251-265

Excavation of a building plot at No.75, Agyias Sofias st.

• Καρύδας, Νάρκισσος

The salvage excavation on the building plot at 75, Ayias Sofias St. and 18, Sofokleous St. (Fig. 1) brought to light an abundance of architectural and movable finds that represent all the habitation phases of the area, which also happens to be one of the oldest parts of the city. Through a brief presentation, with 7 different ground-plans, of the area’s major building phases from the Hellenistic to the early post-Byzantine period, we shall try to present a picture of the uninterrupted life of this particular part of the city of Thessaloniki. An observation of the building ratio on the plot in the course of its seven different phases (see Figs. 2-8) discerns a gradual increase in the habitable space between the Hellenistic and Early Christian periods, when the whole width of the site was taken up by two spacious dwellings. Towards the end of the Early Christian period, there was something of a building recession, and interest focused more on the upkeep of existing houses. There is evidence of makeshift repairs, and rooms were divided up into smaller spaces. After the disastrous earthquakes of the 7th c. and throughout the Byzantine period, the building ratio on the plot gradually fell as the central area was opened up and the houses in the SE and W sections became smaller. These data present a direct correlation with the history of the city and its population density, which must have been at its highest in the Early Christian period. Finally, if we place the Early Christian ground plan (which is the most complete) on top of a modern survey of the area (Fig. 10), we see that the whole width of the modern block (50.8 m) — which corresponds to the ancient one — is divided precisely along the middle by two spacious residences with an atrium, peristyle, and well. This lengthwise division of the ancient insula into two equal parts is something completely new to research into the urban planning of ancient Thessaloniki. This particular layout unquestionably dates back as far as the Hellenistic period, for the boundaries of the plots were respected down the ages; and those of the streets even more so, for most of them have been preserved to the present day.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)

Θεσσαλονίκη, συνέδρια

Περιέχει κατόψεις, σχέδια και εικόνες.