HISTORY
DESCRIPTION
INFORMATION
PHOTOGALLERY
 
 

The most important monument of the site is the fortified city of ancient Molossia. Very characteristic are the narrow alleys of the settlement, the cisterns and the impressive fortification wall with the bastions, but also the absence of public places. All these features, in combination with the strategic position of the settlement, point to its defensive character.

Twelve narrow parallel streets, in a N-S direction, cross two wider streets, thus forming rectangular oblong insulae, 15 m. wide. The full width of each insula is usually occupied by a single house.

The private, stone-built houses of Orraon are exceptionally well preserved, sometimes even up to the upper storey, where the windows, and the door jambs and frames can be seen.

The first excavations on the site were carried out in 1972 by Ioulia Vokotopoulou, then director of the 12th Ephorate. In 1975, the University of Ioannina, under the direction of S. Dakaris, in collaboration with the German Archaeological Institute, started the excavation of House 1 in the ancient settlement, which was resumed in 1981.