In a period of recovery after some great catastrophe to the buildings of the city the front of Peirene was redecorated with a row of five Corinthian marble columns set out 1.30 m. from the fasade (Pl.VII, 2; Figs. 53, 60). 1 The materials were drawn from various buildings, presumably
1111 I _ - _ .:.s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.... .. . _ .. ..'3 2
FIGURE 60. RE-USED COLUMNS ERECTED IN EARLY BYZANTINE PERIOD TO DECORATE FACADE
in the vicinity. The one column whose source can be identified is from the colonnade of the Peribolos of Apollo. Its capital, which did not originally belong to it, is like those attributed to the colonnade along the west side of the Lechaion Road (the lower story of the Basilica). 2 The bases are of unequal sizes and do not correspond to the shafts resting on them. All five bases are preserved, four being still in situ. Two shafts and a single capital remain. Upon the capitals rested marble architraves reaching back to the main facade, forming what are technically called
"outlookers." These were made from marble architrave-frieze blocks from some Roman building,
1 Corizihb, XVI, pp. 22-23.
2 Coriilh, I, p. 150, figs. 103, 104.
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laid upside down and decorated at the outer ends, which incline forward at an angle of ca. 60 de- grees, with a palm branch cut in relief. Regular architraves reaching from column to column were laid upon the "outlookers." One of the "outlookers"'l remains in situ, two others were found in the excavation of the court, and two of the architraves have been discovered. These had been originally inscribed with a Latin inscription which was chiselled away and in its stead
FIGURE 61. ARCHITRAVE WITH PAINTED INSCRIPTION NAMING PEIRENE
there was painted on the frieze in red paint of great durability a Greek inscription (Fig. 61) reading as folloWS: 2
Ir6v
OpWcteVOV 7Ct&VTOC X6aCVO' -~ Htp-~fr-j
-oc ...Authorities in Byzantine letter forms have judged this inscription to date probably from the fifth century A.D., and certainly not to be later than the sixth century. It is not unnaturally of importance in that it shows that the fountain at the beginning of the Middle Ages was still known as Peirene.
At a later time, but while the court was still in use, a channel was constructed in the east part of it to carry the surplus water from the main fountain away to the north (Figs. 1, 62). It turns a right angle to the east under the east wall of the court just north of the east exedra. As much as survives of this channel is made wholly of marble: cornices, architraves and columns have been laid in a line and then a channel 0.25-0.38 m. wide and 0.13-0.22 m. deep cut irregularly in the top (Fig. 26). The fact that such materials were available for such a purpose would point
Corinih, XVI, p. 117, no. 138, pl. 31.
2 Corintih, VIII, ii, p. 119, no. 198.
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to a previous general destruction of the Roman buildings in Corinth. This and the fact that the channel was laid while the court of Peirene was still in use at its old level are the only indications of the date to which the channel is to be assigned. At a later time this channel was superseded or supplemented by another, parallel to it on the east, just in front (west) of the east apse, very well built of bricks and lined with hard cement, quite like the modern variety (called "korasan")
FIGURE 62. NORTH APSE AND HYPAITHROS KREN, LOOKING NORTHEAST
used until the introduction of Portland cement in the lining of cisterns. When this aqueduct was constructed the ground level seems to have risen somewhat within the court. A third channel was built when the court was already deep underground. The channel itself, being ca. 0.50 m.
higher than its predecessor, was still carrying water to the principal village fountain in 1898 when Peirene was discovered and excavated. It was of inferior construction, and with it belonged a tunnel with walls of small stones laid without mortar and a cover of stone slabs. This tunnel or passage was ca. 0.50-0.60 m. in width and 1.00-1.70 m. in height. At intervals square man- holes of similar construction reaching up to or near the surface of the ground gave access to the tunnel. Some of these manholes rose only ca. 1.50 m. from the top of the tunnel, i. e. about 3.00 m.
from the water channel, and show the approximate level of the ground when the manholes were in use; others were from time to time extended upward and reached ultimately to 1.50 m. or less from the modern surface. All this would go to show that the third conduit carried away the water of Peirene through a very long period of time, during which the surface of the ground rose from
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2.50 m. or 3.00 m. above the Roman level to 7.00-10.00 m. above it. One of these manholes over the southeast part of the court of Peirene extended to the modern surface level and was used as a well by the owner of the garden in which it was situated. It was through this well and the tunnel at the bottom of it that Peirene was discovered on April 10, 1898, as stated on p. 11.
FIGURE 63. SITE OF BYZANTINE CHAPEL IN FRONT OF CHAMBERS I-III
To return to the court of Peirene: the Byzantine fasade having in part been destroyed, there was constructed in the southwest corner of the court a little chapel extending across the front of Chambers I and II, and having its apse in front of the west part of Chamber III (Fig. 2).1 In Chamber IVa portion of marble column was laid as a coping to the parapet over which water continued to be drawn for a very long period, to judge by the depth to which the marble is worn by the friction of water jars. Later a second marble column was laid across the front of this cham- ber, and that in turn shows the wearing of very long use (Figs. 53, 63). The fountain as last seen before its burial was simply this basin with two Byzantine columns before it, the chapel to the west, and the little Christian churchyard2 bounded by the three apses of the court, the ground level of which was then approximately 1.50 m. above the old marble floor. While a single chamber for drawing water was still accessible, short walls were built between the fasade and the two
1 Corinth, XVI, p. 38.
2 Ibid., p. 39.
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remaining columns in order to support the facade which was then leaning forward dangerously.
When the facade had tipped forward so that there were cracks at the back of the stones of it, some boy or other person slipped a bronze coin of Alexius I into one of these cracks at the northwest corner of Chamber V. At about the same time walls were laid in broken stone and mortar for a building too little of which has been seen to give any idea of the plan; they may in fact have been simp]e supporting walls. These were above, nearly parallel with the facade and about 1.20 m.
south from it. A number of coins of the end of the eleventh century were found in this wall.
It was probably not long after this time that Peirene became completely buried, though the highest portion of the apses was never far below the surface.
As has been described above, the well through which the fountain was discovered and the modern aqueduct and tunnel crossing the court were destroyed in the excavations of 1898 and replaced for practical purposes-the aqueduct by an iron pipe following approximately the old course, and the well by a pump tapping a reservoir near the north end of the west supply tunnel.
This remained the reservoir for two village fountains until 1910, when a dam was constructed across the west supply tunnel at ca. 40.00 m. from the front, diverting the water from that tunnel into the east supply tunnel, in which, some 5.00 m. from the facade, a second dam was built, whence the water was piped to the village aqueduct. These changes were made so that it might be possible to remove the iron pipe, which for thirteen years had disfigured the court, and to allow the draining of the whole ancient fountain. The final (existing) arrangement of the water system was made in 1919, when the dam in the east supply tunnel was set 30.00 m. back from the facade and the water piped all the way to the village square (see p. 14).
Since neolithic and Early Helladic remains are being found in the vicinity of Peirene wherever excavations reach the necessary depth,' and nearly all subsequent periods are abundantly rep- resented by finds, it is clear that Peirene, however named in the beginning, has served as a foun- tain-first of course only as a natural spring-from the beginning of human occupation until the present day.
1 Hesperia, XXIX, 1960, pp. 241-246.
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THE PAINTED DECORATION rock wall beyond the chambers, in which are cut the openings of the four great reservoirs (Figs. 14, right, 16, left, 18, 20). At the time of discovery, the plaster had almost entirely fallen away from
The decoration, except for certain details, has remained consistent throughout the chambers, and the evidence is sufficient to give an almost complete idea of their original appearance and to indicate that they were all essentially alike. In each chamber, the lower portions of the side walls, along with the front and rear parapets, are dark green, forming wainscots at the sides to the height of the front parapet wall; the rear parapet, which supports the column and antae, is much lower. The lower portion of the front wall, above the parapet and at either side of the arch, is
1 The fact that the walls were plastered and bore painted decoration was not noted until some time after the chambers were excavated; at this time, the side walls, along with the front and rear parapets, were partially cleaned. It was not until the autumn of the year 1925, however, that a complete examination of Peirene was made. The portions of decoration already discovered were thoroughly cleaned and the incrustation was removed from the front and rear walls above the parapets.
In some cases, especially in connection with the columns and antae, it was possible to remove only a part of the incrustation, owing both to the looseness of the plaster and to the fact that the decoration tended to adhere to the incrustation itself.
These portions, however, were cleaned sufficiently to make possible a comparison with similar parts that were uncovered successfully in other chambers. An examination of the low wall and of the rock wall was made at this time. The former was covered with an extremely hard incrustation, the removal of which endangered its painted surface; again only enough incrustation was removed to reveal the sort of decoration.
2 The inner edge of the arch in Chamber II is bevelled; consequently, in this particular instance, the red border would have been visible, more or less, from the forecourt.
3Not indicated on Plate XII, 2 since not sufficient information on details is available.