Finding Old Sikyon: The application of geophysical, remote sensing, survey and excavation methods and their results in the campaigns 2015-2017

The ancient polis of Sikyon is well known from literary sources as a famous centre of arts and crafts, particularly in Archaic and Classical times. In 303 BC the city was destroyed by Demetrios Poliorketes, who re-established it on a nearby plateau. Our collaborative project by the National Museum of Denmark, the Ephorate of Antiquities in Corinth and the Danish Institute at Athens was started in 2015 to explore the site of the old city, its material culture and its urbanistic development. This paper presents the various methods of geophysical investigation, remote sensing, archaeological survey and excavation applied in the first three years with regard to their benefits and results. The non-invasive methods helped to define the precise location of Old Sikyon and its approximate borders and provided first information about its inner structure, single buildings and extra-urban areas. The excavations started in summer 2017 shed new light on some of these structures and gave first insights into the chronological development and material culture of the city.