THE‘ LIVELY’ STREETS OF CLASSICAL OLYNTHOS
Elena Cuijpers Ph. D. student, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Classical Archaeology Alumna, Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology
| Fenno F. J. M. Noij |
THE‘ LIVELY’ STREETS OF CLASSICAL OLYNTHOS
A SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF URBAN LIFE ON THE NORTH HILL, 432 – 348 BCE
Elena Cuijpers Ph. D. student, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Classical Archaeology Alumna, Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology
Abstract During the last decades growing attention has been paid to the way‘ space’ is organised in both houses and settlements and the way that this organisation influences human life. The study of‘ space’ as an important force in the shaping of social processes, identities and other aspects of life has become as important for understanding past societies as the study of their artefacts and architectural remains( Blake 2004, 234). Spatial studies have revealed patterns of social interaction and deeper insights into the functioning of settlements, neighbourhoods and houses( e. g. Stöger 2011; 2014). The article presented here builds on pioneering studies by applying similar methods in a thus far unexplored area as it seeks to shed light on various aspects of Olynthian society in Northern Greece through a spatial examination of its built and nonbuilt environment. Especially since the siege and subsequent destruction of the city by Philip II’ s army had important consequences for the state of the material record, the employment of spatial analyses offers an additional perspective on Olynthos’ urban life, and more precisely on movement, social activity areas and matters of social control and privacy in the city’ s streetscape.
Keywords classical Greek archaeology, street networks, urban space, space syntax, Depthmap
E-mail address: elena. cuijpers @ live. nl Academia: https:// www. uni-bonn. academia. edu / ElenaCuijpers LinkedIn: https:// www. linkedin. com / in / elena-cuijpers-04578759
Introduction Archaeology in the past has focused largely on architectural features, ground plans and the material culture that has survived. The study of nonbuilt spaces like streets and squares has not attracted much attention until fairly recently, as these open spaces might have appeared empty and less appealing when compared to the designed and planned architecture surrounding them( Hartnett 2008, 91- 92). However, streets and squares are important networks in a settlement and represent platforms where all sorts of activities of urban life may have taken place. In an attempt to reconstruct such dynamic environments in ancient cities scholars have to rely on syntactic analysis tools that provide a shift from the static built environment represented by the archaeological record to the dynamics that were generated along the streets. This can be achieved with the help of space syntax tools that simulate past environments. This article provides a first in-depth spatial examination of the street network on Olynthos’ North Hill. First, it seeks to reconstruct the potential movement flows of people in the streets generated by the city’ s spatial layout. Subsequently, it looks at the positioning of doorways to reveal dynamics between private and public space in a smaller section of the hill.
The city of Olynthos The original settlement of Olynthos was located on the steeper South Hill dating back to the fourth millennium BCE( Mylonas 1929, 1-12). Accord- p. 36 | VOL II | INTER-SECTION | 2016