geology of corinth

8/3/2019 Geology of Corinth

1/29

Geology of Corinth: The Study of a Basic ResourceAuthor(s): Chris L. HaywardSource: Corinth, Vol. 20, Corinth, The Centenary: 1896-1996 (2003), pp. 15-42Published by: The American School of Classical Studies at AthensStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4390714 .

Accessed: 04/08/2011 11:50

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unlessyou have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you

may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ascsa. .

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed

page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and

extend access to Corinth.

http://www.jstor.org
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ascsahttp://www.jstor.org/stable/4390714?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ascsahttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ascsahttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/4390714?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ascsa


2/29

ChrisL. Hayward

2GEOLOGY OF CORINTHTHE STUDY OF A BASIC RESOURCE

Geology has had a profound effect upon the develop-ment of the urban centers and agriculture of theCorinthia. It controls the abundance and distributionof groundwater supplies and the fertility of the soils;it has provided the vast majorityof materials neededto construct Ancient Corinth and significant propor-tions of several other towns, sanctuaries, and citieswithin the Corinthia and beyond; and it has providedraw materials for a long-lived and extensive ceramicsindustry.The purpose of this article' is to outline the funda-mentals of Corinthian geology and to describe theexploitation of the region's geological resources forconstruction stone. The information presented hererepresents current progress in a major study of theancient Corinthian construction stone industry andthe ancient quarries. Previous progress has been re-ported,2and full details of the study and descriptionsof stone and quarries will appear in a forthcomingpublication.3 I also intend in the present article todemonstrate the wider relevance of geological infor-mation in applications to the archaeology of the re-gion, and to emphasize the archaeological importanceof the quarries.Stone extraction, transportation, and export wereamong the major industries of the region. Large num-

1. The work hateventuallymetamorphosed nto thepresentstudywasinitiatedby CharlesK.WilliamsII in the summer of1993. During the subsequent years,I and my studyhave ben-efited, and continue to do so enormously,from Mr.Williams'generosity,knowledge, guidance, and sense of humor.He andNancyBookidis have made workingat Corinth a pleasureanda rareexperience. I thankthem both for everything theyhavedone for me.A great manypeople have made valuablecontributionstomywork.Iwish to thanktheGreekgovernmentand Zoe Aslama-tzidouof the GreekArchaeologicalService atAncient Corinthforpermission o sampletheancientquarries;KaterinaGrossou,YiannisMavraganis,EustathiosChiotis,and MarkMarkoulisatIGME or their advice and for samplepreparation;MichalisSa-kalis,who made the thinsections;AthanasiosNotis,whogreatlyassisted n the collection of samples;SarahVaughan,ScottPike,andKimTo at theWienerLaboratory;DavidRomanoforfriend-ship,discussionsof ancientroads,and in-cardecoration;Marie-Dominique Nenna for discussion at Delphi; Charles K. Wil-liams II and an anonymous reader for critical review of the

bers of ancient quarries occur throughout the Corin-thia, and the extensive use of the region's stone overa considerable period of time is evident from exca-vated remains. The scale of quarrying activitywouldhave varied with time. During certain periods this ac-tivitywas intense and was carried out on an impres-sive scale. The quarryingand transportation of stoneduring these periods would have directlyor indirectlyemployed many hundreds of people. The construc-tion stone industry would therefore have made a sig-nificant impact on the region's economy and on otheraspects of Corinthian life.The Corinthian archaeological literature containsnumerous mentions of ancient quarries.4The quar-ries, however, have never been described or studiedin detail, and the true size and extent of the industryhaspreviouslynot been fullyestablished.Furthermore,very little is known about the operation or organiza-tion of the Corinthian quarries,and nothing is knownabout the provenance of the stone used in any an-cient Corinthian buildings.The present study has revealed the presence ofquarrying on a previously unsuspected scale in sev-eral locations, and offers awealth of potential archaeo-logical information concerning the quarriesand theirstone.manuscript,and Kerri Cox Sullivan and her team for helpfuleditorial comments;AndrewFleet, Monica Grady,GuySand-ers, DavidPrice,KaterinaKitsou,Paul Scotton,MarkLandon,YannisPikoulas,YannisLolos,VangelisDafni,and MariaPapa-constantinou for discussion and support duringvariousstagesof thework;YannisPapamichael,Mrs.Katsoulis,and the otherresidents of Ancient Corinthand the Corinthia who haveper-mitted me access to land and providedkind hospitality.Fundingfor the workhas been gratefullyreceived from theWeinbergFund, the 1984 Foundation, the Samuel H. KressFoundation,the BritishAcademy, he WienerLaboratoryandCorinthExcavationsof the AmericanSchool of ClassicalStud-ies at Athens,and UniversityCollege London. The supportoftheNaturalHistoryMuseum,London,is alsogratefully cknowl-edged.2. Hayward1994, 1996, 1999.3. Hayward,n prep.4. E.g.,Wiseman1978;Scranton,Shaw,and Ibrahim1978,p. 79; CorinthX; ZimmermanMunn 1983;see also referencesbelow.


3/29

16 CHRIS L. HAYWARDTHE GEOLOGY OF THE CORINTHIA5

BROAD REGIONAL CONTEXTThe eastern Mediterranean is one of the most chal-lenging and controversialareasof geological research.In the Aegean the most recent stages of a long andcomplex geological history have exerted a fundamen-tal influence on the societies and events preservedwithin the archaeological record. The closure of theMediterranean through subduction of the Mediter-ranean plate beneath Greece and Italy ensures thatthe Aegean is one of the world's most seismically ac-tive regions and is responsible for the volcanism ofSantorini, Stromboli, and elsewhere, and for the fre-quent earthquakes suffered throughout the region.The subducted plate descends northwardbeneath thePeloponnese, causing uplift of the entire northernPeloponnese and extensional faulting and subsidence,which led to the development of the Gulf of Corinth.THE CORINTHIAThe geology6 and topography observed today in theCorinthia result mostly from the combined effects ofthe regional uplift of the northern Peloponnese andchanges in the relative sea level caused by the variousTertiary glacial and interglacial periods.Seismicactivity s common, withfrequent and some-timesviolent earthquakes.The most powerful of these,such as the recent examples of 1952 and 1981 in theimmediate vicinity of Corinth and in 1995 to the westat Aigion, cause serious damage to ancient and mod-ern structures alike and occur approximately every15-20 years.Ancient references to serious earthquakesin A.D. 365, A.D. 375, and other years indicate thatthere has probably been little variation in the fre-quency or intensity of seismic activity in the regionduring the last few millennia.

The stratigraphyof the Corinthia is dominated bythick white and grayish Pliocene-Pleistocene marls,which were deposited in a sea that existed through-out the region and are capped by varying thicknessesof Pleistocene conglomerates, sandstones, and lime-stones, interbedded with thinner marl and other clayunits. The high ground of Acrocorinth and Maritsain the south of the region consist of Jurassic and Tri-assic limestone-dominated masses that have been

5. Geological termsappearingin this article are listed andbrieflydefined in Appendix 2.1.6. A detailed summaryof the geology of the Corinthia isgiven in Freyberg1973. Detailsof the geology of the excavatedareas are describedin Hayward, ubmitted.

transported tectonically from the south. The coastalplain is covered by young eluvial deposits. The mainfeatures of the geology of the region are shown inFigure 2.1.In detail, the region has had a complex history ofuplift and subsidence during its recent geological past.Regional uplift, changes in relativesea level, and fault-ing over the last 300,000 yearshave created a series ofprominent terraces (Fig. 2.1) .7These terracesare flat,steplike topographic features, with scarps of variousheights at their northern edges, which run approxi-mately parallel to the coast of the Gulf of Corinth.Most of the terraces represent erosion during peri-ods of relativelyhigh sea level that existed during in-terglacial times. Coarse clastics (conglomerates andcoarse sands), weathered from the surrounding highground of Acrocorinth and Maritsa and hills to thenorth of Loutraki,were deposited unconformablyoverthe weathered, eroded, and sometimes calcretizedmarl surfaces of the various terraces.Angular uncon-formities in two terraces are exposed in the cliffs tothe south of the coastal road west of New Corinth andin the tunnel of the amphitheater of the Roman city.The grain size of the clastics decreases awayfrom thebasal unconformity and grades upward into impurelimestones and finally into relatively pure (poor inclastic particles) limestones. Because the creation ofterraces occurred many times over hundreds of thou-sands of years, the stratigraphic sequences exposedabove the marlin the various terracescarpsdifferfromone another. For example, compare the sequencesthat overlie the marl at the east end of Temple Hilland in the rock face outside the Lerna cisterns of theAsklepieion.8

Uplift of the region has occurred at a more rapidrate in the west, beyond the western borders of theancient Corinthia,where a greater number of terraceshave been preserved.9This has also led to the com-plete removal by erosion of the Pleistocene transgres-sive units from above the marl in some localities tothe west of Mavrospilies.The removal of the resistant,protective cap from the marl has created the badlandserosion observed several kilometers to the west of An-cient Corinth.

Ancient Corinth lies on a marine terraceof approxi-mately 200,000 years in age. The Asklepieion lies on

7. Keraudrenand Sorel 1987; Roberts and Stewart1994;Collier et al. 1992;Vita-Finzi nd King 1985.8. Hayward, ubmitted.9. Keraudrenand Sorel 1987.


4/29

GEOLOGY 17

Gulf of Corinth Loutraki RecentDeposits.F..lI I ElluvialDeposits

|l

INew RedClayeye Co_rinth - IIC IF ::Sand Marine nd Near-llLechaion _s~L ,1_~ ShoreDepositsFluvio-terrestrialDeposits",I IMarl

MesozoicLimestoneOphiolite

*~ _c' ::FaultKenchreai i kmo 2 4

FIGURE 2.1. Simplified geological map of the Corinthia,based on IGMEsheetsSophikoand Korinthos(= Bornovas etal. 1972), showing themain lithologicalunits

the next-youngest terrace to the north, which is ap-proximately 120,000 years old.10The broad plain ex-tending to the north toward the Gulf of Corinth ismuch younger, only several tens of thousands of yearsold. To the south of Ancient Corinth, up to the slopesofAcrocorinth, a series of eight terraces dates back asfar as approximately 300,000 years.The 200,000-year-old terrace represents a particu-larly significant period of Corinthian history,becauseit is on this terrace that submarine oolitic sand dunesformed. These sand dunes are of special importance,for they later became the source of the oolitic lime-stone used in almost all Corinthian construction. Inthe attempts of the present study to arrive at a practi-cal means of provenancing the oolite, in addition todetailed petrographic observations of the stone itself,an understanding of the Corinthian palaeogeographyof 200,000 years ago is of vital importance." At thattime, a shallow sea covered the region and there wasa narrow seaway that linked the present-day Gulf ofCorinth and the Saronic Gulf. Currents passing alongthis channel and to its west and south banked theooids, which were forming in the region, into largedunes, the remnants of which are preserved today at

10. Keraudren and Sorel 1987.11. The palaeotopographic reconstruction used here is based

on that of Collier and Thompson (1991). Modifications to the

Mavrospilies,Goumouradiza,Tsakiri,Ancient Corinth,Hexamilia, and Kenchreai. The currents also trans-ported detritus eroded from the high ground of Acro-corinth, Maritsa, and the hills to the north and eastof Loutraki. This eroded material became includedin the oolitic dunes, and since the geology of thesource areas of the detritus varies, the types and rela-tive abundance within the oolite of components suchas chert, quartz, Mesozoic limestone, and alteredophiolite varyacross the region. This variation formsthe principal means of establishing from which partof the Corinthia a particular oolite block was quar-ried.

Dissecting the terraces are valleys and gulleys thatrun approximately perpendicular to the coast andhave been cut by fast-flowingwater in response to re-gional uplift. During the last tens of thousands of years,this fast-flowing water transported large rock frag-ments from the high ground at the south and depos-ited the coarse breccias and conglomerates that cloakthe northern slopes of the high limestone hills, andcover parts of some of the marine terraces. In places,these Holocene terrestrial sediments have progradedas far as the 200,000-year-old terrace.

conclusions of Collier and Thompson, and to their reconstruc-tion, have been made in the light of the detailed petrographicdata collected during the present study.


5/29

18 CHRIS L. HAYWARDEXPLOITATION OF STONE IN THE ANCIENT CORINTHIA

DISTRIBUTION OF QUARRYING ACTIVITYIN THE CORINTHIA

Quarrying for construction stone has long occurredthroughout the Corinthia in the conglomerates, car-bonate-cemented sandstones, and limestones of thetransgressive sequences that overlie the marl on theterraces. The location of the main centers of ancientquarrying and the lithology or lithologies exploitedat each are shown in Figure 2.2. Mostoutcrops of theselithologies visible today have been quarried to somedegree. There are also rare examples of white marlfoundation blocks, but it is most unlikely that this li-thology was ever deliberately quarried in significantquantities, given the abundance of easily accessible,harder stone in the region. I have located more than130 ancient quarries12during my surveyof the region(Fig. 2.2). These varyin size from small cuttings a fewmeters across to huge quarries of hundreds of metersin length, and represent collectively at least 3 millioncubic meters of stone extraction over a period of ap-proximately one thousand years. Because of infillingand destruction of some ancient quarries over time,these estimates of the total volume of stone removedmust be regarded as conservative.There are broadly two styles of quarrying in theregion: the excavation of pitlike and trenchlike quar-ries of various sizes within oolite dunes and occasion-ally in impure limestone, and the removal of blocksof impure limestone, conglomerate, and oolite fromthe edges of scarps. In general, the pit and trenchquarries have been best preserved. Quarryingactivityat the edge of scarps is rarelywell preserved becauseerosion is concentrated at these points, especiallywhere the contact between the quarried lithologiesand the underlying marl is exposed. Traces of quarry-ing at scarp edges are often patchy and indistinct, al-though the ones visible indicate that manyscarpswereextensively quarried.The following descriptions, observations, and in-terpretations represent aspects of the work presentlybeing carried out on the quarries by this author. Afull description of the layout of the quarries and thefeatures and forms displayed by their faces is beyondthe scope of the present summary. Most of the de-scription here focuses on the oolite quarries,on whichmuch of the work to date has been carried out. Briefdetails of quarries in other lithologies are given here,and these quarries and those in the oolite will be de-scribed in fuller detail in a forthcoming publication.'3

12. For purposes of this survey, a quarry is defined as anydiscrete area from which stone has been removed, as deter-mined from the presence of such visible traces as artificiallycreated faces and tool marks.Some of the quarries,especiallythe larger examples, undoubtedly were formed through the

OOLITIC LIMESTONE: MAVROSPILIES(MSQL), GOUMOURADIZA (GQL),TSAKIRI (TQL), SOUTH ANCIENTCORINTH (SACQL), HEXAMILIA (EQL),AND KENCHREAI (KQL) QUARRY LINESThe most strikingevidence preserved of ancient quar-rying is in the oolitic limestone, from which almost

coalescence of separate, smaller quarries. It is not yet possibleto delineate the extent of these smaller quarries, and so at thisstage in the study a single identification number is used in thesecases, in order to simplify discussion.13. Hayward, in prep.

coalescence of separate, smaller quarries. It is not yet possibleto delineate the extent of these smaller quarries, and so at thisstage in the study a single identification number is used in thesecases, in order to simplify discussion.13. Hayward, in prep.


6/29

GEOLOGY 19

Gulf of CorinthL? Sst| \ _ ^~. tNew Corinth o

C\ Co 00o Lechaion

T 1II o

ICo IFGR\ rAcrocorinth 1I 0 KenchreaiRbm

Goumoura/za

^^^^H ^ Oolitic limestoneLimestone, Impure imestone, km N_ L11 o Sst Bl conglomerate, sandstone, andbioclastic limestone 0 2 4.... ..; Rbnm Recrystallizedbiomicrite

FIGURE2.2. Location of the centersof quarryingin theoolite, impure imestone,conglomerate, nd otherlithologieswithin the Corinthia

TheMavrospilies Quarry Line (MSQL)The MSQL comprises twelve quarries of various sizesalong a length of 2,075 m of almost continuously ex-posed dunes, beginning approximately 2.3 km to thewest of Ancient Corinth.The eastern and western endsof the quarryline are dissected bynorth-south-trend-ing gullies, one of which exposes cross-sections of thedune in its sides. The dune rests directly on erodedmarlthroughout much of its exposed length or is sepa-rated from it by thin conglomerate and carbonate-cemented sand beds. Quarrying has exposed the oo-lite-marl contact in the central section of the quarryline, which has been eroded following the cessationof stone extraction. The erosion has resulted in thecollapse of sections of the southern quarry face toproduce a series of caves, from which the area takesits name.

Along much of its length the southern side of thedune is buried to over two-thirdsof its height by Ho-locene sediments and soil, whereas remaining smallunquarried sections indicate that the northern side

was exposed, prior to quarrying, as a steep heather-covered, northward-sloping break in slope (Fig. 2.3).Because of the burial of the southern side of the dune,extraction of oolite has taken place mostly from thenorthern two-thirds of the dune cross-section. Theeroded crest of the dune and much of its northernside have been removed by quarrying to produce ahigh south face of between 5 and 13 m over much ofthe length of the line, and a low northern face of whichonly 1 to 2 m is visible above the fill. Near the easternend of the line, less of the northern side of the dunehas been removed and quarriesin thisparthave north-ern and southern faces of approximately equal height.The MSQL contains the largest single length ofquarry in the Corinthia, quarryMS6, which is 640 mlong and 35-75 m wide. This enormous quarryis mostlikely to have formed over time through the coales-cence of smaller working areas. Its northern face islargely hidden beneath piles of rock debris anddumped cut blocks and where exposed is never morethan 2 m high. The southern face is generally verti-


7/29

20 CHRIS L. HAYWARD

FIGURE 2.3. View, ookingeastward,of a quarryat theeastern end of theMSQL (quarryMS4). Thequarriedoolitedune is seen approximatelyn cross-section,with the northernside (heather-coveredo the left of thephotograph)slopingsteeplynorthward.The southern side is partially visibleat the

cal, without overhangs, and 5-13 m in height abovethe quarry floor fill. Along much of its length, thisface consists of vertical sections ranging from a fewmeters to over 10 m in length, with narrow horizontalledges marking the removal of courses of blocks. Thelower half or two-thirds of the faces is often sheer, butthe upper sections, and occasionally the whole heightof the face, are commonly stepped from the removalof blocks. In parts of the quarry,sections of verticalface project into the floor between recessed sectionsin a buttresslike arrangement. In a few places thereare small "spurs," stepped through block removal,which project from 5 to more than 10 m into thequarryfrom the face. These spurs are more commonin the Hexamilia quarries and are described furtherin connection with the EQL.The depth of soil accumulation may be estimatedin parts of quarry MS6. A narrow trench dug nearits eastern end, the banking-up of soil for vineyardplanting, and the presence of mature almond treesnear the western end of this quarryshow that there isat least 2 to 3 m of fill covering much of the quarryfloor.

rightside of thephoto, and is partially buriedbyHolocenesedimentserodedfrom high ground to the south. Theheight ofthe northernface is approximately .5 m adjacentto the treegrowingat its top.

Beyond the western end of this large quarry,an areaof smaller pits and superficial excavations continueswestward to the edge of a north-south-trending val-ley that truncates the line of dunes. Extensive quarry-ing of the oolite exposed in the eastern side of thisvalleyhas occurred. Near the top of the slope, nearestto quarryMS6, outcrops of oolite that display signs ofquarryingare in situ, but certain of the outcrops lowerdown the slope appear to be large blocks (up to 5 to 6m across) that have been undercut by erosion andhave toppled down the valley side. Across the valley,the flat-toppedhill of Kastrakihas been quarriedalongits eastern, southern, and western edges, and pitlikequarries have been excavated at its southeastern andsouthwestern corners. The west and east sides of thehill are strewn with large toppled blocks, which havebeen undermined by the relatively rapid erosion ofthe underlying marl. It is possible that some of thesefallen blocks were quarried, although no evidence forthis has yet been observed. A second valley separatesthe western side of Kastraki rom the continuation ofthe terrace to the west, where two shallow quarries inoolite mark the western end of the quarryline.


8/29

GEOLOGY 21The Goumouradiza (GQL) and Tsakiri (TQL)Quarry LinesTwo further major quarry centers in the oolite arelocated to the west of the MSQL at Goumouradizaand Tsakiri (Fig. 2.2).14Both of these quarry centersexploit the same series of 200,000-year-oldoolite dunesexposed atMavrospiliesand other locations to the east.This extreme western area of the Corinthia is of im-portance because of its proximity to the neighboringstate of Sikyon and the consequent possibilities fortrade across the border.The TQL extends for a distance of approximately300 m. Its eastern end is marked by an exposure ofthe oolite dune at the top of the western side of thevalley of the Raizani River, 1.3 km to the west-north-west of the western end of the MSQL. Erosion afterthe cessation of quarrying activityhas lead to the col-lapse of sections of the extreme eastern end of thequarries down the valley side. No oolite exposure isvisible in the opposite side of the valley, nor on thelobe of land that separates the western end of theMSQLand the TQL. The eastern quarriesof the TQLare the best exposed in the area, but are thicklyplant-ed with olive trees. The quarries are formed from aseries of interlinked pits. These pits, which may rep-resent either separate contemporary working areas orworkings of different ages, were abandoned beforethey were enlarged sufficiently to form a continuoustrench, such as is seen in the MSQL,SACQL,and EQL.The pits occur in an elongated series that follows thewest-northwest-east-southeast rend of the dune in thislocation.The quarried width of the dune is up to 70-80 m,and the quarryfaces rise up to approximately 4.5 mabove the soil, which partially fills the quarry.Thesedimensions indicate that this dune is closely similarin size and form to those quarried to the east. Thewestern end of the TQL is relatively poorly exposed.Two relatively small and apparently isolated pits arevisible, but are largely obscured by reddish soil, freefrom oolite chips, in which olive trees and vines aregrowing.The maximum height of quarry ace exposedabove the fill is less than 2.5 m. An unusual feature ofthis quarrycenter is the presence of a column drumat the northern edge, towards the eastern end of thequarryline.15The GQL, which is the most westerly Corinthianoolite quarry identified at the time of writing, is lo-cated approximately 2.6 km to the south-southwest ofthe modern village of Zevgolatio. It comprises a large,

14. At the time of writing, these centers have been located,but not studied in the same detail as the MSQL, SACQL, EQL,and KQL. Further work on the GQL and TQL will appear inHayward, in prep.

west-northwestto east-southeast-trending, trenchlikefeature approximately 300 m long and at least 70 mwide. The quarry and surrounding land have beenplanted with a dense olive and almond grove. Thesouthern side of the quarry is marked by an almostcontinuous face that reaches a maximum height ofapproximately 3 m above the soil and rock debris fillthat buries the quarryfloor, and completely obscuresthe northern faces.16This pattern of exposure closelymirrors that seen at Mavrospiliesand Ancient Corinth.The fill that buries the quarryfloor is uneven. In thewestern 200 m of the quarry, at a roughly constantdistance from the southern face, the ground level israised relative to that immediately to the north of theface. To the north of this raised, axial portion of thetrench floor, the ground slopes downward toward thenorth. The raised area can be seen, in places, to beformed from piles of waste rock. It is possible that thiswaste rock represents debris that accumulated dur-ing the operation of the quarry.Further examinationis needed, however, since the agricultural activityevi-dent in the immediate area could have resulted inredistribution of deposits associated with quarryingafter the cessation of quarrying activity.The South Ancient Corinth Quarry Line (SACQL)Quarryingof oolite on a large scale has occurred with-in and immediately to the west and east of the centerof Ancient Corinth. A 1,250 m-long line of extensivelyquarried sand dunes, the SACQL,passes through themodern village. It is exposed discontinuously betweenthe well-knownRoman quarriesat the east end of Tem-ple Hill and the gully on the eastern side of the lobeof land on which the Potters' Quarter is located (Fig.2.4). An eastern extension of the line of dunes is lo-cated 150 m to the north of the amphitheater. Thesequarries,poorly exposed beneath thick soil cover,forma line that is approximately 550 m long. The evidencefor quarryingwithin the center of Ancient Corinth isless easily visible than that which exists elsewhere inthe Corinthia, no doubt because the land has been inalmost continuous use as a settlement since antiquity,whereas the other quarrycenters are situated almostentirely outside of ancient or modern settlements. Inparticular,much of the quarried area within AncientCorinth is today buried beneath many meters of soiland debris or has been built over, especially withinthe last century. My survey of the remaining visibleevidence for stone quarrying within the modern vil-lage of Ancient Corinth has revealed that stone ex-

15. For a full description of this drum, see Lolos *2002.16. Given the overall size of this quarry in relation to similarquarries in the region, it is anticipated that the fill is relativelydeep, possibly up to five or six meters.


9/29

22 CHRIS L. HAYWARD

meters N Lernao0500 | \ , ( r~III1 Lerna

X.-.-...

dT..heat\..- .. n AmphitheaterCo Ode......QuarriedLithologies_/~ (^^I\\Archaic

.. .Temple Qolite'(,.\ \< --- ,/7 \ . G | Oolite inferred)mottJer' v x- l a Conglorlaukey Potters' -' / Gu\ eI I ImpureimestonePotters Z Y X ConglomerateQuarterFIGURE 2.4. Map showing the location of visible traces ofquarryingin oolite(the SACQL), impure imestone,andconglomeratenear the centerofAncient Corinth,and theprobable otal extentof quarrying rom the oolite dunes thatextend westwardfrom thecitycenter,reconstructedfrom

traction occurred on a large, and previously unsus-pected, scale. Quarries up to 200 m long and 9.5 mdeep have been discovered. Such stone extractionmust have had a significant and highly visible impactupon the environment of the settlement during cer-tain periods of its history. The identification of land-scape modification produced as a result of stone ex-traction17 and the determination of the ages of thequarries of the SACQLare of importance in attemptsto determine the patterns of growth and urban devel-opment of Ancient Corinth.Many sections of north-facing quarry face are vis-ible today, one of which is shown in Figure 2.5. Theexposed faces are generally 2.5 to 7 m high above thetop of the soil and rock chip accumulation, whichcovers the quarry floors, but can clearly be seen toextend downward below the surface of this fill at loca-tions such as along the 35 m length of face located200 m west-southwestof Glauke (quarrySAC12). Dur-ing a recent excavation carried out by the GreekArchaeological Service in an ancient quarry,located900 m west-southwest of Glauke (quarry SAC14), a

17. See Hayward, submitted, for discussion of the modifica-tions.

surviving exposedquarryremains.Points labeledX, Y,and Zrefer o items discussed in thetext and shown in Figure2.6.Thestreetplan of themodernvillage and selectedarchaeologi-cal remainsare shownfor orientation.

FIGURE2.5. A sectionof north-facing quarry ace 350 mwest-southwestof Glauke.Theface has a maximum heightof6. 7 m above the levelof thesoil. The buttresslikeprojectingsectionofface and theflat, ratherfeaturelesssurfacesarecommonelements. Thequarry ace shows severalgenerationsofjoist holes.


10/29

GEOLOGY 23

z y zz Y NGully I , Gully

FIGURE 2.6. Viewfrompoint X in Fig. 2.4, lookingapproximatelywest-southwestward,howing the width of thequarrieddune in the westernhalf of theSACQL. Twoquarryfaces are visible in thenear and middle distance along theleftside of theview, roughly n line with thebalconyof thehouse.Thenearerfaceis overhanging,while thefurther is approxi-matelyvertical. Thefurtherface has a maximum heightof3.5 m. A trench nfront of thisface (tracesof excavation arevisible between heorangetrees)almost reached hequarryfloor at a depth of 6 m belowthe modernsurface,and thusthisface has a total height in excessof 9.5 m. A small outcropof in situ cut oolite is seen in approximatelyhecenterof theview, 10 m northof thequarry ace, acting as thefoundationfor afencepost; it probably epresents n uncut "spur"projectingrom thequarry ace into thequarry loor manymetersbelow. The southernface of thequarryline is also seentrench was dug a few meters in front of the 3.5 m-high quarry face exposed above the modern surface(point Y in Figs. 2.4 and 2.6). The excavation wasstopped at a depth of 6 m below the modern surfaceat a level of loose centimeter-sized oolite chips andcharcoal.18 Excavation did not reach the quarry floor,although this was probably not far below the bottomof the trench. The true height of the face at this pointis therefore more than 9.5 m, which indicates that thisquarry is of the same impressive scale as those atMavrospilies and Hexamilia.Few sections of the northern faces of the quarriesare exposed today. Where visible, these faces are gen-

18. Katerina Kitsou (pers. comm., 1994).

at point Z, hidden behind theface of the excavatedquarry.The northernface of thequarriedarea is barelyvisible, three-quartersof theway up the extremerightside of the image,85 m to the north of point Z. Thegully in whichquarry loorexposuresare seenpasses infront of the house in theupperrightside of the view. Quarry loor exposuresare seen in thegully floor up to apoint almost in line with the womanwalking along theroad, which crosses he centerof the view.The house uses thequarrywall as part of itsfoundation.The westernmost ectionof theSACQL(the "smallandfertilevalley"mentioned n Robinson 1969a), from which thepoorlyconsolidatedHolocenebreccioconglomerateas removed, sjust visibleamong the trees n theright-handside of thebackground.The southernface of this quarry, largelyovergrown, s markedon the line drawing. The northernfaceis hidden by oreshortening.erally 3 m in height or less. The discovery of the north-ern faces is of key importance to the reconstructionof the size of the quarries and the preextraction to-pography. At three points along the SACQL, at thewestern and eastern ends and in the central portion,a clear indication of the original size of the sand dune,prior to quarrying, may be obtained from observationof the traces of quarrying visible today.At the western end of the line is a fairly large quarry(SAC17) of 250 m in length and with an average widthof 50 m. Near its western end, the southern face inter-sects a water line cut into the bedrock. The line hasbeen dated to the Hellenistic period,19 which gives an

19. Robinson 1969a, pp. 4-5.


11/29

24 CHRIS L. HAYWARD

upper date of the late 4th century B.C. for the quarryexcavations in its immediate vicinity during antiquity.The quarrycontains small, scattered block-cut ooliteoutcrops, and there is a large face more than 3 m highin the southwestern corner. Most of the height of thefaces, however, is formed of poorly consolidated Ho-locene breccioconglomerate, which overlies the oo-lite and of which approximately 20,000 m3 were re-moved from this quarry. The breccioconglomerateconsists of clasts of gray crystalline limestone, darkgreen, altered basicrock,and chert,which are betweena few centimeters and a meter in maximum dimen-sion and occur within a soft, sandy matrix. Becausethe breccioconglomerate is poorly consolidated, withthe exception of a 1 m-thick hardpan layer,it cannotbe cut into blocks. The clasts it contains would, how-ever,have been suitable for use in rubble wall or foun-dation construction, or as fill. Since it is not possibleto identify anystanding monuments that contain claststaken from this lithology, it is possible only to specu-late about the specific use(s) to which it wasput, suchas perhaps for construction of the citywall.The oolite in the quarryfaces was exposed follow-ing removalof the breccioconglomerate, and was thenquarried to produce blocks; it was obscured prior toremoval of the breccioconglomerate in the westernhalf of the quarry.The oolite in quarrySAC17 mighthave been found accidentally as a result of removal ofthe overlying sediment, but it is also possible that theancient workers were aware of the continuation westof the ancient city center of the line of oolite dunes,as a section of the northern side of the dune is visibleand would have been exposed during antiquity, ap-proximately 110 m to the north of point Yin Figures2.4 and 2.6 (approximately 660 m west-southwest ofGlauke). In addition, outcrops of pink hardpan over-lie the oolite immediately to the north of SAC17,andmay have been exposed at the surface during antiq-uity,thus indicating the location of the dune beneathand to the south. A further possibility is that the an-cient workers deduced the presence of the westernsection of the SACQLin the light of the linear formof the oolite outcrops at Mavrospiliesand Hexamilia,if the quarries at Ancient Corinth postdate the mainactivityat these two centers. Small outcrops of oolite(quarrySAC18) on the western side of the bottom ofthe gully immediately to the west of this quarryindi-cate that the gully was not significantly deeper duringantiquity than it is today.Quarry SAC17 has previously been interpreted asa "small and fertile valley"by Robinson, and the un-derground water line exposed in the southern facehas been seen as the end of a pipeline for irrigation.20

20. Robinson 1969a,p. 1.21. C. K.Williams(pers.comm., 1993).22. C. K.Williams(pers. comm., 1996).23. Duringan inspection of this location bythe author dur-

This interpretation cannot be sustained in the lightof the current study. The location of the "valley" nline with the SACQLand the presence of cut oolitewithin it clearly indicate that it is a part of the quarryline, and not a natural feature. The possibility thatthis feature might represent a quarryhad previouslybeen suggested byWilliams.21While it is possible thatthe pipe was laid with the intention of supplying wa-ter from the southern face of the quarryafter it fellinto disuse, it is also possible that the pipe was trun-cated byexcavations that resulted from the extractionof the breccioconglomerate.22Disused quarriesin theCorinthia are used today for growing citrus fruits, ol-ives, and almonds, and may have been used in thisway during antiquity.The relative ages of the quarryand water line are obviously of critical importance tothe dating of the quarry.

The reconstruction of the extent of quarrying inthe central section of the SACQL is especially diffi-cult, because exposure of quarryingtraces is poor. Thediscovery of the 9.5 m height of the face of quarrySAC14 is a key piece of evidence for the scale of stoneextraction. Another important piece of evidence is atiny exposure of badly calcretized oolite quarryface(point Z in Figs 2.4 and 2.6) in the east-facing side ofa cutting on the western edge of the gully labeled inFigure 2.6.23This small fragment of southern face liesin the line of the break in slope that marks the posi-tion of the quarryfaces of the SACQLto the east andwest. The elevation of this exposure is approximately6 m above that of the floor of the gully. The slope ofthe small area of the northern side of the dune is steepand truncated by the quarrying.It is likely that quarryfaces many meters high lie beneath the soil in thisimmediate area. The distance between point Z andthe northern quarry face opposite is approximately85 m, which places this among the widest of all theCorinthian oolite quarries.A clear idea of the scale of stone extraction in thispart of the SACQLwill be gained from Figure 2.6,which shows a view of the western half of the SACQL.The view shows the whole width of the quarried duneto the west of the center of Ancient Corinth, and anindication is made of the probable area of quarryac-tivityin this part of the ancient city.A steep slope, inline with visible faces at the southern limit of the quar-rying, indicates a continuation of the line of facesbetween those exposed prominently to the east andthose at the extreme west end of the line (SAC17).Land in front of this steep slope lies within space for-merly occupied bythe dune, since quarried away.Thescattered visible traces of quarryface and floor in thearea shown in Figure 2.6 indicate that a large quan-

ing April2000, thisexposurewas found to havebeen obscuredbythe construction of a concrete retainingwallimmediatelytothe east of it.


12/29

GEOLOGY 25tityof oolite has been removed from this area. Theseexposures may represent small isolated pits or, moreprobably,the exposed fragments of one or more largerquarry complexes.At the eastern end of the SACQL,within the cen-ter of the ancient city itself, the problem with recon-structing the distribution and extent of ancient quar-rying activity s not the degree of exposure of quarriedfaces, but rather the extensive modification of theoriginal landscape that occurred during successivephases of development of the citycenter.Despite thesedifficulties, however, the original extent of the oolitedune and the amount of it removed by quarryingmaybe readily determined.The full width of the dune is exposed between theOdeum and the north wall of the present archaeo-logical museum. The lower section of the curving andsteeply northward-sloping northern side of the dunewas used as the foundation of the Odeum. Hardpanthat would have been immediatly beneath the geo-logicallyancient land surface isvisibledirectlybeneaththe concrete and rubble construction of the upperseating tiers. Immediately behind the semicircularcorridor, several quarries were exposed during exca-vation in the late 1920s.24Some of these are visibletoday,and the remainder are buried beneath the mod-ern road separating the Odeum and main archaeo-logical site. To the southeast, a substantial area of oo-lite, the fountain of Glauke, has been left unquarried.The lamination of the oolite here indicates that it layadjacent to the south crest of the dune. Quarrymarkson the top of Glauke show that blocks have been re-moved and thus that the original height of the ridgewas at least 1.5-2 m above its present level. Traces ofquarrying were observed in a test trench dug 5.45 mnorth of the southeast corner of the peribolos ofTemple C.25A 30 m length of stepped quarryface runsparallel to the northern wall of the archaeological mu-seum, approximately 25 m to the south of Glauke.Priorto quarrying,a steep-sidedhill would haveslopedfrom the crest of the ridge near the location of Glauke,northward to the level of the stage of the Odeum, andsouthward into the area presently covered by the ar-chaeological museum. A series of three small expo-sures of quarried oolite link the area of Glauke withthe eastern end of the discontinuous line of southernquarryfaces exposed farther west. These small expo-sures are seen in the modern path leading into thesite approximately 25 m southwest of Glauke and intwo small excavations 100 m and 120 m to the west-southwest of Glauke. The exact prequarrying topog-raphy in this region is difficult to determine becauseof the extensive stone removal that has occurred, but

24. Corinth , pp. 16, 23, pl. III.25. Williamsand Zervos1984,p. 97.26. This isalso the caseat Isthmia:Haywardn Isthmia VIII,pp. 3-14.27. See Hayward, submitted, for a study of the palaeo-

from the evidence that remains exposed today, it islikely that the height of the ridge crest fell to a rela-tively low level in the region approximately 110-120m west-southwest of Glauke, and rose again towardthe quarryfaces visible 150 m to the west-southwestofGlauke. The implication of the observed oolite out-crops in the vicinity of Glauke is that the space be-tween Glauke and the Odeum, the archaeologicalmuseum, the western end of the stylobate of the Ar-chaic temple (Apollo), and the excavation 130 m west-southwest of Glauke was originally occupied by thedune, whichwould haveformed a lowridge, andwhichhas since been removed by quarrying.The level platform on which the stereobates of theArchaic temple and its 7th-century predecessor werelaid was created by cutting into the calcrete overlyingthe oolite bedrock. During the cutting-back of thebedrock that preceded construction of the temples,the pink hardpanlayerand nodular calcrete layerwerenot completely removed, which indicates that the(geologically) ancient topography has been modifiedrelatively ittle in the immediate vicinityof the temples.This represents an economy of effort, allowing re-moval of the minimum thickness of rock necessaryfor the creation of a level surface for the temple foun-dations.26The sides of the dune and some of the un-derlying sandstone and an earlier, more geologicallyancient calcrete layer have been removed to producethe vertical north and south sides of Temple Hill. Priorto this, the areanow known asTemple Hill would havebeen an approximately east-west-trending ridge, theelevation of which decreased toward the east, with anabrupt termination at the Lechaion Road valley.Thenorth and south sides of the ridge would have slopedmore gently than they do at present. These slopeswould have extended southward into the area leveledfor the Roman Forum and northward through thearea occupied by the Northwest Stoa. The ridgeformed by the dune would have increased in heightand become broader towardthe west, in the area sur-rounding the location of the fountain of Glauke.27It is likely that the dunes continued on the easternside of the Lechaion Road valley, opposite the eastend of Temple Hill, but no exposure is presently af-forded by the archaeological excavations, and beyondthe eastern boundary of the site the ground surfaceof antiquity is covered by several meters of accumu-lated soil and the modern village of Ancient Corinth.Quarrying activityat the west end of Temple Hill,in the test trench dug to the north of the peribolos ofTemple C, has been dated to the 1st century A.C.28Remains found in the pit dug in quarrySAC14,900 mto the west-southwest of Glauke, have been provision-

topographyof Corinth that makesuse of both geological andarchaeologicalevidence, and a comparisonwith the previousreconstruction of Williams(1970a).28. Williamsand Zervos1984,pp. 97-98.


13/29

26 CHRIS L. HAYWARDii~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~i:::iiii ::.:'":'~;:: :;:;Xi:.: i0 0;;;;:: : \ 0;: i02 0E 5i::2: I:::-:::i ii :..... . i..i:-:;. :. ': .;:.:.: :.: :............~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ ~ ~ ~~~.. ,....:..,...74:E~f:Ct0:!;. it:: ;t ;!: ! ::i(0; i:: ~t ::;0 : :;; :S,;0;;iS:i :;d X T :;;0: ::f;: :;f::: -:i~-ii.;:;.iSS:. ::.i:i: ::i:: :::i-::Si;_: :: : : I...i:9000090;:::.... : : ? ::::: ::i?:::.0Ci.. W:i:0.: : :-:-:::.00:.i:.. . l :::.:. ::0 .t. : .^;:..... ... ...

: E 7i d0.02 dl .: g ::0 : i D: : i t0 07 ; : 0 . 2: E: : ! :S:; :: : t:00:, i:: ::XSS : : E :i;kE:2 7ir:7:: ::_: : : E l: ; i ..:4; .eW i - :t 0: Ai i

:::--: ::::::::I::::--::: .... ... . . .. ... ... .. .. .... ... . . . . . . . ..

... .... ... . .... . ... ... ...::;:' . .II. I .. II. I- I .I..I 11 I: :: : : _, :: _: : M?~i :: ? =~zS'C ' - i . i - i :.......... . ..... : : _ ::: ~lji:i~ii-::i-i~ i:: :- : :; ::::::::::::::_::_ :_ ::_:;:: :_:::: : :::: : :::::::: ::i : ; : .. . . .. . ... .. .. . ... ....... .. ::j:-::::::: : : :::: : _:~ : :: : :_:: :.. ....... . . ..... . : : :: : i:: i : :: : ;:'_ _ ' : :~ i::` :- ::: : i:.. .. ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:i::i:ii:::i:i::::::::

..... ..... ....... ... .. .. . . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i d l c. .. . . ... ... .. ....

FIGURE 2.7. View of quarry E13 at Hexamilia, which is oneof thelargest n theregion, lookingnortheastward.Thequar-ried oolite dune is seen approximatelyn cross-section.Thewidth is approximately78 m and the total length230 m (onlypart of thequarryis shown). Thenorthernfaces aretypicallyaround 5-8 m high and the southernfaces 4-6 m high.

Note thesplit levelof thequarry loor, which is deepern thenorthernhalf and separatedrom the shallowersouthernpartbya low cutface, part of which is seen in the central middledistance. Therounded hillock withpatchyheathercover(lowerleftcorer of thephoto) is a stratifiedspoil heap. Much of thequarry loor has beenplanted with olive trees.

:::1:: :~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Z1i B i 2 i; E i ''.tt . . e . 8m ; . 2

.. .....i;N~ . .. . . .i 0 0 09 0 ^0.P s- ~ . . . . . . . t s 2 ' > l g 0

: : t ; g l A! E,. E,: , ' 0sI{: ~ s~',. : ^ ' ' >~~~~~~~~~~~:'^2 5i 0 2+ ' . ' 00 ' ; 2' 2 {'X 1 .. .' ... . .. ....

... .......~ ~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~............. . ... . ... .. . . ..~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~~~~ ~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. ..... .... ..... ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FIGURE2.8. Viewof the west end of quarryE13, lookingapproximatelynorthward. Twoprominent "spurs" f block-

cut ooliteextendfrom thetop of thequarry ace into thequarry loor, thenearerone almostdividing thequarry.


14/29

GEOLOGY 27allydated also to the 1stcentury A.c.29Although thereis still little information about the age of the quarries,it appears that a major episode of quarryingoccurredwithin the ancient city following the Roman coloniza-tion of Corinth.The Hexamilia Quarry Line (EQL)This quarrying center, the one best known to archae-ologists,30extends northeastward from the modernvillage of Hexamilia, along the road to KyrasVrysi.The EQL served as a preliminary case study for thepresent work31 nd has been the subject of a detailedsedimentological investigation.32The Hexamilia dunestands out at the surface as a low, roughly symmetri-cally exposed ridge for most of its length, disappear-ing beneath the soil cover at intervals. The core ofthe dune has been removed to produce twenty-ninetrenchlike and pitlike quarries of various sizes along a4.3 km length. Aswith the MSQL, the largest quarriesat Hexamilia are found toward the center of the quarryline. The small pit E29, which marks the northeast-ern extreme of the EQL, is separated from the near-est quarry in the line by a distance of 700 m. At thispoint, the oolite is thin and the underlying impurelimestone has been exposed and quarriedaswell. Else-where, oolite was the only lithology extracted.The EQL provides a great deal of evidence relat-ing to the development and operation of the quar-ries. The large central quarry,E13 (Fig. 2.7), containsmany features of interest. This quarryhas a complexlayout and has developed from the coalescence of anumber of distinct areas. The main area of the quarryis divided longitudinally, with a split-level floor, 5-8 mdeep (above accumulated soil and rock debris fill) inthe northern half and 3-6 m in the southern half,with the twosections separated bya discontinuous lineof faces of up to 5 m in height. The floor of the deepernorthern areabecomes progressivelyshallower towardthe eastern end, eventually reaching the original sur-face level near the eastern limit of the quarry com-plex. This shallow eastern area is almost separatedfrom the main quarryarea by a narrow,uncut spur ofrock, which extends nearly to the north face from themedian face that links the deeper northern and shal-low southern floor levels. At the eastern end of themain quarry area, a similar spur extends across theentire width of the quarryand separatesit from a small,bowllike quarry (E12). To the east of this is anotherspur,with prominent block-cuts giving a stepped ap-pearance (Fig. 2.8). This partially separates a shortsection of quarryfrom the main area.Immediatelyto the south of these spursisa roundedmound of stratified earth and angular oolite chips.The strata within this mound contain rock fragmentsof different sizes and varyingproportions of fragments

29. See note 17.30. E.g., Wiseman 1978; CorinthI; Salmon 1984.31. Hayward 1994, 1996.

and soil. In some layers the soil is reddened. Redden-ing of carbonate-rich rocks and soils occurs over peri-ods of centuries through the oxidation of iron presentwithin carbonate minerals in the rock and in claymin-erals within the rock and soil. The observation of thesereddened horizons may suggest that certain of thelevels exposed in the side of the mound lay for ex-tended periods of time at the surface. Further sup-port for long-duration, discontinuous quarry opera-tion is the presence of truncated and unconformablelevels of debris in the interior of the mound. Thisimplies that the stratawithin the mound accumulateddiscontinuously, with significant intervals of nonde-position, and hence that at least this area of the quarryhas a discontinuous history of operation that extendspossibly over centuries. The mound itself representsthe remnants of accumulated waste rock chips fromquarrying,but at present cannot be reliablyassociatedtemporally with any particular phase of quarrying ac-tivity at this location. An alternative explanation forthe presence of fine-grained reddened material couldbe that the red soil within these layers may originatefrom the dumping of locally occurring red soil alongwith the rock chips. This is considered the less likelyexplanation, as no reason for transportation of soilinto a quarryduring operation can be envisaged, andalso as there is insufficient soil for this material to rep-resent an attempt to improve the sediment in orderto make it viable for agricultural usage.It is clear from the evidence of the complex layoutof the quarry and of the stratigraphy of the area ofwaste dump that this quarry and others in the Co-rinthia have had long histories. When the presentstudyof the oolite has been completed, it may be pos-sible to determine ages for different parts of some ofthese large quarries by correlating stone in theirfaces with that in archaeologically dated construc-tions.

Quarry faces in the EQL exhibit a wide variety offorms. They are commonly vertical and sheer, withonly faint traces of cuttings, and individual sectionsof face can be a few meters to tens of meters in length.Other common features include overhanging sections,and steplike "spurs"mentioned above, which projectfrom the quarryedge into the floor (Fig. 2.8). Facesmay have narrow ledges that mark the levels fromwhich blocks were cut. Rarely, broad chisel or pickmarksmaybe preserved. Sections of the north face ofquarry E13 have collapsed, owing partly to cavelikeexcavations cut into the faces during block extraction,and partly to the weakening effect of fires lit withinthese caves, the soot from which can be seen on theirroofs. In other partsof quarryE13, and in other quar-ries, fig trees growing at the edges of faces are lever-ing away sections of the tops of faces many meters

32. Collier and Thompson 1991. These authors also carriedout studies at Ancient Corinth and Kenchreai.


15/29

28 CHRIS L. HAYWARD

FIGURE2.9. A view lookingnorthwestward t a sectionoftheKenchreaioolitequarries.A length of thehillside, betweenthepale tree nfront of thedark-leaved itrus treesat the leftofthe view and the carto theright, has been cut back toproducea complex eriesof verticalfaces and stepped lat areas below

across from the main body of the face by the force oftheir roots. It is likely that many of the blocks of thissize lying at the foot of faces at Hexamilia and else-where are in this position because of similar erosionfrom long-dead trees, rather than because of a delib-erate quarrying technique. QuarryE13 has overhang-ing sections in its northern faces, but all southern facesare vertical and mostly without ledges. Lines of rect-angularjoist holes have been cut into sections of thefaces, indicating use of the face following extractionof stone, although the date at which these joist holeswere cut cannot be determined.33Immediately beyondthe northern end of the quarry are three pits, nowfilled with rock fragments, described by a local land-owner as having relativelynarrow and short entranceshafts with a wider chamber below. These pits are tooshallow to be wells. No further information is avail-able, and their purpose, possibly for storage or burialand not necessarily connected with the nearby quar-ries, can only be guessed at.Unfortunately, the Hexamilian quarries have suf-fered greatly in recent decades through dumping ofvarious wastes, with the result that many have beenfilled in or otherwise severely damaged. This damagecontinues to mount.

33. Also seen in quarry faces at Ancient Corinth (Fig. 2.5).hefaces. Oneof theseareas is visible above the citrus trees.To the left of thepale tree,theoriginal slope of the hillside hasbeenpreservedbetweenquarriedsections.A notch (quarryK2)has beenquarried throughthe sectionof thedune above thehouse, which is built in thequarry (K1).The Kenchreai Quarry Line (KQL)

34. Scranton, Shaw, and Ibrahim 1978, pp. 8, 79.

34. Scranton, Shaw, and Ibrahim 1978, pp. 8, 79.


16/29

GEOLOGY 29chreai. On this part of the hill, the oolite is thickestand forms virtually the entire height of the hillside.Toward the east, the oolite thins and becomes re-stricted to the top of the ridge, and the impure lime-stone that forms the hillside does not appear tohave been quarriedsignificantly.The vertical or steeplystepped profile of the oolite hillside nearer Kenchreaicontrasts markedly with the far more gentle slope ofthe hillside along the track to the north, where it isformed of impure limestone. Originally, the oolitewould have formed a similarlygentle slope, which canbe seen in small surviving fragments of bedrock inareas where relatively little quarrying has been car-ried out. Erosion of most faces has been severe, prob-ably because of their rather exposed location at theedge of the scarp, and details of most of the originalflat quarried surfaces have been, at best, poorly pre-served.The most prominent quarryin this cliff line (KI),now partiallydestroyed by the construction of a house,is located 65 m west-southwest of the geodetic pinat an elevation of 85.27 m (Fig. 2.9). A large sectionof the scarp has been cut back to produce a flat area,which occurs at the foot of most quarry faces in theline to the west, and in places extends for up toseveral tens of meters from the present position ofthe quarryfaces. For most of the length of the quar-ried hillside, a further slope, often steep, is foundat the southern extreme of the flat area. Poor expo-sure makes it difficult to be certain about the preciseextent to which the hillside has been cut back, butthe artificial-looking stepped lower section of the hill-side, together with the fragmentary outcrop evidencethat is visible, indicates that much of the space cov-ered bythese flat areasis likelyto represent space fromwhich oolite has been removed. This represents averysignificant volume of construction stone.At the top of the ridge, in the vicinity of the geo-detic pin, there are clear traces of the outlines of blocksremoved in a rare area of exposed quarryfloor. Fromthis location a notch has been cut into the top of thecliff (Fig. 2.9) and the floor of this undulates in places,because the quarrymenused naturalbedding surfacesin this area as planes of weakness for the extraction ofblocks. The top of the ridge contains numerous iso-lated and interconnected shallow pits of various sizes.Manyof these have stepped faces around 2 m in height(above quarryfill), with two or three courses of blocksremoved. The northern end of the ridge has beenquarried, but activityhere was far less intense than itwas to the southwest.

35. Romano 1993; Romano and Tolba 1995.

Minor CentersAt several points on its northern and western sides,the broad ridge between Rachi Simitri and RachiMariashas been quarried on a small scale for oolite.The best-preserved quarries are seen 1.5 km south-west of the Temple of Poseidon at the Isthmian sanc-tuary,where prominent block-cuts in relativelycoarseand pale oolite are observed at the edge of the ridge.Well-preservedsmall and shallow pitlike quarries oc-cur on the summit of the Rachi, overlooking AncientIsthmia. Evidence is also observed at the southern endof the ridge near to the geodetic pin at 143 m abovesea level. A small pit in oolite is visible adjacent to atrackapproximately 600 m to the north of the north-easternmost quarryin the EQL. Oolite has been quar-ried from either side of a small gully, 550 m to thenorth-northeast of the eastern end of the GQL. Quar-ryinghas created flat terraceson each side of the gully.IMPURE LIMESTONE ANDNONOOLITIC LIMESTONEThe impure limestone quarried in the Corinthia islocated on several of the marine terraces, and conse-quently varies in age and lithological detail. In gen-eral, it is pale to mid-brown in color and contains be-tween 10%and 25% quartzand chert ? AMRFgrainsof450 tim n size. Quarriesin the impure lime-stone are smaller in scale and more scattered through-out the region, because the distribution of the litho-logy is more extensive than is that of the relativelylocalized oolite dunes. Quarrying has been mostly atscarpedges with small and shallow pitlike quarriesalsooccurring in places. The most significant centers ofactivityin the impure limestone are shown in Figure2.2. They are:(1) in the line of cliffsextendingwestwardrom the Sanctu-aryofAsklepios nd the hill600mtoitswest,and imme-

diately o the south,wherepartof the Romanroadgridpasses hroughaquarry ut (orquarrying ccurreddur-ing the constructionof the road);35(2) 900 m to the northwestof the EQL,approximately .5km to the northeastof Hexamilia,36here a line of shal-lowpitshas been cut;(3) at the edge of the hill 3 km to the north of Hexamiliabeside the old roadleadingfrom thevillageto New Co-rinth(theconglomeratehatunderlies helimestonewasalsoquarriedn the immediatearea);(4) the largestsurviving roupof quarries, o the northofthe modernvillageof Kenchreai,wherethe limestoneunderlying he oolite duneshas been cutat the edge ofthe ancientsea cliffsand also in a seriesof minorpitsimmediatelybehindthesecliffs.36. At the location of the modern gypsyvillage.6. At the location of the modern gypsyvillage.


17/29

30 CHRIS L. HAYWARDMinor centers, or those for which little evidence

remains, are seen to the west of KyrasVrysi, on thenorth side of Rachi Boska and Rachi Simitri, and inthe series of gulleys that lead westward from Ken-chreai. Stone exploitation may have been more ex-tensive in the latterarea,but only a few tinyareasshow-ing block-cutsremain today,owing to severedisruptioncaused by agricultural activity.Within the defensive wallsofAcrocorinth, twoquar-ries have been identified. The lithology is pale gray,crystalline, hard, recrystallizedmicritic or biomicriticlimestone. In places,white calcite veins are prominent.In thin section the limestone is very fine-grained andcontains microfossils.Acrocorinth is the location near-est to Corinth in which this type of hard limestoneoutcrops. The rock appears similar macroscopicallyto that used for the pavingslabs of the Lechaion Road.A mere visual comparison is, however, insufficient forthe assignment of provenance of this lithology, andfurther investigation is needed before the origin ofthese slabs can be determined.Bioclastic limestone (composed partlyfrom highlyfragmented shells and similar debris, together withother carbonate grains and a minor component ofnoncarbonate grains) has been quarriedat a low scarp750 m southwest of the ancient harbor of Lechaion.This quarrywas damaged during the construction ofa road bridge and the coastalrailway eading westfromNew Corinth. Only a few small areas of block-cuttingare visible today, and the true extent of stone extrac-tion in the immediate area cannot be determined.CONGLOMERATE AND SANDSTONEToday, traces of quarrying in the conglomerate arethe most difficult of all to see because of erosion. Sev-eral traces of stone-cutting of significant extent arepreserved, for example, along the edge of the scarpthat runs immediately to the north of the amphithe-ater at Ancient Corinth. Block-cuts are observed 600

m to the west of the amphitheater. It is possible thatconglomerate was cut from a greater length of thisscarp, but undercutting by erosion of the marl hascaused toppling of the scarp edge, probably with theloss of some traces. Well-preservedcuts are seen 600m to the north of the amphitheater.A significant quan-tityof conglomerate was removed during the construc-tion of the amphitheater,and thismayhavebeen quar-ried as blocks.

Conglomerate has been quarried at two locationsto the north of the SACQL: 100 m to the north ofquarrySAC15,and 175 m to the west of the Odeum.Conglomerate underlies the hill to the north of Hexa-milia, and in addition to impure limestone, conglom-erate was extracted from this vicinity. A few minortracesof block extraction are preservedbeside the oldroad linking Hexamilia and New Corinth. Conglom-erate was quarried at many locations to the north ofKenchreai, most notably at the edges of gorges 3 kmto the north and 2.6 km east-northeast of the an-cient harbor.Again, erosion of the sides of these gorg-es is likely to have destroyed further evidence of block-cuts.The scarp at the end of the 200,000-year-old ter-race has been quarried approximately 500 m to thenorthwest of the western end of the MSQL. Distinctblock-cuts are seen only in a small area, although theerosion that has affected the scarp mayhave obscuredfurther traces of quarrying. Badly eroded cuttings inconglomerate and also possibly limestone, which mayrepresent ancient quarrying, arejust visible 1 km tothe west of the GQL.

Quite extensive quarrying of fine- to medium-grained sandstone has occurred 1.4 km to the north-west of the western end of the TQL. Quarries are lo-cated on the 120,000-year-oldterracescarp,and thereare several pits on the level land 200 m to the south ofthe scarp. These pits may be cut into sandstone orlimestone. Access to them could not be obtained be-cause of the presence of a gypsy encampment.

THE OOLITE STUDYARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA FROM THESTUDY OF CORINTHIAN OOLITEIn addition to locating and describing the ancientCorinthian quarries, the main aims of the presentstudy are to identify characteristics of the lithologiesused in ancient construction that might be utilized asprovenancing tools, and having done this, to applythese tools to problems in Corinthian archaeology.Provenance information-useful in its own right-forms the starting point from which to answer a widevarietyof important archaeological questions. The keyto the answers lies in the stone itself, and the study of

the oolite and other construction stones of the Corin-thia has far-reaching implications for Corinthian ar-chaeology. The work is now reaching the stage whereit can make direct contributions to important archaeo-logical arguments concerning the development ofAncient Corinth.Dating of Quarry ActivityNo known ancient sources refer to specific Corinthianquarries or specific stone-producing localities. Deter-mination of the approximate period in which quar-ries were operational may be possible from observa-


18/29

GEOLOGY 31tion of tool marks and extraction techniques.37Toolmarks,however,are rarelypreserved in visible sectionsof the faces of the oolite quarries and almost never inimpure limestone and conglomerate quarries. Theyare of little practical use for the dating of the ancientquarries. The only way to date the periods of opera-tion of the quarries is to determine a provenance forstone that is present in its original usage in archae-ologically dated constructions, with the assumptionthat stone was utilized in construction shortly (i.e.,within one or two years) after being quarried. It isimportant to remember that evidence in some quar-ries, e.g., at Hexamilia, indicates that they remainedoperational discontinuously over periods of time thatspanned centuries. The complex internal layoutof thelargest Corinthian quarries suggests multiple and dis-continuous periods of operation. A single date froma monument is therefore unlikely to be sufficient todate all of the workings in the larger Corinthian quar-ries, although it mayprovide a meaningful single datefor the smaller ones, which might have remained inoperation for shorter periods of time (i.e., yearsratherthan a decade or more).Distribution of Quarrying Activity within theCorinthia during DifferentPeriods: Stone Transpor-tation and TradeOne aim of this studyis to determine a sufficient num-ber of dates for the quarries, so that a picture of theextent and distribution of the Corinthian stone in-dustryat different times maybe determined. Archaeo-logical and epigraphical evidence shows that stone wasrequired in quantity at certain times-for example,for new construction projects, repair following earth-quakes, and the recolonization of the city in 44 B.C.-and also for export to Delphi and Epidauros.38Weknow nothing, however, about the locations of thequarries that supplied the stone for the constructionof oolite monuments at sites such as Corinth, Isthmia,Delphi, Epidauros, and Perachora. In the absence ofany real facts, archaeologists have been restricted toconjecture when making judgments about wherestone for individual construction projects was quar-ried. As no complete survey of Corinthian quarrieshad been carried out prior to the present study,indi-vidual authors were sometimes unaware of all of thepotential stone sources when drawing conclusions

37. Hayward, in prep.38. Burford *1969.39. Detailed investigation of the oolite from the different

quarry centers has revealed sometimes dramatic small-scalevariations in the properties of the stone that may have affectedits behavior when being shaped or carved (e.g., for an Ionic orCorinthian capital), but little overall variation capable of af-fecting the choice of stone used for wall blocks and other simi-lar architectural members. The small-scale variations includecertain beds, such as are observed in quarry E13, in which theoolite is exceptionally well cemented and/or lacks strongly

regarding the provenance of stone. The Hexamilianquarries are the best known, and have been invokedby most researchers as the supplier of stone for con-structionthroughout the Corinthia and beyond. Thesequarries may indeed have supplied the oolite used atAncient Corinth, Isthmia, Delphi, and Epidauros. Asmentioned above, however, the Kenchreai quarrieshave not been listed as possible sources of stone forexport to Epidauros, but must be considered becauseof their proximity to the probable location of theGreek port. Similarly, the TQL, MSQL, and SACQLquarries have never been considered as sources ofstone for export to Delphi, but are among the closestto the northern port of the Corinthia. Transportationof cut stone blocks over land wasone of the most time-consuming and expensive stagesin the supplyof stone,and in the absence of preferential extraction fromspecific locations,39it is most likely that the users ofthe oolite would have chosen quarries closest to thepoint of use or export.The extent of quarrying has implications for thestate of the contemporary economy and political in-stitutions. The amount of stone cut and transportedwould have varied from year to year.At times of peakproduction, the quarrying and transportation indus-tries would have employed hundreds, either directlyin the actual quarrying, cutting, and transportationof stone, and in the manufacture of tools, carts, andropes, or indirectly in activities such as supplying foodfor workers and fodder for animals, or the animalsthemselves. The number of people involved and thevolume of quarry traffic on roads during periods ofintense quarrying activitywould have had a significantimpact on life in the region.In close spatial association with the majorityof thequarriesin the region is a network of tracksand roads,some of which are in use today.The proximityof theseroads to the quarries appears both too common andtoo widespread to be purelycoincidental, and stronglysuggests that at least some of them represent routesfor the transportof stone from the quarries,and toolsand other supplies to them. In rare instances, thewheel ruts from undoubtedly ancient roads are ob-served adjacent to quarries (e.g., near the center ofthe EQL), and some of these ruts are truncated byquarries. The identification of ancient quarryroads,and of the intersection of these localized networkswithdefined laminationalong whichthe stone mightspliteasily.Insome ornatelycarvedcolumn capitalsand architrave ections,similarverywellcemented oolitehas been observed.Conversely,statuary as been observed nwhichpoor-qualityolite has beenused and covered with a thick layerof plaster.At the presentstage of the study, t therefore is unclear whatdegree of selec-tivitywasemployed in the choice of stone for use in a specificcontext. The detailed investigationof stone used in ancientmonuments, currently n progress,willdeterminewhether oo-lite of different qualitiesand physicalpropertieswas selectedfor these reasons.

defined lamination along which the stone might split easily. Insome ornately carved column capitals and architrave sections,similar very well cemented oolite has been observed. Conversely,statuary has been observed in which poor-quality oolite has beenused and covered with a thick layer of plaster. At the presentstage of the study, it therefore is unclear what degree of selec-tivity was employed in the choice of stone for use in a specificcontext. The detailed investigation of stone used in ancientmonuments, currently in progress, will determine whether oo-lite of different qualities and physical properties was selectedfor these reasons.


19/29

32 CHRIS L. HAYWARD

regional communication networks, is important forthe understanding of transportation of stone aroundthe Corinthia, and to ports for export. The dating ofquarries will potentially enable the dating of some ofthese roads, and will contribute to the understandingof the development of the regional transportationnetwork.The Organization of the Stone IndustryThere has been almost no investigation of how stoneproduction was organized in antiquity. This reflects,to a large degree, the almost total lack of ancientsources on the subject. It is nevertheless essential touse the available evidence to address key questions,and again, we must turn to the stone itself for answer.40The cuttings made during block extraction and theblocks in ancient monuments can reveal a great dealabout operational aspects of stone production, andwhen this information is combined with provenancedata and information on transportation routes, it willbe possible to develop a good picture of how the stoneindustry actually functioned.When stone was ordered from quarries, how spe-cific were the instructions issued to quarry workersregarding the sizes of blocks to be supplied?Fromhowmany quarries were blocks for a single constructionproject cut, and what implications does this have forthe issue of contracts? How did stone production fitin with other activities such as agricultural produc-tion, in terms of availabilityof manpower and draftanimals? How seasonal were the activities of stonequarrying and transportation? Specifically, what im-pact did the winter rains have on the ability to trans-port stone on carts,41and how did the demands ofthe agricultural cycle affect stone production andtransport?42These questions are fundamental to theunderstanding of the stone industry of the ancientCorinthia and elsewhere. Manyof these questions ob-viouslywill have a varietyof different answersdepend-ing on which period of antiquity is under consider-ation. It is essential to have a good understanding ofquarry ages and transportation networks before suchquestions can be adequately addressed.Observation and measurement of the cuttings inthe ancient quarries is providing good evidence forthe accuracy and precision with which quarrymenwere able to extract stone blocks, using a variety ofdifferent methods. The cuttings preserved on blocksin ancient constructions revealsinformation about theway in which the blocks were shaped prior to being

40. The types of investigations that are outlined briefly be-low are under way at the time of publication and will be re-ported in Hayward, in prep.41. In early centuries of stone quarrying, when no pavedroadsexisted, roadsmayhavebeen passableon a seasonal ba-sis. Manyof the likelyroutes bywhich stone would have beentransportedpass over areas in which the bedrock is marl or asimilarly lay-richithology.Suchrouteswillbecome muddyanddifficult to travel n rainyperiods, especiallyfor heavilyladencarts, thus necessitating transportationduring drier periods,

used, and what types of shaping were carried out inthe quarryand at the construction site.TERMINOLOGYThere is a tradition among archaeologists working inthe Corinthia of referring to the Corinthian oolite bythe term "poros."The origins of this term, which hasbeen in use for over 2,000 years, are unclear, and itsdefinition is equallydifficult to determine. An attemptto tackle what is meant by "poros"was made byWash-who describes a soft limestone used in monu-

or the movement of quarry traffic via routes that avoided poorlydrained ground.42. The conflict over use of labor and other resources foragricultural and nonagricultural activities would have beengreater in the early centuries of quarrying activity in the Corin-thia.

43. Washington *1923.44. CorinthI, p. 116, note 1.45. CorinthI, vi, p. 16.

or the movement of quarry traffic via routes that avoided poorlydrained ground.42. The conflict over use of labor and other resources foragricultural and nonagricultural activities would have beengreater in the early centuries of quarrying activity in the Corin-thia.

43. Washington *1923.44. CorinthI, p. 116, note 1.45. CorinthI, vi, p. 16.


20/29

GEOLOGY 33THE OOLITE: ITS CHARACTERISTICPROPERTIES AND THEIR ARCHAEOLOGI-CAL SIGNIFICANCEThe oolite is a soft, fine-grained, granular, finely lami-nated pale gray to yellowish limestone of rather uni-form macroscopic appearance. A typical quarry faceexposure displaying lamination is shown in Figure2.10. The granularity of the limestone derives fromthe fact that it is made up mostly of spherical to ovoidparticles called ooids-hence oolitic limestone, oroolite. Ooids are coated particles that form by theprecipitation of calcium carbonate from seawater con-taining high concentrations of dissolved calcium car-bonate around particles in a series of thin layers (seeFigs. 2.12-2.14 below). The particles onto which thecoatings are deposited are known as nuclei, and thecoatings are collectively referred to as the cortex ofthe ooid.46 The ooids in Corinthian oolite are gener-ally 125-300 g[macross, and because of their size it isnecessary to view samples of the limestone under apetrological microscope in thin section. In thin sec-tion, considerable variation within the rock is revealed,and this variation can be used to determine the prov-enance of individual samples.An understanding of the palaeogeography of theCorinthia is of importance for the interpretation ofsuch variations within the oolite, and hence for theuse of these variations to solve questions of the typeoutlined above. Workby Collier and Thompson47hasprovided a reconstruction of the main features of theregion at the time when the oolite dunes were form-ing (Fig. 2.11). The nuclei of the Corinthian ooidsare mostly composed of fragments of rocks, whichoutcrop in the areasurrounding the shallow sea. Thesefragmentswere deposited into the sea byerosion fromstreams and small rivers as the ooids were forming200,000 years ago. Because the geology surroundingthe sea isvaried, so too are the typesof rock fragmentsforming the nuclei. The main types and distributionof clastic input into the Corinthian sea that have beendeduced from my thin section study are indicated inFigure 2.11.The thin section observations reveal variations inthe composition of the ooid nuclei throughout theregion that reflect (a) a broad regional variation inthe typesof rock eroded into the shallow sea from thesurrounding high ground and their transportation bycurrents (Fig.2.11), and (b) local environmental varia-tions that are superimposed upon the regional trends.These observations support the current patterns de-duced byCollier and Thompson from measurementsof lamination in the sand dunes at Ancient Corinth,Hexamilia, and Kenchreai. The oolite is composedmostly of coated and uncoated grains of (in approxi-mately decreasing order of abundance) micrite, al-tered chert and Mesozoic biomicritic limestone, al-

46. For a more detailed description of ooids and limestonesin general, see Tucker and Wright *1990.

FIGURE 2.10. A section offace in quarry E9 at Hexamilia.The view is lookingtoward thewest,approximately long theaxis of the dune and lamination slopestoward the northdown the northernside of thedune. Thealternatingpositiveand negative weatheringof the laminae is a typicalweather-ingfeature of the oolite. Cuttings rom blockremoval n theupperhalf of theface are eitherhorizontalorfollow thelamination, whichhas been used as planes of weaknessalong which to separatethelowersurfaces of blocksfrom thequarry ace.tered mafic rock fragments (AMRFs), fresh chert(some with radiolaria), quartz, a metamorphic rock,probably an amphibole-chlorite schist, bioclasts(mostly bivalve fragments with some gastropods andalgal fragments) and, rarely,unaltered or partiallyal-tered pyroxene, plagioclase, and white mica. Not allof these typesoccur in all areas,and their relative abun-dances vary considerably.In the east of the area, AMRFs of ophiolitic originwere transported from their outcrops to the east ofLoutraki into the Isthmia Graben, a shallow narrowseaway that covered the area of the present Isthmusand connected the Gulf of Corinth and the SaronicGulf (Fig. 2.11). These fragments became incorpo-rated in significant quantities within the ooid sandsof the Kenchreai dunes and those at the northeast-ern end of the EQL. A representative thin section ofthis type is shown in Figure 2.12. The abundance ofAMRFsdecreases abruptly in the center of the EQL,in the area now occupied by quarryE13, and the oo-lite of the western quarries of the EQL contains onlyoccasional clasts of this type (Figs. 2.13, 2.14). In thequarries around Ancient Corinth and Mavrospilies,the generally micritic particles frequently contain rec-ognizable microfossils and relic calcite veining, whichindicate that they represent eroded fragments of al-tered chert and the Mesozoic limestone, and othersediments of Acrocorinth. Present in greater abun-dance in this area than to the east are fragments of afoliated amphibole-chlorite-quartz rock, which prob-ablyrepresent fragments of a schist.By using the abun-dance of AMRFs, altered chert and Mesozoic lime-

47. See note 11.


21/29

34 CHRIS L. HAYWARD

ModernCoast Mezw Gulffa n Shorinth

B M cSpilies AcientCorinth Oph

A

Submarine ooid sands Fault Oph = Ophiolite(altered mafics and chert)*Submarine high Ooid dune Mez = Mesozoic limestone &chert*

Z j I Shallowwatersiliclastic ands CS = Chlorite chist NBeach I Mesozoicbasement Ophiolite kmPleistocene and pre-Pleistocene land and sources of elastic detritus o 4

FIGURE 2.1 1. The palaeogeography of the Corinthia atapproximately 00, 000 yearsago (afterCollierand Thomp-son 1991). Arrows ndicate the main typesof clastic input

stone, and schist fragments it is possible to determinefrom which part of the Corinthia any given oolitesample was quarried.It is also possible to achieve greater precision inthe determination of the locations of samplesretrievedfrom the ancient quarries through detailed observa-tions of the oolite in the ancient quarry faces. Thefaces display numerous small-scale heterogeneitiescaused by local microclimates, changes in local con-ditions with time, and sedimentary structures.An ex-ample of the type of variation present in some faces isshown in a section of the northern face of quarryE13(Fig. 2.15). Three stratigraphic units are observed: alower cross-bedded, a central planar-bedded, and anupper relatively severely weathered unit. Each pro-duces oolite that can be distinguished from the othertwo48n thin section and from samples collected fromother quarries.48. For a full description, see Hayward 1996.

into the ooliticdunes during theirformation, as determinedduring thepresent study.

FIGURE 2.12. Photomicrograph of a sample from the north-easternend of quarryEl3, showinggeneralfeaturestypical ofoolitefrom this area. Mostparticlesin thefield of view areooids, whichhave mid-graymicritic coresand pale sparrycorticesor (lowerrightcorner)pale sparrycoresand darkermicritic cortices.The darkparticlesareAMRFs, which arecharacteristicof oolitefrom theeasternpart of theCorinthia.Whiteooid nuclei arequartzgrains. Curvedelongateparticlesin the lefthalf of theview arefragments of bivalveshell. Theparticlesareseparated rom one anotherbypale sparrycalcitecement.Plane polarized light, magnificationx50, field ofview 2 mmacross.


22/29

GEOLOGY 35

FIGURE 2.13. Photomicrographrom the centralpart ofquarryE13 (planar-bedded nit shown in Fig. 2.15). Most oftheooidshave micriticcoresand sparrycortices,which areusually difficult to distinguishfrom the cement.Afew darkAMRFsare visible. Plane polarized light, magnificationx50,field of view 2 mm across.

FIGURE 2.14. Photomicrograph from the central part ofquarryE13 (cross-beddednit shown in Fig. 2.15). Ooidshave well-defined orticesconsisting of at leastfive layers.Thereareno AMRFs, but quartzand micritic nuclei areabundant. Afragment of bivalveshell is visible to theright ofcenter.Small, darkround objectsarebubbles n theresinbonding of the thin section. Planepolarized light, magnifica-tionx50, field of view 2 mm across.

: :Pa

PL,X

?1:?,pg :L3.L. - 1167 IlliW PC)&F--..I::.Xgl11 ""r''''''';;i. "-FIGURE 2.15. A sectionof thenorthernace of quarryEl3,showingan exampleof thetypeof macroscopic ariationvisible in thequarry aces. Belowtheoverhangto therightofcenter, he oolite is prominentlycross-bedded nd thedegree owhich the lamination has beenemphasizedbyweathering

shows that this unit is relativelypoorlycemented.Above theoverhang,thebeddingis moreplanar, and thesmootherfaceindicatesthat thelimestone s better emented. n thin section(Figs. 2.13 and 2.14), thereareprominent differencesbetweensamples rom thetwostratigraphicunits.


23/29

36 CHRIS L. HAYWARD

Gulf of Corinth

| MSIO;

geology of corinth

Documents