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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Continued From Aquincum, Pannonia Inferior – Part V With the civilian and military settlements of Aquincum wrapped up, there are a few more interesting things to see closer to central Budapest, nearly 5 kilometers south of the military amphitheater. In antiquity, the site of the Erzsébet híd, the Erzsébet Bridge connecting the central parts of…
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Continued From Aquincum, Pannonia Inferior – Part III The area to the west of the basilica is largely un-excavated. There are a few remains poking out amid the vegetation, but nothing that is really exposed in any meaningful way. These are all supposedly more of the long, thin houses that also seemed to have some…
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Most Recent Visit: July 2022 Prior to the arrival of Roman hegemony, the settlement of Bagacum (modern Bavay) was located in the territory of the Nervii. The Nervii are not mentioned prior to Julius Caesar’s writings, but he describes them as one of the most formidable of the Belgic peoples. Caesar relates a battle in…
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Continued From Numantia, Hispania Tarraconensis – Part I While I may have found the actual archaeological site of Numantia a little disappointing, one thing that was not disappointing about my Numantia experience was, located about 7 kilometers to the northeast, about a kilometer northeast of the town of Reniblas. Located there are the vestiges of…
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Continued From Dium Part IV The walls of Dium continue southward and the path continues to follow the exterior (there is no path along the interior), with some spolia such as an altar visible within the walls. Some drainage features can also be seen. Some more robust towers (in comparison to the northern interior wall)…
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Continued From Alesia, Gallia Lugdunensis Part I Adjacent to the northern portico of the forum is one of the most interesting elements of Alesia, the so-called Monument of Ucuetis. This structure was built into the hillside, and so much of it is at a lower area than the forum. It seems to have been a…
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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…
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Continued From Casta Legionis, Hispania Tarraconensis Part I Heading back out to the street in front of the walls, Calle Ruiz de Salazar runs for about 150 meters north before ending in Plaza San Isidoro outlet. Just beyond that is an excavated area of one of the towers of the 3rd-4th century walls of Castra…
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