Three trading structures along the shore in Delos : Magasin des Colonnes, Magasin δ and Groupe ε Trois îlots commerciaux le long du rivage occidental de Délos : le Magasin des Colonnes, le Magasin δ et le Groupe ε En Fr

Résumé En

On the island of Delos, early 20th-century excavations along the west coast unearthed several wide complexes dated to the late hellenistic period. These were identified as trading structures on the basis of their important capacity and their location, both close to the city centre and along the seashore. They include, from north to south : warehouses α, β and γ, the «pilasters point warehouse», group ε, warehouse δ (also known as the «bathtub house») and the «columns warehouse». Several edifices situated between warehouse γ and the pilasters point warehouse, and south of the columns warehouse were left unexcavated. Nevertheless, visible remains indicate they were part of the same series. Since 2009, those structures have been the focus of a research program on trading facilities in Delos, led by Véronique Chankowski, Pavlos Karvonis and myself. Up to now, three of them could be re-examined : group ε, warehouse δ and the columns warehouse. Early excavations in this sector were mainly interested in uncovering walls and very few data were recorded as regards the contents of these structures. Nevertheless, a detailed reexamination of their location and architecture gives new insight into their function.The three complexes present different shapes but also share common features. Group ε looks like the nearby-situated insulae of the so-called theatre quarter, consisting of several small houses and shops to the east. Nevertheless, its western part is occupied by several rows of wide rooms whose typology and location (they were directly connected to the seashore) indicate that they were used for storage. Building δ and the columns warehouse present more unitary plans, centred around open spaces. While the first one is organised around a single courtyard, the second, whose plan appears unparalleled, include three of them. The central one is wide and has a peristyle (whose the designation of the building) and the lateral ones, symmetrically located, share the same oblong plan. Even more exceptional, these three courtyards are connected by a long gallery, while the whole edifice, at least in its initial phase, was widely opened onto the exterior (centrifugal scheme). All along the western side of the three structures, a series of typologically uniform rooms ran along the shore, which opened onto that direction.