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Laüs or Laus (; ) was an ancient city on the coast of the
Pseudo Scylax, Periplous, §12
/ref> Strabo in 7 BC-23 AD describes the city as still being in existence. He mentions a heroon to Draco, a companion of
Official website of the Laüs Archaeological Park (Italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laus Achaean colonies of Magna Graecia Ruins in Italy Lucania Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Calabria Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Italy
Laüs or Laus (; ) was an ancient city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy.
Geography
The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...
. It was at the mouth of the Lao River, which formed the boundary between Lucania and Bruttium in ancient times and gave it its name.
The archaeological site of the city can be found at a short distance to the east of Marcellina, near Santa Maria del Cedro in Calabria
Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
.
History
Herodotus
Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
states that the inhabitants of Sybaris who had survived the destruction of their city in 510 BC took refuge in Laus and Scidrus. Silver coins were found with the legend LAFINON and symbols similar to those of the coins of Sybaris, dated between 500 and 440 BC.
Diodorus Siculus implies that that city had been captured by the Lucanians before or during 390 BC. Thurii had repelled a force of the Lucanians which had attacked their territory in 390 BC. The Lucanians then withdrew to their own territory and Thurians pursued them to lay siege to the "prosperous" town of Laus but on the way the Thurians were ambushed and crushed by the Lucanians.
Pseudo-Scylax writes that it was a colony of Thurii./ref> Strabo in 7 BC-23 AD describes the city as still being in existence. He mentions a heroon to Draco, a companion of
Odysseus
In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...
. Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
in approximately 77–79 AD states that the city no longer existed.
Excavations
The first excavation started between 1929 and 1932. The necropolis of Laus now lies below Marcellina and is notable for its important finds. A rich tomb chamber was discovered by accident in 1961 not far from the railway station of Marcellina, in which were dozens of red-figured vases, bronze and precious metals, and a finely crafted bronze armour. Dated to the second half of the fourth century BC, it is now exhibited in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia inReggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...
. Other burials of the same period, though less rich, were found in the same area in the 1950s and 1960s.
The excavations revealed the city was defended on at least three sides by a wall. The urban space was organised according to a grid plan with at least two central roadways in a north–south orientation and 12 m wide. These were intersected at regular distances of 96 m by perpendicular roads in an east–west orientation and approximately 5 m wide. This created a checkerboard layout of building blocks, which were further separated by narrow lanes. In the south-east of the site, near the present cemetery, an area of artisanal kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...
s for the production of ceramic
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
s was discovered.
The site today
The Laus Archaeological Park was created in 1994 to protect the site covering an area of approximately 60 hectares.See also
* List of ancient Greek citiesReferences
External links
Official website of the Laüs Archaeological Park (Italian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laus Achaean colonies of Magna Graecia Ruins in Italy Lucania Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Calabria Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Italy