Cyrene

قورينة; شحات

Libya · Jebel al-Akhdar

Ancient cityUnknownUNESCO · 1982
Approximate period630 BCE — 650 CEArchaic Greek, Hellenistic, Roman and Late Antiquity See on the map ↓

In brief

Cyrene, founded by Greeks from Thera, later came under Roman rule. Excavations by the University of Michigan investigated the terraces and access arrangements of the Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone outside the city walls.

What was found?

  • 1Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone

    A place of worship outside the city walls, on the opposite slope of a deep valley. It shows that Kirene's religious life extended into the landscape beyond the walls.

  • 2Ashlar terraces

    Stone terraces that enabled the sanctuary to be built into the hillside. They document the construction labor invested in creating a large place of worship on sloping ground.

  • 3Stairway in the rock face

    A narrow stairway descending the rocky face on the city side of the valley. It helps explain the route used to reach the sanctuary.

  • 4Bridge foundations

    Foundation remains on the valley floor. Considered together with the stairway, they show how worshippers reached the lower terrace.

  • 5Marble and limestone votive statues

    Statues found among earthquake rubble and building stones. They document the tradition of dedicating statues at the sanctuary during the Late Hellenistic and Roman imperial periods.

What does it point to?

The terraces, stairway and bridge remains show that worship was an organized activity requiring access routes and landscaping. According to researchers, toppled courses of walls and statues among the rubble link the sanctuary's final destruction and abandonment to the earthquake of AD 262.

What did it teach us?

  1. Revealed that the sanctuary was separate from the city and reached by a route crossing the valley.
  2. Established that the principal surviving walls on the upper terraces were built during the Hellenistic period.
  3. Showed that, according to researchers, the earthquake was decisive in the sanctuary's abandonment.

Images

Cyrene8
Maher27777 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Greek; Roman
Coordinates
32.8250°, 21.8583°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. lsa.umich.edu

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