ATHENS, GREECE—Traces of a stoa, or covered walkway, have been found off the coast of the Greek island of Salamis, according to a Live Science report. Researchers from Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports said that the identification of the stoa will help them to study the topography and organization of the ancient city, which was described by the second-century A.D. geographer Pausanias. “There are still the remains of a marketplace, a temple of Ajax, and his statue in ebony,” he wrote. The section of surviving stones measures about 20 feet wide and 105 feet long. Archaeologists think the walkway once surrounded six or seven rooms. In one of the rooms, they found a storage pit measuring about 15 feet square. Amphora stoppers and bronze coins found in the stoa’s foundations suggest that the structure could date back to the fourth century B.C. Researchers also recovered a fragment of a marble stela bearing a relief depicting a bearded man being crowned by someone with a muscular right hand. Scholars suggest the hand may be part of an image of the hero Ajax. A fragment of a marble column bearing an inscription was also recovered. To read about excavations of a stoa in an ancient Greek sanctuary on a northern Aegean island, go to "Secret Rites of Samothrace."
Possible Ancient Public Building Found Off the Coast of Greece
News October 31, 2023
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2024
Cosmic Ray Calendar
Features September/October 2024
Hunting for the Lost Temple of Artemis
After a century of searching, a chance discovery led archaeologists to one of the most important sanctuaries in the ancient Greek world
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2024
A Friend for Hercules
Features May/June 2024
Alexander the Great's Untold Story
Excavations in northern Greece are revealing the world that shaped the future king
-
Features September/October 2023
Ukraine's Lost Capital
In 1708, Peter the Great destroyed Baturyn, a bastion of Cossack independence and culture
-
Letter from Vesuvius September/October 2023
Digging on the Dark Side of the Volcano
Survivors of the infamous disaster rebuilt their lives on the ashes of the A.D. 79 eruption
(Courtesy Girolamo Ferdinando De Simone) -
Artifacts September/October 2023
Padlock
(Courtesy James Davidson) -
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2023
Nose to Tail