Agrigentum, Sicilia – Part III (Addendum I)

Continued From Agrigentum, Sicilia Part II The first time I visited Agrigento in June 2017, I was just a few months on from officially starting this project. It was one of the first sites I visited after I had actually started working this. Though I had gone into summer 2016 travels with the idea, I…

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Juliobriga, Hispania Tarraconensis – Part I

Most Recent Visit: July 2022 In 29 BCE, Augustus began a campaign in the northwestern part of Hispania to attempt to pacify the last remaining populations not more or less submitting to Roman hegemony on the peninsula; the Cantabri and the Astures. The bloody ten year long conflict saw the Romans not taking prisoners and…

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Beneventum, Samnium – Part II

Continued From Beneventum, Samnium – Part I From the Arch of Trajan, one of the streets leading due east out of the intersection in front of the arch is Viale dei Rettori (a slight uphill). About 300 meters along this street, it intersects with Via Sandro Pertini and curves to the south. On the southwest…

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Apollonia, Macedonia – Part IV

Continued From Apollonia, Macedonia – Part III On the south side of the sacred way, above the north end of the stoa, was another set of retaining walls. On top of the plateau formed by these was a temple. The temple dates back to at least the 2nd century BCE and was then restored and…

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Apollonia, Macedonia – Part III

Continued From Apollonia, Macedonia – Part II North of the monastery is the bulk of the archeological site. About 100 meters on is what is referred to as the monumental center of Apollonia. The main path intersects and follows the cardo that would have led north into this center. Along the east side of this…

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Colonia Clunia Sulpicia, Hispania Tarraconensis

Most Recent Visit: July 2022 The exact date of foundation for Colonia Clunia Sulpicia (modern Peñalba de Castro) is unclear, but presumably it was sometime between the subjugation of the local Arevaci around 93 BCE and the first appearance of the settlement in the historical record in 75 BCE. The Roman settlement was not built…

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Aventicum, Gallia Belgica – Part II

Continued From Aventicum, Gallia Belgica – Part I In the 11th century, a fortified tower was constructed over the monumental eastern entry to the amphitheater. It was embellished in later periods, but now houses the archaeological finds from Aventicum in the Musée Romain. Accessible from the upper level of the amphitheater. In the summer (April…

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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 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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