Perserschutt

The Perserschutt (lit. 'Persian rubble' or 'Persian debris'), as it is called in the German language, is the collection of ancient votive and architectural sculptures that belonged to the Acropolis of Athens before being destroyed during the second Persian invasion of Greece, which took place between 480 and 479 BCE. After defeating the Achaemenid Empire, the Greeks cleared and buried what was left of the Acropolis following the Persian destruction of Athens and subsequently rebuilt the city. A team of French, German, and Greek archaeologists discovered and excavated what would become known as the Perserschutt in the 19th century, and a number of the collection's artifacts are on display at the Acropolis Museum.

The Perserschutt photographed in 1866, just after the first excavation was completed. The famous Kritios Boy appears on the right.

History

The Acropolis excavation pit, where some remains of Archaic statues were found, just northwest of the Erechtheion.

Greco-Persian Wars

The residents of Athens had been evacuated, and did not return until the Greek coalition routed the Persian army from the city. During the year-long Persian occupation, the Athenian city-state was sacked; Greek temples and other structures of significance were looted, vandalized, or razed to the ground. The desecrated items were buried ceremoniously by the Athenians after the Achaemenid Empire was expelled from their city. Later, the top of their Acropolis was cleared and their temples were rebuilt, with new works of sculpture having been created to be dedicated for the new temples.

Excavations at the Acropolis

Due to the burial, the artifacts' remains were preserved for more than 2000 years. They were first excavated by the French archaeologist Charles Ernest Beulé between 1863 and 1866. The remainder was discovered by Greek archaeologist Panagiotis Kavvadias and German architects Wilhelm Dörpfeld and Georg Kawerau between 1885 and 1890. The collection includes the Kritios Boy, the Calf Bearer, and the Angelitos Athena, among others.^[a]

Remains from the Perserschutt

• 
  The Antenor Kore
• 
  The Euthydikos Kore (detail)
• 
  The Moscophoros
• 
  Part of the damaged Hekatompedon pediment (Three-bodied daemon)
• 
  The Peplos Kore
• 
  The Kritios Boy
• 
  The Rampin Rider
• 
  Chariot and hoplites, built into the Themistoclean Wall

See also

• Archaic Acropolis
• Korai of the Acropolis of Athens

Notes

1. Details of the excavations were published in 1906. See references: Kavvadias, P., Kawerau, G.

References

• Panagiotis Kavvadias, Georg Kawerau: Die Ausgrabung der Akropolis vom Jahre 1885 bis zum Jahre 1890, Athens, 1906
• Jens Andreas Bundgaard: The Excavation of the Athenian Acropolis 1882—1990. The Original Drawings edited from the papers of Georg Kawerau, Copenhagen, 1974
• Astrid Lindenlauf: Der Perserschutt auf der Athener Akropolis (Wolfram Hoepfner: Kult und Kultbauten auf der Akropolis, International Symposium, 7–9 July 1995, Berlin) Berlin, 1997, pp. 45–115
• Martin Steskal: Der Zerstörungsbefund 480/79 der Athener Akropolis. Eine Fallstudie zum etablierten Chronologiegerüst, Antiquitates – Archäologische Forschungsergebnisse, Bd. 30. Verlag Dr. Kovač, Hamburg, 2004, ISBN 978-3-8300-1385-3