Elea (Paramythia Municipality, Chrysavgi municipality department), center of the tribe of the Eleantans, was founded around the mid 4th century BC, in a naturally protected location that provided directed supervision of the plain of Paramythia. It was the first seat of the Koinon of Thesprotians, with its own coinage (360-330 BC).
The settlement was surrounded by strong polygonal walls. The basis of the town’s urban design was a principal road axis, traversing the settlement longitudinally, on a SW-NE direction. Smaller roads, extending parallel or vertically to the central road axis, delimited private houses and the public buildings.
Private houses comprised 4 to 6 rooms. The main entrance opened to the adjacent road. Some houses were two-storey buildings, including interior open courts, storage areas and workshops. The most luxurious houses had bathrooms.
The city’s political and commercial centre was the Agora, an area including three stoae, shops and warehouses.
Bibliography
Σ. Ι. Δάκαρης, Θεσπρωτία, Αθήνα 1972.
Γ. Ρήγινος-Κ. Λάζαρη, Ελέα Θεσπρωτίας. Αρχαιολογικός Οδηγός του χώρου και της ευρύτερης περιοχής, Αθήνα 2007.