Older Propylon

The so-called older propylon on the Athenian Acropolis (the entrance to the Acropolis preceding the Propylaea, the grand entrance that was built just after the completion of the Parthenon) 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 permissions. Changes in the data, and, consequently, 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 that 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. In addition, a portion of the area had been covered with a pavement to keep run-off water from reaching the foundations of the Propylaea; so part of the site (in general, all of the so-called lower courtyard) could not be examined. As it happened, the previous excavations had not reached bedrock in one crucial area.

所谓雅典卫城早期门楼（即宏伟山门——卫城山门（Propylaea）——建成之前的卫城入口，该宏伟山门建于帕特农神庙（Parthenon）完工后不久），由哈里森·艾特尔约格二世（Harrison Eiteljorg, II）分别于1975年、1987年及1989年开展调查。本次调研得以开展，得益于希腊官方许可，以及雅典美国古典研究学院协助获取许可的斡旋助力。

本数据集相关数据乃至随文档附带的文件内容，直至2004年1月仍在持续更新。初始调研工作由艾特尔约格个人资助，而为实现档案留存所开展的资料整理工作，则由建筑研究中心提供资金支持。

本次考察的遗存，年代跨度为青铜时代末期（即公元前13世纪末）至公元前437年（卫城山门始建之年）间与卫城入口相关的遗迹。但针对公元前6世纪中期之前时段的相关研究材料，仅存防御城墙；本次考察的城墙区段，为公元前6至5世纪入口处留存至今的现存墙体部分。

本项目本质上属于考古发掘工作——因该早期门楼主体遗存需经清理方能显露。但该区域此前至少已被发掘过两次，甚至可能达三次。此外，部分区域曾铺设路面以阻挡地表径流侵蚀卫城山门的地基，因此该区域的一部分（大致为所谓的“下层庭院”全域）无法进行考察。值得注意的是，此前的发掘工作在一处关键区域未抵达基岩。