North is behind the Entry.
The courtyard "H" and its annexes are outlined in a white background. The
central and more ancient core of the sanctuary is the left part of the
image, outlined with white lines in a black background.
All around the courtyard there are adjoining rooms, used to accomodate the priests and the visitors. Presently the walls of the rooms are almost reduced to ground level.
The original building materials from the internal walls of the courtyard were largely used for the construction of the governor's building and the monastery of Ayos Ioannis Prodromos.
In the courtyard area, about one meter below the ground, one 2-nd millennium b.C. grave has been recovered, containing: bones of a man buried on his side, shells from prehistoric pots, and four big handmade beads of Chalkidonean stone.
Tools and weapons of
the neolithic era, saws, drills, cutters and shuttles of flint stone, beades
of Chalkidonean stone, shells from pots of Menyans and Myceneans, as well
as horn-shaped stones, have been found in chasms and gaps and at the foot
of the wall, signs of the prehistoric presence of man in the site and of
the likely use of the place as an oracle since neolithic time.
North is behind the Entry.
The courtyard "H" and its annexes are outlined in a white background. The
central and more ancient core of the sanctuary is the left part of the
image, outlined with white lines in a black background.
The planimetry in the
left panel (l.p.) of the screen is 180° rotated with respect to the
natural orientation, top = North. In so doing, there is the intention of
giving a prompt idea of how the area appears to the visitor when he makes
access to the area.
When clicking on the
"anchor icones" in the l.p., it is possible to explore the area by means
of photographic images ("view1", "view2",
view3") and under the visual angles suggested
by the icones themselves.
Clicking on the remaining
"sensitive" areas of the l.p. (the areas "A", " B", "C" and the central
part of the courtyard) it is possible to get
infomation on the rest of the area "H".
Warning!! Working
at full screen is recommended, as the left panel is blocked.
To continue the visit
and pass to area "1", you are requested to click on the link "Go
on", on the top of the planimetry in the l.p.
.
The grey area marked with an "A" is the fortified palace, late "Governor's mansion", built around the end of 18-th century of our era, therefore after the construction of the monastery of Ayos Ioannis Prodromos. The building has a rectangular plan and is provided with a square tower at the back. It has the typical profile of the Arabian buildings of the period. It presently houses the excavation box office.
Area
"B" is what remains of
a small Roman construction, built about a century after the oracle destruction,
evidence maybe of the continued use of the site as an oracle.
Evidences of the Roman occupation of the
site are also given by the recovered roof tiles, some with Latin letters,
by the seals on earthern pots, vats and vessels and by some Roman coins.
The photo above (view1)
shows:
in the foreground
the outside wall of the Nekromanteion;
in the left foregound,
soon after the entry, one of the peripheral rooms of the courtyard "H";
in the middle background,
the simple profile of the Governor's palace, built by the Turks;
on the left, the wall
of the central body of the Nekromanteion, the door and, behind it,
the front of the small
church of Ayos Ioannis Prodromos.
Photo from publication in
reference 1 of bibliography
The photo (view2),
taken soon after the entry of the excavation, shows:
in the foreground,
one of the rooms of the courtyard,
in the background,
on the left, the wall of the main body of the oracle with the access door
in the middle; on the right, the Governor's palace, presently used as excavation
box office and
in the background,
behind the wall, the front of the church of Ayos Ioannis Prodromos.
Photo from publication in
reference 2 of bibliography
The photo (view3)
shows the area on the back of the Governor's palace, at the time in which
the excavation had not yet been initiated.
A hall once led to the main part of the Nekromanteion. The passage occurred by means of two arched doors (in the photo "view2" it is possible to observe the second of the two doors, because only a trace on the floor now survives of the first). The today still visible door, was once locked by a bolt that, when the door was opened, disappeared inside the wall. That door was the starting point of the journey through the kingdom of the dead.