Auris Arrectibus Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Looks grey to me .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 (edited) Oops. Sorry everyone. Thanks to AA for reminding me . . I feel suitable berated. Another apology, I've completely forgotten which ancient city I had in mind. So here's a sneaky one to be going on with. Hopefully, I'll remember what the original was during one of my less memory-impaired moments. By the way - I've no idea who the guy in red is. It's not my photo. Crypt2.bmp Edited November 10, 2012 by GhostOfClayton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted November 10, 2012 Report Share Posted November 10, 2012 Ooh - I've just remembered. Oh well . . . next time, maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 Donno what it is but I sure like it! Gonna see if I can find out later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 The roman bath of Catane ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Wrong type of structure, and wrong country, I'm afraid. A couple more guesses, and I'll give the first clue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvadius Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 I would tend to discount the possibility that this is an underground cistern or even the subterranean part of an arena but instead inclined to suspect that if anything it may be part of the catacombs in Rome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) You're right in that it certainly isn't an underground cistern or the subterranean part of an arena, though the words 'underground' and 'subterranean' are certainly true now. However, when this structure was built (by Greek masons) in the 1st Century BC, it's entirely possible that a little of the structure was visible from the surface (but not much, if any). Let's also discount the word 'Catacombe'. I don't recall there being evidence of any burials, and there was certainly no evidence of any religious use. Is it in Rome? Wrong country, I'm afraid. Edited November 13, 2012 by GhostOfClayton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maladict Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 It's oddly familiar. I think I've been here, but I can't put my finger on it. Either I'm going senile or it was a really long time ago, which would most likely place it in France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melvadius Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 No idea where it is but if it is something like an undercroft/cellars then it may be associated with a forum or more likely an agora to pick up on the hint about 'Greek masons'. If so that would probably rule out France so possibly somewhere in Greece as a location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 OK - mixture of right and wrong here. Firstly, France. Yes. Maladict is going senile. I doubt it - even if he lost 50% of his brain power, he'd still be a pretty sharp cookie. Maladict was there a long time ago. I can't comment. Undercroft/cellar associated with a forum. Very much so. Undercroft/cellar associated with an agora. No (the Greek masons thing wasn't really a hint). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Arles' cryptoportic ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Arles' cryptoportic ? It can't be a cryptoportic, at least not of the classical kind. Looks all wrong :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maladict Posted November 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) Arles I think you've got it. Edited November 13, 2012 by Maladict Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) Quote right - it is the Arles Cryptoporticus (well done Bryaxis Hecatee). It is an unusually large space below the forum. Structurally it was almost certainly built to give a level surface to the forum on otherwise sloping ground, and so may have been at least partly above ground when first built (mainly depending on what else was built around it, I suppose). No-one knows to what purpose it was put. If you're in Arles, search it out - it's a huge, eery space that you can wander in for quite some time. Plenty of little offshoots and so on you could easily miss. To find it, locate the Place de la Republic, and the Cleopatra's needle that once graced one end of the nearby Roman Circus. Walk north and enter the Mairie/Hotel de Ville. The entrance to the Cryptoporticus is a fairly anonymous looking desk immediately on the left. It closes at lunchtime. Over to Bryaxis Hecatee for the next thrilling instalment. Edited November 13, 2012 by GhostOfClayton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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