POST BRONZE AGE ARCHITECTURAL TERRACOTTA FROM THE PALACE OF NESTOR

Todd Brenningmeyer

Investigations by the Minnesota Archaeological Researches in the Western Peloponnese (MARWP) have brought to light new evidence of post Bronze Age building activity at the Palace of Nestor, Pylos. Roof tiles, decorative revetment, and architectural remains, including foundations for an early Archaic temple, indicate a sporadic pattern of building activity extending from the Archaic through the Frankish period.

The earliest architectural terracotta include 7th century Corinthian pan and cover tiles, one of which is a cover for a hipped roof. The remains of a slightly later roof include undecorated Lakonian tiles, fragments of an akroterian disk, and part of a painted antefix. These elements correspond to the Lakonian IV pottery period of the mid-sixth century B.C. A fragment of this Lakonian roof was later built into the south wall of a building comprising rooms 85-87. The tile provides a terminus post quem much different than that proposed by the original excavator. The new building also signifies the destruction of the Archaic temple whose fragmentary walls lay beneath. The circular socle 87, which occupies the same stratum, should be associated with these remains rather than assigned to the Bronze Age. Additional architectural remains include fragments of a Corinthian roof of the Hellenistic period, and cover and pan tiles of three to five roofs of the Frankish period.