Northwest of the Erechtheion, abutting the north fortification wall of the Acropolis, were found the remains of a building that has been identified as the Arrephorion. The high foundation of brittle poros blocks is all that has survived, but it is evident that the building comprised a square hall and a peribolos.

This peculiar architectural unit was the dwelling of two chosen young girls of aristocratic lineage, who carried out the secret ritual of the Arrephoria. The identification of the building as the Arrephorion is supported by the existence of a stairway within the north fortification wall that led to a lower level outside the Acropolis, since the ancient sources tell us that the “descent of the Arrephoroi” was part of the ritual of the festival of the Arrephoria.

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