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The sanctuary of Apollo in Kardamena on Cos : the chronicle of a destruction

• Καντζιά, Χάρις

This article is a little history of one of the greatest archaeological destructions of recent years, which occurred in the last months of 1981 in the building lot of M. Patera and E. Tsan- garouli at Kardamena on Cos during the course of bulldozing for the construction of a hotel by the A.E. Aigeus Touristic and Navigation Enterprises, and also of the short investigation that followed on the destruction in the next year.The Patera - Tsangarouli lot is in the district of Iliopyra in the locality of Tsoukalaria on the southern slopes of the acropolis hill of ancient Alasarna, 150 m. north-west of the Hellenistic theatre and some 200 m. west of the early Christian basilica of Ayia Theotita, beneath which at the beginning of the century the German archaeologist R. Herzog, vainly looked for the temple of Apollo, centre of the famous tribal cult of the ancient deme of the Alasarnites, known from the inscriptions that were reused in building the basilica.The result of the largely illegal building works was the radical destruction of a large part of a monumental Hellenistic structure, which the investigation that followed showed to have been connected with the sanctuary of Apollo.The investigation began with the rubble from the bulldozing, which contained a mass of architectural fragments from the half-destroyed building, fragments of sculpture and inscriptions and innumerable pottery sherds ranging from the Mycenaean to the Early Christian period.The subsequent archaeological excavations in the remaining open spaces revealed the probable remains of the approach to and the rear part of the structure, which had escaped the destruction.The building was oriented approximately E-W and built chiefly of rectanhgular blocks of white and grey-black marble in the isodomic manner. The preserved lenght is 11 the width 12 m. and it survives in the south- west corner to a height of 5 courses (1.50 m.).Part of the stylobate of a Doric colonnade, which seems to have flanked the building on the north, was found 5 m. north of it. The identification of the building as the sanctuary of Apollo is suggested by the nature, richness and quality of the finds both from the rubble and from our excavation, as well as by the earlier surface finds that came from the cultivation of the property. The cult epithet of Apollo, which research hitherto had concluded was Dalios, was, according to a new inscription mentioning the festival in his honour —the Pythaia— Apollo Pythaios or Pytheus.The sanctuary, in which Heracles and Hecate Strada, a goddess of Anatolian origin, were also worshipped, had a long existence, from the Archaic to the Imperial period, according to the finds.The actual structure, is the result of rebuilding in the 3rd c. B.C.In the Early Christian period the sanctuary was used as a quarry by the Christians to obtain building material for the basilica of Ayia Theotita. While over it a settlement grew up that was apparently deserted because of Arab pirate raids in the middle of the 7th c. A.D.The continuation of the excavation has been entrusted by the 22nd Ephoria of Antiquities of the Dodecanese to a team from the Archaeological Faculty of Athena University.

• History and Archaeology

• Αρχαιολογία
• Ανασκαφές (Αρχαιολογία)
• Architecture, Ancient

Η εργασία αυτή έχει ως κύριο στόχο αφ’ ενός να εκθέσει το ιστορικό της καταστροφής ενός σημαντικού μνημείου στην Καρδάμενα της Κω, αφ’ ετέρου να συγκεντρώσει τα νέα στοιχεία που ήρθαν στο φως στην περιοχή από την εποχή των ερευνών του R. Herzog ως σήμερα, ώστε πάνω σε αυτά να στηριχθεί μελλοντικά μια συστηματικότερη μελέτη της αρχαίας Αλάσαρνας και της ευρύτερης περιοχής της. Για το λόγο αυτό το ύφος της εργασίας είναι ημερολογιακό και η αναφορά στα ευρήματα της ανασκαφής ενδεικτική. Τα συμπεράσματα, όταν διατυπώνονται, χρησιμεύουν κυρίως ως υποθέσεις εργασίας και είναι ενδεχόμενο να αναθεωρηθούν εφόσον η ανασκαφή του χώρου, που η συνέχισή της παραχωρήθηκε από την KB' Εφορεία Δωδεκανήσου σε ομάδα του Πανεπιστημίου Αθηνών, δεν έχει ολοκληρωθεί. Έκθεση της ανασκαφικής έρευνας του Πανεπιστημίου για την περίοδο 1985 δόθηκε στην ΑΕ 1985, Αρχαιολογικά Χρονικά, σ. 1 κ.ε., Περιέχει 3 σχέδια και συντομογραφίες. Πίνακες 51-66 βλέπε τέλος τεύχους, Το άρθρο περιέχεται στο τεύχος: Μέρος Α'-Μελέτες