The city is thought to have been surrounded by a fortification system from the late third century B.C. onward. This Hellenistic wall would then be dismantled during the Roman period and the main part of the fortification wall visible today was the result of a late antique reconstruction. The circuit of the Late Roman town wall was reconstructed in the past connecting ten wall sections, most of which could be dated to Late Roman times, but also including parts of the Hellenistic wall. In addition, a separate wall circuit encircled the promontory of the Temple of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius.

The general aim of this research is to illuminate our knowledge on the complicated chronology of the city’s fortifications by executing small-scale soundings and excavations.

The promontory with the Temple of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius
Excavations at “Fortification Gate 1” suggested that the fortifications surrounding the promontory with the Temple of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius dated back to the late seventh or eighth century A.D. Soundings placed along these walls (indicated “1a” and “1b” on the map) should corroborate or contradict this date and confirm or deny that this was the main defensive core of the Medieval town.

The area west and south of the Doric Temple
Conversely, the walls just west of the Doric Temple (indicated “2” on the map) can almost certainly be attributed to the major late antique construction phase of the fortification. Excavations in the area were carried out in the early 1990s but were not completed. The dating of the city wall was given a terminus post quem by coins of A.D. 383-392 in the stratigraphy inside the Doric Temple and a terminus ante quem of the early sixth century A.D. by rubbish deposits piled up against the exterior of wall and fill layers immediately inside the wall. A meticulous re-investigation of this area could therefore in the first place certify the late fourth/early fifth century date attached to the fortifications. In addition, since this area would be ideal for a new visitor’s route giving access to the city, we would like to complete the archaeological research here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 at 10:55 am and is filed under Fortifications. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.