143-154

A temple of the imperial cult at ancient Kalindoia

• Σισμανίδης, Κώστας Λ.

Deep ploughing in plot 618 in the centre of ancient Kalindoia brought to light a number of marble architectural members. A rescue excavation was carried out in 2003, which uncovered some important antiquities, most of them (apart from part of a Late Classical kiln and the foundations of two Hellenistic walls) belonging to the Imperial period. Specifically, only part of one Roman public building has been investigated, of which an almost square space has come to light at the north (interior dimensions: 6.30x7 m) and part of a second adjacent space further south, the same length as the first and with an uncovered width of 5 m. The most important find in this latter space was a very fine 18 cm high head of Athena (Minerva) with a Corinthian helmet.Apart from the rear wall, the two spaces also share the wall of the east facade, hard up against which are four rectangular stone bases, two of which preserve their marble impost-blocks with mouldings. Clearly, these bases supported the marble pedestals of monuments, probably statues. Access to the north space, which has a pebble floor and preserves sections of the smooth black plaster on its walls, was up four steps on the facade. Hard against the entire length of the rear wall and also much of the north wall, over a total length of more than 10 m, there was an L-shaped elevated strip 1.50 m wide constructed on the front out of huge well-dressed marble slabs. All the evidence suggests that this strip was a long pedestal upon which stood mainly marble but also bronze statues of emperors. This is supported by the marble pedestal of a bronze statue (81x45 x 18 cm) which was found in the space and bears the inscription AYTOKPATOPA ΘΕΟΝ ΘΕΟΥ ΥΙΟΝ ΤΡΑΪΑΝΟΥ / ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΝ Η ΠΟΛΙΣ; and also by a large number of fragments of marble statues of emperors. These finds also suggest that this particular space was a sebasteion, or rather in the wider sense a temple of the Imperial cult, probably (according to a lst-century inscription from the same area) dedicated to the joint cult of Zeus, the goddess Rome, and the emperor. The aforementioned finds, as also others from the same space (such as pottery and especially coins), date its use to between the late 1st century BC and the mid-3rd century AD.Six metres away from the façade of the temple and exactly parallel to it a 6.5 m stretch of a low wall was uncovered in the north section of the excavation. It was probably the stylobate of the facade of a stoa, the rear wall of which would have been the northernmost section of the wall of the facade of the temple. Further east in front of the temple, 7.5 m away from it and approximately level with the entrance, three almost contiguous solid rectangular structures of opus caementicum were investigated, probably the substructure of monuments with statues or other votive offerings. The largest measures 3.70x4.20 m, while the smaller ones, north and east of it, measure 1x1.50 m and 1.25x3.10 m respectively.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία

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