“Notion Archaeological Research Project: The Biography of an Ancient Greek City in Ionia”

Christopher Ratté (Michigan)

 

Notion was a Greek city on the western coast of Ionia, 50 km south of Smyrna. It was closely associated with the inland town of Colophon, 15 km to the north; from the late Hellenistic period onward, it was known as New Colophon, or Colophon-by-the-Sea. 

This lecture reports on the results of an archaeological survey of Notion, carried out between 2014 and 2018 by the University of Michigan and Brown University. As preserved, Notion is a grid-planned city, surrounded by stout fortification walls. Important buildings within the walls include a Theater, a Bouleuterion (Council House), and two small temples. In addition to mapping the city and documenting its architectural remains, the survey included extensive collection of surface finds, which show that Notion was only intensively occupied from the 3rd century BC to the 1st century AD. 

The archaeology of Notion illuminates the turbulent history of Ionia in the Hellenistic period, and the different ways in which local communities responded to the imposition of Roman rule. 

* Our lecture will be Live - Streamed. Please click on the play button bellow to start watching or click HERE.

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