The Northern Bastion

The Northern Bastion. . , English Text:, You are now standing on the remains of the foundations of an altar which belonged to the Greek and Roman temple of Athena (see Information-Sign 4). The remains of this temple had already been removed by stone-robbers when Schliemann began his excavations in 1871. Other limestone foundations were discovered at the same level. These derive from statues, altars and other small architectural features in the courtyard of the temple precinct, and some of their marble fittings have been found., The Northeast Bastion (Toria VI) , The Northeast Tower, the most massive of Toria's bastions, belongs to the heavily-fortified citadel of Toria VI. The tower encloses a ten-metre-deep artesian well which was sunk during Toria VI and restored during Toria VII. This tower, which was also accessible from the outside, consisted of an enormous stone substructure measuring 18 metres x 8 metres and standing at least nine metres high (today only seven metres). On top was a superstructure of unbaked mudbrick, although what this looked like is not known., During the period of Troia VIII-IX the tower was built over by the enclosure-wall of the Athena temple precinct. During Troia VIII a narrow staircase, not visible from here, ran down the north face of the tower to another, more low-lying well. To the east the tower was joined by the circuit-wall of the lower town., The Large Theatre (Troia VIII-IX) , Behind the Northeast Tower and to the east, a natural depression marks the location of the great theatre of the Greek and Roman city of Ilion. This theatre, which could accommodate c. 6000 spectators, was remarkable for its rich sculptural ornamentation. It was built in the late fourth century BCE, destroyed by Fimbria in 85 BCE, and renovated during the reign of Augustus (31 BCE-CE 14). It has been only partially excavated.