Diocletianopolis, Thracia – Part I

Most Recent Visit: July 2019 Among the modern town of Hisarya, Bulgaria are the remains of what was once the Roman settlement of Diocletianopolis. Habitation at the site of Diocletianopolis seems to date back at least 6,000 years. The prevalent mineral hot springs there likely attracted attention to this particular location. By the 5th century…

Read More

Dium, Macedonia – Part V

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)…

Read More

Curium, Cyprus – Part I

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…

Read More

Ambracia, Epirus

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…

Read More

Lindus, Asiana – Part II

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…

Read More

Nicopolis, Epirus – Part III

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…

Read More

Nicopolis, Epirus – Part I

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…

Read More

Serdica, Thracia – Part I

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…

Read More

Sarsina, Umbria

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…

Read More

Olbia, Sardinia

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…

Read More