Description of the attraction
On the northwestern coast of Rhodes, there are the ruins of the abandoned ancient city of Kameiros. The ancient settlement was founded by the Dorians in ancient times. Later, the area was inhabited by the Achaeans. Kameiros was one of the most powerful cities on the island and together with Lindos and Ialyssos in the 5th century BC. united to create the mighty state of Rhodes.
The ancient city of Kameiros was built on three levels. At the top of the hill was the ancient Acropolis with the temple of Athena Kameira, dating back to the 8th century BC. In the 6th century BC. a special water tank (with a capacity of 600 cubic meters) was built here, which was filled through the water supply system. Later, a covered colonnade was completed above the reservoir, which consisted of two rows of columns and additional rooms. The main settlement was located on the middle terrace and was a grid of parallel streets and blocks. On the lower terrace, a Doric temple, probably dedicated to Apollo, a market square (Agora) and much more was discovered.
The city reached its highest economic prosperity in the 6th century BC. Why over time the city began to decline is not known for certain. In 408 BC. the city of Rhodes was founded, which quickly became the largest commercial center of the island. Most of the population of Kameiros gradually moved to Rhodes. Two strong earthquakes in 226 and 142 BC almost completely destroyed everything, and the inhabitants finally left these places.
Archaeological excavations were first carried out by Alfred Biliotti and Auguste Salzmann in 1852-1864, when the ancient Acropolis was discovered. In 1928, while Rhodes was still under Italian oppression, the Italian School of Archeology resumed work and continued large-scale systematic excavations until the end of World War II.
