Bagacum, Gallia Belgica

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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Numantia, Hispania Tarraconensis – Part II

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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Numantia, Hispania Tarraconensis – Part I

The ancient settlement of Numantia is today located on a hill, the Cerro de la Muela, just to the south of the town of Garray in northern Spain. Habitation on the hill dates back to at least the latter Neolithic periods with more or less consistent occupation through the Chalcolithic and Iron Age. The settlement…

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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)…

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Dium, Macedonia – Part IV

Continued From Dium Part III To the west of the forum of Dium, across the previously mentioned small road running along the west side of the forum, is the Episcopal Basilica. Construction was begun on the basilica in the late 4th century CE, but was never finished due to destruction from an earthquake. A new…

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Dium, Macedonia – Part III

Continued From Dium Part II From the Sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos, the Sanctuary of Isis is tantalizingly close to the east, and despite a sign indicating access to the temple through this area, there is none. From here, the Sanctuary of Isis is across the modern course of the river. A bridge apparently used to…

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Dium, Macedonia – Part II

Continued From Dium Part I Continuing on and retracing back from Hellenistic Theater to the main path and then south for about 115 meters, to a point where the path curves, are a set of remains identified as part of a Roman-era bathing complex with two phases of construction. The large room in the northeast…

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Dium, Macedonia – Part I

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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Alesia, Gallia Lugdunensis – Part II

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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Alesia, Gallia Lugdunensis – Part I

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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