Stymphalos was an ancient city on the north shore of Lake Stymphalos near the frontier of modern Corinthia. Following some topographic and geophysical survey from 1982 to 1985, the Stymphalos Project (StyP) conducted a series of excavations at Stymphalos between 1994 and 2001. The project was directed by E. Hector Williams (University of British Columbia) under the auspices of the Canadian Institute, with permission from the 4th and 27th Ephorates of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of Corinthia.
Earlier surveys at Stymphalos revealed that the ancient city was laid out on a regular grid, an urban plan likely dating to the mid-4th century BCE. Excavations by the StyP team in fifteen areas across the site continued to explore its settlement history and planning, uncovering much of a single city block in the southeast sector containing several late Classical to Hellenistic courtyard houses. Early Roman villas built in the same area indicate reoccupation after a brief abandonment, perhaps linked to the settlement of Italian veterans near Corinth. In the surrounding valley, remains of at least five major Doric buildings point to significant wealth and an ambitious building program in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE. Other major discoveries include evidence for Mycenaean occupation, a Hellenistic stage and rock-cut seats on the eastern acropolis, and a sanctuary of Athena destroyed in the 2nd century BCE, likely during the Roman sack of Corinth. Elsewhere, excavations uncovered gates, sections of the city wall with artillery towers, over 100 iron ballista points, and several early Christian burials.
Select Bibliography
Lolos, Y. 1997. “The Hadrianic Aqueduct at Stymphalos.” Hesperia 66: 271-314.
Schaus, Gerald. 2014. Stymphalos, Volume One: The Acropolis Sanctuary, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Williams, H. 1983. “Stymphalos: A Planned City of Ancient Arcadia.” Échos du monde classique = Classical Views 2.2: 194-205.
Williams, H., G. Schaus, B. Gourley, S-M. Cronkite-Price, K.D. Sherwood & Y. Lolos. 2002. “Excavations at Stymphalos, 1999-2002.” Mouseion 2.2: 135-87.
Williams, H. & B.Gourley. 2005. »The Fortifications of Stymphalos. » Mouseion 49.3: 213-259.
More on the project can be found here: http://portal.cig-icg.gr/node/111
