Rediscovery of the Ancient City of Rhypes in the Peloponnese

An announcement from the Ministry of Culture reveals that recent excavations have focused on the ancient city of Rypes in Achaia.

This city prospered during early historical periods and played a role in colonization, notably founding Croton in Greater Greece.

This year’s detailed excavation on the Trapeza plateau, located eight kilometres southwest of Aigio and completed in early October, unveiled remarkable discoveries. The Ministry of Culture identified this site as Rypes, a historic Achaia city involved in the colonization process that established Croton in Greater Greece.

According to the ministry’s report, this year’s excavation concentrated on investigating Building C, located southeast of the temple terrace. This structure, integral to the city’s public activities, was buried beneath the rubble of its limestone and conglomerate superstructure. After meticulous recording, numbering, and removal, the southern long side of the building was fully uncovered, revealing a 16.80-meter kerb with a stylobate. Features such as the H and Z-shaped joints and superstructure elements suggest the building dates back to 300 BC. The facade is thought to have supported Corinthian semi-columns topped with an unstructured cornice featuring an epistyle strip with a Doric beak profile.

Among the impressive discoveries was a large marble lion, captured in a photograph released by the Ministry of Culture. The semi-columns, noted for having the smallest proportions documented, feature Peloponnesian-style sigmoid bases reminiscent of those at the temple of Apollo at Bassae. The excavation has reconstructed a towering three-meter structure.

Photographic evidence shows a large lion and a smaller marble lion. Per the ministry’s report, the areas between the Corinthian columns were filled with orthostatic plate braces. The capital of the Corinthian columns features delicate, stylized acanthus leaves, drawing comparisons to early examples from the temple of Apollo at Bassae. This is recognized as the earliest known complete Corinthian composition within a monument, historically linked to funerary use, as described in Vitruvius’s anecdotal accounts.

The rubble contained architectural pieces unrelated to the Corinthian structure. These elements, from a distinct Ionic structure featuring friezes and dentils, fragments of columns, and an Ionic capital, are likely from a nearby building yet to be discovered.

Unique findings include a lion-shaped clay gutter and a detailed Corinthian capital. Research into Building C suggests it might be the Hero’s monument of the ancient city. Beneath its facade were sculptures like a marble lion, slightly smaller than life-size, and another larger lion, crouching alongside a marble stele of a youthful male figure, all crafted in Pentelic marble.

Photographs further reveal gold discoveries, including a solid gold earring. Inside the monument’s later phase, intact burials in cist tombs and a sarcophagus yielded precious artifacts, such as a pair of gold earrings with lion-head motifs, a solid earring depicting a winged Cupid, a gold necklace, a gold ring, and numerous other items that proclaim the wealth and high status of the individuals interred.

Further investigation, including a deeper excavation section, uncovered architectural remnants and ceramics dating back to the 8th century BC.

The exploration of the Hero’s Tomb will proceed with a newly approved five-year excavation program. Dr Andreas G. Vordos leads the systematic excavation of Trapeza Aigio and ancient Rypes, supported by the A. G. Leventis Foundation and Olympia Odos SA.

Situated 30 stadia west of the bustling Achaean city-state (polis) of Aigion, Rhypes likely benefited from its strategic coastal location and harbour. Ongoing excavations promise further revelations about this once-prosperous seaside town.