Prepared and supplied by Harrison Eiteljorg, II
Copyright, Center for the Study of Architecture, 2004
Date: December 2003 to January 2004
The older propylon on the Athenian Acropolis was investigated by Harrison Eiteljorg, II, in 1975 and again in 1987 and 1989, thanks to the permission granted by the Greek authorities and the good offices of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens which assisted in obtaining permission. Changes in the files included with this document continued to occur until January of 2004. The initial work was funded personally by Eiteljorg. The preparation of the material for archival preservation was funded by the Center for the Study of Architecture.
The remains examined were those related to the Acropolis entrance between the end of the Bronze Age -- the end of the thirteenth century B.C.E. -- and 437 B.C.E. when the Propylaea was begun. However, the only studied material relevant to the period prior to the middle of the sixth century was the fortification wall, and the portion studied was that part of the wall that survived in the entrances of the sixth and fifth centuries and remains standing today.
The project was an excavation in the sense that the materials composing the bulk of the older entrance had to be uncovered. However, the area had been excavated at least twice before and probably three times. A portion of the area had been covered with a pavement to keep run-off water from reaching the foundations of the Propylaea; so that part of the site could not be examined. As it happened, the previous excavations had not reached bedrock in one crucial area.
The older propylon was also studied thoroughly by William Bell Dinsmoor, Jr. over a long period of time. The Eiteljorg publication, The Entrance to the Athenian Acropolis Before Mnesicles, appeared in 1994, and the Dinsmoor publication, The Propylaia I: The Predecessors, in 1991. To the extent that terminology is important with any of the materials here, the Eiteljorg work should be consulted.
All the documentary evidence from Eiteljorg's work has been assembled by him for archiving by the Archaeological Research Institute (ARI) at Arizona State University. That evidence is now entirely in computer form, though the original work was done without anticipation of the use of computers. The computer files generated in the course of the work and others generated for archival storage are defined and described in this document. All were made by Eiteljorg or under his direction. They include scans of drawings and notes made on site, scans of slides taken on site at various times, a CAD model which was constructed over time, beginning in 1985 and only concluded in 2003 (with the addition of links to external data), and data tables constructed to augment the CAD file. There are also some black-and-white negatives that have been scanned; they were used for photogrammetry work on the Mycenaean wall in 1989. Finally, there is a data table to identify the scanned photographs.
Data tables are free for use without restrictions. Images are restricted by the copyright terms stated below.
The first use of computers for the work was the creation of a CAD model. The survey work on the older propylon was accomplished with tape measures, line levels, carpenter's squares, and plumb bobs. A transit was used to take levels. No other sophisticated survey instruments were used. (The material south of the SW wing of the Propylaea was not independently surveyed by Eiteljorg; material there was included in the CAD model through the use of Dinsmoor's drawings.) As a result, data entry was primarily by using simple geometric shapes and altering them as required by the measurements.
In 1989 photogrammetry was used to survey some of the stones of the Mycenaean fortification wall. The data from that survey work was put into the model with explicit coordinates. Holes and cracks in the upper courtyard of the older propylon were entered into the model with the use of AutoCAD's plane transformation process.
All measurements are in meters. All the blocks of the primary study area -- the area lying within the external corner of the Propylaea formed by the southern wall of the central building and the eastern wall of the SW wing -- were measured to the nearest mm., and dimensions obtained from the model should be taken to be precise to the mm.
Dimensions of the blocks of the Mycenaean wall, obtained via photogrammetry, should be taken to be precise to the nearest cm., as should dimensions and positions of cracks and holes, which were placed with the aid of AutoCAD's plane-transformation process. The material in the secondary study area -- south of the SW wing of the Propylaea -- was not fully measured by Eiteljorg. Dinsmoor's drawings and notes were used to create the portions of the model pertaining to that area. Precision should not be assumed to be higher than the nearest 3 cm. because of the dependence upon scaled drawings for data transfer.
There is a possibility that Eiteljorg will continue to modify some of the files remaining in his possession. If he does so, the archive will be provided with updated information. Interested scholars, however, may wish to contact Eiteljorg (see http://csanet.org to find his address or write c/o CSA, P.O. Box 60, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010) to learn if there have been updates not yet communicated to the archive. Other scholars who use and augment any of the materials should also provide the new or changed data to the archive.
The CSA Propylaea Project may also generate information relevant to the older propylon. It may be consulted for such assistance at http://propylaea.org.
Download the rich text file documentation to OPAD : OprxivDoc.rtf
Download the text metadata documentation to OPAD : OprxivDoc.txt
DATA TABLES LINKED TO CAD MODEL
CSA holds the copyright to this document/model. The right of any scholar to access and use the model for true scholarly purposes is expressly granted. In addition, CSA expressly grants to the Archaeological Research Institute (ARI) at Arizona State University the unlimited right to use the model for true scholarly purposes and to permit other scholars to access the model for scholarly use. Commercial use of any kind is only permitted with the written permission of CSA; commercial use includes any use for publication or public lectures that are not free to all.
Should CSA cease to exist, the copyright and all rights to limit or control usage of the model will be vested in ARI.