The Silver Ore-Processing Workshops of the Lavrion Region

Author(s): Evangelos Kakavoyannis

Source: The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 96 (2001), pp. 365-380
Published by: British School at Athens
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 THE SILVER ORE-PROCESSING WORKSHOPS OF
THE LAVRION REGION'

THE production of silver and lead at Lavrion in Classical times wa

employing a variety of methods, tools, and structures.2 Because o
the deposits and the mineralogy of the area,3 the practical proc
separated into three interrelated stages: the first was the discovery a
the second its processing and cleaning of all constituents that were n
and the third, its smelting in order to produce the metals. Benef
the gangue from the mined material, was necessary in order to a
economical smelting. Each of the stages was carried out in a diffe
of the earth for the first, at the processing ergasteria for the second
workshops4 for the third. A considerable number of both specia
workers was needed for these tasks. This article is concerned on
ergasteria.
Many ores and non-metallic minerals are present in the Lavrio
always in exploitable amounts. The commonest are those contain
(AgPb), and they are chiefly two: galena (PbS), an argentiferous
cerussite (PbCO), an ore of the same kind, but a carbonate. Many o
mixed together. beposits of pure galena or cerussite exist, but are rel
Galena or cerussite usually constitutes on an average 2o% of the d
percentage it can be seen that the deposits in the region had an es
argentiferous lead.5
The degree to which the argentiferous deposits could be ex
commensurate with the level of technology possessed and applied
metallurgists. When the ore was poor in galena or cerussite, it wa
profitably, since the smelting required a great deal of fuel, which wa
and during the smelting much of the argentiferous lead was lost beca
the scoria that was produced.6 Owing to these serious problems, a
methods and means for a full processing of the ore that were unders
none of the deposits poor in argentiferous lead were utiliza
metallurgists of the time were unable to remove the gangue. Only th
used and so, understandably, the pre-Classical miners only mi
cerussite or an ore rich in these minerals, which they found in t
opened their underground galleries. None of the ores that were po
been mined, since they could not be utilized.

' The following special abbreviation has4been used:

The ergasteria for smelting the silver ore, like
Konophagos = K. Konophagos, Tb dpXa-o cleaning
Aaiptoit, Ka'
were private enterprises and compri
AXv)rvtri TeXVtLKy rapaywyfig WTo dpyvpovtypes of1980).
(Athens, buildings (E. C. Kakavoyannis, T
2 Konophagos 155 f. ltUraXEaeta tr Aavpewarrig (Athens, 1988), 30 f.,
3 G. P. Marinos and W. E. Petrascheck, Aatptov, 21.
5 Konophagos
('Ivouroikro FEw0oylag KaL 'Epcvv6ov 6'Yne.t6ovg,
Marinos and Petrascheck (n. 3), 12; Konophago
FeWoyLKUm KacL FriW oLKcLa MEX rat, iv, i; Athens, 1956), 151-.

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366 EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS

Their technological incompetence would also have deter

From the Final Neolithic period, during which the
apparently began, until the end of the sixth century BC
lead had only two stages: discovering and mining th
processing and cleaning it, as we find it in the Classical
yet. This appears from the fact that so far no remai
products or byproducts (e.g. tailings, scoriae), have been
the pre-Classical period. Everything that has survived, a
the period from the end of the sixth century BC and after.
The absence of relevant remains leads to the following
who were at the same time metallurgists, built a furnace
smelted all the material they had dug out. Pre-Classical
parts of the Lavrion region9 and are readily distinguish
extend along the First Contact'o of the metalliferous zon
near the surface of the ground. Their furnaces, on the
can only infer their existence from the fortuitously preserv
the rocks where they happened to have been constructed
The pre-Classical furnaces disappeared almost complete
technology, as we have seen, was very inadequate, with
that were rich in argentiferous lead; the Classical and po
who possessed a superior technology to their predeces
scoriae to smelt them and obtain the argentiferous lead
testimony to this in Strabo (ix. I. 23), who is certainly wr
mines in Attica were originally valuable but now hav
them, when the mining yielded only meagre returns, me
were still able to extract from it pure silver, since th
unskilful in heating the ore in furnaces' (translation
practice was followed by the mining companies of m
destroyed all the surviving remains of furnaces to obtai
heaps around them, but inside them as well.
The fact that the process of silver production in pr
surely indicates also that there were only two kinds of e
smelting workshop. According to this theory, the pre-C
the mine and consisted of only one or more furnaces fo
This practice appears to have lasted until about the end
time a great technological invention was developed in

7 J. Bourhis, C. Conophagos, and Les N. Lambert,

Mines 'Lesdans l'antiquitW (B
du Laurium
mhtaux trouvs 'a Kitsos', in N. Lambert, La H.
131; Grotteprihistorique
Lohmann, Atene, i (Koln, 1993
128-9.
de Kitsos (Attique), i (Recherches sur les grands civilisations,
'o Marinos and'Final
Synthese 7; Paris, 1981), 421 f.; P. Spitaels, PetrascheckNeolithic
(n. 2), 83 f. and inserted
pottery from Thorikos', Miscellanea Graeca, 5 (Ghent, 1982),
Me0tLXX1UTLKo6g X&pT1lg Trg AavpECOTLK q.
9-44; V. McGeehan-Liritzis, The Role " Ibid.and Development
133; Konophagos, 139. of
SA. Kordellas,
Metallurgy in the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze 'H ptoTr
Age cavLct
of tg 'EratpEtLCag
Greece TroV
(SIMA pocketbook 122;Jonsered, 1996), 83, 176.
MEtakkoupyeiLtov Aav piou t E tETeekEYtLKE( KeL
8 Konophagos, 212 f.
XOvpyLtK& av'T]g upol6vr0dCv r, A' OXvlfetae r
9 P. Spitaels, 'The Early Helladic'EK6krGet
period in 26Mine
(Athens, 1888), f. No. 3
(Theatre Sector)', Thorikos, 8 (1972-6), 151 f.; E. Ardaillon,

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 THE SILVER ORE-PROCESSING WORKSHOPS OF THE LAVRION REGION 367

FIG. I. Schematic section of a rectangular washery of Type I.

application completely changed the effectiveness of its mines and greatly helped the Athenian
economy, with all its obvious consequences. This invention was a simple fixed structure, built
on or cut into the rock, which the Athenians called a KcOcaptoFlpLtov,'3 and metallurgists of
today a washery. In this structure the metallurgists, using relatively large amounts of water,
were able to clean the mined ore of all its useless constituents-all that could be removed by
mechanical means-and to keep only the pure galena or cerussite it contained.
I shall not attempt to describe the form and function of the washeries, since they are well-
known in general (FIG. I),14 but it may be useful to recall the basic principles: the processing of the
ore in a washery was based on the fact that argentiferous lead, whether galena or cerussite, has a
greater specific gravity than the gangue. To obtain the argentiferous lead, the workers crushed the
ore into small pieces, and then ground it in special trachyte mills until it became 'flour', with
grains about I mm in diameter. The ground material was next taken to the washery and washed

'3 Harpocration, Ag'et 15rl1optKal, s.v. KEYXPFdWY. 14 Konophagos, 233 f., fig. io. 16-22.

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368 EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS

in clay basins,'5 where the force of the moving water carried awa
leaving only the pure grains of galena or cerussite because the
The water used for washing the ore did not go to waste; a
channels and settling tanks, in which it was alternately movi
carried away by the water settled at the bottom of the
returned to its starting-point clear and ready to be reused.
was the principal purpose of the washery and was especia
region was, and still is, almost waterless. The invention of t
metallurgists' answer to the aridity of the region, since with
amount of water many times over for cleaning the ore with
The discovery of the ore-washery was, in my opinion, a gre
of the Lavrion area, for it made it possible to exploit all th
exception, even the poorest ones. The region, as we have
and the ore-washery, therefore, essentially multiplied the exp
and thus in effect the Athenians' mineral resources.'6 After
resource, which had previously only been possible in certain
the region. The use of the washery created a new stage in t
silver and lead, in which the ore was processed with the aid
quite different from those used in the other stages, and it c
ore-processing ergasterion. This discovery travelled far afie
among the numerous ruins of ore-workshops of the Classica
Lavrion area and are plainly visible on the surface, not one d
Since from the evidence of the surviving ruins all the ore
self-contained production units, we wondered about the cour
first appearance until their ultimate full operation.'7 On th
not possible to hazard even a rudimentary picture of this dev
question more closely, Olga Kakavoyannis and I carried out a
Lavrion region some time ago with the aim of discovering a
installations for processing and cleaning ore.'8 Our basic

in all the excavations of workshops of this

'5 E. Kakavoyannis, 'MLa vyca dOClo yLd TYlv kELtropy'ia
by Greek and foreign archaeologists over
TzyV huvntpLV rcEakkwsXatog trIg AcavpEOrtKqlg KccTd
Today these
tong KhCtacoJLKOJg Xp6vovg'; FIpaKrrtKa fragments, together with the o
A' Ivyrotoaov
the Lavrion EratpeLagg
ApXatoMExpiag I r; EAAmaivLgO ; APXatoGLOyEPLt' Archaeological Museum. For a
the method of
4, VOV6Emlr ApXatoETrplag wat ApXatokoyLag cleaning the ore using clay
(Athens,
1992), 79-93. C. Domergue comments on my opinion about
Kakavoyannis,
the cleaning of the ore by the use of clay basins
tacaXhkkeyz
'H
inEXE.tl
og Trtrov his To opOoytovLoU
article,
I g AcrvpnrtPE
tZIVtrjpLovU
ilKg', in HpaUKTLKd
'Remarques sur le fonctionnement A' des laveries planes du
AtLEOOVOZg VE6ptov ApXaiag EAA3vtbVlrjg TeXvoXoyt'ag
Laurium', Apyvpintg y (Xaptorrjptov rrov Kowvcravrivo
(O6etacovKlTI 4-7 uarfePi
'6 Aesch., Persians 237-8. los, I997), 88, fig. 2.
H. Kovoodyo) (Athens, 1998), 39. The writer does not judge
the soundness or otherwise of my opinion
'7 K. Konophagos, 'H EE'XLr trg the
as regards apXccalg q kriVLKTg
metallurgy, but maintains that the find is limited
TrEXVKTig and that
EXJthoUko'rto~to such
tOyV E.rtlakkXeXrtCdrT oV to
a quantity of pottery perhaps indicatesAacnpLo', in HpaKrrLKd
a depositary. My rovreply
HpwOTov ECutvapiov
to his comment is this: (I) as I mentionApXatOpLETpiag
in my paper 'ZKIrptEg(p.vrjg86),
ApXatag EAXrVtLKig
fragments of clay basins came to light not only in one, but in
MexaAAovpyiag' (Ivortro1"rov FekhOytKtbv Ka~
all the metallurgical workshops I investigated in the Haghia
METCanXgeVtLKvC Epervi6v; Athens, 1985), 21 f.
Triadha valley at Souriza; (2) fragments of'8 E.basins
C. Kakavoyannis,
are 'APXatoXoytLgE
visible on{ E'PEVVEg urTxv
the surface in nearly all the ruins of the hitherto
AavpecoWtLi unexcavated
ytd 'rYv avaKadAvlp raAAE/tUXXEVTLKCv pywov
metallurgical workshops in the Lavrion Kat pETaXAOvpyLKCV
region during EyKaTacIOTaEwv
the rovy rpo-
Classical period; and (3) fragments of basins have AAA
K)atatLK(v XpdvwV', been found
22 (1989), 71-88.

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 THE SILVER ORE-PROCESSING WORKSHOPS OF THE LAVRION REGION 369

technological invention was directly linked to the use of abundant water, in the beginning the
ore cleaning would surely have been carried out where there was plenty of water: beside a
spring, rivulet or stream, or even a copious well. Since the Lavrion region is virtually waterless
and wells with water were rare, the likely localities were relatively few. We therefore began by
investigating the large valleys in the region, which according to clear geological indications,
even in their present-day condition, once probably possessed considerable water.'9 In a very
short time our survey produced scarcely hoped-for results, which were briefly as follows:
From the southern edge of the commune of Kamariza or Ayios Konstantinos a small valley
runs in the direction of Megala Pevka (FIG. 2). This is the Bertseko Valley, which has rocky
sides and is traversed during the winter months by a small rivulet, giving it thick vegetation
(FIG. 3). On examining it, we could see along its margins some curious cuttings and hollows
(FIG. 4), which certainly did not belong to quarries. To understand better what it was about,
we cleaned some of them and to our great surprise found that they belonged to ore-washeries
(FIGS. 5-6), which were in fact earlier than any we had hitherto come across in the Lavrion
region. Their chief features were:

(i) They were all entirely cut into the rock and not built.
(ii) Their surfaces did not as a rule possess a facing of hydraulic plaster, like those of the
Classical period, nor any other kind.
(iii) Their channels and settling tanks had no definite number or particular positions in the
body of the washery.20 They were all rather irregular (FIGS. 7-8) and clearly showed that their
constructors were still at the stage of searching and experimentation, obviously in order to find
the best shape and operating method for the construction, elements we see already existing in
washeries of the Classical period.

Because of their shape, I think there is no doubt that the Bertseko Valley washeries were
forerunners of the Classical washeries. Our excavation was of course very limited in extent,
but from the poor pottery fragments recovered and other indications, these washeries appear
to belong to the end of the sixth or beginning of the fifth century BC.
Also striking is the number of the washeries. The Bertseko Valley is over I km in length. As
the numerous cuttings along both its margins show, the washeries were densely packed, in
many cases less than i m apart (FIG. 9); and when there was no more room, the washeries
extended in two and sometimes three rows parallel to the edge, so that it is easy to calculate
their total number. Here we find preserved unquestionably one of the largest ore-processing
workshop sites of the Athenians. Since there are no open-air or underground water cisterns in
the surrounding area,2' as there are in the rest of the Lavrion region, it is clear that the owners
of the washeries procured the water necessary for their operation from the rivulet flowing
beside them in the valley. In many cases there was a well 2-3 m deep, and thus a little deeper
than the valley floor (FIG. 6), between two or three adjacent washeries in the upper row, or one
beside each of them. These wells penetrated the subterranean aquifers of the valley and
enabled the metallurgists to draw the necessary water from them and thus avoid carrying it up
from the valley bottom to each of the washeries.

'9 The existence in the Lavrion region of geological folds the mine being leased is given as '. . . the flume flowing from
in which there was permanent flowing water is also Nape . . .' (see M. L. Langdon, 'Poletai records', in The
indirectly attested by what are called Poletai Inscriptions. Athenian Agora, xix (Princeton, NJ, 1991), 123, no. P29, line io.
They contain lists of mines, which the Demos leased out to o20 Kakavoyannis (n. 15), 89 f., figs. 3-8.
entrepreneurs to exploit, and in one of them the boundary of 2' Konophagos, 252 f.

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370 EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS
CCD CD
C) C)
m C)
93000

Ilk
i-- KAMAIZA
oi0

f---35 0
4-OF<4-F3500
1/
Zi,
/ A%
&0 160.
-17 .-16730

i
I
0
I,- .
/
,

12I
',A.EA
S\o A
-
" /i '
o--4000
/,!0 I
76
"'I ;
,o,, _ o
o; V& 4 \ &

,10.75 140

,/

FIG. 2. S
site of the excavation.

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THE SILVER ORE-PROCESSING WORKSHOPS OF THE LAVRION REGION 371

FIG. 3. Part of the Bertseko valley. View from south.

FIG. 4. Cuttings in the east side of the Bertseko Valley belonging to an ore washery.

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372 EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS

FIG. 5. Washery cut into the rock on the east side of the Bertseko Valle

FIG. 6. Washery cut into the rock on the east side of the Bertseko Vall

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 THE SILVER ORE-PROCESSING WORKSHOPS OF THE LAVRION REGION 373

A1

A2

Ol

FIG. 7. Plan of the washery in FIG. 5.

In spite of their limited scope to date, the excavations in the Bertseko Valley allow of certain
provisional but nevertheless trustworthy conclusions:

(i) Washeries had begun to be used in the Lavrion area by at least the beginning of the fifth
century BC, if not a little earlier, which meant that to the two production stages in the
processing of silver and lead another was added, that of processing and cleaning the ore by the
use of water. This stage had not existed previously.
(ii) Because of the new technology, all the people occupied with the production of silver in the
region established themselves beside this natural source of water to process their ores. Similar
installations probably existed in other parts of the Lavrion area, for example at Thorikos22 and
Demoliaki,23 where there were probably also rivulets or streams.

22 R. Paepe, 'Geomorphic surfaces and quaternary 23 H. Mussche and C. Conophagos, 'Ore-washing

deposits of the Adami area (S.-E. Attica)', Thorikos, 4 establishment and furnaces at Megala Pevka and Demoliaki',
(1966-7), 7 f. Thorikos, 6 (1969), 61 f.

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374 EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS

AI Q

A2 F.,A5
A

03

02

A4

0 1 2 3 4 5
FIG. 8. Plan of t

(iii) The installations in

processing ergasteria t
was the chief feature o
about?

The ore-washeries, as we have seen, multiplied the number of exploitable deposits in the
Lavrion area from as soon as they first appeared. In particular, after the organization of the

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 THE SILVER ORE-PROCESSING WORKSHOPS OF THE LAVRION REGION 375

FIG. 9. Washeries cut into the rock along the east bank of the Bertseko Valley. View from west.

exploitation of the Attic silver mines implemented by the Athenian democracy,24 m

Athenians became engaged in silver production, for the discovery of exploitable argentif
deposits was no longer difficult and offered the possibility of large profits. The great in
in the number of miners attested by the concentration of washeries in the Bertseko Vall
posed a serious problem due to the fact that there were so many washeries and the water
the rivulet was no longer sufficient for their needs. The same thing must have occ
wherever there were similar concentrations of ore-washeries. To cope with the short
water, the miners conceived of a new, equally important device, which made it possible for
washeries to function irrespective of the existence or not of nearby streams, wells,
Thenceforth, instead of setting up their workshops beside natural sources of water, which
in any case few and poor, they now built them wherever they wanted, with the differenc
at each of them they constructed a usually large, and sometimes huge, open-air water cis
in which they collected rainwater for use in supplying the washery throughout the year
rule the washery and large cistern were constructed beside each other.

24 E. C. Kakavoyannis, M~Takka jovyKFeXmpg~%tva:

AacVopEOTLK'lg cU6 Inyv AOflTVOK' ATItLOKpUTLa (doctoral
thesis, in press).
opydvomocr , lg tKt0d0EtU vyqg TOU OpvKTOv rOUTov Unlg

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376 EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS

This elimination of the need for springs or natural flow

production. The mines were located in different localitie
the ore the miners had previously to transport it from t
distances that were sometimes considerable. After the n
workshops almost beside the mine, thus freeing themse
transporting the mined material long distances.
The addition of a large open-air cistern for rainwater
development of the ore-processing ergasterion possible.
complete freedom of space and to acquire in time all the
operation, such as tables for crushing the ore, mills for
products, places for dumping the waste material, dwelli
personnel and also sometimes of the owner,25 undergrou
much else. As a result the ore-processing ergasterion no
every mining enterprise, since for obvious reasons thos
lived there and it provided lodging for the slaves who wo
The ergasterion also served to house the mining personn
slaves to stay for long periods in the underground mines
have meant their rapid demise and thus caused the enter
The archaeological finds show that women and children
the ergasteria,27 and it is apparent that these came to f
of each of them, among other things, probably practise
the surrounding area, for this would have helped to fee
the pack animals they used to transport the ore and for
people over long distances. In time a cemetery gr
comprising a peribolos,28 evidently for the burial of
scattered graves around the peribolos, belonging to mem
the enterprise.29
In districts where many mines were in operation due t
many ore-processing ergasteria grew up at the same time
The co-existence of many ergasteria in one place essenti
centre in the Lavrion region; similar centres, to judge b
have grown up at Aghia Triadha, Agrileza, Megala P
ergasterion was always associated with a mine, but as a r
life than the second. We know that the mines were lease
years, according to their category.3' At the end of the t

25 I. Tsalmou, 'O av6povag tro "t0n.rvYpioV

catalogue of -tou 0ltou"
Attic peribolos tombs', BSA
rqv Xop0pa trg AcA paoTotKilg', AAA 12 (1979), 15 f.'lo:vio: OEori n- rpyog
Kakavoyanni,
26 A. Liagouras and E. Kakavoyannis, 'Evpi0atcrct
A. Delt. 44 (1989), Chr. 83 f.; E. C. Kakav
AacpmEutLKig', AAA 9 (1976), 27 f., figs.
(1983), 2-4,55,
Chr., drawing 3; 27 a-b.
pls. 26 g,
Konophagos, 386 f.; J. EllisJones, 'Laurion:29 Kakavoyannis, ibid. 55-.
Agrileza 1977-1983:
30 M.
excavations at a silver mine site', AR (1984-5; no.Petropou[akou and E. Pentazos, '
31), 120, fig. 34.
27 Their permanent presence at the ergasteria is confirmed by
rooXgCeLa-tp b-r' ~ 0crq ("EKSooir 'A"rvc
excavations, which have revealed pyxides, childrens' toys,
'OtLkog-'AQva'(K6 and
K1vrpo O'KYtcrrfg ('A
other things. There are also women's graves in the cemeteries
H6l0tg, 21; Athens, 1973), addendum I, fig.
3' M.
that were close to the ergasteria and clearly Crosby,
belonged to 'The
them.leases of the Laure
28 On burial enclosures evidently associated
(1950), 196 f. with the mines
and metallurgical workshops, see 32 R.
Konophagos, 389, no. 2.
Garland, 'A first

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 THE SILVER ORE-PROCESSING WORKSHOPS OF THE LAVRION REGION 377

renew the lease, if the price set by the state suited him. Sooner or later, however, the mine
would cease to operate after the deposits, which were not unlimited, were exhausted. When
the particular mine closed, the entrepreneur did not abandon his ergasterion, since it
represented a large financial investment and was a fully operational production unit. He made
sure to lease in time another mine in the same or a different locality and to continue his
enterprise, since it was not easy to set up another ergasterion at any time or place simply at
will. In this way each ergasterion, although originally attached to a mine close by, later came
to serve mines much further away.
In many instances an ergasterion might continue to operate without being attached to a
particular mine. When, for instance, its owner no longer found enough ore in his mine, he
could interrupt his mine leasing and confine himself to his ergasterion, where for a fee he
cleaned the ores of others. The latter were small businessmen who did not have their own
ergasterion and whom it did not pay to build one owing to their small production. Th
considerable numbers of these, and we are told by an inscription that the fee they pa
ergasterion owner for this work was called 4'tpyczorpc.3 In this way certain e
developed into specialized units which afforded many people the possibility of engagi
mining business even though they did not have large financial means to start with. T
ergasteria were able to operate independently of any particular mine is clear from the
their owners sometimes mortgaged them together with their blue-collar personnel in
take out a loan. Inscriptions detailing the terms of the mortgage of an 'ergasterio
slaves' have been found in considerable numbers in the Lavrion region.33
On the basis of what we have said we can now, I think, form a rough idea of the or
basic evolution of the ore-processing ergasteria for the argentiferous ore in the Lavrion
in Classical times, and also evaluate the great importance their study offer
understanding of their operation and of the metal production of the Attic silver min
ergasteria, which differed greatly in size, were scattered throughout the Lavrion region
in localities where the substratum contained considerable argentiferous deposits a
were opened up. Their number is striking and leads us to valid hypotheses about
extent and organisation of the mining and metallurgical work of the Classical Atheni
the volume of the relevant production.
In spite of their manifold scientific value, excavations of metal-workshops are still at
stage. Some, like those by the Belgian Archaeological School in what is called the
Industrial Quarter,34 by P. Zoridis in Koilada Potami,35 by K. Konophagos at Souri
by the author37 at Haghia Triadha, the Greek Arms Factory, and Spitharopous
produced very interesting finds, but the most important to date is that of Mr Ellis J
Agrileza.38 This is a fine example of an ore-processing ergasterion (FIG. Io), the study o
has much to teach us. Jones, in a recent article,39 has also produced a study of the ty
ergasteria as well as what is found in them.

33 IG ii2. 2747, 2748; cf. J. Ellis Jones and S. D. Lambert,

37 E. C. Kakavoyannis, 'Aavpe0Wt1 il', A. Delt 38 (1983),
'Two security horoi from an ore-washery at Agrileza,
Chr. 54-7 and 39 (1984), Chr. 49-55.
southern Attica', ZPE 125 (1999), 131 f. 38 EllisJones (n. 26), io6 f.
39 J. Ellis Jones, 'The planning and construction of Attic
34 H. Mussche, Thorikos: eine Fiihrung durch die Ausgrabungen
(Ghent and Ntirnberg, 1978), 57 f. ergasteria', Bautechnik der Antike: Internationales Kolloquium in
35 P. Zoridis, "Epyc,0olpto X1ttocrtotoi
Berlin vom 15-17. Februar 199go veranstaltet com Architekturreferat des
EwtaOk k~,g tTOg oT60opLKo6', Arch. Eph. I980, 75 f. DAI in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Seminar fir klassische Archdologie
36 Konophagos, 375 f. der Freien Universitiit Berlin (Mainz am Rhein, 1991), 107 f.

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378 EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS

0 10 20 30 4, u )u M
FIG. io. Plan of the ore-processing ergasterio

A few years ago we discovered and began

ergasterion,40 virtually matching that o
valley and roughly opposite the latter
Kordellas Ergasterion, in honour of th
Lavrion region, Andreas Kordellas.4' T
with internal steps (FIG. II), a large ta
washery of Type 11,42 and special places

40 E. C. Kakavoyannis, 'ActvpE(0TLKr: Tto apX

(Athens, 1958), ii. 44, s.n.: K
EtZaTkXXovpLKO6 EpyconrilpLo 42 E.AC. Kakavoyannis,
orro InLOaponU5oL', A
50 (1955), Chr. 61 f., pl. 26 b-d.
apxci(v opOoyeovwv n7huvn
41 K. Vovolinis, Miya Trig AavpEroLK1g',
EXXvlvridv A. Delt
BtoypaILKO'v AejL

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 THE SILVER ORE-PROCESSING WORKSHOPS OF THE LAVRION REGION 379

FIG. II. East side of the large cistern of the Kordellas Ergasterion. View from west.

FIG. 12. Ruins of the west wing of the Kordellas Ergasterion at Spitharopousi, right after the deforestation of the terrain f

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380 EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS

two parts, of which the eastern contains the work place

12). The finds point to a date in the fourth century BC,
Research into ore-processing ergasteria is of great
principal means of exploiting the resources of the L
exploitation the Classical Athenians endeavoured to deve
extent for the enrichment of their homeland and i
admirably. The investigation of these ore-working insta
better understanding not only of the operation of t
economy, technology, society and history of the great A

Ministry of Culture, Athens EVANGELOS KAKAVOYANNIS

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