Belonging in/to Lakonia

An archaeohistorical study on the Sanctuary of Apollo at Amyklai and its surroundings

Principal Investigators: Hans Beck and Sophia Nomicos 

The Agia Kyriaki hill 5 km south of Sparta has long been identified with the ancient cult centre of Apollo Amyklaios. The site played a central role in regional conversations. According to the literary sources, the Hyakinthia festival in Amyklai was the prime occasion were Spartans, perioikoi, and also foreigners all came together. Excavations on the hill carried out under the directorship of Professor Stavros Vlizos from the Ionian University of Corfu and the Archaeological Society of Athens run for almost 20 years of uninterrupted investigation, which makes the Amykles Research Project (ARP) one of the archaeological flagship enterprises in the Peloponnese.

The University of Münster has been involved in ARP research activities since 2022 through Sophia Nomicos with an archaeological-geophysical project. In 2023, Hans Beck has joined ARP with a integrated historical-archaeological study component (student participants: Emilia Bachmann, Lukas Duisen, Daniel Hagen, Ann-Kathrin Hönerloh). From 2024, “Beloning in/to Lakonia” complements the work of Stavros Vlizos and his team. GIS components of the project are carried out by Nicola Nenci (Perugia and EXC Fellow at the University of Münster). Indexing of attested settlement and sanctuary sites is done by Aphrodite Vlachou, postdoc at the Chair of Greek History in Münster.

Our project aims at discussing the Amyklaion’s role as a central hub in Lakonia on two distinct but interrelated levels: we seek to understand the relation of the Amyklaion with its immediate surroundings; and we examine Amyklai as a node of communications between the Eurotas Valley and the Argolic Gulf via the Parnon area, placing the site in its regional context. Our work includes three packages: 1) archaeological survey work south of the Amyklaion, the area of the presumed settlement; 2) the mapping of archaeological and historical evidence, including view shed analyses to the east of the sanctuary; and 3) the study and interpretation of emerging bodies of evidence, along with data already available. In sum, we wish to understand how modes of belonging emerged in Lakonia and what the role of sanctuaries was in this process. And, we are asking how far the notion of belonging extended, especially in places more remote from the Eurotas Valley. Our approach deliberately deviates from the thematic priorities in the body of surviving literary sources, enriching the study with perspectives of the lived experience in eastern Lakonia.

The 2024 field campaign ran from July 22 to August 18. It was carried out as part of the five-year permit of the Amykles Research Project (ARP) directed by Stavros Vlizos, thanks to a collaboration between the Archaeological Society of Athens and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Laconia, with the partnership of the University of Münster and the École française d'Athènes. The project participants in the field were Adrien Delahaye (ARP/EFA), Nicola Nenci (ARP/University of Münster), Giorgos Tsiaggouris (Ephorate of Antiquities of Laconia), Sophia Nomicos (University of Münster), Volkmar Schmidt (University of Münster), and 12 students.

An archaeological field survey was conducted south of the Amyklaion over a timespan of four weeks in a combined intensive / non-intensive approach. The aim was to gain a first archaeological understanding of the area commonly connected with ancient Amykles. The survey area (approx. 0.6 km2) was divided into 136 units (“tracts”), which generally corresponded to the agricultural field boundaries. Tracts were divided into 20x20 m squares allowing for accurate control over walkability and finds provenance. A preliminary surface visibility estimation on a scale from 1 to 5 was carried out for each tract on the basis of remote sensing imagery (OrthoPhotography and Digital Surface Models). Traces of human presence were encountered in various places and the survey fieldwork yielded a significant amount of data in terms of both mass and research relevance. Due to their amount and complexity, the collected data requires further analysis in the next months.

In the first two weeks of August 2024, geophysical measurements were carried out in the area south of the sanctuary by Volkmar Schmidt and two students (Kimya Vallenton and Moritz Wendel) from the Institute for Geophysics, Münster University. The aim was to detect traces of settlement in the subsurface. In order to be able to record as many different anthropogenic traces as possible, several technologies were used, such as magnetics, ground-penetrating radar, electromagnetic induction and resistivity tomography. For most measurements, devices were moved in straight lines across the surface. The omnipresent olive trees posed a certain obstacle to this, but they also provided some shade. Based on the data, soils in the area can now be classified and impact of human activity be assessed.

Field studies were complemented by historical studies carried out by Hans Beck on the role of Amyklai in the intricate relations between Sparta and local Lakonian communities. Results from the field survey offer new insight into the location and settlement pattern of Sparta's fifth obe, which fuses the ongoing debate about perioikic interactions in Lakonia with new evidence and energy. 

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