The Stadium and The Cistern

 ruins  Add category

The structure stadium of Byllis represents a particular solution, with a single banked side with seats, supported on the declivity of the terrain. The structure was about 190 m long, a standard feature for the stadium, accomplished through the prolongation of the field in front of the theatre. The spectators could attend the games and competitions while standing. An inscription recording the freeing of a slave can still be made out on the first sitting row. The most typical peculiarity of the stadium of Byllis is the construction of an immense cistern beneath the northern wing of the track, which used the seating of the stadium and the rooftop of the grand portico as a convenient way of collecting water runoff. The cistern discerns for its substantial vaults of calcareous blocks. The construction of the stadium and the cistern dates in the same period, ca. third century BC. A part of the seating banks of the stadium have been reused as steps up to the basilica A during late antique period.

Jan 2022: i.imgur.com/5KEDHmO.jpeg