Continued From Augusta Bilbilis Part I The forum of Augusta Bilbilis was inaugurated in 27 CE. It underwent renovations in the Flavian and Antonine periods. Like the theater, the forum too seems to have seen a decline in use during the 3rd century CE. The open plaza of the forum is supported on an artificial…
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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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Continued from Argos Part II There are a few sites outside the actual modern city of Argos; some just outside the city and a few a bit farther afield. The first spot worth mentioning is atop the Larisa (or Larissa), the hill that overlooks Argos to the west. The name apparently comes from the name…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 Not to be confused with the Sanctuary of Asclepius, which today is the site that many think of as Epidaurus (or Epidauros), the city of Epidaurus was located about 8 kilometers to the northeast of the sanctuary, on the coast of the Saronic Gulf. Today, the archaeological remains are within…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 Near the narrowest part of the Corinthian Isthmus, less than a kilometer from the eventual site of the Corinthian Canal, the site known today as Isthmia began life as a localized sanctuary site. The name Isthmia is a modern description of the specific site, as the entire area of the…
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Ancient Odessus (also called Odessos, Odesopolis, and Odyssos), the precursor to the bustling Black Sea port city of Varna in present-day Bulgaria, was originally founded by Greek colonists from Miletus in the first half of the 6th century BCE. Prior to the arrival of the Greeks, the area was inhabited by Thracian populations dating back…
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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…
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Located on the Gulf of Trieste (the Sinus Tergestinus in antiquity) at the start of the Istrian peninsula, was the ancient city of Tergeste, or Tergestum. Today, the remains of Tergeste are located among the modern city of Trieste, which like its predecessor, now shares a name with the adjacent gulf. The origins of the…
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Continued from Serdica Part I Out in front of the hotel that makes up the western part of the building complex enclosing the Church of St. Geroge, where we left off, is another set of excavations, the Sveta Nedelya Square excavations. These were ongoing when I visited in 2017, and seem to still be presently…
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