A New List of Victors in the Caesarea at Isthmia

Abstract

E XCAVATIONS in a Roman bath of Ancient Corinth have produced still another stele listing the victors in the games at Isthmia.' It was found on May 29, 1968, re-uesd in a sixth century latrine built above the rutined western colonnade of the brick courtyard of the bath (P1. 18, a). A water channel cut into its face A apparently joined a similar one cut into the flat surface of a split column drutm found near by. Other sections of similar water channel were found built into later Byzantine walls. The stele of small grained white marble originally had three faces, each one inscribed. Slender fillets ran along the angles between the faces. One dowel hole, centered on the bottom surface of the stele, held it to its base. Another dowel hole, centered on the top surface, held in place the capping ornament. Each face tapered slightly bottom to top. When the stele was re-used a trough 0.095 m. wide was cut the length of face A to serve as the water channel (P1. 17). The angle formed where face B met face C was cut away to permit face A to lie horizontally. Presently of face B only the left half is preserved and of face C the right half (Pl. 17). Height, 1.90 m.; width (face A) 0.43-0.44 m., (face B) 0.20 m., (face C) 0.19 m.; thickness (measured perpendicular to face A) 0.17 m. Height of letters, (face A) line 1, 0.03 m., lines 2-5, 0.023-0.027 m., lines 6-13, 0.02-0.025 m., lines 14-45, 0.017-0.02 m., (faces B and C) 0.018-0.02 m.