Context: | Sounion |
Type: | Fortification |
Summary: | Wall with towers and gates; surrounding the town on the western side of the promontory, also enclosing the Sanctuary of Poseidon. |
Date: | ca. 450 BC - ca. 400 BC |
Dimensions: | Area covered: ca. 350 m x 220 m. |
Region: | Attica |
Period: | Classical |
Plan:
Abuts peribolos wall of Sanctuary of Poseidon on southern end running north then west to the western coast of the peninsula. Ten towers of varying size at irregular intervals. A small gate between (counting from the wall's southern end) towers 2 and 3, was enclosed by a later bastion. The main entrance was at the western end.
History:
The promontory was fortified during the Peloponnesian war. The small gate near the sanctuary later became an interior entrance to the bastion, which may date to 263-229 B.C. The section of the wall running east-west was less finely built than walls running north-south, possibly because steeper terrain there offers greater natural protection. The main entrance toward the western end was protected by a large rectangular building, possibly a guard house or barracks.
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