After some quick calisthenics this morning, breakfast was early at 0645. Shortly thereafter we were reunited with our stalwart driver Panayiotis and set out for the Pentelic quarries. The ancient quarries are under protection and no longer active, but one company works still on the other side of the hill, quarrying the famous marble of the type that built the Parthenon and many other buildings in the ancient world.
A broad shot of the quarry face. We visited the gallery visible on the left.
We were greeted in the office by Sotiris a mining engineer for the quarrying firm. We talked about the general differences between our quarrying methods today versus the ancient methods. The ancient Athenians exploited natural fault lines in the stone to crack blocks out of the mountains with less effort, while today blocks can be quarried without a natural fault using diamond wires and huge saws. Then we walked down into a gallery in the quarry that is no longer under use. Walking around the corner drew audible gasps from the group because this whole in the side of the cliff is MASSIVE. Cavernous to an extreme, the quarry is floor to ceiling 28 meters. The rock walls where the blocks were cut out are lightly grooved from the diamond wires used to do so. The whole lace echoes, too. The reason for the gallery is that open pit quarrying is no longer in use, mostly for environmental but also aesthetic reasons.
Inside the gallery. Truly cavernous.
Then we went to the back of the quarry where the blocks are finished and polished into the slabs and tiles that are sold around the world. The saws they have are crazy! They can cut up to six slabs at once, which is extremely impressive to watch. Metal, water, and a whole lot of cutting turns the huge blocks into narrow slabs. Then the marble is polished and sorted into a very exacting typography of colors. This, according to Makis, the factory manager, is done by someone with plentiful experience because “it all looks white” to the untrained eye.
A multi-bladed saw creating slabs out of a block.
Our last stop on the tour was the shipping yard, where slabs and tiles are shipped all over the world. The domestic demand, according to Makis, is at an extreme low, while international demand remains high. The quarry also sells blocks to the Acropolis restoration project. Blocks of the size and quality desired by the project are rare, but Sotiris was able to point out two blocks currently under consideration.
Alpha Kappa for "AKropolis"
The quarry tour concluded back at the bus. I have to say, the whole thing was fantastic. It exceeded my expectations by a lot. The sheer scale of the operation is quite impressive. Great site visit.
We headed to Rhamnous next, where I met two adorable site dogs. Only marginally more important, we learned about Nemesis, goddess of revenge. Not just revenge technically, sort of this hybrid of revenge-just retribution-righteous indignation. Her temple is lined out on shelves in fragments in this humid warehouse not too far from the temple foundations. The temple was probably reduced to its leveled state by Christians in the 4th century CE. Still, we've managed to reconstruct quite a lot of the temple. Amy talked about the temple and the cult statue there, which was fitting given that she literally wrote a book on personification that dealt with this statue. We also saw the grave markers of some of the most wealthy families of Marathon in antiquity in the warehouse.
Inside the warehouse. The walls of the temple are scattered on the shelves. The central pediment
is the attempt to reconstruct the cult statue base.
Then we walked down the rocky path to the settlement and fortifications of Rhamnous proper. A mixed civilian military encampment, Rhamnous commands the strait separating Euboea from the mainland, which was an important trade route for grain for classical Athens. We got to clamber all over the walls and saw a drainage system that's certainly in the top ten and possibly in the top five I've seen this trip. The hike to and from the site was very pleasurable - just strenuous enough that going quickly was a challenge.
The impressive ashlar wall at the settlement.
After the settlement we hit the beach at Marathon. What an amazing beach. The water was so warm and shallow and I ate gyros while looking at the water and it was glittery and perfect. And it's where the Persians landed for the Battle of Marathon, so at some point 2506 years ago there were angry soldiers on the beach looking to defeat the Athenians.
Our next stop was the Tumulus at Marathon, where the Athenian dead from the battle, the 192 soldiers, are rumored to be buried. Unfortunately, the site was closed, even though we expected it to be open.
Greek Archaeological Service/Ministry of Culture: 3
Summer Session: 0
The man, the myth, the legend himself, Dr. Glenn Bugh, spoke to us looking at the Tumulus through the fence. We did, before he began speaking, give him a group hug. This is because A) Glen is a wonderful person and speaker, B) He supervised the committee that admitted us to the program, and C) Dr. Lee Brice, who we spoke to earlier this week, recruited us to do so. Lee, if you're reading this, I'd find a fast horse and a way out of town before Glenn finds you. Anyways, Glenn has written about and studied Marathon extensively and was even able to point out the relevant topography as he spoke. We had a good discussion and headed out to the museum. Which we thought would be open still.
The tumulus from afar.
After a brief check of the doors, the score changed again.
GAS/MoC: 4
Summer Session: 0
We moved on one last time to the Marathon Dam. Dr. Betsey Robinson, ancient hydraulics scholar extraordinaire, told us about the history of the dam, which is of a more recent age. It was built in the 1920s by a U.S firm, the Ulen Company, which wound up running the waterworks of Athens afterwards. At the base if the dam, there is an exact replica of the Athenian treasury at Delphi that has to be the classiest access house ever. After walking across the 285 meter length at the top, we got back on the bus for the drive home.
The dam and reservoir from the spot where Betsey gave her talk.
Looking back from the far side of the damn. The replica treasury is at the foot of the dam.
Today was awesome. We swam, hiked, learned, and had a good time. I really enjoyed my lunch with Luke, Sally, Asia, and Melanie. Great friends, great times. Tomorrow is a half day, so hopefully I'll get my computer back and do more research.
Thanks for reading.
Edited 7/20 for typos.
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