The area occupied by the Ancient Agora today ceases to be densely populated from the 13^th century onwards. From the descriptions by travellers of the 15^th-17^th centuries we can surmise that but a few houses existed in this by now extramural area of the city. This is also true for the 18^th century, with the difference that the Theseion area, like the Capuchin Abbey, were designated by the Ottomans as burial grounds for ‘foreigners’. In 1778, following a commission of Hasekis, voivode of Athens, the ‘Walls of Hasekis’ were built, so as to protect the city against the Albanians. After the construction of this wall, the area of the Ancient Agora is situated once more within the walled section of the city and there is an increase in the number of the residences built there. After the institution of the Greek State there were plans for reforming the area which involved the creation of a Royal Garden. The discovery of archaeological finds led the government to gradually expropriate the area so that archaeological investigations could take place. The first phase of the excavations by the Archaeological Society began in 1859 and continued until 1912.