The University of Chicago Excavations in the Rachi Settlement at Isthmia, 1989

Abstract

D URING THE 1989 SEASON, the University of Chicago conducted excavations in the early Hellenistic settlement on the ridge south of the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia (Fig. 1).1 The site is known locally as the Rachi, or ridge, and had been located and partially excavated by Professor Oscar Broneer from 1954 to 1956, after the chance discovery of a gold earring on the summit. The excavations in 1954 and 1955, supervised by Chrysoula Kardara, uncovered votive pits at the summit and structures occupying the long narrow surface of the ridge. A well and a cistern in the settlement were discovered in 1955, and excavation of those features was completed in the spring of 1956 with William B. Donovan as trenchmaster.2 The goals of the 1989 investigations on the Rachi were to reveal the plans of individual buildings and the extent and chronology of the settlement in preparation for publication of the site. Trenches were opened in three areas (Fig. 2): the central part of the settlement, the east end, and the south slope of the ridge. As a result of the work in 1989, a stratigraphic sequence is now available for the entire period of occupation of the site. Several areas not completely excavated during 1954 and 1955 were cleared, and new buildings were discovered at the east end and along the south slope. This report is intended to serve as