American School of Classical Studies at Athens

A fragment from the top left of a grave stele excavated from the area of the Stoa of Attalos. The ornamental Acanthus leaf motif is among the most common decorative motifs in ancient Greek design.

A collection of objects found at the house of Simon the Cobbler during the Ancient Agora excavations. A series of buttons/eyelets are carved from bone and ivory (BI 738), as well as a number of hobnails (IL 1361), iron pieces nailed into the soles of shoes to increase durability and grip. Finally, a base (P 22998) from a kylix (a drinking cup with a wide drinking bowl and a short, stout stem) bears the inscription of it's owner in the genitive, "ΣΙΜΟΝΟΣ," "Simon's."

A fragment of Pantelic marble with fragments of a list of names, likely from a list of Archons who would have served Athens from the years 527/6 to 522/1 BC. The Archon was the chief magistrate of Athens, and during this period, each Archon served a term of one year. These officeholders are often called "Eponymous Archons" because the year of their archonship would often be named after them.

A boundary stele (ὄρος, ὄρους, τό) of rough-hewn marble marking the edge of the Athenian Agora. This boundary stone was originally laid east of the Tholos. As it is today, only a single line of the inscription remains; the rest has eroded away.

A small, thin, bronze strip used as an identification ticket (πινάκιον, πινακίου, τό) used in the random selection of jurors, or dikasts (δικαστής, δικαστοῦ, ὁ). This ticket is inscribed with a potential juror’s name (Δημοφάνης), patronymic (Φιλ…), and deme (Κηφισιεύς). 

A Silver tetradrachm found in the Ancient Agora excavations at Athens. The obverse (front) side depicts the head of Athena wearing an Athenian helmet ornamented with a palmette and olive leaves. The reverse side depicts her owl and an olive twig, and bears the legend "ΑΘΕ."

Two Ostraka of Xanthippos Arriphronos, the father of the Peloponnesian War-era general and highly influential statesman Pericles. Both ostraka are wall fragments broken all around. The ostrakon on the left (object P 32559) is of coarse-grained clay and unglazed. The ostrakon on the right (object P 32560) has a thin, dark brown glaze on its exterior.

An Athenian vessel shoulder fragment from a large enclosed vase. There is reddish glaze on the exterior of the fragment. After the vessel was shattered, the unglazed interior of the fragment was lightly incised with part of the Greek alphabet, as it appeared in the sixth century B.C.