A SANCTUARY IN THE AGORA
TERRACE BETWEEN TEMPLE AND RESERVOIR
Some 6 m. southeast of the front of the apsidal building a narrow flight of four steps (Figs. 67, 88-90, 101), three cut in the rock and the lowest formed of a block of poros, leads down south- ward to a small terrace paved with hard cement, the level of which is - 10.20. These steps and
FIGURE 88. STEPS FROM TEMPLE PRECINCT TO RESERVOIR TERRACE, LOOKING NORTH
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FIGURE 89. STEPS FROm TEMPLE PRECINCT To RESERVOIR TERRACE, LOOKING SOUTH
the small terrace lie at a lower level behind a triglyphon frieze (II) which follows in general the lines of the three-stepped terrace wall (III) east of the apsidal building, but is 1.10 m. farther to the east. The frieze and a heavy circular basis upon it must clearly be later than the steps and terrace. The same is true also of probably all the blocks to be seen along the western end of the small rock-cut steps. These steps, the longest of which is 1.10 m., are irregular in tread, varying from 0.30 m. to 0.50 m. in breadth. The rise averages some 0.15 m. The paved terrace, which
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extends 4.40 m. southward from the foot of the steps and is preserved to a wiclth of 3.60 m., is broken off at its eastern edge in a fairly straight line running north and south. Its southern limit is a wall of good construction running east to west, the top of which was 0.27 m. above
FIGURE 90. WEST EAST SECTION TIIROUGli RES- ERVOIR I1ERRACE AND TRIGLYPIION FRIEZE Ht
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FIGURE 91. FRONT OF SPRING HOUSE WITH EAST STEPS OF TERRACE IN FOREGROUND
the general level of the terrace, not counting two courses of slightly different orientation which are obviously, later and rest upon the first. The western limit of the small terrace (1V) is the native rock (conglomerate) scarped vertically in a line running southwest to northeast. The form of the whole terrace is roug,hly trapezoidal with a right angle at the southeast and a rec- tangular jog at the northwest. Underneath this terrace there is a filling of coarse gravel and earth
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practically free of fragments of pottery, exactly similar to the filling at and below the level of the water channe] A in the area south of the Roadway (above, p. 125). About 0.65 m. below this small terrace and some 2 m. east of it, now hidden from it by the triglyphon frieze (II), are re- mains of the terrace wall (V) of step-form that was once presumably its eastern boundary (Figs. 90,
FIGURE 92. ISOMEITRIC PERSPEC rIVE OF RESERVOIR, LOOKING SOUTHEAST, WITH WATER CI-JANNELS A AND B TO EAST OF IT
right, 91, lower right, 94, foreground). The whole of the lower course of this wall is preserved for a length of 3.60 m., and the northernmost blocks of the second course having a combined length of 1.52 m. extend 0.58 m. north of the lower course. If two similar courses are restored above the two which are partly preserved, the four steps thus formed bring us exactly to the level of the terrace and approximately to the eastern line of its pavement as preserved. It will not be doubted, then, that the two and one-half courses of the terrace wall were torn out at some time subsequent to their regular use as the wall supporting the small terrace. The northern part of the two still existing slabs is deeply enough worn, especially on the second course, to indicate very considerable use of the wall as steps. The southeasterly direction of the wearing makes it certain that a person wishing to pass up and down here came or went by way of the small rockcut steps referred to above.
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RESERVOIR
Going southward along the foot of our four-step terrace wall we reach, at a distance of 0.40 m. beyond its end, the remains of a reservoir (Figs. 92, 93, 98, 99) 5.45 m. long, 0.90 m.
wide, and 1 m. deep, extending north and south, having its eastern line parallel with that of the
FIGURE 93. RESERVOIR WITH WATER CHANNEL IN WALL
four-step wall and 0.46 m. west of the bottom step. The western wall of the reservoir has been removed, but there is clearly to be seen for the whole length a cutting 0.24 m. wide in which the blocks forming this western wall were to be set as orthostates. The eastern wall is made of much heavier blocks which measure 0.45 m. in thickness, and upon which are laid slabs 0.10 m.
thick. For a distance of 1.08 m. at the north end of the reservoir and 0.80 m. at the south these slabs have disappeared. A small water channel, 0.125 m. wide and 0.075 m. deep, cut in the top of this east wall of the reservoir has been traced for a distance of 5.20 m. from the southeast corner of the reservoir (Fig. 93). This channel is identical with the water channel A described in con- nection with the deep cutting northwest of the Propylaea (above, p. 146). The section there described begins at 15 m. and extends to 27 m. from the corner of the reservoir. This water channel passing along the front of the reservoir has no connection whatsoever with it.
In spite of the very considerable length of this reservoir, traces of the wear resulting from the drawing of water show at only two points on its front line: 1.80 m. and 2.20 m. from the north
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end (Fig. 93, right). There the covering slab, which projects over the edge of the reservoir temporary in construction with the reservoir, that received the water from the lion's head spouts. 2
1 A.J.A., VI, 1902, pp. 306-320, figs. 1-5, pls. VIII-X.
2 From the nature of the eastern face of the diagonal wall and from the presence of the steps which lead down from the top of it, as well as from the destruction or partial destruction of that part of the fountain house which once extended east of the diagonal wall, it is clear that all this eastern part was buried at the time of the construction of the diagonal wall and that the ground level thereafter was approximately that of the head of the steps, leaving the eastern part of the gutter, the floor of the fountain house, and the reservoir buried 1.50 m. deep. This diagonal wall with the ceiling it supports, a Doric frieze resting upon that, the flight of seven steps, and the wall at the surface on either side of it (the northern one of which rested upon the original north wall of the fountain house) are to be disregarded in the discussion of the original state of the fountain house.