Persepolis

Archaeological Sites in Iran

Translated to Persepolis or ‘The City of the Persians’ by the ancient Greeks, the original name for this Iranian city was Parsa. The first complex was built here in the 6th Century BC, but building continued over the next hundred years and beyond, before being razed to the ground by Alexander the Great.

The vision for city saw it flat so the natural plateau was added to to create a large platform 450m by 300m on which to build halls, palaces, harems, tombs and treasuries to hold the wealth of ancient Persia. Two large staircases lead up to the city from the plains below which were wide enough for horses to climb.

Alexander burned and demolished the city and it was left alone, covered only in its own rubble until it was excavated in the 1930’s, the dry conditions meant the ruins remained in surprising condition. The largest ruin was the audience hall, estimated to be able to hold 10,000 people under a wooden roof supported by the huge pillars which are one of the main focuses of the site today.

Acropolis

Archaeological Sites in Athens, Greece

Not the only acropolis in Greece, this is the one people are generally referring to, a plateau of rock on which to build the greatest parts of Athens, its temples, palaces and most important buildings. The first known structure to stand here was built in the Bronze Age, but the current ruins, which include the Parthenon, the Propylaea or entrance gate, The Temple of Nike, the Theatre of Dionysus and the Erechtheum, were built in the fifth century BC. Other grand structures originally surrounded these ancient masterpieces, including a massive bronze statue of Athena holding a lance that could be seen by sailors out at sea.

Many, many items of importance have been recovered in archaeological examinations of the Acropolis, and these were housed first in the Acropolis Museum or the New Acropolis Museum, both built on the rock amongst the ruins. These days the Acropolis is in an almost constant state of gentle restoration, you’re likely to see scaffolding of some sort, even if it’s just there to hold up the Parthenon’s crumbling perfection. The lines of the columns aren’t quite straight, the ancient Athenians had such advanced ideas about engineering that they understood that to have lines that look perfectly straight you actually need to curve them. Rather than its pieces interchange with each other each piece is actually totally unique – like a complex jigsaw – so it could be taken apart and repaired.

Phaistos

Archaeological Sites in Crete, Greece

One of Crete’s great and grand Minoan cities destroyed by an earthquake in the Bronze Age, Phaistos’s palace was rebuilt multiple times after earthquakes until the whole city was eventually shaken beyond repair. Apart from the earthquake risk it was otherwise built in a good position on a small hill surrounded by fertile grounds then mountains, commanding good views.

Excavations took place there in the 1880’s and on into the second half of the 20th Century including several important examples of Linear A text, as yet undeciphered, as well as Minoan buildings from several different periods. The main palace has a courtyard with two main staircases set in a small ampitheatre. A seemingly simple design is more complex on further examination, due to the rebuilds, which is why excavation work continued over such a long period. Current theory suggests that in later rebuilds the original design, which bears some resemblance to the land surrounding it, was maintained as much as possible.

Now set up as an attraction for visitors, this is one of the better maintained of Crete's sites, but bordering on the commercial in the last few years, but not the extent of spoiling it.

Crete

Islands in Crete, Greece

Archaeology and mythology go up against sparking blue seas and soft sandy beaches when it comes to the best of Crete. Knossos and Phaistos calls people from across the seas but then so do photos of the coastline and those quintessential Greek island villages. But being the centre of the ancient Minoan civilization wins out for me. This is the stuff of the Minotaur, Icarus, Theseus and King Minos as recounted by Homer. The remains of this civilization, the ruins and mosaics unearthed are quite grand and what people resounding think of as civilized.

In addition to the history and coastline Crete also has a picturesque interior of rocky mountains and gorges and fertile plains. And temperate weather. It is the second largest island in the Mediterranean.

Pompeii

Archaeological Sites in Naples, Italy

If you don’t know of Pompeii you should go to great lengths to find out about it, and there are many ways of doing so, the BBC has made an excellent series, there are several great books or you can visit, but find out about it before you do.

Covered under layers of volcanic ash, Pompeii and its residents were preserved, just as they were in August 79AD, on the day that Vesuvius erupted. Excavation in the mid 18th Century dug back through the layers until the cobbled Roman streets of 79AD were again exposed, but below then there are several other layers of volcanic ash, so this wasn’t the first time Pompeii had been coated in ash or damaged by volcanic landslides.

The magic of Pompeii is in its state, so well preserved, with forum, amphitheatre, theatres, baths, houses, stores and brothel. It becomes clear that these lives were not lived as differently to our own as we may think, there is graffiti carved into the walls, fountains fed by aqueduct and even a municipal swimming pool. Frescos and paintings reveal more of the story, depicting images of people at work, play and prayer, many of them more racy than we'd display publically today.

Pompeii was a holiday destination then as well, a large ancient hotel has been uncovered. Estimates suggest there would have been up to 20,000 people in Pompeii at the time of the eruption.

Earliest attempts at excavation discovered gaps in the ash where people had decomposed and plaster was injected into them to capture these people’s final poses, this was as early as 1860, and you can see the terror on some of the faces. Resin was used for later human casts, and there are some of each still on display in Pompeii itself.

On the so called ‘Grand Tour’ or Europe, Pompeii in its current state has been attracting many visitors for decades. Excavation has stopped to preserve what remains and many of the buildings that were open earlier in the 20th Century and before are now closed, but there is still much to see. Local authorities try and herd visitors to the remains of Herculaneum to take some of the traffic of Pompeii, but though it is worth visiting, it is worth visiting also, not instead of. Walking the streets invokes a lot of thoughts and emotions and it's an important experience for anyone interested in history.