Of the many sites surveyed by Helen Waterhouse and R. Hope Simpson in Laconia one of the most outstanding is that of Ayios Stephanos (BSA lv (1960) 97–100). It is about 45 km. SSE. of Sparta and distant just under two km. from the sea (PLATE 39a). At one time it undoubtedly was a promontory jutting out into the sea, for in many parts of the Mediterranean the land has risen since Classical times. The site is a flat-topped hill, the habitable part of which covers an area of roughly 45,000 square metres. It is steep on the north and east. To the west it links up with the foothills of the Taygetus range. In recent years the hill has been used for pasturage, but at one time it was almost certainly cultivated and the plough has done a lot of damage to the underlying walls and burials.