Distinctive baked clay ‘Velian tiles’, made by craftsmen more than 2,000 years ago, found during excavations of Hellenistic Elea and Roman Velia, preserved under cover in the archaeological park on the Tyrrhenian Sea coast at Marina di Ascea, Campania, southern Italy.
Velia, Marina di Ascea, Campania, Italy: these weighty baked clay tiles, made only in the craft workshops and kilns of ancient Greek Elea, were salvaged during archaeological excavations and have been preserved under cover on the city site facing the Tyrrhenian Sea. Large numbers of ‘Velian bricks’ and tiles have been found during the excavations. They were made more than 2,000 years ago to standard sizes and most of the indented bricks are stamped with acronyms probably denoting public ownership or use in public projects, as well as Greek lettering perhaps representing the craftsmen who made them. Most of the bricks were used inside the city only in public buildings such as Hellenistic baths. Many were used to build and maintain the city walls, but some later stripped from the walls reappeared in private dwellings. Others, recycled from the city ruins, are often found during restoration and rebuilding work in surrounding villages. Elea was founded around 538 to 535 BC by Ionian Greeks displaced from Phocaea in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). It thrived thanks to its two ports, one on the sea and one on the Alento river. The original name, Hyele, changed over time to Ele, Elea, and lastly to Velia. The Romans took control in 273 BC and in 88 BC, it became a Roman municipality, retaining the right to mint coins and with its citizens allowed to keep speaking Greek. Velia declined when its ports silted up and it was bypassed by new overland trade routes. In the 9th century, most citizens left to escape malaria and Saracen pirates, but some stayed to live on the acropolis, which was finally abandoned in the late-1600s. The vanished ruins below the acropolis were rediscovered in 1833. More recent excavations found fortifications, a sea wall, gateways, frescoed houses and thermal baths. The archaeological park is part of a wider UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Size: 2832px × 4256px
Location: Velia, Marina di Ascea, Campania, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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