The crucial 4th century B.C.: Old and new fortifications, old and new settlements in the valley of Phocian Kephissos

Original title: Ο κρίσιμος 4ος αιώνας π.Χ.: παλαιές και νέες οχυρώσεις, παλαιοί και νέοι οικισμοί στην κοιλάδα του φωκικού Κηφισού

Abstract Τhis paper constitutes an attempt to discuss in detail the archaeological data concerning a category of walled settlements in the Kephissos valley which were abandoned after the Sacred War, whilst the population relocated to more defensible sites inside the territory of the same Phocian city. A ll these fortified settlements – whether old or more recent – date to periods both before and after the Sacred War, as indicated by the scattering of pottery and the fortification types. The abandonment of an old site and the move to a new one therefore provides firm evidence for the chronology of the construction of their walls. It is in this context that differences can be detected between the mainly polygonal style of the old walls dated to the end of the fifth or the first half of the fourth century as compared to the style of new cities established after the war. It is the trapezoidal style tending towards ashlar and sometimes to pseudo-isodomic masonry that now predominated in the walls which, consolidated by the increased presence of towers (some with a cross-wall inside), complied with the latest fortification patterns and siege techniques. However, all these walls cannot be dated on historical or technical grounds only, or attributed to a prescribed plan, but must be viewed increasingly in relation to the particular historical and archaeological evidence of the settlements they belong to.

Keywords Kephissos valley, fortifications, settlements, relocation, Sacred War