The ancient city of Orik

According to archeological data, the city of Orik is founded around the cen. VI BC, while in historical sources it is mentioned in the century. V BC by Herodotus and Hecataeus of Miletus, as the harbor of Epirus. It is a city mentioned for its importance in the battles between Macedonia and Rome at the end of the cen. III BC, as well as in the civil war between Caesar and Pompey in 48 BC. In ancient sources Oriku is mentioned for the last time in the 2nd century AD, while according to archeological data life continues until late antiquity. From the surrounding wall of the city, a tract is preserved to its east with a width of 1.90 m and a length of 44 m, 15 m from which still appear submerged under the water surface of the lagoon. The wall dates back to late antiquity. The tracks of the town dwellings are almost all carved into the rock of the hill and have various dimensions from 7×9 m to 4×4 m. From the entrances of the city mentioned in Caesar’s memoirs, the one on the north side is preserved, which has two construction phases dating respectively to the Hellenistic period and late antiquity, measuring 14. 50×11.20 m and a height of about 2 m. The fortification of the city also preserves the wall and the entrance to the acropolis. The wall of the acropolis has a length of 39.6 m, height 0.42-0.60 m and a width of up to 3.25 m. The wall of the acropolis dates back to the century. I AD. From the monuments found in the archeological excavations is the monopter type building on the eastern terrace of the hill. This building dates back to around the cent. III-II BC and is destroyed in the middle of the cen. I BC, probably during the civil wars. The monument has dimensions of 6.40×6.40 m and was discovered in 2012. In the years 1958-60 was discovered an altar measuring 3×3.45 m with a square shape, which is dismantled. The central monument of the orik is its monumental fountain, which dates back to the Hellenistic period and was abandoned around the 1st century b.c. It has which has a podium framed with denticles that reaches 1.57 m in height. It consists of two side rooms with a rectangular shape with dimensions 5×12.60 m south and 3.7×17.4 north. In its center during the excavations of 2013 was discovered a channel 7 m long, 2 m deep and 80 cm wide, on its rocky floor, leading to five steps made of stone blocks. To the south-west of the ancient city is the necropolis, which covers an area of ​​3999 m². The technique of building monuments in the city of Orik is different and varies according to the periods. The walls of the monuments, but also those surrounding the city during the Hellenistic period were made of limestone blocks worked symmetrically and connected in dry without mortar. During the period of late antiquity, the city walls and monuments are built with a different technique, with reused stone blocks, often taken from buildings of the Hellenistic period and connected between them with mortar and brick pieces. The dwellings of the Hellenistic period are special, the basement and a part of the walls of which are built working the natural rock of the hill and on the floor are laid bricks connected with mud. In some of these dwellings there are open wells or cisterns in the rock, the depth of which varies from 8 to 10 m.