Introduction

A brief description and overview
of the Athenian Agora Excavations

The American School of Classical Studies has been excavating in the area of the Athenian Agora since 1931, bringing to light the history of the area over a period of 5000 years. Finds range from scattered pieces of pottery of the late Neolithic period (ca. 3000 BC) to the contents of 19th and early 20th century basements. The Agora of the 5th and 4th centuries BC has been the main focus of attention. Scholars have identified the often scanty material remains on the basis of ancient references to the Agora as the center of civic activity of ancient Athens. Public documents inscribed on stone, weight and measure standards, and jurors' identification tickets and ballots reflect the administrative nature of the site, while traces of private dwellings in the area immediately bordering the open square, with their household pottery and other small finds, throw light on the everyday lives of Athenian citizens.

After the initial phase of excavation, in the 1950's, the area was landscaped and the Hellenistic Stoa of Attalos was rebuilt to serve as museum and work space. The reconstruction, under the authority of the Department of Restorations of the Greek Ministry of Education, was paid for by American donors, half the amount being given by John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

All material excavated from the site is stored in the Stoa, together with the complete archaeological record: day by day notes of the excavators, conservation procedures, photographs, plans and drawings, and completed publications. This makes the Agora a unique resource in Mediterranean archaeology, in that every object and its complete archaeological record are housed together and can be studied side by side. Choice objects from all periods of the history of the site are on display in a museum on the ground floor of the Stoa, including important remains of Bronze and Iron age burials from the earlier periods, and objects from Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times representing the post-classical Agora.

The site, the Stoa of Attalos and the finds from the excavations are the property of the Greek State, and are administered by the 1st Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of the Greek Archaeological Service. The excavation archives are maintained by the American School of Classical Studies from offices in the Stoa. Funding for the excavations has been provided by private donors and foundations in America; the most recent work has been supported by the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI).

This web site has been designed to provide you with more information on the Athenian Agora. Whether you are interested in walking through the site, looking at ancient artifacts, or whether you are a researcher who wishes to study objects located at the Agora, we hope you will find what you are looking for here. Many of the following pages rely on Apple's QuickTime technology. If you are new to QuickTime and would like more information, please consult Apple's Web Site.