reports that documented their progress. These
innovative practices soon became standard
for archaeology. When the dig came to an end,
Homolle was unimpressed by all the dig’s suc-
cesses. He declared he was disappointed “not
to have found a metope or a piece of frieze, nor
even the finger of a figure on the pediment
of the temple,” nor the chasm mentioned in
ancient texts.
The Big Dig was the start of a long journey
that continues to this day to uncover the se-
crets of Delphi. Restoring this iconic place of
the ancient world has revealed the complexity
of religion, wealth, and power in the world of
the ancient Greeks.
UNESCO declared Delphi a World Heritage
site in 1987. In 1992, at the celebrations to mark
the centennial of the French excavation, Jean
Leclant, secretary emeritus at the College of
France, described the excavation as“the triumph
of the spirit of Apollo, all wisdom and beauty.”were common among the artifacts at Delphi.
Discovered a year apart from each other, the
twin statues of Kleobis and Biton date to about
580 B.C. These two massive freestanding fig-
ures stand more than eight feet tall and rep-
resent two mythological brothers famous for
their strength.
In 1896 the most famous athletic statue
was unearthed: the impressive bronze fig-
ure of the Charioteer. Standing about six feet
tall, the freestanding statue is believed to be
part of a much larger group of sculptures,
now lost. It was recovered from the Temple of
Apollo, where it had been buried by a rock-
slide in the fourth century B.C. Inscriptions
near the base indicate that it was erected in the
470sB.C.to commemorate a racing victory in the
Pythian Games.
The archaeologists worked hard to uncover
different structures at the site. Between 1896
and 1897 the theater and stadium that held the
Pythian Games were excavated, followed by the
gymnasium and the Castalian Spring, and, be-
ginning in 1898, the lower terrace or Marmaria
where the Temple of Athena Pronaia stood.
The French kept scrupulous journals of
the excavation, made use of photography to
document their finds, and published annual
BOOKS
Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World
Michael Scott, Princeton University Press, 2015.Learn moreARCHAEOLOGIST MARÍA TERESA MAGADÁN HAS PARTICIPATED ON EXCAVATIONS AT
ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN SITES ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN SINCE THE 1970S.RECONSTRUCTION
OF THE SIPHNIAN
TREASURY, DRAWN BY
GEORGES DAUX AND
ERIK HANSENILLUSTRATION:GEORGES DAUX, ERIK HANSEN/EFA. MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS/EPHORATE OF ANTIQUITIES OF PHOKIS.PHOTO:MARIE MAUZY/SCALA, FLORENCEA REAR VIEW OF THE RECONSTRUCTED ATHENIAN
TREASURY. ITS SIPHNIAN COUNTERPART STOOD
NEARBY, TO ITS LEFT, A BIT FARTHER DOWN THE
DELPHIAN PLATEAU.DELPHIANPLATEAU.
REYNOLD MAINSE/ALAMY/ACI
38 MARCH/APRIL 2019