Discoveries of Ancient structures in this day are astounding to me. But one has been made in an isolated, hard to get to area on the Greek Island of Crete. It's a large auditorium that goes all the way back to the FIRST Century! Here's the story, from LiveScience.
Rare ancient odeon discovered at remote archaeological site in Crete
By Kristina Killgrove Lie Science, Nov, 2022
Archaeologists in Crete have discovered an ancient Roman odeon that might have been used for events such as lectures, musical contests and city council meetings.
Tucked into a mountain-ringed cove in southwest Crete are the ruins of Lissos, an ancient town whose archaeological remains are accessible only by sea or a long hike.
Because of its isolation, Lissos had not been investigated by archaeologists for several decades. New work at Lissos, though, has uncovered an odeon, similar to a modern auditorium and indicative of the prosperity of the town.
Previous research showed that Lissos was inhabited long before its name made it into history books in the fourth century B.C. Its location across the Mediterranean Sea from Cyrene, a major ancient Greek city in present-day Libya, likely meant that Lissos was an important stop on Mediterranean trade routes.
Structures from various time periods at Lissos are relatively well preserved, including a unique temple to Asclepius, the ancient Greek god of medicine; a residential area; an impressive cemetery with two-story tombs; Roman baths; and Christian churches. Archaeologists have now added an odeon to this list of structures following the first excavation at Lissos in more than half a century.
Katerina Tzanakaki, deputy head of the Department of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities and Museums at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chania, directed the new project and told Live Science in an email that odeons "were used for lectures, literary and musical contests or theatrical performances."
In the first phase of the odeon's excavation, Tzanakaki and her team found part of the stage, 14 rows of seats and two vaulted side chambers. The odeon dates to the Roman period, roughly the first to fourth centuries A.D., a time when the sanctuary to Asclepius at Lissos was transformed into a political center with a new mosaic floor and portraits of the Roman emperors Tiberius and Drusus.
Unfortunately, the odeon was heavily damaged in antiquity by large falling boulders, likely as the result of a powerful earthquake in A.D. 365.
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