[Hilary]

This post from May 2014 was in the Ancient Corinth thread. I decided to start a thread devoted to the wall

The Hexamilion or Justinian Wall.
For those of you who enjoy seeing ancient remains.
And for those of you who enjoy seeing road and railway bridges.
Four bridges spanning the Hexamilion Wall.
Nicotiania glauca, Shrub Tobacco, and the wall.
Reseda alba, White Mignonette , Phagnalon rupestre and the wall.
 

[Hilary]

These photos were taken on 31st March. 2019
Since then this section of the wall has been cleaned up and I suppose all the wild flowers removed

On Sunday we went out to look at a piece of wall next to the Epidaurus road.
This stretch of wall, near Isthmia, turns out to be  another part of the  Hexamilion Wall of which there are several stretches scattered across the Isthmus, some more preserved than others.

When I started walking along an old road next to the wall I was rather disappointed as it just looked like a pile of stones but spring was upon us and there were thousands of wild flowers growing on the sides and on top.

Now I have found this reference to the construction of the wall

Quote

”The wall was constructed with a rubble and mortar core faced with square stones “

which explains the look of it on the west side, the square stones had found another home.

The east side the wall has the appearance of a proper fortification with worked stones and two turrets.

There, although, the ground looked flat it was covered by dense vegetation hiding ankle twisting stones; because of this I didn’t try to get closer
 

[Hilary]

Hexamilion Wall at Kyra Vrisi / Isthmia

Looking for visible and easily accessible parts of the wall and wild flowers we came upon some near Kyra Vrisi

I found this description of the construction of the wall

“Made of rubble and mortar core and faced with squared stones”

I was mystified by the pieces of column near the wall so was glad to find this reference

“Every structure in the region was cannibalized for stone for the effort, either being incorporated into the wall directly, as was the temple of Poseidon at Isthmia”

The wild flowers were past there best in this area of Kyra Vrisi

[Hilary]

March 2023, revisiting the Hexamilion Wall after four years.

This stretch of the wall is, on the right-hand side, a few kilometers down the road which begins at the Corinth Canal and leads to Epidavrus. 
The ruins of the wall have been cleaned up, restored and paths on both sides of the wall give easy access.

Reading, again, about the wall I see that it was first constructed between 408 A.D. and 450 A.D. and, I quote

‘Many structures in the region were cannibalized for stone for the effort’

One to four before and after photos 1

The people cleaning up the wall must have been thrilled when they found the stone with the cross engraved on it, probably from an early Christian church and the stone in its turn probably taken from older ruins. Photo 5.

In 2019 the ruins of the wall were, to my mind, a beautiful rock garden now they are quite bare. However, I was pleased to find large quantities of Anemones and Grape Hyacinth nearby.

[Hilary]

March 2023
A part of the Hexamilion Wall near the village of Kyra Vrisi

The stones from the wall and column drums bathed in sunlight and among wildflowers.

The second photo shows the same area in May last year with the stones deep in dry grasses.

Some of the plants being

Anemones, Anemone coronaria

Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum

Alkanet, Dyer’s Alkanet, Alkanna tinctoria

A rather fuzzy photo of Alkanet but I managed to get better photos of more Alkanet plants the following Sunday