ACTIUM - 2008

Actium. I. Trianti (Ioannina) reports on excavation at the Temple of Apollo. The structure was 24.15m l. x 9.2m w., with a transverse wall (3.43m); the walls, in opus reticulatum, were preserved to a h. of 1.75m. The partially preserved floor of the cella and pronaos was paved with pebbles. In the centre of the cella, a base 0.55m square was found set into the ground, around which the floor was decorated in pebble lozenges. The excavator observes that the base predated the floor, and this, together with the report of François Noël Champoiseau (who first explored the site in 1867) that around a square base in the cella were found fragments of a colossal statue and inscriptions with Hel and Ar letters, is taken to indicate the existence of an earlier temple. Champoiseau’s discovery of 2 6th Ct kouroi (Louvre Ma 687 and 688, of Naxian origin) at the site, plus new discoveries of Ar geison fragments, a column (3m h. with 24 flutes) and much Ar pottery, confirm this. The Ar sanctuary was founded by the polis of Anaktorion, 7km away on the SE side of the gulf of Ambracia. The Rom temple was built after the battle of Actium, and is likely contemporary with the foundation of Nikopolis and the victory monument of Octavian (29−27 BC).