CONSTANTA, ROMANIA

Histria was named after the Greek name for the Danube River and was founded in 656 B.C. It lays approximately 30 miles (70km) away from Constantza. Our drive will begin up the coast through rural Romania as our guide describes the passing scenes and prepares us for the archaeological site.

Histria was named after the Greek name for the Danube River and was founded in 656 B.C. It lays approximately 30 miles (70km) away from Constanta. Our drive will begin up the coast through rural Romania as our guide describes the passing scenes and prepares us for the archaeological site. On the shore of the Lake Sinoe in the northern part of Istria peninsula, 2600 years ago the city of Histria was founded by the Greek merchants and navigators in order to trade with the native Getae. Olive oil, wines, Greek valuable objects were exchanged for Cereals, honey, wax, and salted fish. Histria is the most valuable asset of the Romanian national heritage from the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine ages. Histria was connected to all the major events of the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine world. It was one of the first Greek colonies founded in the basin of the Black Sea, being the oldest colony on the west coast. At the same time, Histria is the oldest urban structure on the Romanian territory. Although essentially a Greek fortress (due to its institutions, religion, and culture), Histria is also a focal point of the spread of Roman civilisation. Later on, the Byzantine era gave Histria a new status. The town started to decline after the middle of the 7th century when the urban lifestyle was replaced by the rural one, which also disappeared later. There it remained abandoned and forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1868. The archaeological research started in 1914 and still goes on today. The urban ensemble discovered here has been called the Romanian Pompey. The nine decades of archaeological research has produced a large quantity of information of information on essential aspects of national and universal history. The Halmyris Bay, where the city was, began to be sanded and slowly access to the Black Sea became more difficult, even so the trade via sea was made until the 6th century. The invasion of the Avars destroyed almost the whole fortress and the people were forced to go to safer places. Histria, the oldest urban settlement, was discovered and brought to light by the excavations of the great historian and great archaeologist Vasile Parvan. The museum beside the ruins displays a unique collection of high valuable archaeological discoveries from the area which we will be given time to view. Reboarding our coach we will take a drive back to Constanta and visit the Roman mosaic, which used to cover over 2000 square meters being one of the largest of its kind in this part of the world. The Mosaic Complex houses were 11 warehouses used by the Romans to store the goods coming by ship into Tomis harbour. We will then make our way back to our awaiting ship. Please note this tour includes approximately 1½ hours of walking over uneven ground and you will encounter approximately 20 steps at the museum and 30 steps at the mosaic.