Belonging in/to Lakonia

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

Principal Investigators: Hans Beck and Sophia Nomicos

Sponsor: Cluster of Excellence Religion and Politics at Münster University (B3-49). Research carried out in collaboration with the Amykles Research Project.

Background and Project Outline

The Agia Kyriaki hill 5 km south of Sparta has long been identified with the ancient cult centre of Apollo Amyklaios, the most prominent sanctuary of Sparta in the Classical period. It also played a critical role in regional conversations. For instance, the Hyakinthia festival in Amyklai was a prime occasion were Spartans, perioikoi, and also foreigners all came together. The sanctuary’s fame was complemented by the importance the settlement of Amyklai had for the political community of Sparta. Literary tradition proclaimed that the conquest of Amyklai and its integration into the Spartan polity as its fifth village laid the foundations for Sparta’s rise to power. The settlement of Amyklai has however not yet been identified. Its precise location in the rolling hills west of the Eurotas and its structural layout remain largely unknown.

Excavations on the Kyriaki 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. 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 sanctuary with its immediate surroundings, in particular the ways in which sacred and settlement topographies interacted (or intersected?); and we examine Amyklai as a node of communications, placing the site in its regional context. To this end, our work includes three packages: 1) archaeological survey and geophysical work south of the Kyriaki hill; 2) the mapping of archaeological and historical evidence, including view shed analyses; and 3) the study and interpretation of emerging bodies of evidence. In sum, we seek to understand the interrelation between human agency and the local enviroment. How did the rise of the settlement and sanctuary at Amyklai condition one another, how was local space negotiated, and how did the complex process of place-making evolve across time? We are also asking how the local situation at Amyklai contributed to the rise of a shared sense of belonging in the region. Our archaeohistorical approach shifts the attention away from heavy-handed narratives in the literary sources, enriching the study with perspectives of the lived experience on the ground.

2024 Field Season

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.

Panoramic views: from the Amyklaion hill south across the survey area (left); from tract 43 of the survey area north toward the Amyklaion hill (right)

Field studies were complemented by historical research 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.