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Excavations at Oiniadai : the shipsheds

Χρονικά-Reports

• Κολώνας, Λάζαρος

At the ancient city of Oiniadai, near Messologhi, and specifically at the mouth of the river Acheloos, a program of research and excavation was launched in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology of the University of Athens.Oiniadai has been one of the richest and most important cities of Acarnania. Its monumental fortification, its theater, its well preserved town planning web, its shipsheds and a series of other unindentified public buildings indicate that in addition to its strategic position, its economic and cultural level was very high.Due to all the above mentioned assets of the ancient city, there has been manifested a great interest on the part of scholars since the beginning of our century. The arcaeologist Powell began a trial excavation of the theater, the houses, the shipsheds and the baths.The undersigned continued the effort at the shipsheds, this time not with a trial trench but with an actual excavation.The shipsheds, at the northern side of the ancient city, are defined by a four — sided space (41 X 47 m.) which, on its three sides is carved in the grey local calcareous rock of the hillside.Since Powell performed the trial trench in 1904 and until recently, nothing had been visible. Everything had been covered with soil and plants.During the excavation of this year, there have been found parts of collonades, bases and fulcrums of pillars, the special notches carved on the rock: the “ship nests” etc. There has also been found a large number of pot-sherds from the Hellenisic and Roman period, fragments of roof tiles, on one of which there was the inscription «ΦΙΛΩΝΟΣ». This name reminds us of Philon, the architect of the shipsheds of Piraeus.

• History and Archaeology

• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)