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Journal of archaeology and ancient architecture

Tag Archives: ginnasio

The Gymnasium of Agrigento: Report of the Second Excavation Campaign in 2023

Authors: M. Trümper, T. Lappi, A. Fino

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The gymnasium of Agrigento has been excavated between the 1950s and 2005. While parts of a race-track section and a pool were revealed between two stenopoi, the extension of the gymnasium and particularly the existence of a palaestra as well as the construction date could not be securely determined. A project launched in 2019 in cooperation between the Parco Archeologico e Paesaggistico Valle dei Templi di Agrigento, the Freie Universität Berlin, and the Politecnico di Bari aims to solve these questions. Based on the results of a geophysical survey carried out in 2020, two excavation campaigns were carried out in 2022 and 2023 in a field to the North of the pool where the palaestra was most likely located. The aim of this paper is to discuss the major results of the 2023 campaign that included ten stratigraphic trenches and an architectural survey. Results are discussed in a synthetic manner, focusing on the chronology and construction of the western stenopos; the topography, size, and subdivision of the palaestra lot; the construction technique of the walls; and significant architectural elements. One street level can be securely identified in the stenopos that was made together with the palaestra; a drainage pipe may have belonged to the original phase or a slightly later remodeling. The palaestra lot had an extension of maximally 62.50m North-South x minimally 35m East-West and was subdivided into at least two different terraces. A stamped tile with ΓΥΜ from an abandonment/destruction layer proves that the palaestra lot belonged to the gymnasium. This is confirmed by numerous well-made ashlar walls that are consistent in orientation, building technique, and material with the previously exposed walls of the gymnasium. At least four rooms can be identified on the lower terrace next to the pool (among them possibly a loutron and an exedra with benches) and a large vestibule on the upper terrace. While two cornices with sima from a Doric colonnade were found in 2022 and 2023 on the lower terrace, the location and size of the peristyle courtyard cannot yet be determined. The analysis of the architecture focused on the pool and architectural elements excavated in the palaestra lot. It supports a construction date of the gymnasium in the 2nd century BC and allows reconstructing the pool with a size of 15m North-South x 7.65m East-West and a staircase in the southwest corner, with 13 steps along the west wall.

The Gymnasium of Agrigento: Report of the First Excavation Campaign in 2022

Authors: M. Trümper, T. Lappi, A. Fino, C. Blasetti Fantauzzi
Download article as .pdf: The Gymnasium of Agrigento: Report of the First Excavation Campaign in 2022

The gymnasium of Agrigento has been excavated between the 1950s and 2005. While parts of a race-track section and a pool were revealed between two stenopoi, the extension of the gymnasium and the existence of a palaestra as well as the construction date could not be securely determined. A project launched in 2019 in cooperation between the Parco Archeologico e Paesaggistico Valle dei Templi di Agrigento and the Freie Universität Berlin aims to solve these questions. Based on the results of a geophysical survey, four trenches were excavated in 2022 in a field to the north of the pool where the palaestra was most likely located. The aim of this paper is to discuss the results of the 2022 campaign. After a brief discussion of the chronology established in previous excavations, the trenches are presented from south (trench 1) to north (trench 4), followed by new insights regarding the architecture. In trenches 1 and 2, well-made ashlar walls were found that are consistent in orientation, building technique, and material with the previously exposed walls of the gymnasium and may have belonged to the searched palaestra. In trench 3, the continuation of the western stenopos appeared. Trench 4 was made at the supposed crossing of this stenopos with a plateia but did not yield any evidence of built structures or street pavements. The analysis of the architecture showed that previously proposed reconstructions are problematic, particularly regarding the architecture of the xystosstoa. Revisions regarding the reconstruction of the Doric order and its chronology are proposed here, suggesting a period between the end of the 3rd and the first half of the 2nd century B.C.

Morte e memoria. Osservazioni sulle sepolture di personalità eminenti in associazione a edifici ginnici e agonistici

Author: R. Sassu

 

Download article as .pdf: Morte e memoria. Osservazioni sulle sepolture di personalità eminenti in associazione a edifici ginnici e agonistici

 

In the framework of the topic concerning monumental tombs located within the urban space, outside the necropolis, a specific issue regards the identification of the spot where such edifices, exceptionally located inside traditionally forbidden areas, are built. The choice of associating the mausoleum to structures related to the concepts of glory and eternity is often expressed by the spatial and topographical connection between the sepulcher and structures devoted to sport and military training, as well as competition, particularly stadia and gymnasia, as testified by the case studies provided by Messene, Calydon, Miletus and Gortyn of Crete. The phenomenon – that usually aims to praise those who benefited the society through miliary or agonistic victories or euergetism acts by granting them an excellent tomb – is not restricted to the Hellenic world, but widely spread in the Roman provinces.