Continued From Messene, Achaea – Part II Taking one of the staircases from the Theater Quarter leads up into an area above the summa cavea/epitheatron of the theater. Conversely, one can walk back out to the main area and around this retaining wall to access the theater area as well. The theater seems to have…
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Most Recent Visit: June 2021 Known to the Greeks as Dion, the city that would become Dium under Roman rule is located on a plain in the foothills to the north of the Mons Olympus, Mount Olympus, in the region of Piera, the homeland of the Pieran people. The name Dion derives from Dios, a…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2022 In antiquity, the chief settlement of the Mandubii was located on the plateau of the Mons Alisiensis, the modern Mont Auxois. It is likely the town which Caesar refers to as the Oppidum Mandubiorum. Today, the remains of the settlement are located just outside the French town of Alise-Sainte-Reine, which…
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Continued From Augusta Rauricorum Part I Directly south out of the museum are two of the most recognizable monuments of Augusta Rauricorum; the theater and temple. The temple is located to the west of the path, while the theater to the east. Before reaching the actual temple, a large retaining wall for the rise on…
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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: July 2022 Perched on a hill overlooking the plain of the Salo (the modern Jalón River) an important tributary of the Iber (the modern Ebro) near the junction with the Birbilis (Jiloca River), about 100 meters above the plain, sits the remains of Augusta Bilbilis. Prior to the arrival of the Romans,…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 At the northeastern foot of the Mons Tomaros (the modern Ptomaros or Olytsikas Mountain) is the oracular sanctuary site of Dodona. Traditionally, Dodona was considered one of the oldest oracles in Greece. Archaeological evidence suggests the establishment of a sanctuary at this site perhaps as early as the 3rd millennium…
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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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