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Listed 2 sub titles with search on: Archaeological sites for destination: "EGILA Ancient city ANTIKYTHIRA".


Archaeological sites (2)

Ancient towns

Aigila

  The island's, ancient walled city, the "kastro" or stronghold of ancient Aigila, lies in the north of the island above the above the bay of Xeropotamos, once the city’s harbor. Its walls, which date from the Hellenistic period, have survived in good condition. The city’s ruins cover about 75 acres, and it probably had about 800-1000 inhabitants. Much of the fortification has been preserved: in places, the walls stand as much as six meters tall. In the harbour of Xeropotamos there is a neosoikos - an inclined space or slipway where the warships from the pirate city were stored. It is carved out of the rock and in exceptionally good condition; it is one of the few in Greece that have ever been found preserved in their entirety. The ongoing excavation of the stronghold has discovered that the fortifications were first built towards the end of the fourth century BC or the begining of the third century BC. Important repairs were made during the middle of the third century BC, after an expedition of invaders from Rhodes devastated the city. It appears that from the begining the castle was under the control of Falasarna, a well-known city of pirates in Western Crete, which used it as an obeservatory and isolated outpost. The island's luck changed between 69 and 67 BC, when the Romans the decided to embark on "an expedition against piracy" and after the first century BC it seems to have been abandoned. Throughout the city, archaeologists have found clear evidence of a long history of war. The majority of the archaeological objects found are residues of war, such as stone projectiles from small catapaults, arrowheads, and innumerable lead sling-shots in the shape of almonds. The walls are marked by numerous and extensive repairs, and in some places the repairs were clearly hasty and improvised.

This text is cited June 2005 from the Community of Antikythira URL below


Ancient sanctuaries

The Temple of Apollo

In the innermost corner of the small bay of Xeropotamos, near the ancient fortress of Aegila, some of the stones used to tie ships in the harbor remain. In 1880, during excavations there, a marble statue dedicated to Apollo (now on display in the Athens Archaeological Museum) was discovered. On the base of the statue was an inscribed dedication to the gods from Aristomenis, the son of Aristomides, a Thessalian from Ferres and from Nikona, the son of Kifisodoros of Athens. The same archaeologists found parts of a temple to Apollo that once stood there. Round the ancient harbour, pieces of the wall that encircled the temple and the harbour have survived, together with steps carved into the rock that led to the castle.

This text is cited June 2005 from the Community of Antikythira URL below


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