Delos: how scattered Naxian blocks become an architectural model

What happened

A research project on Delos is bringing architectural fragments into a shared reading of the Oikos of the Naxians, the Naxian Stoa and the Archaic Propylaea. Arpamed’s March 2026 description proposes extending a developing 3D model across all three buildings. It does not announce a finished reconstruction.

The groundwork is dated. The French School at Athens’ spring campaign ran from 31 March to 18 April 2025. Reopening the Delos museum allowed researchers to study architectural pieces from the Oikos and Stoa in storage, while fieldwork examined how the Propylaea connect to those buildings. Access to stored material was therefore part of the architectural investigation, not simply an improvement to the visitor route.

Why it matters

In the second campaign, from 29 September to 22 October 2025, the team identified 25 additional blocks attributable to the Naxian buildings. Checking scattered pieces expanded the material available for reconstructing their marble roofs. This finding belongs to 2025; it should not be presented as a new September 2026 discovery.

The question is how separate remains once worked together. The Oikos, dated around 600 BC in Arpamed’s account, had an unusual marble roof structure. The later Stoa and the Propylaea widen the investigation from one roof to the organisation of part of Apollo’s sanctuary. A digital model can bring those relationships into view, while its underlying identifications remain essential to judging the proposal.

Planning relevance

For a visitor, the useful distinction is between surviving fabric, a research interpretation and physical restoration. The Arpamed and EFA sources checked on 23 September do not establish a newly rebuilt monument, public access to their developing 2026 model or access to the museum’s stores. The APSIM viewer above is a separate reconstruction published in 2024.

Our Delos heritage brief places the project in the wider archaeological landscape. The separate autumn-hours report covers the practical visit. Keeping those paths distinct lets architectural research enrich a visit without turning a proposed model into an attraction already on offer.

Key facts

Explore in 3D

The embedded Oikos reconstruction was published by APSIM in December 2024 and is separate from the research project.

Category / status

Delos Watch / Ongoing

Primary source

Arpamed ↗

Developments / timeline

1. 20 December 2024

   APSIM publishes its visitor-oriented Oikos reconstruction on Sketchfab.

2. Spring 2025

   The team studies stored architectural blocks and connections between the buildings.

3. Autumn 2025

   The second campaign identifies 25 additional blocks attributed to Naxian buildings.

4. March 2026

   Arpamed describes a planned extension of the developing 3D model.

Sources

1. Arpamed — Naxian monuments of Delos: towards a 3D reconstruction ↗

   Arpamed · Institution · Checked 23 Sept 2026

2. French School at Athens — Delos stone-roof mission, spring 2025 ↗

   French School at Athens · Institution · Checked 23 Sept 2026

3. French School at Athens — Delos stone-roof mission, autumn 2025 ↗

   French School at Athens · Institution · Checked 23 Sept 2026

4. APSIM — 3D representations of Delos ↗

   APSIM Project · Institution · Checked 23 Sept 2026

5. APSIM — Oikos of the Naxians, Delos (interactive model) ↗

   APSIM Project / Sketchfab · Institution · Checked 23 Sept 2026

Last editorial check

23 Sept 2026 · Mykonos Illustrated editorial desk.