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