Histria. Un système urbain orthogonal sur le „Plateau”?
Histria. An orthogonal urban system on the “Plateau”?

Summary/Abstract: The article is intended to analyse the information that we have today about the urbanism of the Greek city, in its different stages of development. The opportunity was the observation on orthophotoplans of traces that could be interpreted as an orthogonal urban grid on the Plateau, i.e. the western part of the site. This possibilty is discussed in the context of the results of previous exacavations in this area and of the discovered structures that would support this idea. The total surface of the city is difficult to estimate because an important part was submerged by the lake Sinoe, mainly to the North but to the East, as well. The surface enclosed by the fortifications dated to differtent Greek periods are estimated as:fortifications of the Acropolis (Archaic = 4.3 ha, Classic = 20.8 ha and Hellenistic = 7.4ha) and of the Plateau (Arhaic = 27.1 ha, Classic = 21.8 ha and Hellenistic = 32.3 ha). Thus, the minimal inhabited areas of Histria were approximated at 37.4 ha (Arhaic), 42.6ha (Classic) and 39.7 ha (Hellenistic). The traces of an orthogonal urban grid with the following dimensions is presumed in two areas of the western Plateau:E-W (dev. ~2°) = 100 ionic feet = 0.295 x 100 = 29.500 mN-S (dev. ~2°) = 133 ionic feet = 0.295 x 133 = 39.235 mLength-width ratio = 1 : 1.33Area = 100 feet x 133 feet = 29.500 m x 39.235 m = 1,157.43 m2But, of course, future surveys, topographical measurements and excavations have to confirm this hypothesis.

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