Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 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. I did visit it about twenty years ago... But I'm afraid it did not really mark me up at the time. Now, for you to find is this place : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 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. Puh, really gave me a scare there, thought I had lost my mind for a bit as I read that it really was a cryptoportico. Last line saved me This structure might perhaps be compared to the cellar space under the Baths of Neptune in Ostia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Is the mystery city in Bulgaria? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 14, 2012 Report Share Posted November 14, 2012 Actually it is, indeed, a bulgarian place which is here shown, and not a sicilian from my last trip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auris Arrectibus Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 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. Damn, too late! Last May I was in Arles for a week (right above it, in Hotel du Forum). 'Took me two days to find the entrance of the Cryptoportiques, and even the owner of the bookshop, just at the opposite of the Mairie, couldn't tell me. Jeroen H de Lange, Amsterdam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 Hmmm the Bulgarian one is tricky, and I've never even been to the country. But the masonry style is quite different from what you would normally expect to find in a Roman context, that should be able to help us on our way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 It's tricky but it's roman... This specific building seems to have been in use until the 6th century AD and the time of the Avars invasion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klingan Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 It's tricky but it's roman... This specific building seems to have been in use until the 6th century AD and the time of the Avars invasion. Damn that's why I have no clue what it is - anything post 235 and I'm lost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 Well the city were this building was (in the 4th century according to what informations I could gather) built was standing during your period, on a site our bulgarian friend on this forum may mention (or have mentionned...) on his celtic bulgaria blog. Also the place was rather famous around the end of the period you know for some event that took place next to it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auris Arrectibus Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Hi Bryaxis, Did some diggin' in Bulgarian history. I guess it's the palace of Omurtag .... And the event you mentioned could be the translation of the bible by Wulfila at Nicopolis ad Istrum. Jeroen H de Lange, Amsterdam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Good attempt Auris, but unfortunately it is not the palace, you're looking too far in the barbarian times, at the time of Omurtag the city we're looking for had been destroyed for a bit more than two centuries... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auris Arrectibus Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 (edited) Good attempt Auris, but unfortunately it is not the palace, you're looking too far in the barbarian times, at the time of Omurtag the city we're looking for had been destroyed for a bit more than two centuries... Amai! Dan moet-ik ut twee eeuwen eerder gaan zoeken! Ben dis-donc! Je dois chercher deux si Edited November 28, 2012 by Auris Arrectibus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Inderdaad, twee euwe vroeger word deze stad verbrand en afgeschaft van de map... t'is maar later dat de moderne stad word gebouwd en de oude plaats is nu dicht bij een antaal industries... (for the english speaking peoples : "indeed, the city was burned and erased from the map two centuries earlier... It's only later that the modern city was build and the ancient site is now close to it in an industrial area) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostOfClayton Posted November 29, 2012 Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 Kabile? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryaxis Hecatee Posted November 29, 2012 Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 no, this is not the place (yeah, for once a place really does prove challenging to this great assembly !) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.