Archaeologists excavating Ancient Epidaurus in Greece have identified a long-lost Sanctuary of Asclepius described by the ancient traveller Pausanias, resolving a question surrounding the location of the sanctuary within the ancient city.
The discovery was announced by Professor Vassilis Lambrinoudakis, co-director of the excavation and Emeritus Professor of Classical Archaeology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Located around 20 metres from the Small Theatre of Epidaurus, excavations have revealed an organised religious complex containing an open-air enclosure, monumental fountain, large water reservoir, western stoa and nymphaeum.
Evidence supporting its identification includes a pottery fragment inscribed with the name of Asclepius, the Greek god associated with medicine and healing.
The sanctuary is believed to correspond with the place of worship described by Pausanias, who travelled through Greece during the 2nd century AD and recorded monuments, sanctuaries and local traditions.
Sanctuary of Asclepius
Systematic excavations around the Small Theatre have gradually revealed the religious landscape of the ancient urban centre.
Among the finds are small terracotta discs decorated with reliefs of female busts, together with fragments from larger figurines depicting similar subjects.
Researchers associate these objects with a female deity connected with motherhood and the regeneration of nature.
One possibility is that the figure was identified locally with Epione, the wife of Asclepius, although this interpretation has yet to be confirmed.
Archaeologists are also examining a marble female statue discovered in the ancient city in 2021.
Carved from Parian marble, the figure is shown wearing a chiton and himation. Researchers have raised the possibility that it represents Epione, whose presence in the sanctuary was recorded by Pausanias.
The statue’s identity, however, remains uncertain.
Origins of Asclepius worship
Separate excavations at the major Sanctuary of Asclepius outside the ancient urban centre are also providing new evidence for the development of the cult.
Beneath the famous Tholos, archaeologists uncovered an Archaic building dating to the late 7th century BC.
Its date places the structure approximately six decades earlier than the period previously regarded as the beginning of Asclepius worship at the site.
The building consisted of a ground floor surrounded by columns and an underground chamber cut into the natural rock.
Its walls were covered with thick, deep-red plaster, while a pebble mosaic survives on the floor.
According to the researchers, the mosaic is among the best-preserved early examples of its type known from Greece.
The architecture, western orientation and underground chamber have led archaeologists to interpret the building as a religious structure associated with the chthonic aspect of Asclepius.
It predates the later Tholos that became one of the principal monuments of the sanctuary.
Mysterious underground Crypt
Excavations have also focused on the so-called Building K, where archaeologists have identified several construction phases extending from the Hellenistic period into Late Roman times.
Of particular interest is an underground chamber known as the Crypt.
The chamber has a three-part layout and incorporates reused architectural elements.
Openings were positioned to allow midday sunlight to enter the underground space, while the lower sections of four amphorae were placed directly into the natural ground.
These unusual features have led researchers to suggest that the Crypt may have been connected with ritual or mystery religious practices during the Late Imperial period.
Its exact function remains unknown.
Ancient centre of healing
Epidaurus became one of the most important centres associated with Asclepius in the ancient Greek world.
The latest discoveries are providing a clearer picture of religious activity both within the ancient city and at the major sanctuary beyond the urban centre.
Research at the Sanctuary of Asclepius has been conducted systematically by the University of Athens since 2015, with investigations expanding into the ancient city in 2026.
The identification of the sanctuary described by Pausanias, together with the earlier building beneath the Tholos, provides new evidence for how the worship of Asclepius developed at Epidaurus over several centuries.
Sources : DIAZOMA Association
