About DECAInDION
Site
The ancient written sources revealed that Dion, a place of worship of Olympian Zeus on the eastern foothills of Mt. Olympus, was the sacred city of the Macedonian kingdom, that the Roman colony Colonia Iulia Augusta Diensis was founded on its site by Octavian Augustus in c. 30 BC and that the life in the city continued until the early Byzantine period.
The long-term excavations at Dion have brought to light inscribed monuments, which as testimonies contemporary with the events of their time constitute the safest and most reliable source of information on the life of the ancient city. Only part of those monuments has been sporadically published.
Project
The project focuses on the documentation and study of all inscribed monuments at Dion throughout its activity in order to extrapolate new scientific knowledge, disseminate, promote and highlight those characteristics particular to the city, which are associated with the important changes that occurred during its long history. These changes concern religion as well as the social and state structures. In order to facilitate the reading of the inscriptions, a methodology based on innovative digital techniques will be developed.
Aims
The aim of the project includes the publication of the epigraphic texts, the combined study of their data to draw conclusions on the religious and socio-political life at Dion and the comparative study of the epigraphic, archaeological and literary information available from other Macedonian sites to formulate conclusions on Macedonia in general. One of the results will be the presentation of a rich epigraphic material, largely unknown, to the scientific community.
Through the dissemination of the results, the specialists will be able to exploit the acquired knowledge, which will also have an impact on the even bigger promotion of ancient Dion with all the ensuing benefits on a cultural, social and economic level.