Listed 16 sub titles with search on: Archaeological sites for wider area of: "LACONIA Prefecture PELOPONNISOS" .
A replica of a temple (5th century B.C.). This monument of Leonidas contains the bones of the hero of Thermopylai; it lies to the north of the modern town.
This extract is cited Apr 2003 from the Laconian Professionals URL below, which contains image.
TAINARON (Cape) ANATOLIKI MANI
GYTHIO (Town) LACONIA
In the Northern part of Gythio, near the entrance of the city there
is the theatre, which is the most important edifice of the Roman Age. (It was
renovated during those times). The auditorium , which is divided in four parts
is well preserved. You can also see the foundations of the first stage wall dated
back to the early AD years.
South -east of the theatre there was an ancient agora. Above the theatre,
on the top of the 50m hill the Acropolis was situated. Today the remains of its
walls are distinguishable. Here there were the temple of Athena and the Gates
of Castorides as well as an aqueduct the ruins of which are still preserved.
This text is cited Apr 2003 from the Laconian Professionals URL below, which contains images.
SPARTI (Ancient city) LACONIA
The ancient theater is located on the south slope of the Spartan
Acropolis. It was re-built during the Post-Hellenistic period (1st century B.C),
and it more then likely replaced an older wooden theater (2nd century B.C).
It is a huge public structure, supported by two large walls. Based on its space
availability, it is assumed that it entertained as many as 16,000 guests per
performance. The center and the stage were composed of white marble while the
walls were composed of limestone (which blends better with the environment).
At the upper peripherals of the center is the colonnade, where the audience
would seek refuge from the rain.
There where 48 sitting rows (9 in the lower and 18 in the upper
frieze). The entrance was located on the east side of the theater, where today
we can see the remains of a magnificent staircase leading to the frieze. The
audience could also enter the theater from the top or from Athena's Copper Temple.
The stage underwent several changes. Originally it must have been
wooden because at its western alley we find a brick storage space which was
mainly used in the winter. The wood was probably replaced during the second
century B.C., during the theater's reconstruction.
Today, the ancient theater which is no longer in good condition is
covered by the time's embankment. Only a very small portion of it has been excavated:
the orchestra, the stage and few other sections above the center. We all await
the excavation's continuation and long for the theater's restoration, even if
it is only partial.
This text is cited Apr 2003 from the Laconian Professionals URL below, which contains images.
ARNA (Village) FARIDA
There was found a Mycenaean vaulted tomb at the place Arkina near the village. It probably belonged to the Mynians or the Boeotians who set out from Boeotia and invaded Sparta. What is more, findings of all ages, and especially earthen pots, were found in several places at «Spartias», between Arna and Arkina. It turns out from these findings that this place had always been a junction of the road that led from Sparta to Messenia..
VAFIO (Settlement) SPARTI
About 8 miles south of Sparta one can find the Vafio hill. Excavations
brought to light a Mycenaean behive tomb containing splendid gold and silver artifacts,
some of which are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Athens.
This is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Greece.
The findings from Vafio, underline the significance of the region in the post
- Hellenic Mycenaean years.
The Mycenaean vaulted tomb of Vafion, constructed from small, chiseled
stones, has been the subject of many archaeological project and has acquired international
fame because of the two golden cups found inside. These cups, bearing depictions
of wild bull hunting, can be seen at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens,
and even though the location of the palace of Mycenaean Sparta has not been identified,
they constitute irrefutable evidence of the prosperity and development of the
region much earlier than 1000 B.C. The region's significance has been corroborated
by the discovery of Mycenaean graves in the location: "Spilakia".
This text is cited Apr 2003 from the Laconian Professionals URL below, which contains images.
PYRRICHOS (Ancient city) ANATOLIKI MANI
There are remains of buildings and there have been found tomb inscriptions and the body of a woman's statue.
SPARTI (Ancient city) LACONIA
Region: Laconia
Periods: Dark Age, Geometric, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman
Type: Unfortified city
Summary: One of the major Classical city-states of ancient Greece.
Physical Description:
Located ca. 50 km inland on the wide and fertile plain
of the Eurotas valley, Sparta is almost completely surrounded by major mountain
ranges. In contrast to other ancient Greek cities, Sparta was not a compact fortified
city-state center with monumental civic and religious buildings. It was a loose
collection of smaller villages spaced over a large rural area and 6 low hills
(cf. Thuc. 1.10.2). The highest of these knolls (ca. 25 m) served as the acropolis
and location for the Temple of Athena Chalkioikos. In the Hellenistic period a
theater, stoa and agora were built near the acropolis, but the Temple of Athena
and the earlier remains at the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia on the W bank of the
Eurotas are almost the only archaeological remains from Archaic and Classical
Sparta. The location and the militaristic character of early Sparta made city
walls unnecessary, but as Spartan power weakened construction of fortification
walls began (in 307 B.C.). The 10 km long circuit wall was completed in 184 B.C.
Description:
The location of Homeric Sparta is uncertain, and historical
Sparta was traditionally a Dorian foundation of the 10th century B.C. By the 7th
century B.C. Sparta had conquered all of Laconia and Messenia and by the 6th century
all of the central and SW Peloponnese was under direct Spartan control. In the
5th century B.C. Sparta had control of the Peloponnesian League and in 405 B.C.
defeated Athens. The reversal of Spartan power, however, began with their defeat
by Thebes in 371 B.C. In 369 B.C. Messenia was liberated and by 195 B.C. Sparta
had lost all of its political dependencies. Under the Romans, Sparta enjoyed a
degree of prosperity, in part, because of Roman admiration of the Spartan tradition
of discipline. The Romans revived the ancient initiation rites for Spartan youths
at the Sanctuary of Artemis, but in a debased touristic manner in which the Spartan
youths were flogged in an amphitheater constructed around the altar of Artemis.
Sparta survived the Herulian invasions of 267 A.D., but was devastated by the
Goths in 395 A.D. and finally abandoned.
Exploration:
Early excavations by C. Waldstein of the American School in
1892-1893. Excavations by the British School in 1906-1910, 1924-1928 and 1949.
Beginning in 1957 C. Christou has carried out excavations and rescue operations
in the area of the modern city for the Greek Service.
Donald R. Keller, ed.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 27 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
AGIOS GEORGIOS (Village) VOION
A whole prehistoric town was found in 1968 between the sea and the Stroggyli Limni as well as in the sea, up to the Pavlopetri island, by the University of Cambridge.
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