Peisistratean Fortification and Extensions
The Peisistratean Fortification, with which at the end of the 6th cent. BC the city of Eleusis as well as the Sanctuary were fortified, followed along certain parts of its course the contour of the previous wall, which was restricted to the east area of the Sanctuary, while it was extended to include as much the northwest as the southwest area of it.
The wall is of great importance for the construction technology of the era, as it is one of the few preserved examples of mudbrick defensive structures.
Its lower part, up to the height of about 1,2m, was built in the polygonal system of masonry using large boulders of grey eleusinian limestone.
The superstructure was built of square bricks, made from mud and straw, dried in the sun (unbaked mudbricks). In its highest part there was the parodos, a corridor along which the garrisons patrolled. At regular intervals it was reinforced by tall towers solid at the base, made in the same system of construction.
In the years of Cimon (first half of 5th cent. BC), with the extension of the existing fortification to the northeast, the Peisistratean Fortification functioned as cross-wall, while to the southeast it continued to form the external wall of the Sanctuary.
The extension that was added in the years of Pericles (5th cent. BC), covered its east part and thus only its south part continued to be functional.
With the construction of the Lykourgean Fortification (4th cent. BC), its south part was incorporated into the south section of the new wall. It then remained visible and functioned as cross-wall in the area of Cimon’s extension and in the area of the gate to the north of the Sanctuary.
The Peisistratean Gate that was lying on the axis of the Processional Road to the Telesterion, at the height of Ploutonion, and served as the outer gate of the Sanctuary, remained in use until Roman times, specifically until 40 BC, when it was covered by the construction of the Lesser Propylaea.
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