Doliche

Historical description

An ancient settlement of the Thessalian Perraibia. Precise localization of Doliche has a complex scholarly history. It was long assumed to be located in the vicinity of modern Dolichi/Duklista in Greece's Larisa regional unit (thus RE and BAtlas). Following the discovery of an extensive settlement site at Sarantaporo (8.5 kilometers west of modern Dolichi) in the 1990s, the excavators argued that it should be identified with ancient Doliche and this view has been widely repeated (e.g., New Pauly). More recently, the site of Kastri Livadiou (only about 4 km west southwest of modern Dolichi; 8.5 km southwest of modern Livadi) has been excavated. Here, a Late Antique walled settlement with three basilicas have been identified, together with inscriptions (found in conditions of reuse) attesting to an earlier temple of Herakles and, crucially, mentioning Doliche as a polis. The site at Sarantaporo may represent the original, Classical-to-Roman location of the polis, and the site at Kastri a later, fortified successor.

Geographic evidence

The coordinates are a representative_point_not_boundary. They identify a research anchor and do not by themselves assert an ancient administrative boundary or the full extent of the settlement.

Provenance: Barrington Atlas: BAtlas 50 B4 Doliche

Source and reuse

This profile derives from the Pleiades current GIS record, licensed CC BY 3.0. Pleiades place record The profile preserves the source name, point, type, description, precision and provenance without silently adding a boundary reconstruction.

Research path

Compare this place with the chronological map at the relevant year, nearby political units, routes, institutions and the period portals. Where the source record is silent about jurisdiction, population or ecclesiastical rank, this profile makes no such claim.