Stadium? Theater? Conservatory? Large ancient Roman building discovered on Greek island

Aspen Pflughoeft
·1 min read
13

Archaeologists in Greece discovered the remains of a large structure from ancient Roman times, but mystery lingers about its purpose.

Thousands of years ago, Lissos looked out over the sea as an autonomous city and religious hub, dominating the coastline of Crete, an island about 200 miles south of mainland Greece, according to an Oct. 25 news release from the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Now, the remnants of Lissos can only be reached by a single pathway, but they still contained a remarkable discovery, archaeologists with the Greek ministry said.

Jutting out of the rocky green landscape lay a tannish-brown semicircle series of benches, Facebook photos show. Stone slabs, well-preserved closer to the center and crumbling toward the top, formed the stadium-like structure.

A passageway — with dark openings — ran underneath the structure, photos show. The hollow chambers had a vaulted ceiling, built into the ground, archaeologists said.

The dark openings of the passageway lead under the structure.
The dark openings of the passageway lead under the structure.

Archaeologists knew they’d discovered the central point of Lissos, but the 2,000-year-old Roman structure retained some of its secrets. The structure was likely a public building, possibly a conservatory or a place for the local government to gather.

The damaged portions may have resulted from an earthquake in the fourth century that shook the island and destroyed other ancient sites on Crete, archaeologists said.

The archaeological site at Lissos also has two Byzantine-era temples, archaeologists said. These house-looking stone temples look modest compared to the larger structure nearby, photos show.

A Byzantine-era temple also stands at the site and overlooks the sea.
A Byzantine-era temple also stands at the site and overlooks the sea.

Greek archaeologists also designed walking paths to reach the temples and repaired some of the ruined buildings. The ministry plans to finish excavating the public building to better understand it, the release said.

Google Translate was used to translate the news release and Facebook photo descriptions from the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports.

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