Tuesday 12th April 2022 – Tegea, Greece

 

We drove to Thouria, an archaeologic site where many exciting discoveries during excavation in the last few years. The latest discovery made over the last two years is the theatre of this major city and it includes groves in the stage area that show that movable scenery was used in performances. The signs took us to the only part of the excavations that are visible to the public, an asklepion, a temple for healing. There were two archaeologists at the site and they allowed us to look over the site but we were not allowed in. I asked the woman about the theatre and she said that it was 3 or 4 kilometres away, down a poor track and it had been covered to protect it over winter. She said that the site may be open to the public in five years’ time, so we made a note in our diaries to visit again in 5 or probably 10 years. The two archaeologists were excavating under a small chapel built next to the asklepion. They haven’t found any ancient remains yet but were certain that they would. As they said, there will be ancient remains everywhere in the area. There is much more to discover here and we look forward to reading about future excavation seasons.
We drove on a short distance to the Pamisou Springs where huge quantities of water emerge from the base of hills around the village of Agios Floros. The springs are the source of the major river, the Pamisos. A fish farm has been created next to the spring and there are some huge fish in the tanks.
We drove on to Tegea, another important archaeological site. On our way through the mountains, we stopped at a pass where there was a monument to 220 Greeks massacred by the Germans in reprisal for an attack by the Greek resistance that killed a number of German soldiers. A tragic incident in a beautiful area and it made us think of what is going on in Ukraine at the moment.
When we arrived at Tegea, we parked under the trees in a large parking area next to the ruins and the Byzantine church that was built inside the ancient Greek theatre. We walked into the park next to us where some of the ruins are located but they are only visible through fences. There was an early Christian mosaic protected in a purpose built building but although we could see inside, the mosaic was so covered in dust that it was impossible to see any detail. We then went to the restaurant the other side of the church. A large restaurant, it obviously held special events and would be busy in the season but tonight we were the only customers. It was excellent value for money – two main courses and half a litre of red wine for 18€, about £16. Then it was back to the van - an excellent wild camping spot and we were lulled to sleep by the sonar-like beeps of scops owls hunting in the fields around us.

Photos: The Pamisos river with its crystal-clear water flows away from the Pamisou Springs; This enormous Plane tree at the source of one of the springs in Agios Floros is labled as an historic monument; We saw a number of WWII blockhouses on our journey today guarding mountain passes; A Greek flag proudly flies over the monument to those murdered by the Nazis at a pass just north of Megalopolis; The byzantine church at Tegea built in the ancient Greek theatre.