Sanctuary of Asklepius, Epidauros - 2024

Excavations at the Sanctuary of Asclepius and in the city of Epidaurus were reported in a press release by the Ministry of Culture in January 2024. The project is directed by Vasilis Lambrinoudakis (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), in collaboration with Ephorate of Antiquities of Argolis.

About 350 stones were transferred, after the required documentation, to an organized repository, while another 100 were arranged temporarily elsewhere to be studied, before their removal. In the large “Building K,” west of the sacred road, multiple construction phases up to the late 4th century AD were identified, including a distinctive “crypt,” suggesting use for a mystery cult in late Roman times. In the city of Epidaurus, near the small theatre, excavators uncovered a previously unknown sanctuary (Temenos) of Asklepios, mentioned by Pausanias. Although its origins date to the 4th century BC, its preserved form reflects a major 2nd-century AD renovation, likely associated with Emperor Hadrian’s visit in 124 AD. The sanctuary complex includes an open-air precinct, a monumental fountain-house with a large cistern, and a stoa whose Roman-period form indicates possible use for incubation rituals. Finds, such as inscribed pottery, votive discs with deity busts, figurines, lamps, and heating vessels, confirm the identification, while earlier discoveries of bronze medical tools likely also belong to this shrine.