Lamponeia ( grc, Λαμπώνεια) or Lamponia (Λαμπωνία), also known as Lamponium or Lamponion (Λαμπώνιον), was an Aetolian city on the southern coast of the Troad region of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. Its archaeological remains have been located above the village of Kozlu in the district of Ayvacık in

Çanakkale Province Çanakkale Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northwestern part of the country. It takes its name from the city of Çanakkale. Like Istanbul, Çanakkale province has a European (Thrace) and an Asian (Anatolia) part. The Eu ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. The site was first visited by Platon de Tchiatcheff in 1849, and later surveyed and identified as Lamponeia by Joseph Thacher Clarke, the excavator of nearby Assos, in 1882, and by

Walther Judeich Walther Judeich (5 October 1859, Dresden – 24 February 1942, Jena) was a German ancient historian. His grandfather on his mother's side was publisher Heinrich Brockhaus (1804–1874)."Statement based on translated text of an equivalent article at ...

in 1896.

History

Lamponeia is located at an altitude of 565 m on the long crest of a mountain which runs SW-NE for a length of 3 km in parallel with a narrow valley to the north which connected Assos to the cities of the middle

Skamander Skamander was a Polish group of experimental poets founded in 1918 by Julian Tuwim, Antoni Słonimski, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Kazimierz Wierzyński and Jan Lechoń. Initially unnamed, in December 1919 it adopted the name ''Skamander'', after ...

valley. To the south it overlooks all sea traffic along the southern coast of the Troad. The settlement itself is 800 m in length and is protected by a 7 m thick circuit wall of rough masonry and boulders which dates to the 6th century BCE. Its strategic location controlling traffic to and from Assos to the west perhaps explains why it was captured by the Persian commander

Otanes Otanes (Old Persian: ''Utāna'', grc-gre, Ὀτάνης) is a name given to several figures that appear in the ''Histories'' of Herodotus. One or more of these figures may be the same person. In the ''Histories'' Otanes, son of Pharnaspes He ...

in 512 BCE.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, drawing on the mid-5th century BCE historian

Hellanicus of Lesbos Hellanicus (or Hellanikos) of Lesbos (Greek: , ''Ἑllánikos ὁ Lésvios''), also called Hellanicus of Mytilene (Greek: , ''Ἑllánikos ὁ Mutilēnaῖos'') was an ancient Greek logographer who flourished during the latter half of the 5th cen ...

, considered Lamponeia to be an Aeolian Greek settlement in origin and a secondary foundation of Assos. In the 5th century BCE the city was a member of the

Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...

and paid

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

a modest tribute of 1,000

drachmas The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...

(on one occasion in 430//29 1,400 drachmas) as part of the Hellespontine district. In the late 5th and early 4th century BCE the city minted bronze coinage, but thereafter disappears from the historical record. It is possible that soon after the city was incorporated into Assos and the site above Kozlu abandoned. Late Roman and middle Byzantine period finds suggest that the site was reoccupied in this period, perhaps as a defensive measure against piracy and brigandage.Cook (1973) 263.

References

Bibliography

J. M. Cook John Manuel Cook, (1910–1994) was a British classical archaeologist. He was educated at Marlborough College, and went to King's College, Cambridge (1929–32). His older brother was Robert Manuel Cook, also a noted scholar of antiquity. Caree ...

, ''The Troad: An Archaeological and Topographical Study'' (Oxford, 1973) 261–4. * S. Mitchell, 'Lamponeia' in M. H. Hansen and T. H. Nielsen (eds), ''An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis'' (Oxford, 2004) no. 783. Archaeological sites in the Marmara Region Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Ruins in Turkey Cities in ancient Troad Former populated places in Turkey Geography of Çanakkale Province History of Çanakkale Province Tourist attractions in Çanakkale Province Populated places in ancient Troad Greek city-states Members of the Delian League {{Çanakkale-geo-stub