Remains of the sphendone (Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality)

Turkey / Istanbul / Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
 circus, Roman Empire, horse racing track
This is all that remains of the sphendone, the curved, terminal sweep of the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

At the southern end of the Hippodrome, where the land begins to slope down to the sea, a series of massive vaults were constructed to serve as a retaining wall for the Sphendone. In 1927, a British expedition led by Stanley Casson spent four months excavating and studying the Hippodrome, especially the foundation of the Sphendone. Behind the twenty-five supporting arches (some still visible above) were found a corresponding number of concentric chambers opening out onto a main corridor. After a devastating earthquake in AD 551 (which also collapsed the dome of Hagia Sophia), these arches were bricked up and a series of buttresses added. Sometime later, the chambers themselves were closed off and converted to a cistern.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippodrome_of_Constantinople
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   41°0'14"N   28°58'26"E

Comments

  • Ой-ли "ипподром"? А не стеночка ли это старого, настоящего колизея?
  • Около ипподрома ЖЕ!!!
This article was last modified 13 years ago