Agrigento: MRA-ITA-Agr004

Type Sample Item

Dimensions (cm)

Weight

Geographic Location

Historical note about the site/monument: The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento is a large archaeological area located on the site of a Greek colony dating to the 6^th century BCE. The name Agrigento comes from the Roman period (Latin: Agrigentum); during its formative years under Greek rule the name Akragas was used. The nickname “Valley of the Temples” derives from the remarkable remains of seven Doric temples found in the environs of ancient Agrigento (most of whose names are conventional rather than original): the temple of Hera Lacinia (Juno), Concordia, Asclepius, Heracles, Olympian Zeus, Castor and Pollux, and Vulcan. The site also includes a Paleo-Christian necropolis (3^rd-6^th centuries CE), the remains of a Roman gymnasium, and the nearby Temple of Demeter (whose architectural remains were integrated into the 12^th century Norman Church of Saint Blaise).

Further reading:
P.M Barone, F. Graziano, E. Pettinelli, and R.G. Corradini (2007). Ground-penetrating radar investigations into the construction techniques of Concordia Temple (Agrigento, Sicily, Italy). Archaeological Prospection 14, no. 1: 47-59. DOI: 10.1002/arp.300

Inventory