Most Recent Visit: July 2024 The Roman city of Luna was founded in 177 BCE by the triumviri coloniae deducendae of Publius Aeilus Tubero, Gnaeus Sicinius, and Marcus Aemilus Lepidus. The latter of these, not to be confused with the famous triumvir of the 1st century BCE with Octavian and Marcus Antonius, was responsible for…
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Continued From Augustodunum, Gallia Lugdunensis Part I From the Porte Saint-André, it’s about a 10 minute, 700 meter walk to the next site located to the south; Les Maisons des Caves Joyaux. This building is located down the access road to the Roman theater off of Av. du 2 ème Dragon. Though there is no…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2022 Today located at the site of the modern city of Autun in eastern France, the Roman city of Augustodunum was founded sometime in the late 1st century BCE, during the reign of Augustus. Named after the emperor (with the added Celtic suffix denoting a hillfort, dunum), the city was a…
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Continued From Messene, Achaea – Part VI To the east of the gymnasium/palaestra area is the stadium, which is effectively considered part of the gymnasium complex. It is bordered on the northern, western, and eastern sides by doric stoas that have been reconstructed using the materials found in situ. The seating at the north end…
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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…
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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…
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Continued From Asturica Augusta, Hispania Tarraconensis – Part I Continuing out through the northeast exit of the Jardín de La Sinagoga, and then north on Calle Padres Redentoristas, is the Domus del Mosaico del Oso y los Pájaros, the Domus of the Mosaic of the Bear and Birds. Located at Calle Padres Redentoristas 19, the…
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Most Recent Visit: June 2022 Little is known about the history of the Roman and pre-Roman settlement that preceded the Castrum Divionense; Divio (Modern Dijon, France). The name seems to derive from a word relating to a sacred fountain, which may have been present there. Evidence suggests habitation in the area from at least the…
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Most Recent Visit: July 2023 The Roman city of Brundisium (modern Brindisi), located on the Adriatic coast of Calabria (modern Apulia) seems to have begun life as a settlement of the Messapi; though legends have the city being founded by the mythic king Diomedes of Thrace. The Messapi are thought to have originated in the…
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Most Recent Visit: June 2021 The Greek settlement of Chalcis (also Chalkis or Χαλκίς in Greek) is located about midway up the western coast of the island of Euboea (modern Evia), at the narrowest point of the Euripus, the body of water that separates Euboea from mainland Greece. The name is alternatively attributed to either…
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