 294–295, 297, 306; wild (Bos primigenius) 297 Cavanagh, W.  175, 259, 260 celts. See stone objects Central Greece  88, 209 Cerastoderma (cockle)  59, 117, 126, 131, 136, 139, 265, 301, 305, 306 Chaironeia 250 chalcedony  14, 266. See also imports; lithics chronology  3, 4, 5, 7, 21, 36, 80, 88–89, 93, 95, 259–260 clay pits (CP)  8–13, 98–101, 123, 143 clay sources. See clay pits; pottery cockle. See Acanthocardia (cockle); Cerastoderma (cockle); Glycymeris (cockle) communal feasting. See feasting, communal communal gathering places/workspaces  27, 51, 52, 59, 262 cone shell (Conus) 305 conglomerate  72, 183 cooking areas: indoor  42, 46, 262; outdoor  25–26, 84, 85, 130, 131, 133. See also communal gathering places/workspaces copper 181–182; Neolithic? 181 Corinth(ia)  2, 3, 5, 18, 19, 29, 175, 209, 235, 252, 267, 270 cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) 299 court  52–54, 126, 127, 128, 261 cowrie (Luria) 304 craft specialization  14, 52, 263, 265, 266–267 crane (Grus) 299 Crete 250 Cullen, T.  177, 259, 266, 267, 269, 270 cut bones  291, 292, 294–295, 306 Cyclades  88, 181, 306

“dachshund” rhyton 72 Danilo 236 “Dark Stratum.” See “Black Stratum” date shell (Pholas) 303 deer (Cervus)  235–236, 296–297 defensive/delimiting ditch, wall  33, 72, 91, 263 Demoule, J.-P.  88 Dendra  8, 210 Dhaskalio Kavos  252 diet  263–265, 268. See also botanicals Dimini  187, 211 discs, perforated. See terracotta objects: discs, perforated

330

INDEX

dog (Canis)  295–296, 298 doorways. See architecture: doorways Drachmani 235 drain  108, 134, 260 duck family (Anatidae)  299 dye murex (Bolinus) 304 Early Neolithic (EN)  5–21, 35–36, 93, 124. See also chronology; Vitelli, K. D. ear studs. See stone objects: ear studs Elateia  235, 237, 246 enclosure walls  33, 72, 91, 263 Euboia  88, 259 Eutresis  8, 250 fauna  2, 263–265, 289–308. See also individual entries fava bean. See botanicals: fava bean (Vicia faba) feasting, communal  27, 42, 262, 264 fence 77 fibula, Roman  108 fig. See botanicals: fig (Ficus caria) figurines. See terracotta objects: figurines Final Neolithic (FN)  82–89, 119–123, 138–142, 143–146, 146– 151, 151–156, 244, 259, 269. See also chronology fire pits  22, 27 fish/fish bones  299, 307 floors  191, 261; grayish black soil  47; hard earth/clay  40, 55, 56, 110, 114, 130, 131, 134, 135; hard grayish/gray  46, 51, 57, 70, 77, 126, 143, 262; hard plaster  65, 66, 139, 261; red clay  115; red/orangey red clay  126; yellow clay  40, 41, 47, 52, 57, 58, 59, 94, 95, 97, 103, 113, 114, 134, 135; yellow and red clay  51, 91, 114 food preparation  25, 27, 40, 42, 46, 135, 173, 202. See also cooking areas fortifications. See defensive/delimiting ditch, wall Fowler, K. D.  178 fox (Vulpes)  265, 296, 298 Franchthi  1, 3, 7, 8, 52, 84, 88, 120, 177, 183, 187, 188, 189, 190, 207, 209, 211, 216, 236, 244, 247, 252, 253, 259, 263, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 306. See also Franchthi Ceramic Phase (FCP) Franchthi Ceramic Phase (FCP): concordance with Lerna phases  4; Vitelli study of  3. See also Vitelli Gale, N. H.  181 garganey 299 Gejvall, N.-G.  2, 275, 289 Glycymeris (dog cockle)  302, 306–307 goat (Capra)  263, 264, 290–292, 293–294. See also ovicaprine goshawk (Accipiter) 299 graffito on sherd  117 grain grinding station  40, 262 graylag goose (Anser) 299 grindstones. See stone objects Gully  6, 14, 15, 18, 19–20, 27, 32–34, 72, 91, 236, 263. See also defensive/delimiting ditch, wall habitation deposits  57, 121, 128 haematite  30, 206, 211, 236, 255 Halai 211 Halstead, P.  260, 262–264, 268 hare (Lepus)  216, 265, 296, 298 Hartenberger, B.  163 hearths/ad hoc hearths  12, 14, 25, 27, 37, 42, 46, 77, 126, 128, 130, 131, 133, 262 hearth pits (HP)  22–25, 94–95, 143 heron (Ardea) 299 horn shell (Cerithium) 304 HTJ, Trench. See Areas, Pits, and Trenches: HTJ HTN, Trench. See Areas, Pits, and Trenches: HTN human bones  175, 299 hut  14, 260 imports  5, 14, 21, 236, 265–267, 269, 270 Jacobsen, T. W.  177, 260 JC, Trench. See Areas, Pits, and Trenches: JC Johnson, M.  260, 268

Kaczanowska, M.  2 Kakanj 236 Kephala  88, 147, 178, 179, 253 Kilian-Dirlemeier, I.  108 Kitsos cave (Attica)  211, 306 Klisoura Gorge  266 knapping  14, 205, 235, 269, 270. See also lithics Kozłowski, J.  2, 163, 266, 267 Koumouzelis, M.  266 Kouphovouno  18, 251, 260, 261 Lake Perachora 178 land snail (Helix) 305–306 Larisa 250 Late(r) Neolithic (LN)  80, 152, 259, 266 Lekkas, E.  3 limpet (Patella) 304 lithics  2, 265–267, 313–318. See also imports Macedonia  209, 210, 211, 212, 214, 236, 261, 269 malaria  178, 260 mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 299 Mani 209 marble bowl. See stone objects: vessels mat impressions  268. See also basket(ry) meagre (Argyrosomus) 299 mealing table  40 Mee, C.  175, 268 megaroid plan. See architecture: megaroid plan Middle Neolithic (MN)  3, 21, 36, 80, 93, 95, 259–260, 266, 270. See also chronology; Early Neolithic (EN); Late(r) Neolithic (LN) Milos 5 Mixed Fill  5–6, 27, 59, 91, 143, 153, 155, 163–173 mortar  91, 260; red clay  8, 57, 110, 130, 134, 261; yellow clay  41, 91, 94, 101 Moundrea-Agrafioti, H. A.  215 Mt. Pontinus  5 Murex/murex  303–304, 305 mussel (Mytilus) 303 Myloi  5, 261. See also Venus of Myloi Myrtos (Crete)  243 Naxos 209 Nea Makri  65, 209, 261 Nea Nikomedeia  8, 178, 211, 213, 260, 261, 263 Near Eastern background of Greek Neolithic  207, 209, 210, 211, 213–214, 260, 263. See also imports Nemea (Tsoungiza)  209, 211 Nevalı Çori  8 oak. See botanicals: oak (Quercus) obsidian  5, 14, 265–267, 270. See also imports; lithics Odhner, N.  300, 305 Ostrea (oyster)  301–302, 305, 306–307 Otzaki 45 ovicaprine  263, 264, 265, 290–292, 306. See also bone objects; goat; sheep oyster. See Ostrea (oyster); Spondylus (oyster) oyster drill (Stramonita haemastoma) 305 partitions. See architecture: partitions pattern or painted mark on cup  47 Pawłikowski, M.  1, 2, 183, 261, 265 pebble pavement  35–36, 37, 41, 42 Pefkakia 306 Peloponnesos  5, 7, 88, 175, 209, 210, 211, 236, 250, 251, 252, 259, 260, 263, 267, 270 pendants. See bone objects: miscellaneous; stone objects: pendants; terracotta objects: pendant pen shell (pinna) 303 perforated discs. See terracotta objects: discs, perforated Perlès, C.  33, 88, 160, 184, 187, 210, 215, 229, 260, 266–267, 270 Phelps, W.  250, 252 Phokis 250 pig (Sus): domestic  264, 292–293, 293–294, 306; wild  298 pine. See botanicals: pine (Pinus sp.) pivot. See stone objects: pivot

INDEX Pit. See Areas, Pits, and Trenches plaster  108, 110, 113, 134 platforms: exterior  18, 107, 108, 261, 262; interior  40. See also stone platforms polishers. See stone objects: polishers; terracotta objects: polishers population of settlement  260 porches. See architecture: porches postholes  15, 18, 19, 20, 33, 130, 134, 143, 260 pottery  1–2, 3, 4, 7, 36, 51, 55, 80, 146, 163, 177, 246, 259, 267– 268, 270; clay sources of  267; lots, list of  277–288; possible storeroom of  54, 210, 261; potters  115, 267–268, 270 pounder/rubbers. See stone objects: pounder/rubbers Reese, D. S.  2, 289–308. See also Gejvall, N.-G. Renfrew, C.  88 Rodden, R. J.  8 Rhodochori Cave (Macedonia)  212 roofs. See architecture: roofs, flat; roofs, gabled Runnels, C. N.  33, 163, 183–184, 208, 263 Saliagos 306 screens. See architecture: partitions seal. See stone objects: seal Semenov, S. A.  187 Servia 25 Sesklo  8, 40, 42, 45, 106, 187, 207, 211, 215, 235, 261, 263 sheep (Ovis)  263, 264, 290–292, 293–294. See also ovicaprine shells  40, 51, 59, 126, 184, 265, 269, 300–306; worked  206, 211– 212, 236–237. See also individual entries Sicily 305 size of settlement  260 sling bullets. See stone objects: sling bullets; terracotta objects: sling bullets Solna 2 Soufli Magoula  250 Sounion 269 Souvatzi, S. G.  40, 269 Spondylus (oyster)  34, 212, 236, 301–302, 305, 306–307 Stockholm  2, 290 stone foundations. See architecture: stone foundations stone objects  183–213, 262, 265; beads  214, 269; celts  28, 51–52, 54, 187–197, 263, 265; ear studs  5, 209, 210–211, 262, 269, 270; grindstones  2, 40, 41–42, 135, 183–186, 198, 201, 265; pendants  211–213, 247, 269; pivot  186; polishers  206–207, 267; pounder/rubbers  103, 184, 189, 191, 192, 198–205, 265; seal  213–214, 268; sling bullets  207–209, 237; vessels  5, 21, 209–210, 262, 269, 270 stone platforms  18–19, 40, 107–108, 110. See also platforms storage, communal  52, 54, 261, 263 storage pits (SP)  24–25, 54–55, 57, 58, 65, 66, 67–68, 97, 115, 117–118, 120, 135, 262, 268 strawberry. See botanicals: wild strawberry (Arbutus unedo) Stroulia, A.  52, 183, 184, 187, 188, 198

331

Talalay, L.  251, 252, 254 terracotta objects  237–257, 262, 267, 268; discs, perforated  246, 268; figurines  211, 235, 250–257, 262, 269, 270 (see also Venus of Myloi); pendant  247; polishers  128, 144, 240–244; sling bullets  237–238; spools/pestles  246–247, 250, 256–257; tangas (triangular plaques)  2, 235, 247–250, 251, 262, 269; whorls  120, 244–245, 268 textiles/textile production  120, 268 Theocharis, D.  261 Thessaly  189, 209, 210, 211, 213, 215, 236, 250, 252, 253, 259, 261, 263, 269, 306 Thompson, M. S.  187 thresholds. See architecture Tiryns 263 tortoise (Testudo) 298 Trench. See Areas, Pits, and Trenches Triantaphyllou, S.  175 Tripolis 209 Tsani Magoula  253 Tsountas, C.  187, 189, 190, 207, 235 Tsoungiza. See Nemea tuna (Thynnus thynnus) 299 Unphased lots 157 Venus of Myloi  66, 71, 76, 250. See also terracotta objects: figurines venus shell (Venus verrucosa) 303 vessels. See stone objects virgin soil (red palaeosol)  6, 7, 8, 32, 34, 98–99, 101, 108, 123– 124, 143, 237, 261, Vitelli, K. D.  1, 2, 3, 36, 51, 78, 84, 85, 88, 114–115, 120, 154, 177, 266, 268, 270 Vutiropoulos, N.  208 Wace, A. J. B.  187 walls, list of  273–276 wattle-and-daub. See architecture: wattle-and-daub Weinberg, S. S.  236, 237 Wijnen, M.  8 wild cattle (Bos primigenius) 297 wild pig (Sus) 298 wild strawberry. See botanicals: wild strawberry (Arbutus unedo) work places. See activity/work areas; communal gathering places/ workspaces Xerias River 267 yard  77, 78, 80, 260, 261, 264 yellow clay plaster 108, 110, 113. See also architecture; mortar: yellow clay; plaster Youni, P.  268 Zangger, E.  8

Plate 1

Ler EN–MN Area JA–JB

Pit BD

27

26

Ler MN 1 Area JA–JB

29

28

Trench AP

30

Stone celts: Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1

Scale 1:2

Plate 2

Ler MN 2 Area JA–JB

31

32

Pit BE

33

34

Stone celts: Ler MN 2

Scale 1:2

Plate 3

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

35

36

37

38

Stone celts: Ler MN 3

39

Scale 1:2

Plate 4

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

40

41

42

43

Stone celts: Ler MN 3

Scale 1:2

Plate 5

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

44

46

45

47

48

Trench AP

49

Stone celts: Ler MN 3

Scale 1:2

Plate 6

Ler MN 3–4 Pit BD

50

Pit BE

51

52

53

Stone celts: Ler MN 3–4

Scale 1:2

Plate 7

Ler MN 4

Ler MN 4–6

Area JA–JB

Pit BE

54

55

Ler MN 5 Pit BD

56

57

Ler MN 6 Area JA–JB

58

Stone celts: Ler MN 4, Ler MN 4–6, Ler MN 5, Ler MN 6

59

Scale 1:2

Plate 8

Ler MN 6 Pit BD

Trench HTN

60

62

Ler MN Unphased

63

64

Stone celts: Ler MN 6, Ler MN Unphased

Scale 1:2

Plate 9

Ler Mixed Fill

65

67

69

68

70

Stone celts: Ler Mixed Fill

Scale 1:2

Plate 10

Ler EN–MN Area JA–JB

71

72

73

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler EN–MN

Scale 1:2

Plate 11

Ler MN 1 Area JA–JB

74

Trench AP

75

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 1

Scale 1:2

Plate 12

Ler MN 2 Area JA–JB

76

77

78

79

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 2

Scale 1:2

Plate 13

Ler MN 2 Area JA–JB

80

Pit BD

83

84

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 2

Scale 1:2

Plate 14

Ler MN 2 Pit BE

85

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

86

87

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 2, Ler MN 3

Scale 1:2

Plate 15

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

88

90

91

92

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 3

93

Scale 1:2

Plate 16

Ler MN 3–4 Pit BD

94 95

Ler MN 4 Area JA–JB

96

97 98

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 3–4, Ler MN 4

Scale 1:2

Plate 17

Ler MN 4–6 Pit BE

100

101

Ler MN 5 Area JA–JB

102

103

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 4–6, Ler MN 5

Scale 1:2

Plate 18

Ler MN 5 Pit BD

104

105

106

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 5

Scale 1:2

Plate 19

Ler MN 6 Pit BD

107

Trench HTN

108

109

110

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN 6

Scale 1:2

Plate 20

Ler MN Unphased

114

115

Ler Mixed Fill

117

Stone pounder/rubbers: Ler MN Unphased, Ler Mixed Fill

Scale 1:2

Plate 21

Ler MN 1 Trench AP

118

Ler MN 2 Trench AP

119

Miscellaneous stone tools

120

Scale 1:2

Plate 22

Ler MN 1 Area JA–JB

121

Ler EN–MN Area JA–JB

122

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

Trench AP

123

124

Ler MN 4 Area JA–JB

125

Stone pigment source(?) and miscellaneous polishers

Scale 1:2

Plate 23

Ler EN–MN

Ler MN 2

Area JA–JB

Area JA–JB

126

127

129

Ler III

Ler III–IV

Ler IV

130

131

132

133

Ler V

135

Stone sling bullets

136

Scale 1:2

Plate 24

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

137

138

Ler EN–MN

Ler MN 1

Area JA–JB

Area JA–JB

3:4

3:4

139

Stone prestige objects: vessels and ear studs

140

Scale 1:2, except where indicated

Plate 25

Ler MN 2

Ler MN 3–4

Area JA–JB

Pit BD

Pit BE

141

142

143

Ler MN 5

Ler MN 6

Area JA–JB

Trench HTN

144

145

Ler Mixed Fill

Post-Neolithic

146

148

147

Stone prestige objects: pendants

Scale 1:2

Plate 26

Ler III

149

Ler MN 2

Ler MN 4–6

Area JA–JB

Pit BE

150

151

Ler Mixed Fill

152

Stone prestige objects: seal and beads

153

Scale 1:1

Plate 27

Ler EN–MN Area JA–JB

154

155

Pit BE

157

159

160

Ler MN 1 Area JA–JB

161

162

163

164

165

166

167

Pit BE

168

169

Bone awls: Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1

170

172

173

174 Scale 1:2

Plate 28

Ler MN 2 Area JA–JB

175

176

177

178

179

180

Pit BD

181

182

183

Pit BE

184

Bone awls: Ler MN 2

185

186

187

Scale 1:2

Plate 29

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

188

193

189

190

194

191

192

195

196

Pit BE

197

Bone awls: Ler MN 3

198

200

Scale 1:2

Plate 30

Ler MN 3–4 Pit BD

Pit BE

206

201

202

203

204

207

205

Ler MN 4 Area JA–JB

209

208

211

Ler MN 4–6 Pit BE

212

213

214

Bone awls: Ler MN 3–4, Ler MN 4, Ler MN 4–6

216

217

218 Scale 1:2

Plate 31

Ler MN 5 Area JA–JB

219

Pit BD

220

221

222

223

224

225

Ler MN 6 and FN Area JA–JB

226

Bone awls: Ler MN 5, Ler MN 6 and FN

227

228

Scale 1:2

Plate 32

Ler MN 6 and FN Pit BD

229

230

231

232

233

234

Trench HTN

235

239

Bone awls: Ler MN 6 and FN

236

240

237

242

238

243

Scale 1:2

Plate 33

Ler MN Unphased

244

246

247

248

249

250

Ler Mixed Fill

251

252

256

Bone awls: Ler MN Unphased, Ler Mixed Fill

253

258

254

255

259

Scale 1:2

Plate 34

Ler EN–MN Area JA–JB

260

261

262

263

264

Ler MN 1 Area JA–JB

265

266

267

Ler MN 2 Area JA–JB

268

Pit BD

269

Bone scraper/polishers: Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1, Ler MN 2

270 Scale 1:2

Plate 35

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

271

272

273

274

275

Ler MN 4

Ler MN 4–6

Area JA–JB

Pit BE

276

277

Bone scraper/polishers: Ler MN 3, Ler MN 4, Ler MN 4–6

278

Scale 1:2

Plate 36

Ler MN 5 Pit BD

279

Ler MN 6 Area JA–JB

Pit BD

280

281

Bone scraper/polishers: Ler MN 5, Ler MN 6

282

Scale 1:2

Plate 37

Ler MN 6 Trench HTN

283

284

Ler MN Unphased

Ler Mixed Fill

289

286

287

288

Bone scraper/polishers: Ler MN 6, Ler MN Unphased, Ler Mixed Fill

290

Scale 1:2

Plate 38

Ler MN 2

Ler MN Unphased

Pit BD

1:1

291

292

Ler Mixed Fill

1:1

293

Miscellaneous bone objects

294

Scale 1:2, except where indicated

Plate 39

Ler MN 3–4

Ler MN Unphased

Ler Mixed Fill

Pit BD

295

296

Ler MN 1

297

Ler III–IV

Area JA–JB

298

299

Antler and shell objects

300

Scale 1:2

Plate 40

Ler MN 2 Pit BE

301

Ler MN 3–4 Pit BD

302

Ler MN 5 Area JA–JB

303

Terracotta sling bullets: Ler MN 2, Ler MN 3–4, Ler MN 5

304

Scale 1:2

Plate 41

Ler MN 5 Pit BD

305

306

309

310

315

313

Terracotta sling bullets: Ler MN 5

307

308

311

312

316

314

Scale 1:2

Plate 42

Ler MN 6 Area JA–JB

Trench HTN

317

318

319

Ler III

320

Terracotta sling bullets: Ler MN 6, post-Neolithic Ler III

Scale 1:2

Plate 43

Ler EN–MN Area JA–JB

321

Ler MN 1 Area JA–JB

322

324

323

Pit BE

Trench HTJ

325

327

326

Terracotta polishers: Ler EN–MN, Ler MN 1

Scale 1:2

Plate 44

Ler MN 2 Area JA–JB

328

329

330

Pit BE

332

333

334

336

Terracotta polishers: Ler MN 2

335

337

338

Scale 1:2

Plate 45

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

339

340

341

Ler MN 4

Ler MN 4–6

Area JA–JB

Pit BE

343

344

342

Ler MN 5 Area JA–JB

Pit BD

345

348 346

Terracotta polishers: Ler MN 3, Ler MN 4, Ler MN 4–6, Ler MN 5

Scale 1:2

Plate 46

Ler MN 6 Pit BD

349

350

351

Trench HTN

352

Ler Mixed Fill

353

Terracotta polishers: Ler MN 6, Ler Mixed Fill

354

355

Scale 1:2

Plate 47

Ler MN 4–6 Pit BE

356

Ler MN 6 Area JA–JB

Pit BD

358

357

359

Trench HTN

360

361

Ler Mixed Fill

362

Ler MN 1

Ler Mixed Fill

Area JA–JB

363

Terracotta whorls and perforated discs

364

Scale 1:2

Plate 48

Ler MN 1 Area JA–JB

365

Ler MN 2 Area JA–JB

Pit BD

366

367

Ler III

368

Terracotta spools/pestles and pendant

Scale 1:2

Plate 49

Ler MN 3–4 Pit BE

398

Ler MN 6 Pit BD

Trench HTN

400

401

Terracotta figurines (small standing female): Ler MN 3–4, Ler MN 6

Scale 2:3

Plate 50

Ler III–IV

407

Ler IV

408

Terracotta figurines (small standing female): post-Neolithic Ler III–IV, Ler IV

Scale 2:3

Plate 51

Ler MN 3 Area JA–JB

397

Ler MN Unphased

404

Terracotta figurines (elephantine legs/pots)

Scale 1:2

Plate 52

Ler MN Unphased

402

403

Ler Mixed Fill

Ler III

Ler IV–V

405

406

409

Terracotta figurines (seated/reclining[?] figure, figure on chair[?], head on long neck, and cruciform torsos)

Scale 1:2

Plate 53

Ler MN 1

Ler MN 3–4

Ler MN 5

Area JA–JB

Pit BD

Pit BD

410

411

412

Ler MN 6 Pit BD

413

Ler MN Unphased Trench JC

Ler Mixed Fill Trench AP

Post-Neolithic

Trench B

414

417 415

Miscellaneous terracotta fragments: legs, handles, and spools

416

Scale 1:2