KAZı SONUÇLARI - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

lt was precisely in order to Cıarify the various phases of the terrace's topographicalorganization that, towards the end of the campaign, the ground investigation wasalso extended to the area around the circular building, concentrating in particular onthe big wall in opus quadratum which faces onto the ancient harbour basin and againstwhich is constructed the north segment of the building's outside wall. The removalof the first layer of collapsed material (blocks and large architectural fragments, visibleon the surface) revealed a large quantity of other pieces of decoration belonging tothe masonry structure (architrave, cornices), which will allow us, in the future, to effectan almost complete recomposition of the elevation of the wall. The Cıeaning operationsalso revealed the upper part of three large doors with architraves, opening up at regularspaces in the wall itself (Figs. 9, 10). The next campaign of exeavation in this sectorwill serve to elucidate the monumental nature of this side of the harbour front, itsphases of construction, the function of the three doors and the chronological relationbetween this large structure and the circular building.North-Eastern Necropolis (Figs. 11,12, 13)Finally, in view of the publication on the necropolis, which extends to the northeastof the ancient city (for which both the topographical map and the surveys of themost important monuments have finally been completed), the cleaning undertaken inthe south-east sector along a slope of the hill particularly encumbered with vegetationand embankments, due to agricultural activity, revealed two new rock-hewn tombs, violatedin antiquity, of which one, with projecting porches at either side and reliefs onthe façade, later served as a base for a chamber tomb in ashlar masonry. These newdata, added to those provided by the already known rock-tombs existing on the slopesof the plateau, seem to confirm the greater antiquity of this area in the cemetery's chronologicaland topographical development. The case of superimposition of the housegrave onto the rocky tomb reveals an intentional choice of funerary space, which alsounderlines criteria of visibility and perhaps of family continuity: indeed the superimpositiondoes not seem to imply an alteration of the bottorn structure.PALEO-ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDIES (Figs. 14,15)This year saw the start of the anthropological study of the bones found in thetombs in the area of the agora in previous campaigns of excavation. The chronologicalperiod goes from the middle of the 6th century to the middle of the 7th century.Over 150 individuals were identified, for whom it was possible to determine theirsex and age.The analysis of some samples, taken with a view to documenting theirpathologies, where possible, and in order to reconstruct the ancient diet, yielded thefollowing results: 1) a high rate of infant mortality and hyper-mortality between the agesof 35 and 40; 2) fairly low life expectancy at birth (25 years), and a higher rate of femalemortality in the first adult age groups (20-40); 3) defects in tooth enamel allow us toadvance the hypothesis that the population of that period was characterized by a lowlevel of nutrition; 4) analysis of oral pathologies seems to suggest that the communityof Elaiussa had a diet of mixed type, in which carbohydrates did not represent the maincomponent. Severalother samples are now under study by an anatomo-pathologist.Finally, the Volume ii of the Excavations at Elaiussa Sebaste, which concernsthe 1998-2001 campaigns, is nearing completion.440