Luna, Etruria – Part II

Continued From Luna, Etruria – Part I Also at the southeast corner of the forum, beyond the augusteum, is a large private house known as the Domus degli Affreschi, the House of the Frescoes. The house was originally constructed in the middle of the 1st century BCE before undergoing renovations about 40 CE. It underwent…

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Luna, Etruria – Part I

Most Recent Visit: July 2024 The Roman city of Luna was founded in 177 BCE by the triumviri coloniae deducendae of Publius Aeilus  Tubero, Gnaeus Sicinius, and Marcus Aemilus Lepidus. The latter of these, not to be confused with the famous triumvir of the 1st century BCE with Octavian and Marcus Antonius, was responsible for…

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Augustodunum, Gallia Lugdunensis – Part II

Continued From Augustodunum, Gallia Lugdunensis Part I From the Porte Saint-André, it’s about a 10 minute, 700 meter walk to the next site located to the south; Les Maisons des Caves Joyaux. This building is located down the access road to the Roman theater off of Av. du 2 ème Dragon. Though there is no…

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Augustodunum, Gallia Lugdunensis – Part I

Most Recent Visit: May 2022 Today located at the site of the modern city of Autun in eastern France, the Roman city of Augustodunum was founded sometime in the late 1st century BCE, during the reign of Augustus. Named after the emperor (with the added Celtic suffix denoting a hillfort, dunum), the city was a…

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Messene, Achaea – Part VIII

Continued From Messene, Achaea – Part VII Continuing along the road another kilometer and few minutes of driving (not through the gate) is another well-preserved section of the fortifications. There is no gate here, but rather the wall was destroyed to allow the passage of the road. On both sides of the road, significant portions…

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Messene, Achaea – Part VII

Continued From Messene, Achaea – Part VI To the east of the gymnasium/palaestra area is the stadium, which is effectively considered part of the gymnasium complex. It is bordered on the northern, western, and eastern sides by doric stoas that have been reconstructed using the materials found in situ. The seating at the north end…

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Messene, Achaea – Part VI

Continued From Messene, Achaea – Part V The road that runs along the east side of the residence leads down to the Doric propylon entrance to the gymnasium-stadium complex, originally constructed in the 4th-3rd century BCE. Some bits of the road are preserved along the way. The Doric propylon was constructed in the 1st century…

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Messene, Achaea – Part V

Continued From Messene, Achaea – Part IV Continuing up the eastern wing of the Asklepieion is the monumental eastern propylon of the sanctuary. This was the primary entrance into the Asklepieion from the eastern road, at a slightly elevated height, down into the eastern stoa. The exterior face of the propylon had an open triple…

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Messene, Achaea – Part IV

Continued From Messene, Achaea – Part III Immediately adjacent to the Sanctuary of Demeter and the Dioscouri to the southeast, the Asklepieion. The Asklepieion was located on the south side of the agora; some bits of the southern portico of the agora are visible on the north side of the path that skirts the north…

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Messene, Achaea – Part III

Continued From Messene, Achaea – Part II Just to the east of the sanctuary of Isis and Serapis is another religious building, the so-called Theater Basilica. The three-aisled early Christian basilica seems to have been constructed sometime after the middle of the 6th century CE and made extensive use of existing materials on site. One…

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