Most Recent Visit: July 2021 Though habitation in the immediate area of the Kouris River mouth dates back well into the neolithic period, settlement at the acropolis area of Curium (Kourion) seems to have begun around the 12th century BCE with the arrival of Mycenean settlers of an unspecified origin. Herodotus claims they are from…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021. Situated just to the north of the Sinus Ambracius (the modern Ambracian Gulf), the body of water that bears the name of this city, is the Greek settlement of Ambracia. Mythologically, the city was founded by Ambrax, son of Thesprotus, who was the eponymous founder of the Thesprotians and himself…
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Continued From Lindus, Asiana – Part I The final, monumental staircase, originally constructed in the first half of the 3rd century BCE, led up through a monumental propylaia. Unfortunately, not much of the propylaia survives, really just markings on the pavement that show the original foundations of it. The staircase too is mostly reconstructed. The…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 It’s not often that I’ll feature a site that has, essentially, almost no period of Roman occupation. This is, after all, what the blog is primarily focused on. But, I certainly don’t limit my visitations to solely Roman sites. Occasionally I’ll visit a site that isn’t Roman, but is still…
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Continued From Nicopolis, Epirus Part II Just across the dirt path (where the cardo maximus would have run) to the west of the odeon are the remains of a temple. Like the bathing complex adjacent to the odeon, these remains too are heavily overgrown and difficult to view from the ground, but perhaps a slightly…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 In the lead up to the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, after wintering at Patrae and unsuccessfully attempting a move to Italy, Marcus Antonius moved his forces to the southern promontory at the mouth of the Ambracius Sinus (the modern Gulf of Ambracia), south of the town of Actium…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 About 10 kilometers to the east of Corinth is the city’s Saronic Gulf port, Cenchreae (Kenchreia). According to the 2nd century CE writer Pausanias, the two ports of Corinth, Chenchreae, and its counterpart on the Gulf of Corinth, Lechaion, were named after the sons of the nymph Peirene with Poseidon;…
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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…
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Located in the Apennine foothills of Umbria along the banks of the Sapis river (modern Savio) sat the ancient settlement of Sarsina. Also called Sasina in antiquity, the modern town of just a few thousand retains the ancient name. Prior to Roman hegemony, the settlement was located in the territory of the Sarsinates, who seem…
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History Located on the northeast coast of the Sardinia, Olbia is today, as it was in antiquity, the primary city on the eastern coast of the island. The city has taken on a number of names throughout history; Civita, Phausania, and Terranova Pausania, before being changed back to Olbia under Mussolini. Historically, the founding of…
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