Most Recent Visit: July 2023 Little is known of Venusia (today modern Venosa in Italy’s Basilicata region) prior to conquest by the Romans, though according to legend it was founded by Diomedes after his arrival in Italy. He dedicated the city to Aphrodite in hopes of making amends with the goddess after he wounded her…
Read More
Continued From Diocletianopolis, Thracia – Part I Continuing on at the Camel Gate, inside the Camel Gate, located just to the west, are the remains of barracks abutting the fortification wall. These barracks were constructed in the late 4th or early 5th century CE. Originally the barracks built at this time along nearly the entirety…
Read More
Continued From Aquincum, Pannonia Inferior – Part IV From the Cella Trichora, it’s about a 20 minute, 1.2 kilometer walk to the next stop, tucked inconspicuously into a residential area behind (west) of the building at Harrer Pál u. 12. Located here, mounted on a pillar is a partial relief of a goddess crowned in…
Read More
Most Recent Visit: June 2023 The area of the Roman settlement of Aquincum was inhabited prior to Roman conquest by Eravisci (also referred to as the Aravisci), a Celtic people. The Celtic cultural influence is evident in archaeological remains, though Tacitus claims that they are related to the Osii, a group he labels as Germanic…
Read More
Most Recent Visit: June 2022 The ancient settlement of Colonia Augusta Ruaricorum was located on the southern banks of the Rhenus (modern Rhine River) at the site of modern-day Augst, Switzerland. The modern name of the city is derived from the ancient name, which was initially shortened to Augusta and then to Augst. Pliny the…
Read More
Continued From Carnuntum, Pannonia Superior – Part II Continuing through Römerstadt Carnuntum, to the west of the Villa Urbana are the public baths. Between the two there is the so-called valetudinarium area that has not been reconstructed except for the entrance off the portico, but rather have been left as conserved after excavation. A wooden…
Read More
Most Recent Visit: August 2021 Situated on the south bank of the Danubius (modern Danube River), the area of Carnuntum was originally inhabited by the Illyrian-Celtic Boii, who had an oppidum on the hill where the Hainburg Castle now resides, a few kilometers away from the military camp of Carnuntum. The name probably derives from…
Read More
Continued From Corinth Part II The northeast corner of Corinth’s forum is a bit messier and less orthogonal than the rest of the fairly rectilinear forum. Though during the Roman period it was covered over and the area was largely an open space, presently the remains of some elements of the Sacred Spring are now…
Read More
Tucked away among the foothills of the Cottian Alps in Northern Italy, the ancient settlement of Segusium is today located in the Val di Susa, which takes its name from the modern successor of Segusium, Susa. The settlement at the confluence of the modern Cenischia stream and the Dora Riparia (Dura Minor in antiquity) was…
Read More
The environs of the Roman settlement of Serdica (modern Sofia, Bulgaria) seems to have been inhabited at least as early as the 3rd millennium BCE, the date of the first significant settlement found in the area. Though occupation may date back much further. The Thracian population group, the Tilataei, established a settlement at the site…
Read More